The Tai-Ex opened down 7.9-points this morning from yesterday's close, at

19,921 on turnover of $7.4-billion N-T.

Shares in Taiwan closed slightly higher on profit taking Wednesday as

investors shifted to the sell side after seeing the main board hit a fresh

intraday high of more than 20,100 points.

Market sentiment turned cautious due to higher than expected U.S. February

inflation data, which created more uncertainties about when and how the

Federal Reserve will start its rate cut cycle.

Search and rescue operations are underway, after another Chinese fishing

vessel capsized off Kinmen this morning.

Media reports say the boat sank 1.1 nautical miles southwest of Dong-ding

Island in Kinmen at around 6am, and the Coast Guard Administration says 4 of

its vessels have been dispatched to the scene.

The reports say China has also dispatched (派遣) helicopters and rescue

ships, and at least 5 crew members were on board, with some news outlets

reporting that 2 have died while two others have been rescued.

The coast guard has also reportedly notified local fishing associations to

call nearby commercial ships and fishing boats to join in rescue efforts.

The Ministry of National Defense says it has also instructed the Air Force,

Navy, and Kinmen Defense Command to continue monitoring the situation.

(NS)

North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un has joined his troops in training to

operate newly developed battle tanks and called for bigger efforts to prepare

for war.

The North’s tank training was seen as a response (反應) to the annual 11-day

South Korean-U.S. military drills that are to end later Thursday.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency says the training happened

on Wednesday to inspect tankmen’s combat capabilities and involved the

new-type main battle tank.

It says Kim mounted one of the new-type tanks and drove it himself.

Japanese officials say the U.S. and Japanese militaries will resume flights

of Osprey aircraft in Japan after completing necessary maintenance and

training following a fatal crash last November.

Japan’s Defense Ministry says the two countries have discussed the

resumption of Osprey flights in Japan since the U.S. announced last Friday

that the aircraft has been approved to return to service after an

“unprecedented” (史無前例的) part failure led to the deaths of eight U.S.

service members in the crash in Japan.

The entire U.S. Osprey fleet was grounded on Dec. 6, a week after that crash,

while Japan's military also grounded all of its 14 Ospreys.

Japan's Defense Ministry said that each of the U.S. forces will have separate

return-to-flight schedules, but the Osprey flights will be limited to areas

around their bases for the time being.

Donald Trump is expected to attend a hearing today [THURSDAY] in the federal

case over his handling of classified documents after leaving office.

The former president's lawyers are seeking to have the criminal charges

dismissed (駁回) ahead of a trial.

Ira Spitzer reports.

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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