**Tai-Ex opening **

The Tai-Ex opened up 18-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 16,906

on turnover of 2-billion N-T.

The market ended the trading day in negative territory again on Tuesday,

following a steep decline in tech stocks on Wall Street overnight.

Market watchers say investor sentiment this week will likely remain muted as

they await the release of the latest U-S inflation data - which is due out on

Friday.

**Military Planning 'Anti-Takeover' Drill at Taoyuan Int. **

Defense officials say Taoyuan International Airport will suspend commercial

air traffic for one hour late next month for a military anti-takeover drill.

It will be part of the live fire phase of this year's Han Kuang exercises and

will be the first time that such a drill will have ever been staged at the

airport.

The exercise has been set for July 26 and officials say it's likely to last

less than an hour in order to avoid lengthy disruption (擾亂) to air traffic.

According to defense officials, all major airlines will be informed of the

event and an international air traffic broadcast will also be issued.

**TAITRA Opens Taiwan Trade Center in Dallas **

And,

The Taiwan External Trade Development Council has opened an office in Dallas,

Texas.

According to council chairman James Huang, the office has been opened to

support Taiwanese businesses operating in the state at a time when the

American south is fast becoming a manufacturing hub (中心).

The opening of the Taiwan Trade Center in Dallas was attended by five U-S

representatives - who all touted their belief in the need to boost commercial

ties between the U-S and Taiwan.

The opening of the center means the External Trade Development Council now

has three offices in the United States.

A senior official with the International Monetary Fund and Pakistan’s prime

minister are indicating a deal could soon be reached on a much-needed $6

billon bailout package for the impoverished (貧困) south Asian country.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with Kristalina Georgieva, the managing

director of the IMF on Tuesday, according to a government statement.

Later, the IMF’s mission chief to Islamabad released a statement suggesting

the sides were close to reaching an agreement.

Talks between Pakistan and the IMF stalled in December, after the global

lender delayed the release of a crucial tranche of $1.1 billion from the

bailout

**Scientists: Climate Change Made US Heat Dome More Likely **

With temperatures near 40 degrees Celsius in some parts of the US, scientists

have found human activity is making these extreme (極端) weather events more

likely.

Southern US states have been under a heat dome for the last few weeks.

Nick Harper reports from Washington.

**Klimt Painting Most Expensive Artwork Ever Sold in Europe **

A late-life masterpiece (傑作) by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt is now the

most expensive artwork ever auctioned in Europe.

"Lady with a Fan", sold at Sotheby’s on Tuesday for about the equivlanet of

$108.4 million US dollars in London.

The sale price exceeded the presale estimate of $80 million.

It also beat the previous European auction record of $104.3 million for

Alberto Giacometti’s sculpture “Walking Man I” at Sotheby’s in 2010.

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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