North Korea is expected to determine its major policy direction for 2024 this week – with analysts predicting an increased focus on further boosting its nuclear capabilities aimed at exerting more pressure on the United States. Pyongyang stated in early December that it would convene the Central Committee Plenary Meeting of the Workers’ Party Korea later the month, without specifying exact dates. Given North Korea’s tradition of convening year-end meetings and announcing results on New Year’s Day to set the next year’s policies, the meeting is likely to take place…
Day: December 25, 2023
China’s middle class does not ‘dare to spend’ until post-Covid economy shows clear signs of recovery
“The stock market and real estate are in a slump and almost all kinds of investments are shrinking, no one dares to spend,” a small-business owner named Huo from China’s southern tech hub of Shenzhen said. “The economy is not doing well so everyone is worried about the future, so why should I spend money? Consumption can’t be boosted by a few more purchases of clothes or jewellery.” How China’s lottery boom reflects a ‘long and challenging’ economic recovery Official data bears out Huo’s pessimism. Property sales by floor area…
Australia Storm Cuts Power to 110,000 Homes, Kills One
SYDNEY — Christmas night thunderstorms and strong winds cut power to 110,000 homes in eastern Australia and toppled a tree that killed one woman, officials said Tuesday. People lost electricity as the storm wrought “catastrophic” damage, downing power lines in Queensland’s capital Brisbane and the Gold Coast area, energy company Energex said. “There is no easy way to say this, but some customers will not have power for days — we’re looking at catastrophic and widespread damage on the scale of a cyclone,” it said in an update on social…
Pakistan steps up tax evasion crackdown: pay up or lose your phone
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Television viewers in Pakistan this winter have been bombarded with a series of threatening advertisements: pay your taxes, or risk losing your cell phone, gas or electricity connections. The advertisements, which were run by Pakistan’s tax authority, point to a persistent challenge for the government: the country is one of the world’s worst performers on income tax collection. Islamabad’s failure to improve its tax haul, which has forced the country…
Japan Moon Lander Enters Lunar Orbit
Tokyo, Japan — Japan’s SLIM space probe entered the moon’s orbit Monday in a major step toward the country’s first successful lunar landing, expected next month. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is nicknamed the “Moon Sniper” because it is designed to land within 100 meters (328 feet) of a specific target on the lunar surface. If successful, the touchdown would make Japan only the fifth country to have successfully landed a probe on the moon, after the United States, Russia, China and India. On Monday, SLIM “successfully entered…
China’s ‘first coffee village’ brewing up change amid digital transformation as jobseekers give it a shot, tourists take a sip
In recent years, however, Wang said a change has been brewing in the mountainous region, and now, not only are adults beginning to return, outsiders have begun flowing in. There are affluent job opportunities. Returning young people can easily find work.Wang Jiawei “You can earn as much as what you make in [a top-tier city such as] Shenzhen,” Wang explained at a seminar on the local economy in Xinzhai in November. “And there are affluent job opportunities. Returning young people can easily find work.” Xinzhai has also become an example…
China Approves 105 Online Games After Draft Curbs Trigger Losses
BANGKOK — China’s press and publications authority has approved 105 new online games, saying it fully supports the industry after proposed curbs caused massive losses last week for investors in major games makers. The National Press and Publication Administration issued a statement on its WeChat social media account Monday saying the approvals by the Game Working Committee of China Music and Digital Association were “positive signals that support the prosperity and healthy development of the online game industry.” Tencent’s “Counter War: Future” and NetEase’s “Firefly Assault” were among games approved.…
China pushes for more security operations along Mekong in summit with Southeast Asian neighbours
Beijing will push for stepped up security operations targeting cyber scam syndicates and illegal gambling, among other crimes, as a key area of cooperation along the Lancang-Mekong River region, Chinese Premier Li Qiang told his Southeast Asian counterparts on Monday. “We should strengthen governance about security, deepen the progress of security operations along the Mekong, and strike hard against cyber crimes like gambling and fraud,” Li said via video-link in a summit that he jointly hosted with co-chair, Myanmar’s military government leader Min Aung Hlaing. The Lancang-Mekong summit took place…
Chinese dancing frog goes viral doing the worm
An anthropomorphised frog has joined celebrity live-streamers and social media commentators among China’s ranks of influencers, as a trend that began with street sellers in Chinese cities takes on a new life online – and raised questions over who, if anyone, owns the intellectual property rights to a dancing amphibian. Alternatively known as a “frog seller” or “frog influencer”, the meme involves a person in a frog suit with a blue neckerchief selling frog-themed products such as balloons and toys. The magic ingredient for going viral on social media, though,…
Force of nature: China’s top climate envoy Xie Zhenhua steps down after more than 15 years in environment diplomacy
A Tianjin native, Xie was trained as an engineering physicist at Tsinghua University in the 1970s and started his career in various government agencies responsible for environmental affairs. While he rose through the ranks, he earned a master’s degree in environmental law from Wuhan University in 1993. Xie was made the head of the State Environmental Protection Administration in 1998 and in 2003 he was awarded the UN’s highest environmental honour, the United Nations Environment Programme Sasakawa environment prize. But this chapter of his career had a turbulent end when…