The week at a glance...Americas

Haida Gwaii, British Columbia

Tsunami debris: The rusted hulk of a Japanese fishing ship drifted toward Canada’s Pacific coast this week, an eerie harbinger of what is expected to be 1.5 million tons of debris from last year’s tsunami. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had expected the floating mass of refrigerators, cars, house parts, and other detritus to take another year to get to North America. “The early indication is that things sitting higher up on the water could potentially move across the Pacific Ocean quicker than we had originally thought,” said Nancy Wallace of NOAA. “Those higher-wind, quicker-moving items may actually be onshore much sooner—pretty much now.” Canada’s coast guard said it would take action only if the ship leaked fuel.

Roseau, Dominica

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Americans arrested for sex: Two Californian men on a gay cruise were arrested last week for having sex on a balcony of their cruise ship while it was docked at the Caribbean island of Dominica. Retired police officer Dennis Jay Mayer, 53, and his longtime partner, John Robert Hart, 41, were held overnight in a Dominican jail with no light and no toilet, then frog-marched to a bank to withdraw money to pay their $4,000 fine. “They paraded us around like we were some oddity,” Mayer said. “I’ve never seen people chanting and protesting in the street.” Police said they were alerted to the behavior by local residents who could see the balcony from the shore.

São Paulo, Brazil

Gang of blondes: Brazilian police have captured three members of São Paulo’s notorious “gang of blondes.” The women have been targeting wealthy female shoppers in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro since 2008. Two women would grab a victim as she entered her car, while two others would take her credit cards and max them out on luxury shopping sprees. “One or two speak more than one language, and some have been educated overseas,” said São Paulo police officer Joaquim Dias Alves. “They are really pretty girls, well-dressed and made up.” Police believe at least three other gang members remain at large.