■ UNITED STATES
Organ trafficker sentenced
A member of an organ trafficking ring has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for illegally harvesting organs from more than 1,000 bodies including that of former BBC personality Alistair Cooke. Christopher Aldorasi was sentenced to the 27-year term and cannot seek parole until he has served nine years, Judge Albert Tomei ordered on Wednesday. Aldorasi and three colleagues, former dentist Michael Mastromarino, funeral services entrepreneur Joseph Nicelli and Lee Crucetta, were charged in 2006 with stealing organs and cell tissue from the bodies of dead people. Mastromarino and Crucetta pleaded guilty in March and will be sentenced later. Nicelli’s case is still in the courts.
■ VENEZUELA
Chavez warns EU of oil cut
President Hugo Chavez threatened on Thursday to stop selling oil to European countries if they apply a new ruling on illegal immigrants that has been condemned by human rights groups. EU lawmakers ruled on Wednesday that illegal immigrants can be detained for up to 18 months and face a re-entry ban of up to five years. “We can’t just stand by with our arms crossed,” Chavez said at an event to celebrate his country’s oil supplies to South America. Chavez has regularly issued conditional threats to halt crude shipments, although he has never followed through.
■ UNITED STATES
Japanese couple missing
A couple from Japan were on board a tour plane that went missing this week over Hawaii’s Big Island, authorities said. Nobuhiro and Masako Suzuki of Urayasu, Japan, were aboard a single-engine Cessna that disappeared on Tuesday, the Japanese consulate in Honolulu said on Thursday. The pilot was identified as Katsuhiro Takahashi. KGMB-TV reported that the couple’s 20-year-old son arrived on the Big Island on Thursday and met with Mayor Harry Kim and other officials. An extensive aerial and ground search for their missing tour plane on the Big Island continued. Island Hoppers, the tour company that operated the plane, said Takahashi was a senior pilot and chief flight instructor.
■ VENEZUELA
US allegations dismissed
The government on Thursday rejected US accusations that a Venezuelan diplomat helped finance Hezbollah in Lebanon. Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro did not specifically refer to Ghazi Nasr al Din, who was targeted on Wednesday in a US Treasury Department action ordering any assets he controls in the US to be frozen. But Maduro said: “If they want to search for terrorists, look for them in the White House.” Wednesday’s action accuses Nasr al Din of using his position as a diplomat and a leader of a Caracas-based Shiite Islamic center to help the group.
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