News Headlines - 31 January 2021

▽Abortion ban protests end on Friday midnight – The First News

Protesters against a near-total ban on abortion put into effect on Wednesday ended their third day of demonstrations in Warsaw in the night from Friday to Saturday.
The protest ended near the heavily-guarded home of Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of Poland's ruling party Law and Justice (PiS), which authored the new law.
The law, which forbids abortion on foetal damage grounds, practically introduces a near complete ban on abortion. Pregnancy terminations will now be permitted only in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the mother's health or life. Doctors performing abortions illegally will face prison sentences.

▽China’s Hualong One nuclear reactor goes into service | South China Morning Post

The first of China’s Hualong One third-generation pressurised water nuclear reactors went into commercial operation on Saturday, according to its developer China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).
Construction of the home-grown reactor in Fuqing in the southeastern province of Fujian began in 2015 and it was connected to the grid in November last year.

▽Vietnam ruling Communist Party chief Trong re-elected for 3rd term - The Straits Times

Vietnam’s ruling communist party on Sunday (Jan31) re-elected its general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong for a third term, making him one of the country’s longest serving leaders.
The party waived its age and term limits to allow him to continue in his role, cementing the power of the 76-year-old Hanoi native who has concurrently held the largely ceremonial role of president since 2018.

▽Despite success of ‘Demon Slayer’ 2020 box office in Japan worst ever : The Asahi Shimbun

Japan’s 2020 box office earnings totaled a paltry 143.3 billion yen ($1.37 billion), a sharp fall of 117.9 billion yen from the record set in the previous year, according to an announcement on Jan. 27 by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan Inc. (MPPAJ)... Approximately 106 million people went to watch movies at theaters in Japan in 2020, a record low since 1955, when records began.
The number of movies released also sank in 2020, down 261 films from the year before to 1,017.

▽Sumo: Stablemaster Tokitsukaze on hot seat over virus safety issues - The Mainichi

With his sport battling to operate during the coronavirus pandemic, a Japan Sumo Association official said Wednesday that sumo elder Tokitsukaze may have violated coronavirus safety protocols, including mahjong parlor visits, during the recently completed New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
The 47-year-old stablemaster, whose charges include ozeki Shodai and makuuchi-division rank-and-file wrestler Yutakayama, was demoted in October for violating the JSA's protocols, including a golf outing when the association had prohibited unnecessary travel.