The Tai-Ex opened up 82 points this morning from yesterday's close, at 46,104
on turnover of 10.5-billion N-T.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Ugandan immigration officers have
withheld the passports of three Taiwan travelers and demanded that they
produce Chinese passports, citing the country's "One China principle."

According to the minister, three encountered the officers on arriving at
Entebbe International Airport on Wednesday.

They were eventually allowed to enter Uganda.

However, the foreign ministry says immigration officers refused to return
their Taiwan passports unless they produced passports issued by China in
which entry stamps could be placed.

Taiwan's representative office in Somaliland, which is responsible for
affairs involving Uganda, and the Taiwanese business association in the
country immediately provided assistance to the travelers.

The foreign ministry is advising Taiwan nationals to carefully assess (評估)
the necessity and potential risks of traveling to Uganda and to postpone
planned visits for the time being.

North Korea has threatened to exercise its right to self-defense in a
statement that slammed the upcoming U.S.-South Korean military drills as a
war rehearsal.

In a statement carried by state media Friday, North Korea's Foreign Ministry
called the U.S.-South Korean training “a rehearsal for an aggressive war”
that is triggering a different level of instability in the region.

North Korea also said the drills would be of a “more serious provocative
(挑釁的) nature and dangerousness than last year" and involve all the military
assets and war-fighting modes of the U.S. and South Korea.

The U.S. and South Korea have described the training's scope this year as
similar to past years.

They say the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises are meant to strengthen their
alliance’s capability and reiterate that the drills are defensive in nature.

READINESS STRETCHED THIN

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claims the American military can maintain
its naval blockade on Iran indefinitely by rotating aircraft carriers in and
out of the Strait of Hormuz.

The carrier currently enforcing the blockade has been at sea for a record two
hundred consecutive days, prompting growing concern among lawmakers in
Washington about crew welfare.

A replacement vessel is now on its way from the Pacific to relieve it — a
move Washington hopes will undermine (破壞) any Iranian assumption that the
deployment is unsustainable.

James Gooderson, our reporter in Washington, says the carrier rotation is
exposing the strain the war in Iran is placing on the US Navy's global
posture, with the departure of a vessel from the Pacific leaving China with
greater freedom to project power in the region.

Vietnamese authorities have seized a large shipment of ivory illegally
shipped from Africa.

The haul includes 221 pieces of elephant ivory weighing over 1,193 kilograms.

It was displayed to the media on Wednesday in Gia Lai province.

Vietnam is a major hub for the illicit wildlife trade, with much of the
contraband transshipped (轉船 / 換船) to China.

Inspections last week found the ivory hidden in sawn timber in a shipment
from the Republic of the Congo.

The illegal cargo also contained animal bones often used in traditional
medicine.

A criminal investigation has been launched.

The Tai-Ex opened up 158-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
45,676 on turnover of 15.4-billion N-T.

The market closed higher on Wednesday led by AI-related stocks, but turnover
was limited as investors awaited the release of the latest U-S consumer price
index data.

Market watchers say the Tai-Ex managed to gain ground despite Wall Street
declining overnight, as AI-related stocks listed on U-S indexes still moved
higher, which sparked buying in their counterparts here in Taiwan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has asked Indonesia to clarify a
joint naval exercise east of Taiwan announced by China.

The statement comes after China's defense ministry announced that joint
Chinese-Indonesian Naval navigation exercises would be taking place.

According to the foreign ministry, it "immediately contacted relevant
parties" to learn more about the situation and asked the Indonesian side for
clarification (說明) after China "unilaterally claimed" Indonesia would
participate in the drill.

Jakarta has described its planned naval activities as "Passing Exercises"
that are "not war-fighting in nature."

The Taoyuan City Government has announced plans to expand its free milk
program.

The move will include junior high school students beginning with the 2026
school year that commences on August 31.

According to Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang, the expansion of the program will
benefit some 280,000 students aged between 2 and 15, from preschool through
junior high school.

The program was launched in February and provides one free milk or soy milk
product per week to every preschool and elementary school student in Taoyuan.

The city government has said the take-up rate (參與率) had reached about 70-per
cent.

The United Nations says Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have detained two Afghan
members of the U.N. political mission in the country.

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told U.N. reporters on Wednesday that the
Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence detained the two staffers in
the western city of Herat on Sunday.

He said the U.N. mission has not been informed of the charges against the two
men or been able to visit them.

The Taliban seized power in 2021, as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew (轍) from
the country after two decades of war.

UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Two media organisations have filed a federal lawsuit against US President
Donald Trump and senior White House officials, challenging Truth Social's
paid subscription service as unconstitutional.

The service charges up to a hundred thousand dollars a month for early access
to the president's posts — many of which serve as the sole channel for
official government announcements.

Nick Harper in Washington says the lawsuit could prompt the White House to
further restrict (限制) press access.

Police in Ecuador have seized a cocaine shipment featuring soccer star Erling
Haaland's face on the packaging.

The bust occurred near the Colombian border, with 469 kilograms of cocaine
found in a truck.

The driver was arrested, but police didn't explain why Haaland's image was
used.

It's common for traffickers to label shipments with celebrity images to
identify networks and clients.

