10.04.111 "Read the News" — A Quick Overview of the Day's Focus Issues

October 4, ROC Year 111 (2022 AD): a daily real-time online roundup of hot focus topics from global news events, covering technology, life, travel, transportation, industry and finance, business, companies and enterprises, stocks, foreign exchange markets, investment, real estate, automobiles, real-time news, art, design, politics, society, Taiwan, mainland China, cross-strait relations, weather, natural disasters, current affairs, and many other dimensions of intelligence.

The “Read the News” section collects the headline events and brief summaries of the most important key news from around the world that deserve your attention in recent days, letting you see the real-time context of society through the flow of news events listed quickly one by one.

Focus Issues of October 4, 2022

• International and Social Events
• Science and Technology
• Business and Investment
• Nature and Medicine
• Travel and Leisure

International and Social Events

Regarding DPP New Taipei City mayoral candidate Lin Chia-lung’s interview statement that he could not borrow a large election venue, KMT New Taipei City mayoral candidate Hou Yu-ih’s election office spokesperson Wu Liang-hsien said today (3rd) that this is a baseless, reckless accusation of being “blacklisted.” Lin Chia-lung’s mindset is like a passenger who is late for a train — even though all timetables have long been transparent and public, he blames the train for departing on time when he himself is not punctual.

KMT legislator Tseng Ming-chung today questioned Justice Minister Tsai Ching-hsiang at the Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Legal Affairs Committee. Tseng said the Medigen vaccine involves insider trading and has been referred by the Financial Supervisory Commission 9 times, yet nothing has moved in two years and it is still listed as a “he” case. Tsai Ching-hsiang said he would relay the opinion to the High Prosecutors Office, which is a superior unit and should assist in supervising the district prosecutors offices.

Data from Statistics Korea under South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance shows that a total of 317,680 people died last year, with cancer the number one killer. But for young and middle-aged people under 40, the main cause of death is suicide, with an average of 37 people taking their own lives each day — the highest figure among OECD member countries.

Science and Technology

Tech giant Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said in a recent interview that augmented reality (AR) is a future trend that will soon permeate life, and that by comparison he is less optimistic about the prospects of the metaverse.

Business and Investment

According to a survey by research firm TrendForce, since the fourth quarter of 2021, affected by weakening demand for some consumer electronics, memory prices have entered a downward trend. Coupled with the impact of high inflation, the Russia-Ukraine war, and pandemic control measures, the peak season has not been prosperous, causing inventory pressure to extend from the buyer side to the original manufacturers.

Britain’s tax cut plan made a major reversal, announcing today the cancellation of tax cuts for high-income earners. The pound rose in response, climbing to 1 pound to 1.1212 US dollars.

The Bureau of Labor Funds today (3rd) announced the investment performance of the labor fund for the first 8 months. Among them, the new labor pension system lost 209.21 billion yuan in the first 8 months, with a return rate of -6.28%. Based on about 12.25 million effective accounts in the new labor pension system, each worker lost an average of more than 17,000 yuan.

Sporting goods giant Nike announced its performance for the June-August quarter and warned that due to excessive inventory, it must accelerate discounts to clear goods. Combined with the strong appreciation of the US dollar, full-year gross margin is expected to come under pressure, showing that this global athletic shoe leader, like its peers, is caught in the challenge of surging inventory and compressed profits.

Nature and Medicine

Processed foods also have grades. According to the NOVA food classification, processed foods can be divided into four categories: unprocessed and minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods, and ultra-processed foods. Among them, ultra-processed foods have the greatest impact on health — such as carbonated drinks, various snacks, ice cream, instant sauces, and so on all belong to this category.

Sixty years ago, U.S.-Russia nuclear bomb tests left large amounts of radioactive “cesium-137” in the deep water layer of the Kuroshio Current, with content far exceeding more than a thousand times the amount released by the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in Japan. It may be absorbed by shrimp, crabs, and algae in the upwelling waters off Taiwan’s northeast coast. Fearing that human consumption may be affected, this finding was published in the world’s top journal, the Marine Pollution Bulletin.

Molly, born into a wealthy family and attending an elite school before her death, with no bullying, social, or parent-child problems, suddenly took extreme action and died in November 2017. Senior coroner Andrew Walker, after a 5-year investigation, determined that negative online content and depression were the main causes leading Molly to self-harm. Before taking the extreme action, Molly had browsed, liked, and shared more than 2,000 suicide-related posts, so he determined that the cause of death was directly related to online content.

Just lower 3 values and the body can live safely to a ripe old age, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, degenerative arthritis, and cancer. They are BMI, body fat percentage, and waist circumference.

Travel and Leisure

Starting October 13, the “0+7” system takes effect, expanding the border opening. Scholars believe that while the national gate opens, the virus may enter, reminding the public to wash hands frequently and not to remove masks in crowded, small-space settings.