It is unclear if the suspect targeted the boy because he was Japanese, but there is concern that the incident could trigger a further deterioration in ties

Japan’s foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa, has described as “despicable” the alleged killing in China of a 10-year-old Japanese boy and demanded that Chinese authorities do everything possible to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals living in the country.

The boy, who has not been named by Japanese media, died on Thursday, a day after he was allegedly stabbed about 200 metres from his school in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

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For couples in the US mid-way through the adoption process, news of an end to international adoptions has been crushing

Americans Lauren and Harrison Smith met in China as students, and discussed their desire to adopt from the country early on in their relationship. As soon as they reached the minimum age of 30, the couple put together their applications and submitted for inspections of their home in Kunming, the capital of south-west China’s Yunnan province, where they lived with their two-year-old daughter.

“In September 2019, we saw our son’s picture for the first time and were able to submit a letter of intent to adopt him,” Lauren told the Guardian.

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Raising the retirement age is never popular, particularly for a country that is getting old before it gets rich

No one should be surprised that China is raising its retirement ages . They are currently among the lowest in the world and haven’t shifted for decades, even as lifespans have lengthened dramatically. Women currently retire as early as 50 and men at 60, while life expectancy is around 78 – up from 44 in 1960 . Now the male retirement age is to rise to 63, while women’s will rise to 55 (for blue-collar workers) and 58 (for white-collar employees). These changes will be phased in over the next 15 years. Employees will also have to make more contributions from 2030.

China is far from alone in facing the problem of too many old people and too few young workers to support them. But unlike western nations, it is getting old before it has got rich . The scale of the challenge and the speed at which it is arriving are extraordinary, thanks in large part to the decades of birth restrictions known as the one-child policy . It also means that fewer retirees are able to count on their kids supporting them.

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American economy has staying power but China’s growth prospects have worsened and too little attention is paid to war in Gaza

Back in the 1930s, the French government constructed what it thought was an impregnable defence system to prevent a repeat of the German invasion at the start of the first world war. The Maginot Line might have looked impressive but proved to be a white elephant because when the attack came in 1940 it was in a different place altogether.

In the past week the financial markets have displayed something of a Maginot Line mentality. They are right to think there is a threat lurking out there but they are wrong to think the biggest danger is a recession in the US . The real threat comes from elsewhere.

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Growing emphasis on military training for civilians reflects heightened nationalism under Xi Jinping – and a growing risk of war over Taiwan

At Beijing Jiaotong University’s affiliated elementary school, a class of children, maybe six or seven years old, stand in a line in a rainbow painted hallway. A boy holds a replica handgun, and behind him other students grasp unwieldy fake assault rifles. Fake police flak jackets cover their blue and white tracksuits, and their heads swim inside too-big artillery helmets. In other photographs students practise drills, salute visiting soldiers, and arrange themselves on a sporting field to spell out “I [heart] u” next to a Chinese flag.

In the post that includes the photos , published online in April, the school says it has worked hard in recent years to conscientiously “promote the main theme of patriotism, and make it an important part of the school’s ideological and political education and moral education”.

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Particle pollution in China’s capital has fallen by 60% in 10 years, but it remains six times higher than WHO guidelines

Photographs of smog enveloping Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium became one of the defining images of the first decade of this century. China’s annual air pollution deaths reached 2.6 million people a year in 2005. At the time, Beijing was crowned smog capital of the world and concerns for the health of athletes overshadowed preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games.

But rapid improvements followed, with clean-up technologies fitted to coal-burning power stations and industrial plants, followed by their conversion to fossil gas. New vehicles were fitted with tighter emissions controls and fuels were improved.

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Governor declares the day California Panda Day as ‘gentle and lovable’ Yun Chuan and Xin Bao make San Diego debut

California’s governor flew in for the young bears’ debut. Throngs of media gathered inside the zoo, while the city of San Diego warned of traffic jams ahead of the much-anticipated event Thursday.

The San Diego zoo rolled out the red carpet for the first public showing of its newest residents: two giant pandas, the first to enter the US in two decades.

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Beijing website asks for information about supposed ‘crimes’ of ‘secessionist’ current and past Taiwan officials

China’s government has called for people to denounce “diehard secessionists” and give information about their “criminal activities” as it intensifies its legal and rhetorical intimidation of Taiwan.

The Taiwan affairs office and ministry of public security this week launched new webpages with lists of 10 current and former officials in Taiwan who have been named as “diehard” separatists.

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