EZ News 05/10/23

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. **Tai-Ex opening ** The Tai-Ex opened down 19-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 15,708 on turnover of 2.1-billion N-T. The market closed slightly higher on Tuesday as large-cap tech stocks once again attracted investor attention to offset losses suffered by the old economy sector. However, market sentiment remained cautious, as investors wait to see if Washington agrees to raise the government's debt ceiling to avoid (避免) a default, while the pending release of U-S consumer price index data also weighed on investor's minds. **Former UK PM Liz Truss to Visit Taiwan Next Week ** Former U-K Prime Minister Liz Truss will visit Taiwan next week to participate in a government-funded speaking engagement. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Truss, has been invited by the Prospect Foundation think tank to give a speech in Taipei on May 17. The ministry has not said on what topic Truss' speech would be on. The foreign ministry has also not released any information concerning possible meetings with senior government officials or other political and business figures (人物) during her four-day visit. Truss spent 49-days as the U-K's shortest event-serving prime minister last year. **Coronavirus Subvariant XBB to Drive New Surge Through July ** The Centers for Disease Control says the coronavirus XBB subvariant is likely to become dominant soon, creating a new surge of infections through early July. According to C-D-C Deputy Director General Philip Luo, the subvariant accounted for 40-per cent of the 70 local Omicron cases confirmed during the week of April 30 through May 6. Luo says it is now expected to replace the current BA.2.75 strain in the near future. The C-D-C reported a daily average of 116 moderate and severe coronavirus cases from May 3 through 9, which represented a slight increase in daily cases compared with the 114 the previous week. **Saudi Arabia Syria Embassies Resume Work ** Saudi Arabia and Syria say their embassies will resume work 11 years after they were closed as the two countries' relations improve. Tuesday's announcement comes nearly a month after Syria and Saudi Arabia said they were moving toward reopening embassies and resuming airline flights. Last month’s development followed a visit by Syria’s top diplomat to the kingdom, the first since Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic relations with Syria in 2012 and a visit by Syria’s foreign minister to Riyadh. On Sunday, the 22-member Arab League agreed to reinstate Syria, ending a 12-year suspension and taking another step toward bringing Syria back into the fold. **US Charges Filed Agains Congressman Who Lied on Resume ** US prosecutors have filed criminal charges against George Santos, the congressman who has admitted to (承認，供) lying about his resume. Sally Patterson reports. **Germany Proposes Law Name and Gender Change ** The German government has presented a proposal for a law that will make it easier for people to legally change their name and gender, ending decades-old rules that require them to get expert assessments and a court’s authorization. Under the planned “self-determination law,” adults would be able to change their first name and legal gender at registry offices without further formalities. The existing “transsexual law,” which took effect in 1981, currently requires individuals to obtain assessments (評估) from two ”experts" and then a court decision before they can change their gender on official documents. That was the I.C.R.T. news, Check in again tomorrow for our simplified version of the news, uploaded every day in the afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your day, I'm _____. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn