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EFFINGHAM — Ever since a 15-point loss to Mt. Carmel in the Robinson Thanksgiving Tournament, the St. Anthony girls basketball team has been on an impressive tear. The Bulldogs have won six straight games by an average of 30 points. Thursday night's contest against Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City (7-4, 0-1 National Trail Conference) ended similarly. St. Anthony blew by the Bobcats, winning by 43 points, 61-18, to improve to 9-1 overall and 4-0 in the National Trail Conference. The Bulldogs opened the game, leading 24-4 at the end of the first. St. Anthony scored the first eight points of the contest. Addi Nuxoll hit one of her two free throws. Nancy Ruholl knocked down a three-pointer, hit a layup after three straight second-chance opportunities, and another layup after two more second-chances. Carissa Wakefield scored the first points for CHBC with 5:37 left after making a pair of free throws. Nancy Ruholl then made her second three-pointer before back-to-back layups, a floater, and another basket to increase the lead to 19-2. Averie Vaughn then made a pair of free throws with 1:11 left. Nancy Ruholl made her third three-pointer and Ava Faber hit a deep two-pointer to equal the score after the first. The Bulldogs led 37-14 at halftime and 50-18 at the end of the third. St. Anthony outscored the Bobcats 11-0 in the fourth. Nancy Ruholl finished with 34 points. Nuxoll had nine. Addie Lauritzen and Aubrey Denning each had five. Lilly Gannaway had three. Adysen Rios and Faber each had two and Kallie Kabbes had one. Macee Rodman had 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals, one assist, and one blocked shot for CHBC. Ellie Miller had three points and three rebounds. Wakefield had two points, three rebounds, three assists, and one blocked shot. Vaughn had two points, four rebounds, and one assist. Haley Doty had three rebounds and two steals. Ethel Stuckemeyer had six rebounds, three steals, and two assists and Ryleigh Sarver had three assists. Below are other girls basketball results from Tuesday. Effingham (H.S.) 63 - Mattoon 21 The Effingham Flaming Hearts defeated Mattoon, 63-21, in an Apollo Conference game at Mattoon High School. EHS led 16-4 at the end of the first quarter, 39-6 at halftime, and 58-13 at the end of the third. The Greenwave outscored the Flaming Hearts 8-5 in the fourth. Tessa Raddatz had 15 points for EHS (8-2, 2-0 Apollo). Saige Althoff had 10. Sidney Donaldson had nine. Averie Wolfe had seven. Bella Austin had six. Bria Beals had five. Alyssa Martin and Mya Harvey each had four and McKenzie Love had three. Teutopolis 65 - St. Joseph (S.J.-Ogden) 30 The Teutopolis Lady Shoes defeated St. Joseph-Ogden, 65-30, at J.H. Griffin Gym. T-Town led 25-4 at the end of the first quarter, 35-11 at halftime, and 56-17 at the end of the third. The Spartans outscored the Lady Shoes 13-9 in the fourth. Chloe Probst had 16 points (5-13 shooting), five rebounds, and five steals for T-Town (9-1). Mollie Ruholl had nine points (4-6 shooting) and two steals. Malea Helmink had nine points (4-6 shooting), seven rebounds, and two steals. Allie Ruholl had eight points (2-8 shooting), one rebound, and three steals. Kelsey Niemerg had seven points (3-7 shooting), eight rebounds, three steals, and one assist. Anna Probst had six points (3-7 shooting), four rebounds, and two assists. Jersey Gaddis had five points (2-3 shooting) and two steals. Sophia Martin had three points (1-3 shooting), one rebound, and two steals and Eva Mette had two points (1-1 shooting) and two rebounds. Dieterich 35 - Martinsville 26 The Dieterich Movin Maroons defeated Martinsville, 35-26, in a non-conference game at Dieterich High School. Martinsville led 10-3 at the end of the first quarter, 16-8 at halftime, and 21-18 at the end of the third. Dieterich outscored the Bluestreaks 17-5 in the fourth. Kady Tegeler had 15 points for the Movin Maroons (3-8). Addison Miller had 11. Brittney Niemerg had four. Callie Faller had three and Ella Kreke had two. Nokomis 41 - Altamont 31 The Altamont Lady Indians fell to Nokomis, 41-31, in a non-conference game at Nokomis High School. Nokomis led 7-5 at the end of the first quarter, 24-14 at halftime, and 30-18 at the end of the third. Altamont outscored the Lady Redskins 13-11 in the fourth. Avery Aldrich had 12 points for Altamont (4-5). Kylie Osteen had nine. Kaylee Lurkins had six. Ada Roberts had two and Reagan Kuenstler and Justyce Higgs each had one. Neoga 53 - Oblong/Palestine-Hutsonville 38 The Neoga Indians defeated Oblong/Palestine-Hutsonville, 53-38, in a non-conference game at Palestine High School. Neoga led 18-8 at the end of the first quarter, 25-16 at halftime, and 35-21 at the end of the third. The Indians outscored the Lady Tigers 18-17 in the fourth. Malory Henderson had five points for Neoga (6-4). Brynn Richards had 26 — she reached 1,000 points for her career in the first quarter. Kendal Lindsay and Natalie Ballinger each had two and Atalie Osborn had 18. Newton 51 - Robinson 32 The Newton Lady Eagles defeated Robinson, 51-32, in a Little Illini Conference game at Robinson High School. Robinson led 13-6 at the end of the first quarter, 26-17 at halftime, and Newton led 37-32 at