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Danish PM Frederiksen suffered light whiplash after assault, her office says

Danish PM Frederiksen suffered light whiplash after assault, her office says
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has been assaulted by a man on a square in the capital of Copenhagen, according to a report on Jun. 7, 2024 by the state news agency Ritzau. (AP/File)
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Updated 08 June 2024
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Danish PM Frederiksen suffered light whiplash after assault, her office says

Danish PM Frederiksen suffered light whiplash after assault, her office says
  • “The Prime Minister is shocked by the incident,” her office said
  • Danish Minister of Environment Magnus Heunicke said on X: “I must say that it shakes all of us who are close to her”
Updated 08 June 2024
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COPENHAGEN: Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has suffered a light whiplash injury after she was assaulted by a man in central Copenhagen on Friday, her office said in a statement on Saturday.
“Apart from that, the Prime Minister is safe and sound, but she is shocked by the incident,” it said, adding that Frederiksen had been taken to hospital for a check-up following the incident late on Friday.
All the Prime Minister’s official events on Saturday have been canceled, her office said.
Danish police said on Saturday a 39-year-old man would appear in front of a judge for preliminary questioning in relation to an assault on the prime minister.
Police said the man would be brought before the Copenhagen City Court for questioning at around 1 p.m. (1100 GMT), but declined to provide more detail.
Frederiksen, was able to walk away and had no outward signs of harm after the assault, Soren Kjergaard, who works as a barista in central Copenhagen, told Reuters after seeing her being escorted away by security.
Neither the police nor the prime minister’s office said anything about the man’s motive or whether he had carried a weapon.
The assault comes two days before Danes head to the polls in the European Union election.
A month ago, three German politicians suffered assaults ahead of European Parliament and district council elections and more attacks followed earlier this week.
Several EU leaders condemned the incident, which happened just three weeks after Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was seriously injured in an assassination attempt.
“The attack on Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is an intolerable act of violence that represents an attack on the heart of democratic values,” Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on X.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president said on X:
“I was so shocked at the news of you being assaulted tonight. I condemn this despicable act which goes against everything we believe and fight for in Europe. I wish you strength and courage — I know you have plenty of both.”

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday denounced the “unacceptable” attack on Frederiksen.
“The attack on the Danish Prime Minister is unacceptable,” Macron posted on X (former Twitter).
“I strongly condemn this act and wish Mette Frederiksen a speedy recovery,” he added.

Topics: Copenhagen Mette Frederiksen assault

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Russian cargo ship sank in Mediterranean Sea with two crew missing, Russian Foreign Ministry says

Updated 5 sec ago
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Russian cargo ship sank in Mediterranean Sea with two crew missing, Russian Foreign Ministry says

Russian cargo ship sank in Mediterranean Sea with two crew missing, Russian Foreign Ministry says
Updated 5 sec ago
Reuters
MOSCOW: A Russian cargo ship called ‘Ursa Major’ sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria and two of its crew are missing, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
The ship went down after an explosion in its engine room and 14 of its 16 crew members have been rescued and brought to Spain, the ministry said in a statement.

South Korean opposition plans to impeach acting president Han, floor leader says

South Korean opposition plans to impeach acting president Han, floor leader says
Updated 24 December 2024
Reuters
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South Korean opposition plans to impeach acting president Han, floor leader says

South Korean opposition plans to impeach acting president Han, floor leader says
  • Prime Minister Han has taken over from the suspended Yoon, who was impeached on Dec. 14 and faces a Constitutional Court review on whether to oust him or restore his powers
Updated 24 December 2024
Reuters

SEOUL: South Korea’s main opposition party intends to pursue the impeachment of acting president Han Duck-soo, the party’s floor leader said on Tuesday.
The Democratic Party’s (DP) floor leader Park Chan-dae announced this after Han postponed approving legislation to launch a special counsel investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed bid to impose martial law.
Prime Minister Han has taken over from the suspended Yoon, who was impeached on Dec. 14 and faces a Constitutional Court review on whether to oust him or restore his powers.
Han has called for the ruling and opposition parties to discuss the matter of a special counsel investigation and other issues.
“Acting president Han made it clear at today’s cabinet meeting that he would not greenlight the special prosecution law,” Park said.
“There is no way to interpret it other than that he is delaying time.”
The timing of submitting a bill to impeach Han could be decided as soon as Tuesday afternoon, local media reported.
With a majority in parliament, DP passed bills this month to appoint a special counsel to pursue charges of insurrection, among others, against the conservative Yoon — and to investigate his wife over a luxury bag scandal and other allegations.
Han did not put the bills on the cabinet’s agenda on Tuesday.
Han’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.
Yoon’s ruling People Power Party has accused the DP of threatening Han for not complying with their demands, at a time when South Korea’s key ally the United States has just restarted planned communications with Asia’s fourth-largest economy under Han’s stewardship.
Meanwhile, Yoon has yet to announce his legal team or appear publicly since a televised statement on Dec. 14, the day parliament impeached him.
Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer helping form Yoon’s defense team, told reporters on Tuesday that Yoon is unlikely to appear for questioning on Wednesday, Christmas Day, in answer to a summons by authorities investigating his move to impose martial law.
Yoon is prioritising the Constitutional Court’s trial on whether to remove him from office or to reinstate his presidential powers, Seok said.

