MACAU
Gambling boss jailed
Junket boss Levo Chan (陳榮煉) was yesterday sentenced to 14 years in jail for running an illegal multibillion-dollar gambling ring, local media reported. The high-profile arrests and prosecution of junket bosses have coincided with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) drive to curb corruption, which includes closer scrutiny of officials suspected of laundering money at casinos. Chan founded Tak Chun Group, which brought high rollers from the mainland to the former Portuguese colony, the only Chinese territory where gambling is allowed. A panel of judges convicted Chan on 34 counts, including unlawful gambling, running criminal syndicates, fraud and money laundering. The illegal activities involved a total of US$4.5 billion, and earned Chan about US$200 million, the court said.
CANADA
Gold haul stolen at airport
A cargo container with gold and other items worth more than C$20 million (US$14.8 million) was stolen from Toronto Pearson International Airport, authorities said on Thursday. Peel Regional Police Inspector Stephen Duivesteyn said a “high value” container was taken from a holding area on Monday evening. “As per normal procedure, the aircraft was unloaded and cargo was transported from the aircraft to a holding cargo facility,” he said. “The container contained a high value shipment. It did contain gold, but it was not exclusive to gold. It contained other items of monetary value.” The missing goods were reported to police a short time after. “We’re three days in, so our investigators have their eyes open to all avenues,” Duivesteyn said.
UNITED STATES
Biden to welcome Marcos
President Joe Biden is to welcome Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to the White House on May 1 in a sign of a warming bond between the two nations. Biden would reaffirm Washington’s “ironclad commitment to the defense of the Philippines, and the leaders will discuss efforts to strengthen the long-standing US-Philippines alliance,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. The announcement came a week after the countries’ large-scale joint military exercises in the disputed South China Sea.
UNITED STATES
Two acquitted after 17 years
Two men who served nearly 17 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of attempted murder after a 2004 shooting were on Thursday declared innocent by a California judge. Under a new law, the state is required to pay them each US$140 for every day they spent behind bars. The verdicts for Dupree Glass and Juan Rayford concluded a trial that began in October last year, after a state appeals court voided their convictions in 2020. The proceedings included a dramatic confession by the actual shooter, Chad Brandon McZeal, a gang member who is serving a life sentence for murder in an unrelated case, the defense team said.
UNITED STATES
Baldwin charge dropped
Prosecutors are to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against actor Alec Baldwin over a fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western film Rust in 2021, alluding to new revelations in the investigation while cautioning that Baldwin has not been absolved. A follow-up investigation would remain active and an involuntary manslaughter charge against Hannah Gutierrez Reed, weapons supervisor on the film, remains unchanged, special prosecutors Kari Morrisey and Jason Lewis said.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
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