Sydney
Reuters
–

The New Zealand Air Force said Wednesday it had evacuated three people from a US research base in Antarctica.

One person in need of emergency medical care and two people in need of medical care during their rescue air flight from McMurdo Station on Tuesday, the New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) said in a statement.

The aircraft landed in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand on Wednesday morning. The statement gave no details about the medical emergency or nationality.

Air New Zealand’s Commodore Andy Scott said that a midwinter flight to Antarctica can be played by one of the most challenging air squadrons when landing extremely cold on an ice runway in the dark.

“(It’s) a very challenging environment for diving into night vision goggles due to extreme weather conditions that change very much during this time and make accurate prediction a challenge,” he said.

Temperatures at McMuldo Station fell low at -24 Celsius (-11 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, hampering a 20-hour mission that took place in the complete darkness of Antarctica winter.

New Zealand’s US chargéd’Affaires, Melissa Sweeney, said the evacuation was “perfect.”

“We are very grateful. Our Kiwi partners didn’t hesitate to take on this mission in one of the most relentless environments on the planet. Their skills and preparation are truly world-class,” she said.

RNZAF provided similar rescues in 2021 and 2024.

Taiwan, Taiwan
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Taiwanese authorities have detained three current and former employees of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturer (TSMC), the world’s largest chip manufacturer, and allegedly stole occupational secrets, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Law enforcement officials questioned several suspects and witnesses later last month. The intellectual property division of Taiwan’s High Prosecutor’s Office searched their homes on Tuesday and detained three people over “serious suspicions of violating national security laws.”

Using leading clients, including Apple and Nvidia, TSMC produces more than 90% of the world’s advanced semiconductor chips that power everything from smartphones and artificial intelligence (AI) applications to weapons.

Taiwan’s leading exporters have raised suspicions that its “core technology” could have been illegally accessed by former and current staff of authorities after an internal investigation.

The prosecutor’s office said in the first cases of this kind, since Taiwan tightened its national security law to protect key technologies in 2022, it would investigate the motives behind the theft of trade secrets and whether TSMC proprietary information was leaked to other parties.

Nikkei Asia first reported Tuesday that TSMC fired staff suspected of illegally obtaining business secrets related to the manufacturing technology of the company’s 2-nanometer chip, the most advanced processor in the semiconductor industry, which is set to enter mass production this year.

Due to the development costs and the level of knowledge required, it is difficult to create ultra-advanced semiconductor chips. That is, much of the production is concentrated on just a handful of suppliers, such as TSMC, Intel, Samsung, and Rapidus.

The TSMC said it discovered potential trade secret leaks after unauthorized activity was detected during regular monitoring.

“TSMC has taken strict disciplinary action against those involved and has commenced legal proceedings,” the company said in a statement. “Such violations are strictly treated and pursued to the fullest extent of the law.”

Local Taiwanese media reported that a former TSMC employee is currently working for top chip manufacturing equipment supplier Tokyo Electronics Co., Ltd., and that the Taiwan office of a Japanese company has been attacked by investigators.

Tokyo Electronics’ Taiwan office told CNN there was no comment.

A violation of TSMC’s major trade secrets could have national security implications for Taiwan if proven true. This is because it could narrow down the technical leads the company has more than its advanced chip manufacturing competitors.

TSMC’s technical capabilities promote the general belief in Taiwan that the island’s global dependence on semiconductors will act as a “silicon shield.” This is a leverage of deterrence and global diplomacy against potential Chinese aggression.

The strengthened law, which caused penalties for theft of core technology and banned its use in foreign countries, came after years of incidents in a Chinese company that acquired know-how in chip manufacturing by poaching Taiwanese engineers.

Warsaw
Reuters
–

Karol Naulocki, a conservative historian and supporter of Donald Trump’s Magazine movement, was sworn in as Poland’s president on Wednesday, setting the stage for a conflict with the centralist government and a potentially cool relationship with Ukraine.

Nowrocky took the presidential oath at a ceremony in the Polish Parliament.

Supported by Nationalist Opposition Law and Justice (PIS), Nowrocky’s election victory hit a blow to hopes that Prime Minister Donald Task would set it up for the bloc’s largest eastern member and solidify the European Union course, leaving the government to the vote.

