China raising retirement age, now among youngest in world's major economies
Beijing (AP): China starting next year will raise its retirement age for workers, which is now among the youngest in the world's major economies.
The extension was considered long overdue in a country facing a shrinking population and an ageing workforce.
The policy change will be carried out over 15 years, with the retirement age for men raised to 63 years, and 55 and 58 years for women depending on their jobs. The current retirement age is 60 for men, and 50 for women in blue-collar jobs and 55 for women in white-collar jobs.
The policy will be implemented starting in January next year, according to the announcement from China's legislature reported by state broadcaster CCTV.
“We have more people coming into the retirement age, and so the pension fund is (facing) high pressure, that's why I think it's now time to act seriously,” said Xiujian Peng, a senior research fellow at Victoria University in Australia who studies China's population and its ties to the economy.
The change will take effect progressively based on a person's birthdate.
For example, a man born in January 1971 could retire at the age of 61 years and 7 months in August 2032, according to the chart released along with the policy. A man born in May 1971 could retire at the age of 61 years and 8 months in January of 2033.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
