Today’s newsletter covers hippos in Colombia, right to privacy while being under investigation, prison volunteers in Switzerland, and more.
Colombia will make hippos an invasive species
Hippos were illegally imported into Colombia by drug lord Pablo Escobar for his property in the 1980s. Abandoned in the ranch after Escobar’s death, the population has now reached 130 and is projected to hit 400 in eight years.
A businessman suspected of fraud wins the right to privacy against news media
The U.K. Supreme Court ruled that Bloomberg News didn’t respect a “reasonable expectation of privacy” by publicly revealing that an American businessman was under investigation for suspicions of fraud, bribery and corruption. Bloomberg considers the decision prevents journalists from fulfilling their core mission of informing the public.
Hundreds of volunteers to test a prison in Switzerland
Zurich West Prison in Switzerland will host volunteers for three days as part of a drill before it starts detaining inmates for real.
Foreign barbers prohibited from working in Thailand
Thailand government recalled on February 17 that foreign barbers and hairdressers are strictly prohibited to work in the country. Another 26 jobs are strictly restricted to Thai workers, including wood carving, being a broker, working as a secretary or in legal services. Another 13 jobs are conditioned to international laws or an agreement made between Thailand and a third country.
Indonesia regulates the use of loudspeakers in mosques
The country with the world’s largest Muslim community issued rules for the use of loudspeakers outside and inside mosques. They, for instance, will not be louder than 100 decibels.
Some more news from the world
- Hong Kong decided to test its entire population for COVID-19 in March as the city struggles with its worst omicron outbreak.
- Nicaraguan judges on Monday sentenced Victor Hugo Tinoco, a former high-level Sandinista official to 13 years in prison for “conspiracy to undermine national integrity”. He used to be a deputy minister in 1979 but split with Daniel Ortega, the current president who arrested Tinoco and another dozen opposition leaders last year ahead of the presidential elections.