Poland is now helping to continue the deadlock seen under the resignation of nationalist Andrzezi Duda, and Nowrocky was able to use his veto to hamper the government’s agenda, including rolling back the judicial reforms implemented by the PIS, critics said it would undermine the court’s independence.

Now Rocky also appears to be set to bring headaches to the government by proposing measures such as tax cuts that are popular with many voters but are difficult to implement for a growing budgetary administration.

“As Prime Minister, I have worked with three presidents so far,” Tusk, who was prime minister from 2007 to 2014, wrote in a post on X.

The next president has said he has not seen the NATO or EU Ukraine locations at present.

As president, Nawrocki must sign off to the ratification of Poland of new members joining NATO.

Tusk says the European Union should play a greater role in defense issues alongside NATO, but PIS and Nawrocki argued that this undermines Poland’s alliance with the US.

“The United States is definitely our preferred partner,” said Rafal Leskievich, a spokesman for Nowrocky.

But the fact that PIS is a political newcomer little known to the public before throwing that weight behind him is a political newcomer, says political observers.

Andrze Reicard, sociologist at the Polish Academy of Sciences, said:

Nawrocki won from a tumultuous campaign where allegations about his past frequently dominated headlines, including the acquisition of a second property from an elderly man in exchange for a promise of care he had not provided.

Nawrocki denied the allegations of fraud, but he admitted to taking part in a systematic battle between football hooligans, adding to the harsh image that amateur boxers were already trying to grow.

Following the election, supporters of the defeated liberal candidate Rafal Truzaskowski have filed thousands of protests with the Supreme Court over irregularities at some polling stations. However, irregularities were not sufficient to significantly alter the outcome.

Pis accused liberal opponents of trying to destroy the will of people, and their supporters are scheduled to march in the capital on their inauguration day.

“Anyone who can — come to Warsaw… for the president’s oath,” Senator Mikal Warzick wrote to X:

Hong Kong
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Zane Lee was nine years old when he owned his sister, and her arrival drove her family into crippling debt in a small city in eastern China.

Under China’s strict one-child policy at the time, Li’s parents were fined 100,000 yuan (about $13,900) for having a second child.

“We barely survived,” recalls Lee. The third graders at the time were forced to grow up overnight, taking on most of the household chores and spent their school holidays to help their mothers at the food stalls.

Right now, Lee says he has no plans to have children. Something that worries the Chinese government as it tries to avoid its own population crisis and is increasingly common in his generation.

For decades, authorities have put pressure on the couple to pay large fines and reduce children through forced abortion and sterilization.

Last week, with the latest push to increase the flag’s fertility rate, China announced that it would effectively provide parents with an annual grant of 3,600 yuan ($500) to all children up to three years of age, retroactively from January 1st.

But for many young people like Li, the offer becomes flat.

“The cost of raising children is enormous, with 3,600 yuan per year being a slight drop in buckets,” said Li, who has earned a student loan to earn a master’s degree in medical services in Beijing.

A recent study by the Beijing-based Yuwa Population Institute found that in China, a mean of 538,000 yuan ($75,000) to raise a child to age 18, average GDP of 538,000 yuan ($75,000) is more than six times more than a person per person, making giving birth to a child in relative terms one of the most expensive places in the world.

In Shanghai, costs soar past 1 million yuan, while Beijing approaches 936,000 yuan.

“(Having a child) only has to struggle more. I’m not a capitalist or anything. My kids probably don’t have a good life either,” said Li, who is considering pursuing his job prospects and doctoral degrees.

Such a shady outlook on future parent-child relationships, spurred by slowing China’s economy and increasing unemployment rates among young people, presents a major hurdle that the government pushes to help young people marry and have children.

Faced with a shrinking workforce and a rapidly aging population, China abolished the one-child policy in 2016, allowing couples to have two children and three children in 2021. However, the birth rate continues to slip. Despite a small rebound at birth last year, the population has been shrinking for the third year in a row, and experts are now warning of a sharper decline.