Topics: South Korea

Shrinking, aging population makes South Korea ‘super-aged society’

Shrinking, aging population makes South Korea ‘super-aged society’
Updated 24 December 2024
AFP
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Shrinking, aging population makes South Korea ‘super-aged society’

Shrinking, aging population makes South Korea ‘super-aged society’
  • Asia’s fourth-largest economy recorded just 0.7 births per woman late last year
  • The government has poured billions of dollars into encouraging more births, with Seoul authorities offering subsidies for egg freezing in one recent effort
Updated 24 December 2024
AFP

Seoul: South Korea has become a “super-aged society,” with 20 percent of its population aged 65 or older, official data showed on Tuesday, a gloomy trend driven by an alarmingly low birth rate.
Asia’s fourth-largest economy recorded just 0.7 births per woman late last year — one of the lowest birth rates in the world and far below the replacement rate of 2.1 needed to sustain the current population.
That means South Korea’s population is aging and shrinking rapidly.
Those aged 65 and older “account for 20 percent of the 51.2 million registered population, numbering 10 million,” the interior ministry said in a news release on Tuesday, placing South Korea alongside Japan, Germany and France as a “super-aged society.”
It also means the elderly population has more than doubled since 2008, when it numbered fewer than five million, according to the ministry.
Men account for 44 percent of the current 65-and-older group, the data showed.
The government has poured billions of dollars into encouraging more births, with Seoul authorities offering subsidies for egg freezing in one recent effort.
However, such efforts have failed to deliver the intended results and the population is projected to fall to 39 million by 2067, when the median population age will be 62.
Experts say there are multiple causes for the twin phenomena of low marriage and birth rates, ranging from high child-rearing costs and soaring property prices to a notoriously competitive society that makes securing well-paid jobs difficult.
The double burden on working mothers, who shoulder the bulk of household chores and childcare while maintaining their careers, is another key factor, they say.

Topics: South Korea

German president urges unity after ‘dark shadow’ of Christmas market attack

German president urges unity after ‘dark shadow’ of Christmas market attack
Updated 24 December 2024
AFP
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German president urges unity after ‘dark shadow’ of Christmas market attack

German president urges unity after ‘dark shadow’ of Christmas market attack
  • Steinmeier recognized that there was a “great deal of dissatisfaction about politics” in Germany but insisted that “our democracy is and remains strong”
Updated 24 December 2024
AFP

BERLIN: Germany’s president said Tuesday that a deadly car-ramming attack on a Christmas market had cast a “dark shadow” over this year’s celebrations but urged the nation not to be driven apart by extremists.
In his traditional Christmas address, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier sought to issue a message of healing four days after the brutal attack in the eastern city of Magdeburg killed five people and left over 200 wounded.
“A dark shadow hangs over this Christmas,” said the head of state, pointing to the “pain, horror and bewilderment over what happened in Magdeburg just a few days before Christmas.”
He made a call for national unity as a debate about security and immigration is flaring again: “Hatred and violence must not have the final word. Let’s not allow ourselves to be driven apart. Let’s stand together.”
His words came a day after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) held what it called a memorial rally for the victims in Magdeburg, where one speaker demanded that Germany “must close the borders.”
Nearby an anti-extremist initiative was held under the motto “Don’t Give Hate a Chance.”
Steinmeier recognized that there was a “great deal of dissatisfaction about politics” in Germany but insisted that “our democracy is and remains strong.”
A Saudi doctor, Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, 50, was arrested Friday at the scene of the attack in which a rented SUV plowed at high speed through the crowd of revellers, bringing death and chaos to the festive event.
His motive still remains unclear, days after Germany’s deadliest attack in years.
Abdulmohsen has in his many online posts voiced strongly anti-Islam views, anger at German authorities and support for far-right conspiracy narratives on the “Islamization” of Europe.
News outlet Der Spiegel reported he wrote on social media platform X in May that he expected to die “this year” and was seeking “justice” at any cost.
Investigators found his will in the BMW that he used in the attack, the outlet said — he stated that everything he owned was to go to the German Red Cross, and it contained no political messages.
Die Welt daily, citing unnamed security sources, said that Abdulmohsen had been treated for a mental illness in the past, thought this was not immediately confirmed by authorities.
The attack has fueled an already bitter debate on migration and security in Germany, two months before national elections and with the far-right AfD party riding high in opinion polls.
The government is facing mounting questions about possible errors and missed warnings about Abdulmohsen, who was arrested next to the battered BMW sports utility vehicle.
Saudi Arabia said it had repeatedly warned Germany about its citizen, who came to Germany in 2006 and was granted refugee status 10 years later.
A source close to the Saudi government told AFP that the kingdom had sought his extradition.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has pledged to fully investigate whether there were security lapses before the attack.
The Saudi suspect has been remanded in custody in a top-security facility on five counts of murder and 205 of attempted murder, prosecutors said, but not so far on terrorism-related charges.
German Christmas markets have been specially secured since a jihadist attacker rammed a truck through a Berlin Christmas market in 2016, killing 13 people.
The Magdeburg event too had been shielded by barricades, but the attacker managed to exploit a five-meter gap when he steered the car into the site and then raced into the unsuspecting crowd.
Steinmeier offered his condolences for relatives of those injured and killed “in such a terrible way” — when the attack killed a nine-year-old boy and four women aged 45 to 75.
“You are not alone in your pain,” he told the hundreds of affected families. “The people throughout our country feel for you and mourn with you.”

