Category: Flash News

On January 12th, Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng met with British Chancellor of the Exchequer Reeves and his delegation today (12th). Gong Zheng said that the China UK Economic and Financial Dialogue was successfully held in Beijing yesterday (11th), and he hopes to use this dialogue as an opportunity to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation between Shanghai and the UK, and achieve a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win results. We look forward to strengthening economic and trade exchanges, industrial investment, financial openness, and technological innovation cooperation between the two regions. We warmly welcome British companies to participate in this year’s CIIE and expand their investment layout in Shanghai in areas such as clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and healthcare. We look forward to the continued deepening of financial market connectivity between the two regions, promoting more universities and research institutions to carry out scientific research exchanges, strengthening innovation cooperation in fields such as digital economy and artificial intelligence, working together to achieve high-quality development, and seeking greater well-being for the people of both regions.

On January 12th, the National Conference on Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology was held in Beijing on January 9th. The meeting requires us to solidly carry out the key work of traditional Chinese medicine technology innovation in the current and future period. One is to deepen the reform of the scientific and technological innovation system and mechanism, and improve the modern scientific and technological governance system of traditional Chinese medicine. We will plan, promote, and deepen reforms as a whole, focusing on forming a new pattern of collaborative innovation with complementary functions, interconnected chains, and positive interactions. Second, strengthen the basic research and literature research of traditional Chinese medicine, and explore the essence of the treasure house of traditional Chinese medicine. Promote the innovation of traditional Chinese medicine theory, strengthen the evaluation and promotion of characteristic diagnosis and treatment techniques of traditional Chinese medicine. Thirdly, we will vigorously strengthen clinical research and enhance the ability of traditional Chinese medicine to prevent and treat diseases. Strengthen the collaboration between traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, and promote interdisciplinary joint research to advance the integrated development of clinical research in traditional Chinese medicine. The fourth is to promote the combination of technological innovation and industrial innovation, and promote the high-quality development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry. Empower the entire traditional Chinese medicine industry chain with digital and green technologies, and promote the transformation and upgrading of the traditional Chinese medicine industry. The fifth is to deepen the integration reform of education, technology, and talent, and promote the deep integration of industry, academia, research, and medical care. Improve the mechanism for adjusting disciplinary settings, implement many interdisciplinary innovation team building projects, and vigorously cultivate a group of compound strategic talents who are proficient in clinical, preventive, and scientific research management. Sixth, we will strengthen the construction of science popularization capabilities and promote the formation of a good situation of “two wings flying together” for scientific popularization and technological innovation in the new era. Encourage more researchers to participate in science popularization work and continuously enrich the supply of traditional Chinese medicine science popularization products and services. Seventh, promote standard guidance and comprehensively promote international open cooperation in traditional Chinese medicine technology. Deepen the construction of standards, implement the international scientific research cooperation plan for traditional Chinese medicine, and improve the level of academic journal publishing.

On January 12th, a spokesperson for the German Defense Forces announced on January 11th local time that a new army division will be established to specifically defend important infrastructure such as airports, ports, railways, highways, bridges, power plants, oil pipelines, and digital centers in the country. During peacetime, it will also undertake tasks such as major disaster relief and prevention of terrorist attacks. This newly established army division is composed of a mix of active and reserve soldiers, with a size of about 20000 people, and is planned to be completed on April 1st this year. The German Army currently has three divisions with a total of approximately 64000 personnel. According to NATO’s centralized command system, these three divisions of the German Army during wartime may be deployed abroad for operations, while the newly formed division will remain in Germany to be responsible for homeland defense.

On January 12th at 06:00, the Central Meteorological Observatory continued to issue a blue warning for strong winds. It is estimated that from 08:00 on January 12 to 08:00 on January 13, there will be 5-6 winds and 7-8 gusts in parts of western Inner Mongolia, northwestern Gansu, northern Ningxia, northwestern Shaanxi, central and eastern Xizang, southern Qinghai, western Sichuan Plateau, etc; The northeastern waters of the East China Sea, the eastern waters of the Taiwan Strait, the southeastern waters of Taiwan, the Bashi Strait, and most of the South China Sea will experience strong winds of 7-8 levels and gusts of 9 levels, with some areas in the southwest of the South China Sea experiencing winds of up to 9 levels and gusts of 10 levels.

On January 12th, according to the Indonesian Volcano Geology Research Institute (PVMBG), at 19:35 local time on January 11th, the Ibu volcano in North Maluku Province, Indonesia erupted. The volcanic ash column reaches 4000 meters and the eruption lasts about 185 seconds.

On January 12th, local time, Jack Smith, the special prosecutor in charge of the Trump case at the US Department of Justice, officially resigned from the department on January 10th. Jack Smith was appointed as a special prosecutor in November 2022 to investigate two cases involving US President elect Trump. According to court documents, the Department of Justice is in ongoing dispute with Trump’s defense team regarding the release of an investigation report into his actions to prevent the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election. It is reported that Smith has completed the relevant work and resigned from the position of special prosecutor.

On January 12, Strasbourg, the capital of France’s Great Eastern Region, had a tram crash on the afternoon of the 11th local time, which injured more than 30 people. Officials from the provincial government of Lower Rhine where Strasbourg is located said that according to incomplete statistics, more than 30 people were injured in the accident, but fortunately there were no serious injuries. According to the figures provided by the on-site firefighters, the number of injured reached around 50. The specific cause of the accident is still unclear. The local prosecutor has intervened in the investigation and preliminarily ruled out the possibility of human intent.

On January 12th, local time, the ruling party of Germany, the Social Democratic Party, and the far right political party, the Alternative Party, held their party congresses in Berlin and Risa respectively. Both parties elected Scholz and Weider as their respective candidates for prime minister. The German Social Democratic Party, as a traditional center left political party and the ruling party of the past four years, positioned itself as the “party of ordinary people” at this party congress. The Social Democratic Party advocates reducing taxes for the working class, who account for 95% of the total population in Germany. Specific measures for tax reduction include raising the tax threshold and increasing the upper limit of the highest tax rate. The German Alternative Party focused on immigration policy at its party congress. Weidel said that if she takes office, she will “close Germany’s borders” within 100 days and deport illegal immigrants on a large scale. In terms of energy policy, Weidel advocates restarting nuclear power plants and partially restoring coal-fired power plants.

On January 12th, local time learned that officials in Los Angeles, California, announced that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will lead a special task force composed of several other agencies, including the California Fire Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, and Los Angeles Police Department, to investigate the cause of the Palisade fire. It is reported that the special task force will mobilize resources from all over the United States to investigate whether there is a connection between all the fires that occurred in California during the strong winds of the past week.

On January 12th, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported on the 11th that a fire broke out in an administrative building in Yahorom, Moscow Oblast, covering an area of over 1000 square meters. Firefighters have rescued 4 people from the scene. According to reports, public information shows that the address is the location of the 5th Psychiatric Hospital of Moscow Oblast.