The Tai-Ex opened down 248-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
27,399 on turnover of $12.9-billion N-T.

The market hit a new high on Thursday, as investors once again flocked to
artificial intelligence development related stocks ahead of Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing's investor conference.

T-S-M-C dominated the trading day as it gained 1.37-per cent to close at a
new high of 1,485 N-T - contributing 160 points to the Tai-Ex's overall rise
and sending the electronics subindex up by 1.69-per cent.

The Central Emergency Operations Center says a three-stage evacuation plan
has been finalized for residents of Hualien Guangfu, Fenglin and Wanrong
townships in anticipation of a tropical storm forming over the weekend.

According to the center, a landslide lake alert and forced vertical
evacuation could be activated if necessary in order to prepare for the
storm's possible formation ..

.. and the first phase of the plan will involve relocating elderly residents,
those living alone and dialysis patients to hospitals or designated shelters.

The center says the second phase will mandate the evacuation of residents
living in single-story homes and place them in shelters, while the third
phase will require those in multistory houses to take vertical shelter on
upper floors.

The first phase of the evacuation plan will initiated (啟動) once accumulated
rainfall reaches 20-centimeters within 24 hours.

Taipei Zoo Director Chu Hsiao-fen says the exchange of a pair of African
penguins from Taipei for a pair of red pandas from the Shanghai Zoo will be
finalized (定局，確定) in the first half of next year.

According to Chu, the pandas are currently waiting to take the second of two
rabies vaccination jabs before they can come to Taiwan, while the zoo is
still confirming which avian flu vaccine the penguins need for their move to
Shanghai.

Chu says after quarantine procedures are complete on both sides, the two zoos
will plan the exchange procedures for the beginning of next year.

The exchange was based on a memorandum of understanding bertween the cities,
which was signed at the 2024 Taipei-Shanghai Twin City Forum, which was held
in Taipei.

Israel says an airstrike in August killed the chief of staff of Yemen's
Houthi rebels.

The group on Thursday acknowledged the death of Maj. Gen. Muhammad Abdul
Karim al-Ghamari, who had been sanctioned by the United Nations.

Israel claimed responsibility for the attack, stating al-Ghamari died from
his wounds from the August strike.

The U.N. described al-Ghamari as a key figure in orchestrating the Houthis'
military efforts, threatening Yemen's peace and security and conducting
(進行) cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia.

suspends the country

Military leader Colonel Michael Randrianirina will be sworn in as
Madagascar's transitional (過渡性的) president today, the new leadership has
announced.

Isaac Lukando reports.

Organizers have announced that the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games will
feature the most spread-out opening ceremony in history.

The Parade of Nations on February 6 will include athletes at Milan’s San
Siro Stadium and, for the first time, in three other locations: Cortina,
Predazzo, and Livigno.

This setup allows athletes from all disciplines to participate (參加).

Events are scheduled from February 6th to 22-nd across various Italian
regions.

The Tai-Ex opened up 61-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 27,337
on turnover of 10-billion N-T.

The market surged more than 480-points on Wednesday as Taiwan Semiconductor
Manufacturing closed at a new high and investors were encouraged by comments
by the head of the U-S Federal Reserve regarding more rate-cuts.

Taiwan

National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen says his agency has
found hundreds of video clips focusing on the K-M-T's leadership election
posted from online accounts outside of Taiwan.

According to Tsai, most of the 1,000-plus videos identified are circulating
(散佈、傳遞) on the Chinese version of TikTok, and over 200 related videos
are on YouTube, which were posted from 23 accounts, half of which were not in
Taiwan.

Tsai declined to say whether any of those accounts were based in China and
also refused to says which candidates the videos were stumping for.

The statements come after some of the candidates running the K-M-T leadership
election this Saturday have been rather vocal in their claims that China is
meddling in the race.

Station

The Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation is calling on the city government to
improve its safety surveillance systems and encouraging bystander (旁觀者)
intervention (介入) following the sexual assault of a woman at the Taipei
Main Station last week.

The foundation says the city government needs to review and improve its
public safety systems, assistance alarm bells could be installed and
bystanders should be encouraged to intervene if they witness incidents of
sexual assault.

The suspect was arrested at the scene.

And the Railway Police Bureau says the number of patrols in the station have
been increased and officers are now checking toilets and stairwells every two
hours to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

The US supreme court will hear arguments in a case that could gut the Voting
Rights Act, the landmark civil rights law designed to prevent discrimination
(歧視) in voting.

The outcome of the case could change the course of next year's midterm
elections.

Charlotte North reports from Washington

A United Nations letter to Colombia warns that mercury contamination from
illegal gold mining in the Atrato River basin is causing a grave
(嚴重的，重大的) human rights crisis for Indigenous and Afro-descendant
communities.

In a letter made public earlier this week, the U.N. Human Rights Council
raised concerns with the Colombian government about insufficient (不足的)
compliance with a 2016 Constitutional Court ruling that recognized the Atrato
River as a legal entity with rights to protection and restoration.

