EZ News 08/09/24

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened up 342-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 21,212-points on turnover of $6.1-billion N-T. The market tumbled once again on Thursday as investors were spooked by a sharp decline in artificial intelligence development-related stocks on Wall Street overnight. The three major weighted stocks all slid on the main board. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing closed the day down 2.61-per cent, Hon Hai fell 4.11-per cent and MediaTek lost 3.04-per cent. Cat Owners Required to Register and Microchip their Moggies The Ministry of Agriculture says cat owners will be required to register and have microchips implanted (植入) in their pets by September of next year. The statement comes as amendments to the Animal Protection Act are set to take affect next month. The government has said the new regualtions are being brought into effect due to a sharp increase in the number of pet cats. That has risen by 50-per cent since 2020 and now stands at around 1.31-million. According to the agriculture ministry, cat owners will have a one-year grace period to comply with the new rules. They must register their pets with local government animal protection agencies. Those who fail to do so will be subject to penalties under the Animal Protection Act. Fines will range from between 3,000 to 15,000 N-T for cat owners who don't adhere to the new regualtions. Cat owners will also have to register the births or deaths of their pets. US Trump Holds Press Conference Former US Donald Trump has announced that he wants three presidential debates with Kamala Harris before the election in November. Trump spoke at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, in Florida. It was his first major event since Harris was announced as the Democratic candidate for the US presidency. The Republican nominee also falsely (錯誤地) stated that no one was killed during the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Jody Jacobs reports… Bulgaria Protests Against LGBTQ Talk Ban Protesters have rallied outside Bulgaria’s parliament to denounce a controversial legal amendment adopted the day before. It bans talk of LGBTQ+ and so-called non-traditional sexual choices in schools. Thursday's protest was organized by rights groups calling for a reversal of that amendment. The demonstrators waved the rainbow flag, and chanted slogans (口號) as police officers guarded the rally. No violence was reported. Bulgaria’s parliament on Wednesday approved the amendment introduced by a pro-Russian party and backed by some pro-European Union parties. 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