The newly announced national childcare subsidies illustrate an important step in China’s birth campaign.

For years, local authorities have experimented with many incentives, from tax credits, housing perks, and cash handouts to maternity leave. Currently, the central government is taking the lead in standardized, national programs, allocating 90 billion yuan ($12.54 billion) in subsidies expected to benefit 20 million families this year.

“It’s no longer a local experiment. It’s a signal that the government sees the fertility crisis as urgent and public,” says Emma Zan, a demographicist and professor of sociology at Yale University. “The message is clear. We’re not only telling you to have a baby, but we’re finally putting money on the table.”

The new scheme, which provides partial subsidies for children under the age of 3 born before 2025, is welcomed by eligible parents, but Zan said it is unlikely that he will move the needle at an obesity rate. Similar policies have failed to significantly increase the birth rate of other East Asian societies, such as Japan and South Korea, she added.

For many Chinese youth who are tackling unfair home prices, long business days and unstable employment markets, subsidies don’t even begin to tackle deep seated anxiety that reluctantly wants to start a family.

“It’s not just about the cost, it’s really not just about the cost. Many young adults are skeptical of the future, such as job security, aging parents, and social pressures. That’s why cash handouts don’t address the emotional fatigue that people have been facing recently,” Zan said.

It is ironic that parents, especially those who witnessed the harsh penalties of only child policy, for helping parents to have more children, from being fined for unauthorized births, are not lost in Chinese millennials and General ZS.

On social media in China, some users have posted photos of old receipts showing the fines their parents once paid for giving birth to them or siblings.

Among them is Gao, who grew up in the far mountains of Giza and was asked to be identified only by her last name. The southwestern state is the poorest in China; Among many regions, the sculpture was recognized under the one-child policy, and if the first born was a girl, a country couple allowed a second child.

Like her two sisters, Gao was sent to live with her grandmother shortly after being born to hide from family planning staff. They eventually gave birth to four daughters before having a son.

Gao, 27, who currently lives in eastern Jiangsu Province, says he has no interest in marriage or raising children.

“I know that I can’t provide my child with a good environment for education and life, and choosing not to have it is also an act of kindness,” she said. “I definitely don’t want my kids to grow up like I do… I don’t have the chance to struggle with upward mobility and the bottom of society as I have.”

For decades, as China’s economy boomed and living standards improved, young people of a generation have grown with the belief that they live better than their parents.

That optimism is now declining.

Today, many young people grew up with the promise of upward mobility through hard work and education. Education is disillusioned. Property prices have skyrocketed beyond reach, and university degrees no longer guarantee a good job.

There is a growing sense of futile that their relentless efforts will only reduce returns in a more competitive society. This is a trend summarised by the popular buzzword “in lution,” a term borrowed from sociology to explain the self-defeating spiral of excessive competition.

In response, many people choose to “lie flat.” This is another catchphrase that refers to being kicked out of the grind of encountering social expectations, such as marriage or raising children.

In June, Zhao, 29, grew up in a middle-class family in Beijing’s Heidian district, one of China’s most “entangled” places.

With 3 million people and many of the nation’s top universities, Heidian is just as well known for his overly competitive approach to raising children. Zhao began attending private tutor classes every weekend in his third year.

After earning his bachelor’s and graduate degrees overseas, Zhao returned to Beijing to work in investor relations. She says the immeasurable pressure she grew up played a major role in her decision to not have children.

“The cost is simply too high and too low returns,” she said. “In general, I have a rather pessimistic view of life.

Zhao considers himself lucky. She rarely requires overtime for her job. Still, she has a hard time imagining finding time to raise her child. After commuting to work and having dinner, she spends two or three hours of free time each day before going to bed. It would be even more difficult for a friend who was trapped in a “996” crush that works six days a week from 9am to 9pm.

Like many of her contemporaries, Gao is simply not optimistic about the life she can provide to her child, or the society in which it will be born. “You just feel the urge to have a child when you believe that the days ahead are good,” she said.

Secondly, there is a long-standing gender imbalance in parenting, along with the physical and emotional sacrifices needed by women. In Zhao’s case, it was his mother who had to exchange work full-time to help with homework and escort her to a tutoring class.

