North Korea fires multiple missiles as Japanese minister visits Seoul

North Korea test-fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards its east coast on Tuesday, the South Korean military said, escalating tensions in the region a week before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

The missiles were launched at about 9.30am local time from Kanggye in the Jagang province and flew 250km before splashing down into the East Sea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

It was Pyongyang’s second missile test this year after leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the firing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile on 6 January that struck a target around 1,100km away.

“We strongly condemn the launch as a clear provocation that seriously threatens the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

It warned the North against “misjudging” the situation and vowed to “overwhelmingly respond” to any additional provocation.

The latest missile test coincided with Takeshi Iwaya’s visit, the first by a Japanese foreign minister in seven years, to Seoul for talks on trilateral cooperation with the US.

Mr Iwaya met his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae Yul on Monday. He condemned the North’s nuclear and missile development, and pledged to boost security ties with Seoul.

The test came less than a week before the inauguration of Mr Trump’s second term. In his first term from 2016 to 2020, Mr Trump sought to mend relations with Pyongyang, holding summits with Mr Kim and touting their personal rapport.

South Korean lawmakers briefed by the National Intelligence Service claimed that North Korea’s recent weapons tests were partly aimed at “showing off its US deterrent assets and drawing Trump’s attention” after Mr Kim vowed to initiate “the toughest anti-US counteraction” at a key year-end policy meeting last month.

Pyongyang is showcasing its advanced military capabilities while the South remains mired in a political crisis sparked by president Yoon Suk Yeol’s shortlived declaration of martial law on 3 December.

Mr Yoon has since been impeached and suspended. He is being investigated for insurrection and faces the prospect of arrest and even removal from office.

South Korea’s defence minister and military commanders have also been arrested and tried for their alleged involvement in the imposition of martial law.

Japanese fathers should be forced to take childcare leave, expert says

A Japanese expert on demographic trends and ageing society has suggested mandating childcare leaves for fathers as one of the ways to boost the country’s plummeting birth rate.

Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor at Tohoku University’s Research Center for Aged Economy and Society, told The Independent that childcare leave for fathers should be significantly increased and made more common in Japan, similar to the policies in Scandinavian countries.

“Male participation in childcare is very low in Japan and it needs to be boosted,” he said.

He also proposes a system where senior citizens can step in to fill labour gaps when the younger population takes childcare leave.

He pointed out the example of the “Papa quota” in Norway, where fathers are required to take at least one month of childcare leave after the birth of a child. Prof Yoshida advocated for a similar approach in Japan to improve gender equality and support work-life balance for families.

Although women’s roles in society have evolved, there hasn’t been enough social empowerment to support families in balancing work and childcare, Prof Yoshida said.

If women can’t have children while maintaining a career, “marriage is useless for them” leading to a decline in marriage rates, he said.

“So the marriage rate of young couples has decreased sharply in Japan,” he said. “As a result, the birth rate has fallen.”

“It is a very, very serious issue.”

He said gender equality in Japan needed to be prioritised as it was crucial for the “country’s existence”. In Japan, while some fathers take paternity leave to support childcare, many hesitate due to concerns about work disruption and career advancement.

Japan’s birthrate dropped to a record low of 1.20 in 2023, with Tokyo’s rate falling below one. This decline has been linked to fewer marriages, with a growing number of people remaining single.

Japanese policymakers have been working on “extraordinary measures” to tackle the country’s declining birth rate, which some leaders have called “alarming”.

These efforts include expanding childcare facilities, providing housing subsidies, launching a government-run dating app to promote marriage and childbearing, and more recently, it was reported that Tokyo’s mayor plans to subsidise epidural births this year in order to encourage more women to give birth.

Mr Yoshida has been maintaining a conceptual clock that highlights Japan’s rapidly declining fertility rate by displaying real-time data on the number of children in the country. It shows the number of children in the current year and the previous year and tracks the decrease every second.

Using official population data from the Japanese Statistics Bureau, the clock calculates a decreasing rate by comparing the number of children in consecutive years. The clock then estimates the year when the number of children will drop to just one, based on this steady decline.

According to the latest calculation, this would happen around the year 2720 – 695 years from now.

Mr Yoshida said he was “impressed” by the impact of the National Debt Clock in Times Square in New York City and the Doomsday Clock, highlighting the power of visualising issues. He believes that a similar approach could help raise awareness about the decline in Japan’s fertility rate.

Even though Japan has provisions for paternity leave, several reports suggest the number of fathers actually taking advantage of it has remained relatively low.

