SOUTH KOREA
S Korea, US to launch drill
South Korea, the US and Japan were set to conduct a joint air military exercise near the Korean Peninsula yesterday, weeks after the three countries carried out their first three-nation naval interdiction drills in seven years. Yesterday’s drill was to include a formation flight in which the nations’ fighter planes escort a US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing unidentified US and South Korean military sources. While there have been cases of US-Korea and Japan-Korea joint drills, this would be the first time the three countries came together to conduct an aerial exercise, the report said.
UKRAINE
Russian strikes kills six
Russian missile strikes on Saturday killed at least six postal workers and wounded 16, when they hit a mail depot in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, officials said. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shared a video on social media of what appeared to be a heavily damaged warehouse surrounded by rubble and a container with the logo of Ukrainian postal operator, Nova Poshta. “All six dead and 14 injured as a result of the occupiers’ attack were employees of the company who were inside the Nova Poshta terminal,” Kharkiv Governor Oleg Sinegubov said. “The victims, aged between 19 and 42, received shrapnel wounds and blast injuries.” The Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed the death toll, but updated the number of injured to 16. Sergiy Nozhka, who works for Nova Poshta, said that a rocket “flew into the neighboring depot, but at ours too — the windows and shutters flew out. This is not the first time.”
UNITED STATES
Venezuelans top crossings
Venezuelans became the largest nationality arrested for illegally crossing the border, replacing Mexicans for the first time on record, according to figures released on Saturday, which also showed that last month was the second-highest month for arrests of all nationalities. Venezuelans were arrested 54,833 times by the Border Patrol after entering from Mexico last month, more than double from 22,090 arrests in August and well above the previous monthly high of 33,749 arrests in September last year. Arrests of all nationalities entering from Mexico totaled 218,763 last month, up 21 percent from 181,084 in August and approaching an all-time high of 222,018 in December last year, US Customs and Border Protection data showed. Arrests for the government’s budget year that ended Sept. 30 topped 2 million for the second year in a row, down 7 percent from an all-time high of more than 2.2 million arrests in the same period a year earlier.
UNITED STATES
Apple drops show over China
US comedian Jon Stewart’s talk show on Apple TV+ has reportedly been canceled after just two series due to clashes between its host and the company over topics such as China and artificial intelligence (AI). Stewart told staff that executives from Apple — which has vast commercial interests in China and AI — had expressed concern over proposed new content for The Problem with Jon Stewart, the New York Times said. Apple CEO Tim Cook made a surprise visit to China this month, and he has previously spoken of his company’s “symbiotic” relationship with the nation. In an earnings call in August, Cook said that Apple views AI and machine learning as “core fundamental technologies that are integral to virtually every product that we build.”
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,
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
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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