NEW ZEALAND
Population jumps 2.8%
The nation posted its biggest calendar-year jump in population since the end of World War II due to record immigration. The estimated population increased 2.8 percent last year to 5,305,600 people, Statistics New Zealand said yesterday. That is the fastest pace in modern records dating back to 1992, and the most since 1946 according to the previous, discontinued data series. Foreign workers flooded into the country to fill labor shortages after it reopened its border in 2022 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 145,100 gain last year reflected net immigration of 126,000 and occurred despite a natural increase of just 19,200 — the lowest for a calendar year since the modern data series began.
VENEZUELA
Maduro furious at Milei
President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday lashed out at Argentine President Javier Milei three days after the US completed the seizure of a Venezuelan plane held in Buenos Aires since June 2022. “They stole our plane... Milei the bandit stole the plane from Venezuela,” Maduro said in a televised statement. “He acts crazy or he is crazy or both at the same time.” The Boeing 747 cargo plane owned by Venezuelan company Emtrasur has been held in Argentina since landing there in 2022 from Mexico with a shipment of auto parts. The 19-member crew was composed of Venezuelans and Iranians — one of whom the US suspected had links to the Al Quds Force, a group of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards that it classifies as a terrorist organization. All the crew were initially detained, but later freed. Caracas and Tehran protested US attempts to seize the plane, but an Argentine judge last month ordered it surrendered to the US.
HONG KONG
Seven arrested over fraud
Seven people suspected of being involved in a US$1.8 billion money-laundering case have been arrested, customs authorities said yesterday. The seven, all Hong Kong residents, comprised five men and two women aged 23-74, one of who is believed to be the mastermind of the scheme, they said. Authorities seized HK$165 million (US$21.1 million) in assets, including five properties and three commercial units, as part of the operation. Yeung Yuk-man from the customs department said the agency contacted a number of law enforcement authorities in the region to share its intelligence, including India. The scheme allegedly involved online scams in India and the sale of electronics, rare gems including diamonds, among other goods, authorities said. It allegedly used shell companies and multiple bank accounts to launder money, with one account receiving more than 50 deposits in one day. The seven have been released on bail.
UNITED STATES
Teen arrested in shooting
A 16-year-old boy was arrested on Thursday in connection with a deadly shooting at a New York City subway station during rush hour on Tuesday, the US Marshals Service said. He was being held while awaiting charges. The teen is one of three suspected shooters wanted for the shooting which authorities said stemmed from a dispute between two rival gangs who boarded the same train at different stations. The first shots were fired as the train pulled into an elevated Bronx station shortly before 5pm and continued on the crowded platform as passengers fled. A 35-year-old man identified as Obed Beltran-Sanchez died after being shot in the chest. Five other people were wounded, aged 14 to 71.
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,
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
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
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