Vice President Sara Duterte to skip President Bongbong Marcos' fourth SONA
The impeachment process will proceed even if Vice President Sara Duterte fails to respond to the summons of the Senate Impeachment Court.
VP Duterte will not attend the fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Bongbong Marcos on July 28. 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino
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ABC News
42 minutes ago
- ABC News
Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong rejects peace overtures made by South Korea
Kim Jong Un's sister says North Korea has no interest in any policy or proposals for reconciliation from South Korea, dashing hopes of thawing relations between the two countries. There had been growing optimism that Pyongyang might respond positively to peace overtures made by South Korea's recently elected liberal President Lee Jae-myung. Seoul's decision to suspend loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda and to ban balloons from dropping leaflets was followed by Pyongyang's decision to halt its loudspeaker broadcasts. But Kim Yo Jong, a senior official of North Korea's ruling party who is believed to speak for its leader, said Mr Lee's commitment to the South Korea-US security alliance showed he was no different from his hostile predecessor. "If South Korea expects to reverse all the consequences of (its actions) with a few sentimental words, there could be no greater miscalculation than that," Ms Kim said in comments reported by state media. Ms Kim, the North Korean official, called the suspension of activist activities merely a reversal of ill-intentioned activities South Korea should never have initiated. "In other words, it's not even something worth our assessment," she said. Mr Lee took office on June 4 after winning a snap election following the removal of hardline conservative Yoon Suk Yeol. He has vowed to improve ties with Pyongyang that had reached their worst level in years. Following the KCNA comments on Monday, Mr Lee said it was important to restore trust between the neighbours. South Korea's Unification Ministry, charged with handling ties between the two countries, said Kim Yo Jong's comments "show the wall of distrust between the South and the North is very high as a result of hostile and confrontational policy over the past few years". South Korea will keep up efforts for reconciliation and cooperation, ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung-sam told a briefing. Its new unification minister, Chung Dong-young, said he planned to advise Mr Lee to adjust joint military drills with the United States, Yonhap reported. The exercises have been criticised by Pyongyang. Still, Mr Lee, whose government is embroiled in tough negotiations with Washington to avert punishing tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump, has called the US alliance the pillar of South Korea's diplomacy. Seoul would make efforts in all areas to "strengthen the South Korea-US alliance that was sealed in blood", Mr Lee said on the anniversary of the Korean War armistice on Sunday. Moon Seong-mook, an analyst for the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, said Kim Yo Jong's statement shows North Korea is holding out for South Korea to abandon the US alliance. Mr Moon said that Ms Kim likely sees little upside in engaging with South Korea since it cannot restart economic projects that previously benefited North Korea as long as international sanctions remain in place. North Korea built cooperation with Russia, sending troops and conventional weapons to support its war in Ukraine, and likely receiving economic and economic assistance in return. Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has repeatedly boasted of his personal ties with Kim Jong Un and expressed intent to resume diplomacy with him. But North Korea hasn't publicly responded to Trump's overture. Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said that Kim Yo Jong's statement had a domestic audience. "Kim Yo Jong's comments are an effort to advance national pride by portraying North Korea in a superior position, despite its economic struggles and international pariah status," Mr Easley said. "She also seeks to justify Pyongyang's weapons programs and divide Seoul and Washington by criticising upcoming military exercises." ABC/wires
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
China to give cash to parents for childcare in effort to try and lift birth rate
China's government will offer cash subsidies to parents with children under the age of three, as the world's second most populous nation faces a looming demographic crisis. State media reported on Monday that parents would receive 3,500 yuan ($765) per year per eligible child. The country's population has declined for three consecutive years, with United Nations demography models predicting it could fall from 1.4 billion today to 800 million by 2100. The nationwide subsidies apply retroactively from January 1, Beijing's state broadcaster CCTV said, citing a decision by the ruling Communist Party and the State Council, China's cabinet. "This is a major nationwide policy aimed at improving public wellbeing," CCTV said. "It provides direct cash subsidies to families across the country, helping to reduce the burden of raising children," it added. There were just 9.54 million births in China last year, half the number than in 2016, the year it ended its one-child policy, which was in place for more than three decades. The population declined by 1.39 million last year, and China lost its crown as the world's most populous country to India in 2023. Marriage rates are also at record low levels, with many young couples put off having babies by high child-rearing costs and career concerns. Parents in Beijing welcomed the fresh subsidies, but said more needed to be offered for them to consider having extra children. "For young couples who just got married and already have a baby, it might actually encourage them to consider having a second child," Wang Xue, a mother