China tries to encourage babies
After decades of limiting the number of children citizens can have, China is desperate for a population explosion.
Families across the country are now allowed to have three children, up from just one a few years ago, and one province is allowing women to have as many children as they want, even if they are not married.
Some cities are encouraging and subsidizing sperm donation, and some are paying cash for new parents. There are plans to expand national coverage for fertility treatments like IVF
The policies highlight the challenges China faces as it seeks to stem a shrinking workforce that could jeopardize its economic growth. However, these measures have been met with a wave of skepticism, ridicule and public debate, as many young Chinese reject the temptation to have children in one of the most expensive countries to raise them. .
Numbers: Two-thirds of respondents in a survey last year of about 20,000 young people said they did not want to have children.
Background: China’s population shrank last year for the first time since the 1960s. Many countries have faced similar demographic challenges, but China has aged rapidly, at least in part due to policy a child of this country.
The EU is built on the idea that economic exchange, trade and interdependence are the best guarantees against war. Sauli Niinisto, the president of Finland, said: “Many of us have begun to take peace for granted. That mentality has given way to the perception that military might is necessary for security.
As a protracted war looms, the EU will grapple with how to strengthen its military; how to navigate tensions between frontline states intent on defeating Russia completely and other states, such as France and Germany, inclined to compromise; and how to manage an election in the US next year will raise anxiety about whether Washington will continue the process.
change: Finland and Sweden, which have long remained neutral, are pushing to join NATO. Germany has announced a $112 billion investment in its armed forces. And countries like France, concerned about Europe’s military dependence on the US, are calling for “strategic autonomy”.
Related: Russia hits the front line in the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine with artillery attacks. China announces state visit this week from the leader of Belarus, a top Kremlin ally.
Iranian women take off their headscarves
Iranian women suddenly show off their goodsafter more than four decades of strict laws requiring women and girls over the age of 9 to cover their hair in public.
The current president, Ebrahim Raisi, has enforced the law harshly and brutally, infuriating Iranian women, many of whom have been beaten or arrested after allegedly violating them. Anger over the law flared in September after a 22-year-old woman, Masha Amini, died while in the custody of ethics police, sparking street protests across Iran.
Protests have largely failed amid violent repression, and they are rarer in more conservative areas. But acts of civil disobedience continue on a daily basis, and authorities only occasionally enforce the head covering law, according to women and activists in Iran.
Now, videos of parks, cafes, restaurants and malls show more naked women. Celebrities and athletes have removed their headscarves in Iran and while representing the country abroad.
Quote: “Whether the government wants to admit it or not, the era of mandatory headscarves is over,” said a graduate student in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj, in western Iran.
LATEST NEWS
Asia Pacific
Wrestling academies have become bastions of freedom and hope for young women in India.
More and more families in the northern state of Haryana are sending their daughters away to become pehelwan: professional competitive wrestlers. Most students will not attend the Olympics, but many see intensive schools as their best chance for a more independent life.
life lived
Shinta Ratri leads an Islamic boarding school that has become a haven for transgender women in Indonesia. She died at the age of 60.
ARTS AND IDEAS
Rumors of “Cocaine Bear”
“Cocaine Bear,” the comedy-thriller about a bloodthirsty bear perched on a coke machine, hit theaters last Friday with considerable anticipation — mainly because of the title.
Play as an apex computer-generated predator who filmmakers called Cokeyand actors Keri Russell, Margo Martindale and Ray Liotta“Cocaine Bear” has a simple plot: A smuggler accidentally drops cocaine in the woods, a bear snorts, and “turns into a combination of Tony Montana and Jason Voorhees,” our reviewerJason Zinoman, writes.
The film is very loosely based on a true story about a black bear who died after ingesting cocaine brought by a drug smuggler flying over Georgia. The bear’s carcass, stuffed and named Pablo Escobear, is said to have ended up at a Kentucky mall, a monument to The results are often tragic when animals stick to human drugs.
Zinoman writes: “For those viewers who are desperately looking for a good time, they will find it. The modest-budget film looked like a modest success: It beat predictions at the box office, and had a better opening weekend than “Paddington”.”
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to cook?
This light vegetarian soup Pack a bit of ginger and lemongrass with the heat of chili.
What to read
“exceptions” tells the story of how a group of female scientists reveal the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s long history of sexism.
What to see
Charlotte Rampling presents dry humor and withered tragedy as a docile grandmother in “juniper.”
Fizz
Wirecutter reviews best home soda maker.
Now it’s time to play
Play Small crosswordsand a clue: Unhealthy relationship (five letters).
The following is words and spelling bee.
You can find all our quizzes here.
That’s it for today’s briefing. See you next time. – Knit
PS A look at the numbers at The Times coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Start your week with this long reading narration about Elon Musk’s thirst for destruction, and here’s the sixth edition of “daily,” about a year of war in Ukraine.
We want your feedback! Please email thoughts and suggestions to [email protected].
One point to be precise: Friday’s newsletter misrepresents population change in Africa. The average age on the continent is not rejuvenating; it is getting older, even if it is much younger than the global average.
