India, for the first time in history, women outnumber men?

Today's headlines: Fukushima on alert for partial melting of protectivebarrier; new South African variant causes stock market to plummet; Pyongyang bans leather clothes, imitation of Kim deemed "disrespectful"; in Istanbul, police attack women demonstrating against violence. 

 


INDIA

For the first time ever, India has more women than men. The National Family and Health Survey (NFHS) conducted by the government between 2019 and 2021 rhas revealed that for every 1,000 men there are 1020 women, a sign of significant social change. It is a historic event for a nation famous for the millions of girls killed shortly before or mmediately after birth because of their gender. Other scholars call for caution, saying the data could be "overestimated". 

ASIA

Fears about the effects of the new Covid-19 variant that has emerged in South Africa have torpedoed Asian markets, which have recorded their worst losses in the last two months and caused oil prices to slide (minus 2%), while gold rose. Investors fear that the new mutation, perhaps more contagious than Delta and more resistant to vaccines, could deal a serious blow to the global recovery.

JAPAN

The protective ice barrier around the Fukushima plant, scene of the 2011 nuclear accident, may have partially melted. TEPCO plans to shore up the underground wall as early as early December and is considering further measures. The 7-meter-thick barrier powered by refrigeration tubes is intended to isolate the plant, preventing radioactive water from spilling into groundwater. 

NORTH KOREA

Pyongyang has launched a crackdown campaign against those wearing leather trench coats, saying it is "disrespectful" to emulate leader Kim Jong Un. Imitations have spawned a thriving market for cheap, low-quality clothing. Hence the patrols of the "fashion police" with confiscations from sellers and citizens. Leather clothes are a symbol of power even among women. 

AFGHANISTAN

Sharbat Gula, the green-eyed "Afghan girl", the modern-day Mona Lisa made famous by Steve McCurry's 1985 shot for National Geographic, is safe in Rome. Her image had become famous as a symbol of the tragedy of the conflict that the country and its people were going through. After the return of the Taliban, he asked for help to leave Afghanistan. 

TURKEY

Turkish riot police fired tear gas and engaged in heavy clashes with protesters, mostly women, who took to the streets in their thousands on the International Day Against Gender Violence. The demonstrators called for the resignation of the government because of the economic crisis and criticized the decision to withdraw from the Convention signed in Istanbul, the scene of the protest. 

RUSSIA

The toll of an explosion in the Listvyazhnaya coal mine in Siberia is high.Local sources speak of 52 victims among miners and rescuers. According to local officials there is no possibility of finding survivors. Of the 285 people present at the time of the accident, 239 have been evacuated. President Vladimir Putin speaks of a "great tragedy". 

TURKMENISTAN 

According to the state newspaper Neitralnyj Turkmenistan, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has entrusted his vice-premier, his son Serdar, with control of the country's entire energy and oil complex. The Central Asian state possesses enormous natural gas resources, the proceeds of which largely end up in the underground economy, as well as in the budgets of the presidential family.