>Digital services tax announced
英國將征收'數(shù)字服務稅'
The UK government has announced a new "digital services" tax of 2% that it plans to start levying on the UK revenues of tech giants like Amazon, Google and Apple, based on the money they make on digital services like advertising and streaming entertainment (but not online sales). Announced on Monday as part of the 2018 Budget by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, the tax is due to come into effect in April 2020. Hammond said the government expects to raise more than 400 million pounds annually based on current revenues. "This is not an online sales tax on goods ordered over the internet," he said, saying that such a tax would end up getting passed down to users. The digital services tax will be paid by companies that are profitable, he said, and making at least 500 million pounds per year in global revenues. To be clear, the UK government expects large companies, and not startups, to "shoulder the burden" of the tax, the Treasury noted.
英國政府宣布計劃開始征收一項新的"數(shù)字服務稅"，稅率為2%，征稅對象為亞馬遜、谷歌和蘋果等科技巨頭，征稅范圍包括它們通過廣告和流媒體娛樂(但不包括在線銷售)等數(shù)字服務在英國賺取的收入。作為2018年預算計劃的一部分，英國財政大臣菲利普?哈蒙德29日公布了這項將于2020年4月生效的新稅。哈蒙德表示，根據(jù)這些科技公司目前的收入，英國政府預計每年可征得超過4億英鎊的稅收。哈蒙德稱："這不是對通過互聯(lián)網(wǎng)訂購的商品征收的網(wǎng)上銷售稅，這種稅最終將轉嫁到用戶身上。數(shù)字服務稅將由每年全球營收至少為5億英鎊、利潤豐厚的公司支付。"英國財政部指出，需要申明的是，英國政府希望大公司而不是初創(chuàng)企業(yè)"承擔這筆稅負"。

>Table salt contains plastic
超90%食鹽中含微塑料
A study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology found microplastics in more than 90% of the packaged food-grade salt - also known as table salt - for sale in stores. The team, from South Korea's Incheon National University and Greenpeace East Asia, sampled 39 brands of salt harvested in 21 countries and regions. Only three of the samples had no detectable microplastics: a refined sea salt from Taiwan, a refined rock salt from the Chinese mainland, and an unrefined sea salt in France. Based on their results, the researchers estimate that the average adult ingests about 2,000 pieces of microplastic in salt per year. But, that still only represents a fraction of the microplastics a person is likely to consume. Previous research revealed that microplastics have also been found in tap water, mollusks, and both indoor and outdoor air. All together, those four pathways add up to an average 32,000 pieces of microplastic ingested per year per person.
《環(huán)境科學與技術》期刊上發(fā)表的一篇研究報告發(fā)現(xiàn)，商店里出售的包裝食品級鹽(即食鹽)中，有超過90%含有微塑料。韓國仁川國立大學和綠色和平東亞分部的研究團隊對21個國家和地區(qū)的39個品牌的食鹽進行了抽樣檢查，只有3個樣品沒有可檢測到的微塑料：來自中國臺灣的精制海鹽、來自中國大陸的精制巖鹽和來自法國的未提煉的海鹽。研究人員根據(jù)研究結果估計，普通成年人每年通過食鹽吃進約2000粒微塑料。不過，這仍然只占一個人可能攝入的微塑料量的很小一部分。此前研究顯示，自來水、軟體動物和室內(nèi)及室外空氣中也都含有微塑料。一個人平均每年從以上4種途徑中總計攝入高達3.2萬粒微塑料。

>FAST seeks research talent
'天眼'招聘駐地科研人員
China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, will attempt a new round of recruitment after seeing little interest in the first attempt. Located in a naturally deep and round karst depression in Guizhou province, FAST is believed to be the world's most sensitive radio telescope. FAST has discovered 53 new pulsars since its trial operation began in September 2016. Currently there are about 20 staff members based at the site, too few to ensure operations over three shifts. Applicants are required to work at the site for a long period of time, have good English skills, and be flexible to work night shifts. The annual salary, plus the subsidy, will be around 100,000 yuan. The previous recruitment drive only filled half of the posts due to a lack of publicity as well as the challenges of the job.
世界上最大的單面射電望遠鏡——我國的500米口徑球面射電望遠鏡(FAST)將嘗試新一輪人才招聘，其首輪招聘遇冷。FAST坐落于貴州省一個自然形成的圓且深的喀斯特洼坑中，被認為是全球靈敏度最高的射電望遠鏡。自2016年9月開始試運營以來，F(xiàn)AST已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)了53顆新脈沖星。FAST工程現(xiàn)有約20名駐地工作人員，不夠確保三班倒輪流值班。申請者需長時間在駐地工作，英語水平高，要勝任夜班。包括補貼在內(nèi)，年薪將為10萬元左右。由于宣傳力度不夠以及工作本身具有挑戰(zhàn)，"天眼"前一輪招聘活動僅一半崗位招到了人才。

>Germany's Merkel to step down
默克爾宣布將放棄連任
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that she would not run again for chancellor in 2021 when the current term ends. Having served as chancellor for 13 years, Merkel told a press conference at the headquarters of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) that she will remain as chancellor for the remainder of the term. Merkel has been CDU chairwoman since 2000. She said Monday she will not run again for CDU leadership at the party's next federal conference in Hamburg in December. Merkel added that she will not take any other political positions after the chancellorship. Merkel's announcement came after the state election in Hesse on Sunday, in which the CDU's votes decreased by more than 10%, compared with the last election five years ago. 
德國總理默克爾29日宣布，本屆任期結束后，2021年她將不再參加總理競選。已擔任德國總理13年的默克爾在基督教民主聯(lián)盟總部舉行的記者會上表示，自己將繼續(xù)干滿本屆總理任期。當天，自2000年起任基民盟黨主席的默克爾表示，12月在漢堡召開的下屆基民盟全國黨代會上，她將不再參選黨主席。默克爾還稱，總理任期結束后，她將不再擔任任何其他政治職位。在默克爾宣布上述決定前一天，黑森州舉行州選舉，基民盟的得票率比5年前的上一次選舉低了逾10%。

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