Mr Yoshida says that in order to implement male childcare leave effectively in Japan, workplaces need to adjust by addressing the labour shortages.

He suggested increasing the participation of older people in the workforce and leveraging new technologies, such as AI to improve efficiency and reduce the labour gap.

He also suggested older workers be employed longer, “up to ages 70-75”.

This would allow younger parents to take more time off for childcare while the older generation continues to contribute to the workforce.

A survey conducted by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other organisations last year, involving around 6,000 small and midsize businesses, revealed that 52.4 per cent of the 2,880 companies that responded lacked the personnel to replace employees on childcare leave, Asahi Shimbun reported.

Staying in one of most Japan’s popular cities may get more expensive

The popular travel destination of Kyoto in Japan is significantly raising accommodation tax in an attempt to curb overtourism by reducing visitor numbers.

The city plans to raise lodging tax for hotels and other accommodations to a maximum of 10,000 Japanese yen (£52) per person per night – nearly 10 times the current cap of 1,000 yen (£5.20).

The lodging tax will start at 200 yen (£1.04) for accommodations costing up to 5,999 yen (£31.19) a night; increasing to 400 yen (£2.08) for stays priced between 6,000 yen (£31.19) and 19,999 yen (£104); and 1,000 yen (£5.20) for those costing 20,000 yen (£104) to 49,999 yen (£260).

For rooms priced 50,000 yen (£260) to 99,999 yen (£520), the tax will increase to 4,000 yen (£20.79) a night, with the maximum rate set at 10,000 yen (£52) for accommodations costing 100,000 yen (£520) or more.

The city plans to implement the new taxes by spring 2026, according to Kyodo News.

Kyoto introduced the tiered accommodation tax system in 2018, charging 200 yen (£1.04) for stays under 20,000 yen (£104), 500 yen (£2.6) for those between 20,000 (£104) and 49,999 yen (£260), and 1,000 yen (£5.2) for accommodations costing 50,000 yen (£260) or more per night.

The new system is projected to boost Kyoto’s lodging tax revenue to over 10bn yen (£52m), nearly double the 5.2bn yen (£27m) collected in fiscal 2023.

Kyodo, like many other tourist destinations in Japan, has seen overtourism in recent years. Mayor Koji Matsui earlier said taxes would be raised “to balance tourism and the livelihoods of local residents”.

The official 2024 tourism figures for Japan, expected to be released on 15 January, will likely set a record and surpass the 31.9 million visitors recorded in 2019, before the Covid pandemic.

“If things go well, 2024 total will surpass 35 million,” national tourism agency commissioner Naoya Haraikawa said earlier. In the first 11 months, there was a significant increase in visitors from the US, Europe, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

The surge in tourist numbers has been attributed in major part to a weaker yen which has made Japan more attractive to foreign tourists.

While some believe this increase in accommodation tax in Kyodo will alleviate strain on infrastructure, others worry it will push tourists to stay in nearby cities like Osaka and visit Kyoto as day-trippers, potentially undermining the intended effect.

“There are clearly two sides to the argument,” Masaru Takayama, president of Kyoto-based Spirit of Japan Travel, was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post.

“Yes, overtourism is a problem in many parts of Kyoto and at particular times of the year, but I am sure foreign tourists will very quickly realise they can stay in a neighbouring city or town and just visit Kyoto for the day.

“That will not be good for hotel operators and will not effectively reduce the number of tourists.”

Japan’s internal affairs ministry reports that 11 local governments, including in Tokyo and Osaka, have enhanced accommodation taxes.

Last year, authorities in Fujikawaguchiko, a resort town in the Yamanashi prefecture, installed a large mesh barrier to block the view of Mount Fuji to deter poorly behaved tourists who frequently trespass, litter, and break traffic rules while taking pictures.

Residents had reportedly long been complaining about overcrowding at a spot offering a view of the mountain above a Lawson convenience store where tourists often parked illegally and obstructed pedestrians.

A recent survey showed that over 30 per cent of foreign visitors experienced overtourism issues in Japan in 2024, with congestion at tourist sites being the most common complaint. In response, 60 per cent of respondents said they would be willing to pay higher fees to reduce congestion and help protect resources.

Mysterious marble-sized balls wash up on Sydney beaches

Nine beaches in Sydney were shut down for visitors on Tuesday after mysterious white and grey marble-sized balls washed up ashore, disrupting the summer holiday season.

Popular beaches like Manly, Dee Why, Long Reef, Queenscliff, Freshwater, North and South Curl Curl, North Steyne and North Narrabeen were closed until further notice, the Northern Beaches Council said.

It said they were clearing the beaches of the small debris and doing tests on the samples as they “don’t know what they actually are”.

“Nine beaches in the Northern Beaches are closed after white and grey ball-shaped debris was found washed up along the shore,” the council said in a statement on Facebook.

“Council was alerted to the debris via the EPA and is working closely with the state agency to collect samples for testing,” it added, referring to the Environment Protection Authority.

Northern Beaches mayor Sue Heins told ABC’s Radio Sydney the balls “could be anything”.

“We don’t know at the moment what it is and that makes it even more concerning,” she said.

“There is something that’s obviously leaking or dropping or whatever and floating out there and being tossed around. But who is actually dropped it or lost it or leaked it is something none of us know.”

Last October, a number of beaches, including the iconic Bondi east of downtown Sydney, were closed to visitors after small black balls washed up on the shore.

They were initially reported to be “tar balls” of crude oil but tests later revealed that they were blobs of human-generated waste.

The EPA found that the balls were formed of fatty acids, petroleum hydrocarbons and other organic and inorganic materials, and contained traces of drugs, hair, motor oil, food waste, animal matter, and human faeces.

A Sydney Water spokesperson said on Tuesday there were “no issues with the normal operations” of its nearby Warriewood and North Head Water Resource Recovery plants.

“Sydney Water is continuing to work with the EPA to investigate the cause of the grease balls.”

China is considering selling TikTok to Elon Musk, reports say

Chinese officials are reportedly discussing the possibility of Elon Musk buying out the American operations of TikTok, as the social network faces an impending ban in the U.S., according to Bloomberg.

The Chinese government prefers that the app remain in the hands of parent company ByteDance, but has reportedly discussed the potential of a Musk acquisition as part of its broader contingency planning for working with the incoming Trump administration.

A potential sale to Musk would put the billionaire in an unprecedented position, owning X, one of the world’s largest social media networks, and the U.S. operations of another, all while serving as a top adviser to Donald Trump.

Such a deal could raise concerns about monopoly ownership of social media platforms. Musk’s possible partnership with China would likely also fail to allay security concerns about TikTok if Chinese officials would continue to have access to U.S. user data through Musk.

ByteDance downplayed the report.

“We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction,” the company told CNBC.

The Independent has contacted X for comment.

In April, the U.S. Congress passed a bipartisan bill to ban TikTok in the U.S. unless it finds a new owner.

Federal officials have argued the site is a “national-security threat of immense depth and scale” because of alleged links with China, and resulting concerns over the sanctity of U.S. user data.

TikTok and ByteDance have argued these concerns are unfounded. They are currently challenging the TikTok ban at the Supreme Court.

On Friday, the justices appeared skeptical of the company’s First Amendment arguments.

“Congress doesn’t care about what’s on TikTok,” Chief Justice John Roberts said during oral arguments. “They don’t care about the expression. That’s shown by the remedy. They’re not saying TikTok has to stop. They’re saying the Chinese have to stop controlling TikTok.”

The “law is only targeted at this foreign corporation, which doesn’t have First Amendment rights,” Justice Elena Kagan added.

Donald Trump has sought to delay the ban, which will take effect on January 19, the day before he takes office. The president-elect, as his lawyer put it in a brief, is hoping to resolve the fate of TikTok through “political means once he takes office.”

Trump tried to ban TikTok in 2020 via executive order, then campaigned in 2024 that he would “save” the app.

“For all of those who want to save TikTok in America, vote Trump,” Trump said during the campaign. “The other side is closing it up. But I’m now a big star on TikTok … We’re not doing anything with TikTok, but the other side is going to close it up.”

Observers have argued the impending ban would devastate the sprawling creator economy that depends on the platform.

“A TikTok ban would be absolutely catastrophic for the creators and the small businesses who rely on it,” Jess Maddox, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama told CNN. “I’ve spent my career talking to creators and influencers, they are resilient, they’ll pivot, but it will be a struggle in the meantime and take a hit to them financially.”

Ahead of a potential ban, creators have also taken to using another popular app, Lemon8, with similar features, which is owned by ByteDance.

Modi inaugurates tunnel for all-weather access to Himalayan region

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated a strategic tunnel in Kashmir which will grant accessibility to the isolated parts of the region all year round for the first time.

