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Debt-stricken Sri Lanka hosted one of New Zealand's top ministers to discuss ways to deepen bilateral ties in areas such as trade, tourism and agriculture. Winston Peters, New Zealand’s deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, met Sri Lanka Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath in the capital Colombo on Monday. The five-day visit by Peters is scheduled to continue until Wednesday The visit comes as Sri Lanka struggles to emerge from its worst economic crisis, which began in the Indian Ocean island nation three years ago. The countries have improved relations in recent years, establishing a New Zealand embassy in Colombo in 2021 and a Sri Lankan embassy in Wellington this year. The discussion Monday focused on advancing ties in trade, investment, agriculture, education and tourism, Herath said. “We also explored expanding trade links in high-potential sectors such as diary, processed food, fresh produce and discussed improving market access for Sri Lankan products,” Herath told reporters. He commended New Zealand’s support in developing Sri Lanka’s dairy industry, saying it had a “transformational impact on rural livelihood.” Sri Lanka has embarked on an effort to expand and modernize its domestic diary industry in recent years, but still produces only about 40% of the country's demand for milk and dairy products, while the balance is imported. New Zealand is a key supplier of those dairy products, especially milk powder. In 2024, New Zealand exported $335 million in goods to Sri Lanka, with dairy products forming the bulk. Trade balance between the nations favors New Zealand, which in 2024 imported goods worth $64 million from Sri Lanka including tea, coffee, apparel and rubber products. The discussion included reducing red tape at the border and how to “increase Sri Lanka’s market access capabilities," Peters said. "We discussed the growing number of New Zealand companies working with and investing in Sri Lanka or looking to work with Sri Lankan partners,“ said Peters, adding that those collaborations will benefit Sri Lanka’s tourism, agriculture and healthcare sectors. Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy in April 2022 with more than $83 billion in debt, more than half to foreign creditors. It sought the help of the International Monetary Fund, which approved a $2.9 billion, four-year bailout package in 2023 under which Sri Lanka was required to restructure its debt. In September last year, Sri Lanka said it had concluded the debt restructuring process after reaching agreements with bilateral and multilateral creditors and private bondholders. Sri Lanka is seeking to obtain $17 billion in debt service relief. Sri Lanka’s crisis was largely the result of economic mismanagement combined with fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, along with 2019 terrorist attacks that devastated its important tourism industry. The pandemic also disrupted the flow of remittances from Sri Lankans working abroad.

A court in Vienna on Monday acquitted former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of making false statements during a parliamentary inquiry into alleged corruption in his administration, overturning a previous ruling that had handed him a suspended prison sentence. According to the Austria Press Agency, judges at Vienna’s upper state court dismissed Kurz’s conviction after a brief appeal hearing.  Austria's new government takes office after a record 5-month wait The case focused on Kurz’s testimony before a parliamentary inquiry that examined the coalition government he led from 2017 until 2019. During that period, his conservative Austrian People’s Party governed in partnership with the far-right Freedom Party. The coalition ultimately collapsed in 2019. Prosecutors had accused the 38-year-old of providing false testimony in June 2020 about his involvement in establishing the state holding company OeBAG and the appointment of his former confidant Thomas Schmid as its head. OeBAG is responsible for managing the government's stakes in various companies. In February 2024, Kurz was convicted of making false statements regarding the appointment of OeBAG’s supervisory board members, although he was cleared of providing misleading information about Schmid’s appointment. He was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended. That conviction followed a four-month trial and marked the first time in over three decades that a former Austrian chancellor had faced trial. Austrian FM Schallenberg appointed as interim govt leader Reacting to Monday’s acquittal, Kurz told reporters outside the courtroom, “What came out is what I have always said — namely, that I did not tell untruths to the parliamentary inquiry.” He added, “I now have a long time in (legal) proceedings behind me, and to be honest I'd like to set out my position in detail, but I ask for your understanding that I'm going home to family and my two children first.” However, the court upheld the conviction of Kurz’s former chief of staff, Bernhard Bonelli, who was found guilty of making a false statement to the same inquiry concerning his and Kurz’s roles in selecting OeBAG supervisory board members. Bonelli received a six-month suspended sentence in 2024. Kurz expressed deep regret over the decision on Bonelli. Once viewed as a rising star among Europe’s conservatives, Kurz resigned in 2021 following a separate corruption investigation and has since withdrawn from politics. His Austrian People’s Party remains in power under Chancellor Christian Stocker, although the party placed second in the September elections. Kurz, who rose to prominence on an anti-immigration platform, became the People’s Party leader and then chancellor at just 31 years old in 2017. He ended his first government in 2019 after a video scandal involving then–Vice Chancellor and Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache, who appeared to offer political favors to a supposed Russian investor. Kurz returned as chancellor in early 2020 in a new coalition with the Greens but stepped down in October 2021. His resignation followed pressure from the Greens after prosecutors named him a target in a second probe involving suspected bribery and breach of trust — allegations that Kurz has consistently denied. Speculation has occasionally surfaced about the potential for a political comeback by Kurz.

