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COVID-19, South Korean President – Foreign Policy

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Seoul and Washington have pledged they’re ready to talk with a nuclear-testing North Korea—but they’re not getting any response.
The alliance is one of the best bargains in geopolitics.
Ukraine is calling out Russia’s “state nuclear terrorism.”
A three-way agreement signed in Madrid paves the way for alliance expansion—at a cost.
Quiz: What in the World? What in the World?… | View Comments ()
Have feedback? Email whatintheworld@foreignpolicy.com to let me know your thoughts.
1. Belize, Germany, Indonesia, Senegal, and the United States co-hosted a virtual Global COVID-19 Summit this week. How many coronavirus cases have been recorded worldwide since the pandemic began?
60 million
110 million
390 million
520 million
The United States, for its part, passed the grim toll of 1 million COVID-19 deaths this week.
2. Who is South Korea’s new president, who was inaugurated on Tuesday?
Moon Jae-in
Lee Jae-myung
Yoon Suk-yeol
Ban Ki-moon
S. Nathan Park explains the roots of the conservative politician’s victory.
3. U.S. President Joe Biden met with representatives from most members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this week. Which of the group’s members was missing?
Singapore
Vietnam
Myanmar
Brunei
Myanmar was excluded from the event as its post-coup government drags its feet on dialogue with the opposition.
4. Meanwhile, U.S. first lady Jill Biden met with the first lady of Ukraine over the weekend. What is her name?
Olena Zelenska
Marina Zelenska
Angelika Zelenska
Yulia Zelenska
5. Protests in Sri Lanka prompted the resignation this week of which politician?
Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa
Minister of Irrigation Chamal Rajapaksa
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa is just one of many powerful Rajapaksas in Sri Lanka. His brothers Basil and Chamal Rajapaksa resigned along with the rest of the presidential cabinet in early April, and their other brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, remains in office. The country’s political crisis has no end in sight, FP’s Michael Kugelman writes in this week’s South Asia Brief.
6. Somalia will elect a new president this weekend. The country’s executive is chosen indirectly by the lower house of Somalia’s Federal Parliament, known as what?
House of the People
Chamber of Deputies
Consultative Assembly
National Council
7. Whom did French President Emmanuel Macron visit Monday on his first international trip since being reelected last month?
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Senegalese President Macky Sall
U.S. President Joe Biden
8. North Korea finally acknowledged its COVID-19 outbreak this week, after claiming to have avoided any cases at all for the first two years of the pandemic. It is one of only two countries to refuse to vaccinate its population. What is the other?
Syria
Papua New Guinea
Australia
Eritrea
9. Lebanon holds parliamentary elections on Sunday amid an economic crisis. Around how much has the Lebanese pound depreciated in value since 2019?
15 percent
30 percent
60 percent
90 percent
This election could be crucial to turning things around for Lebanon, but there’s little optimism, FP’s Anchal Vohra writes.
10. Local media in India reported this week that an Indian couple is suing their son—over what supposed transgression?
Refusing to give them a grandchild
Putting them in a retirement home
Marrying a woman they disapprove of
Getting divorced after they paid for a massive wedding
The couple, Sanjeev and Sadhana Prasad, are requesting their son and daughter-in-law pay back more than $600,000 spent on their wedding, honeymoon, education, and home if they fail to produce a child within a year. “At least if we have a grandchild to spend time with, our pain will become bearable,” the Prasads said.
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Nina Goldman is a deputy copy editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @goldmannk
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INTERNATIONAL

Ocean census aims to discover 100,000 previously unknown marine species

Researchers have embarked on an ambitious global initiative to discover and record marine life hidden in the world’s oceans.

Ocean Census aims to identify 100,000 unknown species in the next 10 years, allowing scientists to better understand and protect the deep-sea ecosystem.

There are huge gaps in our knowledge of the ocean depths. Of the 2.2 million species believed to exist in the Earth’s oceans, only 240,000 have been described by scientists, according to the census.

Technological advances
It typically takes scientists at least a year to definitively describe a species post-discovery, but new types of technology are making it much easier for sea creatures to be studied in their natural habitat. These include tools like underwater laser scanning that can scan gelatinous creatures such as jelly fish that are hard to study on land.

“You can now look at (the creature) in the water column and see what the morphology is and study them in situ,” said Jyotika Virmani, the executive director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute in Palo Alto, California, which will participate in the project.

“What we’re moving towards is a place where we can actually perhaps even do taxonomic identification in the water column instead of bringing everything back to land. And that’s really exciting and will make things move a lot faster.”

All living organisms, including humans, disperse genetic material into the environment, and the project will also make use of new and accessible techniques to sample waterborne DNA to detect and track species.

