■CANADA
We are Arctic Power: Cannon
The country is is an Arctic power, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said on Saturday as Ottawa seeks to delineate the outer limits of the extended continental shelf also claimed by the US. Cannon plans to visit the Arctic’s Resolute Bay and the Borden Island ice camp today and tomorrow. There, he will witness work underway to prepare the country’s submission to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, an area rich in hydrocarbons. The trip comes on the heels of a summit of Arctic coastal states Cannon hosted to address the race to mine the area’s rich resources. Participants included Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the US.
■UNITED STATES
Pre-teen sues over arrest
A 12-year-old New York schoolgirl who was arrested and handcuffed for doodling on her classroom desk is suing police for US$1 million, a report said on Saturday. Lawyers for Alexa Gonzalez said police used excessive force and violated her rights in the February incident at Junior High School 190 in the Queens neighborhood. Gonzalez’s mother, Moraima Camacho, told the Daily News that the schoolgirl merely scribbled “I love my friends Abby and Faith” — in washable green ink — when teachers pounced on her and dragged her to the dean’s office. Police were called and officers cuffed and arrested the pre-teen. At the police station she was handcuffed to a pole for more than two hours, the lawsuit against the police and education departments claimed.
■MEXICO
Mother denies killing girl
A defense attorney said a woman suspected in the death of her four-year-old daughter denied involvement. The case of Paulette Gebara Farah has riveted the country because of the nationwide campaign her parents launched to find her. The girl was reported missing on March 22 and her body was found more than a week later in her home, wedged between the mattress and the frame of her own bed. Mother Lisette Farah is being held as suspect.
■COSTA RICA
Town celebrates croc hunt
Vigils, masses and parades are fine for Easter, but Ortega village in the north sticks to its own tantalizing observance: chasing after crocodiles. This year, the intrepid croc chase in swim suits and carrying clubs, along the Palma River, ended up in a deep cave, where the prey was cornered: a snarling, 5m female crocodile. The crocodile was captured on Friday and was to be kept on public display in a village square until yesterday, when he was to be released unharmed back into the wild.
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