News Headlines - 24 December 2018
▽Japan suffers biggest natural population decline ever - CNN
The fast-graying nation also posted a record-low birthrate, as the estimated number of babies born in 2018 dipped to 921,000 -- the lowest since records began in 1899 -- according to a report published Friday by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
The number of newborns is estimated to have shrunk by 25,000 from 2017, and the figure remains under the 1 million mark for the third year running.
Deaths in 2018 also hit a postwar record high of 1.369 million, with a natural population decline of 448,000 -- the highest ever.
▽S.Korea again denies Japan's radar claim - NHK WORLD
Japan says the South Korean vessel leveled the radar at the SDF plane over waters off Ishikawa Prefecture. But South Korea says the destroyer was using radar to search for a drifting North Korean ship.
Deputy spokesman of South Korea's Defense Ministry Lee Jin-woo spoke at a news conference on Monday... Lee acknowledged that the destroyer used a camera to monitor the SDF aircraft as it flew at a low altitude and approached the vessel. But he denied the vessel emitted radio waves from its tracking radar.
▽Indonesia tsunami: Death toll rises to 222, hundreds more injured - Channel NewsAsia
Indonesia's disaster agency said 222 people were dead and hundreds more injured after a tsunami struck coastal areas around the Sunda Strait between the islands of Sumatra and Java on Saturday (Dec 22) night.
"222 people are dead, 843 people are injured and 28 people are missing," Indonesia's national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Sunday evening.
▽Trump takes parting shot at Mattis and his view of U.S. allies | Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday criticized departing Defence Secretary James Mattis and his view of alliances, saying the Pentagon chief failed to recognise the true costs of America’s military support around the world.
Former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney says “everyone from the staff to the kitmen” was unhappy during Jose Mourinho’s reign at Old Trafford.
Mourinho departed after two-and-a-half years last Tuesday with club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer installed as caretaker manager until the end of the season... Speaking during his appearance as a pundit on BT Sport, Rooney echoed those sentiments.
