2025 marks China's lowest birth rate since 1949
Today's news: Syria, immediate ceasefire agreement between government and SDF. 60 nations have been invited by Trump to take part in the Board of Peace for Gaza. The Communist Party Congress has opened in Vietnam. Violent fire in a shopping centre in Karachi has caused at least 14 deaths.
CHINA
The number of births in China fell to a record low last year, decreasing by about 10 million from the peak in 2016 and reducing the total by more than half in less than a decade, while the country's population declined for the fourth consecutive year. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, only 7.92 million children were born in 2025, a 17% drop from 9.54 million in 2024. This is the lowest figure since records began in 1949.
SYRIA
The Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have agreed to an immediate and complete ceasefire on all fronts, after days of fighting that saw the army advance into Kurdish-controlled territories in the north-east of the country. The agreement provides for the integration of the SDF into the ministries of defence and the interior. The government will take military and administrative control of the provinces of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa, currently under Kurdish control.
UNITED STATES - GAZA
60 nations - including EU countries, Egypt, Turkey and Jordan - have reacted with caution to Trump's invitation to join the Board of Peace (BoP); there is widespread concern that it will undermine the work of the UN. The White House says the BoP will provide ‘strategic oversight, mobilising international resources and ensuring accountability as Gaza transitions from conflict to peace and development’. Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Tony Blair will be among the founders; the objectives are to rebuild the enclave and disarm Hamas, as envisaged in phase 2 of the 20-point plan that led to the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
VIETNAM
The Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam opened today: it will meet until 25 January to choose the new leadership and set key objectives for the young economy, consolidating To Lam's leadership as the new general secretary. Approximately 1,600 Communist Party delegates will elect a new Central Committee composed of about 200 members. From among the 200 elected members of the Central Committee, 17 to 19 members of the Politburo will be chosen.
PAKISTAN
A violent fire that devastated a shopping centre in Karachi has caused at least 14 deaths; rescuers are frantically searching for dozens of people who are still missing. Firefighters took more than 24 hours to extinguish the blaze that broke out on Saturday evening at Gul Plaza. The building housed 1,200 shops. Parts of the building collapsed and, according to the authorities, the rubble and lack of ventilation hampered rescue operations.
RUSSIA
The Moscow government has begun selling off huge amounts of yuan and rouble currency and gold from the National Welfare Fund to cover the budget shortfalls caused by large losses in gas and oil sales, which have reached Covid-19 pandemic levels and in December fell by half compared to annual averages, due to international sanctions and discounts to “friendly” countries.
KAZAKHSTAN
According to data from the national statistics institute, 25,000 farms have been closed in Kazakhstan in the last two years, falling from 270,000 at the beginning of 2024 to 245,000 at the end of 2025. The Ministry of Agriculture does not see this as a cause for concern, attributing it entirely to the consolidation of large farms, but several industry experts believe this is a negative trend, predicting increases in the price of milk and meat.
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