A bus crash in western Bulgaria early Tuesday has killed at least 45 people, authorities said. Children were among the victims The bus was one of four traveling together.
China has reported its lowest birth rate since 1978: 8.52 births per 1,000 people in 2020, and these numbers are getting dangerously close to the death rate.
According to the Yearbook 2021, published by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics at the weekend, the death rate last year was 7.07 per 1,000 people. That means that the natural growth rate of the population is at a record low level of 1.45 compared to 3.32 in 2019. The birth rate has been in steady decline since 2016 after decades of family planning policies and the changing economic climate.
According to census data released by China in spring, 12 million babies were born in 2020, the lowest number since 1961. With people aged 60 and over accounting for 18.8% of the 1.4 billion population, China faces a major problem of an aging population.
Despite the recent decision to allow all couples to have a third child and other measures taken to increase birth rates, the Chinese authorities admit that an increasing number of Chinese people from all ethnic groups are choosing to marry late and to have smaller families for economic and educational reasons.
The number of marriage registrations dropped this year too to 814.3 per 10,000 couples.
“The next ten years will be a major turning point for my country’s population to enter negative growth,” warned He Dan, the director of the China Population Development and Research Center, in an article published earlier this year.
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 (IPS) – The planet is already 1.1°C warmer than in pre-industrial times. July 2021 was the hottest month ever recorded in 142 years. Despite the pandemic slowdown, 2020 was the hottest year so far, ending the warmest decade (2011-2020) ever.
HAMILTON, Canada, Nov 23 (IPS) – The overuse and misuse of antimicrobial medicines and chemicals has become the main driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and drug-resistant infections that threaten human health and the global economy.
A bus crash in western Bulgaria early Tuesday has killed at least 45 people, authorities said. Children were among the victims The bus was one of four traveling together.
People in Ontario have the opportunity to make click-and-collect orders of marijuana via the Uber Eats app after the food delivery service entered partnership with a legal cannabis retailer.
“Consumers can place orders from Tokyo Smoke’s flower collection and unique accessories on the Uber Eats app, and then pick up their purchase at the respective Tokyo Smoke stores,” the companies said in a statement announcing the partnership, which is the first of its kind.
They promise that orders will be ready within an hour of being placed. Any person making an order must confirm their legal age first. Tokyo Smoke, whose master franchisor in Ontario is Katz Group in partnership with brand owner Canopy Growth Corporation, has 56 stores in Ontario, including 13 in Toronto.
Uber Eats and Tokyo Smoke underline that their partnership will contribute to the fight against the illegal sales of marijuana, which, according to official statistics, accounts for over 40% of all nonmedical cannabis sales in Canada.
Uber Eats has even further-reaching plans.
“When Canadian cannabis laws evolve to include delivery, options like Uber Eats are expected to help decrease impaired driving and improve safety on the road,” reads the statement.
Recent research from UK-based consulting company Public First shows that 14% of cannabis users have driven a car within two hours of consuming weed.
Ontario’s authorities allowed delivery and pickup of cannabis during the Covid-19 pandemic. In October, legislation was proposed to make this initiative permanent, but it has not been passed yet.
