The New Zealand government yesterday said it would pass legislation next year to prevent entities that “do not share the country’s values” from using it as a base to monitor satellites.
The nation’s location and clear skies make it a good place to launch and monitor satellites from, with the European Space Agency among those keeping an eye on space from New Zealand.
However, New Zealand’s intelligence service in September raised concerns about some foreign entities wanting to develop space infrastructure, which would have “assisted foreign military activity that could have harmed New Zealand interests.”
Photo: Reuters
The report did not say which country or countries’ military would have benefited if the plans went ahead.
However, the report said China remains a complex intelligence concern, but added that are other states that undertake malicious activity in New Zealand as well.
“The new regulations are intended to prevent the establishment or use of ground-based space infrastructure in New Zealand by entities that do not share our values or interests,” including the country’s national security interests, New Zealand Minister for Space Judith Collins said in a statement.
New Zealand has a small commercial space industry that is growing fast with government support.
A report released by the New Zealand National Intelligence Service said that New Zealand organizations have been approached by a small number of entities seeking to develop space infrastructure in the nation’s territory.
“These entities often claim the infrastructure will be used for civilian research purposes, but it was subsequently found in each case that what was proposed could have assisted foreign military activity that could have harmed New Zealand’s interests,” said the report, titled New Zealand Security Threat Environment.
VAGUE: The criteria of the amnesty remain unclear, but it would cover political violence from 1999 to today, and those convicted of murder or drug trafficking would not qualify Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Friday announced an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists detained for political reasons. The measure had long been sought by the US-backed opposition. It is the latest concession Rodriguez has made since taking the reins of the country on Jan. 3 after the brazen seizure of then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Rodriguez told a gathering of justices, magistrates, ministers, military brass and other government leaders that the ruling party-controlled Venezuelan National Assembly would take up the bill with urgency. Rodriguez also announced the shutdown
Civil society leaders and members of a left-wing coalition yesterday filed impeachment complaints against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, restarting a process sidelined by the Supreme Court last year. Both cases accuse Duterte of misusing public funds during her term as education secretary, while one revives allegations that she threatened to assassinate former ally Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The filings come on the same day that a committee in the House of Representatives was to begin hearings into impeachment complaints against Marcos, accused of corruption tied to a spiraling scandal over bogus flood control projects. Under the constitution, an impeachment by the
Exiled Tibetans began a unique global election yesterday for a government representing a homeland many have never seen, as part of a democratic exercise voters say carries great weight. From red-robed Buddhist monks in the snowy Himalayas, to political exiles in megacities across South Asia, to refugees in Australia, Europe and North America, voting takes place in 27 countries — but not China. “Elections ... show that the struggle for Tibet’s freedom and independence continues from generation to generation,” said candidate Gyaltsen Chokye, 33, who is based in the Indian hill-town of Dharamsala, headquarters of the government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). It
China executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” of telecom scam operations, state media reported yesterday, as Beijing toughens its response to the sprawling, transnational industry. Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar. Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world. Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work. In the past few years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation
RSS