PUERTO RICO
Monkeys affected by storm
Monkeys that survived a hurricane were prematurely aged by the experience, a study has found. Scientists said the findings suggest that an increase in extreme weather might have negative biological consequences for humans and animals. The scientists said the rhesus macaques that lived through Hurricane Maria in 2017 appeared to have aged by about two years more than expected, equivalent to seven or eight years of human life.
UNITED STATES
Mayor admits he eats fish
There was something fishy about New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ declarations that he is a vegan. The Democrat — who wrote a book promoting his plant-based lifestyle and rolled out “Vegan Fridays” in New York City public schools — on Monday said that he occasionally eats fish. He made the admission after Politico reported that he had been ordering fish at restaurants.
UNITED STATES
Winning tourist found
A tourist from Arizona won US$229,000 on a Las Vegas slot machine, but walked away unaware of his windfall due to an error in the machine. On Jan. 8, Robert Taylor hit a jackpot on a slot machine at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino, but the “slot machine experienced a malfunction that prevented Mr Taylor and casino personnel from realizing that a progressive jackpot had been won,” the Nevada Gaming Control Board said.
UNITED STATES
Nun jailed over stealing
A nun who stole more than US$800,000 to bankroll a gambling habit and fund lavish holidays was jailed for a year in California on Monday. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, swore to a life of poverty when she took her vows six decades ago, but as principal of a Roman Catholic elementary school near Los Angeles, she diverted US$835,000 of school funds to pay for gambling jaunts in Las Vegas, a court heard. She also used the money to take luxury trips. “I have sinned, I have broken the law, and I have no excuses,” Kreuper told the court, the Los Angeles Times reported.
VENEZUELA
Baby’s death probed
Caracas on Monday demanded that Trinidad and Tobago fully probe a deadly incident at sea a day earlier, in which a baby perished aboard a boatload of about 40 migrants. Venezuela sent condolences to the mother involved and urged Trinidad and Tobago “to carry out an exhaustive investigation to clarify the facts surrounding this fatal incident,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The baby, identified as Yaelvis Santoyo Sarabia, died in the arms of his mother, Darielvis Sarabia, during maneuvers by the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard to intercept the boat in which they were traveling. Trinidadian authorities said that the vessel from Venezuela refused to stop before a halt, so coast guard agents fired shots in “self defense.”
SWEDEN
Students robbed in class
Two knife-wielding robbers on Monday interrupted a secondary-school class and forced students to hand over their computers, police and media said. Just after lunchtime, the pair, both wearing masks, entered a classroom at the Rudbeckianska gymnasiet in Vasteras, the Aftonbladet reported. Having taken some items, they abandoned at least some of them after teachers gave chase, the newspaper said.
NEW ZEALAND
Protest convoy jams streets
A convoy of trucks and campervans yesterday blocked streets near the parliament building in Wellington to protest against COVID-19 restrictions, inspired by a similar demonstration in Canada. Plastered with messages such as “Give us back our freedom” and “Coercion is not consent,” hundreds of vehicles parked in streets surrounding “The Beehive.” Hundreds more drove around the city center with their horns blaring, as more than 1,000 protesters on foot listened to speeches. Wellington resident Stu Main said the protesters felt their concerns about rights being eroded were not being heard by the government. “I’m actually vaccinated, but I’m against mandating people to be vaccinated,” he said. The demonstration remained peaceful. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she had no intention of entering discussions with convoy participants.
PHILIPPINES
Campaign season begins
Presidential candidates yesterday began their election campaigns, with the son and namesake of former president Ferdinand Marcos the favorite to succeed President Rodrigo Duterte. The three-month campaign season began with a chaotic and colorful charm offensive aimed at wooing millions of voters typically more interested in personality than policy. More than 35 years after the country emerged from his father’s dictatorship, polls showed Ferdinand Marcos Jr heading toward a landslide victory in the May 9 elections. Boosted by a massive social media campaign and a formidable alliance with first daughter and vice-presidential candidate Sara Duterte, Ferdinand Marcos Jr has vowed to “unify the country.”
CHINA
‘Fight Club’ ending restored
Tencent Video has restored the original ending to the film Fight Club after it amended the Chinese edition to tell viewers that police had “rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals,” prompting a widespread backlash. The reversal of the anti-capitalist, anarchist ending to the 1999 hit film, which stars Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter, made international headlines last month. The restoration also drew criticism, with some Internet users saying it showed that Tencent was admitting that the censored ending was “too much.”
UAE
Dubai to curb plastics use
Dubai is ending the free distribution of single-use plastic bags. “In line with enhancing environmental sustainability and encouraging individuals to reduce the excessive use of plastics, the Executive Council of Dubai has approved the policy to limit single-use bags by imposing a tariff of 25 fils [US$0.07] on single-use bags,” the authorities said. The decision is to take effect from July in shops, restaurants, pharmacies and for home deliveries.
LIBYA
Police seize ‘Putin pot’
The country’s anti-drug squad on Monday announced the discovery of 323 bars of hashish wrapped with images of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 250g bars were found in al-Marj in the country’s northeast, an anti-narcotics official said. Pictures of the pot cache circulated on social media, each bar wrapped in cellophane and topped with a photograph of the Russian leader with a grim expression and a black tie. Drug and alcohol trafficking have spiked since the country collapsed into lawlessness after a 2011 revolt.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
‘DISCRIMINATION’: The US Office of Personnel Management ordered that public DEI-focused Web pages be taken down, while training and contracts were canceled US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. The moves follow an executive order Trump signed on his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs. Trump has called the programs “discrimination” and called to restore “merit-based” hiring. The executive order on affirmative action revokes an order issued by former US president Lyndon Johnson, and curtails DEI programs by federal contractors and grant recipients. It is using one of the
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