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

23,108 on turnover of 2-billion N-T.

The market closed the day down on Tuesday after Nvidia pulled Wall Street

lower overnight - and that resulted in the main board retreating to just

above the 5-day moving average.

The first agreement under the Taiwan-US Initiative on 21st-Century Trade has

officially come into effect.

The Office of Trade Negotiations says the move marks a "significant

milestone" in bilateral trade relations between Taipei and Washington.

The agreement covers commitments to customs administration and trade

facilitation, regulatory (

監管) practices, rules for running domestic service industries,

anti-corruption and small- and medium-sized enterprises.

According to the Office of Trade Negotiations, the initial agreement received

unanimous support from the U-S Congress and both sides will continue to

discuss implementation (執行) details and share any concerns.

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an is stressing that his administration will be

hosting Shanghai officials at next week's Taipei-Shanghai Twin City Forum to

help promote peace across the Taiwan Strait.

Speaking at a city government meeting, Chiang described the annual forum as a

rare platform for official cross-strait dialogue (對話), which could help

ease tensions between Taiwan and China.

According to Chiang, Taiwan has had limited exchanges with China in recent

years and he firmly believes it's "better to understand each other than to

misunderstand."

The 102-member Shanghai delegation to this year's forum is being led by Hua

Yuan, one of the city's eight vice mayors.

Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Syria as its troops

advanced deeper into the country.

That's according to a Syrian opposition war monitor.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, the Israeli defense minister announced that his forces

had destroyed Syria’s navy.

Israel acknowledged pushing into a buffer zone inside Syria following the

overthrow of President Bashar Assad.

But it remained unclear if its soldiers had gone beyond that area, which was

established more than 50 years ago.

Israel denied it is advancing on the Syrian capital of Damascus.

Israeli officials have said they are striking military assets to prevent

(防止) them from falling into the hands of extremists.

The United States has filed war crimes charges against two high-ranking

Syrian military figures who it accuses of torturing American citizens.

It comes after the government of Bashar al-Assad collapsed (瓦解), with the

former president fleeing the country.

Nick Harper reports from Washington.

Protesters across North Macedonia have taken part in demonstrations to demand

better air quality in cities that are among the most polluted in Europe.

In the capital, Skopje, the protesters gathered Tuesday outside the

Environment Ministry, some wearing gas masks to highlight the problem blamed

by authorities for some 3,500 premature deaths annually.

According to European Union health authorities, pollution levels in Skopje

and other Macedonian cities often exceed World Health Organization's limits

by more than four times.

Pollution levels often spike during the winter months, with many urban

households unable to afford (買得起) central heating, burning wood, old

tires, plastic, and other waste materials.

Protest organizers called for national action, demandingstricter government

regulation of traffic and industry, citing decades of neglect.

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

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