World in brief: March 23, 2011

CASTRIES, St. Lucia
The Minister of Tourism issued a public apology last Monday to three American males who had been attacked inside their vacation home on March 2. All of the men are homosexual and claim the attackers had anti-gay motives for beating, robbing and threatening their lives if they stayed on the island. They managed to escape and left St. Lucia shortly after one was hospitalized. With no eyewitnesses, nothing has been confirmed but the government insists they island is a not a volatile environment.

TOKYO, Japan
The sumo industry is in danger as authorities investigate a match–fixing scandal, involving a suspected 13 wrestlers. 3 have confirmed their involvement after a series of text messages were found, communicating decisions regarding specific moves and winner of the match, in addition to the amount of monetary compensation. Each match sold for at least 100 000 yen, which equals approximately $1210. As a result, TV networks have withdrawn their support and next month’s grand tournament has been cancelled. Prime Minister Naoto Kan expresses his shame for a nation disgraced by its own national sport.

BEIJING, China
The nuclear disaster in Northern Japan has sparked a massive hoarding of table salt in neighboring China. The population believes the iodine in table salt will help save them from radiation sickness, without any public confirmation of a connection. Despite the Chinese government’s efforts to convince the population that they are safe from radiation exposure, salt sales are booming from grocery stores up the coast and continue to move inland with no signs of slowing down.

NEW YORK CITY, NY., USA
New York Mother, Nicole Imprescia, is suing York Avenue Preschool, claiming her daughter was ill prepared to write the entrance exams for top rated elementary schools in the city; therefore, ruining her chances of ever making it into the Ivy League. The plaintiff claims her daughter was put in a class with children half her age and intelligence, focusing only on colours, shapes and letters. She pulled her daughter out of school after 3 weeks and is seeking a full refund of the $19 000 tuition paid.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands
Authorities busted an online pedophile ring with over 70 000 members, based from a server in the Netherlands. The site operated as a discussion board, where members could express sexual interest in children without actually committing an offence. However, members would make contact on the site, move to more private channels and exchange emails and images of children being abused. These channels allowed Europol authorities to hack past security codes and reveal the identities of suspected sex offenders. Police reports were issued to over 30 countries involved, leading to a cumulative arrest of 184, and rescue of 230 abused children.

-Compiled by Leeza Pece