Mr Modi opened the Z-Morh (turn) tunnel – a 6.5km road in the resort town of Sonmarg in Jammu and Kashmir.

The town denotes the end of the conifer-clad mountains of the Kashmir Valley before Ladakh begins across the rocky Zojila mountain pass. The tunnel will now grant it accessibility for the first time all year round.

The second tunnel, about 14km (9miles) long, will bypass the challenging Zojila pass and connect Sonamarg with Ladakh and is expected to be completed in 2026.

The $932m project includes a second tunnel and a series of bridges and high mountain roads that will link Kashmir with Ladakh, a cold desert region nestled between India, Pakistan and China that has faced territorial disputes for decades.

Mr Modi later at a public meeting, attended by hundreds of people in freezing weather, said the ambitious project would improve road connectivity and boost tourism in the region.

Experts say the tunnel project is important to the military, which will gain significantly improved capabilities to operate in Ladakh while also providing civilians with freedom of movement year-round between the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh.

The Indian Army on Monday said it has not reduced the number of troops on its Himalayan frontier with China for the winter deployment, said Chief of Army staff (COAS), General Upendra Dwivedi, despite a significant breakthrough in bitter border standoff between the two nuclear powers.

Addressing the Indian Army’s annual press conference in Delhi on Monday, Mr Dwivedi said the “situation is sensitive but stable” along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border between the countries.

Relations between the two neighbours, which share a 3,488km border, hit a new low in July 2020 after at least 20 Indian army personnel and four Chinese soldiers were killed in a deadly clash in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh. It was the first time in 45 years that a clash on the border had led to fatalities.

The clash quickly escalated into a standoff, with both sides stationing thousands of military personnel backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets along the border. The two sides subsequently reported sporadic incidents of fighting between the two armies as high level talks were started between the two militaries to disengage and deescalate.

New Delhi and Beijing reached a deal in October last year to resolve the four-year military stand-off and a few days later they pulled back troops from the disputed border.

“During winter deployment, the number of troops come down. So therefore, at least in the winter strategy, we are not looking forward to any reduction of troops,” Gen Dwivedi told reporters in New Delhi.

“When it comes to the summer strategy, we’ll take a review based on that time, how many negotiations and meetings have taken place,” he said.

During the period of negotiations, the Indian and Chinese pulled back some forces from the Pangong Tso Lake and the Galwan Valley but the situation remained tense in the strategic areas such as Depsang and Demchok in Eastern Ladakh where the talks appeared to hit a deadlock.

He confirmed that the situation in Depsang and Demchok in Eastern Ladakh – the last two friction points – has been resolved and patrolling of troops have begun as before.

He said all the commanders have been authorised to handle the trivial matters with respect to patrolling and grazing at the ground level so that these “issues can be resolved at the military level itself”.

“Own deployment along LAC is balanced and robust. We are well poised to deal with any situation. A focus capability development for northern borders enabled infusion of niche technology into a war-fighting system,” he said.

The army chief said 80 per cent of militants in the Jammu and Kashmir region are of Pakistan origin while 60 per cent of those eliminated by the Indian army in 2023 were Pakistanis.

“The situation (in Jammu and Kashmir) is firmly under control. On the Line of Control, the ceasefire which has been effective since February 2021 is holding on. However, terror infrastructure remains intact,” Gen Dwivedi said.

India and Pakistan each control a part of Kashmir but both claim the territory in its entirety. The Indian military has long blamed Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism in the Indian controlled part of Kashmir where militants have been fighting against New Delhi’s rule since 1989.

Pakistan denies the charge, and blames India for human rights violations in the region.

Additional reporting by agencies.

Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees take holy dip at Maha Kumbh Mela

Tens of thousands of people immersed themselves in freezing waters at the confluence of sacred rivers as the six-week Maha Kumbh Mela festival began in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Monday.

More than 400 million pilgrims are expected to travel to Prayagraj city to bathe at the confluence of Hinduism’s three most holiest rivers – the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati.

While the Kumbh Mela festival is held every three years, rotating between several holy cities on the banks of these rivers, the Maha Kumbh Mela occurs only once every 12 years. Maha means “great”, and the event attracts the most devotees because it is considered the most auspicious and holy in the cycle.

The festival is rooted in the Hindu belief that the god Vishnu seized a pitcher containing the nectar of immortality from demons and drops of it fell to Earth at the site of the holy cities.

Hindu devotees believe taking a dip in the confluence of the rivers during the Maha Kumbh Mela absolves them of sins and brings them salvation from the cycle of life and death.

