The Tai-Ex opened up 568-points this morning on the first trading day of the

new Lunar New Year, at 18,664 on turnover of $24-billion N-T.

The Centers for Disease Control says Taiwan is marking another year of

decline in the number of new HIV infections.

Officials say 944 new cases of human immunodeficiency virus were reported on

the island in 2023, marking a sixth consecutive (連續的) year of falling case

numbers.

The CDC says it marks a decrease of nearly 12 percent from 2022, and the

figure was the lowest since 2004.

The agency encouraged individuals who have ever had sex to take at least one

HIV test and those who have sex without using a condom to take a test

annually.

Two lottery players recently won $1 million NT prizes on scratch lotto

tickets they purchased (購買) on the same day at the same store in Taipei's

Ximending neighborhood.

According to Taiwan Lottery Co., the lotto wins both happened on "Super Red

Envelope" scratch cards sold at a shop on Kunming Street in Ximen District on

the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday last Thursday.

The first of the winners was a married couple, while the second winners were

two young men who put their money together to the scratch card.

Taiwan Lottery released five new scratch cards for the Year of the Dragon, of

which the $2,000 NT Super Red Envelope -- with eight top prizes of NT$20

million -- is the most expensive.

North Korea state media says leader Kim Jong Un has supervised a test of new

surface-to-sea missiles and warned that the country would take a more

aggressive (積極進取的) military posture in disputed sea boundaries with

war-divided rival South Korea.

Kim lso accused South Korea of frequently violating what he decried as North

Korean territorial waters with its maritime patrols and interdiction of

third-party ships.

He ordered his navy to strengthen its defense posture in waters near the

South Korean border islands of Baekryeong and Yeonpyeong.

The report today by North Korea’s state media came a day after South

Korea’s military said it detected the North firing multiple cruise missiles

in waters off its eastern coast.

Some experts say Kim may seek to further dial up pressure in an election year

in South Korea and the U.S.

Police say there are several casualties (傷亡) in Kansas City, after shots

were fired during a Super Bowl victory parade.

Thousands of fans had gathered on Wednesday in the US state of Missouri to

celebrate the Kansas Chiefs's victory in America's National Football League

game.

Benji Hyer has the latest.

Haiti’s government has announced that it is working on an official agreement

with Kenyan officials to secure the long-awaited deployment of a police force

from the east African country.

The government said Wednesday that high-ranking officials from both countries

met in the U.S. for three days this week to draft a memorandum of

understanding and set a deadline for the arrival of Kenyan police forces.

The closed-door meetings included top U.S. officials and were held weeks

after a court in Kenya blocked the U.N-backed deployment of police to help

Haiti fight a surge (急遽上升) in gang violence.

That was the I.C.R.T. news,

Check in again tomorrow for our simplified version of the news, uploaded

every day in the afternoon.

Enjoy the rest of your day, I'm _____.

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