Cash for kids: S Korea seeks to raise falling birthrate

Seoul: South Korea issued a raft of measures on Friday to try to reverse one of the world’s lowest birth rates, offering potential parents increased benefits as it faces a looming population decline. The country’s fertility rate, the number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, fell to 0.95 in the third quarter, the first time it has dropped below 1 and far short of the 2.1 needed to maintain stability. The government has spent a whopping $121 billion since 2005 to try to boost the birth rate, without success. AFP

Kevin Hart steps down as host of 2019 Oscars 

Los Angeles: Actor Kevin Hart on Thursday said he was stepping down as the host of 91st Academy Awards following a controversy over his old homophobic tweets that have resurfaced now. The 39-year-old actor was announced as the host of 2019 Oscars on Tuesday and soon after his old tweets where he cracked anti-gay jokes resurfaced, which led to a huge uproar on social media. Taking to Twitter, Hart said he has stepped down as he does not want to become a “distraction” at the ceremony. He also apologised to the LGBTQ community for his past “insensitive words”. According to Buzzfeed, Hart had started deleting his tweets, but many online users took screenshots before they were removed. PTI