“I saw firsthand how hard it was for my mother to raise me. I know that women are burdened with far more burdens and costs than men when it comes to raising a family,” she said.

As fertility rates fell, the ruling Communist Party underscored the domestic role of women as “noble wives and good mothers.” It promotes this as an important part of Chinese traditional culture and is essential for the “sound growth of the next generation.” Authorities have encouraged women to establish “the correct views on marriage, childbirth and family.”

Demographicist Zan said it is simply unrealistic to expect more children without addressing the real barriers women face.

“We can’t turn the clock back, and we hope that women will embrace more traditional roles. Young women today are highly educated, career-oriented, and want more equality. Fertility fees won’t be recovered unless they support that reality through paternity leave, workplace protection, flexible work, etc.”

“The government wants more babies, but society is not structured to support families,” she added. “Raising a parenting now looks like a trap, especially for women. Until that changes, the subsidies aren’t enough.”

Tokyo
Reuters
–

Japan recorded a high of 41.8 degrees Celsius (107.2 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, urging the government to advise residents to stay indoors and promise measures to ease study abroad related to rice cultivation.

Readings for the eastern city of Gamma exceeded the previous high of 41.2 C marked in the western city of Hyogo prefecture last week, the country’s weather agency said.

So far, more than 53,000 people have been taken to hospitals due to heat stroke this summer, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

“It’s murderously hot today,” said Takeshi, a 63-year-old auto worker, who was buried in a water bottle at a fountain in central Tokyo. “If it reaches 42 degrees, preparing at 40 degrees would be hotter than baths.”

The average temperature across Japan has continued to rise after hitting record highs in July for the third consecutive year, but rain levels are very low in the northeastern region along the Sea of Japan, raising concerns about rice cultivation.

High temperatures have caused the spread of foul smelly bugs in several rice cultivation areas, despite the government officially setting it up to adopt new policies on Tuesday, an increase in rice production to prevent future shortages.

To prevent damage caused by high temperatures, we need to act with a sense of speed and a sense of crisis,” Rural Minister Ono said at a press conference. He said the government will provide support for pest control and measures to tackle drought.

The extreme heat of 2023 undermined the quality of rice, causing an acute shortage that was exacerbated last year by misreading government supply and demand. It led to historically high prices of very important staple foods, causing a national crisis.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a tricky balance while maintaining a close partnership between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, claiming that Moscow’s approved Western nations are a neutral party to the disappointing Russian-Ukraine war.

But now it appears Trump has lost his patience. Modi finally demands that he choose the side, using India’s continued purchase of Russian oil as leverage in his trade war.

The challenge pits Trump and Modi. Two nationalist leaders have often described friendship in warm words.

On Monday, Trump vowed to “essentially” raise India’s tariffs “for the next 24 hours” as he still buys Russian oil. It is not clear what will happen with the new tariff rate or whether he is currently having problems with India’s years of doing it. However, a new threat comes after he already announced a minimum 25% tariff on goods coming from India last week.

“Also, they’ve always bought the majority of military equipment from Russia, and together with Russia, they’re Russia’s biggest energy buyers, and when everyone wanted Russia to stop killings in Ukraine, everything isn’t good!” Trump wrote about the true society last week.

But for Modi it’s not that simple. Many other countries have been taken away to attack trade deals with the Trump administration, the world’s fourth-largest economy, but they have been unfairly targeted and rebelliously pushed back by saying they call the measure “unfair.”

The US and Europe still trade with Russia with other products, such as fertilizers and chemicals.

Here’s what you need to know about why India is reluctant to stop buying Russian oil:

India has long relied on Russia to help grow its crude oil-booming economy and population, and now has more than 1.4 billion people.

The world’s most populous country is already the third largest consumer in the world, and as India’s consumption rate is still growing rapidly, it is expected to surpass China by 2030, according to Reuters.

Millions of households have risen as India’s transformation into an economic superpower. This has resulted in more cars and motorcycles being purchased, and demand for gasoline has increased.

