SEOUL: US President Donald Trump is expected to arrive in South Korea on October 29 for the upcoming APEC summit, South Korea’s presidential office said Thursday.
The US president is expected to be “arriving on the 29th,” an official from the office told AFP.
US officials maintain that Trump may meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which runs until November 1.
Seoul has also said a meeting on the sidelines between the United States and North Korea “cannot be ruled out.”
South Korean media cited the national security adviser as saying that Trump is expected to stay in the southern city of Gyeongju until October 30.
A meeting with the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will likely take place around that time, according to the reports.
Last week, Trump threatened to scrap a planned meeting with Xi at the forum, in retaliation for Beijing imposing export curbs on rare-earth technologies.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, however, told CNBC on Wednesday that Trump still planned to meet Xi.
Trump has also said he hopes to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again, possibly this year, while Pyongyang has said Kim is open to future talks under certain circumstances.
The pair met three times during Trump’s first term, but ultimately failed to secure a lasting agreement on North Korea’s nuclear program.
Since then, Pyongyang has declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state.
Geopolitical shift
The forum comes against a shifting geopolitical backdrop, with Kim emboldened by the war in Ukraine.
The North Korean leader has secured critical support from Russia after sending thousands of troops to fight alongside Moscow’s forces.
Last month, Kim appeared alongside Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin at an elaborate military parade in Beijing.
Pyongyang also showed off its “most powerful” intercontinental ballistic missile at its own parade attended by top officials from Russia and China.
Staging that “massive display of force just before South Korea hosts a major international summit is a calculated move to create anxiety and project strength,” Seong-Hyon Lee, a visiting scholar at the Harvard University Asia Center, told AFP.
“It aims to undermine confidence and highlight the new, harsher strategic reality on the peninsula.”
Trump due in South Korea on October 29 for APEC summit
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Trump due in South Korea on October 29 for APEC summit
- US President Donald Trump is expected to arrive in South Korea on October 29 for the upcoming APEC summit, South Korea’s presidential office said Thursday
94 million need cataract surgery, but access lacking: WHO
- Of the 94 million affected, fewer than 20 percent are blind, while the rest suffer from impaired vision
GENEVA: More than 94 million people suffer from cataracts, but half of them do not have access to the surgery needed to fix it, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
Cataracts — the clouding of the eye’s lens that causes blurred vision and can lead to blindness — are on the rise as populations get older, with age being the main risk factor.
“Cataract surgery — a simple, 15-minute procedure — is one of the most cost-effective medical procedures, providing immediate and lasting restoration of sight,” the WHO said.
It is one of the most frequently performed surgeries undertaken in high-income countries.
However, “half of the world’s population in need of cataract surgery don’t have access to it,” said Stuart Keel, the UN health agency’s technical lead for eye care.
The situation is worst in the WHO’s Africa region, where three in four people needing cataract surgery remain untreated.
In Kenya, at the current rate, 77 percent of people needing cataract surgery are likely to die with their cataract blindness or vision impairment, said Keel.
Across all regions, women consistently experience lower access to care than men.
Of the 94 million affected, fewer than 20 percent are blind, while the rest suffer from impaired vision.
- 2030 vision -
The WHO said that over the past two decades, global cataract surgery coverage had increased by 15 percent.
In 2021, WHO member states set a target of a 30-percent increase by 2030.
However, current modelling predicts that cataract surgery coverage will rise by only about 8.4 percent this decade.
To close the gap, the WHO urged countries to integrate eye examinations into primary health care and invest in the required surgical equipment.
States should also expand the eye-care workforce, training surgeons in a standardised manner and then distributing them throughout the country, notably outside major cities.
The WHO was on Wednesday launching new guidance for countries on how to provide quality cataract surgery services.
It will also issue guidance to help support workforce development.
Keel said the main issue was capacity and financing.
“We do need money invested to get rid of this backlog, which is nearly 100 million people,” he told a press conference.
While age is the primary risk factor for cataracts, others include prolonged UV-B light exposure, tobacco use, prolonged corticosteroid use and diabetes.
Keel urged people to keep up regular eye checks as they get older, with most problems able to be either prevented or diagnosed and treated.
The cost of the new lens that goes inside the eye can be under $100.
However, out-of-pocket costs can be higher when not covered by health insurance.
“Cataract surgery is one of the most powerful tools we have to restore vision and transform lives,” said Devora Kestel, head of the WHO’s noncommunicable diseases and mental health department.
“When people regain their sight, they regain independence, dignity, and opportunity.”
