TORONTO — Canada on Monday announced a two-year cap on the intake of foreign students after explosive growth in recent years aggravated the country’s housing shortage. The new proposals will also set limits on post-graduate work permits issued to foreign students, which will likely encourage them to return to their home countries. Canada has emerged as a popular destination for international students since it is relatively easy to obtain work permits after finishing courses. But the surge in international students led to an acute shortage in rental apartments, which pushed up rents. Some businesses, including restaurants and retail sectors, have warned that a cap on foreign students will create a shortage of temporary workers.

WATCH: Sinulog Best Dance Crew 2024 performanceCEBU CITY, Philippines — The Sinulog Best Dance Crew for 2024 performed at last Sunday’s Sinulog sa Sugbo 2024 stadium in South Road Properties (SRP), Cebu City. The highlight of the group's winning performance was a tribute to Santo Niño de Cebu, to whom the annual Sinulog Festival is dedicated to. Their dance was witnessed by the festival's millions of attendees and devotees to "Senyor" Santo Niño. — Video by Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo, video editing by EC Toledo

Or are there really positive trends counterbalancing the obvious and mounting challenges to global growth? The trends that supported the global economy's unexpected resilience in 2023 "also offer plenty of reasons to be optimistic for 2024." It is also at odds with a range of economic, financial, geopolitical and political developments. Moreover, the extent to which aggressive interest rate hikes contributed to reducing inflation has become the subject of debate among economists. Given these circumstances, the chances of robust global growth in 2024 appear tenuous.

MOSCOW: More than 300,000 people have signed a petition calling for a Russian train conductor to lose her job after she threw a pet cat off a train, believing it was a stray. The white-and-ginger tom cat, known as Twix, escaped from his carrier on a train traveling between the cities of Yekaterinburg and St. Petersburg on January 11. CUDDLY KITTY A cat is pictured at an international cat show in Belarus’ capital Minsk on June 11, 2023. Others reshared viral footage of the cat being dropped into the snow in temperatures approaching -22 Fahrenheit (-30 Celsius). "We sincerely regret the death of Twix the cat and apologize to his owners," the company said in a statement on social media.

Romualdez sidesteps allegation he ordered People's Initiative signature driveMANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Martin Romualdez has shrugged off a senator’s allegation that he ordered lawmakers to gather signatures for the campaign to amend the 1987 Constitution via People’s Initiative. During a press conference on the same day, Dela Rosa, who is against the People’s Initiative, said Romualdez gave marching orders for House lawmakers to collect signatures for the People’s Initiative campaign. Several minority House lawmakers first flagged the People's Initiative campaign in early January after they received reports that local executives were being mobilized to distribute the petition forms and pay people to sign them. The petition being circulated for the People’s Initiative campaign does not propose any change to the Constitution’s economic provisions. While President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has criticized the People’s Initiative campaign for being “too divisive,” according to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, he has not ordered to stop the signature drive.

House Leaders led by Speaker Martin Romualdez and PTV General Manager Analisa Puod launch Congress TV at the House of Representatives on Monday. Romualdez said that the channel will be a "bridge" that would connect the halls of House of Representatives to "to every home, every school, and every Filipino,"VIDEO BY RED MENDOZA

MANILA, Philippines — The National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) warned senior citizens in a public advisory last week to be wary of false information and fake news on social media about cash gifts and social pension for the elderly. NCSC Chair Franklin Quijano clarified that Senate Bill No. 2028, which proposes to give cash gifts of P10,000 to 80-year-olds, 85-year-olds, 90-year-olds and 95-year olds; and P100,000 to 100 year-olds, was approved by the Senate in September 2023 but has not been signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. So it is not yet a law. Quijano also explained that the social pension for poor senior citizens, which is P500 per month as of 2023, is still under the Department of Social Welfare and Development until the transfer of duties and responsibilities of senior citizens as required by law.

