'Escobar' hippo dies in car crash — and other world news you may have missed

As reported by the Associated Press, a descendant of the hippos that the drug lord Pablo Escobar illegally imported into Colombia was killed after it was struck by an SUV on Tuesday evening.

The collision occurred near Escobar’s estate, Hacienda Nápoles, which is situated along the highway between the major Colombian cities Bogotá and Medellín. The passengers inside the vehicle were unharmed, but the hippo died immediately upon impact, authorities said.

At the height of his criminal career in the 1980s, Escobar filled his estate with a menagerie of exotic animals, including a collection of hippos. After his death in 1993, the estate was abandoned, along with the animals inside it. In the last 30 years, the herd of hippos has grown to 130, and with no natural predators, they have been declared an invasive species by environmental officials.

Here are four other international news stories you may have missed this week, from Yahoo News’ partner networks.

Unveiled women under surveillance after Iran installs cameras in public spaces

The Iranian government intensified its crackdown on women defying its compulsory dress code, announcing on Saturday that cameras would be installed in public spaces to identify those who were not wearing a chador, the Iranian veil that is worn over the head and covers the body, Reuters reported.

Iranian police said any woman caught unveiled in Tehran’s public spaces would be penalized. Upon the first offense, those who violated the dress code would be sent “warning text messages.” It is unknown what further consequences lie ahead for women and girls who continue to defy the dress code. Police justified the round-the-clock surveillance, claiming it would prevent “resistance" against the chador law.

Why it matters: Last September, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died after being taken into custody by the so-called morality police for wearing her chador incorrectly. When the news of her death broke, women took to the streets in protest against the brutal Iranian regime — the first major women-led revolution in the country.

Demonstrations spread to 90 towns and cities across Iran within the first week. Social media was flooded with videos of women burning their chadors and cutting off their hair in public acts of defiance. However, within days, security forces quashed major protests, arresting almost 12,500 people across Iran in just one month. Seven months later, pockets of demonstrations continue across the country, and the government has imposed stricter laws and tougher surveillance.

Bear in Italy linked to a death and 2 attacks

Authorities in Italy have linked the bear responsible for killing a 26-year-old jogger last week to two previous attacks, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Andrea Papi’s body was found on April 6 in the northeastern region of Trentino-Alto Adige in the Alps. The 17-year-old female bear was identified by a GPS collar that tracked her movements. Local officials have petitioned to have the animal put down after Papi’s death.

Local residents had first applied for the bear to be put down three years ago, after it attacked a father and his son. The attacks occurred in the same area. However, a court ruling overturned the decision to euthanize the bear.

Peruvian ex-minister connected to journalist’s death

A former interior minister of Peru has been sentenced to 12 years in jail after a court ruled that he was complicit in the 1988 killing of a journalist, Hugo Bustíos, the BBC reported on Thursday. Daniel Urresti was a military intelligence officer in the Peruvian army when Bustíos was murdered. The court found that Urresti, as well as five other members of the military, took part in the ambush and murder.

Bustíos had been investigating human rights abuses in Peru at a time when security forces and rebels were battling for power. He reported on crimes committed by both the army and the Maoist Shining Path group in the Ayacucho region, where 69,000 people had disappeared or were found dead.

It was only in 2007 that Commander Victor La Vera Hernández was found guilty of the killing. When he was released in 2011, Hernández implicated Urresti, and he was tried in 2018. After he was cleared of any involvement, Peru’s Supreme Court ordered a new trial.

"Thirty-four years have passed since my father was murdered, but finally justice has been done — we finally got the justice that had so far been denied to us,” Bustíos’s daughter Sharmelí said after the conviction.

Why it matters: Journalists have always been a target, especially when they try to expose misdeeds, including war crimes. A UNESCO report found that 55 journalists were killed in 2021, mainly in the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America and the Caribbean. Two-thirds of the journalists killed in 2021 were from countries that are not involved in armed conflict.

Japan’s population falls for 12 years in a row

Data released by the Japanese government showed that the country’s population has fallen for the 12th consecutive year, to 124.9 million, NextShark reported on Wednesday. In 2022, the population decreased by 556,000 compared with 2021. The number of Japanese nationals shrank by 750,000 — the largest decrease since 1950.

“It is essential to take firm measures to address the declining birth rate, which is a major factor in the decline in population, as one of the top priority issues to be addressed,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference.

According to government data, Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world and one of the highest life expectancies. A large elderly population has put pressure on the country’s shrinking workforce, and data shows this is likely to get worse in the coming years.