South Korean President Lee to visit Beijing for pivotal 2nd summit with Xi
Chinese President Xi Jinping has invited South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to a state visit in Beijing, signalling China’s desire to reinforce relations with South Korea amid regional turbulence, Aljazeera reported.
South Korea’s national security adviser, Wi Sung-lac, told reporters on Friday that Lee will meet Xi in Beijing on Monday before travelling to Shanghai to visit the historic site of South Korea’s provisional government during Japan’s 35-year colonial rule.
Wi said the leaders are expected to discuss “practical cooperation” in areas including supply-chain investment, tourism, and responses to transnational crime, according to Yonhap News Agency, according to Aljazeera.
Trump says National Guard being removed from Chicago, LA and Portland
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday his administration was removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland but he added in his social media post that federal forces will "come back" if crime rates go up, Reuters reported.
Local leaders in those cities and Democrats have said the deployments, which have faced legal setbacks and challenges, were unnecessary. They have accused the Trump administration of federal overreach and of exaggerating isolated episodes of violence to justify sending in troops.
Trump, a Republican, has said troop deployments in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Memphis and Portland were necessary to fight crime and protect federal property and personnel from protesters, according to Reuters.
Several reported killed in Iran protests over economic hardships
Several people were killed during unrest in Iran, Iranian media and rights groups said on Thursday, as the biggest protests to hit the Islamic Republic for three years over worsening economic conditions sparked violence in several provinces, Reuters reported.
The semi-official Fars news agency reported that three protesters were killed and 17 were injured during an attack on a police station in Iran's western province of Lorestan.
"The rioters entered the police headquarters around 1800 (local time) on Thursday ... they clashed with police forces and set fire to several police cars," Fars reported, according to Reuters.
Condom tax and cheaper childcare: China's plan to boost birth rates
People in China will pay a 13% sales tax on contraceptives from 1 January, while childcare services will be exempt, as the world's second-largest economy tries to boost birth rates, BBC reported.
An overhaul of the tax system announced late last year removes many exemptions that were in place since 1994, when China was still enforcing its decades-long one-child rule.
It also exempts marriage-related services and elderly care from value added tax (VAT) - part of a broader effort that includes extending parental leave and issuing cash handouts, according to BBC.
