EZ News 03/19/26

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened down 69-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 34,279 on turnover of 8.2-billion N-T. The market rose by more than 500 points on Wednesday, as buying was triggered by lingering enthusiasm toward global A-I development, which pushed up tech stocks higher. KMT and TPP approve cooperation pact for local elections The K-M-T and the Taiwan People's Party have approved a cooperation agreement for November's local elections. The agreement was separately passed by the K-M-T Central Standing Committee and the T-P-P's Central Committee and means that two party's will jointly field (選派…上場) candidates. Under the pact's "nominate first, coordinate later" model, the two parties will prioritize incumbent mayors or county magistrates seeking re-election. A joint KMT-TPP campaign group will also be established to support candidates nationwide. CPC absorbs NT$3.3 billion in fuel costs amid Middle East tensions The Ministry of Economic Affairs says C-P-C has absorbed about 3.3-billion N-T in fuel costs over the past two weeks to help stabilize domestic prices due to the US-Isreal war with Iran. According to Vice Economics Minister, Lai Jien-hsin, the government has been prioritizing price stability as global energy supplies face disruptions (破壞) from the conflict. Under a price-stabilization mechanism, C-P-C absorbs at least 60-per cent of cost increases while keeping domestic fuel prices among the lowest in neighboring markets. Saudi Arabia Criticizes Iran After Overnight Attacks Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister offered harsh criticism Thursday of Iran following overnight attacks on his country, saying: “What little trust there was before has completely been shattered.” Prince Faisal bin Farhan offered the comments after a meeting between foreign ministers of the Gulf Arab states and others over the Iranian attacks targeting the wider Middle East. He criticized Iran’s attacks on Riyadh, the capital hosting the meeting. Iran also attacked Saudi Arabia's vast Eastern Province, home to many of its oil fields, as well as Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. The minister says Saudi Arabia will use "every lever (手段，把柄)", "political, economic, diplomatic and otherwise, to get these attacks to stop”. US Lawmakers Demand Answers from Attorney General Over Epstein Files A US congressional committee is demanding that the US Attorney General face questions over her handling of the Epstein files, a move the Justice Department is pushing back (反對) on. Mitch McCann reports: World Happiness Report: Decline in Happiness Due to Social Media The latest World Happiness Report 2026 says that heavy social media use has contributed to a stark (嚴重的 ) decline in well-being among young people, with the effects particularly worrying in teenage girls in English-speaking countries and Western Europe. The annual report, published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford, also found that Finland is the happiest land in the world for the ninth year in a row. Other Nordic countries such as Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway ranked among the top 10 countries. But it highlighted how life evaluations among under 25-year-olds in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have dropped over the past decade. That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _____. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn