Two Belgian teenagers were charged Tuesday with wildlife piracy after they were found with thousands of ants packed in test tubes in what Kenyan authorities said was part of a trend in trafficking smaller and lesser known species.

Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, two 19-year-olds who were arrested on April 5 with 5,000 ants at a guest house, appeared distraught during their appearance before a magistrate in Nairobi and were comforted in the courtroom by relatives. They told the magistrate they were collecting the ants for fun and did not know that it was illegal.

In a separate criminal case, Kenyan Dennis Ng’ang’a and Vietnamese Duh Hung Nguyen also were charged with illegal trafficking in the same courtroom, following their arrest while in possession of 400 ants.

The Kenya Wildlife Service said the four men were involved in trafficking the ants to markets in Europe and Asia, and that the species included messor cephalotes, a distinctive, large and red-colored harvester ant native to East Africa.

The illegal export of the ants “not only undermines Kenya’s sovereign rights over its biodiversity but also deprives local communities and research institutions of potential ecological and economic benefits,” KWS said in a statement.

Kenya has in the past fought against the trafficking of body parts of larger species of wild animals such as elephants, rhinos and pangolins among others. But the cases against the four men represent “a shift in trafficking trends — from iconic large mammals to lesser-known yet ecologically critical species,” KWS said.

The two Belgians were arrested in Kenya’s Nakuru county, which is home to various national parks. The 5,000 ants were found in a guest house where they were staying, and were packed in 2,244 test tubes that had been filled with cotton wool to enable the ants to survive for months.

The other two men were arrested in Nairobi where they were found to have 400 ants in their apartments.

Kenyan authorities valued the ants at 1 million shillings ($7,700). The prices for ants can vary greatly according to the species and the market.

Philip Muruthi, a vice president for conservation at the Africa Wildlife Foundation in Nairobi, said ants play the role of enriching soils, enabling germination and providing food for species such as birds.

“The thing is, when you see a healthy forest, like Ngong forest, you don’t think about what is making it healthy. It is the relationships all the way from the bacteria to the ants to the bigger things,” he said.

Muruthi warned of the risk of trafficking species and exporting diseases to the agricultural industry of the destination countries.

“Even if there is trade, it should be regulated and nobody should be taking our resources just like that,” he said.

The United Kingdom’s highest court ruled that the legal definition of “woman” excludes trans women, in a case with sweeping consequences for how equality laws are applied.

Britain’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the definition of a woman in equality legislation refers to “a biological woman and biological sex.”

The court was deciding on whether trans women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) – which offers legal recognition of someone’s female sex – are protected from discrimination as a woman under the nation’s Equality Act 2010.

A group of campaigners in Scotland brought the challenge in 2018, arguing that those rights should only safeguard those assigned as women at birth. But the Scottish government said that a trans woman with a GRC is legally a woman and should therefore be afforded the same legal protections.

Even though the case draws from a debate over Scottish laws designed to increase the number of women sitting on boards, the outcome on Wednesday will shape the increasingly fractious and polarizing debate over transgender rights across the UK.

The UK’s ruling Labour party said the ruling brought “clarity” while the opposition Conservatives called it a “clear victory for common sense,” urging the government to clarify existing guidance.

Five judges overwhelmingly ruled in favor of For Women Scotland (FWS) – which proposed that not linking the legal definition of gender to biological sex would have repercussions on designated single-sex services, including changing rooms, hostels and communal accommodation.

“The terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex,” Lord Hodge told the court in London. “The provisions relating to sex discrimination can only be interpreted as referring to biological sex,” he added.

If transgender women with a GRC were afforded the same protected characteristic as biological women under the Equality Act, Hodge said, they would possess “greater rights than those who do not,” citing provisions relating to pregnancy and maternity leave.

The justice insisted that the court’s interpretation of the Equality Act 2010 “does not remove protection from trans people,” with or without a GRC document. A trans woman could claim discrimination on the grounds of gender reassignment, and because “she is perceived to be a woman,” added Hodge.

