Happy Friday. The Overview will be on vacation Monday and Tuesday next week — I’m putting myself in the eclipse’s Path of Totality — but in the meantime, we hope you take the opportunity to take this (very short) survey and tell us how we’re doing.
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Photo: Andy Wong / AP
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1. China’s Communist Party plays matchmaker to childless singles
The global birth rate has been on a steady decline for decades. But problems around fertility rates are especially stark in China, which is still working to counteract the fallout from its one-child policy, in effect from 1980 to 2016.
So what is the Communist Party doing to shore up the country’s flagging birth rate? The same thing your parents might suggest to you for finding a nice partner to settle down with: speed dating.
China’s Communist Party and other civic organizations are hosting speed dating and other singles events to “let passion blossom,” as the host of one such gathering said.
At that particular event in the eastern province of Zhejiang, activities included games played in a circle, wrists tied with pink string, and flower picking (?!). Honestly though, plucking peonies on a sun-dappled hillside sounds a whole lot more appealing than numbing your thumb swiping left on Tinder.
Here are just two tactics other governments have used in recent years to encourage young people to quit frittering about and just have a dang baby already. To me they represent the wide range of success such incentives have:
- Hot: The Tokyo suburb of Nagareyama increased the number of daycares and introduced a popular daycare transportation system to encourage working parents to settle down there. The city has seen a 40% increase in its birth rate over the past 15 years.
- Not: A one-time payment of €800 cash per couple per birth in Italy seems not to have had an effect: Births there dropped to a record low in 2023, the 15th year in a row they’ve declined, according to data released last week.
Related: In Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam, only about three out of 10 adults believe women have an obligation to society to have children, according to a Pew survey released this week.
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2. Nothing lasts forever — except for forever chemicals
France’s national assembly unanimously adopted a law on Thursday that, if approved by the Senate, would ban most products containing PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.” The ban includes an exemption for nonstick pans, however, after the leading cookware brand SEB lobbied for one.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are found in household items like nonstick cookware, water-repellent clothing, and stain-resistant fabrics, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Even Band-Aids, per a study released earlier this week, have been found to contain them.
Forever chemicals, which have been linked to cancer and decreased fertility, are referred to as such because they take incredibly long to break down in the body. For example, it can take over seven years for PFAS in a person’s bloodstream to reduce by half, compared with only 32 days for lead. Lead!
The European Union has restricted PFAS since 2009, and it’s banned certain types of forever chemicals altogether. Last month, Japan proposed regulations that would create a “tolerable daily intake” of PFAS in food and drinks.
In the U.S., the Toxic Substances Control Act requires manufacturers to report to the Environmental Protection Agency on the chemicals’ production and hazards, and 28 states have implemented at least one law regulating PFAS.
In general, however, PFAS remain largely unregulated worldwide.
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3. Israel to open border crossing to allow aid into Gaza
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said early Friday that his cabinet had approved “immediate steps” to increase the flow of aid into the Gaza Strip, including temporarily opening the Erez crossing.
This would be the first time the northern crossing has been open since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. About 1,200 people were killed in the attacks and 240 people taken hostage.
The announcement comes a day after a phone call in which Biden told Netanyahu that U.S. policy in the Israel-Hamas war will be determined based on how concretely Israel acts to address civilian harm and the safety of aid workers.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that he welcomed Netanyahu’s plan, but cautioned that the measures may not be sufficient in addressing the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
As the region nears six months of devastating conflict, at least 33,091 Palestinians have been killed and 75,750 wounded, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
In other Israel-Gaza news:
- The Israel Defense Forces announced Friday it had fired two senior military officers in response to Monday’s deadly airstrikes on World Central Kitchen aid workers, saying the attack was a “serious violation of commands.”
- The U.N. Human Rights Council called for all countries to suspend arms sales to Israel, citing the International Court of Justice’s provisional ruling in January “that there is a plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza.
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In other news
- Bill Clinton will travel to Kigali this weekend to mark 30 years since the Rwanda genocide began. Clinton, who was president at the time, said he regretted not doing more to quell the violence that resulted in the deaths of 500,000 to 800,000 Tutsis at the hands of the Hutu militia. [The Hill]
- A judge ruled on Wednesday that the federal government is responsible for any migrants it detains at the U.S.-Mexico border, whether or not they’ve been formally processed. [Associated Press]
- Scientists are investigating the deaths of 532 Adelie penguins in the Antarctic for involvement of the H5N1 bird flu. The news follows a man in Texas testing positive for the disease earlier this week. [Reuters]
- Due to the country’s intense hay fever season, some employers in Japan are subsidizing tropical escapes for their employees, allowing them to work remotely. Hello, boss? I am, uh, also having allergies and need to go to Buenos Aires. [The Washington Post]
- Clouds are expected in much of the path of the total solar eclipse crossing parts of North America on Monday. But you don’t need to be a weatherman to know that weather changes. Fingers crossed for clear skies. [Associated Press]
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Let us know how we’re doing.
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Say that again
“This has really made my life easier, as I not only earn money out of selling plastic but also get free meals for my entire family,” said Akash, a 28-year-old living in Delhi.
Akash is able to provide three meals a day to his family of four by collecting and trading plastic waste for food at one of the city’s “garbage cafes.” While the name isn’t the most appetizing, you can’t say it isn’t accurate. [Reasons to be Cheerful]
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A new minimum wage is now on the menu
How does California’s new $20/hour minimum wage for fast-food workers stack up globally?
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What we’re listening to
This a good one for your Friday afternoon — a little something from the first punk band ever. No, it’s not the Sex Pistols, The Ramones, or The Stooges. It’s Los Saicos, which formed in Lima, Peru, in 1964 and, like any good punk act, burned out right quick, disbanding just two years later.
“Demolición,” one of Los Saicos’ most popular songs, starts off sounding like any surf rock tune from the era, but soon takes off in a noisy sprint, propelled by singer Erwin Flores’ growled vocals.
—Laura Adamczyk, staff writer
Thanks for reading. We’ll see you Wednesday.
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Hope O'Dell contributed writing and reporting to today's newsletter. Questions, comments, or corrections? Email us at theoverview@globalaffairs.org.
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