Russian crude accounts for 36% of India’s total imports, and Moscow has become the country’s top supplier, according to Muyu Xu, a senior oil analyst at trade information company Kpler, who cited figures for the first six months of the year.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, European countries largely halted Russian oil purchases. Now it flows mostly into Asia. China, India and Turkey are among the large Russian customers, and are important revenue streams for Moscow.

Delhi has a huge discount on Russian oil. “If not, it would not have been given to traditional oil and gas suppliers,” said Amitabsin, an associate professor at the Jawaharlalleneur University (JNU) Centre at the Centre for Russia and Central Asian Studies.

He added that India’s ongoing purchases are “a purely economic or commercial decision.” The Indian authorities have also claimed, but are filled with despair and rage from Ukraine and its supporters.

India has diversified its oil sources over the years, but once Russian oil is completely cut away, it leaves a large hole that is difficult to replace.

India imports 80% of its oil needs, and domestic oil production is not enough to make up for the difference. OPEC, a coalition of top oil producers in the world, said, “There may be a spare capacity, but it is difficult to ask you to pump 3.4 million barrels overnight,” Xu spoke with CNN in July, referring to Russia’s daily maritime exports.

That choice is also limited by other US actions. India was forced to stop buying oil from Iran and Venezuela after imposing sanctions on countries that Trump bought from those locations and threatened tariffs.

Before halting its purchases, India was one of Iran’s biggest clients, buying up to 480,000 barrels per day, according to Reuters.

“We tie our hands behind us,” Singh said. “India’s oil economy or markets can operate is very limited.”

For now, he added that it is unlikely that Delhi will succumb to Trump’s demands. Modi’s administration will continue trade talks with the US and work to break away from Russian crude oil, exploring the “traditional route” of Middle Eastern oil, but this “cannot be done overnight,” Singh said.

Russian oil also feeds India’s economy. The Indian economy plays an important role in the global oil trade. India claims that purchases from Russia have lowered global oil prices because they are not competing with Western countries for Middle Eastern oil.

When the Ukrainian-Russia war began during the Ukrainian-Russia regime, “everyone knew India was buying oil from Russia,” Singh said — but added that the Western countries tolerated it.

If India switches to import oil from elsewhere at higher costs, American consumers will also feel a hit. Some of the Russian crude oil sent to India is then refined and exported to other countries. This is because non-Russian products are not refined in sanctions against Moscow.

It is a loophole that has benefited both India’s economy and other recipient countries. In 2023, India exported $862.8 billion in sophisticated petroleum products, making it the world’s second largest exporter of petroleum products, according to the Bureau of Asian Studies (NBR).

According to the Energy Research Centre (CREA), some of the biggest buyers of these sophisticated products, made from Russian crude oil, include Europe, the US and the UK. Independent organisations have urged G7 countries to close this loophole and claim they will remove third countries, like India, to import Russian crude oil.

Historic Partnerships and Juggling Bonds

The India-Russia partnership goes beyond just oil, dating back decades. Another reason is that it’s not that easy to dismantle.

India officially formed nonalliance during the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. However, in the 1970s, when the US began providing military and financial aid to its Indian neighbours and longtime rival Pakistan, India began to lean towards the Soviet Union. This was when Russia began to provide arms to India.

In recent years, India has approached Washington and has stepped up the purchase of arms from the United States and its allies, including France and Israel.

Still, according to Cipri, India remains the top recipient of Russian weapons. And Modi remains friendly with Putin. Even paying a controversial visit to Moscow last year, the Russian president greets his counterparts in a hug and drives him personally.

Trump and Modi previously welcomed friendship, but at a rally in 2019, Trump declared that India “had no better friends than President Donald Trump.”

Professor Singh said the friendship is expected to “continue” when Trump arrives at the White House for his second term. But things got worse this time. India is not satisfied with Trump’s claim to credit for the ceasefire in the latest India-Pakistan conflict, or his accusations that their oil purchases support “supporting Russian war machinery,” he said.

Trump has also assaulted him and is increasingly irritated that he is unable to end the Ukraine-Russian war. “I don’t care what India is doing in Russia,” Trump wrote last week in a furious post about the true society. “They can defeat their dead economy together for everything I care about.”