ECUADOR
Creepy crawly man caught
A Japanese man was sentenced to two years in prison in Ecuador for attempting to smuggle a massive haul of creepy crawlies out of the country, officials said on Thursday. The defendant was in March arrested at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito with 248 spiders, cockroaches, wasps, bees and butterflies in his suitcases, the Ministry of the Environment said in a statement. Identified only as Hirokazu S, the smuggler was fined US$4,000 and ordered to make a public apology in a national newspaper, the ministry said. Ecuador, a relatively small corner of South America that is home to about 17 million, is one of the most biodiverse nations on the planet. Authorities have banned the capture and sale of all wild animals, but illegal trade persists throughout the Amazon region. The man intended to take the animals, five of which are indigenous to Ecuador and some of which were still alive, to Hokkaido, Japan.
MEXICO
Capital passes plastic ban
Mexico City lawmakers have passed a ban on plastic bags, utensils and other disposable plastic items to take effect at the end of next year. The city of more than 9 million residents — with another 11 million in surrounding areas — is known for its vibrant street food and takeout culture. It would give businesses more than a year to make the switch to biodegradable products. The ban on plastic bags would take effect in December next year, followed by straws, utensils, balloons and other single-use items in January 2021. Lawmakers say the measure is necessary to move businesses toward more environmentally friendly products and reduce the amount of waste the city generates.
UNITED STATES
Woman guilty of slavery
A federal jury on Thursday convicted a New Jersey woman of forcing a Sri Lankan woman to work for her for nine years without pay and even marry her. Alia Imad Faleh al-Hunaity brought the woman to the US in 2009 and forced the victim to clean her houses in Woodland Park and Secaucus and care for her three children without pay, prosecutors said. They also found that al-Hunaity forced the victim to sleep in the kitchen and in other common areas of the house. Al-Hunaity made the victim overstay her visa, prosecutors said, presenting evidence that she forced the victim to marry her last year so that she could obtain legal residence. “The defendant in this case treated the victim as a slave,” attorney Craig Carpenito said.
UNITED STATES
Symphony ‘wow’ child found
A performing arts group has found the child who was literally wowed by a classical music concert. The Handel & Haydn Society had just finished a rendition of Mozart’s Masonic Funeral at Boston Symphony Hall on Sunday when a youngster blurted out: “Wow.” The group was so charmed that they launched a search for the “wow child” with the help of audio captured by WCRB-FM. The child is nine-year-old Ronan Mattin, of New Hampshire. He had attended the concert with his grandfather Stephen Mattin, and his grandmother saw a TV report that said the society was looking for him. Stephen Mattin said his grandson is a huge music fan, but is on the autism spectrum, so expresses himself differently. Handel & Haydn president David Snead said he is setting up a Skype meeting with Ronan Mattin and Harry Christophers, the society’s artistic director who was conducting the night of the show. The society plans to invite the nine-year-old to another concert.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
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
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in