Latest Population growth and decline News

South Korean lawmakers raise concerns over Chinese voters
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Members of South Korea’s ruling conservative party have proposed a bill that would place tighter restrictions on the voting rights of foreign permanent residents in local elections, which they insist is necessary to protect the country’s democracy from being...
Scientists call for action to help sunflower sea stars
ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) — Scientists along the West Coast are calling for action to help sunflower sea stars, among the largest sea stars in the world, recover from catastrophic population declines. Experts say a sea star wasting disease epidemic that began in 2013 has decimated about...

S. Carolina's US House maps under scrutiny because of race
A trial to determine whether South Carolina’s congressional maps are legal closes Tuesday with arguments over whether the state Legislature diluted Black voting power by remaking the boundaries of the only U.S. House district Democrats have flipped in more than 30 years. The trial...

Japan births at new low as population shrinks and ages
TOKYO (AP) — The number of babies born in Japan this year is below last year’s record low in what the the top government spokesman described as a “critical situation.” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno promised comprehensive measures to encourage more marriages and...

Colorado Springs reckons with past after gay club shooting
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — When officials unfurled a 25-foot rainbow flag in front of Colorado Springs City Hall this week, people gathered to mourn the victims of a mass shooting at a popular gay club couldn't help but reflect on how such a display of support would have been unthinkable just...

South Korea in demographic crisis as many stop having babies
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Yoo Young Yi’s grandmother gave birth to six children. Her mother birthed two. Yoo doesn’t want any. “My husband and I like babies so much … but there are things that we'd have to sacrifice if we raised kids,” said Yoo, a 30-year-old Seoul...

Japan panel: Sweeping defense buildup, more cost unavoidable
TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese government-commissioned panel said in a report to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that drastic defense buildup including the use of preemptive strike is “indispensable” to counter growing threats in the region. It called for the public’s understanding to...

Earth at 8 billion: Consumption not crowd is key to climate
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — The world is getting hotter and more crowded and the two issues are connected, but not quite as much as people might think, experts say. On Tuesday somewhere a baby will be born that will be the globe’s 8 billionth person, according to a projection...

Democrat Andrea Salinas wins US House seat in Oregon's 6th
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Democrat Andrea Salinas has won the U.S. House seat in Oregon’s newly created 6th District. The state representative and former congressional staffer defeated Republican Mike Erickson, a businessman. Salinas was one of two candidates seeking...

World Population hits 8 billion, creating many challenges
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The world's population will likely hit an estimated 8 billion people on Tuesday, according to a United Nations projection, with much of the growth coming from developing nations in Africa. Among them is Nigeria, where resources are already stretched to the...
