Korea Inc's foreign labour crunch puts older workers back in factories - CNA

In South Korea, the world's fastest ageing society, 33.1 per cent of people aged between 70 to 74 are still working, topping the OECD's scale measuring the employment for the age group and far higher than the OECD average of 15.2 per cent.

Central bank data shows over 230,000 of those aged 60 or over have found jobs at factories and construction sites since early 2020, while younger people have been leaving those sectors.

While South Korea's foreign worker contingent, at 848,000, is relatively small compared with other industrialised economies, migrants make an important contribution to the factory sector.

Since early 2020, the monthly inflow of new foreign workers is about 35 per cent of what the country had in 2019, before the pandemic, government data showed.

Japan is experiencing a similar problem, with strict pandemic controls keeping migrant labour out, prompting an even greater reliance on the elderly population to fill vacancies.

Hwang at Iljin Enterprise says while the physical demands of work at his factory make it better suited for younger foreign and local workers, he doesn't have much choice.

"If I can't get any younger folks or foreign workers, it would be my bottom choice but I might need to hire more older folks," said Hwang, who recently gave all his crew a raise on top of the 700,000 won monthly bonuses he gave his foreign staff.

The government said last week it plans to loosen visa restrictions and cut red tape for foreign workers to help fill vacancies.

For Kim Ji-hwang, a land developer in Danyang, two-and-a-half hours south of Seoul, a staff shortage prompted him to hire 64-year-old Park Jang-young.

Park's new job requires him to clean trucks and equipment at the development site and earns him about 3.7 million won (US$2,844.18) a month, significantly more than his previous job at a parking lot.

"I know my boss prefers to find younger folks but young people go to Seoul after graduation - even foreign workers are picky, they have a good network and community to share information about pay, working conditions," Park said. "I will stick to this job unless I get fired - it's good pay I think for my age."

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2022-08-15 23:11:00Z
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Ikea Shoppers Panic After Security Locks Down Store on Covid Risk - Bloomberg

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1. Ikea Shoppers Panic After Security Locks Down Store on Covid Risk  Bloomberg
2. IKEA shoppers rush out of Shanghai store amid COVID-19 lockdown attempt  CNA
3. #Shorts | Five Positive Cases, Shanghai IKEA Shuts Down With Customers Inside | China Covid Lockdown  CRUX
4. Shoppers rush for the exits as Shanghai Ikea goes into lockdown  CNN
5. “Like a Zombie Apocalypse” – Chaotic Scenes in Shanghai as People Flee Building after Abnormal Test Result  What's on Weibo
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2022-08-15 10:42:19Z
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Scotland's police investigate threat made to JK Rowling after Salman Rushdie tweet - CNA

LONDON: Scotland's police said on Sunday (Aug 14) they are investigating a report of an "online threat" made to the author JK Rowling after she tweeted her condemnation of the stabbing of Salman Rushdie.

The Harry Potter creator said she felt "very sick" after hearing the news and hoped the novelist would "be OK".

In response, a user said: "don't worry you are next"

After sharing screenshots of the threatening tweet, Rowling said: "To all sending supportive messages: Thank you police are involved (were already involved on other threats)".

A spokeswoman for Scotland's police said: "We have received a report of an online threat being made and officers are carrying out enquiries."

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2022-08-14 10:49:36Z
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Beijing's pet lovers turn to acupuncture to treat their furry friends - CNA

Before starting the treatment, the vet first checks the animal's body, examines its eyesight and the colour of its tongue, takes its pulse and asks its owner questions.

He then plants his needles at acupuncture points specific to dogs and cats.

"Out of the 10 animals that I receive on average every day, there are always one or two who rebel," Li says.

"You have to communicate with them, treat them gently, reassure them that you're not here to hurt them."

Recordings of soft bamboo flute music and the chirping of birds are played at the clinic to help the animals relax.

Li mainly deals with cases of paralysis, limb weakness, epilepsy, pain and urinary retention.

But acupuncture can also be used for ailments when no other treatment is available.

That was the case with Xiaomei, a 12-year-old male Labrador suffering from nerve compression in his lower back.

"Last September, after swimming, he was unable to get back on his feet. A veterinarian then told us that it was impossible to treat and that he would become paralysed," his owner Ma Li, 41, tells AFP.

"Thanks to acupuncture, he still has difficulties but can walk normally and even run."

"HE LOVES IT!"

"The first time, he was scared," says Yang Lihua, a 65-year-old retiree accompanied by her Pekingese Niannian, who is suffering from a herniated disc.

