The right-wing Swiss People's Party is projected to be the biggest winner of the general election after voters in Switzerland cast their ballots on Sunday to choose a new parliament for the 2023-2027 legislative period.
According to final projections published at 20:00 local time (2200 GMT), the Swiss People's Party has won 28.9 percent of the vote, 3.3 percentage points up compared with its result in the elections in 2019. It was followed by the left-wing Social Democrats with 18 percent of votes, while the left-wing Green Party garnered 9.2 percent of the votes, losing four percentage points from last election. Swiss media reported that the turnout for the Sunday election was 46.9 percent, up from 45.1 percent four years ago. The final results of the elections are expected by Monday. Since the 1970s, most seats of the Swiss legislative body usually go to the country's four largest political parties: the Swiss People's Party, the center-right Radical-Liberals Party, the center-right Centre Party and the left-wing Social Democratic Party. The Swiss People's Party made strong gains in 1999 and 2003, but in 2019 the Green Party massively expanded its voter base, ousting the Centre Party as the fourth most-represented party in the House of Representatives. Founded in 1971, the Swiss People's Party advocates a restrictive policy on immigrants and refugees, the principle of neutrality, no further political integration into Europe, and a restrictive taxation and financial policy.
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Himono-onna, Minato-ku joshi, Age-Man... You may have overheard these terms or seen them appearing repeatedly on social media. What do they mean, and what have they got to do with women in Japan? Well, this article will answer your questions—and give you a glimpse of not only the women behind those inventive groups but the Japanese society as a whole. If you’ve lived in Japan for a while now you may have overheard people saying things like: “She’s sure an age-man, her husband got promoted right after they got married,” or “That girl is so nikushoku-joshi, she doesn’t care if the guy she has a crush on has a girlfriend or not. She just goes for him,”—or even, “I was a bari-kyari until I got pregnant. Now, I’m a yuru-kyari and earn less than before, but I’m glad I made that decision because everyone in my family is happy!” The list is endless and these are all words and phrases that categorize and describe types of women in Japanese culture. You’ve probably noticed that Japanese women (and men) like to and tend to categorize others--and themselves—based on their personality, actions, and behaviors, as well as how they’d chosen to live their lives. But why so many labels do exist in Japan? This tendency probably has a lot to do with the importance of wa (和, group harmony) in the Japanese society—how one should always belong in and conform to a group, and be both dependent on and responsible to other members of that group. This, I believe, is why there are so many categories/groups out there for Japanese women—and why during a joshi-kai (女子会, women’s get-together) and other similar occasions, you’ll hear remarks such as the ones above made over and over again. Without further ado, let me introduce some common terms and phrases that are often used to depict a certain type of Japanese woman. Some of them have quite a history, but are still commonly heard in daily life; others are buzzwords that have popped on social media and/or appeared in female fashion magazines these last years. ‘Age-man’ & ‘Sage-man’ The term age-man (アゲマン) became a buzzword in the early 1990s, after the movie with the same title directed by Juzo Itami, became a hit in Japan. Called “Tales of a Golden Geisha” in English, this comedy tells the story of a geisha who brings luck to the men with whom she gets involved with. Age comes from the verb ageru, which means “to bring up” or “to raise”—in this case, luck. Where the term man comes from is widely debated, but these two explanations have gained popularity:
‘Bari-kyari’ & ‘Yuru-kyari’ There used to be two big categories separating Japanese women: sengyo-shufu (専業主婦) (full-time housewife) and career women (キャリアウーマン). Nowadays, however, with an increase of women in the workforce—especially working mothers—there are additional terms that express women with jobs. The first one’s bari-kyari, and the other yuru-kyari. Bari-kyari (バリキャリ) is composed of these two words: bari, an abbreviated version of baribari, which describes how one works very hard or does something very energetically; and kyari, which is short for “career women.” So, basically, this term refers to women on a solid career path, who value succeeding in their career over leading a productive personal life. Yuru-kyari (ゆるキャリ), with yuru coming from yurui (meaning “relaxed” or “laid back”), is more or less the opposite of bari-kyari. This is a category of women whose priority is not to work but rather their family, hobby, and/or personal life. As such, they prefer to work at their own pace. As you can probably imagine, a lot of Japanese women shift from being a bari-kyari to yuru-kyari once they have a child—this is because, as I wrote previously, females in Japan have contributed and continue to contribute more to raising kids, compared to their male partners. ‘Yochien-mama’ Recently, I noticed that the other big category of women, sengyo-shufu, has received an “upgrade” too—”yochien-mama” (幼稚園ママ). I first saw this term when flipping through Very, a Japanese fashion magazine for women in their 30s and 40s. The term refers to women, who for the most part, are married (to a high-earning husband), have kids, and leading a fulfilling life. Yochien is a Japanese word for “kindergarten,” so this term directly translates as “a mother who has a child attending a kindergarten.” "Japanese women like to and tend to categorize others—and themselves—based on their personality, actions and behaviors, as well as how they’d chosen to live their lives" The point here is that the child goes to a kindergarten, not hoikuen (daycare). Because yochien typically runs between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., it’s not usually working-mother-friendly; as such, sending kids to kindergarten is seen as something full-time housewives would do, hence why hearing the term yochien-mama immediately makes one think, “Oh, it must be a chic and trendy way of expressing sengyo shufu.” After all, the latter term is more or less old-fashioned. ‘Nikushoku-joshi’ The term nikushoku-joshi (肉食女子), which was first coined by the columnist Maki Fukasawa in 2006, literally means “carnivorous girl.” As the name suggests, it denotes a type of women who are proactive in pursuing romance and isn’t afraid to take the first step in relationships. They are oftentimes quite sexually open and aggressive too, and don’t normally hesitate to have sex before going through the whole “Would you go out with me?” situation. Nikushoku-joshi was invented as a sort of like an antonym to soshoku-danshi, or “herbivorous guy.” It’s probably easy to imagine the type of men who fit in this category—those who are not really masculine or manly, both on the outside and inside, and do not actively pursue romantic relationships. They tend to not have as much of a sex drive and appear to love spending time with their male friends than with girls. Needless to say, carnivorous girls and herbivorous guys are often said to make a great couple—after all, opposites attract, right? "Nikushoku-joshi was invented as a sort of like an antonym to soshoku-danshi, or “herbivorous guy" ‘Himono-onna’ At the opposite end of the spectrum from nikushoku-joshi is himono-onna (干物女), which translates as “dried fish woman.” The term—first appearing in “Hotaru no Hikari,” a Japanese manga series that was popular in the late 2000s—was used to express the main character, who had no interest in seeking romance and loves to spend her downtime at home alone, wearing pajamas all day and reading manga, drinking beer or sleeping. A lot of female readers sympathized with her, and the term stuck around to this day, but with a slightly wider meaning. It is now used to depict single women in their late teens to 30s, whose love life is dried out (like himono)—yet are not interested in and even feel bothersome to jump back into the dating scene. ‘Minato-ku joshi’ Minato-ku joshi (港区女子), is a word that appears to have gained momentum in the last year or so. These are ladies—mostly university students and those in their early 20s—who love spending time in Minato Ward, one of the most expensive places to live in Japan. By Minato Ward, I mean the chic neighborhoods of Roppongi, Azabu Juban, Nishi-Azabu and Aoyama, where the so-called “high spec guys”—well-educated, good-looking men who earn a lot, such as business owners, doctors or elite salarymen working at big-name companies—live, work and party night after night. Minato-ku joshi’s sole purpose in life is to be around these men, using their youth, beauty, and wit to get what they want—be it free dinner at high-class restaurants, expensive gifts such as designer handbags and jewelry, or connections with celebrities and other rich and famous guys. Many Minato-ku joshi also happen to be kirakira joshi (キラキラ女子), who are leading “shining and glittering” lives. Simply put, they own everything—they’re pretty, have an amazing fashion sense, are cheerful, positive, and fun to talk with. They’re witty and intelligent, and most of them are successful in their careers too.
The above are just a few of the many “labels” Japanese women have invented for themselves or others over time. There will be many more to come for sure and this is by no means a full list of the countless number of categories that exist in the Japanese colloquial dictionary. For now, however, I hope that you will be able to recognize some of the “code words” the next time you’re on a joshi-kai with Japanese women.
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With only 24 world leaders in attendance, compared to the 37 who had attended the last BRI Forum, Xi was keen to showcase that China is open for business at a time when concerns are rising about the health of Chinese economy. Promising to "comprehensively remove restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector," the Chinese leader talked of his intent to focus on "cross-border trade and investment in services and market access for digital products."
This was China's first major international event since coming out of around three years of pandemic lockdown in January 2023 and was a celebration of one of Xi's signature projects. Not surprisingly, he was gung-ho about the achievements of BRI as he underlined how his initiative has helped the developing world by making infrastructure and connectivity the centerpiece of emerging global economic discourse. He outlined how China has "endeavored to build a global network of connectivity consisting of economic corridors, international transportation routes and information highway as well as railways, roads, airports, ports, pipelines and power grids," thereby boosting "the flow of goods, capital, technologies and human resources among countries involved and injected fresh vitality into the millennia-old Silk Road in the new era." There is no doubt that BRI has been an innovative idea to energize the next stage of economic globalisation and, for a large part of the world left outside the global economic order, this was a timely initiative which, by mobilising as much as $1 trillion in finance, allowed for new economic possibilities to emerge. But it was the operationalization of the idea that left much to be desired as several nations got saddled with huge debt even as the financial and environmental sustainability of many projects brought to the fore the vulnerabilities of a centralised, top down project. With several infrastructure projects stuck and the Chinese economy slowing down in recent years, this forum was also Xi Jinping's attempt to demonstrate his nation's continued commitment to a project in which he is personally invested and which is as much about geopolitical positioning of China in the emerging global order as it is about geoeconomics. Facing a lot of flak for the performance of BRI, Xi tried to send out a message that he is willing to make some changes with a move to "high-quality" development, focused primarily on the digital economy and sustainable "green development" and underpinned by "the philosophy of open, green and clean cooperation, and the goal of pursuing high-standard, people-centered and sustainable cooperation." Integrity is the new buzzword as Xi talked of establishing "the Integrity and Compliance Evaluation System for companies involved in Belt and Road cooperation" and working "with international organizations to carry out research and training on promoting integrity in Belt and Road cooperation." This was part of his eight-point action plan that also includes supporting an open world economy, promoting green development, advancing scientific and technological innovation, supporting people-to-people exchanges, and strengthening institutional building for international Belt and Road cooperation. In light of the challenges facing the BRI projects worldwide and others launching connectivity alternatives to BRI, it was imperative for Xi Jinping to be seen as making amends. How these changes get reflected on the ground will shape the future of BRI and China's credibility as a provider of global public goods. But for Xi Jinping, this is also about offering an alternative to the US-led global order, and the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a Taliban delegation led by its acting minister of industry and commerce, Nooruddin Aziz, brought this into sharp relief. Putin, of course, was the star at the forum, getting a red carpet welcome from the hosts and applauding the "successes" of "our Chinese friends" in return. Russia has not officially signed on to the BRI but Putin made it a point to attend the forum in person despite not having travelled abroad since launching the Ukraine war. The Moscow-Beijing global alignment is unmistakable as they seek to challenge the West, also reflected in their explicit criticism of Israeli actions while refraining from condemning Hamas. Since the Ukraine crisis, where the West has tried to isolate Russia, China's embrace has become all-encompassing as it has emerged as Russia's most important trade partner, providing critical civilian and military goods that have sustained Russian economy and war operations. The other interesting presence was that of the Taliban, also meant to convey a message to the US that China will continue to move forward with its outreach to a pariah state, if only to scuttle Washington in achieving its objectives. Last month, China became the first country to send an ambassador to Afghanistan though Beijing is yet to give diplomatic recognition to the Taliban. China and Pakistan had also announced earlier this year that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor would be extended to Afghanistan. Nothing much has come of it yet but China's support gives credibility to the Taliban's claims of being the only credible alternative in Afghanistan. China's celebration of a decade of BRI was more an attempt to showcase its own rising profile as the provider of an alternative to the US-led global order than to provide for the development needs of the Global South. But challenges for the BRI are mounting and Xi's words at the forum were an explicit acknowledgment that changes in Chinese approach would be necessary if the second decade of BRI is to see more accomplishments than the first. American tech companies have for years employed thousands of North Koreans who worked remotely to raise money for leader Kim Jong-un’s weapons program, according to the FBI.
Speaking at a press conference in St. Louis, Missouri, FBI special agent Jay Greenberg explained that Pyongyang supplies these workers with false documents allowing them to travel to countries including China and Russia. Once there, they apply for remote work with American companies, using VPN software to convince their employers that they are based in the US or third countries, and often hiring middlemen in other countries to sign contracts with employers. “This scheme is so prevalent that companies must be vigilant to verify whom they’re hiring,” Greenberg said. “At a minimum, the FBI recommends that employers take additional proactive steps with remote IT workers to make it harder for bad actors to hide their identities.” Greenberg did not reveal the names of any companies that hired these remote workers, but said that any firm hiring freelance IT staff “more than likely” had someone involved in the scam on its payroll. The scheme has been operational since at least 2019, the US State Department, Justice Department, and FBI warned in a report issued last year. In a separate statement on Wednesday, the Justice Department announced the seizure of $1.5 million and 17 domain names as part of an investigation into the scheme.
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The US and Israel are mulling the creation of an interim administration in Gaza that would be backed by the UN and Arab governments, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, citing sources.
According to people familiar with US government discussions, the plans are still at an early stage and depend on future developments, including on whether Israel’s ground operation against Hamas is a success. The idea, which would effectively see the Palestinian armed group removed from power, would also require the participation of regional Arab states, which could be tricky to secure, the report says. Commenting on the potential of getting Arab nations on board, William Usher, a former senior Middle East analyst at the CIA, told Bloomberg that it “would require a major shift in how Arab states accept risk and work with one another” as well as a “leap of trust” by Israel at a time when this “commodity [is] in short supply.” After Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, leaving thousands of dead and injured, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “crush and destroy” the Palestinian group. On Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant outlined three phases of war with Hamas. The first would involve aerial bombardment and ground operations, followed by lower-intensity fighting to eliminate “pockets of resistance” in Gaza. The final stage would require “removal of Israel’s responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip and the establishment of a new security reality,” he said. At the same time, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid suggested on Thursday that the best solution for Gaza after the conflict is over would be to return it to the control of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, which was ousted by Hamas from the enclave in 2007. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported on Friday that the US and some of its European allies are pushing Israel to postpone its ground operation to win more time to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, which has captured some 200 people since the violence began. The same day, US officials confirmed that the group had set free two American hostages. Washington has also reportedly exerted an unprecedented influence over the plan for the ground operation, fearing that an all-out attack on Gaza may trigger a broader conflict, drawing in Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based Islamist military group with close ties to Iran.
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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be granted honorary citizenship of Rome, city councilor Antonella Melito said on Tuesday. She added that the process will be completed after all the necessary paperwork has been done.
Assange, 52, has been incarcerated at the high-security Belmarsh Prison in London since 2019 as he fights extradition to the US, where he could face a life sentence over the 2010 release of highly sensitive US Army intelligence information related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to Melito, by granting Assange citizenship, Rome intends to send a message of “solidarity and support to all those who are unjustly detained and convicted in violation of their fundamental rights.” The motion to confer honorary citizenship on the Australian activist was presented by a former mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi. On Wednesday, Raggi posted on social media that “an important step was taken in the protection of Julian Assange, as a person and as a symbol.” She added that the Wikileaks founder’s case shows that “freedom of the press must always be defended.” In June, Assange’s wife Stella visited the Vatican and met with Pope Francis. Later, in an interview with the Catholic Herald magazine, she said that Francis had sent a letter to her husband in March 2021, which was a “significant event” at a particularly low point for him. At the time, a lower court in Britain had ruled that Assange’s treatment in the US “would not be humane,” but decided not to grant him bail. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in August that he was frustrated by the lack of a diplomatic solution to end Assange’s detention. He said he would continue to press the US to cease its prosecution of the WikiLeaks founder, despite US Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejecting all previous pleas from Canberra to ensure his wellbeing. “This has gone on for too long. Enough is enough,” Albanese told reporters at the time. “We remain very firm in our view and in our representations to the American government and we will continue to do so.” Tech giant Google has laid off several employees this week in its news division, CNBC reported on Wednesday. According to an Alphabet Workers Union spokesperson, an estimated 40 to 45 workers in Google News lost their jobs. However, the spokesperson said that they are unaware of the exact numbers, adding that there are still hundreds of people working on the news product.
"We're deeply committed to a vibrant information ecosystem, and news is a part of that long-term investment," the Alphabet Workers Union spokesperson said, as per CNBC. "We've made some internal changes to streamline our organization. A small number of employees were impacted. We're supporting everyone with a transition period, outplacement services and severance as they look for new opportunities at Google and beyond," they added. A Google employee also took to LinkedIn to address the recent layoffs. Rob R, a Staff Software Engineer at the tech giant, described those fired as "some of the best and brightest people". "These are some of the best and brightest people I've ever worked with, and frankly, I don't expect the calculus behind this decision will ever make sense to me. We're definitely worse off without them," he wrote. Notably, the fresh round of layoffs comes amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which has pressured online platforms to provide the public with accurate information on the conflict. Several prominent people have also urged online platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) to take strict steps to contain the spread of false and misleading content about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. However, Google has maintained that the latest round of layoffs won't impact the quality of work in its News division. "These internal changes have no impact on our misinformation and information quality work in News," Google's spokesperson said. The recent layoffs also come at a time when the tech giant has been downsizing in recent months to reckon with slowing growth and uncertain economic conditions. Back in January this year, Google announced it was cutting 12,000 jobs. Last month, the company also eliminated hundreds of positions from its recruiting organisation An explosion at a hospital in Gaza killed at least 500 people on Tuesday, Reuters said quoting the Hamas-run health ministry sources, sparking outrage. Local authorities blamed Israeli airstrikes, while Israel alleged it was Hamas rockets misfiring.The 10 facts as we know so far:
The volume of natural gas in EU underground storage facilities has soared to an all-time high, reaching nearly 98%, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) data released on Monday.
Gas inventories across the EU and the UK amounted to 1,114 terawatt-hours (TWh), breaking the previous record set in October 2019, when it reached 1,102 TWh. Gas reservoirs in the EU are now 97.89% full, exceeding the bloc’s target of 90% by November 1 and providing some cushion ahead of the heating season. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to the region remained the lowest in almost two years in October, the European gas operator association revealed. Meanwhile, Russia’s energy major Gazprom continues to supply gas for transit to Western and Central Europe through Ukraine via the only remaining gas pumping station, Sudzha. The amount totals 42.5 million cubic meters per day as of October 17. Ukraine shut down transit through the Sokhranovka station, a key gas transit route which handled around a third of the Russian gas being supplied to the EU, in May 2022, citing “interference by the occupying forces.” Russia used to deliver about 155 bcm of natural gas to the EU annually before the start of the Ukraine conflict, primarily via pipelines. In January, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, claimed that the EU has reduced Russian gas imports by 80%. To offset gas supply shortfalls, the EU has resorted to taking in high-priced shipments of LNG from the US and Qatar, and increased pipeline imports from Norway and Azerbaijan. “We’re talking about buying American gas, but production volumes there are also limited, and it’s not so easy to spin everything up quickly,” Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out last week. He noted that while his country has already found an alternative to the European gas market, the EU still cannot make do without Russian gas. “Thus far, European countries cannot cope without our gas in full. They simply have nowhere to get it,” Putin said, adding that “physical” volumes of the fuel the bloc is currently receiving from other exporters are insufficient to cover demand. |
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