 Authorities in India’s southern Kerala state issued a high alert on Monday after a cargo ship carrying dangerous materials sank off its coast in the Arabian Sea. Fishermen have been advised to avoid the accident area. The Liberia-flagged vessel MSC ELSA 3 was en route between the Indian ports of Vizhinjam and Kochi when it sank early Sunday, about 38 nautical miles off Kerala’s coast. All 24 crew members were rescued, according to India’s Ministry of Defence. The sunken ship was carrying 640 containers, including 13 with unspecified hazardous materials and 12 loaded with calcium carbide. It also had 84.44 metric tons of diesel and 367.1 metric tons of furnace oil in its tanks. Kerala’s Chief Minister’s Office has warned residents to stay away from any containers washing ashore and urged fishermen not to go near the site of the wreck. On Sunday, the Indian Coast Guard dispatched an aircraft equipped with an oil spill detection system and deployed a pollution control vessel to the scene.

US President Donald Trump has suggested there may soon be encouraging developments regarding the situation in Gaza, alongside progress in nuclear negotiations with Iran. “I think we could have some good news on the Iran front, likewise with Hamas on Gaza,” he told reporters before he boarded Air Force One in New Jersey. Israel's latest strikes in Gaza kill 38 people including children “We want to see if we can stop that, and Israel. We’ve been talking to them and we want to see if we can stop that whole situation,” he added. Source: Al Jazeera

The U.S. military spent more than $6 billion over the past three years to recruit and retain service members, in what has been a growing campaign to counter enlistment shortfalls. The financial incentives to reenlist in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines increased dramatically from 2022 through last year, with the Navy vastly outspending the others, according to funding totals provided by the services. The overall amount of recruiting bonuses also rose steadily, fueled by significant jumps in spending by the Army and Marine Corps. The military services have routinely poured money into recruiting and retention bonuses over the years. But the totals spiked as Pentagon leaders tried to reverse falling enlistment numbers, particularly as COVID-19 restrictions locked down public events, fairs and school visits that recruiters relied on to meet with young people. Coupled with an array of new programs, an increased number of recruiters and adjustments to enlistment requirements, the additional incentives have helped the services bounce back from the shortfalls. All but the Navy met their recruiting targets last year and all are expected to do so this year. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth repeatedly point to Trump’s election as a reason for the recruiting rebound. But the enlistment increases began long before last November, and officials have tied them more directly to the widespread overhauls that the services have done, including the increased financial incentives. The Army, the military's largest service, spent more on recruiting bonuses in 2022 and 2024 than the other services. But it was significantly outspent by the Navy in 2023, when the sea service was struggling to overcome a large enlistment shortfall. As a result, even though the Navy is a smaller service, it spent more overall in the three years than the Army did. Vance arrives at US military base in Greenland following uproar over uninvited visit The Navy also has spent considerably more than the others to entice sailors to reenlist, doling out retention bonuses to roughly 70,000 service members for each of the past three years. That total is more than double the number of troops the Army gave retention bonuses to each year, even though the Army is a much larger service. “Navy is dedicated to retaining our most capable sailors; retention is a critical component of achieving our end-strength goals,” Adm. James Kilby, the vice chief of naval operations, told a Senate Armed Services subcommittee in March. He said reenlistment for enlisted sailors “remains healthy” but officers are a challenge in specific jobs, including aviation, explosive ordnance disposal, surface and submarine warfare, health professionals and naval special operations. He added that the Navy has struggled to fill all of its at-sea jobs and is using financial incentives as one way to combat the problem. The Army has seen the greatest recruiting struggles over the past decade, and by using a range of new programs and policies has had one of the largest comebacks. The Navy has had the most trouble more recently, and took a number of steps to expand those eligible for service and spend more in bonuses. While the Army spends hundreds of millions each year to recruit troops, it also has relied on an array of new programs and policies to woo young people. A key driver of the Army's rebound has been its decision to create the Future Soldier Prep Course, at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in August 2022. That program gives lower-performing recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness instruction to help them meet military standards and move on to basic training. It has resulted in thousands of enlistments. The Air Force increased its spending on recruiting bonuses in 2023 as it also struggled to overcome shortfalls, but lowered the amount the following year. The payments were for jobs including munitions systems, aircraft maintenance and security forces. The Space Force does not currently authorize enlistment bonuses. The Marine Corps and the tiny Space Force have consistently hit their recruiting goals, although the Marines had to dig deep into their pool of delayed entry candidates in 2022 to meet their target. The Corps, which is much smaller than the Army and Air Force, spends the least on bonuses and tends to spread the amount among a larger number of service members. What to know about the US military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland Maj. Jacoby Getty, a Marine spokesman, said the spike in retention bonuses from $126 million in 2023 to $201 million in 2024 was because Marines were allowed to reenlist a year early for the first time. More than 7,000 Marines got bonuses as a result, a jump of nearly 2,200 over the previous year. When asked about bonuses in 2023, Gen. Eric Smith, the Marine commandant, famously told a naval conference that “your bonus is you get to call yourself a Marine.” “That’s your bonus, right?" he said. "There’s no dollar amount that goes with that.” The services tailor their recruiting and retention money to bolster harder-to-fill jobs, including cyber, intelligence and special operations forces. The Army and Marine Corps also use the money to woo troops to some combat, armor and artillery jobs.

Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours killed at least 38 people in Gaza, including children, local health officials said Sunday, with no data available for a second straight day from now-inaccessible hospitals in the north. Further details emerged of the Palestinian doctor who lost nine of her 10 children in an Israeli strike on Friday. Gaza's Health Ministry said 3,785 people have been killed since Israel ended a ceasefire in March, vowing to destroy Hamas and return the 58 hostages it still holds from the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Hamas has said it will only release the hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel also blocked all food, medicine and fuel from entering Gaza for 2 1/2 months before letting a trickle of aid enter last week, after experts' warnings of famine and pressure from some of Israel's top allies. Israel is pursuing a new U.S.-backed plan to control all aid to Gaza, but the American heading the effort unexpectedly resigned Sunday, saying it had become clear that his organization would not be allowed to operate independently. The United Nations has rejected the plan. U.N. World Food Program executive director Cindy McCain told CBS she has not seen evidence to support Israel’s claims that Hamas is responsible for the looting of aid trucks. “These people are desperate, and they see a World Food Program truck coming in and they run for it,” she said. COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing aid for Gaza, said 107 trucks of aid entered Sunday. The U.N. has called the rate far from enough. About 600 trucks a day entered during the ceasefire. Israel also says it plans to seize full control of Gaza and facilitate what it describes as the voluntary migration of its over 2 million population, a plan rejected by Palestinians and much of the international community. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited Israel on Sunday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. More on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation resignation Jake Wood was the executive director of what had been a troubled effort to get more aid into Gaza in a way that would be acceptable to Israel, which has sought to tightly control all aid deliveries. He said in a statement Sunday that it had become clear “it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon.” 9 of a doctor's 10 children killed in Israel's latest strikes in Gaza He urged Israel to expand aid supplies "through all mechanisms” and for others to continue to explore “innovative new methods” for delivering aid. Neither the foundation nor the U.S. had given many details of who was funding the new group, whose creation was announced in recent weeks, or how it would operate. The U.N. and international aid organizations feared it was an attempt to supplant them. More on the killing of a doctor's 9 children In Friday's strike, only one of pediatrician Alaa al-Najjar's 10 children survived at their home near the southern city of Khan Younis. The 11-year-old and al-Najjar’s husband, also a doctor, were badly hurt. The children's charred remains were put in a single body bag, said a fellow pediatrician at Nasser Hospital, Alaa al-Zayan. The home was struck minutes after Hamdi al-Najjar had driven his wife to the hospital. His brother, Ismail al-Najjar, was first to arrive at the scene. “They were innocent children," the brother said, the youngest 7 months old. "And my brother has no business with (Palestinian) factions.” Israel has said “the claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review.” It blames Hamas for civilian deaths because it operates in densely populated areas. There was no immediate comment from the military on the latest strikes. One killed a mother and two children in the central city of Deir al-Balah, according to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Another in northern Gaza's Jabaliya area killed at least five, including two women and a child, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Also on Friday in Khan Younis, two International Committee of the Red Cross staffers were killed when shelling struck their home, the ICRC said. “This is not an endless war," Israel’s military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said during a visit to Khan Younis. Recent ceasefire talks in Qatar gained no ground. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251. Around a third of the remaining hostages are believed to be alive. Israel's 19-month offensive has killed over 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead. It does not provide figures for the number of civilians or combatants killed. New from Hezbollah's leader Speaking on the anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem reiterated the Lebanese militant group’s stance that it will not discuss giving up its remaining weapons until Israel withdraws from the five border points it occupies in southern Lebanon and stops its airstrikes. Over 60 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza as aid remains scarce The speech came nearly six months after the latest Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Under the deal, Israel and Hezbollah were supposed to withdraw forces from southern Lebanon. Israeli officials have said they plan to remain at the five points indefinitely to secure their border. Israel has also continued to carry out near-daily airstrikes in southern Lebanon and sometimes in Beirut’s suburbs. “We adhered completely” to the agreement, Kassem said, adding: “Don’t ask us for anything else from now on. Let Israel withdraw, stop its aggression, release the prisoners and fulfill all obligations under the agreement. After that, we will discuss each new development.” A missile from the Houthis Separately, Israel's military said it intercepted a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Sunday. It triggered air raid sirens in Jerusalem and other areas. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The Iran-backed Houthis have launched repeated missile attacks targeting Israel as well as international shipping in the Red Sea, portraying it as a response to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Most of the targeted ships had no relation to Israel or the conflict. Gaza's main hospital overwhelmed with children in pain from malnutrition The United States halted a punishing bombing campaign against the Houthis earlier this month, saying the rebels had pledged to stop attacking ships. That informal ceasefire did not include attacks on Israel.

President Donald Trump made it clear he is losing patience with Vladimir Putin, leveling some of his sharpest criticism at the Russian leader as Moscow pounded Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles for a third straight night. “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump wrote in a social media post on Sunday night. Trump said Putin is “needlessly killing a lot of people,” pointing out that “missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever.” The attack was the largest aerial assault since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, according to Ukrainian officials. At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured. The U.S. president warned that if Putin wants to conquer all of Ukraine, it will “lead to the downfall of Russia!” But Trump expressed frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well, saying that he is “doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does.” “Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop,” Trump wrote on social media. Trump says he will call Putin, then Zelenskyy, on Monday to push for Ukraine ceasefire The president has increasingly voiced irritation at Putin and the inability to resolve the now three-year-old war, which Trump promised he would promptly end as he campaigned to return to the White House. He had long boasted of his friendly relationship with Putin and repeatedly stressed that Russia is more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal. But last month, Trump urged Putin to “STOP!” assaulting Ukraine after Russia launched another deadly barrage of attacks on Kyiv, and he has repeatedly expressed his frustration that the war in Ukraine is continuing. “I’m not happy with what Putin’s doing. He’s killing a lot of people. And I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin,” Trump told reporters earlier Sunday as he departed northern New Jersey, where he spent most of the weekend. “I’ve known him a long time, always gotten along with him, but he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people and I don’t like it at all. ” A peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine remains elusive. Trump and Putin spoke on the phone this past week, and Trump announced after the call that Russia and Ukraine will “immediately” begin ceasefire talks. That conversation occurred after Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Turkey for the first face-to-face talks since 2022. But on Thursday, the Kremlin said no direct talks were scheduled. Trump downplays Putin decision to skip Istanbul talks with Zelenskyy The European Union has slapped new sanctions on Russia this month in response to Putin's refusal to agree to a ceasefire. But while Trump has threatened to step up sanctions and tariffs on Russia, he hasn’t acted so far.

Police reform and civil rights activists joined thousands of ordinary people Sunday to mark the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder at religious services, concerts and vigils nationwide and decry the Trump administration for setting their efforts back decades. The Rev. Al Sharpton said at a Houston graveside service that Floyd represented all of those “who are defenseless against people who thought they could put their knee on our neck.” He compared Floyd’s killing to that of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black child who was abducted and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman. “What Emmett Till was in his time, George Floyd has been for this time in history,” Sharpton said. Cat found smuggling drugs into prison In a park about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away from the gravesite, a memorial service was set to take place, followed by five hours of music, preaching and poetry readings and a balloon release. Events started Friday in Minneapolis with concerts, a street festival and a “self-care fair,” and culminate with a worship service, gospel music concert and candlelight vigil on Sunday. The remembrances come at a fraught moment for activists, who had hoped the worldwide protests that followed Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020, would lead to permanent police reform across the U.S. and a continued focus on racial justice issues. Events in Minneapolis center around George Floyd Square, the intersection where police Officer Derek Chauvin used his knee to pin Floyd’s neck to the pavement for 9 1/2 minutes, even as the 46-year-old Black man’s cried “I can’t breathe.” Even with Minneapolis officials’ promises to remake the police department, some activists contend the progress has come at a glacial pace. Russia and Ukraine swap hundreds more prisoners hours after a massive attack on Kyiv “We understand that change takes time,” Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said in a statement last week. “However, the progress being claimed by the city is not being felt in the streets.” The Trump administration moved Wednesday to cancel settlements with Minneapolis and Louisville that called for an overhaul of their police departments following the Floyd’s murder and the killing of Breonna Taylor. Under Democratic President Joe Biden, the U.S. Justice Department had aggressively pushed for aggressive oversight of local police it had accused of widespread abuses. 9 of a doctor's 10 children killed in Israel's latest strikes in Gaza Trump has also declared an end to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the federal government and his administration is using federal funds as leverage to force local governments, universities and public school districts to do the same. Republican-led states also have accelerated their efforts to stamp out DEI initiatives.