“It is our festival,” said ascetic Hazari Lala Mishra, who immersed himself before sunrise, which is considered an auspicious time. “(It is) the only festival for hermits and monks, and we wait for it desperately.”

There are references to the festival in ancient Hindu texts as well as in works of travellers visiting the city from other kingdoms. The 7th-century Buddhist Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang mentions the bathing rituals at the junction of the rivers when he visited Prayag city in AD644.

Authorities expect Monday’s first ritual dip to draw more than 2.5 million visitors, followed by a “royal bath” on Tuesday reserved for ascetics.

Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, is expected to take a dip in the water during the festival.

Authorities have created a new tent city to house visitors that spans 4,000 hectares of land along the banks of the rivers.

More than 150,000 tents have been set up on this land, equipped with 3,000 kitchens, 145,000 restrooms and about 100 car parks. Hundreds of thousands of new electricity connections have also been laid as the festival is expected to drain more power than what is consumed in a month by 100,000 urban apartments in the region.

Nearly 100 special trains have also been added to schedules, set to make 3,300 trips during the festival to transport visitors.

“I am excited but now scared because I didn’t expect this crowd,” said Priyanka Rajput, a fashion model from Delhi, told Reuters. “This is my first Kumbh and I came here only because my mother is very spiritual.”

State police have also dispatched more than 40,000 personnel, as well as drones and cybercrime experts using artificial intelligence to surveil people. Underwater drones capable of diving up to 100m have been deployed to provide round-the-clock surveillance, the state’s culture minister said.

With so many people attending, the festival represents a significant test for authorities to organise and manage the movement of millions. Stampedes are not uncommon at the festival, and 26 pilgrims were killed in one at the last Maha Kumbh Mela in 2013.

More than a hundred road ambulances, seven river ambulances and air ambulances are also reportedly being readied as part of emergency response capabilities.

Officials say about $765m (Rs 64 bn) has been allocated by the state government to conduct this year’s event. “Security and safety of pilgrims is our priority,” UP police chief Prashant Kumar said.

Hindus from across India and the world travel to the Maha Kumbh every 12 years not just to partake in festival rituals, but also to see the thousands of saffron-clad saints and hermits and to take a dip themselves in the rivers at near-freezing temperatures.

Successfully conducting the festival would be seen as a shot in the arm for the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP government at both the state and the national level.

The state’s chief minister Yogi Adityanath is a hardline Hindu monk who told reporters that he was “fortunate to host one of the most auspicious Hindu festivals” in his state.

In 2021, prime minister Narendra Modi’s government refused to call off the Kumbh Mela even as Covid-19 infections rose to record levels across the country and millions gathered in Uttar Pradesh without masks or social distancing.

The decision to conduct the festival despite widespread fears and criticism of the gathering turning into a super-spreader event was seen by critics as a move to appease religious leaders in the Hindu-majority country.

Teenager accuses 64 men of sexually abusing her since she was 13

An 18-year-old Dalit woman from south India‘s Kerala state is accusing over 60 men of sexually abusing her over five years.

The survivor, an athlete, belongs to one of India’s most oppressed castes.

Police say they have arrested at least 28 people based on her complaint.

They are accused of sexually abusing her over five years. The accused, aged between 17 and 47, include her neighbour, sports coach, father’s friend, fellow athletes, and classmates.

“Preliminary investigation suggested that the girl, who takes part in school-level athletic training, was abused by sports trainer, fellow athlete and others,” a police officer told The Times of India.

The alleged abuse came to light after the woman reported it to counsellors at a gender awareness programme held under a government scheme in the Pathanamthitta district.

Police say they have registered 18 cases against the accused under various laws, including the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

The abuse started at the age of 13 when a neighbour of the teenager allegedly molested her and took explicit pictures of her.

In the course of the next five years, she was abused by 64 men and allegedly gangraped three times.

The woman meticulously documented her abusers and gave leads to the investigators, police said.

“This is a rare and disturbing case of prolonged exploitation,” a police officer told The South First. Another said a case of this magnitude “may be unprecedented under a POSCO case”.

The Kerala government has formed a special team comprising 25 officers to expedite the investigation into the sexual abuse allegations.

At least 14 of those arrested have been remanded to 14-day judicial custody while police locate the rest of the perpetrators.

Veena George, the state’s minister for women and child development, has promised that all the accused would be brought to justice. “This heinous crime will not go unpunished,” she said.