**Tai-Ex opening **

The Tai-Ex opened down 29-points this morning from yesterday's close, at

15,838 on turnover of 5.9-billion N-T.

The market finished relatively flat last Friday as investors were cautious

about possible negative leads emerging during the five-day Tomb Sweeping

Festival holiday.

**Tsai and McCarthy Reaffirm Strong Taiwan-US Bond **

President Tsai Ing-wen and U-S House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have reaffirmed

the strong partnership between Taiwan and the United States and their

commitment to safeguarding regional stability.

The statement follows their two-hour closed door meeting at the Ronald Reagan

Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

Speaking after the talks, McCarthy said he believes the bond (關係) between

the two sides is stronger now than at any time or point in his lifetime and

America's cooperation with the people of Taiwan will "continue to expand

through dialogue and exchange."

Meanwhile, Tsai said the presence of bipartisan Congress members at the

meeting and their unwavering support reassured the people of Taiwan that "we

are not isolated, and we are not alone."

**Additional Pork Imports Amid Price Rise **

The Council of Agriculture says it is not ruling out importing more pork due

to fast rising prices.

The statement comes after the hog trading price reached a record-high of

99.03 N-T per kilogram.

According to council, current price rises are being caused by a decrease in

domestic supply and a reduction (減少) in pork imports.

The department says the international feed price has increased by 17-per cent

over the past year and as a result of that hog prices are rising worldwide,

discouraging local traders from importing pork.

Data shows that Taiwan imported 9,913 metric tons of pork between January and

February of this year.

That was a decline of 48-per cent from the same two month period last year.

**NKorea Criticizes US SKorea Drills **

North Korea is blasting joint US and South Korea military drills as pushing

tensions to the brink of (邊緣) nuclear war.

Chris Gilbert reports.

**French President on China Engagement **

French President Emmanuel Macron says he wants to “engage China toward a

shared responsibility for peace” in Ukraine when he meets Chinese leader Xi

Jinping this week.

French officials say Macron plans to urge Xi in talks Thursday to use

Beijing’s influence with Russian President Vladimir Putin but didn’t expect

a big shift in the Chinese position.

Macron is accompanied by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Macron also said “several major deals” were due to be signed between French

and Chinese companies during the visit.

**Brazil Former Prez Undergoes Questioning About Gifts **

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has undergone questioning about

diamond jewelry gifts when he was in power, as part of an investigation into

whether he engaged in any irregularities in bringing the items into Brazil.

After Bolsonaro left the Federal Police headquarters in Brazil’s capital

Wednesday, it wasn’t know if he answered investigator’s questions or

exercised his right to stay silent.

Federal police are investigating whether three sets of jewelry brought into

the country from Saudi Arabia were public gifts that Bolsonaro improperly

tried to prevent from being incorporated into the presidency’s public

collection, or private gifts that Bolsonaro tried sneak into Brazil without

paying taxes.

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.

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