The Tai-Ex opened down 26-points this morning from yesterday's close, at

22,245 on turnover of 4.1-billion N-T.

The market closed up on Tuesday, as buying was sparked by a rally on Wall

Street overnight on hopes that the U-S Federal Reserve will cut interest

rates after the release of worse-than-expected retail (零售) sales data in

February.

Defense Minister Wellington Koo is slated to meet with members of the

Legislative National Defense Committee later today to answer quesitons about

the Quadrennial Defense Report.

The report was sent to the Legislative Yuan yesterday for review.

This report focuses on the need to building strong defenses and a

multilayered deterrence (威懾), while also elaborating on military

cooperation with the United States.

The report has to be submitted to the the Legislative Yuan within 10 months

of the presidential inauguration.

The Centers for Disease Control says the ongoing influenza epidemic is

expected to end in late March.

According to the C-D-C, a total of around 108,000 outpatient and emergency

visits due to flu-like illness were reported from March 9 through 15 ..

.. and that figure indicate (顯示) a downward trend, but still an ongoing

epidemic.

The C-D-C says the most common respiratory pathogen in the community is the

flu virus, with the majority being influenza type A.

C-D-C Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui says that the flu epidemic

remains at a "critical point" and "still requires continued monitoring."

The United Nations Secretary General has expressed shock at the overnight

Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Israel launched a series of air strikes on the enclave (飛地) on Monday night

ending an almost two month ceasefire.

Jody Jacobs reports from New York where the Security Council ismeeting on the

matter.

Mali has withdrawn from a global alliance of French-speaking countries, days

after two of its neighbors took the same step.

In a letter seen by The Associated Press on Tuesday, Mali’s foreign ministry

accused its French counterpart of “selective application of sanctions” and

“contempt for Mali’s sovereignty.”

On Monday, the alliance's spokeswoman said Burkina Faso and Niger had also

decided to remove their countries from the organization, which had already

suspended the membership of the three countries over military coups in recent

years.

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are now all ruled by military juntas that have

severed diplomatic ties with France and expelled (驅逐) French troops while

building security partnerships with Russia instead.

The three will have six months to discuss the terms of their withdrawal from

the alliance before it becomes final.

That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _____.

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