CUBA
Spanish king urges freedom
Spanish King Felipe VI has called for political diversity and freedom of expression during an official visit to the nation. The king, who wrapped up his trip on Thursday, said he hoped Havana would become a multiparty political model that guarantees media rights. At a Wednesday dinner with President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Felipe said Cubans would have to choose their future and that change could not be imposed from outside.
UNITED STATES
Trump Jr’s book tops list
Donald Trump Jr’s Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us is a No. 1 New York Times (NYT) bestseller, although not without an edge. The book came out last week and tops the hardcover nonfiction list that is to appear in the Times on Sunday next week. Among those celebrating was President Donald Trump, who tweeted: “Wow! Was just told that my son’s book, Triggered, is Number One on The New York Times Bestseller List. Congratulations Don!” Triggered also placed high on the weekly report compiled by NPD BookScan, which tracks about 85 percent of the print market. According to BookScan, Triggered sold 71,000 copies last week, second only to Jeff Kinney’s latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
UNITED STATES
Wife hid corpse in freezer
Authorities have arrested a woman whose husband’s corpse was found in a freezer in a bedroom inside their Missouri home, where it might have been stored for nearly a year. Barbara Watters, 67, of Joplin was arrested on Thursday, a day after she was charged with abandonment of a corpse, a felony that is punishable by up to four years in prison. A witness told police that Paul Barton’s body had been in Watters’ freezer since his death on Dec. 30 last year, a police officer wrote in the probable cause affidavit. Watters threatened to kill him if he notified police, the witness said, according to the affidavit, adding that she threatened to kill police, firefighters and emergency medical workers if they attempted to come into her house.
UNITED STATES
Privacy advocates protest
Privacy advocates who strapped cameras to their heads and walked around Capitol Hill on Thursday said that Amazon’s facial recognition technology successfully recognized a congressman — but also claimed to spot singer Roy Orbison, who died in 1988. The activists scanned thousands of faces inside and outside the Capitol to highlight the dangers of facial recognition surveillance and to urge lawmakers to restrict its use. They used commercially available software that Amazon has pitched to police, running it against a database of lawmakers, journalists, lobbyists and 1960s crooners. It recognized Representative Mark DeSaulnier, but misidentified others.
EL SALVADOR
Outrage over abuse ruling
Civic groups expressed outrage after a court reduced a sexual abuse charge against a judge to a misdemeanor. The judge allegedly touched a 10-year-old girl’s genitals through her clothes on a street in San Salvador in February. Prosecutors charged him with sexual abuse, which carry a prison term of eight to 12 years. However, the First Criminal Tribunal ruled that brief touching of a clothed person in a public space constituted a breach of public decency statutes, which is punishable by a fine. Legislators on Thursday said they would amend the law to specify such touching of a child would be subject to prison terms similar to sex abuse.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
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