the end of the third. The Lady Eagles outscored the Maroons 14-0 in the fourth. Camryn Martin had 21 points, four steals, and three assists for Newton (5-2, 1-1 Little Illini). Karasyn Martin had 13 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Addy O'Dell had six points, six rebounds, four steals, two assists, and two charges. Allie Hermann had four points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Claire Probst had three points and five rebounds. Izzy Meinhart had two points and two steals and Maddie Brummer had two points. Toledo (Cumberland) 58 - Farmer City (Blue Ridge) 13 The Cumberland Lady Pirates defeated Farmer City (Blue Ridge), 58-13, in a Lincoln Prairie Conference game at Blue Ridge High School. Cumberland led 18-0 at the end of the first quarter, 37-2 at halftime, and 54-6 at the end of the third. The Lady Knights outscored the Lady Pirates 7-4 in the fourth. Alysa Dittamore had 20 points for Cumberland (7-3, 2-0 Lincoln Prairie). Jude Miller had 16. Suzy Fritts had nine. Jade Carr had eight. Paige Dittamore had four and Ava Long had one. Brownstown/St. Elmo 68 - Windsor/Strasburg (Stewardson-S.) 46 The Brownstown/St. Elmo Bombers defeated the Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg Hatchets, 68-46, in a National Trail Conference game at Brownstown High School. BSE led 23-9 at the end of the first quarter, 37-20 at halftime, and 56-29 at the end of the third. WSS outscored the Bombers 17-12 in the fourth. Dayana Haslett had 28 points for BSE (10-2, 3-0 National Trail). Presley Williams and Addie Sasse each had 13. Peyton Barker and Madi Miller each had six and Jaydin Huddlestun had two. Samantha Hayes had 18 points for the Hatchets (3-4, 1-2 National Trail). Kendra Hayes had 12. Katelyn VonBehrens had nine. Ellie Wittenberg had four. Claire VonBehrens had two and Emma Garrett had one. Ramsey 43 - Farina (South Central) 18 The South Central Lady Cougars fell to Ramsey, 43-18, in a non-conference game at South Central High School. Ramsey led 17-6 at the end of the first quarter, 17-13 at halftime, and 31-15 at the end of the third. The Lady Rams outscored South Central 12-3 in the fourth. Baylee Brown had five points for the Lady Cougars (1-9). Kyra Swift and Kennah Hiestand each had four. Perci Reid had three and Madison Green had two.Andrew met the individual through “official channels” with “nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed”, a statement from his office said. The businessman – known only as H6 – lost an appeal over a decision to bar him from entering the UK on national security grounds. He brought a case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) after then-home secretary Suella Braverman said he should be excluded from the UK in March 2023. H6 was described as a “close confidante” of The Duke. Judges were told that in a briefing for the home secretary in July 2023, officials claimed H6 had been in a position to generate relationships between prominent UK figures and senior Chinese officials “that could be leveraged for political interference purposes”. They also said that H6 had downplayed his relationship with the Chinese state, which combined with his relationship with Andrew, 64, represented a threat to national security. A statement from Andrew’s office said: “The Duke of York followed advice from His Majesty’s Government and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised. “The Duke met the individual through official channels with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed. “He is unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.” At a hearing in July, the specialist tribunal heard that the businessman was told by an adviser to Andrew that he could act on the duke’s behalf when dealing with potential investors in China, and that H6 had been invited to Andrew’s birthday party in 2020. A letter referencing the birthday party from the adviser, Dominic Hampshire, was discovered on H6’s devices when he was stopped at a port in November 2021. In a ruling on Thursday, Mr Justice Bourne, Judge Stephen Smith and Sir Stewart Eldon, dismissed the challenge.
UCF is looking for a new head coach after Gus Malzahn resigned on Saturday to become the offensive coordinator at Florida State. The school on Saturday afternoon indicating the news of Malzahn's departure. Malzahn went 28-24 as the head coach in Orlando from 2021-24, including a 10-15 mark as a member of the Big 12 over the last two seasons. UCF is a job with a ton of potential. The program is located in a talent-rich state (Florida) and has a fanbase that's eager to win with quality resources. Additionally, the move to a power conference (Big 12) in 2023 only adds to the potential for this job. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.
