A series of explosions in Iran, January 6, killed 84 people

Don't be happy with things, don't be sad with yourself

Today in history: 112 years ago today, the German meteorologist and geophysicist Alfred Wegener officially proposed the theory of continental drift, which was opposed by geophysicists because the mechanism of drift could not be explained at that time, but with the development of paleomagnetism and seismology and aerospace observations, from the mid-50s to the 60s of the 20th century, the theory of continental drift was recognized and laid the foundation for the development of plate tectonics, Alfred Wegener is also known as the "father of the theory of continental drift" 。

politics

01Malaysia announces its parliamentary agenda for 2024

Kuala Lumpur comprehensive news, recently, the official website of the Malaysian Parliament announced the 2024 agenda, the first quarter of the country's parliament will be held from February 26 to March 27, a total of 19 days. The second quarter of the meeting lasted for 15 days, from June 24 to July 18. The third quarter of the conference lasted for 35 days, from October 7 to December 5. The annual session duration totals 69 days, 11 days less than the 80 days in 2023.

Malaysian parliamentary officials said that 69 days is the number of days that the parliament has tentatively set for meetings, and it may increase depending on the situation, but it may be between 70 and 80 days. The country's leading constitutional experts say Malaysia's parliament needs to meet more so MPs can perform their duties more effectively, for example, the House of Commons meets 170 to 180 days a year.

But others argue that the increase in the number of parliamentary days means that more subsidies need to be given to parliamentarians. At present, Malaysian MPs receive an additional RM400 per day for attending parliamentary meetings in addition to their base salary of RM16,000 per month. Based on the 80 parliamentary days in the whole of last year, MPs will receive a subsidy of RM32,000, which is equivalent to two months' basic salary.

military

01 Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack

Kyiv comprehensive news, recently, Russia concentrated on the two major cities of Ukraine Kyiv and Kharkiv launched a new round of air strikes, the Ukrainian military sounded the air defense alarm throughout the territory to prevent the threat of missiles launched by Russian bombers. According to Ukrainian statistics, at least five people were killed and 130 injured as a result of a new round of drone and missile attacks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a speech that Russia had launched nearly 300 missiles and more than 200 drones into Ukraine since December 29. They planned their flight trajectory in advance to cause as much damage as possible. Russia claims to have only attacked military facilities, but in fact destroyed a lot of critical infrastructure, and Russian missile strikes have damaged the power grid in Kyiv and surrounding areas, causing widespread power outages and affecting more than 250,000 customers. He urged the West to speed up the delivery of anti-aircraft equipment, drones and long-range missiles to help Ukraine respond to Russian bombardment.

It is reported that Ukraine is extremely dependent on the military and financial support of Western allies, but the United States has been opposed to the EU's military aid plan by Hungary and other member states due to infighting in Congress, and the two sides have suspended military aid to Ukraine worth a total of $110 billion.

02 Aluri, Hamas's No. 2 man, was killed in an airstrike

Lebanese media reported that on January 2, Hamas's office in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, was bombed by Israeli drones, killing six people, including Aruri, the second person in Hamas, the first senior Hamas political leader to be assassinated since the outbreak of the Israeli-Kazakhstan conflict, which was also the first Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital in nearly 20 years.

Prime Minister Mikati of the caretaker government of Lebanon pointed out that this is a new crime committed by Israel in order to drag Lebanon into a new phase of the conflict and complained to the UN Security Council about the air strike. In an interview with the media, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that this was not an attack on the Lebanese state, but a precision strike against the Hamas leadership.

It is understood that Aruri has taken a tough stance on the Israeli-Palestinian issue and believes that all-out resistance to Israel is the only option. At present, Hamas has notified its mediators, such as Qatar and Egypt, to freeze any negotiations with Israel.

economy

In 012023, nearly 160,000 new enterprises were established in Vietnam

According to the Vietnam News Agency, data from the Commercial Registration Administration of the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam recently showed that nearly 160,000 new enterprises will be established in Vietnam in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%. According to the Vietnam Business Registration Administration, this is the first time that the number of newly established enterprises in Vietnam has reached a record level of nearly 160,000 this year. This is 1.2 times the average for the period 2017-2022.

Specifically, in the first quarter of 2023, the number of newly registered enterprises in Vietnam decreased, but by the fourth quarter, it increased significantly, increasing by 20.2% compared to the same period in 2022. In addition, the number of enterprises resuming work and production in Vietnam will reach 58,400 in 2023, an increase of 4.5% over the same period in 2022 and 1.3 times the number of enterprises that have stopped work and production. The Vietnamese government has also introduced a number of policies and programmes to remove obstacles to production and business activities.

safety

01 A series of explosions in Iran killed 84 people

According to Xinhua News Agency, on January 3, local time, two explosions occurred in a row in the Iranian city of Kerman, killing 84 people and injuring 211 people. It is reported that 3 January is the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Soleimani, a senior general of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, by the United States, and commemorative activities are being held in Tehran, the capital of Iran, Kerman, Soleimani's hometown, and many other places in Iran.

Iranian state media, citing sources, said the perpetrators placed the bomb in two bags and detonated it remotely. In response, Iranian President Raisi strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the city of Kerman. This is yet another inhumane crime committed by anti-Iranian terrorists, and all Iranian departments should take all measures to save the wounded, while identifying the perpetrators and those behind them as soon as possible. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his deep condolences and reiterated his determination to combat all forms of terrorism.

In 022023, Indonesian customs seized a total of 5.5 tons of drugs

Daily Indonesia News, recently, the director of the Indonesian Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau said that as of December 17, 2023, the department has seized about 5.5 tons of drugs, mainly methamphetamine. This figure is down compared to 2022, which shows that about 6.05 tons of drugs were seized in the country in 2022, compared to 4.5 tons in the whole of 2021.

In addition, illegal alcoholic beverages have also been the focus of attention of the Indonesian police this year, after the Indonesian police conducted a joint operation with customs, raiding 505 locations, in 62 of which tens of thousands of bottles of illegal alcoholic beverages were found and destroyed, and more than 270,000 people have been inspected. Drug trafficking has been rampant in recent years, and the government is working on a plan to intensify the crackdown, the authorities said.

culture

01The Cambodian government has designated "Cambodia Peace Day" as a national public holiday

Cambodia-China Times reported that recently, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet issued a decree announcing that December 29 of each year will be designated as "Cambodian Peace Day", which is the official national holiday of Cambodia. It is understood that the "Cambodian Peace Day" is to commemorate the complete end of the war and the establishment of a society of comprehensive peace and national unity in the Kingdom of Cambodia on December 29, 1998 under the win-win policy. The establishment of the "Cambodia Peace Day" statutory holiday is in response to the sacred desire of the Cambodian people to love peace and hate war.

In addition, the holiday is also a tribute to Cambodia's patriotic heroes, whose sacrifices have led to the peace and stability of the country, and the holiday will remind Cambodians of all generations to promote a "culture of peace". It is reported that so far, with the addition of "Cambodia Peace Day", there will be a total of 23 public holidays in Cambodia in 2024.

Financial Newsletters

According to the latest data released by the U.S. Treasury Department, the size of the U.S. national debt has reached $34 trillion, the highest level ever, and 40 years ago, the size of the U.S. national debt was about $907 billion.