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Protest shuts down ferry rides between Puerto Rico and Vieques, snarling travel plans

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A protest over a rate increase forced Puerto Rico’s government on Wednesday to cancel ferry rides between the U.S. territory and the tiny island of Vieques that is popular with tourists.

The protest comes as Puerto Rico reports a surge in visitors this month, with many locals and tourists traditionally visiting surrounding islands during Holy Week.

Police said in a statement that some 12 trucks were blocking the boat terminal in Vieques.

A one-way ferry ride to the island for decades had cost $2, but officials recently increased it to $11.25 for anyone who doesn’t live on Vieques, prompting an outcry. The government also increased ferry rides to the tiny neighboring island of Culebra from $2.25 to $11.25.

The rate increases were delayed until May, but activists vow they will keep fighting them and are demanding that business owners and Puerto Ricans in general be exempt.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

By WTOP Staff
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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