Content oversight and quality assurance provided by Studio 1847 This piece was written by John Rosenberg, a seasoned military advisor with extensive experience in Afghanistan as a Senior Advisor to the Afghan National Army and an Information Operations Assessor for the International Joint Command. He has also served as a Senior Advisor to the U.S. Africa Command, focusing on stability and development in the region. Media and analysts often portray Pakistan as a nation at a crossroads, facing complex challenges from security threats to economic instability. Observers frequently describe it as a region marked by geopolitical tensions, struggling to navigate its path as a developing democracy. Yet, these perceptions only tell part of the story. Behind the headlines, Pakistan is a resilient nation actively working to overcome these issues. With a population of 252 million , Pakistan is engaged in ongoing efforts against extremism and terrorism. The country has deployed approximately 300,000 military and paramilitary troops for counterterrorism duties . Official reports indicate that in the past eight months, operations by Pakistan’s defense and intelligence forces resulted in the loss of 193 officers and sepoys and 541 individuals identified as terrorists killed. Government data shows Pakistan spends over $2 billion annually on counterterrorism. According to economic assessments, the direct economic cost of the war on terror in Pakistan is $153 billion, with an additional indirect cost of around $450 billion. Because of Pakistan’s geographic location, sharing borders with Afghanistan, Iran and China, the country consistently faces security problems. International organizations report issues related to cross-border movement, including refugee influxes, drug trafficking and smuggling. Historical events, like the Soviet-Afghan War and subsequent conflicts in Afghanistan, have had long-term impacts on Pakistan’s security, like the documented proliferation of weapons and reports of radicalization among certain population segments. Developments and progress Despite its challenges, Pakistan is moving forward. It maintains a parliamentary democratic system with regular elections. Pakistan’s judiciary has ruled on various high-profile cases. Public demonstrations occur regularly. Pakistan directly connects to important trade routes, has diplomatic relations with neighboring nations, and participates in regional economic initiatives. In recent years, Pakistan has engaged in international forums and agreements focused on counterterrorism, demonstrating its involvement in global security efforts. Pakistan’s media landscape is diverse, encompassing print, broadcast and digital platforms. However, reports from international press freedom organizations indicate that journalists in the country often face limitations, especially when covering security and political matters. Despite these challenges, Pakistan maintains a vibrant social media presence. Pakistan has room to strengthen its democracy and governance, but its resilience and determination in the face of significant challenges deserve recognition. The nation has made substantial strides from countering extremism to maintaining regional stability. It’s time the global community views Pakistan through a balanced lens, appreciating its achievements and ongoing efforts. — Provided by Ascend Agency The news and editorial staffs of the Chicago Tribune had no role in this post’s preparation.
UCF coach Gus Malzahn reportedly resigning to take Florida State OC job
SINGAPORE: Every month, corporate employee Ms Xianggui from China's Jiangsu province generously sets aside a fifth of her 10,000 yuan salary (US$1,371) towards her ageing parents’ retirement fund. Like other single adults living in China without siblings, the 29-year-old, who asked to have her full name kept private, bears the weight of being the sole financial provider for her parents, both in their 50s. She began setting aside more money after learning that her parents would only receive around 300 yuan each month, post-retirement and now hopes to save at least 200,000 yuan in the next 10 years. Hers is a predicament faced by many “single-child families” in China, which comes as a result of the one-child policy and has riddled the country with demographic problems. “Many families in my village only had one child in response to national policies,” she told CNA, adding that she hopes the national scheme could soon be improved to increase payouts and reduce financial burdens faced by adult only-children. China’s pension system has been facing immense pressure in coping with a rapidly ageing population and declining birth rates, which has resulted in a declining pool of working-age people funding the system and more retirees looking to receive payments. While the government’s move to raise the retirement age from January 2025 is a step in the right direction, experts say that it is still not enough and more clearly needs to be done to support the national pension scheme. There is little money leftover for Ms Xianggui after deducting living expenses, retirement savings and allowances for her parents so she has had to postpone personal plans like buying her own house and getting married. "My parents’ monthly pensions are far too low, which deeply concerns me," she said, adding: "As an only child, the entire burden falls on me." A FRAMEWORK UNDER PRESSURE China ranked 31st in the world for pension systems, out of 48 countries, according to the 2024 Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index, scoring 56.5 with an overall C grade – a marginally better score than the 55.3 it received the previous year. But it received a dismal D for sustainability, highlighting concerns about the system’s ability