"Now he loves it! After the session, he is so relaxed that he sleeps in the car on the way home."

The acupuncture market for animals remains limited for the moment, Li says.

"But since 2016, it has been gaining popularity," he adds.

"As education levels, living conditions improve and incomes rise, more and more people are realising the benefits of this medicine."

Ma's Labrador jumps into the back seat of her mistress's car after her session, looking content.

"Doesn't he look happy?" she exclaims.

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2022-08-14 04:37:11Z
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Shanghai extends weekly COVID-19 testing requirement until end of September - CNA

SHENZHEN, China: China's most populous city Shanghai has extended its weekly COVID-19 test requirement and extended free testing until the end of September in a bid to keep the virus in check, authorities announced on Saturday (Aug 13).

Citizens without a record of a nucleic acid test from within seven days will be assigned a yellow code on Shanghai's health code system, the official notice said. A yellow code restricts access to some public venues.

On Saturday health authorities in the financial hub of 25 million said they detected one symptomatic and three asymptomatic cases a day earlier.

The southern province of Hainan is currently China's worst hit region, with 594 symptomatic cases and 832 asymptomatic cases reported on Saturday for 24 hours earlier.

Tight restrictions and lockdowns in the popular tourist destination are expected to last over the weekend.

On Saturday China's National Health Commission reported a total of 2,144 new COVID-19 infections on Aug 12, of which 704 were symptomatic and 1,440 were asymptomatic.

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2022-08-13 10:43:00Z
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Iran conservative media hail Salman Rushdie attacker - CNA

TEHRAN: Iranian ultra-conservative newspaper Kayhan on Saturday (Aug 13) hailed the man who stabbed British author Salman Rushdie - the target of a 1989 Iranian fatwa calling for his death.

Rushdie was on a ventilator after the attack during a literary event in New York state on Friday, more than 30 years after he went into hiding following late supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's fatwa.

"Bravo to this courageous and duty-conscious man who attacked the apostate and depraved Salman Rushdie in New York," wrote the paper, whose chief is appointed by current supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"Let us kiss the hands of the one who tore the neck of the enemy of God with a knife," the daily added.

With the exception of reformist publication Etemad, Iranian media followed a similar line, describing Rushdie as an "apostate".

State-owned paper Iran said that the "neck of the devil" had been "cut by a razor".

Iranian authorities have yet to make any official comment on the stabbing attack against Rushdie.

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2022-08-13 08:15:34Z
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Stabbing of Rushdie thrusts a tranquil literary retreat into mayhem - CNA

Before Salman Rushdie arrived on Friday (Aug 12), the bucolic New York retreat where the author was due to speak had arranged for a law enforcement presence at his lecture, mindful that the security might be needed for a man who faced death threats.

Chautauqua Institution, a haven in the west of the state where writers and artists gather each summer, was not the kind of place where people worried about their safety. Members of the audience said there were no bag checks, metal detectors or other security to enter the event in the gated community.

Yet just before 11am, as Rushdie prepared to lead a discussion about artistic freedom, hundreds of attendees watched in horror as a 24-year-old New Jersey man rushed to the stage and stabbed Rushdie in the neck and torso. Police said there was no immediate indication of a motive for the attack that left Rushdie severely injured and on a ventilator after surgery.

Rushdie, a defiant critic of religion and of leaders who use religion for political gains, had often bristled at security, despite knowing he was at risk of attacks from fundamentalists and passionate supporters of those politicians.

He spent years in hiding after Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 issued a fatwa, or religious edict, calling on Muslims to kill him following the publication of his novel, The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims said contained blasphemous passages.

In a memoir about his time in hiding, Rushdie expressed discomfort at the high levels of security at US airports in New Jersey and Denver when he arrived to speak. But in recent years, he had lived more freely and insisted he should not be constantly surveilled and protected by security guards.

Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, senior director of literary programs at the writers organisation PEN America, where Rushdie previously served as president, said that in four years of working closely with the author to put on festivals and other events, he never once requested a security detail.

"I'm not aware that he's ever asked us to provide additional security, and I'm also not aware that he ever brought a security detail with him," she said.

Michael Hill, Chautauqua Institution's president, told reporters on Friday that security was a top priority for the community that brings together thousands of people for its nine weeks of summer programming.

For Rushdie's event, Chautauqua had requested and received security assistance from the New York State Police and the Chautauqua County sheriff's department, Hill said.

He said such an attack was unprecedented at the institute, which was founded in 1874 and is dedicated to fostering civil dialogue on religious, social and political issues.

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2022-08-13 01:08:17Z
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