MACAU
Gambling boss jailed
Junket boss Levo Chan (陳榮煉) was yesterday sentenced to 14 years in jail for running an illegal multibillion-dollar gambling ring, local media reported. The high-profile arrests and prosecution of junket bosses have coincided with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) drive to curb corruption, which includes closer scrutiny of officials suspected of laundering money at casinos. Chan founded Tak Chun Group, which brought high rollers from the mainland to the former Portuguese colony, the only Chinese territory where gambling is allowed. A panel of judges convicted Chan on 34 counts, including unlawful gambling, running criminal syndicates, fraud and money laundering. The illegal activities involved a total of US$4.5 billion, and earned Chan about US$200 million, the court said.
CANADA
Gold haul stolen at airport
A cargo container with gold and other items worth more than C$20 million (US$14.8 million) was stolen from Toronto Pearson International Airport, authorities said on Thursday. Peel Regional Police Inspector Stephen Duivesteyn said a “high value” container was taken from a holding area on Monday evening. “As per normal procedure, the aircraft was unloaded and cargo was transported from the aircraft to a holding cargo facility,” he said. “The container contained a high value shipment. It did contain gold, but it was not exclusive to gold. It contained other items of monetary value.” The missing goods were reported to police a short time after. “We’re three days in, so our investigators have their eyes open to all avenues,” Duivesteyn said.
UNITED STATES
Biden to welcome Marcos
President Joe Biden is to welcome Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to the White House on May 1 in a sign of a warming bond between the two nations. Biden would reaffirm Washington’s “ironclad commitment to the defense of the Philippines, and the leaders will discuss efforts to strengthen the long-standing US-Philippines alliance,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. The announcement came a week after the countries’ large-scale joint military exercises in the disputed South China Sea.
UNITED STATES
Two acquitted after 17 years
Two men who served nearly 17 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of attempted murder after a 2004 shooting were on Thursday declared innocent by a California judge. Under a new law, the state is required to pay them each US$140 for every day they spent behind bars. The verdicts for Dupree Glass and Juan Rayford concluded a trial that began in October last year, after a state appeals court voided their convictions in 2020. The proceedings included a dramatic confession by the actual shooter, Chad Brandon McZeal, a gang member who is serving a life sentence for murder in an unrelated case, the defense team said.
UNITED STATES
Baldwin charge dropped
Prosecutors are to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against actor Alec Baldwin over a fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western film Rust in 2021, alluding to new revelations in the investigation while cautioning that Baldwin has not been absolved. A follow-up investigation would remain active and an involuntary manslaughter charge against Hannah Gutierrez Reed, weapons supervisor on the film, remains unchanged, special prosecutors Kari Morrisey and Jason Lewis said.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un renewed his call for a “limitless” expansion of his military nuclear program to counter US-led threats in comments reported yesterday that were his first direct criticism toward Washington since US president-elect Donald Trump’s electoral victory on Oct. 6. At a conference with army officials on Friday, Kim condemned the US for updating its nuclear deterrence strategies with South Korea and solidifying three-way military cooperation involving Japan, which he portrayed as an “Asian NATO” that was escalating tensions and instability in the region. Kim also criticized the US over its support of Ukraine against a prolonged Russian invasion.
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
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