1. According to the census data of the United States, the total population of the United States is more than 330 million. California lost one seat in Congress for the first time in 170 years because the state’s population base is directly linked to seats in the House of Representatives. In addition, Democratic states such as New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois also lost one seat each.

2.In recent days, global food prices have continued to rise, and the prices of major crops such as wheat, soybeans and corn have risen to their highest level in the past eight years. As of March this year, global food prices have risen for 10 months in a row. It is understood that the weather factor is a major reason for the rise in grain prices. The drought affected wheat harvests in the United States, Canada and France, as well as corn harvests in Brazil, while rains in Argentina also affected soybeans.

3. US State Department: starting from this fall semester, that is, after August 1st, Chinese students with F/ M visas will no longer be affected by the “travel ban” and will be able to fly directly from China to the United States without having to transfer in a third country for 14 days. In addition to China, the lifting of travel restrictions on F/ M visas also includes Iran, Brazil, South Africa, the Schengen region, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

4.Since April, freight from Japan to Europe and the United States has risen by about 10% Mur20%, 2-3 times that of the same period in 2019. Transport demand has remained at a high level since December 2020. Affected by the chaotic transportation of container ships at sea, the tension between supply and demand has not been lifted, and air freight is expected to remain high in the short term.

5. U.S. president Joe Biden unveiled the American Family Plan on Wednesday. It will include levying a maximum personal income tax of 39.6% on people earning at least US$400000 a year and providing US$80 billion to the IRS over the next decade to strengthen its ability to audit taxes on the rich and businesses.

6.From this autumn semester, that is, after August 1, Chinese students from the US State Department who hold a F/M visa will no longer be affected by the “travel ban” and will be able to fly directly from China to the United States without having to transfer in a third country for 14 days. In addition to China, the lifting of travel restrictions on F/ M visas also includes Iran, Brazil, South Africa, the Schengen region, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

7.On April 28, local time, Kenya decided to suspend all passenger flights from India. Kenyan Health Minister Kagui said that the ban on flights came into effect in the early hours of May 1 and is scheduled to last for two weeks until mid-May. 

8.The European Union is expected to formally file antitrust charges against Apple as early as this week, which involves Apple using its platform position to limit the market position of competitors. The charge could result in Apple being fined as much as 10% of global revenue and could challenge its business model that relies on platform sharing. 

9.World Gold Council: in the first quarter, global gold demand reached 815.7 tons, basically unchanged from a month earlier, but down 23% from a year earlier. The significant outflow of gold ETF offset the strong growth in consumer demand. Rising interest rates and a downward trend in gold prices damped some investors’ interest in gold, with a net outflow of 177.9 tons of gold ETF in the first quarter.