Britain’s government “has always supported the protection of single-sex spaces based on biological sex,” a spokesperson said, following the ruling.

“This ruling brings clarity and confidence, for women and service providers such as hospitals, refuges, and sports clubs,” the spokesperson added. “Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this Government.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

An American preacher who was taken hostage by armed men while preaching a sermon in a South African township last week has been rescued in a fierce gun battle with his kidnappers, police said Wednesday.

Josh Sullivan, 45, was kidnapped last Thursday during an evening service in Motherwell, a township in Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, the Fellowship Baptist Church said.

The South African Police Service said officers launched a rescue operation after receiving intelligence the pastor was being held by his abductors at a house in KwaMagxaki, another township in the city.

A rescue team was sent to the location, a police statement said, “leading to a high-intensity shootout” that left “three unidentified suspects” dead.

“As officers approached the house, they observed a vehicle on the premises. The suspects inside the vehicle upon seeing law enforcement allegedly attempted to flee and opened fire on the team,” the statement read.

It added that Sullivan, whom the Associated Press reported is from the US state of Tennessee, was found inside the vehicle “miraculously unharmed” and “is currently in an excellent condition.”

Tom Hatley, whom Sullivan had said on his website he was training under, also announced the rescue. “Josh has been released,” Hatley wrote in a Facebook post along with a picture of Sullivan and his family. “I just got ‘the go ahead to let it be known,’” he added while urging for privacy from the public.

“Also, PLEASE respect The Sullivans privacy and their parents. A lot of folks love The Sullivans and they love you back, but give them some time,” he said in another post.

Kidnappings are at a record high in South Africa with an average of 51 abductions every day, authorities said last year. The country also grapples with deadly mass shootings and a murder rate that is among the highest in the world.

Sullivan’s abduction comes two months after renowned Islamic cleric Muhsin Hendricks was shot dead by armed men in Bethelsdorp, also in the Eastern Cape province.

Sullivan, who describes himself as “a church planting missionary,” arrived in South Africa in 2018 with plans to “finish language school … and plant a church to the Xhosa speaking people,” he said on his website.

Prosecutors in Berlin on Wednesday charged a doctor suspected of administering lethal amounts of various medications to palliative patients under his care with 15 counts of murder.

Prosecutors are also seeking a lifelong professional ban for the 40-year-old suspect, detained since August 2024, who had been active in several German states.

The suspect, not officially named in line with German privacy laws, has not admitted the charges, said prosecutors.

He was initially suspected of being involved in four deaths last year, which prosecutors said he had tried to cover up by setting fire to the victims’ apartments. However, ongoing investigations have turned up more suspected deaths, dating back to 2021, and that number could rise even further.

An investigative team set up specifically for the case is evaluating his patient records and more exhumations are planned.

The doctor is accused of administering an anaesthetic and then a muscle relaxant to palliative patients under his care who were not actively dying and without their knowledge or consent, said prosecutors.

Before Swedish slow TV hit “The Great Moose Migration” began airing Tuesday, Ulla Malmgren stocked up on coffee and prepared meals so she doesn’t miss a moment of the 20-day, 24-hour event.

“Sleep? Forget it. I don’t sleep,” she said.

Malmgren, 62, isn’t alone. The show, called “ Den stora älgvandringen ” in Swedish, and sometimes translated as “The Great Elk Trek” in English, began in 2019 with nearly a million people watching. In 2024, the production hit 9 million viewers on SVT Play, the streaming platform for national broadcaster SVT.

The livestream kicked off a week ahead of schedule due to warm weather and early moose movement. Malmgren was ready.

From now until May 4, the livestream’s remote cameras will capture dozens of moose as they swim across the Ångerman River, some 300 kilometers (187 miles) northwest of Stockholm, in the annual spring migration toward summer grazing pastures.

