The Tai-Ex opened down 438-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
43,588 on turnover of $22.6-billion N-T.

The market lost ground on Thursday, as investors reacted to another sell-off
of artificial-intelligence stocks that dragged Wall Street down overnight.

The loses were far less than Thursday's sharp decline, but the main board
still closed lower.

Taiwan ranks 42nd in terms of peacefulness in the 2026 Global Peace Index.

Taiwan has an overall score of 1.751 this year and fell from 37th place in
last year's report.

The report is published by the global Institute for Economics and Peace and
covers 163 countries.

The overall score measures a country's level of peacefulness, using 23
quantitative and qualitative indicators across three domains - those being
ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security,
and militarization.

Each indicator is weighted on a scale of 1 to 5, with lower scores indicating
greater peacefulness.

Although Taiwan ranks 42nd worldwide, it's listed in 9th place among the 19
Asian-Pacific countries in the report.

Iceland remained the most peaceful country in the world for the 19th
consecutive (連續的) year, with an overall score of 1.161, followed by New
Zealand, Switzerland, Slovenia and Ireland.

The New Taipei Transportation Department has launched (啓動，開始) four new bus
routes that cross that Danjiang Bridge.

The new routes provide 80 daily services between Banqiao and Tamsui, Tamsui
and Taoyuan International Airport, and Tamsui and Bali.

Route 988 connects Banqiao Bus Station and Danhai New Town with 20 services
each way on weekdays and 18 each way on weekends.

Airport routes 989 and 990, provide 10 services each way between Taoyuan
Airport and Danhai New Town, and Tamsui Metro Station.

The 115 route will operate as a commuter service between Tamsui and Bali on
weekdays and as a tourism-focused route on weekends and public holidays.

The mayor of a quake-hit southern Philippine town is pleading for air force
helicopters to transport food to stave off hunger in places isolated by
landslides.

The earthquake Monday off southern Sarangani province has left 47 people dead
with 31 others still missing and 45,000 displaced.

The mayor of the town of Glan says 10 villages remained isolated (被孤立) mostly
due to landslides.

He pleaded for the immediate deployment of air force helicopters to deliver
food to the stricken areas.

The town doesn't have power and phone service is unreliable.

The UK defence secretary has resigned. John Healey says the government's
plans for spending on defence 'falls well short of what's required.'

John Bevir reports.

Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha "Pacha-raki-ti-ya-Pa" Mahidol, a lawyer
and the eldest of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s children, has died at age 47.

The palace said she died Thursday.

She had been on life support after falling unconscious in 2022.

The princess was active in justice reform and known for her “Inspire” project
to rehabilitate (恢復正常生活，獲得改造) incarcerated women.

She had a doctoral degree from Cornell University, where scholarships to the
law school were established in her name.

The Tai-Ex opened down 53-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
43,172 on turnover of 11.9-billion N-T.

The market tumbled (大跌、暴跌) on Wednesday after heavy selling in major tech
stocks triggered a decline that sent the benchmark index back to below its
monthly moving average and erased all of the previous session's gains.

Two leading U-S House Republicans are meeting with K-M-T Chair Cheng Li-wun
in Washington,

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, and Young Kim, who leads
a subcommittee (小組委員會) overseeing East Asia policy have both said they will
sit down with Cheng.

Mast has admitted he doesn't have specific expectations for the meeting.

While a spokesperson for Kim, says the lawmaker plans to encourage Cheng and
the K-M-T to support more defense spending to show Taiwan's commitment to
self-defense and deterrence (嚇阻、威懾).

Greenpeace Taiwan says research shows that smaller fish are making up an
increasing share of Taiwan's inshore and offshore catches (近海與離岸漁獲), a trend
the group says indicates larger fish are becoming rarer due to overfishing.

According to the study, the proportion of fish caught before reaching "Lm50"
— or the length at which 50 percent of a species reaches sexual maturity
(性成熟) — rose from 77.7-percent in 2022 to 93.3-percent in 2025.

Researchers say the survey points to severe overfishing and shows that
without effective management measures, fish populations could face bottleneck
effects (瓶頸效應) that result in progressively smaller fish.

Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens (飛彈警報器) early Thursday morning after
Iran threatened to retaliate (報復、反擊) over a new round of U.S. airstrikes
targeting the Islamic Republic.

Bahrain's urged the public to seek shelter.

Iran’s paramilitary (準軍事的) Revolutionary Guard had threatened to strike
Bahrain over the attacks.

The second day of American strikes comes hours after Bahrain, Kuwait and
Jordan — all of which host U.S. troops — came under Iranian fire.

Iran has said it will close the Strait of Hormuz in response.

Congo's Ebola outbreak (疫情、爆發) has spread to another health zone in the
country's northeastern province of Ituri.

Health officials say the outbreak has now affected 26 health zones nationwide.

That includes 18 in Ituri where most of the confirmed cases (確診病例) have been
reported.

Officials reported 37 new confirmed cases and 12 deaths in the past 24 hours.

The outbreak has now recorded 635 confirmed cases and 127 deaths across three
eastern provinces.

It is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain (病毒株) of Ebola.

Officials say there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for that
strain.

Treatment activities are now underway at Ebola centers in two affected areas.

Pope Leo has blessed the newest tower of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia, making
it the tallest church in the world.

The 172-meter Tower of Jesus Christ is topped with a large ceramic cross
visible across the city.

Leo called the basilica an "architectural masterpiece" (建築傑作) during a Mass
attended by Spain's king, queen and prime minister.

The ceremony came 100 years after the death of architect Antoni Gaudi.

The pope also used his sermon (講道、布道) to say Christians "cannot believe in
Jesus and promote war."

