“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)
“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)
“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)
“TMZ, the tabloid known for its sensational headlines and dirt-digging on Hollywood celebrities and other famous people, is opening up shop in Washington, D.C., with an eye on covering Congress. Producers for the website arrived on Capitol Hill this week as Congress returned from a two-week recess, and confronted Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Ted Cruz (Texas) as they got settled in the halls of the Capitol. A video the outlet posted on Monday showed Graham putting his hand in front of the camera and ignoring a TMZ staffer who asked him, ‘Can I just ask you about the bubble wand, sir?'” (04/14/26)
“Iran has demanded that it receive compensation for the destruction caused by the United States and Israel’s attacks, as the country remains defiant and regional powers continue their attempts to mediate an end to the conflict. Tehran’s envoy to the United Nations said on Tuesday that five regional countries must pay compensation, based on his accusation that their territories were used for launching attacks on Iran. … An early estimate indicates that Iran has suffered about $270bn in direct and indirect damages since the start of the US-Israel war on February 28 …. Despite the scope and depth of the damage, as well as the impact of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports that began on Monday, Iranian authorities have signalled that they do not intend to give major concessions in negotiations with Washington, including on nuclear enrichment.” (04/15/26)
“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 Maine Legislature on Tuesday passed a controversial measure temporarily prohibiting new data center development for more than a year, sending it to Gov. Janet Mills for final approval. The bill, LD 307, would create a limitation on data centers with electric loads of at least 20 megawatts by preventing the state, local governments and quasi-governmental agencies from issuing permits or other approvals until November 2027. In the meantime, a new Data Center Coordination Council — also created in the bill — would get time to study the centers’ potential impact in Maine and issue policy recommendations. The House voted 79-62 to enact Tuesday, sending it to the Senate, which voted 21-13 to approve it later that evening. The bill’s fate now lies with Mills, who has expressed concerns that it does not include a carveout for a data center proposal in Jay.” (04/14/26)
“Italy is declining to renew a longstanding defense agreement with Israel, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday, a sharp reversal for her right-wing government. Ms. Meloni made the announcement on the sidelines of an event in Verona, and a government official said that Italy’s defense minister, Guido Crosetto, had sent a letter to his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, announcing the decision. … Opposition parties had put pressure on the government for over a year to suspend the renewal. Marco Grimaldi, an opposition lawmaker, said the decision was ‘a victory’ for those who had protested Israel’s military offensive in Gaza over the last three years.” (04/14/26)
“The Justice Department on Tuesday asked a federal appeals court to throw out the seditious conspiracy convictions of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders who were sentenced to prison terms for leading members of the far-right extremist groups in attacking the U.S. Capitol to keep President Donald Trump in office over five years ago. Trump commuted the prison sentences of several Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders last January in a sweeping act of clemency for all 1,500-plus defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. The request by the Justice Department would go a step further and erase the convictions for the extremist group leaders, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes. … Juries in Washington, D.C., convicted the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders of orchestrating violent plots to stop the peaceful transfer of power after Trump’s 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.” (04/14/26)
“Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has been charged with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds at the end of a two-year investigation by a judge in Madrid. Gómez, 55, has been accused of using her influence as the wife of the socialist prime minister to secure and manage a post at Madrid’s Complutense University, and of using public resources and personal connections to further her private interests. … The investigation into Gómez was triggered by a complaint from Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), a self-styled trade union with far-right links that has a history of using the courts to pursue those it deems a threat to Spain’s democratic interests.” (04/14/26)