The operation followed an anonymous tip (匿名線索) on Tuesday.

The shipment's value is estimated at over $11 million in the U.S.

The Tai-Ex opened up 54 points this morning from yesterday's close, at
45,175, on turnover of 10.3-billion N.T.

The market closed slightly higher on Tuesday after recovering from early
losses, as investors bought selected electronic component stocks (電子零組件股) at
lower prices.

Market watchers say the early decline followed losses on Wall Street after
crude oil prices (原油價格) rose sharply.

However, investors soon began buying AI-related stocks. Strong demand for AI
devices also helped the Tai-Ex move back into positive territory (上漲區間) by
the end of trading.

Coast Guard Administration Director-General Chang Chung-lung (張忠龍) has
apologized for failures in the handling of two Chinese nationals who
illegally entered Taiwan by rubber boat (橡皮艇).

A member of the public found the boat near Taipei Port.

Chang says a radar operator failed to follow standard procedures (標準作業程序),
while patrol officers did not fully search the coastline.

He says the agency will not protect those responsible and will hold them
accountable.

The boat was found near Taipei Port's northern breakwater in New Taipei's
Bali District on July 24.

Coast Guard officers later identified the two suspects using footage from
coastal monitoring systems (海岸監控系統).

They were arrested in Taoyuan on July 30.

The MRT Sanying Line will begin operating from 6 a.m. to midnight this Sunday.

The newly opened line connects Dingpu Station on the Bannan Line with Yingge
District.

Passengers will continue to travel for free during the trial period (試營運期間).

The metro operator (捷運營運單位) says the longer hours will give more people a
chance to use the line.

They will also allow staff to test its performance under normal operating
conditions.

The Sanying Line began trial operations on June 30.

Since August 1, it has operated from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with trains running
every six to eight minutes.

South Korea says North Korea has launched a ballistic missile (彈道飛彈) toward
the sea.

It was North Korea's second missile test in less than a week.

South Korea's military says it detected the launch from North Korea's east
coast at around 6 a.m.

The test may be a protest against upcoming South Korea-U.S. military
exercises (軍事演習).

North Korea considers the drills preparation for an invasion (入侵).

The launch came two days after South Korea and the United States announced
that their annual exercises would begin next week.

The two countries say the drills are aimed at improving their ability to
respond to threats from North Korea.

Former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman is returning to the United States after
Russia released him from detention (拘留、羈押).

U.S. President Donald Trump says he spoke with Gilman on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a pardon (特赦) on what officials
called humanitarian grounds (人道考量).

The decision followed negotiations over the weekend.

U.S. officials say Washington did not agree to a prisoner exchange (換囚、交換囚犯)
or make any concessions.

Gilman had been held for more than four years following an incident on a
train to Moscow.

He is expected to arrive at Joint Base Andrews on Tuesday evening.

Nick Harper reports from Washington.

The Tai-Ex opened down 44-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
44,883 on turnover of 11.7-billion N-T.

The market gained solid ground on Monday as buying was sparked by a rally on
Wall Street last Friday after weaker-than-expected job data and eased
concerns about a rate hike by the U-S Federal Reserve.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has opened an investigation into
allegations that President Lai Ching-te's top envoy in Geneva was involved in
workplace bullying and other misconduct.

According to the ministry, it formed a special task force, composed mainly of
personnel from outside the ministry to conduct (執行) the investigation, after
receiving a complaint against Greg Lee.

The petition was from some of his subordinates (下屬) at the Taiwan
representative office in Switzerland.

The foreign ministry says the investigation is focusing on accusations of
workplace bullying, while other complaints of misbehavior will be handled by
the appropriate government agencies.

And,

The Ministry of the Interior says data shows that Taiwan's population
declined for a 31st consecutive month in July.

According to the ministry, Taiwan’s population stood at 23,235,002 at the end
of last month - which was a decline of 102,934 from the same period of last
year.

The number of newborns (新生兒) last month rose to 7,906, which was up by 582
from June.

However, the total number of births during the first seven months of this
year stood at 54,250 and that's a decline of15.7-per cent from the same
period of last year.

The World Health Organization says the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak started
in February, months before it was officially declared in May.

The WHO regional director says early cases were wrongly attributed to malaria
and typhoid.

Confirmed cases have reached 4,200, with over 1,900 deaths.

The Bundibugyo virus responsible for this outbreak has no approved vaccines
or treatments.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that Ebola is spreading
faster than efforts to fight it.

Access to healthcare is challenged by years of conflict (衝突) in one of
Congo’s most remote areas.

US President Donald Trump wants changes in the way childhood vaccines are
delivered.

The AP's Jennifer King reports.

The U.K. and France are bracing for the fifth heat wave of the season, adding
to an intense stretch of hot weather that has repeatedly sent temperatures
soaring across Europe since May.

France's national weather agency is warning about temperatures approaching 40
C from today onward in southeastern France.

Across Europe, the extreme heat began in May and has contributed to (導致)
major wildfires, prolonged (延長) drought and new national temperature records,
as well as thousands of projected heat-related deaths.

According to climate statistics, globally so fa, this is the third-hottest
year, behind 2024 and 2025.