The Tai-Ex opened 371-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 21,856

on turnover of $9.8-billion N-T.

The market gained ground on Wednesday to move closer to the 21,500-point mark.

Select tech heavyweights staged a technical rebound from the previous session.

Investors continued to show interest in artificial intelligence

development-related stocks.

Large-cap shipping stocks also led support to the broader market, after

Copenhagen-based container shipping giant Maersk raised its profit forecast

for 2024 for a second time.

The Ministry of Agriculture says the Japanese government issued an official

notice to allow imports of all types of Taiwan-grown dragon fruit.

Taiwan-grown dragon fruit were first exported to Japan in 2010.

But only those with white-flesh were granted Japanese market access.

The agriculture ministry says it filed an application with Japan in 2016 to

export all types of Taiwan-grown dragon fruit.

The ministry says that was based on data showing that the cultivation (耕耘)

of red dragon fruit had surpassed that of the white variety.

The agriculture ministry says the fruit passed quarantine examinations in

Japan in August of last year.

Russia's leader Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his country's readiness to use

nuclear arms if it sees a threat to its sovereignty (主權).

He also warned that Western arms deliveries to Ukraine were "a very dangerous

step".

Putin says Moscow reserves the right for "asymmetrical" retaliation (報復)

elsewhere in the world.

The threats came in response to recent decisions of the US and several EU

countries allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons to strike targets

inside Russia.

Our correspondent Daria Bondarchuk reports from Moscow.

The Japanese government data shows the country's birth rate fell to a new low

for the eighth straight year in 2023.

The data released on Wednesday by the Health ministry shows that the average

number of children a woman gives birth in her life time was 1.2.

The number of babies born in Japan in 2023 were down 5.6% from the previous

year.

It was also the lowest since Japan started compiling (匯集) the statistics in

1899.

The data shows that the number of marriages fell by 6% last year, something

authorities say is a key reason for the declining birth rate.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary cited economic instability, difficulties in

balancing work and childrearing and other complex factors as main reasons why

young people have a hard time deciding to get married or raise children.

He called the trend "a critical situation".

He urged authorities to do everything they can to reverse (倒轉，徹底改變)

the trend.

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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