Chinese national given one year in prison for smuggling ants out of Kenya

Source: BBC News [UK State Media]

“A Chinese national has been sentenced to a year in prison for attempting to smuggle thousands of live queen garden ants out of Kenya. The court in Nairobi on Wednesday also fined Zhang Kequn 1m Kenyan shillings (£5,713; $7,737). Judge Irene Gichobi described Zhang as not ‘entirely honest’ and lacking in remorse. Last month, he was charged with illegally dealing in wildlife species after being arrested at Nairobi’s main airport while attempting to travel to China with more than 2,000 ants in his luggage. Kenyan authorities have warned of a growing demand for the ants in Europe and Asia, where they are prized by collectors. They can be worth around $220 (£170) each. ‘There is need for a stiff deterrent sentence,’ Judge Gichobi said, noting the ‘rising cases of dealing in large quantities of garden ants and the negative ecological side effects.'” (04/15/26)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz788z27j2jo

Steve Trinward

Italy: Court allows class action against Meta over Facebook data scraping

Source: Reuters

“A Milan court on Tuesday accepted a class action brought ​by a consumer group against Meta ‌Platforms over the theft of personal data suffered by Facebook Italy. According to the court ​order, the data scraping incident, ​which took place between January 2018 and ⁠September 2019 and was disclosed ​by Meta in 2021, affected around 533 ​million Facebook users globally. The CTCU consumer association is seeking compensation on behalf of social media ​users who lost, or feared losing, ​control over their personal data in breach of ‌the ⁠EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).” (04/14/26)

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/italy-court-allows-class-action-against-meta-over-facebook-data-scraping-2026-04-14/

Thomas L. Knapp

Are you paying taxes on phantom gains this year? Congress should abolish them.

Source: The Hill
by Ryan Ellis

“It’s tax time, and talk of budget reconciliation is in the air on Capitol Hill. There is no better time than now to tackle one of the more bizarre features of our tax code: a phantom capital gains tax on mutual fund savers. Most taxpayers assume confusing tax rules have at least one constant: that capital gains tax is only owed when an asset is sold. If only that were true. Each year at this time, millions of Americans open their brokerage statements and find capital gains reported in Box 2a of their 1099 tax forms, despite never having sold a single share of stock or a mutual fund.” (04/14/26)

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/5828953-phantom-capital-gains-tax/

Thomas L. Knapp

250 Years of American Racism, Up Close and Personal

Source: TomDispatch
by Douglas H White

“I was born in the American South in 1942 ‘in the land of the free and the home of the brave’ (as the final stanza of the national anthem puts it). Francis Scott Key wrote those words in 1814. However, they were not true then, or in 1942, or today in Donald Trump’s all too reactionary America. My Blackness consigned obstacles to me (as it would have in 1814 and 1942) that White people simply don’t have. Let me explain. Throughout the 1950s, living in a segregated project in Kinston, North Carolina, there were several odd characters who (I now understand) were mentally ill.” (04/14/26)

https://tomdispatch.com/the-mental-devastation-of-racism/

Steve Trinward

Will I ever escape the Strait of Hormuz?

Source: UnHerd
by Anonymous Seafarer

“I have worked on board tankers for almost 20 years, which means that difficult situations are nothing new. I’ve encountered difficult captains, old vessels, and truly exhausting voyages across incredible distances. I’ve experienced bullying and harassment, and even been uncomfortably close to piracy. At a port in Nigeria, I once loaded a tanker while pirates raided ships within miles of us; and I passed through the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, in 2008, when its security corridor was in its infancy. As we sailed, my crewmates and I could see the pirate skiffs prowling, waiting for a ship to hijack. But the Strait of Hormuz crisis is something else entirely.” (04/14/26)

https://archive.is/BjbyX

Thomas L. Knapp

Pope arrives in Cameroon as separatists announce 3-day pause in fighting

Source: SFGate

“Pope Leo XIV arrived Wednesday in the central African nation of Cameroon with a message of peace for its separatist region and for talks with President Paul Biya, the 93-year-old leader whose grip on power was extended for an eighth term in a widely disputed election last year. Cheering Cameroonians lined the road into the capital Yaounde from the airport, two and three deep in places, dancing and waving palm fronds as the pope’s motorcade whizzed by. Many women dressed in identical bright dresses and stood behind banners announcing the name of their parish, while billboards splashed posters of the pope and Biya under the banner ‘Land of Hope.’ The Vatican says fighting corruption in the mineral-rich country and insisting on the correct uses of political authority are expected to be themes of Leo’s visit. Leo was traveling from Algeria, the first stop on his four-nation Africa tour.” (04/15/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/pope-heads-to-cameroon-as-separatists-announce-22207402.php

Steve Trinward