International
New Zealand PM announces China trade visit
New Zealand Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins announced on Monday a visit to China later this month aimed at boosting trade ties, despite deepening concerns about Beijing’s actions in the Pacific.
“Today I can announce that I’ll be leading a major trade delegation to China at the end of this month,” Hipkins said.
With stops in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, it will be the first visit to China by a New Zealand leader since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is not yet clear whether he will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, and an exact date has not yet been announced.
Almost a quarter of New Zealand’s export earnings come from China, making it one of the Western nations most dependent on ties with Beijing.
“Our trade links, underpinned by our recently upgraded free trade agreement, have proven incredibly resilient in recent years,” Hipkins said.
He added that ties with China were among the nation’s most “significant, wide-ranging and complex”.
That close relationship, coupled with aggressive Chinese efforts to develop influence and leverage in New Zealand, has long worried Wellington’s allies.
Hipkins expressed hope that the relationship would remain “stable and consistent”, while vowing to raise issues of concern when necessary.
“Where we have human rights concerns we will raise them, where we have concerns around trade or any other policy issue we will raise those,” he said.
New Zealand has in the past been notably less critical of Chinese influence operations overseas — as well as its threats to Taiwan and its crackdowns in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and elsewhere — than its allies in Washington or Canberra.
Hipkins also announced on Monday that he would be visiting Brussels in the coming weeks and would attend a NATO summit in Lithuania — a nod to the importance of New Zealand’s relationships with fellow democracies.
With New Zealand’s economy slowing and an election planned for October, Hipkins is under pressure to juice the economy.
GDP growth is forecast to come in at a slender one percent this year.
New Zealand currently exports large quantities of wood, meat and dairy products to China, but Hipkins said he wanted to diversify exports to include things like video game-related products.
AFP
International
Brazil’s Lula Wins Fourth Term In Presidential Runoff
Flávio Bolsonaro rejected the runoff result, describing it as “inexplicable” and calling for the election to be annulled.
Brazil’s left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won a fourth term in office after defeating right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro in a closely fought presidential runoff.
The 80-year-old secured just under 52 per cent of the vote, overturning Bolsonaro’s first-round lead in a surprise victory that runs against a wider shift towards right-wing leadership across Latin America.
Addressing cheering supporters in São Paulo, Lula thanked voters for what he described as their defence of Brazilian democracy.
The victory follows a bitter election campaign between the veteran left-wing leader and Bolsonaro, whose father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a prison sentence under house arrest for plotting a coup after losing the previous presidential election.
Flávio Bolsonaro rejected the runoff result, describing it as “inexplicable” and calling for the election to be annulled.
International
JUST IN: Four Pilots Die After Mid-Air Collision of Military Planes in Philippine
Four Philippine Air Force pilots died Friday after two SF-260 trainer aircraft collided mid-air during a training flight and crashed at Fernando Air Base in Lipa City, Batangas, south of Manila, the air force confirmed Saturday.
The accident occurred at about 3:51 p.m. local time on October 23, 2026. Both single-propeller planes went down within the base perimeter. No other casualties were reported on the ground.
Philippine Air Force spokesman Colonel Alvin Capinguian (also referred to as Alvin Jay Capinguian) said the aircraft were involved in a training flight. Officials with knowledge of the incident, speaking anonymously, and local reports confirmed the planes collided while flying at low altitude. Some accounts noted they were part of a larger formation or flyby rehearsal, with other aircraft landing safely.
The air force described it as an “aviation accident” and said an investigation is underway to determine the cause. As a precaution, the entire fleet of SF-260 aircraft has been temporarily grounded. The air force is coordinating assistance with the families of the deceased and asked the public to respect their privacy. One of the pilots was later identified in some reports as 1st Lt. Angeleo Adrian Peñaflor.
The SF-260 is a light Italian-designed trainer used by the Philippine Air Force. The incident is the latest fatal crash involving the type; two pilots were killed in a similar SF-260 training accident in Benguet province in May.
International
“Mother of all bombs,” Trump Plans To Hit Iran
The 21,600-pound airburst weapon is designed to affect surface targets over a wide area and has so far not been deployed by the U.S. in previous strikes on targets inside Iran. It was used in Afghanistan in 2017 during the previous Trump administration.
The U.S. military is considering use of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb if it resumes strikes inside Iran, CNN reported Thursday, citing U.S. officials.
The 21,600-pound airburst weapon is designed to affect surface targets over a wide area and has so far not been deployed by the U.S. in previous strikes on targets inside Iran. It was used in Afghanistan in 2017 during the previous Trump administration.
Trump said Oct. 8 that he would not resume U.S. strikes on Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, while attacks on shipping near the Strait of Hormuz and deadly Houthi strikes in Saudi Arabia have raised regional tensions.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran will combine military capabilities and negotiations to press its demands.
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