“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)
“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)
“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)
Source: In These Times
by Meghan Schneider & Cass DiPaola
“Our dependence on fossil fuels does more than pollute our air. It destabilizes the world and empowers the ultra-wealthy to profit off of that volatility, leaving working families to pay the price. This dynamic has been on full display since President Trump’s attack on Iran. Trump’s invasion of one of the world’s most oil-rich regions jolted energy markets, sending gas prices soaring to the highest level in either of his terms. In 2024 he campaigned on cutting them in half. Instead, Americans are now on track to pay roughly $720 more for gasoline this year. The full cost to working families will be much steeper as high gas prices drive up prices on consumer goods across the board.” [editor’s note: And additional taxes will drive those prices even higher, geniuses – TLK] (04/14/26)
“Typhoon Sinlaku pushed past Guam on Wednesday headed for the Northern Mariana Islands packing sustained winds of 125 mph, according to a series of alerts from Guam’s Joint Information Center. Roads blocked by debris, scattered utility outages and reports of low water pressure were among the immediate issues on Guam, which remained under Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 1. … The storm had slowed to a crawl overnight and moved only 25 miles over 14 hours, a speed that prolonged dangerous conditions near the westernmost U.S. territory.” (04/15/26)
“The resignation of Rep. Eric Swalwell [D-CA] came with one of the most spectacular falls in political history. Just days ago, Swalwell was the leading Democratic candidate for governor of California and positioned to be one of two final candidates, with the other a Republican. He expected that, regardless of his unpopularity, California Democrats would never vote for a Republican. Now Swalwell has pulled out of the race, left Congress, and was even tossed out of the home of a billionaire who had been letting him crash there during the scandal. Swalwell continues to deny the allegations against him and has pledged to fight them. For the record, I have been one of Swalwell’s most vocal critics for the last 10 years. Yet while I am not surprised by the allegations, I am surprised by how quickly Swalwell was abandoned by his political patrons in Congress and the unions.” (04/14/26)
“Today [Tuesday], the Tennessee senate will weigh in on a bill requiring local law enforcement agencies participating in the 287(g) program to honor ICE detainers. Under the proposal, participating local law enfocement agencies would be required to hold individuals subject to an immigration detainer for up to 48 hours, giving federal officials time to assume custody. Lay of the Land According to Tennessee’s new Centralized Immigration Enforcement Division, only 49 of the state’s 95 counties now participate in the 287(g) program.” [editor’s note: “Detainers” shouldn’t be honored. If ICE wants someone, ICE should go to an actual judge and get an actual warrant – TLK] (04/13/26)
“Populist politicians in Europe, whether left or right who use tactics of demonization and division to amass power, have been put on notice. In a much-watched election on April 12, voters in Hungary ousted Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who epitomized the continent’s identity politics of fear and hate over the past 16 years. In record turnout, they soundly opted for Péter Magyar, an astute coalition-builder who overcame a smear campaign thrown at him by offering ‘a message of love’ to all Hungarians. In a speech after his Tisza party won a supermajority in Parliament, Mr. Magyar touched on the election’s meaning: ‘It is a sin to divide the nation.'” (04/13/26)
“Capitalism remains undefeated. In 2023, over 100 leading economists from around the world, including progressive darling Thomas Piketty, signed a letter warning that ‘far-right’ Argentine presidential candidate Javier Milei’s policies, which were ‘rooted in laissez-faire economics,’ would cause ‘devastation,’ spike inflation, expand poverty and worsen unemployment. Celebrated economists never penned any open letters warning that the preceding Peronists’ or Kirchnerists’ perverse blend of fascism, socialism and unionism would drive Argentina — once one of world’s wealthiest nations — into destitution, unemployment, soaring inflation and bankruptcy. But that’s how it always goes.” (04/13/26)
“Mohammed Amin was eight when he died shortly after testing positive for HIV. His fevers were so bad that he insisted on sleeping in the rain, and he writhed in pain ‘like he’d been thrown in hot oil,’ says his mother, Sughra. ‘He used to fight with me, but he also loved me,’ 10-year-old Asma says as she kneels at her younger brother’s graveside. Not long after her brother contracted the virus, Asma was also diagnosed with HIV. Her family believe both children contracted it from injections with contaminated needles during routine medical treatment at a government hospital in Taunsa, in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. They are two of the 331 children that BBC Eye has identified as testing positive for HIV in the city between November 2024 and October 2025.” (04/14/26)
