QUICK READ
Canada
A SRI LANKAN couple who briefly sheltered ex-National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, pictured, in Hong Kong eight years ago arrived this week with their two children in Canada, where authorities granted them protection. Supun Thilina Kellapatha and Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis had been living in limbo in Hong Kong after authorities there rejected their asylum claims in 2017.
The couple took Snowden in at the behest of a Canadian human rights lawyer, soon after he leaked documents detailing top-secret US surveillance programmes. Local media identified Kellapatha, Nonis and several others, putting their lives at risk, advocates said. | Washington Post
A MEMBER of the elite diplomatic protection unit of London’s Metropolitan Police who falsely arrested a woman for breaking coronavirus restrictions, then kidnapped, raped and murdered her, was given a rare whole-life jail term this week.
Judge Adrian Fulford told Wayne Couzens, 48, his offences were “grotesque” after he snatched Sarah Everard off the streets of south London in March. Her disappearance sparked one of Britain’s most high-profile missing person’s cases and protests calling for better safety for women in public spaces.
Couzens admitted to the crimes in July and was sacked. | AFP
Nigeria
THE British Museum has accepted a bronze plaque made by an artist from Benin City in Nigeria, who said he felt this was a first step towards the museum’s return of the priceless Benin Bronzes that were looted by British troops in 1897.
The museum told him, however, an exchange of new for looted artworks was impossible, Osarobo Zeickner-Okoro said.
He had offered his creation, pictured, to encourage the museum to give back the sculptures, but also to demand acknowledgment of Benin City’s modernday culture. | Reuters
Gaming
THE Tokyo Game Show welcomed back social media influencers and media as it opened this week, but fans were only allowed virtual access to the top games confab.
The exhibition showcases Japanese video games and was thronged by more than 250 000 people a year in prepandemic years, but last year it was held entirely online.
While the show welcomed a select few in person, it is offering an enriched online experience for gaming fans at home and abroad. | AFP