国际联播快讯

CCTV.com report (Xinwen Lianbo):

Russia objects to Japan's diplomatic representations over a person suspected of espionage

The Russian Embassy in Japan said on October 15 that Russian Ambassador to Japan Nozdrev met with Kimitake Nakamura, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's European Affairs Bureau, in Tokyo on October 14 and objected to Japan's diplomatic representations over the arrest in Russia of a Japanese journalist suspected of espionage. Nozdrev said Japanese intelligence agencies had recruited Japanese journalists legally registered in Russia to collect classified information in an attempt to undermine Russia's national security, and that this situation was unacceptable.

Japan's Foreign Ministry said on October 14 that it had summoned the Russian ambassador to Japan and asked Russia to provide information about the incident as soon as possible.

Federal Reserve report says high oil prices are having widespread economic effects

The latest Beige Book on economic conditions, released by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board on October 14, shows that high oil prices put the United States under widespread upward price pressure during the reporting period from August 25 to October 5. Of the 12 Federal Reserve districts, three reported strong price increases, eight moderate increases and only one a slight increase. Four Federal Reserve districts reported an acceleration in price growth.

In addition, data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on October 15 showed that both the month-on-month and year-on-year increases in the U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) in September widened markedly and exceeded market expectations.

General Conference on Weights and Measures decides to abolish leap seconds

The 28th General Conference on Weights and Measures adopted a resolution in Versailles, France, on October 15, deciding to implement 'continuous Coordinated Universal Time' from May 20, 2027. This means Coordinated Universal Time will no longer be adjusted by adding or subtracting leap seconds. The maximum permitted value of this time difference will henceforth be set at one hour, allowing continuous operation for the next several centuries.

Coordinated Universal Time is currently the only time scale recommended as an international reference. It is kept as close as possible to Universal Time, which is based on Earth's rotation, through measures such as leap seconds. Since 1972, whenever the monitored time difference reaches 0.9 seconds, one second is added to or subtracted from Coordinated Universal Time; this correction is known as a leap second. Leap seconds have caused disruptions to industries that depend on precise, continuous time synchronization and to critical infrastructure such as transportation, energy and telecommunications.