The river is one of Colombia’s largest waterways, and is one of the
country’s most biodiverse yet impoverished (貧窮)regions.

Illegal gold mining is now among the main drivers of deforestation and
pollution across Amazon regions, and mercury used to extract gold has
devastated wildlife and contaminated the food sources of Indigenous
communities in remote areas of the Amazon.

The UN letter calls for urgent measures to halt pollution, tackle criminal
networks and provide medical care to residents exposed to toxic mercury.

The Tai-Ex opened up 117-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
26,911 on turnover of 8.3-billion N-T.

The market closed lower on Tuesday as renewed concerns over US-China trade
tensions prompted (促使) investors to lock in profits.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office has indicted a former EVA Airways
representative to China on charges of spying for Beijing.

The former airline representative was stationed in Sichuan and is suspected
of being recruited by Chinese intelligence.

Reports says he sought classified information from several officials at the
Mainland Affairs Council concerning details about direct cross-strait
flights.

The suspect reportedly attempted to bribe at least one official with a
payment of 100,000 N-T multiple times between 2012 and 2014.

The Mainland Affairs Council official refused the offer and reported the case
to authorities.

The suspect has now been charged with violating the National Security Act.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has allocated a budget of 156-million
N-T for the purchase of a property (房產) to house its representative office
in the U-S city of Boston.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston is currently located in a
rented building.

According to the foreign ministry, the funding means it will be able to a
property in the city, pending approval of the budget by the Cabinet and
Legislature.

The government also plans to purchase properties in Houston and Denver in the
U-S and in Sydney, Australia to house its representative offices ..

.. saying the aim of the purchases is to save taxpayer money that is
currently being spent on renting overseas offices.

Just hours after returning from his trip to the Middle East, US President
Donald Trump is shifting (轉移) his focus to the other side of the world -
hosting the Argentinian leader Javier Milei at the White House.

It comes after the US agreed to a 20 billion dollar currency swap in a major
bailout of the Latin American nation.

Kate Fisher reports

Congo and the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 have agreed to establish an
oversight mechanism for a potential permanent ceasefire.

The agreement was announced Tuesday by a Congolese government spokesperson
and confirmed by a M23 spokesperson.

The ceasefire monitoring body will include representatives from Congo, M23
and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo will participate.

The agreement is an important step toward a peace deal after recent efforts
to end fighting in eastern Congo stalled.

The body is expected to meet within seven days of its creation, with the U.N.
peacekeeping mission in Congo providing logistical (後勤的) coordination.

The Tai-Ex opened opened up 358-points this morning from yesterday's close,
at 27,282 on turnover of 13-billion N-T.

The positive opening came after the market tumbled more than 350-points on
Monday, as investors reacted to U-S President Donald Trump's threat to hike
tariffs on Chinese goods by 100-per cent.

for Nvidia land

The Taipei City government is urging Shin Kong Life Insurance to accept a
compensation agreement in exchange for relinquishing the surface rights of
plots T-17 and T-18 in the Beitou-Shilin Science Park - where Nvidia wants to
build its Taiwan headquarters.

Shin Kong Life has said it's willing to directly transfer the surface rights
to Nvidia, but the city government is stressing that such a move would
violate the contract - as to date nothing has been built on the site.

The city government has offered to pay compensation (賠償) of between 500 and
800-million N-T to Shin Kong Life and return the more than 3-billion N-T the
company bid to acquire the land rights.

However, Shin Kong Life is pushing for 10.7-billion N-T in compensation for
terminating the contract.

Health Minister Shih Chung-liang says the availability of generic and
imported medications mean the withdrawal of essential drugs from the Taiwan
market this year is not expected to result in shortages.

The statement comes after the Food and Drug Administration announced that as
of last month, the makers of 47 drugs classified as essential under the
Pharmaceutical Affairs Act have given the legally required six-month notice
of their intention to end local sales.

According to the health minister, there are generics available in Taiwan for
46 of the 47 drugs.

The only drug that currently lacks a locally approved alternative is an
immunosuppressant used in organ transplants manufactured by Padagis.

The families of the last 20 living hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have been
sharing joy and relief at their return to Israel after two years in captivity
(關押，囚禁).

But Israel says only four of the dead hostages have been returned after Hamas
said it does not know the location of some of the other 24.

Blake Sifton reports from Tel Aviv.

Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina says he has fled the country in fear for
his life following a military rebellion.

But he did not announce his resignation in a speech broadcast on national
television late Monday night from an undisclosed location.

Rajoelina has faced weeks of Gen Z-led anti-government protests which reached
a pivotal point on Saturday when an elite military unit joined the protests
and called for the president to step down.

That prompted Rajoelina to say that an attempted coup was underway
(正在進行的) in the Indian Ocean island and leave the country.

The situation remains volatile, with curfews in place in major cities.