NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Drug bust: Federal law enforcement has broken up a $4 million drug-trafficking ring at Puerto Rico’s main international airport that relied on bathrooms and garbage chutes to smuggle cocaine to the U.S. mainland, authorities said Tuesday. Indicted in the case are 26 suspects including airline employees, airport staff and restaurant workers. The majority were arrested before dawn at the Luis Muñoz Marin airport in the capital of San Juan that authorities said serves as the biggest drug distribution center in the Caribbean. U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez said the suspects smuggled drugs aboard flights headed to New York, Miami, Philadelphia and Orlando. Among the planes targeted were those operated by American, JetBlue and Southwest airlines. Authorities said mules would pick up the cocaine in bathroom stalls after going through TSA checkpoints. The drugs also were allegedly smuggled aboard DHL planes and by American Airline employees.
2 Slaying at protest: Venezuelan authorities on Tuesday were investigating the death of a university student killed by gunfire at a protest against President Nicolas Maduro, as opposition leaders mapped out their next steps to push for new elections and government officials held a gathering to drum up state support. Daniel Queliz, 20, was killed late Monday after being shot in the neck in Valencia, a city east of Caracas where students have actively participated in the protests that erupted April 1 following a Supreme Court decision to strip Congress of its last remaining powers — a decision later reversed. It was not immediately clear where the bullet came from, though opposition leaders quickly decried the death as another example of the Venezuelan government’s excessive use of force in countering protests. Security forces have been using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds. Government officials blame the opposition for inciting violence and detained 18 people Monday. 3 Easter festivities canceled: Egyptian churches in the southern city of Minya said Tuesday that they will not hold Easter celebrations in mourning for 45 Coptic Christians killed this week in twin bombings of churches in two cities during Palm Sunday ceremonies. The Minya Coptic Orthodox Diocese said that celebrations will only be limited to the liturgical prayers “without any festive manifestations.” Parliament on Tuesday approved President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s decision to declare a threemonth state of emergency following the attacks.
4 Treason charge: Zambia’s main opposition leader has been arrested and charged with treason after he was accused of obstructing the motorcade of President Edgar Lungu, the lawyer for Hakainde Hichilema said Tuesday. Under the country’s penal code, treason carries a death sentence. Authorities allege that Hichilema, leader of the United Party for National Development, blocked Lungu’s motorcade with his own convoy of vehicles during a traditional ceremony in Zambia’s Western Province over the weekend.
5 Harsh punishment: Two men in Indonesia’s northern province of Aceh are scheduled to stand trial in Islamic court after local residents caught them having sex. If convicted, the men will receive 100 lashes with a cane, in a case that demonstrates rising conservatism in the Muslim-majority country once known as a model of religious pluralism. A 2014 law criminalized gay sex and sex outside of marriage in the province, which implements sharia, or Islamic law. The two men, ages 20 and 23, would be the first to receive punishment under the law.