REIWA highlights stamp duty and rental relief in state budget wishlist

The number of children entering elementary schools in Korea is expected to fall below 300,000 for the first time next year amid the country's low birth rate, data showed Sunday. The number of first graders, born in 2020, entering elementary school for the 2027 academic year, is expected to fall short of 300,000, just three years after dropping below the 400,000 mark, according to data compiled by the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) and the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI). The decline comes as only 272,337 babies were born in 2020, down 10 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. A total of 301,442 students enrolled as elementary school freshmen this year, barely surpassing the 300,000 mark and marking the lowest level since 1964, when the ministry began compiling related data. The figure is expected to fall further next year to roughly one-fourth of the 1.05 million recorded in 1968. The shrinking school-age population has raised concerns over school closures, particularly in rural areas, and a widening education gap bet

The government is reportedly reviewing plans to expand the label-free mandate for domestically produced drinking water to include bottled water brands imported from overseas, officials said Sunday. The plan was discussed in a recent meeting with importers of foreign-produced bottled water, according to the officials from the environment ministry. The meeting was a routine consultation with industry officials, and the ministry is still undecided on whether to apply the mandate to offshore brands, they added. Korea has required all bottled water produced and sold domestically to be label-free starting early this year, replacing physical labels with QR codes on bottle caps and external packaging. The mandate is expected to reduce the country's annual plastic usage by 2,270 metric tons, according to the ministry of climate, energy and environment. Bottled water produced overseas, however, is excluded from the mandate and is sold with traditional labels. Domestic producers have raised equity concerns, arguing that competing products in the same market should be subject to the same standards. As

Premier David Crisafulli batted off questions about the donation, which he said was done transparently.

Premier David Crisafulli batted off questions about the donation, which he said was done transparently.

WAtoday reporter Carla Hildebrandt has been recognised for her outstanding contribution to WA media after taking out the prestigious Arthur Lovekin Prize for Excellence in Journalism at the state’s annual media awards.

Jianming Feng, a delivery rider, was killed while working in Melbourne's CBD on Friday evening.

Mark Taylor spoke on Nine's Today about Usman Khawaja's new claims in his book, believing the discussion will "go round in circles".

Usman Khawaja's bombshell claims in his new book have rocked the Australian cricket community, reopening the Sandpapergate scandal from eight years ago.

When Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and seven principal officials bowed deeply before the cameras on October 29, Hong Kong witnessed something rare: a collective government apology. It came 11 months after the Wang Fuk Court fire claimed 168 lives and uprooted 1,984 households. A minister has resigned. Many reforms have been promised. Yet public reaction remains divided. That division reveals what people expect an apology to achieve, and how differently they understand political...

Some 2,000 Hong Kong firefighters have been issued upgraded tracking devices after an independent inquiry into last year’s deadly Tai Po fire exposed technical limitations in the previous system, the South China Morning Post has learned. The Fire Services Department spent HK$8.4 million (US$1.1 million) on the new Firefighter Tracking Devices (FTDs), which cost more than HK$4,000 each, to help find personnel in distress more effectively. The November 1 roll-out came about a year after the Wang...

Millions of Chinese internet users grieved after beloved snow leopard cub Ling Xiaohan died last Sunday, following 26 days of medical treatment after he was found weak, injured and unable to move in the Qinghai Lake reserve on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Despite intensive treatment efforts, the five-month-old cub died from complications arising from a severe brain injury, the cause of which is unknown, according to a statement by the Qinghai Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Centre. “The centre deeply...

Apple hasn’t even got its first foldable iPhone into everyone’s hands, but it may already be doing Samsung’s foldable business a favour.