July 7 Qingqiao Morning Post|Malaysia has seized 1,500 metric tons of imported waste

Qingqiao Morning Post, July 7, Qingqiao Information, 8 minutes

If you don't say anything, you don't tell what you do

Today in History: Seventeen years ago today, the New Seven Wonders of the World were revealed. They are, the Great Wall of China, the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, the statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, the pyramid of Chichen Icaku Kurkan in Mexico, the Colosseum in Rome in Italy, and the Taj Mahal in India. After the results were announced, the event organizers presented commemorative badges to representatives of the countries where the New Seven Wonders are located.

politics

01 The United Nations warns of the rise of far-right forces in Europe

Reuters reported that on July 3, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Türk called for vigilance against the political expansion of the far right in Europe, saying that these statements dehumanize migrants and asylum seekers. Last month, far-right parties made progress in the European Parliament. France is about to hold runoff elections, and opponents of the far-right anti-immigrant National Alliance are trying to prevent them from coming to power.

It is reported that Turke was an Austrian whose country became a hotbed of anti-Semitism in the 30s of the 20th century and participated in the Holocaust after being annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938. He has previously said that preventing future atrocities is part of his job. Turke, who is nearing the halfway point of his four-year tenure as UN human rights chief, has been fighting for years to strengthen refugee protection. He said that the traditional right-wing parties never reflect on themselves will bring disaster to Europe.

military

01 The United States will provide $2.3 billion in aid to Ukraine

According to Reuters, on July 2, U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin revealed during a meeting with Ukrainian Defense Minister Umerov that the United States will provide Ukraine with a new aid package worth $2.3 billion. He said the program would provide more anti-aircraft interceptors, anti-tank weapons and other critical ammunition.

Umerov thanked Washington for its assistance and said that with this support, we will stop Russia and stop the aggression. It is reported that since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, the United States has been the main military supporter of Ukraine and has pledged to provide Ukraine with more than $51 billion in weapons, ammunition and other security assistance.

02 North Korea launched two missiles in a row to test performance

According to Yonhap News Agency, on July 1, North Korea launched two more ballistic missiles in the northeast direction. South Korean forces speculate that North Korea may launch a KN-23 missile, known as North Korea's version of "Iskander," in order to test performance for export to Russia. The South Korean military said that at 5:05 a.m. that day, North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile from the area around Changyon-gun, South Hwanghae Province, to the northeast, and the missile flew more than 600 kilometers before landing in the sea near the eastern city of Chongjin. This was followed by a second missile, which was launched at 5:15 a.m. and flew about 120 kilometres, and it was likely to crash near Pyongyang.

Previously, at the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party held in January 2021, North Korea proposed five core national defense issues, namely the development of hypersonic missiles, the manufacture of ultra-large nuclear warheads, the improvement of strike accuracy within a range of 15,000 kilometers, the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles using solid-fuel rocket engines, and the development of nuclear submarines and submarine-launched nuclear strategic weapons.

Separately, Planet Labs, a U.S. satellite imaging startup, photographed a large 115-meter-long ship docked at the port of Najin in northeastern North Korea on June 29, with what appears to be containers piled up in front of the ship. But the name and nationality of the ship have not yet been disclosed. But this is the first time in nearly two weeks since June 18 that a large container shipment has been caught at the port of Rajin. The analysis pointed out that the port of Rajin is very close to Vladivostok, Russia, and has been designated by the United States as an arms trading center between North Korea and Russia.

economy

01The German Automobile Association called on the EU to cancel tariffs on electric vehicles in China

Reuters reported that on July 3, the German Association of the Automotive Industry urged the European Commission to cancel the tariffs planned to be imposed on Chinese-made electric vehicles. The tariffs will hurt European and American automakers exporting from China and risk retaliatory tariffs from China, the association said. Given the huge volume of German exports to China, this will deal a heavy blow to the German automotive industry. According to the data, Germany's passenger car exports to China last year were more than three times the value of China's imports, and the exports of parts suppliers were four times the value of imports.

The industry association stressed that the EU should focus on ensuring access to key raw materials for the European electric vehicle industry, reducing market access barriers and improving trade policy transparency. "Countervailing tariffs are not enough to strengthen Europe's competitiveness and resilience in the long term." Since last week, China and the European Commission have been negotiating restrictions that Beijing wants to lift, denying allegations of unfair subsidies.

02Vietnam's forest products exports increased by more than 21% in the first half of this year

Recently, the Forestry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam revealed that the export value of forest products in the first half of this year reached 7.95 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 21.2%, and 52.3% of the annual plan was completed, according to the Vietnam News Agency. In terms of export markets, Vietnam's exports of forest products to the United States reached US$4.38 billion, a year-on-year increase of 27.6%; exports to China were 1.059 billion US dollars, an increase of 46.6%.

It is understood that in order to meet the export demand, the timber mining volume of centralized plantations in the country reached about 9.93 million cubic meters, a year-on-year increase of 6.3%. In addition, the area of newly planted centralized plantations across the country reached 125,500 hectares, completing 51.2% of the annual plan, a year-on-year increase of 1.2%. It is estimated that about 245,000 hectares of new forests will be planted throughout the year, and the annual plan target will be completed. In addition, in order to improve the quality of afforestation, all parts of Vietnam have attached great importance to the quality control of forest tree species and seedlings. 85% of the plantation area was controlled by the quality of afforestation tree species and seedlings. So far, a total of 495,000 hectares of forests in Vietnam have received certificates of sustainable forest management.

safety

01 Recovered 1,500 tonnes of imported scrap from Malaysia

Malaysia Comprehensive News, on July 3, Malaysia's Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, Neh Nazmi, participated in a joint raid by the Kedah State Environment Department, the Immigration Department and the police, and seized about 1,500 metric tons of e-waste while inspecting an illegal e-waste plant in an industrial area in Sungai Petani, Kedah. Authorities investigated and found that the illegal e-waste plant had been operating secretly for about two months. In addition to the accumulation of large quantities of discarded electronic parts, there are also several large bags suspected to contain refined slag.

At present, the Malaysian Environment Agency has launched an investigation into the factory and seized the equipment in the factory. The factory owners and employees believed they had received the news before the authorities launched the raid and left the factory before law enforcement officers arrived. It is reported that there are a total of 3,526 factories in Kedah. As of June this year, the Environment Bureau has taken enforcement action against 544 of them, and issued notices to 359 of them to improve their equipment within a time limit to avoid polluting the environment. Authorities have also issued fines, revocations of licenses or seizures of operating equipment at other factories.

culture

01 Japan's new banknote adopts the world's first three-dimensional portrait

Tokyo Comprehensive News, on July 3, the Bank of Japan issued new banknotes, which were 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen and 1,000 yen respectively. As one of the anti-counterfeiting measures, the banknote is printed with three-dimensional holographic technology, so that the portrait of the person on the banknote presents a three-dimensional rotation effect. Japan's National Bureau of Printing said it was the first time in the world that the technology had been used on banknotes.

It is understood that the figure on the new version of the 10,000 yen banknote is Eiichi Shibusawa, the founder of Japan's first bank and stock exchange, and is often referred to as the "father of Japanese capitalism". The new 5,000 yen note features a portrait of educator Umeko Tsuda, who founded one of Japan's first women's universities, and the new 1,000 yen note features a figure of medical pioneer Shibazaburo Kitasato. The monetary authority plans to print about 7.5 billion new banknotes by the end of the current financial year.

Financial Newsletters

Xinhua financial news, recently, the COMEX gold August contract closed up 1.5% at $2369.40 / ounce, once hit a high of $2374.50 / ounce since June 21.