UNITED NATIONS
Houthis detain nine more
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday denounced the arbitrary detention of nine more UN workers in Yemen by Houthi rebels, along with the seizure of assets and facilities in areas under Houthi control. “Most recently, the Houthi de facto authorities detained nine additional UN personnel, bringing the total number of arbitrarily detained UN staff to 53 since 2021,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. “These actions hinder the UN’s ability to operate in Yemen and to deliver critical assistance.” “The United Nations will continue to work tirelessly, and through all available channels, to secure the safe and immediate release of all arbitrarily detained personnel, as well as the return of UN agency offices and other assets,” Dujarric said.
NEW ZEALAND
Minister’s home attacked
A man has been charged after a window of Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters’ home was on Monday smashed with a crowbar and a note pinned to his front door that said “welcome to the real world,” the minister’s spokesperson said yesterday. Peters has come under pressure from protest groups and opposition parties in recent days after he announced that New Zealand would not be following Australia, Britain and Canada in recognizing a Palestinian state amid the Israel-Gaza war. Protests have been held outside his Auckland home. In a speech to parliament yesterday discussing the second anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, Peters said that the violent targeting of private homes by some protesters was “a disgrace.” Peters on Monday said in a social media post on X that he was not home, but both his partner and a guest were. “This is truly gutless,” it said. “When we have protesters, political bloggers, and MPs alike encouraging this behaviour, posting politicians’ home addresses online, and acting with pure ignorance and extremism, this is the result.”
NETHERLANDS
71,000 chickens to be culled
About 71,000 chickens at a poultry farm in the northern part of the country would be culled following the detection of bird flu, the government said in a statement yesterday. This marks the first outbreak of bird flu in the nation since March. The government has so far not imposed a nationwide requirement to keep poultry indoors, stating that this outbreak does not warrant such a measure. However, an expert group on animal diseases is to meet soon to assess the risk.
JAPAN
Ex-banker gambler jailed
The Tokyo District Court on Monday sentenced a former employee at one of the nation’s biggest banks to nine years in jail for repeatedly stealing gold bars and cash totaling nearly US$2.6 million, slamming her crimes as “heinous.” Yukari Yamazaki, who worked for Mitsubishi UFJ and had a gambling addiction, began thieving after falling into debt due to currency trading and horse betting, the court ruling said. Abusing her position and inside knowledge to “incapacitate the security system,” Yamazaki purloined gold bars worth more than ￥330 million (US$2.2 million), and more than ￥60 million in cash, from safety deposit boxes at her bank in 2023 and last year. Despite the defendant’s lack of previous criminal history and the fact she has “vowed to undergo treatment for her gambling addiction,” a nine-year jail term was “unavoidable,” Judge Hironobu Ono said. The bank has been able to retrieve only a portion of the amount she stole.
India and Canada yesterday reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi. The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a fresh start in the relationship between their nations. “Our ties have seen a new energy, mutual trust and positivity,” Modi said. Carney’s visit is a key step forward in ties that effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
Counting was under way in Nepal yesterday, after a high-stakes parliamentary election to reshape the country’s leadership following protests last year that toppled the government. Key figures vying for power include former Nepalese prime minister K. P. Sharma Oli, rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah, who is bidding for the youth vote, and newly elected Nepali Congress party leader Gagan Thapa. In Kathmandu’s tea shops and city squares, people were glued to their phones, checking results as early trends flashed up — suggesting Shah’s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was ahead. Nepalese Election Commission spokesman Prakash Nyupane said the counting was ongoing “in a peaceful manner”
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
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