1. The Japanese government basically decided to discharge Fukushima nuclear sewage into the sea. On April 13, the Japanese government will hold a cabinet meeting to make a formal decision. Japanese public opinion here believes that this move is bound to arouse opposition from Japanese fishermen and the international community.

2. According to the IATA report, international passenger demand fell 88.7% in February 2021 compared with February 2019, down further from the 85.7% decline in January this year and the lowest level since July 2020.

3.In February, air cargo demand continued to exceed COVID-19 ‘s pre-epidemic level, 9 per cent higher than in February 2019. Compared with January 2021, growth is strong. At present, freight volume has returned to the level before the Sino-US trade dispute in 2018.

4.The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization: global food commodity prices rose for the 10th consecutive month in March, with the price index rising 2.1% from the previous month to the highest level since June 2014. Among them, the vegetable oil price index rose 8% month-on-month, close to a decade-high; dairy products and meat price index rose 3.9% and 2.3% respectively compared with February. The grain price index fell 1.7%, ending an eight-month rise.

5.As of 00: 00 on April 9, there were 671 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Korea within 24 hours, with a total of 108269 confirmed cases, and 6 new deaths and a total of 1764 deaths on the same day. The South Korean government says it is in the early stages of the fourth pandemic of COVID-19 in South Korea, and the number of new confirmed cases in a single day is likely to double in the next week or two.

6.An asteroid passed at close range near the earth. The asteroid, called 2021 GT3, is an asteroid about 19 meters in diameter. It passes between the earth and the moon at a distance of about 25586 kilometers. Although it is still a long way from hitting the earth, it is a very recent flyby on a cosmic scale.

7.John Kerry, the US president’s special envoy on climate issues, will visit China in an attempt to regard climate change as an area of closer cooperation in the face of rising tensions between the two countries, the Washington Post reported on the 11th. It will be the first official visit to China by a senior Biden administration official, the report said.

8.The World Health Organization has set a target for all countries to start vaccination by the 100th day of 2021, but this goal has not been achieved, and 26 poor countries or regions still do not have a vaccine available. Developed countries account for 16% of the world’s population, yet they rush to buy 49% of the world’s vaccines. Poor countries account for 9% of the world’s population, yet they can use only 0.1% of the world’s vaccines. 

9.According to a recent survey by the German Food and Hotel Industry Association, 1/4 of companies in the industry are now considering abandoning operations. Zorick, president of the association, said many hoteliers and restaurant operators are facing a major financial crisis. 75% of the entrepreneurs surveyed are worried about the survival of their companies, about 25% are expected to close their operations, and thousands of employees are worried about their jobs. Zorick called on the government to allow hotels, restaurants and holiday apartments to reopen unconditionally in May.

10.Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiwei Suga said that solving the problem of increasing nuclear sewage at the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been an issue that “cannot be postponed.” In order to reach an understanding of security issues at home and abroad, the Japanese government will explain it from a scientific point of view.

 11.SpaceX: launches five more batches of chain satellites, and SpaceX can provide Internet access to almost anywhere on the planet. It is hoped that a global network connection will be achieved a few months after a total of 29 star chain launches have been completed. SpaceX has launched a total of 1383 satellites in the past 17 months, and more than 900 have reached the final orbit and put into operation. 

12.The three major indexes of US stocks are mixed. The S & P 500 closed up 0.23, or 0.01%, at 4129.03, the NASDAQ closed down 50.19, or 0.36%, at 13850.00, and the Dow closed down 55.20, or 0.16%, at 33745.40.