The Ministry of National Defense says a Chinese military helicopter was
detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait median line on Monday.

Officials say the helicopter and a drone were detected between 10:20AM and
7:40PM on Monday.

Chieh Chung, a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security
Research, says he believes it is the first time a Chinese military helicopter
has been detected crossing the median line.

Chieh says that represents a new form of "gray-zone" operation.

Defense officials have not said whether the detected helicopter was a
shipborne aircraft (艦載機) or had been dispatched from a nearby Army aviation
base along China's coast.

Taiwan has officially entered a new COVID-19 epidemic phase after more than
47 hundred people sought treatment for the disease during July 12-18.

The Centers for Disease Control says that figure marks a 66.5 percent
increase from the previous week.

Officials say Taiwan has sufficient supplies of antiviral medications and
vaccines to respond to the outbreak.

She said the NB.1.8.1 variant has remained the dominant strain in Taiwan for
the past four weeks.

The most common symptoms include sore throat, cough, nasal congestion (鼻塞) or
a runny nose, fever, fatigue, headache and muscle aches.

COVID-19 activity is also increasing in China, Hong Kong, Japan and South
Korea, Tseng said.

Taipei ranked 14th in the U.K.-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student
Cities 2027 rankings.

The rankings were based on indicators including university rankings,
desirability, affordability, student mix and employer activity.

QS noted that Taiwan's ranked cities performed particularly well for
affordability (可負擔性), with all placing among the world's top 30.

But Taiwan's cities lagged in employer activity, which measures how strongly
employers associate a city with producing high-quality graduates.

Globally, Seoul topped the 2027 rankings, followed by Tokyo, London and
Melbourne. Munich and Sydney tied for fifth, ahead of Paris, Berlin, Vienna
and Zurich.

A 10th straight day of attacks between the United States and Iran across the
Middle East has overshadowed (使蒙上陰影) diplomatic efforts in Pakistan to
salvage an interim ceasefire deal that collapsed earlier this month.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the Iran war has cost $37.5 billion,
so far.

It is now unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war...
which has turned into a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz...

Ed Donahue reports on the mood from the White House.

French lawmakers have approved a bill banning children under 15 from using
social media.

The move makes France the first country in the European Union to pass a
blanket ban (全面禁令) on platforms as concerns grow worldwide over the harmful
effects of digital content on kids.

Both chambers of the Parliament voted Tuesday in favor of the measure, a
flagship initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron’s second term.

The bill also bans the use of mobile phones in high schools.

The Tai-Ex opened up 117-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
42,566 on turnover of 3.9-billion N-T.

The market extended is losses on Monday from a session earlier amid fears
over further volatility after a recent strong showing.

Analysts say investors continued to cut their holdings in semiconductor
stocks, reversing an initial upturn after the tech-heavy Seoul market
continued to move lower ...

.... but Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing appeared resilient on bargain
hunting to lend some support to the broader market.

The Intellectual Property Prosecutors' Office has indicted a former Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing executive for allegedly attempting to leak the
chipmaker's core technologies to China.

According to prosecutors, the former deputy manager has been charged with
violating (違反) the National Security Act and the Trade Secrets Act.

Prosecutors have requested a seven-year prison sentence - arguing that the
former T-S-M-C employees actions threatened Taiwan's technological advantage.

The executive made unauthorized copies of classified and general trade-secret
documents belonging to T-S-M-C and took them home with the intention of using
them in China.

Prosecutors say T-S-M-C detected the irregularities through an internal
investigation and recovered all of the copied documents before any technology
was transferred.

An elevated pedestrian walkway connected to (連接到) the Minquan Bridge in
Taipei has opened.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an said it's part
of a broader renovation project designed to bolster the bridge's resistance
to earthquakes and floods while also improving the area's recreational
facilities and pedestrian-friendly urban environment.

Construction of the walkway began in August of last year and was completed on
May 28.

