International

In the eyes of many people, Japanese people have a special obsession with white rice. Not only does rice dominate the staple food market in Japan, but Japanese culture also has an inseparable connection with rice. However, the outside world has noticed that in recent decades, Japan's rice consumption has been decreasing year by year. According to The Guardian on July 10th, rice is losing out to cheaper and more convenient alternatives in this "staple food battle". Why do Japanese people no longer love eating rice? The status of rice is challenged around the world, and most culinary cultures are established on the most common cereal crops in the region, such as wheat in Europe, corn in South America, and rice in Asia. Like other Asian countries, rice has been a part of Japanese culinary culture for nearly 3000 years. In the Japanese Somon era, rice cultivation

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced on the 9th that starting from 2025, three locations along the Seine River will transform into mass swimming pools, marking the first time in a century. Since 1923, playing in the beautiful Seine River has been a wish for many people, but concerns about pollution and safety have deterred them. At present, the 2024 Paris Olympics bring new opportunities. After a hundred years, for someone like Idalgo who has been looking forward to it for a long time, although they still have to wait for two more years, their wish to play in the Seine River will soon come true. "Starting from 2025, we can swim in the Seine River!" Idalgo posted a video on social media platform Twitter that day with an accompanying text. My deputies have already gone into the water for the first time! It will soon be your and my turn. This video

With the landing of Air Force One at Stansted Airport in London on the 9th, US President Biden's European tour began. From the 9th to the 13th, Biden will visit the UK, Lithuania, and Finland to attend two summits of NATO, US Nordic leaders. It is believed that compared to his visit to Spain to attend the NATO summit a year ago, Biden's visit to Europe this time is facing a new situation - the Ukrainian crisis has entered its second year, and the cracks within transatlantic allies are becoming increasingly apparent. The US hopes to demonstrate leadership and strengthen cohesion through this visit, but whether it can be achieved has been questioned. In the new situation, there are new goals. From the perspective of itinerary, Biden's five-day trip to Europe is compact and intensive. On the first stop in the UK, Biden held talks with British Prime Minister Sunak on the 10th. This is the sixth meeting between the two since Sunak took office in October last year. double

After the Wagner incident in Russia, just as the outside world believed that this mercenary organization would be "purged and liquidated" and its power was feared to be restricted, a new news released by the Russian government seemed to cause a "reversal" of the plot, and also made the fate of Wagner and its founder, Prigoren, once again a mystery. On July 10th, Russian President Peskov stated that on June 29th, Russian President Putin met with 35 people in the Kremlin, including Prime Minister Prygo and members of the Wagner leadership, and provided several options for the future direction of Wagner members. Many public opinion interpret this signal as: Putin is not in a hurry to impose severe punishment on Prigoren, the Wagner leader and his troops still play an important role in Russia's security and politics. But some scholars also believe that, given the occurrence of the Wagner incident, Prigo Ren

On July 10th, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of "Yuan" Inc. in the United States, stated on his Threads account that within less than a week of its launch, the number of registered Threads users has reached 100 million. How can this new platform achieve such astonishing user growth? What impact will it have on the competitive landscape of social media? Various issues have attracted public attention. Zuckerberg said on his Threads account that since its launch on July 6th, the number of registered Threads users has reached 100 million over the weekend. He also said that this was achieved in the context of Threads not yet launching large-scale promotion. "I can't believe it's only been five days!" Zuckerberg previously revealed that on the first day of its launch, Threads attracted 30 million users to register and became an Apple app provider

The New York Times announced on Monday that it will disband its sports department and rely on its sports news media, The Athletic, for future sports coverage. This move is seen as a major move by The New York Times to strengthen integration, save costs, and implement subscription strategies in the challenging media industry environment. At the same time, as the former pillar department of the Times, the revocation of the Sports Department also means the end of a glorious history. In the eyes of public opinion, the decision to cut off the Sports Department is a "major transformation" and "major measure" of the Times. Because in the history of The New York Times, the sports department has been renowned. The department's history can be traced back to reporting on the first Athens Olympics in 1896. The Department of Sports has also witnessed important milestones and figures in American sports over the past century. For decades

