Inside the Japanese town that pays cash for kids
Updated 0025 GMT (0825 HKT) December 28, 2018
When Katsunori and Kaori Osaka had their first child, they were living in a cramped flat in Nagoya, a city of more than 2 million people in northern Japan.
Like many other young couples, they tried to raise their child in the city but found life among the apartment blocks too crowded and expensive, with few child care options. Eventually, they gave up.
"When people are in their 20s and 30s, they can't really afford to live in a bigger space in a city," Katsunori said. "We knew that if we wanted to have more kids, we couldn't do it there."
Trump 'accidentally reveals location and identities of US Navy Seals in Iraq'
Trump’s video shows him with service members who appear to be part of Seal Team Five, whose faces are not covered or blurred, Newsweek reported.
Defense department officials told the magazine that information about where Seal teams are deployed is almost always classified. Trump, as commander in chief, has the authority to declassify the information, but typically the faces of individual special operations service members are blurred in official photos and videos to shield their identities.
New York sky turns neon blue after transformer explosion at Con Edison power plant
Flights are temporarily grounded at LaGuardia airport after transformers exploded at a Con Edison power plant just a mile from Manhattan
A transformer explosion at a New York City power plant turned the night sky an eerie blue hue for several minutes - partially shutting down nearby LaGuardia Airport and sending social media into a frenzy.
At least two transformers blew up at about 9.20pm, causing the night sky over the Con Edison power plant in Astoria, Queens to light up neon blue. Hundreds of people were seen running into the streets, which were bathed in the near-daylight glow. No-one was hurt, and the fire was quickly brought under control.
One local, Lucas Espinoza, 28, said: "The whole sky lit up with a pulsating greenish-blue light. I'll admit that seeing the sky light up like that at night - in New York City of all places - puts a bad feeling in your gut."
Non-citizen soldiers in Germany: What you need to know
Germany's decision to consider allowing non-citizens into its armed forces is not unique. In fact, many countries, including the US and Russia, use the promise of citizenship as a way to recruit new troops.
The news that the Bundeswehr is tentatively considering recruiting non-German European Union citizens has naturally triggered concerns about both the state of the German military and the skilled labor market, both of which are apparently proving hard to fill.
As if to head off the former worry, the source of the story, Bundeswehr Inspector General Eberhard Zorn was careful to note that they were mainly talking about "doctors and IT specialists," rather than active troops.
Taiwanese launch tax protests with nod to French Yellow Vests
Thousands of Taiwanese, taking a page from France's yellow vest movement, protested Thursday for the third time in a week to demand lower taxes and the fair handling of tax disputes.
Wearing yellow vests, they shouted slogans and blared air horns outside the Ministry of Finance in Taipei, the capital city, and waved banners calling Taiwan's tax collection policies illegal. Some wore clear plastic raincoats over their vests in a light rain.
"This is about our futures," said Joanna Tai, a 23-year-old English-language graduate student who plans to teach after graduation next year.
"We look at wages in Hong Kong and mainland China. We want to know why there's so much of a gap with Taiwan," she said. "Then a lot of my classmates want to start companies and be their own bosses but, because of taxes, a lot of small businesses have folded."
Amazon is cutting costs with its own delivery service — but its drivers don’t receive benefits
Some Amazon Flex workers make $18 to $25 per hour, but they don’t get benefits, overtime, or compensation for being injured on the job.
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If you did any of your holiday shopping online this year, it’s likely you ordered at least one thing from Amazon. In the days leading up to Christmas this year, nearly half of all shoppers who bought products online purchased gifts through the website, lured by the promise of quick, affordable — or in the case of Prime subscribers, free — delivery. And if you’re a regular Amazon shopper in a major city, it’s likely that your packages weren’t delivered by FedEx, UPS, or the US Postal Service, but rather by Amazon Flex, the company’s in-house delivery program.
Amazon has introduced its Flex program to a few dozen American cities, including New York, San Francisco, and Memphis, Tennessee. On its website, the company claims that drivers can make $18 to $25 an hour delivering packages for Amazon and bills Flex as a way for drivers to “[b]e your own boss, set your own schedule, and have more time to pursue your goals and dreams.” But a growing number of reports about Flex suggest that some drivers are subject to low pay, long hours, and dangerous conditions — and that many don’t have as much control over their working conditions as Amazon has led them to believe.
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