to provide sufficient retirement income and maintain long-term financial viability. In comparison, Nordic countries like Sweden, Iceland and Denmark, known for their robust and well-balanced pension schemes, scored 74.3, 83.4 and 81.6 respectively, while Singapore’s Central Provident Fund system came in 5th with a score of 78.7. According to official statistics, China’s pension system covers more than 1.07 billion people across the country and is made up of three pillars. The basic pension system is led by the state, covering urban employees as well as urban residents and rural residents. Then, there's the voluntary employee pension plan from employers which has relatively limited reach. Finally, a private voluntary scheme that was launched in 2022 and continues to see low participation rates as of June 2024, with just over 60 million people opening new accounts. But despite the broad coverage, the difference in payouts among working classes remains huge, analysts said, noting that only around 503 million people, half of the more than 1.07 billion people, were considered eligible for generous urban pension plans. Average monthly payouts for urban workers and business owners amounted to around 3,326 yuan as compared to only 179 yuan which workers and residents in rural areas received. Ms Zongyuan Zoe Liu, a Maurice R Greenberg senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), told CNA that the sufficiency of payouts “still needed to be improved”. “The coverage ratio is impressive but the amount (that) people can withdraw is small,” she said. Those in prestigious fields, like former civil servants, doctors and schoolteachers, received the most generous benefits. On the other hand, migrant workers and others from rural areas were often excluded from higher-paying employment-based pension schemes, even if they had lived and worked in other cities for a long time. “Peasants and rural-to-urban migrants are the most disadvantaged in the pension system as most of them are enrolled in the resident-based track with the lowest benefit rate,” said Dr Huang Xian, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Rutgers University. “Individuals with rural roots are always placed at the bottom of the hierarchy for benefit distribution as they are the most distant from the regime in socio-political status.” PENSION POT RUNNING DRY? Besides inequality and insufficient support particularly for migrant and rural workers, the entire pension system is facing a major challenge because the pot is believed to be running dry soon. In 2019, the state-run Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) warned about a potential depletion of pension funds for urban employees by 2035. That estimate was however made before the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, so analysts say the bomb may be ticking even faster. “A lot of the COVID-19 era pension or insurance health care deficits created negative shocks,” said Ms Liu, adding that there was also a chance the national social security fund could be depleted even before 2035. According to a 2021 government report, China’s social insurance funds recorded the first annual deficit in 2020, after authorities cut corporate contributions to help companies offset the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. The funds’ combined revenues fell 13.3 per cent in 2020 while expenditures rose 5.5 per cent. The shift toward gig and informal workers also raises challenges for pension revenue collection, experts said. “The ability to collect revenue for social insurance is becoming very difficult because social insurance assumes that most of your workforce is formally employed and generally long-term employed under legal, contractual arrangements,” said Mr Mark W Frazier, a politics professor at The New School in New York City. Public pension expenditure in China accounted for about 5.4 per cent of its total GDP in 2023, an increase from 5.2 per cent in 2022 and 2021, according to data from Statista. Analysts say this figure, while seemingly moderate compared to advanced economies, is substantial for a developing economy like China. “The sustainability of that level of collection and payment depends on the future of the Chinese economy,” said Mr Frazier. “You can always lower the 5.4 per cent expenditure figure if you have a larger economy, but the absolute number of pension expenditures will keep increasing year by year.” Further faltering of the pension system also risks eroding public trust in the government’s ability to meet its obligations, analysts said, potentially destabilising societal equilibrium. China’s rapidly ageing population has been affecting the pension system’s sustainability – with more elderly citizens claiming retirement benefits and less working adults contributing to the pension fund. The population aged 60 years and above reached 297 million in 2023, accounting for more than 20 percent of the total population. This percentage is projected to increase to an astounding high of over 52 per cent by 2100 – meaning more than half the population will be elderly. The labour force has also been shrinking as the country’s declining fertility rate is now among the lowest in the world, at 1.1 children per woman. The imbalance has