Topics: Germany Christmas market Frank-Walter Steinmeier

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Legendary drug lord Fabio Ochoa is deported to Colombia after spending two decades in US prisons

Legendary drug lord Fabio Ochoa is deported to Colombia after spending two decades in US prisons
Updated 24 December 2024
AP
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Legendary drug lord Fabio Ochoa is deported to Colombia after spending two decades in US prisons

Legendary drug lord Fabio Ochoa is deported to Colombia after spending two decades in US prisons
  • Ochoa’s name has faded from popular memory as Mexican drug traffickers take center stage in the global drug trade
Updated 24 December 2024
AP

BOGOTÁ, Colombia: One of Colombia’s legendary drug lords and a key operator of the Medellin cartel has been deported back to the South American country, after serving 25 years of a 30-year prison sentence in the United States.
Fabio Ochoa arrived in Bogota’s El Dorado airport on a deportation flight on Monday, wearing a grey sweatshirt and carrying his personal belongings in a plastic bag.
After stepping out of the plane, the former cartel boss was met by immigration officials in bullet proof vests. There were no police on site to detain him — an indication he may not have any pending cases in Colombian courts.
In a brief statement, Colombia’s national immigration agency said Ochoa should be able to enter Colombia “without any problems,” once he is cleared by immigration officers who will check for any outstanding cases against the former drug trafficker.
Ochoa, 67, and his older brothers amassed a fortune when cocaine started flooding the US in the late 1970s and early 1980s, according to US authorities, to the point that in 1987 they were included in the Forbes Magazine’s list of billionaires.
Living in Miami, Ochoa ran a distribution center for the cocaine cartel once headed by Pablo Escobar. Escobar died in a shootout with authorities in Medellin in 1993.
Ochoa was first indicted in the US for his alleged role in the 1986 killing of Barry Seal, an American pilot who flew cocaine flights for the Medellin cartel, but became an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Along with his two older brothers, Juan David and Jorge Luis, Ochoa turned himself in to Colombian authorities in the early 1990s under a deal in which they avoided being extradited to the US
The three brothers were released from prison in 1996, but Ochoa was arrested again three years later for drug trafficking and was extradited to the US in 2001 in response to an indictment in Miami naming him and more than 40 people as part of a drug smuggling conspiracy.
He was the only suspect in that group who opted to go to trial, resulting in his conviction and a 30-year sentence. The other defendants got much lighter prison terms because most of them cooperated with the government.
Ochoa’s name has faded from popular memory as Mexican drug traffickers take center stage in the global drug trade.
But the former member of the Medellin cartel was recently depicted in the Netflix series Griselda, where he first fights the plucky businesswoman Griselda Blanco for control of Miami’s cocaine market, and then makes an alliance with the drug trafficker, played by Sofia Vergara.
Ochoa is also depicted in the Netflix series Narcos, as the youngest son of an elite Medellin family that is into ranching and horse breeding and cuts a sharp contrast with Escobar, who came from more humble roots.
Richard Gregorie, a retired assistant US attorney who was on the prosecution team that convicted Ochoa, said authorities were never able to seize all of the Ochoa family’s illicit drug proceeds and he expects that the former mafia boss will have a welcome return home.
“He won’t be retiring a poor man, that’s for sure,” Gregorie told The Associated Press earlier this month.

Topics: Fabio Ochoa drug lord cocaine US prisons

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