Sat, Aug 05, 2023 page5

• World News Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  NEW ZEALAND

  Luxon backs Chinese cash

  National Party leader Christopher Luxon yesterday said that he would “absolutely” accept money from China to fund new roads if his party wins October’s general election. Asked if he would turn to Beijing to fund a massive road infrastructure project worth NZ$24 billion (US$14.6 billion), Luxon told public broadcaster TVNZ: “Yeah, absolutely.” He added: “New Zealand is a country the same size [area] as Great Britain and Japan [separately], we have 5 million people in it,” he said. “A strong and resilient roading network will be absolutely critical to our future.” Asked if China would want something in return, such as being able to send its own workers to build the projects, Luxon replied: “That’s not going to happen,” and added: “That’s quite a xenophobic response and a pretty simplistic response.”

  COLOMBIA

  President’s son confesses

  Nicolas Petro, son of President Gustavo Petro, on Thursday told prosecutors that money from a drug cartel filtered into the campaign of his father last year, a confession aimed at mitigating his own exposure to money-laundering charges. Nicolas Petro “received large sums of money from Mr Samuel Santander Lopesierra, known as The Marlboro Man,” prosecutor Mario Burgos said during a hearing. “Some of the money was used by Mr Nicolas Fernando Petro himself ... and the other part went into the 2022 presidential campaign,” Burgos said. Nicolas Petro was arrested on Saturday and denied the charges in a hearing on Wednesday, but changed his tune a day later when he announced his aim “to initiate a process of collaboration.” He said: “I will refer to new facts and situations that will help justice.” Local media reports said the younger Petro learned of new evidence held by prosecutors, and that Burgos offered to reduce his potential time in prison by half if he collaborated.

  DENMARK

  Border controls tightened

  Police are tightening border controls following recent burnings of the Koran that have affected the security situation, the Ministry of Justice said on Thursday, following a similar decision by Sweden earlier in the week. Protesters in the two nations have burned and damaged in other ways several copies of the Koran in the past few months. “Authorities have today concluded that it is necessary at this time to increase the focus on who is entering Denmark, in order to respond to the specific and current threats,” the ministry said in a statement. Tighter border controls would initially be in place until Thursday next week, it said. “The recent Koran burnings have, as the security police have said, affected the current security situation,” Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard said in the statement.

  THAILAND

  Crash kills eight

  Eight people were killed when a freight train struck a pickup truck crossing the tracks in an eastern province yesterday, authorities said. The crash at 2:20am also injured four people in the Muang District of Chachoengsao Province, State Railway of Thailand said. The 54-year-old driver, Wichai Yulek, told authorities he saw the approaching train and heard a warning horn. He slowed, but passengers in the vehicle urged him to keep going. When he realized the truck was headed for a collision, he could not stop in time, the railway agency said. The deceased include an 18 year old, two people in their 20s and five people over 55, while the injured victims included four men in their 20s, the railway said.
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