The walkway features a lightweight steel structure and circular viewing
platforms overlooking the Keelung River.

Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have announced a maritime embargo (禁運)
against Saudi Arabia.

Monday's decision comes in retaliation for a blockade on Yemen and a recent
attack on Sanaa International Airport.

The embargo affects the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a crucial waterway for global
trade and gateway to the Red Sea as Saudi Arabia seeks an alternative to the
Iran-gripped Strait of Hormuz.

The blockade raises fears of renewed conflict in the region.

Saudi Arabia has not responded.

This comes as the British military said a tanker came under attack early
Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman, the latest assault to target
shipping in the strategic waterway.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the ship reported
over the radio it had been hit by an unknown projectile.

Two other ships were attacked in the strait over the last day, with Iran’
paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claiming those assaults.

sentenced to life in prison

A former drug kingpin is sentenced to life in prison.

AP correspondent Jennifer King reports.

The Tai-Ex opened up 121-points this morning from Friday's close, at 42,793
on turnover of 15.5-billion N-T.

The market saw its biggest single-day drop on record last Friday -- tumbling
just over 2,950-points -- as a sell-off in artificial intelligence-related
shares dragged Wall Street lower and weighed on global equities.

President Lai Ching-te has presented a posthumous presidential citation
(追授獎項) honoring Air Force pilot Hsin Po-yi.

Hsin died after his F-16V fighter jet crashed during a nighttime training
mission off of Hualien in January.

Hsin's father, Hsin Chin-yu, accepted the citation from Lai at a ceremony.

Hsin served with the Air Force's Hualien-based 5th Tactical Composite Wing
and was posthumously promoted from captain to major and awarded the Order of
Loyalty and Valor.

Hsin's F-16V fighter jet disappeared from radar on the evening of January 6
on a routine raining mission shortly after he reported becoming separated
from the lead aircraft while flying through clouds.

The aircraft's flight data recorder was recovered in March.

Taiwan students have ranked first and third, respectively, in gold medal
tallies, at the International Biology Olympiad and the International
Chemistry Olympiad.

The students won four gold medals at the Biology Olympiad and three golds and
one silver at the Chemistry Olympiad.

Both events took place in Vilnius, Lithuania,

According to the Ministry of Education, Taiwan sent students from the Taipei
Municipal Chien Kuo High School, the Taipei First Girls High School the
Taichung Municipal Taichung First Senior High School to the event.

Taiwan's four-gold haul topped the medal table among 78 participating
countries and 302 contestants.

WIDER IRAN CONFLICT

The United States struck targets on the outskirts of the Iranian city of
Abadan on Sunday evening, extending what has now been more than a week of
consecutive American strikes against Iran.

The latest attack came as the White House faces accusations (指控) of sending
mixed signals on its strategy — having reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil
exports after initially lifting them under a memorandum of understanding that
now appears to have collapsed.

Kate Fisher reports from Washington.

Health workers in northern Nigeria say more children are relapsing into
malnutrition and cite knock-on effects from the war in the Middle East.

The region is already under pressure from an insurgency crisis.

The conflict in the Middle East has worsened food security for millions,
especially children.

UNICEF warns that if the war continues, millions more children could fall
into poverty.

The war has also affected fertilizer supplies and prices, threatening the
planting season and worsening the fate (命運) of mostly farming communities in
northern Nigeria.

Hungary's president has signed a constitutional amendment ending his term,
resolving a dispute with the new government.

Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who defeated Viktor Orbán in April, had urged
Tamás Sulyok to resign, accusing him of failing to oppose Orbán's
antidemocratic actions.

When Sulyok refused, Magyar's party passed an amendment for his immediate
removal.

Sulyok signed it on the final day before the deadline.

His term officially ends today.

Magyar's government has been dismantling (拆解) Orbán's influence by removing
appointees and making judicial reforms.

It also plans to nominate a new president soon.