to a nine-year-old son, told AFP. "After all, the subsidy does help ease their burdens… and also offers some psychological comfort," Ms Wang said. But she said the new measures would not be enough to convince her to have a second child. "Having one child is manageable, but if I had two, I might feel a bit of (financial) pressure," she said. Zhang Wei, a 34-year-old father of a daughter and son, said the new subsidies were "a good start" because raising children was getting more expensive. "Compared to our generation, the costs have definitely increased exponentially," he said. While analysts said the subsidies were a step in the right direction, they warned that the new measures alone would not reverse China's population decline, nor boost its domestic spending slump. "It is encouraging that the government finally moved to use fiscal subsidies to boost fertility," said Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. It also showed the government recognised the "serious challenge" that low fertility rates posed for the economy, Mr Zhang added. Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics, said the policy marked a "major milestone" in terms of direct handouts to households and could lay the groundwork for more fiscal transfers in the future. But he said the sums were too small to have a "near-term impact on the birth rate or consumption". Many local governments have already rolled out subsidies to encourage childbirth. In March, Hohhot, the capital of China's northern Inner Mongolia region, began offering residents up to 100,000 yuan ($21,000) per newborn for couples with three or more children, while first and second children will be eligible for 10,000 ($2,100) and 50,000 ($10,700) yuan subsidies. In Shenyang, in northeastern Liaoning province, local authorities give families who have a third child 500 yuan per month until the child turns three. More than 20 provincial-level administrations in the country now offer childcare subsidies, according to official data. Premier Li Qiang vowed to provide childcare subsidies during the government's annual work report in March. China's shrinking population is also aging fast, sparking worries about the future of the country's pension system. There were nearly 310 million people aged 60 and over in 2024. AFP/ABC
ABC News
16 hours ago
- ABC News
Superannuation at risk, economists say
Annie Guest: Millions of Australians in or approaching retirement are potentially exposed to enormous financial insecurity. It's connected to the global bond market. That's where governments, corporations and financial institutions trade debt securities, primarily bonds. Our business correspondent David Taylor joined me earlier for more. David, what's at the heart of the concerns for millions of Australians in or approaching retirement? David Taylor: Annie, I'll try to make this simple. Many Australians rely on superannuation nest eggs for their retirement income. Now, those nest eggs are made up of shares and bonds and things like that. Now, superannuation funds are heavily invested when it comes to shares in US shares. Australian share market is big, but not quite big enough to produce the sort of returns they want. Now, that's good news because Wall Street's consistently flirting with all time highs. So, you know, that boosts superannuation balances big time. But Annie, there are concerns that Wall Street now is vulnerable to a lasting correction or a big drop, a lasting drop in stock prices. Annie Guest: David, what's the basis for those concerns? David Taylor: Well, Australians are not the only ones invested in US stocks and bonds. The Japanese are too. And a problem may come, Annie, if Japanese bonds become an attractive place for both Japanese and Chinese and other investors to put their money in. Now, what I mean by that is investors are chasing returns. So, if the share market in the US on Wall Street is doing well, you get high returns. Go over to the bond market in Japan. If the interest rate on those bonds starts to rise, well, people go, maybe I should be investing in the Japanese bond market. And so, money is transferred from the United States and Wall Street into the Japanese bond market where they can get, where they can own a relatively safe security with higher returns. As AMP's head of investment strategy, Shane Oliver, explains. Shane Oliver: Well, the basic concern is that the Japanese government lost its majority in the upper house elections on the weekend. That is leading to political uncertainty in Japan. It's unsure as to how long the Prime Minister will remain. That, in turn, is adding to risks that there will be some sort of fiscal easing and further expansion in Japanese government debt. And if that occurs, it will mean higher bond yields than we've already got in Japan, which of course will suck money out of the US and elsewhere back into Japan as investors unwind their so-called carry trades. And carry trades are basically situations where investors borrow very cheaply in Japan, put that money into places like the US, pick up a higher level of yield. But whenever there's uncertainty about the global economy or there's rising yields in Japan, then that money can flow back to Japan. And we're seeing a bit of that at present. David Taylor: So is AMP concerned about a large volume of money in the event that money does end up moving from the United States to Japan? Shane Oliver: Look, to be honest with you, we're not overly concerned about it, but it's certainly something we're monitoring. Annie Guest: That's the AMP's Shane Oliver there. And the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, or ASFA, represents many superannuation funds. What's it had to say about this worry? David Taylor: Annie, it might not surprise you that it's not concerned. It says it's not concerned. It expects that $450 billion US dollars will be directed to US assets over the next decade. It says that superannuation giants are well-placed to deal with the market volatility if it eventuates in any case. Annie Guest: That's business correspondent David Taylor.