On the eve of the NATO summit, there was a dramatic development surrounding Sweden's accession to NATO. On July 10 local time, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said that the Turkish government had agreed to submit the protocol of Sweden's accession to NATO to its parliament for approval. This means that Sweden's entry into the treaty is one less obstacle. Earlier on the 10th, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said that only by opening the way for Türkiye to join the European Union would Türkiye "open the way" for Sweden to join NATO. Why is Erdogan's attitude taking a sharp turn? What impact will Türkiye's loosening of its grip have on its relations with the United States and Russia? For more than a year since Türkiye loosened its grip, the dramatic situation surrounding Sweden's "accession" to the Treaty seems to have come to an end. On July 10th, Stoltenberg met with Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Christian

The Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced on the 12th that, as agreed by both China and the United States, the US President's climate envoy John Kerry will visit China from July 16th to 19th, and the two sides will exchange in-depth views on cooperation in addressing climate change. Kerry will be the third senior US official to visit China recently, following US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Yellen. The public opinion believes that this visit demonstrates that China and the United States are attempting to deepen communication and dialogue in the face of the urgent challenge of climate change, and further stabilize bilateral relations. The US climate envoy will visit China. According to a statement released by the US State Department, during Kerry's visit to China and meetings with Chinese officials, he will engage with China on addressing the climate crisis, increase the implementation efforts and ambitions of relevant cooperation, and promote the success of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will be held this year.

After 9 years in power, Thai Prime Minister Prayut put an end to his political career - on July 11th, he announced his withdrawal from politics. It is believed that after a disastrous defeat in the May general election, Bayou has shown signs of resignation, and it is not surprising to announce his retirement now. However, as Bayu officially announced his retirement, the Thai parliament will vote to elect the next Prime Minister on the 13th, two days later. What signal and impact does the announcement of Bayu's departure at this moment release? Is it an encouragement for the democratic camp or an opportunity for other candidates in the military camp? Perhaps, once the results of the Prime Minister election are announced, the answer will naturally surface. "From now on, I announce my withdrawal from politics and the Thai Solidarity Party." On the same day, Bayo issued a statement on the social media account of the Thai Solidarity Party

On the 11th, US President Biden announced the nomination of Laura Stone as the US Ambassador to the Marshall Islands. Stone is a senior professional diplomat with a deep understanding of Asian affairs. Against the backdrop of deepening cooperation between China and Pacific island countries, which has attracted the attention of the United States, Biden has nominated this "China expert" as the ambassador to the Marshall Islands, sparking public attention. On the same day, the White House announced several important nominations for positions, including nominating Stone as the US Ambassador to the Marshall Islands. Public information shows that Stone holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in the United States and a Master of Philosophy degree in International Relations from Oxford University in the United Kingdom. Stone joined the US State Department in 1991 and has accumulated over 30 years of diplomatic experience to date. During this time, Stone served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, mainly responsible for South Asian affairs, including handling

Just received visiting US Treasury Secretary Yellen at home, and tomorrow China will launch another important neighboring diplomatic action at the away game. From the 13th to the 14th, Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China's Foreign Affairs Working Committee, will attend the China ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting, ASEAN and China Japan South Korea Foreign Ministers Meeting, East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting, and ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting held in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Analysis suggests that a series of meetings are taking place at a time when the world economic recovery is facing significant challenges such as uncertainty and geopolitical conflicts. China hopes to deepen cooperation with regional countries and practice true multilateralism. Currently, China ASEAN cooperation has reached a new important milestone, and cooperation between China, Japan, and South Korea has also shown a new trend. Whether all parties can lay a solid foundation for regional peace and development, and maintain the correct direction of East Asian cooperation has become a focus of much attention.

A new player has arrived on the artificial intelligence development track. American entrepreneur Elon Musk announced on the 12th the establishment of xAI, a new company focused on artificial intelligence, aimed at understanding the essence of the universe. More information about xAI is expected to be revealed at an event on the 14th. "The new contestant announced the establishment of @ xAI to understand reality," Musk said on social media Twitter that day. The xAI official website will be launched simultaneously. Official information shows that the xAI team is currently composed of 12 people, including Musk, all male and many Asian. The team is led by Musk and can be described as a gathering of experts. Some members have worked in industry leaders such as Deep Thinking, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, as well as Tesla and the University of Toronto, and have participated in well-known products such as GPT-4

