20120523 7pm

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7PM EZ News Intro

Good evening. It's 7 o'clock. I'm _____ and time for EZ News on ICRT.

Enterovirus cases on the rise in Taiwan: health department

The Department of Health says that enterovirus infections are on the rise in Taiwan, with a total of 45 serious cases reported so far this year. The enterovirus problem tends to start escalating in late March and usually peaks in May and June. The latest figures from schools in Taipei show 5,150 reported cases of enterovirus infections for the year, six times the number recorded in the same period last year. Schools are required to suspend class for up to two weeks if two or more students in the same class are found to be infected with a seven day period. As a result, 449 classes have been suspended in the city so far this year, compared with 51 in the same period last year. (EG)

Taiwan, South Korea to discuss tourism

Tourism authorities from Taiwan and South Korea are scheduled to meet tomorrow in Kaohsiung to discuss ways of increasing the number of visitors traveling between the two countries. The meeting will be attended by more than 40 high-ranking South Korea tourism officials and industry representatives and some 100 Taiwanese representatives. They will discuss increased chartered flights, student exchanges, and golf tourism as ways of boosting tourism between the two sides. The tourism sectors on both sides expect the number of visitors to pick up following the launch of direct flights between Taipei International Airport and Gimpo Airport in Seoul last month. (EG)

RP

The Philippines today accused China of sending more government and fishing vessels to a contested shoal in the South China Sea despite ongoing talks to resolve a 2-month-old naval standoff. A Foreign Affairs spokesman said the number of Chinese vessels at Scarborough Shoal increased to 96 yesterday, including four government ships. The spokesman said the Philippines has only two vessels in the area. He also said that despite a seasonal fishing ban imposed by both countries to prevent overfishing, Chinese vessels were observed fishing and collecting protected corals. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said about 20 fishing vessels were working in waters near the shoal, roughly the same number as in previous years. He added that their fishing activities are in line with Chinese law and the fishing ban.

Lebanon

Lebanon's foreign minister said today that authorities have located 11 Lebanese Shiites kidnapped the previous day in Syria and that he expects they will be released soon. The minister said he had been in touch with a number of Arab officials and his Turkish counterpart to try to secure the captives' return to Lebanon. He was quoted as saying that the kidnapped people will be released in the coming hours, though no further information was provided. The kidnappings come at a time of deep tension in Lebanon over Syria. News of the abduction set off protests in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Shiite area, where residents burned tires and blocked roads. Syria's state news agency blamed rebels for the kidnapping. It said the Lebanese group was on its way home from a religious pilgrimage in Iran when rebels intercepted their vehicles and abducted the 11 men and their Syrian driver.

Yemen

Aid groups are warning that Yemen faces a hunger catastrophe because of instability and rising prices. Olly Barratt reports from London.

Sri

Sri Lankan customs officials say they have seized about 1.5 tons of elephant tusks in the largest ever such seizure in the country. A customs official says the tusks were being transported through the capital, Colombo, in a container that arrived from Kenya and was bound for Dubai. The container was opened following intelligence reports, and customs officials found 359 ivory tusks, weighing about 1.5 tons. Agents for the container had declared that it contained scrapped plastic. No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.

Weather

Central Weather Bureau forecasters say it's going to be partly clear across much of Taiwan tonight, with lows of 23 in the north, 22 in the center, and around 24 in the south. Tomorrow, similar conditions, with highs of 31 or 32 across Taiwan. Right now, it's 26 in Taipei, 28 in Taizhong, and 28 in Gaoxiong.

7PM EZ News Outro

That's EZ News at 7. I'm _____