During Chinese Premier Li Qiang's ongoing official visit to Indonesia, the two countries highlighted the contemporary value of the Bandung Spirit and pledged for closer bilateral cooperation as well as better strategic coordination. "China stands ready to work with Indonesia and other developing countries to jointly uphold the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the Bandung Spirit," Li said Sunday in talks with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. In April 1955, a landmark conference in Indonesia's city of Bandung gathered 29 Asian and African nations under the flag of solidarity, friendship and cooperation, marking the awakening of the part of the world known now as the Global South. "Today, more than seven decades later, the world is once again at a critical crossroads," Li said on Saturday when addressing the business community of the two countries. Unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, and acts of bullying are increasing, he said, stressing that against this backdrop, the contemporary value of the Bandung Spirit has become more prominent. Shortly after the premier's arrival on Saturday, Li and Prabowo jointly visited a commemorative exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference. In his visit, Li has urged China and Indonesia to make the pie of cooperation bigger, strengthen industrial integration and safeguard free trade. He told Prabowo on Sunday that China is willing to work with Indonesia to enhance the alignment of development strategies and deepen high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, especially by optimizing and strengthening landmark projects. Li urged the two sides to further enhance the "golden brand" of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway. The premier also said both sides should enhance market connectivity and industrial collaboration, improve the level of trade and investment facilitation, and expand cooperation in areas such as finance, new energy, digital economy, artificial intelligence (AI), aerospace and the ocean. Noting that 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference, Prabowo said on Sunday that Indonesia will take this opportunity to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership with China and jointly promote peace, development in Asia and the world. He said Indonesia is ready to expand cooperation with China in agriculture, finance, infrastructure, green economy, AI and education, and upgrade industrial collaboration. Prabowo also expressed the hope that more Chinese enterprises invest and do business in Indonesia. The two leaders on Sunday witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation documents in areas concerning economic development policies, industrial and supply chain as well as finance. Li also met with Speaker of Indonesia's House of Representatives Puan Maharani on Sunday. He told Puan that China insists on taking Indonesia as a priority in neighborhood diplomacy, and is willing to deepen all-round strategic cooperation with Indonesia. Analysts here spoke highly of the visit and the future development of China-Indonesia relations. "Premier Li's visit to Jakarta sends a strong signal that China-Indonesia relations are growing increasingly close. The two countries have developed a strategic partnership across economic, political and developmental spheres. This visit reflects the deepening cooperation and mutual recognition of each other's roles in regional and global affairs," said Muhammad Syaroni Rofii, a scholar on international relations at the University of Indonesia. Li arrived here Saturday for an official visit and will leave for Malaysia on Monday to attend the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-GCC (the Gulf Cooperation Council)-China Summit in Kuala Lumpur.

Authorities in Costa Rica recently intercepted an unusual drug smuggler: a black-and-white cat with narcotics taped to its body. The feline was captured on May 6 near the barbed wire fence of the Pococí Penitentiary after guards noticed suspicious gray patches on its fur. Upon closer inspection, they found around 236 grams of marijuana, nearly 68 grams of heroin, and rolling papers strapped to the cat’s back. The Ministry of Justice and Peace released a video of the incident on Facebook, stating that prison police officers managed to intercept the cat after a watchtower guard spotted it in a grassy area and raised the alarm. Officers quickly apprehended the animal and removed the drug packages before they could enter the prison. Further examination revealed one package contained 235.65 grams of suspected marijuana, while the other held 67.76 grams of suspected crack paste, along with two sheets of rolling paper. The cat was handed over to the National Animal Health Service for a medical checkup. Authorities are now investigating who was behind the smuggling attempt, and whether inmates may have coordinated the act with external accomplices. Surveillance footage is being reviewed to trace the cat’s movements and identify any suspects. Officials noted that this case reflects a broader trend in which criminals use animals—particularly cats—for smuggling drugs into prisons. Their stealth and agility make them effective couriers for small quantities of contraband, often trained or lured inside prison grounds with food. Costa Rica has faced rising drug trafficking in recent years, with authorities seizing 21.3 tons of cocaine in 2023 alone. Source: NDTV