directly affected the country’s dependency ratio, the number of workers supporting each retiree, which is projected to fall from the current 2.95 to just 0.69 in less than 80 years, based on UN population projections, according to Mr Dudley L Poston Jr, a sociology professor at Texas A&M University. “As a result, financial risk and pressure are overwhelming,” said Dr Huang. In the meantime, pressure still remains on only children to shoulder the financial burden of their parents’ retirement. “The idea that a child is supposed to take care of the elderly, is a classic family value – not just China in particular but in a lot of (other) Asian countries,” said Ms Liu. "THE ENTIRE BURDEN FALLS ON ME" ‘Yang er fang lao’, a common Chinese saying, refers to the practice of bearing and raising children to look after you in your old age. But with the one-child policy implemented between 1980 and 2015, and the current low fertility rate, a whole generation of single-child families is bearing the weight of financially supporting ageing parents on their own. Ms Xianggui worries about her ability to support her parents long-term and has been conducting her own research on online platforms like Xiaohongshu about increasing pension contributions. She believes that it is “still possible” to increase her pension contributions to the maximum tier of 4,000 yuan annually. “Under this new plan (that I came up with), my father would contribute 8,000 yuan annually, and my mother 4,000 yuan into their individual pension accounts. Together, this could raise their combined pensions to over 1,000 yuan per month,” she said. While it’s a modest amount, she thinks the adjustment is “better than nothing” and “within” her financial capacity. The youngest of three children, Dove Long, an unmarried 41-year-old living in the city of Changsha, gives both her retired parents a fixed monthly allowance and even goes the extra mile to buy them supplementary private health insurance to “mitigate financial stress in case of major illnesses”. But despite earning a comparatively higher than average income of around 20,000 yuan (US$2743) per month, Ms Long said she still worries about her own retirement. For her, long-term financial security remains elusive. “Society generally expects children to take on the primary responsibility for their parents’ retirement,” she told CNA. “With the rising standard of living, I hope to have enough funds to enjoy a rich cultural and recreational life after retirement, such as frequent travel and participating in various interest classes,” she said. “My employer contributes to my pension insurance as required... but relying solely on social security pensions may not fully meet my future aspirations for a quality retirement,” she added. “Under the current system, the estimated pension (I get) might only cover basic living expenses, which falls short of fulfilling all my needs.” Life expectancy in China has risen to 78 years as of 2021, from about 44 years in 1960, and is projected to exceed 80 years by 2050. And longer life expectancies will mean more financial strain like the increasing costs of elder support and care. “As people grow older, it’s natural to expect that they might need more medical (help) so expenses will increase,” said Ms Liu. “That added cost will be another financial burden to the family.” Young adults also grapple with other ongoing financial burdens like stagnant wages and high living costs. Competition in the job market remains stiff and pressures are high, Ms Liu added. “The cost of childcare is (also) high,” she said. “This basically means (people) have to spend if they decide to have (a) child, so it’s a lot of expenditure. But the wage growth has stagnated.” SPEND OR SAVE? The financial realities have impacted many major life decisions for Ms Xianggui, who shared that she had been planning to buy a house with her fiancé in Hefei, one of China’s fastest growing cities famed for its blend of historical heritage and sci-tech innovations. The situation has been stressful, she said, adding that the couple has had to postpone their wedding in order to support her family. “My fiancé’s family is contributing the majority of (our) down payment while I can only provide 200,000 yuan as my parents are unable to support me financially,” she said. “He wants to work for a few more years to save up.” Rutgers University’s Dr Huang noted that citizens born under China’s one-child policy grew up in a relatively open and liberal era, different from their parents and have “a different approach to navigating challenges”. “They have better education and more exposure to new media in general, hold less trust in the government or lower expectations for the government’s social welfare responsibility,” she said, adding that they might seek alternative financial services instead of relying solely on state support. “However, they face similar challenges in balancing elder care and personal financial priorities compared to the older generations.” The unreliability of the pension safety net means most people “have no choice but to live on personal and family savings and assets after retirement”, said Dr Huang. “Older people... want to save, to prepare for either retirement or emergencies,” said Ms Liu. “This