According to a study by the Bank of Korea and the OECD, competition for places at the best private schools is driving fertility rates to historic lows (with only a slight recovery in the last two years). Without this factor, the average number of children would rise by 28 per cent. Women are more affected than men.
According to SIPRI’s latest assessment on nuclear weapons, China will have as many as ICBMs as the United States and Russia by the turn of the decade. Meanwhile, India is no longer focusing on deterring Pakistan, but is developing long-range capability to reach targets across China.
The regulation approved by the Diet overcomes the current employment system that ended up favouring abuses. A new attempt to counter the labour shortage. Increased flexibility is provided by reduced timeframes and favoured access to qualified positions: it will be possible to leave unprofitable and discriminating positions.
A report by the United States Institute of Peace highlights the danger. Since 2021, the growing influence of criminal groups has affected individuals and the national security of individual states. For experts, more coordination between Beijing and Washington is needed. Such criminal networks have a turnover of US$ 64 billion.
Today's news: 50 victims of Kuwait migrant massacre rise to 50, three people arrested in the blaze; The Ibrahim government in Malaysia holds the record for the most content removed from social media; Bipartisan US Congress delegation in view of the Dalai Lama; Wild horses return to Kazakhstan after 200 years; Putin ratified the agreement with Beijing to build the international moon station.
A South Korean newspaper broke the story. For a year, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been trying to organise a summit with North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un, while North Korea has issued statements to the contrary in recent months. The issue of Japanese nationals kidnapped by Pyongyang remains an important issue.
Today's news: For the World Bank, war freezes Myanmar's economic growth. In Kuwait massacre of migrants in the burning of a building. Drought alarm in several provinces of China. Nobel laureate Yunus investigated for embezzlement with 13 others. In Tajikistan, the wearing of the hijab is officially banned.
As the China-EU trade war escalates, Beijing slams EU "protectionism", warning that Europe's interests will be hurt. Meanwhile, for days Chinese media repeated government threats of retaliation against EU food exports to China. The EU move is not going down well in Germany, Hungary, and Sweden. For Chinese firms, duties would mean a US$4-billion loss.
The Philippines marks 126 years since Spanish rule ended. The authorities are worried about China's territorial claims. President Marcos orders the military to be “well prepared" for any situation. The Catholic Church is also afraid that the country “might lose our independence.”
Today's news: In Sumatra seven months in prison for a comedian for a joke about Mohammed; 21-year-old Afghan Manizha Talash, who fled the Taliban, at the Olympic Games in the refugee team; Hong Kong outlaws and withdraws passports from six activists who fled to the UK; Two Indians recruited by the Russian army killed in the war in Ukraine; New attack in Yerevan against synagogue.
A 55-year-old man has been taken into custody in connection with the attack, but his motives have not been disclosed. Any reference to the case has been blocked on Chinese social media. Xi Jinping is betting heavily on cultural exchanges to ease geopolitical tensions with the United States, but fewer than 900 Americans are currently studying in China against 290,000 Chinese in the United States.
Some North Korean soldiers crossed the demarcation line, probably by mistake, South Korean authorities report. North Korea continues to float waste-laded balloons, while Kim Jong Un's sister warns that more South Korean propaganda could provoke "new countermeasures". Meanwhile, military activities are intensifying.
Today's news: UN Security Council votes on Gaza ceasefire resolution; Taipei arrested a Chinese citizen for ‘illegal entry’ by sea; Indonesia's population has the highest ingestion of microplastics among 109 countries in the world; Manhunt by Indian soldiers in Kashmir after an attack on a pilgrim bus; Tokyo wants to strengthen economic cooperation with Central Asian countries.
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