BELIZE
McAfee denies killing man
Software company founder John McAfee has denied he killed a neighbor in Belize, but said he would not turn himself in for questioning because he feared a police anti-gang unit wanted to kill him. McAfee said in a telephone interview that he was in hiding with a young woman somewhere in Belize. He said he was unarmed and has been changing locations frequently to stay one step ahead of police. Belize police said they wanted to question McAfee, who they describe as a “person of interest” in the slaying of fellow American Gregory Viant Faull. Faull was shot dead over the weekend on the Caribbean island where both men lived. McAfee said that Faull was an “annoyance,” but he denies killing him.
MEXICO
Bullets found on roof
Employees of a Mexico City movie theater where a 10-year-old boy died from being hit in the head by a bullet fired from outside the building have found 16 spent bullets on the roof on different dates, prosecutors said on Wednesday. A statement said an employee turned in the 16 bullets and told investigators it was common to find spent bullets and bullet holes on the roof around holidays. The employee told police that on the day the child was shot his manager told him to check the roof, prosecutors said. The statement did not indicate what the employee found. A ballistics expert said on Tuesday that the boy was hit by a 9mm bullet and that a second 9mm bullet was found on the theater’s roof.
AMERICAN SAMOA
Shark fishing to be banned
American Samoa is banning shark fishing in its waters in hopes of stopping the population’s decline. American Samoa is among a number of Pacific islands to record a dramatic drop in shark numbers. Sharks are often harvested for their fins, which typically end up in restaurants as shark-fin soup. The rules taking effect this week make it illegal to catch or possess sharks within 3 nautical miles (5.5km) of the shoreline. The ban extends to three species of reef fish. Doug Fenner, who monitors sharks for the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, said the rules cover most of the territory’s coral reefs and would prevent shark trafficking. The protections are the most powerful in the US, Fenner said.
URUGUAY
Liberal drugs bill presented
Uruguayans will be able to grow marijuana at home or in clubs, but the state will be in charge of the trade from cultivation to sale under a government-led legalization bill presented in Congress on Wednesday. The use of cannabis and other drugs is already legal, but the sale and cultivation of drugs is not. Uruguayan President Jose Mujica, a former leftist guerrilla fighter, said the proposed law would help undermine smuggling gangs and fight petty crime in a region hit by drugs-related violence. Critics say it risks luring more Uruguayans to harder drugs. The bill, which the government hopes will become law early next year, says the state would be responsible for managing and regulating the marijuana trade from cultivation to distribution. It would give the country some of the world’s most permissive legislation on drugs. Households would be allowed to have up to six plants, or as much as 480g of marijuana, the bill presented for discussion by the congressional committee showed. Cannabis consumers would be allowed to buy a maximum 40g each month under the bill, which also sets out regulations for smoking clubs with up to 15 members, 90 plants and annual production of up to 7.2kg.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was