NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Media freedom: Britain and Canada are leading a push to secure more protections for journalists, saying a free press “protects society from the abuse of power.” British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland are hosting a twoday conference that started Wednesday in London with politicians, officials, activists and journalists from more than 100 countries. Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, the British government’s special envoy on media freedom, has set up a panel of experts to advise governments on strengthening legal protection for journalists. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 54 media workers were killed worldwide in 2018.
2 Singer’s son: A Spanish judge has ruled that there is sufficient evidence to determine that a 43yearold Spanish man is the biological son of Julio Iglesias, despite the singer’s refusal to submit to genetic testing. The judge said Wednesday that the famous crooner’s refusal to have a DNA test, along with other evidence, is enough to rule in favor of the paternity suit brought by Javier Sanchez. Sanchez says his mother, Maria Edite, gave birth to him in 1975 exactly nine months after meeting Iglesias at a party. Any possible financial compensation for Sanchez would be determined at a separate trial.
3 Scooter DUIs: At least 30 people in the Danish capital face preliminary charges for operating electric scooters under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as part of a wider move to highlight that traffic laws also apply to scooters, police said Wednesday. Copenhagen traffic department head Henning Pedersen said 26 people have been booked in recent days for scooting with a bloodalcohol level above the limit, while four others were found to be under the influence of drugs. Firsttime offenders are fined $300, which is doubled for a repeat offense. Danish traffic laws apply to scooters, with the legal bloodalcohol level being the same as for cars or any other type of vehicle.
4 Endangered animals: Police and customs officials have carried out the most widespread antiwildlifetrafficking operation ever in a joint global operation that’s led to the seizure of tens of thousands of endangered animals and the arrest of nearly 600 suspects. The World Customs Organization and Interpol said Wednesday that across 109 countries, in June, they conducted nearly 2,000 seizures in a historic operation that helped local authorities round up nearly 10,000 live turtles and tortoises, nearly 1,500 live reptiles, 23 live apes, 30 live big cats, hundreds of pieces of elephant tusk, half a ton of ivory and five rhino horns. Operation Thunderball, which operated out of Interpol’s Singapore complex, led to the arrest of 582 suspects
5 Indigenous recognition: Australia will hold a national referendum within the next three years on the question of formally recognizing indigenous Australians in the Constitution, a government minister said Wednesday, a significant step for a marginalized population that has long sought an official voice in government. Ken Wyatt, the minister for indigenous Australians, said the conservative government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison would commit more than $100 million to holding the referendum, but he provided few details on what the government planned to include in its proposal. Australia’s aboriginal and Torres Islander peoples have sought to be recognized in the Constitution and given a formal representative role in the government since the document was ratified in 1901.