propensity to save discourages people from consuming, and the lack of household consumption is a very big problem dragging the Chinese economy now.” She noted that a failure to stabilise China’s pension system could stifle domestic consumption, with global repercussions. “If families realise they have better healthcare or broadly speaking, better social security, then Chinese families or consumers are willing to spend, rather than just save for the future,” she said. “The increase in consumption is also going to stimulate the economy.” NAVIGATING THE ROAD AHEAD China’s pension system remains at a crossroad and in September 2024, the government announced incremental reforms to raise the retirement age, aiming to ease financial pressures on the pension system. The move was long overdue, given that China’s retirement age – 60 for men, 55 for women in white-collar jobs, and 50 for women in blue-collar jobs – had not changed since the 1950s, analysts said. “Extending the retirement age will allow the pension funds to last for some additional years,” said Mr Poston. However, he cautions that it is not a silver bullet. “This will not be a permanent fix. It will only partly address the extremely serious demographic problems now facing China.” Mr Frazier, who also authored a book titled "Socialist Insecurity: Pensions and the Politics of Uneven Development in China", noted limitations of this measure and said long-term effects would not be felt until 2040 or 2050. “The costs of pensions are never placed directly on people in the current moment, but they are postponed decades into the future,” he said. The Chinese government has in recent years also sought to diversify the pension system with the introduction of private retirement savings schemes in November 2022. The introduction of individual retirement accounts (IRA) is a key component of this effort. These accounts, modeled after 401(k) plans in the United States, allow individuals to make voluntary contributions of up to 12,0000 yuan annually to supplement their public pensions. According to Dr Huang, who is also affiliated with the Rutgers Center for Chinese Studies, the IRA is a personal savings account, and not social insurance, “because it has no social pooling or risk sharing among individuals”. “By May 2023, more than 900 million households have participated in IRA, but the average savings put into it is less than 2,000 yuan per household.” It’s clear that there’s more to be done, with experts emphasising comprehensive reforms being essential to ensure its sustainability, with proposed solutions spanning structural changes, fiscal reforms, and innovative labour policies. Mr Frazier says the fragmentation in China’s pension system, with over 2,000 local governments managing funds independently, has led to administrative expenses being wasted. “If you centralise or even bring it to 31 provincial-level pensions, then you're going to save a tremendous amount of administrative costs,” he added. The Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index 2024 suggests increasing the minimum level of support for the poorest individuals. Another policy solution is to relax the country’s hukou household registration system, which experts say would improve eligibility and support for migrant workers and rural residents. Meanwhile, China’s reliance on payroll taxes to fund pensions is increasingly unsustainable as the workforce shrinks. To increase contributions to the pension pot, Ms Liu pointed to untapped revenue sources. "Right now, China doesn't really have property tax, for example and I think capital gain tax in China is fairly minimal or is completely non-existent," she said. Dr Huang emphasised the urgency of broader fiscal measures. "The demographic crisis can easily turn into a fiscal crisis for the government," he said. "Redistribution and changing the taxation system are crucial to managing these challenges." A more radical approach, as suggested by Mr Frazier, is to delink pensions from employment to create a universal basic pension. “You have to consider ways to introduce reforms that would guarantee pensions for people in an economy in which, over 40 years, there may be 40 different jobs, 40 different employers,” he said. China’s demographic decline has led others like Mr Poston to propose immigration as “the only answer” to replenish the labour force and alleviate pension funding pressures. “China needs to turn to immigration to get them out of this quagmire. The country’s several attempts to implement policies to increase the birth rate have not worked, and they will not work.” However, he also acknowledges the challenges. “It will not be easy to introduce and implement an active immigration policy in a country with little experience with immigration, few preferences for immigrants, and a seemingly deep-rooted belief in racial purity held by many leaders in the Chinese Communist Party.” For millions of Chinese citizens, the stakes are high, and the path forward remains fraught with challenges. “To be honest, I do have concerns,” said Ms Long. "I worry that by the time I retire, there might be insufficient pension funds or a decline in the quality of services." "However, I hope the government and society will continue to address these issues and improve the system to ensure it remains reliable."By DEVNA BOSE and JOHN SEEWER “Wanted” posters with the names and faces of health care executives have been popping up on the streets of New York. Hit lists with images of bullets are circulating online with warnings that industry leaders should be afraid. Related Articles National News | Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge National News | Unidentified drones spotted flying at locations across NYC, including LaGuardia Airport National News | About 2.6 million Stanley cups recalled after malfunctions caused burns. Is your mug included? National News | Woman who falsely accused Duke lacrosse players of rape in 2006 publicly admits she lied National News | Musk says US is demanding he pay penalty over disclosures of his Twitter stock purchases The apparent targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the menacing threats that followed have sent a shudder through corporate America and the health care industry in particular, leading to increased security for executives and some workers. In the week since the brazen shooting , health insurers have removed information about their top executives from company websites, canceled in-person meetings with shareholders and advised all employees to work from home temporarily. An internal New York Police Department bulletin warned this week that the online vitriol that followed the shooting could signal an immediate “elevated threat.” Police fear that the Dec. 4 shooting could “inspire a variety of extremists and grievance-driven malicious actors to violence,” according to the bulletin, which was obtained by The Associated Press. “Wanted” posters pasted to parking meters and construction site fences in Manhattan included photos of health care executives and the words “Deny, defend, depose” — similar to a phrase scrawled on bullets found near Thompson’s body and echoing those used by insurance industry critics . Thompson’s wife, Paulette, told NBC News last week that he told her some people had been threatening him and suggested the threats may have involved issues with insurance coverage. Investigators believe the shooting suspect, Luigi Mangione , may have been motivated by hostility toward health insurers. They are studying his writings about a previous back injury, and his disdain for corporate America and the U.S. health care system. Mangione’s lawyer has cautioned against prejudging the case. Mangione, 26, has remained jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested Monday . Manhattan prosecutors are working to bring him to New York to face a murder charge. UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, said this week it was working with law enforcement to ensure a safe work environment and to reinforce security guidelines and building access policies, a spokesperson said. The company has taken down photos, names and biographies for its top executives from its websites, a spokesperson said. Other organizations, including CVS, the parent company for insurance giant Aetna, have taken similar actions. Government health insurance provider Centene Corp. has announced that its investor day will be held online, rather than in-person as originally planned. Medica, a Minnesota-based nonprofit health care firm, said last week it was temporarily closing its six offices for security reasons and would have its employees work from home. Heightened security measures likely will make health care companies and their leaders more inaccessible to their policyholders, said former Cigna executive Wendell Potter. “And understandably so, with this act of violence. There’s no assurance that this won’t happen again,” said Potter, who’s now an advocate for health care reform. Private security firms and consultants have been in high demand, fielding calls almost immediately after the shooting from companies across a range of industries, including manufacturing and finance. Companies have long faced security risks and grappled with how far to take precautions for high-profile executives. But these recent threats sparked by Thompson’s killing should not be ignored, said Dave Komendat, a former security chief for Boeing who now heads his own risk-management company. “The tone and tenor is different. The social reaction to this tragedy is different. And so I think that people need to take this seriously,” Komendat said. Just over a quarter of the companies in the Fortune 500 reported spending money to protect their CEOs and top executives. Of those, the median payment for personal security doubled over the last three years to just under $100,000. Hours after the shooting, Komendat was on a call with dozens of chief security officers from big corporations, and there have been many similar meetings since, hosted by security groups or law enforcement agencies assessing the threats, he said. “It just takes one person who is motivated by a poster — who may have experienced something in their life through one of these companies that was harmful,” Komendat said. Associated Press reporters Wyatte Grantham-Philips in New York and Barbara Ortutay in San Francisco, contributed to this report.Advocates ask Biden to pardon refugees from the Vietnam War
Brazil's ten-man Botafogo win Copa Libertadores