EZ News 01/30/23

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. **Tai-Ex opening ** The Tai-Ex opened up 359-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 15,291 on turnover of $15.8-billion N-T. The Taiex opened strong today as the island returned after a long Lunar New Year holiday. Shares surged following a steep (急劇的)rise on Wall Street, let by tech stocks over the 10-day break, and Taiwan tech stocks followed suite, led by shares in semiconductors. **Legislative speaker You to attend U.S. National Prayer Breakfast ** Legislative speaker Yo Xi-kun will travel to the United States on Tuesday to speak at a summit on religious freedom and attend the U.S. National Prayer Breakfast. Yo would depart for the U.S. tomorrow and deliver a speech on Wednesday at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington, D.C. Yo will then attend the Prayer Breakfast, an annual gathering of political and religious leaders in Washington, on Thursday, before taking a flight home from New York the next day. He had originally planned a nine-day visit to the U.S., but condensed (壓縮) his schedule due to domestic political factors, including the swearing in of a new Cabinet and the Legislature's review of a proposal to distribute surplus tax revenue to the public. The Legislature's new session will begin on Wednesday. **Iran Says Drone Attack Targets Defense Factory ** Bomb-carrying drones targeted (把…作為攻擊目標) an Iranian defense factory, amid heightened tensions in the Islamic Republic. AP correspondent Sarah Naffa reports. **Pakistan Road Accidents ** A passenger bus has fallen off a bridge and caught fire, killing 40 people in the crash in southern Pakistan. A government official in the town of Bela said the bus was speeding when it crashed into a pillar (柱子) and fell off the bridge Sunday. Four survivors are being treated in a hospital for their injuries. Separately, in Pakistan's northwest, at least 10 children died in a boating capsizing Sunday while they were on a picnic. Local police said the boat apparently overturned because it was too crowded. **Turkey May Approve Finland NATO Application ** Turkey’s president has suggested his country might approve Finland’s application for NATO membership before taking any action on Sweden’s. The two Nordic nations applied jointly to become members of the military alliance following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a prerecorded video released Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated Turkey might sign off on only Finland. Turkey has accused Sweden of being too lenient (寬容) toward groups it deems as terror organizations or existential threats. The Turkish government late Saturday issued a travel warning for European countries due to anti-Turkish demonstrations and what it described as Islamophobia. The warning came after pro-Kurdish groups held protests and an anti-Islam activist burned the Quran in Stockholm. 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 _____. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn