İs Germans sending Tanks to Ukraine

In effect, while a number of countries have Lapid tanks and have indicated that they want to send them to Ukraine as they're produced by Germany, they must give permission for them to be sent. So far, they've not confirmed either way whether they would allow countries to export the tanks. Over the weekend, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Germany would not stand in the way of Poland sending the tanks to Ukraine. This came after criticism from Poland's prime minister for Germany's lack of commitment for sending the tanks, who said Germany's attitude is unacceptable. It's been almost a year since the war began. Innocent people are dying every day.

New Zealand's New PM

On Thursday last week, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern surprised the nation and the wider world by announcing that she was resigning as the country's leader. In her unexpected announcement, the globally known Prime Minister said she no longer had enough in the tank to do the job. I am human, politicians are human, Ardern said. We give all that we can as long as we can, and then it's time. And for me it's time. So who's taking over? Well, over the weekend, Ardern's Labour Party elected a new leader who will therefore become Prime Minister. The party unanimously endorsed Chris Hipkins to take over. However, he was the only nominee for the leadership, so his endorsement by the party was not exactly unexpected. 44 year old Chris Hipkins, sometimes known as Chippie Hipkins, has had a whole load of ministerial roles under Jacinda Ardern, including Education Minister and Police Minister. But he's perhaps better known in New Zealand for his role as COVID minister, meaning it was him who fronted the country's pandemic response, which included the notoriously strict border controls that prompted both international admiration and international condemnation of Jacinda Ardern.

Hipkins is expected to officially take over as Prime Minister on Wednesday the 25th. He's named Carmel Sepuloni as his deputy, making her New Zealand's first deputy Prime minister of Pacific origin. Hipkins told a press conference that his new government would be making haste on bread and butter issues, including inflation. He said within the next few weeks you're going to see quite a lot of clarity around us about reprioritisation. Hipkins is right to act with haste, as it's possible that Hipkins time in the top job will be short. The country is going to the polls in a general election on October the 14th, and polling has shown the New Zealand Labour Party struggling against the Conservative opposition National Party. It's perhaps for this reason, or at least partly because of this, that Jacinda Ardern decided to call it quits on her premiership after five years. Backlash to strict COVID rules, concerns about crime, rising cost of living and more has contributed to Ardern's sliding popularity. Nevertheless, it's rare that leaders get to leave on their own terms at a time of their choosing. Ardern says she currently has no future plans besides spending more time with her family. But as a 42 year old well known world leader, there's sure to be another prominent role for her somewhere in the future if she wants it.

US Shooting (again)

It was reported this weekend that a gunman carried out a massacre at a dance club at a Lunar New Year event in Monterey Park in California on Saturday. The suspected gunman allegedly shot 20 people with ten sadly dying. The suspect tried to carry out another shooting at a separate club just minutes after the first, but his firearm was wrestled off him by two bystanders. The gunman was found in a white cargo van about 30 miles from where the massacre occurred, where he was found dead. He had a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators are still trying to work out the motive of the alleged attacker. The attack in Monterey Park is the deadliest since May 2022, when a gunman killed 19 students and teachers in Uvalde, Texas.

Japan's Declining Birthrates

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, says that it is a now or never moment to tackle his country's population decline and has vowed to introduce measures to boost the falling birth rate, which hit a new record low last year. Kishida said in a speech beginning this year's parliamentary session that quote, Our nation is on the cusp of whether it can maintain its societal functions. He went on, It's now or never when it comes to policies regarding births and child rearing. It's an issue that simply cannot wait any longer. We must establish a children first economic society and turn around the birth rate. Last year, the number of children born in Japan dropped below 800,000 for the first time, which is a milestone that the government hadn't expected for another eight years. Despite previous government interventions, Japan's birth rate has fallen continuously for 14 years and Japan now has the second highest median age in the world at 49 years. Kishida said he'll announce plans to double the budget for child related policies by June and that a new children and family government agency will be established in April.