DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Former priest teaching kids
A defrocked Roman Catholic priest who was convicted of molesting two young brothers in New Jersey is now teaching English to children in a resort town. NBC News on Friday quoted Hadmels DeFrias as saying that he is no longer a threat and does not “see the children with those eyes anymore.” DeFrias, who is originally from the Dominican Republic, was accused of fondling the boys, who were both younger than 14, in 2001 and 2002. He pleaded guilty to criminal sexual contact in 2004. DeFrias told NBC News that officials with the Colegio del Caribe school in Punta Cana know of his past. They did not respond to calls for comment from NBC. The 47-year-old said that he does not “feel the attraction” to children anymore, but added: “I’m not telling you that maybe someday it won’t be there.”
MEXICO
Islas Marias inmates found
As they closed down the last island penal colony in the hemisphere after more than a century, authorities faced a conundrum: They had lost track of 16 inmates registered at the Islas Marias prison. Most were later located at other prisons on the mainland, prison system head Francisco Garduno said on Friday. They had apparently been transferred from the penal colony, but not struck from its rolls. However, Garduno said that two inmates were never found and are presumed to have escaped in a 2013 prison riot that killed six people. It was unclear if the inmates tried to get to the mainland — historically, most who tried drowned in the attempt — or headed into the hills of the main island. Even some prison employees do not want to leave the main island 110km off the coast of Nayarit state. Garduno said 117 of the 411 employees want to continue working on the island, which is scheduled to become a nature reserve and cultural center.
PANAMA
Martinelli faces long term
Former president Ricardo Martinelli faces up to 21 years in jail for spying on political foes, reporters and business leaders while in power, prosecutors said on Friday. Martinelli created and directed “an organized state apparatus” for domestic espionage when in office from 2009 to 2014, prosecutor Ricaurte Gonzalez said. The then-president targeted about 150 individuals with illegal communications tapping — done with no court order, he said. Those critical of Martinelli seemed to have drawn his closest scrutiny, becoming targets for his wiretaps, he added. However, attorney Carlos Carrillo of Martinelli’s legal team said that it was impossible to link Martinelli to the offenses of which he has been accused.
RUSSIA
Boyko meets with Medvedev
A Ukrainian presidential candidate has traveled to Moscow to meet with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to discuss gas supplies. Yuri Boyko, a rare openly pro-Russian candidate, trails far behind a comedian, a former prime minister and the incumbent president in opinion polls ahead of Ukraine’s presidential election on March 31. Boyko on Friday spoke with Medvedev in the meeting, which was televised live on Ukrainian TV. Boyko said that he would like Ukraine to resume gas purchases from Russia, which should lower the skyrocketing utility bills for Ukrainians. The very visit is rare for Ukrainian politicians these days, as any connections to Russia are largely regarded as toxic because of the government’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and its ongoing support for separatists in a deadly conflict in Ukraine’s east.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS