Global Briefs: Costa Rica’s new prison partner

SOURCE: The World Factbook-CIA

Costa Rica

Authorities on April 9 announced a collaboration agreement to redesign Costa Rica’s prison system after El Salvador’s model. Justice and Peace Minister Gerald Campos Valverde a week earlier visited El Salvador’s controversial Center for Terrorism Confinement, known for its mass incarceration of gang members in harsh conditions. The prison is also a destination for some recent Trump administration deportees. Crime in El Salvador has fallen under President Nayib Bukele’s leadership, despite alleged human rights violations. Campos praised El Salvador’s progress in national security and called for “a strategic alliance to eradicate crime” in the region. Traditionally the safest Central American country, Costa Rica suffered an unprecedented 38% spike in homicide rates in 2023 and is projected to set a record again this year. It is one of the only countries in the world without a standing army. —Carlos Páez

North Korea

Government-run hospitals in the Hermit Kingdom have started displaying prices for treatment, dropping the pretense of offering free healthcare, Radio Free Asia reported on April 8. North Korea’s public health law requires the totalitarian state to provide free medical services to its citizens, but North Koreans have long had to pay out of pocket, at least for medicine. According to an unnamed RFA source in North Hamgyong province, hospitals there put up prices beginning in February, shocking residents who were accustomed to free consultations. Another unnamed source in North Pyongan province said fees listed at one hospital’s reception area show a consultation now costing 5,000 won (25 to 50 cents), an X-ray 20,000 won ($1 to $2), and one aspirin tablet 200 won (1 to 2 cents), among other charges. —Joyce Wu

Sia Kambou / AFP via Getty Images

Ivory Coast

The 15 finalists for the Miss Côte d’Ivoire 2025 beauty pageant received international attention in April due to an unprecedented rule change for the pageant’s preliminary stage: Contestants were not allowed to wear wigs, weaves, or hair extensions. The change came as a surprise in a country where wigs and extensions are popular. Almost all past pageant winners wore wigs. While some contestants felt the new rules limited creativity, others celebrated them for promoting the beauty of black hair. A pageant official explained the aim was to “truly showcase the natural beauty of these young women.” Criteria for the pageant’s final round, scheduled for late June, have yet to be announced. —Evangeline Schmitt

SOURCE: The World Factbook-CIA

Malta

On April 7, Roman Catholic Church leaders on the island nation published ethical guidelines for the care of the elderly ahead of an expected push to legalize euthanasia or assisted suicide there. Prime Minister Robert Abela said discussions of “euthanasia” have begun following suggestions from his Youth Advisory Forum, nine individuals ages 16 to 33 chosen to advise Abela and the Cabinet on “matters of national importance.” The end-of-life debate comes in anticipation of a promised white paper from Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg discussing euthanasia. She says the topic is warranted after the Labour Party’s 2022 victory: Its election manifesto proposed legalizing euthanasia for the terminally ill. Malta is one of three European countries that bans abortion, and some fear allowing euthanasia will lead to abortion legalization as well. —Elisa Palumbo

SOURCE: The World Factbook-CIA

Brazil

U.S. tourists traveling to Brazil faced scrutiny again starting April 10 after the Chamber of Deputies refused to extend a waiver for their visas. Former President Jair Bolsonaro first removed visa requirements for Americans in 2019 to foster growth in Brazil’s tourism industry. Incumbent President Lula da Silva revoked the waiver in 2023 soon after taking office, yet he was repeatedly unable to reimpose the visa protocols due to interventions from Brazil’s legislature. Chamber Speaker Hugo Motta blocked the vote on a fourth consecutive extension bill following lawmaker discontent over U.S. tariffs, effectively allowing the visa waiver program to expire. Americans represent the second-largest tourist group in Brazil and contribute significantly to the country’s $7 billion in annual tourism revenue. —Carlos Páez

Associated Press

Pakistan

Police raided homes looking for Afghan immigrants ahead of an April 10 deadline for more than 1 million Afghans to leave the country. Pakistani officials in recent weeks have stepped up a migrant crackdown, blaming a surge in crime and terrorist attacks on resident militant Afghans. Despite protests from human rights groups, Islamabad since 2023 has deported 800,000 Afghans and vows to deport 3 million more this year, even though their home country of Afghanistan faces a humanitarian crisis. More than a million Afghans who hold a Pakistan Proof of Registration card are currently exempt from deportation, but those permits expire in June. U.S. President Donald Trump’s halt of refugee applications puts thousands of ­former Afghan U.S. workers at risk of being deported back to the Taliban-controlled country. —Amy Lewis