On the 12th local time, stepping on the red carpet of welcome in Kenya, Iranian President Lehi began a three-day trip to Africa. Next, he will also visit Zimbabwe and Uganda. This is the first visit by an Iranian president to Africa in over a decade. Analysis suggests that in the face of severe Western sanctions, Iran is expanding its political and economic ties with Africa and seeking more breakthroughs in diplomacy. On the 12th local time, Lech arrived in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, marking a new beginning in relations with Africa. Iran regards this visit as a "new beginning" in relations with the African continent. At a press conference held in Nairobi, Lech referred to Africa as a "continent full of opportunities" that would provide an excellent platform for the export of Iranian products, and all parties were "dissatisfied with each other's existing trade volume.". He pointed out that Africa is rich in mineral resources, and

On the 12th local time in the United States, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng was invited to meet with US Assistant Secretary of Defense Ellie Ratner at the Pentagon, which was considered a "rare" and "unusual" meeting. Analysts believe that the US hopes to take advantage of the current high-level exchanges between China and the US to establish communication channels at the military level. However, the key to restoring normal military exchanges between China and the United States lies in whether the United States can take appropriate and correct actions. Both the Chinese Embassy in the United States and the US Department of Defense have released news of Xie Feng's visit to the Pentagon. In a press release from the Chinese Embassy in the United States, it was emphasized that Xie Feng was "invited to meet" with Ratner.

In recent times, the high level diplomacy between China and the United States has not decreased and continues to attract attention. Following in the footsteps of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Finance Yellen, US President's Special Envoy for Climate Issues Kerry is also about to embark on a trip to China, becoming the third senior official of the Biden administration to visit China within a month. As agreed by both China and the United States, Kerry will visit China from July 16th to 19th, and both sides will exchange in-depth views on cooperation in addressing climate change. Climate change has always been regarded as an area of great potential for cooperation between China and the United States. Can Kerry's visit promote the achievement of cooperation between the two sides? At the same time, as high-level visits between China and the United States unfold, the tense relationship between the two countries seems to have eased. What impact will the visit of the US climate envoy have on the "climate" of China US relations? The visit to China is of dual significance, just like Antony Blinken and Yellen, so is Kerry's visit to China

According to foreign media reports, two organizations under the World Health Organization announced on the 14th that aspartame has been listed as a possible carcinogen, but can still be consumed normally under the condition of not exceeding the limit. Specifically, if there are no other sources of food intake, adults weighing 60 to 70 kilograms will consume more than 9 cans of zero sugar drinks containing aspartame per day to exceed their daily allowance. However, researchers also suggest that for consumers, whether it is zero sugar drinks or sugary drinks, drinking water is not as healthy as drinking water. What do the affiliated institutions of the World Health Organization say? Aspartame is an old-fashioned sweetener that has been approved and widely used for nearly 50 years. It is added to a range of products such as zero sugar soda, chewing gum, jelly, ice cream, yogurt, cough drops, etc. This sweetener is about 200 times sweeter than regular sugar

On the 13th local time, Wang Yi, Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office, met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at request in Jakarta. This is the second meeting between the two in less than a month, which is seen as the latest progress in a series of high-level contacts between China and the United States in recent days. During the approximately 90 minute "overtime meeting," Wang Yi raised "three needs" to the US side, believing that the key to the next step is to take practical actions and strive for the relationship between the two countries to return to normal. "Honesty, pragmatism, and constructiveness" is the evaluation of this meeting by both China and the United States. The Washington Post quoted American diplomats attending the talks as saying that the talks were more in-depth and substantive than those held in Beijing in June. However, at the same time, public opinion also believes that there are still structural issues between China and the United States. To promote the stability and improvement of China US relations, the primary prerequisite is for the US to change its perception of China and approach China rationally

On July 13th local time, the German government issued its first "China Strategy", covering areas such as economic and trade investment, defense and security, and addressing climate change. It also explained the areas of "risk reduction" and "dependence reduction" that are of great concern to the outside world. The public opinion believes that this strategic document, which has been brewing for several months, reflects a change in Germany's policy towards China, while also having a balanced and ambiguous color. In the future, there is still room for cooperation between China and Germany. Turning to "de risk"? The German government issued its first "China Strategy" on the same day, continuing the strategic positioning of China made by the European Commission in 2019, stating that China is both a "partner", a "competitor", and a "systemic opponent". When announcing the strategy, German Foreign Minister Berbok stated that China's role as a "systemic opponent" has become increasingly prominent in recent years. Meanwhile,

