1. On August 17, U.S. Republican Senator John Cornyn posted a tweet listing the number of U.S. troops stationed around the world, including South Korea, Germany, Japan, Africa and other places. These figures are intended to highlight the small number of US troops stationed in Afghanistan, only 2500. But netizens found an astonishing detail: it was written on Twitter that the United States stationed 30,000 troops in Taiwan, more than the 28,000 in South Korea.

2.In the first half of the year, the number of foreigners entering South Korea was 420000, of which only 73000 were foreign tourists, a sharp drop of 95.4 per cent from the same period last year. The United States had the largest number of tourists, with 25000, down 69.7 percent from the same period last year. The number of Chinese tourists to South Korea was 6301, a sharp drop of 98.6% compared with the same period last year, while the number of Japanese tourists was only 198.

3. Ministry of Health of Argentina: the results of COVID-19 vaccination from January to June showed that the overall death protection rate of two doses of Chinese biological vaccine against people over 60 years old was 84%, of which 80.2% for 60-69 years old, 88.3% for 70-79 years old, 77.6% for 80 years old and above.

4.Eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2 per cent in the second quarter of 2021 compared with the previous quarter, and employment grew by 0.5 per cent.

5.The latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that the number of job vacancies in the UK exceeded 1 million in July, the highest since 2001.

6.Local media in Afghanistan reported that the Taliban had ordered all personnel of the organization to release vehicles from evacuated foreign embassies. All personnel are required not to enter vacant foreign embassy buildings. Earlier, more than 60 countries, including the United States and Britain, issued a joint statement calling on those in power in Afghanistan to protect the lives and property of foreign missions in Afghanistan, foreign citizens and Afghan citizens who wish to leave the country. The Taliban in Afghanistan say they will act responsibly.

7.FOMC minutes: recent inflation figures are likely to be temporary due to supply bottlenecks and labor shortages. Reducing the size of asset purchases does not mean tightening the monetary policy stance, but merely implies that additional monetary easing will be provided at a slower pace. Some participants expressed concern that maintaining a highly loose financial environment might lead to a further increase in risks in the financial system. The criteria for “further substantial progress” in achieving the maximum employment and inflation targets have not yet been met. Several participants remained concerned about the medium-term outlook for inflation and the possibility of another significant downward pressure on inflation.

8.On the occasion of the 102nd anniversary of Afghanistan’s independence from British rule, the Taliban announced the establishment of the “Islamic emirate of Afghanistan”, Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said in a statement on social networking sites on Aug. 19, local time.

9.PayPal: no longer charge late fees to “buy and pay later” users. The policy has been implemented in Germany and Australia and will take effect in the United States, Britain and France from October. More regulators around the world are watching the fast-growing business closely to ensure that consumers do not take on too much debt.

10.Nikkei News: Tesla will be involved in the power business in Japan, providing large storage batteries and control systems for power supply and demand regulation to power companies to promote the effective use of renewable energy whose power generation varies with the weather. It is expected to be sold at 1/5 of Japan’s domestic market price, which is expected to reduce the cost of renewable energy use.

11.Thermal coal prices have risen abnormally this year due to soaring electricity demand and natural gas prices. Australia’s Newcastle thermal coal price index has risen 106 per cent this year to more than $166a tonne and is approaching its all-time high of $195.2 since July 2008. South Africa’s Richards Bay index closed at $137.06 a tonne in the week ended Aug. 13, up more than 55 per cent so far this year.