Not much happens for hours at a time, and fans say that’s the beauty of it.

“I feel relaxed, but at the same time I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s a moose. Oh, what if there’s a moose? I can’t go to the toilet!’” said William Garp Liljefors, 20, who has collected more than 150 moose plush toys since 2020.

Slow TV success

“The Great Moose Migration” is part of a trend that began in 2009 with Norwegian public broadcaster NRK’s minute-by-minute airing of a seven-hour train trip across the southern part of the country.

The slow TV style of programming has spread, with productions in the United Kingdom, China and elsewhere. The central Dutch city of Utrecht, for example, installed a “ fish doorbell” on a river lock that lets livestream viewers alert authorities to fish being held up as they migrate to spawning grounds.

Annette Hill, a professor of media and communications at Jönköping University in Sweden, said slow TV has roots in reality television but lacks the staging and therefore feels more authentic for viewers. The productions allow the audience to relax and watch the journey unfold.

“It became, in a strange way, gripping because nothing catastrophic is happening, nothing spectacular is happening,” she said. “But something very beautiful is happening in that minute-by-minute moment.”

As an expert and a fan of “The Great Moose Migration,” Hill said the livestream helps her slow down her day by following the natural rhythms of spring.

“This is definitely a moment to have a calm, atmospheric setting in my own home, and I really appreciate it,” she said.

Nature in your living room

The calming effect extends to the crew, according to Johan Erhag, SVT’s project manager for “The Great Moose Migration.”

“Everyone who works with it goes down in their normal stress,” he said.

The moose have walked the route for thousands of years, making it easy for the crew to know where to lay some 20,000 meters (almost 12 miles) of cable and position 26 remote cameras and seven night cameras. A drone is also used.

The crew of up to 15 people works out of SVT’s control room in Umeå, producing the show at a distance to avoid interfering with the migration.

SVT won’t say how much the production costs, but Erhag said it’s cheap when accounting for the 506 hours of footage aired last year.

Erhag said Swedes have always been fascinated by the roughly 300,000 moose roaming in their woods. The Scandinavian country’s largest animal is known as “King of the Forest.” A bull moose can reach 210 centimeters (6 feet 10 inches) at shoulder height and weigh 450 kilograms (992 pounds).

Despite their size, the herbivores are typically shy and solitary.

“We actually don’t see it very often. You often see it when you’re out driving maybe once or twice in your life,” Erhag said. “I think that’s one thing why it has been so, so popular. And then you bring in the nature to everyone’s living room.”

Hanna Sandberg, 36, first began watching the show in 2019, though she didn’t spot any moose. She tuned in the following year, finally saw some and got hooked.

“You can watch them and be a part of their natural habitat in a way that you could never be otherwise,” she said.

Moose mega-fans

After hours of showing an empty forest, a camera captures footage of a moose approaching the riverbank. Suddenly, slow TV turns urgent.

The push alert hits SVT’s app — “Första älgarna i bild!” which translates to “First moose on camera!” — as viewers worldwide tune in. The livestream’s chat explodes as commenters type encouragement for the animal, now making its way into the water.

”I would actually like to be a little fly on the wall in every household that watches the moose migration. Because I think there is about a million people saying about the same thing: ‘Go on! Yes, you can do it!’” Malmgren said.

Mega-fans like Malmgren, who is in a Facebook group of 76,000-plus viewers, are committed to watching as many hours as possible. Some viewers on Tuesday posted photos of their dogs and cats staring at their televisions, enthralled by the moose on the screen.

“I was late to school because I saw moose and my teacher was like, ‘What, you saw moose in the city?’ And I was like, ‘No, it’s on the TV,’” Garp Liljefors said ahead of Tuesday’s showing.

Malmgren said friends and family have learned not to bother her when the moose are on the move.

“When someone asks me, ‘What are you doing? Oh, never mind, it’s the great migration,’” she said. “They know.”