HARD NUMBERS: Korean exportation of children, Auto tariffs announced, US soldiers killed in training accident, Trump cuts billions from state health care funds, Survival kits for Europeans, Azov fighters get lengthy sentences
Photo by Karl Hedin on Unsplash
170,000: A report released Wednesday by the independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Korea pointed blame at Seoul for human rights violations related to a decades-long adoption program. Lack of oversight, according to the report, led to the “mass exportation of children” — to the tune of at least 170,000 kids — by private firms that were driven by profit. South Korea has been the global leader in sending children abroad for adoption since the 1950s but has worked to tighten its adoption processes.
25: On Wednesday, Donald Trump announced that a 25% tariff would be placed on all automobiles and automobile parts imported into the United States. The new tariff, set to take effect on April 2, will apply to both finished cars and trucks, including American brands manufactured abroad. This policy could lead to significant price increases for consumers as nearly half of the vehicles sold in the US are imported. Shares in Toyota, Honda, and Nissan fell about 2% in Asia on Thursday. Japan, South Korea, and the EU will all be heavily impacted, and Germany – the bloc’s automobile powerhouse – is urging countries to “respond firmly” with “far larger” tariffs.
4: Four US soldiers have died in a training accident in Lithuania. According to the US Army Europe and Africa public affairs office in Germany, the soldiers were involved in scheduled tactical training, and Lithuania’s public broadcaster LRT said the four had been reported missing on Tuesday in Pabradė, a town located less than six miles from the Belarusian border.
12 billion: The Trump administration this week cut billions in funding for state-run health services. Health and Human Services started informing state health departments on Monday that more than $12 billion in federal grants to states was being cut with immediate effect. Layoff preparations began as early as Tuesday in some areas. The funds had been used for tracking infectious diseases, mental health services, addiction treatment and other urgent health issues, and the cuts are expected to further hamper struggling state health care facilities.
72: In some older European homes, you can still find bomb shelters-turned-wine cellars — reminders of the horrors of war. Those shelters may soon be lined with survival kits, after the EU announced Wednesday that it wants all of its member states to create 72-hour survival kits for their citizens. The idea behind the Preparedness Union Strategy? To be ready for any future disasters, whether they’re natural or man-made.
12: They led the fight for Mariupol at the beginning of the Russian invasion, and now 12 members of Ukraine’s Azov regiment – who were captured when Russia won the siege of the city – are facing long prison sentences in Russia. A military court on Wednesday handed them sentences ranging from 13 to 23 years for alleged terrorist activity and violently seizing or retaining power.