However, as I warned almost a year ago (see my TMT column of March 27, 2023), the Philippines is missing out. Double-digit falls in exportsWhat are the implications of China's soft rebound from the Philippine perspective? Had the status quo prevailed, exports to China would have increased with its soft rebound. Only a year ago, the Department of Tourism (DoT) aimed to have 2 million Chinese visit the Philippines in 2023. Missed opportunitiesAll these adverse trends were discernible already in spring 2023 (TMT, April 24, 2023).

Easy to hate“The conversation about racism is now ‘loud’.” – Dr. Janil Puthucheary, Singapore One People agencyDwight Ramos’ revelation that he has been receiving hate messages as an Asian import in Japan’s B.League was an eye-opener. Generally, we don’t think of hate speech or racism among fellow Asians. We read and see this on the news usually in the United States, particularly with the reported increase in hate crimes against Asians, including Filipinos. China, Japan and the Philippines have had multiple armed conflicts with one another. It’s easy to hate, to destroy.

The US and allies talk of the "rules-based international order" (RBIO). Russia and China prefer a "multipolar" world. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India's astute foreign minister, recently split the difference by talking about the need for a "multilateral rules-based international order". For the west, the RBIO underpins peace and stability. It demands respect for territorial integrity and international law, and the protection of minorities, small nations, democratic norms and the global trading system.

TOKYO, Japan — Japan, whose unmanned "sniper" probe made a lunar touchdown on Saturday, is one of many countries and private companies launching new missions to the Moon. NASA says commercial tie-ups give it "more shots on goal" although its Peregrine lunar lander, made by US company Astrobotic, failed when it lost fuel after take-off. In October, the country sent a fresh team to its Tiangong space station in the latest crewed mission for the fast-growing space program. JapanJapanese company ispace attempted a lunar landing in April last year but crashed, becoming the third private entity to have failed in the endeavor. RELATED: Japan's 'Moon Sniper' attempts historic lunar landing

PARIS, France — The Eiffel Tower in Paris welcomed 6.3 million visitors last year, its management company said Friday, more than came in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. France's "Iron Lady" boasted up to 7 million visits in 2014 and 6.2 million five years later. Non-French Europeans accounted for 44%, with the largest numbers coming from Germany, Britain and Spain. Paris's major museums, another of the French capital's top attractions, also returned to pre-COVID visitor numbers or even set new records last year. RELATED: Eiffel Tower closes as staff go on strike

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is expected to remain the world’s top importer of rice this year with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicting that the country would increase its procurement of the staple. ADVERTISEMENTThe estimated volume is in contrast to the global rice trade estimated pegged at 52.2 million MT, down by 223,000 MT from 52.4 million MT a year prior. Increased importsAsian countries China, South Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines are seen to increase imported rice purchases. In the previous year, the Philippines imported 3.6 million MT of rice, down by 5.9 percent from 3.8 million MT in 2021, based on the data from the Bureau of Plant Industry. Sufficient supplyIndia’s shipment was part of the 295,000 MT of rice earmarked by the Indian government despite its export ban on non-basmati white rice.

JERUSALEM – At the end of a kilometer-long, booby-trapped tunnel in the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers discovered cramped cells where the military said Hamas kept about 20 hostages. They found a holding area, five narrow rooms behind metal bars, toilets, mattresses, and even drawings by a child hostage who was freed during a November truce, military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said. The military released photos from the underground labyrinth and said it brought in journalists to document the tunnel before it was destroyed. “The soldiers entered the tunnel where they encountered terrorists, engaging in a battle that ended with the elimination of the terrorists,” Hagari said. Others are among the more than 130 captured during Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage through southern Israel that are still in Gaza.

Vice President Sara bucks Cha-cha moves: Guard the ConstitutionMANILA, Philippines — Rejecting the people’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution is “to guard the Constitution,” Vice President Sara Duterte said yesterday, as she joined the pushback against the move seen as “tainted” by reports of bribery by its proponents. People’s initiative proponents are reportedly looking at July as the possible date for a plebiscite to amend the 1987 Constitution. “Voter registration will just continue despite the ongoing receipt of signature pages in our local Comelec offices,” he maintained. Garcia said they just might encounter difficulty in holding voter registration activities once the Comelec begins signature verification work. The personnel we will use for verification will also be the ones to manage voter registration,” he added.