20120528 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.

CEPD: April Flashes Blue Light

The Council for Economic Planning and Development says Taiwan's economy flashed a blue light last month. It's the sixth straight month where the economic indicator has stayed at that level. The index number stayed at 14 percent in April, the same as in March, showing that that nation's economic conditions are slowing. The CEPD says Taiwan's labor market stabilized last month, however figures out of the financial, trade, production, and consumer sectors were all less than ideal. The CEPD says future development will need to be closely monitored. (EG)

Knicks confirm resolve to keep Jeremy Lin in New York

The New York Knicks have confirmed their determination to keep Taiwanese-American point guard Jeremy Lin in the coming season. Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald reportedly said that he did not foresee any reason why Lin would not be on the team next season. As Lin is a restricted free agent, the Knicks will have the right to match any offer Lin gets from another team. Teams offering him a one-year deal cannot sign him to a contract above $5 million dollars because of his short time in the NBA, and the Knicks have a mid-level extension of $5 million dollars that could be used on Lin. However, the Knicks might have trouble matching another team's offer if it involves a multi-year deal that averages $6 million dollars or more. (EG)

China

The ruling Communist Party says it expelled China's former railways minister and blamed him for major corruption throughout the railway system. The announcement comes more than a year after Liu Zhijun was dismissed from his government post amid graft allegations. The party's discipline body said Liu had taken massive bribes and abused his authority to help a private businessman make massive illegal profits. Liu accumulated vast wealth and power while in office, especially during a headlong rush to extend the bullet train network nationwide that came under heated criticism following a deadly crash last year.

Korea

North Korea is reporting a severe drought that could worsen already serious food shortages. However, help is unlikely to come from the United States and South Korea following Pyongyang's widely criticized rocket launch failure. The North says much of the country has had little rain for a month now. North Korea has suffered chronic food shortages for the past two decades because of a combination of economic and agricultural mismanagement and natural disasters. A deal that would have sent North Korea badly needed U.S. food aid in return for freezing its nuclear activities collapsed in the wake of the North's failed rocket launch last month.

Turkey

A Turkish court has formally pressed charges against members of Israel's military for the killing of nine people aboard a Turkish ship trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza in 2010. The court in Istanbul voted unanimously to approve an indictment against Israel's former military chief Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, along with the heads of its navy, air force and military intelligence. It has said they face nine consecutive life terms in prison for ``inciting to kill monstrously, and by torturing.'' Israeli military members are unlikely to stand trial in Turkey but the court might issue an order for their arrest if they are convicted in absentia.

Yemen

Yemeni military officials say government troops have retaken most of a southern provincial capital from al-Qaida fighters, and are advancing on another militant bastion. The officials said that the army now holds 90 percent of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, which fell to al-Qaida last year. They say 48 hours of fierce fighting left 22 militants and nine soldiers dead. They say the army is advancing toward Jaar, another town in militant hands for over a year, in a three-pronged attack supported by heavy artillery shelling and air raids.

Drugs

A 55-year-old housewife is among four British nationals facing a possible death sentence in Indonesia after the alleged seizure of more than $2.5 million of cocaine in Bali. Arthur Stevens reports from Melbourne

Weather

Central Weather Bureau forecasters say it's going to be partly cloudy islandwide tonight, with chances of showers or thundershowers all across the country. Lows tonight will be 22 or 23 in the north, 24 in the center, and 26 in the south. Tomorrow, look for more clouds and more rain. Highs then will hit 28 up north, 31 south and center. Right now, it's 24 in Taipei, 27 in Taizhong, and 29 in Gaoxiong.

7PM EZ News Outro

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