The Tai-Ex opened down 174-points this morning from Friday's close, at 46,010
on turnover of 8.2-billion N-T.

The market moved sharply lower on Friday, led by the electronics sector, amid
growing fears over an interest rate hike by the U-S Federal Reserve and a
surge in international crude oil prices.

No damage or injuries are being reported following this morning's earthquakes
that rattled Hualien.

The first of the quakes had a magnitude 4.7 and struck at 3:21 and was
centered some 54-kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall at a depth
of 17-kilometers.

It was felt stongest in Hualien's Wanrong Township and Nantou's Yushan area -
where it registered a magnitude 4 on the Central Weather Administration's
intensity scale.

The quake registered a 3 on the intensity scale in other parts of Hualien.

The second quake struck at 6:44 and was centered some 43-kilometers east
southeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 10-kilometers.

It was stongest in Taitung's Donghe Township and on Green Island - where it
registered a magnitude 4 on the Central Weather Administration's intensity
scale.

That quake also registered a magnitude 3 on the scale in other parts of
Taitung, as well as in parts of Hualien.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Dwight Howard returned to Taiwan this past
weekend to attend a charity event organized by the New Taipei Kings and The
Asian Tournament.

Speaking with reporters at the opening of the event at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in
New Taipei, Howard said he was "always glad" to return to Taiwan and he
missed Taiwan's food.

The Kings' says part of the proceeds from the event are being donated to PACK
Taiwan, an animal welfare (動物福利) organization.

Howard became one of Taiwan's most prominent foreign athletes after joining
the Taoyuan Leopards in the now-defunct T1 League for the 2022-2023 season,
following an 18-season N-B-A career.

North Korea says it has conducted a joint live-fire drill involving missiles,
artillery and drones that it claimed demonstrated “the huge destructive power
of concentrated fire.”

The official Korean Central News Agency said Monday that Saturday’s drill was
meant to get familiar with the procedure for the operation of the integrated
firepower control system.

South Korea’s military earlier said it detected short-range ballistic missile
launches from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area on Saturday morning.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said several missiles each flew about 250
kilometers toward North Korea’s eastern waters.

Experts say the flight distances signal the weapons are designed to (用來)
strike targets in South Korea.

DEBATES RESPONSE

Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella has backed calls for a more
deliberate pace of artificial intelligence development, though he says
companies must retain full control over their proprietary knowledge and that
any safety regime must protect enterprise privacy.

Nadella's statement on Sunday afternoon came a day after the heads of
Anthropic, OpenAI and Elon Musk's xAI jointly called for the industry to slow
down the building of more powerful models — a call US President Donald Trump
dismissed from Ireland as exaggerated (誇張的).

White House AI adviser David Sacks has told the companies to stop waiting for
government permission and to regulate themselves.

Kate Fisher reports from Washington.

The Tai-Ex opened opened down 289-points this morning from yesterday's close,
at 46,651 on turnover of 10.9-billion N-T.

A two-story building in Taipei has been severely damaged after an adjacent
(鄰近的) construction work caused its ground floor to crack and leak yellowish
muddy water.

No injuries were reported.

The building are located in an alley off Minquan East Road, near Xingtian
Temple M-R-T Station.

Officials say an initial investigation suggests that a breach in the
underground diaphragm wall during foundation excavation and retaining
operations caused water and sand leakage.

The Taipei City Government says construction work at the site has been
suspended due to failure to maintain the safety of adjacent public facilities
and buildings, and work will not resume until an improvement plan has been
submitted and approved.

The contractor and the supervisor have each been fined 90-thousand N-T.

Citrus taiwanica has received patent protection covering products derived
from the plant and been licensed to a Saisiyat cooperative in Miaoli County.

Citrus taiwanica is a citrus species traditionally used by the Indigenous
Saisiyat people.

According to the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, the patent covers
applications of the plant and products derived from (源自) it, with
authorization from the Saisiyat tribe required for their use.

The case marks the first time a traditional Indigenous crop and products
derived from it have received patent protection.

The agency says the traditional knowledge underlying the use of the citrus
came from the Saisiyat tribe and that technologies and products developed
through modern research based on that knowledge should benefit its original
holders.

Authorities are insisting that license is not intended to monopolize the
plant, but aimed at protecting and preserving the traditional knowledge of
the Saisiyat people.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group has taken control of Yemen's strategic Red
Sea port city of Mokha. Houthi and Yemeni officials confirmed the takeover.

This move could bring them closer to controlling a critical waterway to the
Red Sea.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government forces launched airstrikes targeting Houthi
reinforcements west of Taiz.

Clashes also continued along Yemen’s western coast.

Mokha had been held by forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized
government.

The Houthis have been fighting a civil war with the government since 2014.

The fighting now threatens a fragile (脆弱的) truce that took effect in 2022.

AS CRITICS CALL IT A BRIBE

US President Donald Trump's pledge to give every American adult five thousand
dollars if Republicans hold Congress in the midterm elections could cost more
than one-point-two trillion dollars, with no clear plan to pay for it.

Legal experts have questioned whether the president even has the authority to
authorise (授權) such a payment, since the US Constitution requires Congress to
approve government spending.

Nick Harper, our reporter in Washington, says the president has a track
record of floating (提出想法、試探性地提出) similar dividend proposals that have never
been delivered.