NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 War costs: President Trump said the U.S. commitment to Afghanistan was “not a blank check,” but his decision to send more troops will add billions of dollars a year to the already-towering war costs, which have topped $1 trillion in Afghanistan alone over the past 16 years. And the government will still be paying for war veterans’ health care costs for at least another half century. Direct U.S. spending on the war in Afghanistan will rise to approximately $840.7 billion if the president’s fiscal year 2018 budget is approved, according to Anthony Cordesman, a military strategy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
2 Boat accident: Authorities in northern Brazil say a boat carrying 70 has sunk on a major river, with at least 10 dead and dozens missing. The public security office of the state of Para said Wednesday that 15 people made it to the shore and 10 bodies were recovered. The rest are missing. Authorities say the boat was traveling on the Xingu River when it sank late Tuesday. The cause isn’t immediately clear. Travel by river is common in Brazil’s northern states, which include the Amazon rain forest and have relatively fewer major roads.
3 Knife rampage: Police in Finland on Wednesday arrested two more suspects in connection with last week’s stabbings that killed two people and wounded eight in a knife rampage in the southwestern city of Turku, authorities said. Police said they detained the two men on suspicion “of preparation of an offense to be committed with terrorist intent,” bringing the total number of arrests to six. On Tuesday, a regional court ordered that the main suspect — an 18-year-old Moroccan asylum-seeker — be detained on suspicion of terrorist crimes, including two counts of murder and eight counts of attempted murder. Three alleged accomplices — all believed to be Moroccan — were ordered to be held on suspicion they helped plan the attack.
4 Rhino horns auction: A rhino breeder in South Africa has opened an online auction of 264 rhino horns that has raised alarm among leading conservation groups that fear a legal domestic trade could encourage more poaching. The auction website indicates that bidding began Wednesday and will end on Friday. Breeder John Hume says a legal trade in rhino horn will undercut poaching that has occurred at record levels in past years. But critics believe it will spur demand and tempt poachers to launder rhino horns into the legal trade. A South African court ruling opened the way to a domestic trade in rhino horn, though South Africa says it remains party to an international ban in place since 1977.
5 Dancing crime: Saudi police said Wednesday they have released a 14-year-old boy who was filmed dancing to the “Macarena” at an intersection in the Red Sea city of Jiddah, according to local media reports. The video, which went viral on social media in the kingdom in recent days, shows the boy wearing headphones, gray shorts, a striped T-shirt and neon green and yellow Crocs. He is swaying his hips and arms to the ’90s hit song, smiling and giggling throughout the dance. The state-linked Al-Riyadh news website said the 14-year-old Arab national was brought to police along with his father, who was asked to sign a pledge vowing to protect his son and not to violate public morals. The boy was then released from custody.