While many of the species discovered are likely to be on the smaller end of the scale, Virmani noted that the world’s longest sea creature was only discovered in 2020 off the coast of Western Australia — a 150-foot stringlike animal known as a siphonophore.

Ocean Census will also help to identify how marine ecosystems are responding to the climate crisis, and assess how marine life could adapt to a warmer climate.

The project is being led by Nekton, a UK-based marine science and conservation institute, and funded by The Nippon Foundation, a nonprofit foundation based in Japan.

Over the next decade, dozens of expeditions to the ocean’s biodiversity hotspots will search for new species involving divers, submarines and deep-sea robots. The project also hopes to involve private vessels and individuals. The data and information gathered will by openly accessible for scientists, policymakers and the public for noncommercial use.

 

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3 tips can help you save if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, personal finance expert Suze Orman says

When you’re living paycheck to paycheck, it can be tough to find money to save.

That was the situation one audience member, Natalie, wrote in about ahead of CNBC’s Women & Wealth event on Tuesday. While grappling with high childcare and housing costs, Natalie is barely breaking even, she wrote, which makes finding money to set aside for big goals like retirement difficult.

A recent CNBC Your Money Financial Confidence Survey, conducted in partnership with Momentive, shows that she is not alone. More than half, or 58%, of all Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, according to the March results.

If you find setting money aside difficult, it’s a sign that it’s time to change your lifestyle, personal finance expert Suze Orman said.

As part of its National Financial Literacy Month efforts, CNBC will be featuring stories throughout the month dedicated to helping people manage, grow and protect their money so they can truly live ambitiously.
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“You have to strike the word ‘can’t’ out of your vocabulary,” Orman said in response to the audience query.

Rather, people should draw up a financial to-do list right now that includes getting out of credit card debt, having an eight- to 12-month emergency fund and funding their retirement accounts, Orman said.

That’s as many experts, including Orman, say a recession could be coming.

But whether there is a recession or not, you need to be prepared that an unexpected event — like an illness, accident or layoff — could set you back, Orman said.

“The most important thing, really, for everybody to understand about their money … is that you have got to live a life below your means, but within your needs,” Orman said.

Several tips can help you get started.

1. Make yourself a ‘No. 1 priority’
Portrait of an elegant man in a suit preparing for an important day at work
Daniloandjus | E+ | Getty Images
People who think they are living paycheck to paycheck likely have something they are doing with money that they should not be doing, Orman said.

For example, if you go out to eat rather than eating in, that’s $10 you could be putting into a Roth individual retirement account — an account for post-tax contributions towards retirement.

“You have to make yourself a No. 1 priority,” Orman said.

That means you do what you have to do in order to meet your financial goals, she said, even if it means taking on more than one job or cutting back on discretionary expenses.

You should be always be funding your retirement accounts, Orman said.

2. Automate your savings
To get into the habit of setting money aside, it’s best to automate the process, Orman said.

So whether you choose to do $50 a month or $100 a month, by setting aside money before you see it in your paycheck, “you will find that you do not miss it,” Orman said.

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INTERNATIONAL

Inside MT BARBER: The Rising Star in the Barber Shop Industry

Gustavo Olmedo Romero, a professional barber from Oaxaca, Mexico, is making waves in the world of barbering with his brand MT BARBER. Born on September 1, 1986, Gustavo migrated to the United States at the age of 15 in search of a better future. He settled in New Brunswick for two years before moving to Delaware, where he worked multiple jobs, including dishwasher, cook, and gardener.

This period of his life was crucial in shaping his work ethic, and Gustavo is now living his dream.

At the age of 24, Gustavo started learning the profession that had fascinated him since childhood. He taught himself through videos and practice sessions with his friends, and in 2010, he began working in a barber shop where he worked for seven years, honing his skills and becoming a high-level barber. In 2017, Gustavo opened his first barber shop called MT BARBER SHOP, where he employed 12 barbers. Two years later, he opened his second shop with the same name, adding 12 more barbers to his team and expanding his brand.

 

 

According to Gustavo, the world of barbering is an excellent profession to learn and grow in, but it requires a lot of discipline and constant learning because haircuts and styles are continually evolving. Gustavo has also worked with professional soccer players, including José Andrés Martínez and Gelmin Rivas. His vision is to expand his brand nationally and internationally, and he knows that it will take a lot of hard work and effort, but he is determined to achieve his goals.

 

MT BARBER’s Instagram handle is @mexican_talent, and you can book an appointment on their website mtbarbershop.booksy.com. Gustavo Olmedo Romero is changing the world of barbering with his brand, MT BARBER, and he is an inspiration to many aspiring barbers.

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