Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan’s aging, shrinking population was not a burden, but an incentive to boost productivity through innovations like robots, wireless sensors and Artificial Intelligence. Abe’s comments on Wednesday came days after official data showed that Japan has 34.6 million people aged 65 and older, or 27.3 percent of the population – the highest proportion among advanced nations. Source Reuters
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has ordered that no more government contracts be awarded to German companies, in a sign of continued irritation over Berlin’s foreign policy in the Middle East. Source Reuters
Deputy Minister Mark Harbers (VVD) of Immigration is critical of the plan of the new coalition in Amsterdam for the reception of asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies. The plan not only goes against government policy, but is possibly also in violation of the law, Harbers thinks. Source Elsevier
The Saudi-led Arab military coalition destroyed on Wednesday two boats of the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels threatening a commercial oil tanker in the Red Sea, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) state news agency WAM reports. Source: Oil Price
