Kenyan authorities have arrested a Chinese national at Nairobi’s main airport after discovering more than 2,200 live garden ants hidden in his luggage.

The case is linked to the growing trend of insect smuggling from Kenya.

Zhang Kequn was intercepted on Tuesday, March 10, at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport while he was attempting to board a flight out of the country.

Immigration officials had flagged a “stop order” on his passport after he evaded arrest in Kenya last year.

According to the court’s filings, around 2,238 ants, including 1,948 packed in specialised test tubes and another 300 concealed in three rolls of soft tissue papers, were found in the 27-year-old’s luggage.

Authorities believed that Zhang had been in Kenya for the last two weeks. After initial investigations, he revealed the names of three accomplices who supplied him with insects.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is now investigating his iPhone and MacBook to get to the bottom of the incident.

The case appears to be that of a well-organized trafficking ring. Authorities announced that a similar shipment of ants from Kenya was seized in Bangkok on Tuesday, the same day as Zhang’s arrest.

Smuggling ants has become a lucrative but illicit business, with enthusiasts in Europe and Asia paying hefty sums to keep them in transparent containers called formicariums, which allow a glimpse into the social structure of these insects.

In 2025. Four men were fined $7,700 each for attempting to traffic thousands of ecologically valuable ants from Kenya. 

Tom Holland has made his first public appearance since wedding rumours involving him and Zendaya emerged in the media. 

The Spider-Man actor, 29, was seen enjoying a walk in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday, with his left had visibly ringless- unlike his fiancée Zendaya. 

As for style, Tom kept it casual in a fitted white T-shirt and jeans. 

For the unversed, the couple confirmed their engagement in January last year.

They first met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, with their romance officially confirmed in 2021 after they were photographed together. 

Meanwhile, several AI-generated images of Zendaya and Holland’s supposed wedding have been circulating online and going viral, confusing  fans.

The rumours gained further traction when Zendaya’s longtime stylist Law Roach claimed that the couple had already said ‘I do’ during a red carpet interview at the 32nd Annual Actor Awards over the past weekend. 

Zendaya also previously drew attention by wearing a gold band on her Index finger during Paris Fashion Week.

She looked stunning in a bridal white skirt with an a-symmetric hemline.

The 29-year-old coordinated the look with a matching shirt featuring an elongated collar and cinched her waist with a chunky black belt.

It is also note worthy that Tom and Zendaya have not yet spoken about their marriage.

Appearing on the red carpet, Law Roach told a reporter: ‘The wedding has already happened. You missed it.’

When the reporter pressed Roach on whether he was joking or not, he replied: ‘It’s very true.’

Before this, Zendaya had already sparked marriage rumours when she wore a dazzling diamond on her left-hand ring finger.  

• DPM Dar accompanying PM Shehbaz on trip.
• PM’s trip comes amid US-Israel war on Iran.
• CDF Munir recently met Saudi defence minister.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday departed for Saudi Arabia to meet Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman to discuss the Middle East tensions following the US-Israel war on Iran.

The Foreign Office spokesperson said that Ishaq Dar, who holds the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, is also accompanying the premier.

Pakistan has intensified diplomacy following the Iran war — which was caused by US and Israeli attacks on Iran, killing its supreme leader and plunging the Middle East into conflict — with the PM Shehbaz and DPM/FM Dar speaking to their counterparts in the region as well as in the Gulf nations to play their role in easing the regional tensions.

Iran has targeted US bases as well as targets in Gulf nations, including in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, and has also closed the Strait of Hormuz, which has skyrocketed the price of oil — and warned that the world should be ready for $200 a barrel.

Meanwhile, Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman held a meeting last week in which both sides discussed Iranian attacks on the kingdom within the framework of the joint strategic defence agreement between the two nations.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the landmark Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) in September last year, which treats an attack on either nation as an act of aggression against both.

In a statement posted on X early Saturday, Khalid bin Salman said the meeting focused on ways to stop the attacks, which he said do not serve the security and stability of the region.

He added that there is hope that the Iranian side will prioritise wisdom and reason and refrain from “wrong calculations”.

Saudi Arabia intercepted two drones headed towards the Shaybah oil field on Thursday, as Iran targets the facility again in its campaign to disrupt global energy markets.

“Two drones heading towards the Shaybah oil field were intercepted and destroyed,” a spokesperson for the country’s defence ministry posted on X.

It came after Saudi Arabia confirmed on Wednesday that it had prevented several drone attacks against the facility, which is crucial to the country’s oil production.

Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Prime Minister’s spokesperson for Foreign Media Mohsarraf Zaidi recently said it is unquestionable that Islamabad will come to Riyadh’s aid “no matter what and no matter when”.

Although Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has expressed regret over strikes in regional countries, Tehran has maintained that it will target those sites which are used to launch attacks on its soil.

The PM’s spokesperson Zaidi highlighted that Islamabad and Riyadh have always “operated on the principle of being there for the other”.