Marriages In S Korea Rose For First Time In 12 Years In 2023: Report

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

The number of marriages in South Korea rose for the first time in more than a decade, but it hovered below the 200,000 level for three years in a row, according to a media report on Tuesday.

Seoul, Mar 19: The number of marriages in South Korea rose for the first time in more than a decade, but it hovered below the 200,000 level for three years in a row, according to a media report on Tuesday.

Data from Statistics Korea showed that around 194,000 couples tied the knot in South Korea last year, up 1 per cent from a year earlier, Yonhap news agency reported.

It marked the first time since 2011 that the country logged an on-year increase in the number of marriages.

In 2022, the country witnessed a record low ever of 192,000 marriages. The number of marriages was on a gradual decline over the past decades from 435,000 cases in 1996 to below 400,000 in 1997 and below 200,000 in 2021.

"Last year's increase came as more couples held weddings from the second half of 2022 through the first half of 2023 after delaying their marriages during the earlier stages of the Covid-19 pandemic," an agency official said.

The number of South Koreans marrying foreign spouses surged 18.3 per cent on-year to 20,000 in 2022, which means that 1 out of every 10 marriages last year was an international marriage.

The average age for men getting married for the first time reached an all-time high of 34 in 2023, up 0.3 from a year earlier, and that of brides also rose by 0.2 years to a new record of 31.5, the report said.

The number of couples getting divorced lost 0.9 per cent on-year to 92,000, the fourth consecutive yearly fall.

The number of international couples getting divorced, however, advanced 5.1 per cent on-year to come to 6,000 cases, the report said.

The latest tally came amid the country's ultra-low childbirths.

South Korea's total fertility rate, which is the average number of expected births from a woman in her lifetime, fell to a record quarterly low of 0.65 in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The number of babies born in the country shed 7.7 per cent on-year to an all-time low of 229,970 in 2023.

The country's birth rate has been on a constant decline over the past years, falling below the 400,000 mark for the first time in 2017, below 300,000 in 2020 and under 250,000 in 2022.

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Experts say the falling number of marriages has an impact on birthrates as out-of-wedlock births are quite rare in South Korea, the report said.

More than 70 per cent of births in 2022 occurred within five years of marriage, data showed.

(IANS)

T20 World Cup: Rovman Powell to lead 15-man West Indies squad as Hetmyer returns

by Utkalika Mohanty

Antigua, May 3: West Indies announced their 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will be co-hosted by the Caribbean nations and the USA and scheduled to start on June 1.

Shamar Joseph, who impressed in his Test debut series against Australia earlier this year, is now poised to mark his T20I debut after being picked in the T20 World Cup squad.

Shimron Hetmyer makes a comeback after missing the T20I series against Australia. He has been in good nick in the ongoing IPL with the Rajasthan Royals, scoring 83 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 184.44 while playing the finisher's role.

Kyle Mayers, who was part of the squad during the Australia series, was omitted as the Windies opted for a lower-order batter over an opener. Pacer Oshane Thomas is also left out.

Johnson Charles, Brandon King, and Shai Hope are expected to fill the top-order positions. The Windies boast a plethora of big hitters and all-rounders, including Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer, Powell, Jason Holder, Sherfane Rutherford, and Romario Shepherd, providing the team with ample options.

Akeal Hossain and Gudakesh Motie form the spin-bowling department, while the pace battery will be led by vice-captain Alzarri Joseph with the support of Shamar Joseph.

Director of West Indies Cricket Desmond Haynes spoke about the big selection calls.

“We had a very long discussion with the situation of the batting line-up," he said. "I want to state very clearly that our focus has always been (on) roles, – roles that we want people to play. The situation of someone like Shamar Joseph, you really can’t question someone like him, we saw him in Australia. He ticked the boxes for us.

"It was some very close decisions, regarding the selection of Kyle Mayers and Shimron Hetmyer – but we looked at who we wanted the extra batter batting down the order.”

Part of Group C alongside Afghanistan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Uganda, the two-time Champions will kick off their campaign on 2 June against PNG in Guyana.

Squad: Rovman Powell (c), Alzarri Joseph (vice-captain), Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hossain, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd.

(IANS)

IPL 2024: Venkatesh Iyer hits 70, but KKR shot out for 169 as Thushara, Bumrah claim three each

by Utkalika Mohanty

Mumbai, May 3 (IANS) Venkatesh Iyer struck a fighting half-century but Mumbai Indians rode on three-fers by pace duo Jasprit Bumrah and Nuwan Thushara to bowl out Kolkata Knight Riders for 169 in Match 51 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Wankhede Stadium here on Friday.

Thushara justified skipper Hardik Pandya's decision to bowl first by claiming three wickets in his first two overs. With Pandya and Piyush Chawla chipping in with a wicket each, KKR were 57/5 soon after the Power-play.

But Venkatesh Iyer played a brilliant, controlled knock to score 70 off 52 balls and raised an 83-run partnership with Manish Pandey (42) for the sixth wicket to take them to 140. However, Bumrah claimed three wickets off 18, two of them in the same over, to hasten KKR's downfall as they managed a paltry score.

The name Ilandari Dewage Nuwan Thushara -- is a mouthful for anyone. On Friday, the Sri Lankan pacer with a slingy bowling action that reminds of Mumbai Indians legend Lasith Malinga, proved a handful for Kolkata Knight Riders batters. The 29-year-old landed three lethal blows in his first spell of two overs, sending back the dangerous Phil Salt (5), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (13) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (6) as KKR slumped to 28/3 in three overs.

Thushara has claimed only one wicket in the three matches he has played for MI this season. But Friday proved his day as he opened the bowling and struck the first blow in the opening over itself.

Salt smashed the third delivery of his first over down the ground for a four but after bowling a wide down the legside, Thushara had his revenge as he got the ball to nip away off the pitch and Salt, attempting to play it past midwicket, gets a leading edge behind point where Tilak Verma pouches it despite a collision with Naman Dhir.

Raghuvanshi hammered Thushara for a six, lifting him over midwicket as the bowler drifted onto the pad -- the first over costing 14 runs but more importantly Thushara claimed the first wicket.

Raghuvanshi hammered the Sri Lankan for another six off the first ball of his second over but Thushara had his revenge off the next ball, as he changed the line and cut down the pace, getting the batter to pop a simple catch to Suryakumar Yadav at cover. Shreyas Iyer struck a four off the first delivery he faced and a double on the second before spooning a catch to Tim David at mid-on while trying to flick a fullish delivery of this pads, beaten for pace this time.

Hardik Pandya brought himself into the attack and was carted for a huge six by Sunil Narine off his first delivery. But the Mumbai Indians skipper had his man off the next delivery as this time he out-thought the West Indies batter with pace and bowled him.

KKR were struggling at 57/4 after the Power-play and it became 57/5 when Piyush Chawla foxed him with a slower one as the batter chipped it back to the bowler for a simple catch.

Venkatesh Iyer and Manish Pandey, brought in as an Impact Substitute for Raghuvanshi, revived the innings with an 83-run stand, starting cautiously before unleashing some super shots to boost the scoring rate.

Venkatesh started by hitting two fours off Gerald Coetzee in the fourth over and took a four off Naman Dhir. After a spell of slow batting, he exploded into action in the 12th over, hammering a four and a six off Coetzee, the maximum over extra-cover fence executed quite well.

He reached his half-century off 36 balls, studded with five boundaries and a six.

The experienced Pandey, who tonked Bumrah for a four and six in three balls in the 14th over, hammered Pandya over long-on for another six but fell soon after as Hardik sent down a slow cutter wide off off-stump and the Karnataka batter was caught by substitute Brevis at extra-cover. Pandy made 42 off 31 balls, hitting two fours and as many sixes, but did his job in his first outing as he helped KKR recover from a precarious position.

Disaster struck KKR when Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell, after hitting a six each off Pandya, got into a horrendous mix-up, resulting in the West Indies dasher getting run out.

Venkatesh Iyer continued to propel the KKR innings but Bumrah expedited their demise by landing two blows in the 18th over, sending back Ramandeep Singh and Mitchell Starc with two superb deliveries. From 140/5, the Knight Riders slumped to 155/9 and their innings finally ended with a ball to spare when Bumrah beat with an un-hittable delivery as he lost his balance and fell over, trying to flick him to the boundary.

Only three KKR batters managed to reach double figures as the Mumbai Indians bowlers used the conditions perfectly to get themselves into a strong position to score their fourth victory in IPL 2024,

Brief scores:

Kolkata Knight Riders 169 all out in 19.5 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 70, Manish Pandey 42; Jasprit Bumrah 3-18, Nuwan Thushara 3-42, Hardik Pandya 2-44) against Mumbai Indians.

Shah Rukh Khan reveals how Aryan, Suhana love KKR's "Superman" Sunil Narine

by Utkalika Mohanty

Mumbai, May 3: From cheering for his team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from the stands to personally meeting and interacting with the players from both sides, Shah Rukh Khan has been doing everything that is required to make him the best co-owner.

Not only the superstar but his family also share a close bond with his team. 'Pathaan' actor revealed how his family love KKR's "Superman" Sunil Narine.
In a conversation on Star Sports, Shah Rukh opened up about how he and his children- Aryan and Suhana love Narine.

King Khan said, "Our children love him the most. Aryan and Suhana still haven't gotten to know him well. He joined us from the Champions League. He's been regular in our team since then. We were talking to him yesterday. He's very quiet, sometimes smiling, sometimes serious. In our house, we call him Superman, the god particle, you know. He's a boss on the field, a player, a bowler, a batsman, a wicketkeeper, a fielder. He's an anything player. He's so spirited, so lovely. We're very fortunate to have players, Indian or foreign, who have deep feelings for the team. It was so sweet. Even yesterday, they were here. So, before the match, Kieron Pollard called and wished everybody. Everyone talks, and because of CPL, there's this lovely family feeling. And Sunil, like I said, he's an anything player."