On the afternoon of the 14th local time, at the Sadish Dawan Space Launch Center located on the island of Srihrigoda in southern Andhra Pradesh, India, with the launch vehicle LVM3 departing from the launch pad, the "Lunar 3" successfully took off. This is India's second "expedition" after four years, following the failure of its last lunar mission. If successful, India will become the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the moon after the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China, and will also be the first country in the world to achieve a soft landing near the south pole of the moon. A historic launch of the Lunar Ship 3 was India's third lunar exploration mission and its second attempt at a soft landing on the lunar surface. Considered a "historic" launch by the Indian Space Research Organization. "Moonship 3" was developed by ISRO and consists of a lander, propulsion module, and lunar rover

On the 15th local time, South Korean President Yoon Seok yeol visited the Ukrainian capital Kiev and held talks with Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yin Xiyue stated that South Korea will expand its aid scale and provide more military and humanitarian supplies to Ukraine. However, he did not mention plans to provide assistance with weapons of destruction to Ukraine. Does Yin Xiyue's trip mean that South Korea will change its stance and provide weapons support to Ukraine? Analysis suggests that this still needs to be observed. South Korea is facing enormous pressure on the issue of providing military aid to Ukraine. Recently, South Korean President Yoon Seok yeol has been making frequent diplomatic efforts without mentioning military aid plans. From July 11th to 12th local time, Yin Xiyue attended the NATO summit held in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, and held meetings with leaders from 31 NATO countries, Sweden, the European Union, and Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. subsequently

The diplomatic relay race of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is currently underway. After attending the NATO summit and the Japan Europe summit in Europe, he immediately moved to the Middle East and visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar from July 16th to 19th. This is Kishida's first visit to the Middle East during his tenure, and it is also Japan's Prime Minister's second visit to the Middle East after more than three years. "Energy diplomacy" is considered the key word for this trip. Due to factors such as the prolonged crisis in Ukraine, which has stirred up the global energy market, Kishida hopes to use this visit to ensure energy supply security. However, analysts point out that Kishida's visit is not limited to "energy diplomacy". In the context of international changes, strengthening relations with Gulf countries, enhancing Japan's presence in the Middle East, and hedging its influence with other major powers are also important goals of the visit. Just constrained by multiple internal and external factors, Kishida wants to achieve "ambition"

According to the website of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense on July 15th, according to the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian militaries, the Russian military will soon dispatch sea and air forces to participate in the "Northern Joint 2023" exercise organized by the Northern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army in the central Sea of Japan. The topic of this exercise is "Maintaining Maritime Strategic Channel Security", aiming to enhance the level of strategic cooperation between the Chinese and Russian militaries, enhance the ability to jointly maintain regional peace and stability, and respond to various security challenges. The Chinese troops participating in this exercise departed on July 15th. According to the People's Liberation Army News on July 15th, the Chinese maritime formation participating in the "Northern · United 2023" exercise has set sail from a military port in Qingdao on the same day and set sail for the designated sea area to carry out the exercise mission. The Chinese naval fleet consists of missile destroyers Qiqihar and Guiyang,

According to multiple media reports, the Crimean Bridge was attacked twice in the early hours of the 17th local time, with explosions heard. According to officials in the Krasnodar Territory of Russia, the accident resulted in 2 deaths and 1 minor injury. Due to an "emergency" situation, traffic on the Crimean Bridge connecting the Crimean Peninsula and the Krasnodar Territory of Russia has been interrupted. TASS quoted the Russian Ministry of Transport as saying that the piers of the Crimean Bridge were not damaged, and the road surface of the bridge near the Crimean Peninsula was damaged. The investigation into the damage to the Crimean Bridge is still ongoing. Crimean officials stated that the railway tracks running parallel to the bridge were not damaged and transportation has now resumed. Last October, a truck exploded on the highway bridge of the Crimean Bridge, causing a cargo on the railway bridge parallel to the highway bridge

On July 16th, the Ministerial Meeting of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement held in New Zealand made a major decision - officially approving the UK's accession to the CPTPP, making the UK the first European country to join the agreement. This seems to be a win-win "hand in hand". For CPTPP, this is the first expansion since it came into effect in 2018, with member countries increasing from 11 to 12, and the economic area covered by the agreement will extend to Europe. For the UK, this is the largest trade agreement reached since Brexit, reflecting its strategic vision of tilting towards the Indo Pacific region and strengthening trade relations with the Pacific region. However, there are still differences in public opinion on how much energy CPTPP will inject into the UK's economic growth, and the effectiveness remains to be seen. Why "Brexit into Asia"

In recent days, the European continent, which has been scorched by high temperatures, has also experienced a heatwave in the diplomatic field. The NATO summit has just concluded in Lithuania, followed by another "big party" with Latin American countries in Brussels. Starting from the 17th, the 2-day EU Latin American Community summit will kick off, marking the EU's second such summit in 8 years. Analysis suggests that the EU's "re emphasis" on Latin America is mainly due to its desire to win over the other party and exert pressure on Russia, as well as to achieve a re layout of the industrial and supply chains. The Euler relations may undergo subtle adjustments in the new situation, showing a positive trend, but at the same time, they also need to face some differences and challenges. In history, many Latin American countries were once colonies of Europe, and Europe, with its complex of suzerainty, has been committed to deepening its relations with Latin America. During this process, 19

Faced with the possibility of further tightening restrictions on chip exports to China, the US chip industry is joining forces to launch an offensive against the Biden administration. According to Reuters, on July 17 local time, executives of American chip giants gathered in Washington to meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior officials of Biden's government to discuss restrictions on semiconductor exports to China. On the same day, the most influential semiconductor lobbying group in the United States, the Semiconductor Industry Association, urged the government to stop implementing more restrictions on chip exports to China. The public opinion believes that the US chip industry, from chip giants to industry associations, is taking a joint action in the hope of making final efforts during the window of slowing US China relations before the Biden administration upgrades its restrictions, in order to prevent the Biden administration from continuing to take a step towards "backlash against the United States.". Joint action, according to the US State Department and informed sources

According to British media reports, over the years, millions of emails originally planned to be sent to the US military have been mistakenly sent to the African country of Mali, where the internet domain name suffix is ". ml", due to personnel mistakenly writing the address incorrectly when sending emails - mistakenly writing the US military email domain name suffix ". mil" as ". ml". The report stated that despite warnings issued by insiders for over a decade, the US government did not take this seriously, resulting in the leakage of non confidential but sensitive information. The difference of one word leads to an oolong. The domain name suffix of the email addresses of US military personnel is ". mil", while the network domain name suffix of Mali is ". ml", which is very similar. According to a report by the Financial Times on the 17th, for many years, relevant personnel have been continuously confusing the two when sending emails, resulting in

After the expiration of the Black Sea Port Agricultural Products Export Agreement on the 17th, it is facing a freeze crisis. The Russian side announced that it will no longer continue to implement the agreement as it does not involve the Russian side. What are the considerations for Russia's suspension agreement this time? Can future agreements usher in a turning point? On the 17th local time, Russia announced to Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Nations that it opposed the extension of the agreement on the export of agricultural products from Black Sea ports. On the same day, the press secretary of the Russian President, Peskov, stated that due to the fact that the part of the Black Sea port agricultural product export agreement involving Russia has not been implemented so far, the Russian side has terminated the effectiveness of the agreement. However, Peskov also stated that once the parts of the agreement involving the Russian side are implemented, the Russian side will immediately resume the implementation of the agreement. After the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis on February 24th last year, Ukraine

Recently, the situation on the Korean Peninsula has once again tightened. The South Korean Ministry of Defense confirmed on the 18th that the US Navy's Ohio class strategic nuclear submarine Kentucky docked in Busan on the same day, marking the first visit of a US strategic nuclear submarine to South Korea in 42 years. On the same day, the South Korea US Nuclear Consultative Group held its first meeting in Seoul and issued a joint communiqu é, agreeing to build an integrated "extended deterrence" system against North Korea. At the same time, the South Korean military stated on the 19th that it observed North Korea firing two short-range ballistic missiles into the eastern waters of the peninsula in the early hours of the same day. Not long ago, North Korean officials demanded that the United States immediately cease all provocative actions. "At the same time as we were talking, a US nuclear submarine is entering port in Busan today." White House Indo Pacific Affairs Coordinator Campbell, who is attending the first meeting of the South Korean US "Nuclear Consultative Group" in Seoul, said of a rare visit by a US nuclear submarine to South Korea

Just as a secret visit to China over 50 years ago melted the ice in US China relations, now, at a time when US China relations are in a slump, centenarian Kissinger has made a sudden visit to China. On the 19th, Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office, met with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Beijing. The day before, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu met with Kissinger. The timing of the visit to China, the target audience, the content of communication, and the release of signals... All the factors related to this unexpected visit have attracted attention. "I am here as a friend of China," Kissinger said during a meeting with Li Shangfu. As an old friend of the Chinese people, Kissinger has visited China hundreds of times over the past few decades. Affected by the COVID-19, this is his first visit to China after 2019. Public opinion