Earlier in the day, Leo became the first pope to visit a Spanish prison.

He urged inmates at Brians 1 prison to make amends (彌補過錯、改過) and choose
better lives.

The Sagrada Familia was meant to be completed this year, but construction is
now expected to continue until 2035.

The Tai-Ex opened down 122-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
44,581 on turnover of 8.6-billion N-T.

The market staged a technical rebound (技術性反彈) on Tuesday led by the
electronics sector, after tech stocks rallied on Wall Street overnight, while
buying also rotated to (輪動至) the financial sector, to give an additional
boost to the broader market.

President Lai Ching-te said Taiwan and Japan face identical security
challenges along the First Island Chain.

In a pre-recorded address at the inaugural (首屆的) Shinzo Abe and Modern Japan
International Research Forum in Tokyo, Lai said the late Prime Minister's
declaration that "a Taiwan contingency (緊急事態) is a Japanese contingency"
highlights the importance of continued peace and stability across the Taiwan
Strait.

The president also used the opportunity to thank Japan's Prime Minister Sanae
Takaichi for continuing Abe’s legacy.

The forum was cohosted by the National Chengchi University's Shinzo Abe
Research Center and the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals think
tank... it brought together experts from Taiwan, Japan and the U-S to discuss
Abe's legacy and strategy.

Fire investigators (調查人員) and police are looking into the cause of an
explosion that left two people dead and two others injured in Hsinchu City on
Tuesday.

The explosion ripped through (炸穿 / 猛烈摧毀) a lunchbox store on Gaocui Road in
the city's East District.

The blast collapsed a wall onto a neighboring bakery - where the two elderly
victims were sleeping.

Both were later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Firefighters believe the blast was due gas accumulating (累積 / 聚積) overnight
inside the lunchbox store after it closed.

Bahrain has sounded its missile alert sirens as Iran said it targeted the
island nation to retaliate (報復) for US strikes.

Iran said it had targeted the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain,
the island nation in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry urged (呼籲) the public to seek shelter.

The US launched fresh strikes on Iran following the downing of an Apache
helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, putting any new peace agreement in
jeopardy (陷入危險).

Mitch McCann reports.

That was correspondent Mitch McCann.

Brazilian police have rescued more than 100 Cuban migrants from human
smugglers (走私者 / 偷渡集團) at the northern border with Guyana.

Officials say the 108 migrants are in custody while authorities work to
regularize (使合法化) their immigration status.

Five people have been arrested on smuggling charges.

The smugglers, known as "coyotes," charged high fees and provided unsafe
travel conditions.

The operation, conducted Monday, marks the largest humanitarian rescue in the
state.

Cuban migration to Brazil has surged since 2022 due to Cuba's economic crisis
and U.S. sanctions.

More affluent migrants often fly to Sao Paulo, while others travel overland
through northern Amazon states.

The Tai-Ex opened up 184-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
43,687 on turnover of 22.7-billion N-T.

The market recorded its third largest ever point decline on Monday as
investors reacted to plunge on Wall Street last Friday as big artificial
intelligence-related stocks fell.

Defense Minister Wellington Koo is describing Chinese Coast Guard patrols in
waters east of Taiwan as being a "provocative act."

The statement comes after four Chinese ships, including three coast guard
vessels, sailed into Taiwan's restricted waters 30-nautical miles southwest
of the island's southern most tip on Sunday.

The Coast Guard Administration dispatched seven if its vessels the area to
warn away ​the Chinese ships.

According to the defense minister, China's actions were a form of cognitive
warfare, that was aimed at claiming Taiwan's eastern waters as belonging to
Beijing - which shows serious disrespect for Taiwan's national sovereignty.

Justice Minister Cheng Ming-chien says his office is taking steps to
reclassify etomidate, which is also known as "zombie vape."

According to Cheng, the Narcotics Review Committee will hold talks next week,
at which the drug could be upgraded from a Category 2 narcotic to Category 1
due to its potential for abuse.

Cheng says if the committee agrees to reclassify the drug, those convicted of
manufacturing, transporting or selling etomidate could face life in prison or
the death penalty.

The statements come after the National Police Agency recently reported that
large numbers of people have been arrested for driving under the influence of
etomidate in recent years.

Premier Cho Jung-tai last week told reporters that authorities will be
stepping up border inspections targeting the so called "zombie vapes."

Ukrainian forces have struck oil facilities in Russia and occupied Ukraine as
part of their campaign to impose economic costs on Moscow.

Ukrainian and Russian officials confirmed the attacks on Monday.

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has confirmed that Roman Abramovich acted as a
mediator between Kyiv and Moscow, delivering messages from Russian President
Putin.
Russia's Defense Ministry reported shooting down 310 Ukrainian drones
overnight.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's General Staff said Ukrainian forces targeted Russia’s
Krasnodar Krai region and Crimea, sparking fires at oil facilities.

Russian drone strikes injured civilians in several Ukrainian regions,
including Kharkiv and Odesa.

A federal judge has blocked President Trump’s policy of imposing (推行，強制實行) a
$100,000 fee for H-1B visas - which are used to bring highly skilled workers
to the United States.

Toni Waterman has the details.

A pop-up art show featuring contemporary works is set to open at the German
president's official residency this week before renovations (整修，裝潢) begin.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed his support for the show on
Monday, emphasizing (強調) the importance of free art in democracy.

The exhibition will run for two weeks starting Friday and is organized by
Berlin's Academy of Arts.

Interest has been high, with the ticket website crashing last month.

The show includes works by artists like Katharina Grosse and Wolfgang
Tillmans.

Visitors can also interact with artists through performances and discussions.