EZ News 09/14/23

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. **Tai-Ex opening ** The Tai-Ex opened flat this morning from yesterday's close, at 16,581 on turnover of 2.3-billion N-T. The market closed almost flat on Wednesday as early gains were eroded amid investor caution ahead of the release of August's U-S consumer price index. The bellwether electronics sector came off a high as "Apple concept stocks" came under pressure, despite the U-S electronics giant unveiling the latest iPhone 15 series overnight, while buying switched to select old economy stocks. **Presidential aspirant Terry Gou announces running mate ** Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. founder and aspiring (有抱負的) presidential candidate Terry Gou has announced veteran singer-actress Lai Pei-hsia as his prospective running mate for Taiwan's 2024 election. Gou introduced Lai at a press conference at 8:35 a.m. and touted her experiences in communication skills, adding that her female perspective will be beneficial (有利) for him to promote gender equality. Due to a lack of party affiliation, Gou still needs to collect signatures from about 290,000 people between Sept. 19 and Nov. 2 to make it onto the ballot, according to rules set by the Central Election Commission. Gou is required to register his independent candidacy with the CEC no later than Sept. 17 before his campaign can begin the signature drive. Should Gou make it onto the ballot, he will face the DPP candidate and Vice President Lai Ching-te, as well as the KMT's New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih and the TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je. **FDA Grants EUA for Updated Moderna COVID Vaccine ** The Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for Moderna's updated coronavirus vaccine. According to F-D-A Deputy Director Chen Hui-fang, the Spikevax XBB.1.5 vaccine will be rolled out here in Taiwan by the end of this month. An expert panel has approved the vaccine for those aged over six months during a review meeting. The Centers for Disease Control is expected to take delivery of a batch of 2-million doses of the vaccine in the coming days. Health officials will then spend a week inspecting (檢查) and label the shots before making them available to the public. The first jabs will be made available to people aged 65 and over. **Central EU Countries Call to Maintain Ukraine Grain Ban ** Central European countries say they will ban Ukrainian grain imports if the EU doesn't extend its existing restrictions, which are set to expire (到期) on September 15. Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Poland are concerned that a flooding of the market with cheaper Ukrainian products will bring down their own grain prices, hitting domestic producers. Pablo Gutierrez reports from Budapest. **UN Imprisoned Reporter Family Calling for his Freedom ** The father of imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is calling on world leaders meeting at the United Nations next week to stand up for freedom of the press and urge Russia to release him. Mikhail Gershkovich came to U.N. headquarters with his wife and daughter at the invitation of U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Wednesday to spotlight his son’s nearly six months in a Russian prison on charges of espionage, which the Journal’s lawyers call “patently (明顯地) false.” Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield urged all U.N. member nations “to join this call for Evan’s release, and the release of all those who have been wrongfully detained.” 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