**Tai-Ex opening **

The Tai-Ex opened down 67-points this morning from yesterday's close, at

16,511 on turnover of 3.4-billion N-T.

The market closed slightly lower on Wednesday as the electronics sector lost

momentum following rallies in recent sessions.

Buying rotated to select old economy stocks that offset losses in the tech

sector, and bargain hunters also turned active in the afternoon session to

pick up T-S-M-C shares.

However, selling reemerged as passive mutual funds cut their holdings in

local stocks in response to the downgrade of Taiwan's weighting in two of

M-S-C-I's major indexes.

**KMT Chair Denies Plans to Replace Presidential Candidate **

K-M-T Chairman Eric Chu is dismissing (駁回) speculation the party could move

to replace Hou Yu-ih as its candidate for next January's election.

The statement comes after a My-Formosa published its latest 2024 election

poll.

That survey found that Hou is running in third place with a support rating of

18.3-per cent.

That's behind Taiwan People's Party candidate Ko Wen-je with a 25.9-per cent

support rating and the D-P-P's Lai Ching-te who, according to the poll, is

enjoying a 35.8-per cent support rating.

According to Zhu, rumors of plans to replace Hou are "groundless" and are

being disseminated by pan-green supporter with the sole aim of sowing

disunity with the K-M-T.

And,

The Health Promotion Administration says some 32-per cent of retailers were

found to have sold cigarettes to buyers wearing school uniforms.

According to the administration, the Consumers' Foundation sent undercover

(臥底的) buyers dressed in school uniforms to 663 convenience stores,

supermarkets, hypermarkets and betel nut stalls between April and October of

last year.

The survey found betel nut vendors were the least likely to carry out age

verification, with the undercover buyers able to purchase cigarettes from

42.4-per cent of the stalls.

Undercover buyers were able to purchase cigarettes from 40.3-per cent of

grocery stores, 26.6-per cent of supermarkets or hypermarkets, and 18.8-per

cent of convenience stores.

**NKorea to Reattempt Satellite Launches **

North Korea is reaffirming its intention to put a spy satellite into orbit

after a failed launch attempt on Wednesday.

The projectile, fired by Pyongyang, triggered alarms in both South Korea and

Japan, before crashing into the Yellow Sea.

Chris Gilbert reports.

**Scientists Say Climate Change Didn't Cause Italy Flooding **

A group of scientists say in a new study that climate change in itself wasn't

responsible for a series of exceptional rain and resulting deadly flooding in

northern Italy in recent weeks.

Instead, the study concluded that the three cyclones hitting the

Emilia-Romagna region in 21-day-period drove the flooding.

Scientists used computer modeling to estimate (估計) that having such three

heavy rainfalls so close together was an event that had a one-in-200 chance

of occurrence in a given year.

The study, unveiled on Wednesday, wasn't peer-reviewed since it was done so

soon after the flooding.

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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