KOREAN PENINSULA: North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea today, after US Vice-President Kamala Harris had flown home from a visit to the South.

It was the third round of missile launches by Pyongyang this week.

Ms Harris had earlier rounded off a four-day Asian tour by meeting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and visiting the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, where she stressed the “iron-clad” US commitment to the defence of its Asian allies.

INDIA: The Supreme Court ruled today that all women, regardless of marital status, can obtain abortions up to 24 weeks into a pregnancy.

Previously, married women could have abortions at up to 24 weeks, but single women were limited to 20 weeks.

The judgement was applauded by reproductive rights activists, with Aparna Chandra, an associate professor of law at the National Law School of India, praising the court for breaking away “from the stigma that is attached to single women getting pregnant.”

GERMANY: The government plans to spend up to €200 billion (£177bn) on helping consumers and businesses as surging energy prices are pushing Europe’s largest economy into a looming recession.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said today that the government was reactivating an economic stabilisation fund previously used during the global financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.

The fund will be used to limit the price customers pay for natural gas. Plans for a surcharge on natural gas to help spread the rising cost of buying the fuel on the global market have been dropped.

SPAIN: The Socialist-led coalition government announced today that residents whose wealth exceeds €3 million (£2.6m) will be subject to a new asset tax in 2023 and 2024.

Finance Minister Maria Jesus Montero said there would be bands of 1.7 per cent, 2.1 per cent and 3.5 per cent depending on the individual’s wealth.

The new tax is intended to raise money to help people hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis.