Foreign News

South Korean president sorry for controversies surrounding wife

Published

2 years ago

2024/11/8

Priyan

South Korea's first lady has been linked to a number of controversies [BBC]

South Korea’s president has apologised for a string of controversies surrounding his wife that included allegedly accepting a luxury Dior handbag and stock manipulation.

Addressing the nation on television, Yoon Suk Yeol said his wife, Kim Keon Hee, should have conducted herself better, but her portrayal had been excessively “demonised”, adding that some of the claims against her were “exaggerated”.

The president said he would set up an office to oversee the first lady’s official duties, but rejected a call for an investigation into her activities.

Yoon’s apology came as he tries to reverse a dip in his popularity among the South Korean public, linked to the controversies surrounding his wife.

Late in 2023, left-wing YouTube channel Voice of Seoul published a video that purportedly showed Kim accepting a 3m won ($2,200; £1,800) Dior bag from a pastor, who filmed the exchange in September 2022 using a camera concealed in his watch.

In February, Yoon said that the footage was leaked as a political maneuver and did not apologise.

South Korea’s Democratic Party, the opposition to Yoon’s conservative People Power Party, at the time labelled the president’s “shameless attitude” as “hopeless”.

The scandal also caused rifts within Yoon’s party, with one leader comparing Ms Kim with Marie Antoinette, the queen of France notorious for her extravagant lifestyle.

The opposition party has also long accused the first lady of being involved in stock price manipulation. Earlier in the year, Yoon vetoed a bill calling for his wife to be investigated over those allegations.

[BBC]

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Foreign News

Head teacher evacuated 900 children minutes before school washed away by Nepal floods

Published

2 days ago

2026/08/30

Priyan

A head teacher’s quick decision to evacuate his school saved 900 pupils from deadly flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border

Rajendra Dawadi tells the BBC he was tipped off about incoming flood waters and moved students to higher ground with just minutes to spare. One pupil says she and her friends survived by just 10 seconds and watched as a nearby bazaar was swept away

Wednesday’s disaster has killed at least 794 people and more than 2,500 people are missing in Nepal, local officials say

In Tibet, the official death toll is 16, with 546 reported to be missing, according to Chinese state media –

[BBC]

Foreign News

Ferry carrying 260 people capsizes off northern Cyprus coast

Published

2 days ago

2026/08/30

Priyan

A ferry carrying around 260 people has capsized off the coast of northern Cyprus with a search underway for survivors, according to local media.

The catamaran-style boat was travelling from the port of Kyrenia, also known as Girne, and started sinking a few kilometres off the coast of the island state on Sunday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

[Aljazeera]

Foreign News

Ex-White House teleprompter operator ordered to pay $172,000 for Trump speech bets

Published

3 days ago

2026/08/29

Priyan

The staffer was found to have made tens of thousands of dollars through betting on what the president would say in his speeches (BBC)

A former White House teleprompter operator has been ordered to pay more than $172,000 (£127,000) for using inside information to bet on US President Donald Trump’s speeches.

Gabriel Perez was found to have made trades on what the president would say during addresses between December 2025 and February 2026 on Kalshi – a prediction markets platform where users can bet on real-world events.

Its regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said Perez would have to surrender profits of $107,539.02 (£79,452) and pay a civil penalty of $65,000 (£48,000).

The White House has not yet commented. In July then press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Perez was on unpaid leave and would not return to his post.

Announcing the settlement on Friday, the CFTC said Perez had “misappropriated” his prior knowledge of Trump’s speeches to place bets “in breach of his duty of trust and confidence”.

It said his civil penalty had been reduced due to his “exemplary co-operation” with the investigation.

Perez has also been banned from trading for three years.

Writing on X, Kalshi’s lead lawyer Bobby DeNault welcomed the decision: “It doesn’t matter who you are: violate our rules or federal law and you will face the consequences.”

(BBC)