NEW ZEALAND
Work visa rules to change
The government yesterday said it was making immediate changes to its employment visa program after a near record migration last year. which it said was “unsustainable.” The changes include measures such as introducing an English language requirement for low-skilled jobs and setting a minimum skills and work experience threshold for most employer work visas. The maximum continuous stay for most low-skilled roles would also be reduced to three years from five years. “The government is focused on attracting and retaining the highly skilled migrants such as secondary teachers, where there is a skill shortage,” Minister of Immigration Erica Stanford said in a statement. Last year, a near record 173,000 people migrated to the country, the statement said.
RUSSIA
Dam burst floods region
Almost 4,500 people have been evacuated from the Orenburg region in Southern Ural due to flooding after a dam burst, the government said on Saturday. Emergency services worked through the night after a dam burst in the city of Orsk, near the border with Kazakhstan, on Friday. The press service of the Orenburg governor said that “4,402 people, including 1,100 children” had been evacuated and more than 6,000 homes were affected by the flooding after torrential rain. President Vladimir Putin ordered Minister of Emergency Situations Alexander Kurenkov to the region, a Kremlin spokesman said late on Saturday. Authorities also opened a criminal case for “negligence and violation of construction safety rules” over the burst dam, which was built in 2014. Orenburg Mayor Sergei Salmin yesterday said the situation remained “critical” and that water levels would continue to rise in the coming days.
ECUADOR
Countries rally after raid
Latin American governments, including Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Uruguay, rallied around Mexico after its embassy in Quito was raided to arrest a controversial politician who had been granted asylum by Mexican authorities. The late Friday night seizure of former vice president Jorge Glas triggered a suspension of relations with Quito by Mexico City. Brazil’s government condemned the arrest of Glas, who had sought refuge in the embassy since December last year, as a “clear violation” of international norms prohibiting such a raid on a foreign embassy. Ecuador’s move against the embassy “must be subject to strong repudiation, whatever the justification for its implementation,” said the statement from the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which stressed Brasilia’s solidarity with Mexico.
INDONESIA
Rare Javan rhino spotted
A new Javan rhinoceros calf has been spotted at a national park, giving hope for the conservation of one of the world’s most endangered mammals. The calf, estimated to be between three and five months old, was spotted in footage captured last month by one of 126 camera traps installed in Ujung Kulon National Park on Java. The mammal, whose sex remains unknown, was seen walking with its mother inside the park, the last remaining wild habitat for Javan rhinos. “Praise God, this is good news and proves that Javan rhinos, which only exist in Ujung Kulon, can breed properly,” senior Ministry of Environment and Forestry official Satyawan Pudyatmoko said in a statement on Saturday. After years of population decline, authorities believe that 82 rare rhinos are inside the about 120,000-hectare sanctuary of lush rainforest and freshwater streams.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
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