Pay gap stokes fears of child care worker drain to big cities

The Mainichi - Oct 17, 2026

CHIBA (Kyodo) -- Municipalities neighboring major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka are increasingly concerned about losing child care workers to better-

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Oct 19, 2026

Putin proposes summit with Trump and Xi to discuss Ukraine deal, WSJ says

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a summit next month with US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to negotiate an end to the four-year-old Ukraine conflict that would favour Moscow, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the discussions. The proposed summit comes amid warming ties between Trump and Putin especially after the US President announced a deal to buy Russian diesel and signed an order on Friday waiving key sanctions on Moscow. Citing a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the matter, the paper said that Putin's suggestion came in an October 9 telephone call with Trump that also yielded the diesel deal between the two countries. The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while the Kremlin could not be immediately reached outside regular business hours. The Russian and Chinese embassies in Washington did not immediately reply to requests for comment. The Kremlin has suggested holding the trilateral dialogue on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Oct 19, 2026

Rubio says Ukraine and Russia should be focused on ending the war

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan — Ukraine and Russia should be focused on ending the war between them, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on his visit to Uzbekistan on Monday. Asked about a possible meeting of US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to negotiate an end to the four-year-old Ukraine conflict, Rubio said: "There's been talks of a meeting. I don't know whether it's been finalized, but the president has been clear. He'd like the war in Ukraine and Russia to end." Rubio landed in Samarkand on Sunday night to meet top officials of the C5+1 grouping that brings together the United States and the Muslim-majority post-Soviet states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Trump hosted C5 leaders at the White House last November. "We see nothing good coming from this war," Rubio said. "We see a lot of downside to it, including the very real risk of escalation and spread of this thing... into another country because of a failed sabotage attack, because of drones that are hit with electronic warfare an

Oct 19, 2026

Haze in Malaysia: Vets seeing uptick in pets with respiratory problems

PETALING JAYA – Veterinarians in Malaysia are reporting an increase in respiratory problems among pets amid the haze, from watery eyes to breathing difficulties. Veterinarian clinic director Muhammad Naim Md Kasim said respiratory cases among cats had increased by an estimated 10% to 15% across several of his clinics since mid-September. “We cannot immediately attribute

Oct 19, 2026

Massive clean-up operation sweeps across France after protests

A massive clean-up operation was under way across France on Monday, from Lille in the north to Marseille in the south and from Strasbourg in the east to Bordeaux in the southwest, following nationwide demonstrations last weekend. The protests over high prices and declining public services were followed by widespread looting and damage to shops, with thousands arrested. FRANCE 24's Luke Shrago reports from central Paris.

Oct 19, 2026

'Shame', 'anger', 'chaos': Papers react to polarising riots in France

PRESS REVIEW – Monday, October 19: French and international papers discuss the anti-government protests that turned violent at the weekend and their aftermath across France.

Oct 19, 2026

French interior minister admits police 'lost control' of protests

France's Interior Minister Laurent Nunez admitted Monday that the police "lost control" in some cities during violent protests that erupted in cities across the country at the weekend. He said there had been a "lack of anticipation" in preparations and that he had tendered his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron "because I felt responsible for everything that happened." Macron did not accept his resignation.