South Korea’s low birthrate has been declared a national emergency despite its government’s efforts to incentivise people into parenthood by paying 2 million won ($1,510) on the birth of each child as well as providing a host of other benefits to parents. The country is one of several in East and Southeast Asia where birthrates have declined rapidly in recent years. Indeed, all five of the countries with...

Manhattan prosecutors say they will not oppose delay of up to 30 days in trial set to start March 25. Prosecutors in the United States have said they are willing to delay Donald Trump’s criminal trial on charges related to making hush money payments for up to 30 days so the former president’s lawyers can review newly obtained evidence. The first-ever criminal trial of a former US president...

In a remote corner of Myanmar, a line of farmers moves through a field of nodding poppies, making small cuts in the greenish-purple pods to release opium resin. The next morning they will collect the residue that has seeped out overnight and parcel it into bundles of sticky opium – the building blocks for manufacturing heroin. Myanmar became the world’s biggest opium producer in 2023, according to the...