20120523 9am

9AM Intro

Good morning, it's 9 o'clock. I'm Bill Thissen

9AM TAIWAN NEWS ....

Former President Chen Shui-bian was escorted from the Taipei Prison to the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Linkou this morning for a checkup of his prostate and heart. It is the third time since March that Chen has been allowed to leave the Taipei Prison for medical checks. Today's check-up comes less than a month after he received treatment the Taoyuan General Hospital. He underwent cardiac catheterization after complaining of chest pains in March and was diagnosed with tumors in his prostate in April. ------------- Vice Premier - Jiang Yi-hua - says the government is focusing on plans to stabilize consumer prices and cracking down on price gouging. The statement comes amid widespread public concern about the recent sharply rise in consumer prices. However .. Jiang dismissed reports the prices of six out of 16 categories of daily goods have risen - saying such "reports are inconsistent with the real situation." According to Jiang .... recent rises in the prices of some consumer commodities does not mean a surge in the overall market. Jiang is currently heading a government stabilization task force. ----------- Visiting U-S congresswoman - Ileana Ros-Lehtinen - says she and some Congress members are pushing the Obama administration to supply Taiwan with more advanced weapons systems. She said she wants to see Taiwan have "the best protection possible" because the island "is not an aggressive military power." Ros-Lehtinen was heading a 21-member congressional delegation to Taiwan to discuss bilateral ties and to congratulate President Ma on his inauguration to a second term.

iran

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, says he's reached a deal with Iran on nuclear site inspections. Kyle McKinnon reports.

egypt

Egyptians are heading into a crucial presidential election. The APs Mark Lavie reports from Cairo.

europe

European leaders will explore ways of breathing life into their stricken economies at a summit today, but the issue of euro-zone bonds and whether they can help alleviate two years of debt turmoil will dominate the meeting. The Prime Minister of Spain, where the economy and banking system are at the frontline of the crisis, will meet newly elected French President Francois Hollande in Paris ahead of the evening summit to discuss policy positions - a marked shift away from the traditional Franco-German axis.

putin

President Vladimir Putin targeted those who dare oppose him yesterday, introducing draconian new fines for protesters and handing out Kremlin jobs to widely detested lieutenants despite the public anger they have generated. A new law introducing a 200-fold increase in fines for taking part in unsanctioned protests was given preliminary approval by the Kremlin-controlled lower house, setting the stage for toughening Putin's crackdown on dissent. Opposition lawmakers denounced the new fines as an attempt to stifle criticism, warning that it would fuel broad outrage and destabilize Russia by depriving the public of a way to express discontent.

usa

With about five months to go, the U.S. presidential race is tightening with voters nearly evenly divided between President Obama and Mitt Romney. Polls show they are locked in a dead heat over handling the economy, the top concern of voters....tied at 47 percent. Overall, 49 percent back Obama and 46 percent preferred Romney, a statistically insignificant difference. Earlier polls generally showed Romney holding a slight lead over Obama on economic issues and Obama slightly ahead overall. But the tightening follows an aggressive attack on Romney's business credentials by the Obama campaign, including ads painting him as a job-destroying corporate raider at Bain Capital, the private-equity firm he co-founded. Vice President Joe Biden argued today that Romney's experience doesn't make him any more qualified to be president than it does to make him a plumber.

WEATHER AM .....

partly cloudy skies and a high of around 31 islandwide. Current Temperatures .... Taipei -- 25 Taichung -- 25 Gaoxiong -- 27

9AM Outro

That's the ICRT News at 9. I'm _____