Tokyo offers thousands to families to leave the capital

Today's headlines: Jakarta has approved a plan to develop a gas field in the South China Sea; Seoul launches a new army division to counter Pyongyang's atomic bomb; Dubai cuts 30% tax on alcohol to boost tourism; Isis claims attack against Taliban forces in Kabul; Russia's former chief rabbi calls on Jews to leave the country.

JAPAN

Japan will increase financial support for families to enourage them to leave the capital, Tokyo, and move to the countryside; the aim is to combat depopulation in various parts of the country. Each household will receive up to EUR 10,000 from the fiscal year 2023, a sum three times higher than that allocated so far. Rural areas have long been in a state of great neglect. 

INDONESIA

Jakarta has approved the first development plan for the Tuna maritime gas field, with a total value of over three billion Euro. It is located in the South China Sea, in an area between Indonesia and Vietnam, and is expected to reach a maximum production of 115 million standard cubic feet per day (Mmscfd) in 2027. 

KOREA

The South Korean army intends to launch a new division whose task will be to counter 'threats' from Pyongyang. The focus will be on the atomic and other weapons of mass destruction (Wmd) in the hands of the North's regime. A decision in response to Kim Jong-un's proclamations about the 'exponential' growth of the nuclear arsenal. 

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Dubai has suspended the 30% tax on alcohol and cancelled the tax on licences required for the marketing of alcoholic beverages. A decision that confirms the emirate's desire to focus on tourism and foreign residents to fuel its economy, winning over competition from the Saudis and Qataris. The rule comes into force on 8 January for an experimental period of one year. 

AFGHANISTAN

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack carried out against Taliban forces in Kabul on 1 January. In a message circulated on social media, the jihadist group claimed to have killed at least 20 people and wounded 30 others. The Afghan interior ministry speaks of an explosion outside the military airport, without referring to any deaths. 

RUSSIA - ISRAEL

The former Chief Rabbi of Russia now in Israel, Pinkhas Goldschmidt, has appealed to Russian Jews to leave the country. The call is to leave "before they turn them into scapegoats for all the difficulties following the war in Ukraine", in a new wave of anti-Semitism similar to the "period of the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany".

AZERBAIJAN - UKRAINE
Ukrainian First Lady Elena Zelenskaya publicly thanked Azerbaijan for its humanitarian aid. Baku's aid consists of a large supply of transformers and electric generators, 'just the equipment that our people need so much,' she stressed, 'in the regions most affected by the war'.

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