EZ News 06/21/23

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. **Subject: E*Tai-Ex opening ** The Tai-Ex opened marginally higher this morning from yesterday's close, at 17,186 on turnover of 2.8-billion N-T. The market lost ground to close below the 17,200-point mark on Tuesday, as investor interest turned cautious after foreign institutional investors recorded a net sell during the previous session earlier, ending a six session buying streak. The bellwether electronics sector led the downturn, but old economy stocks, in particular those in the paper and electric machinery sectors, attracted strong rotational buying to give some support to the broader market. **MOE to Roll Out New Subsidy for Private College Students ** The Ministry of Education has announced that the cost of education for private college undergraduate students will be subsidized beginning next February. According to the ministry, the move is aimed at mitigating (減免) the tuition fee gap between private and public schools. Some 473,000 students are expected to benefit. The education ministry says it will cover at least 50-per cent of the tuition fee for private college students, with a minimum of 25,000 N-T per year. That payment will be deducted from the student's bill at the beginning of each academic year. **Coronavirus Cases Remain Flat for Second Consecutive Week ** The Centers for Disease Control says the number of serious coronavirus infections has remained high, but stable for a second consecutive week. Data shows the C-D-C recorded a daily average of 253 moderate to severe cases from June 14 and 20, which represented a 3-per cent increase over the previous week's daily average. According to the C-D-C, the number of infections is expected to continue to plateau (平穩期、停滯期) through the end of this month due to the increased risk of transmission during the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival holiday weekend. **Ukraine Shoots Down Russian Drones ** Ukrainian officials say the country's air defenses have downed 32 of 35 Shahed exploding drones Russia launched overnight. Most of them were taken down in the Kyiv region. The attack was part of a wider bombardment of Ukrainian regions that extended (延伸到) as far as the Lviv region in the west of the country near Poland. In other Ukraine news, the country's military intelligence chief claimed Russia has mined the cooling system of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The plant’s six reactors are shut down but still need cooling. **Tokyo Couple Convicted of Student Killing ** A Tokyo couple has been convicted of the brutal murder of an 18-year old high school girl. The pair were found to have abducted (綁架) the student before killing her in a remote location two years ago. Chris Gilbert reports from Tokyo. **Norway to Open for Deep Sea Mining ** Norway says it wants to open parts of the Norwegian continental shelf for commercial deep sea mining. Norway’s minister for petroleum and energy says the country needs minerals to help transition to a more green economy. The Norwegian seabed is reportedly rich with minerals and metals including copper, zinc, manganese and cobalt. But the Norwegian government’s plan is controversial (有爭議的) and environmental groups are warning that mining the sea bed would threaten the biodiversity of the vulnerable ecosystems in the area. 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