_____• South Korea proposed that North Korea join it in fielding a joint women’s hockey team at the Pyeongchang Games next month. The North’s Olympic representative said it was “under discussion.”And in South Korea, there’s a growing push to overturn an abortion ban. But the leading player, Bitcoin, was rattled last week by word that South Korea is preparing a ban on trading in virtual currencies. [Reuters]• Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan could miss the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics as tensions with South Korea flared over World War II-era sex slaves. [The New York Times]• A 7.1-magnitude earthquake off Peru’s coast early Sunday killed at least one person and injured dozens.

Source: New York Times January 14, 2018 19:01 UTC