UGANDA
UN relief food under probe
The government is investigating a supply of food from the World Food Programme after three people died and more than 150 others became sick in recent days, police said late on Monday. The food was part of a community feeding program in northeast Karamoja region, a semi-arid area where the UN agency has long provided food aid for people facing poor harvests. People had diarrhea, nose bleeds and other health problems after eating the food, police said in a statement. Police are “actively investigating the death of three people ... from eating adulterated or poisonous food supplied by the World Food Programme,” it said. Samples of the food and patients’ urine and blood had been sent to a government laboratory for analysis.
HAITI
Parliament ousts PM
Prime Minister Henry Ceant was thrown out of office by a no-confidence vote on Monday, prompted by government dysfunction and inability to quash inflation, blackouts and frequent opposition protests that have paralyzed the nation. The Chamber of Deputies voted 93-6, with three abstaining, to replace Ceant as soon as President Jovenel Moise and the heads of parliament’s two houses agree on a replacement. Until then, Ceant and his Cabinet are to remain in place with limited powers, raising the prospect of even rockier government performance.
UNITED STATES
Tabloid paid for Bezos texts
The National Enquirer’s publisher paid US$200,000 to obtain intimate texts between Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his mistress Lauren Sanchez, the Wall Street Journal reported. American Media, the supermarket tabloid’s publisher, reportedly paid that sum to Laurent’s brother, Michael. The Journal’s finding, attributed to people familiar with the matter, parallels the conclusion reached by private investigators working for Bezos as of early last month. Those investigators reportedly found that Michael Sanchez had leaked the texts to the Enquirer, although they did not appear to conclude who might have paid for them.
THAILAND
Tycoon guilty of poaching
A billionaire construction tycoon was yesterday convicted on charges related to a high-profile poaching case last year, but was found not guilty of possessing the carcass of an endangered black panther seen in photographs that had sparked the public outcry. The Thong Pha Phum Provincial Court sentenced Premchai Karnasuta to 16 months in prison for possessing the carcass of an endangered Kajij pheasant and possessing firearms in public areas. He has been released on bail. Premchai was arrested in February last year after park rangers found that he and three of his employees had set up camp at the Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary, where they were found with guns and animals carcasses.
UNITED STATES
Warner CEO stepping down
Warner Bros chief executive Kevin Tsujihara is leaving the AT&T-owned studio following allegations that he had a sexual relationship with an actress he helped promote. “It is in the best interest of WarnerMedia, Warner Bros, our employees and our partners for Kevin to step down as Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros.,” WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey said in a statement. The 54-year-old executive had an affair with actress Charlotte Kirk and helped her get roles in movies, according to a report in the Hollywood Reporter.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the