Briefly

EUROPEAN UNION

Croatia to join ID-check-free area

European Union countries agreed on Thursday to allow Croatia to fully open its borders and participate in Europe's ID-check-free travel zone, but Bulgaria and Romania were told that they must wait longer to be allowed in. This triggered an angry response from Romania, which lashed out at Austria for blocking its bid to join the so-called Schengen Area. The world's largest free travel zone, the Schengen Area comprises 26 countries.

SOUTH KOREA

People to get younger on paper

The National Assembly on Thursday passed laws to scrap its traditional method of counting ages and adopt the international standard — a shift which will make its citizens either 1 or 2 years younger on official documents. The current system, widely known as "the Korean age", recognizes people as a year old at birth and also adds a year to their age every Jan 1 — rather than on their birth date.

CANADA

Pop diva reveals rare neurological disorder

Canadian singer Celine Dion said she has been diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called Stiff-Person Syndrome that causes muscle spasms and has led her to postpone some European shows. The 54-year-old posted a video to Instagram on Thursday revealing the diagnosis and explaining that her "Courage World Tour" has been rescheduled from spring 2023 to 2024.

Agencies - Xinhua