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The Latest: Author links abuse to church culture of silence

The Latest on the Vatican summit on dealing with sex abuse of minors (all times local):

11:20 a.m.

The author of an explosive book on gays in the Vatican says the culture of secrecy that has hidden the double lives of clergy is intrinsically linked to the culture of cover-up about sexual abuse of minors.

Frederic Martel, a French gay rights activist and author of "In the Closet of the Vatican," told a news conference Wednesday that studies have long shown that being gay is not a risk factor for committing sexual abuse.

But he said the culture of secrecy about priests' homosexuality had contributed to the abuse scandal.

Speaking at the Foreign Press Association, Martel said: "The problem is that some abusers that commit crimes within the church were protected by this culture of secrecy that was mainly to protect homosexuality."

Martel's book comes out Thursday as Pope Francis opens a Vatican summit on preventing sexual abuse.

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9:50 a.m.

Pope Francis is summoning church leaders from around the world this week for a tutorial on how to deal with cases of sex abuse by clergy.

Many Catholic church leaders around the world continue to protect the church's reputation by denying that priests rape children and by discrediting victims, and the pope himself admits to having made similar mistakes.

But Francis has done an about-face and is bringing the rest of the church leadership along with him at the extraordinary summit starting Thursday.

The meeting will bring together some 190 presidents of bishops' conferences, religious orders and Vatican offices lectures and workshops on preventing sex abuse in their churches, tending to victims, and investigating abuse.

Survivors will be meeting with summit organizers and the bishops themselves ahead of the summit.

Source: Fox News World

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Tennis: Nishikori stunned by Lajovic in Miami second round

Tennis: Miami Open
Mar 22, 2019; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Kei Nishikori of Japan hits a forehand against Dusan Ljovic of Serbia (not pictured) in the second round of the Miami Open at Miami Open Tennis Complex. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

March 22, 2019

MIAMI (Reuters) – A stunned Kei Nishikori was sent packing from the Miami Open after the Japanese world number six suffered a 2-6 6-2 6-3 second-round loss to Serbian Dusan Lajovic on Friday.

Fifth-seed Nishikori had a first-round bye and appeared to be heading for a routine victory until Lajovic, who was misfiring in the early stages of the match, suddenly stepped up his game.

“He definitely raised his level (in the) second and third sets. He started playing more solid from the baseline. He wasn’t missing much like in the first set. He served well in the end,” said Nishikori. “Maybe I didn’t play quite my best today. Credit to him today.”

Next up for world number 44 Lajovic, who had lost in the first round of five tour-level events this season, will be a clash with either 27th seed Nick Kyrgios or qualifier Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan.

Nishikori, who was playing in his first match since falling in the third round at Indian Wells last week, had his serve broken five times during the match.

“I’m trying to keep my head up,” said Nishikori. “Claycourt season is coming. It’s a completely new season. I’ll try to have good practice, two more weeks, and be ready for Monte Carlo.”

In other early men’s action, Croatian 11th seed Borna Coric beat Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena, British 19th seed Kyle Edmund beat Belarusian Ilya Ivashka, 23rd seed Gilles Simon lost to French compatriot Jeremy Chardy and Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia beat German Mischa Zverev.

Top seed Novak Djokovic will kick off the night session with a clash against Australian Bernard Tomic.

(Reporting by Steve Keating; Writing by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)

Source: OANN

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Election observers say initial Thai vote count was 'flawed'

An international election observation group has issued a critical report on Thailand's first election since a 2014 military coup, saying the "tabulation and consolidation of ballots were deeply flawed."

The Asian Network for Free Elections says those issues led to the announcement of some preliminary results that were "wildly inaccurate."

It says the inaccuracies damaged the "perceived integrity of the general election."

Thailand's Election Commission has defended the count and said full preliminary results will be released Friday.

Tuesday's comments from the observers come as a military-backed party and the party whose government was ousted in the coup both claim they should form the next government.

Preliminary results show the anti-military party won the most seats, while the military party appears to have gotten the most votes in Sunday's poll.

Source: Fox News World

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Nordic trust tarnished by money laundering scandal

Danske Bank sign is seen at the bank's Estonian branch in Tallinn
Danske Bank sign is seen at the bank's Estonian branch in Tallinn, Estonia March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins

April 3, 2019

By Johan Ahlander, Esha Vaish and John O’Donnell

STOCKHOLM/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Money laundering allegations involving Sweden and Denmark have shattered faith in the open Nordic business culture, prompting demands for tighter controls on the banks held responsible.

Ranked among the least corrupt countries by anti-graft campaign group Transparency International, Sweden and Denmark have been rocked by investigations into Danske Bank and Swedbank, knocking billions off their value.

Politicians, regulators and investors now want closer policing and more stringent penalties, unwinding a system where the state largely trusted banks to keep themselves in check.

“Openness is key in our society. This is a system built on trust and that trust has decreased quite substantially,” Swedish financial markets minister Per Bolund told Reuters.

“It’s not enough to fire one person,” Bolund said of Swedbank’s dismissal last week of Birgitte Bonnesen as chief executive, adding that an overhaul of its controls was needed, in a clear signal of future government action.

“That has to go all the way from the top to the bottom.”

Sweden has yet to announce substantial reforms following the emergence of money laundering allegations against Swedbank which originated in Europe’s Baltic states of Latvia and Estonia.

Latvia, a former Soviet state with a large Russian-speaking minority, had modeled itself as a financial bridge for Russians moving money to Europe. Similar profitable activity took place in Estonia, but has now become a reputational liability.

Danske Bank has been ejected from Estonia after admitting 200 billion euros ($225 billion) of suspicious money movements flowed through its branch there between 2007 and 2015. And it is also pulling out of neighboring Baltic states.

Danish academic Gert Svendsen, author of ‘Trust’, says the scandals risk undermining a central tenet of Nordic culture.

“People become happier if you can do things based on trust. That explains why Swedes and Danes are quite happy,” he said.

WIDER WAVES

The money laundering scandals, which have been growing week by week, are shaking politics as well as the boardroom.

In Denmark, which was first to be hit by Danske Bank, the scandal bolstered support for a left-wing opposition bloc that some polls suggest could oust the right-wing coalition in elections expected by June.

In response, the Danish government plans to create what one minister dubbed a “more aggressive financial regulator”, doubling the officials fighting money laundering to 24, allowing it to fine banks for breaches or insert an observer on a board.

“In the case of Danske Bank, we’ve seen how authorities send letters back and forth for seven or eight years before it was stopped,” Danish business minister Rasmus Jarlov said, announcing the shift toward U.S.-style controls.

Sweden may follow suit, with prime minister Stefan Lofven last week saying he could “strengthen legislation” following criticism that regulators have been too lax.

Last year the management of Sweden’s financial watchdog went against its own experts’ recommendations that it should sanction several of the major bank for insufficient money-laundering controls, opting instead to send warning letters.

The FSA also had to tighten rules requiring banks to set aside more funds for home loan losses after the central bank said it was being too generous.

And Joacim Olsson, head of the Swedish Shareholders’ Association has criticized it for being tough on smaller banks but softer on large ones.

“We in Sweden as a whole, and other regulators, have done too little. That is the conclusion from Danske Bank,” Swedish FSA head Erik Thedeen told reporters last month.

Louise Brown of Transparency International said Sweden needed to reform, adding: “We need to upgrade both regulatory execution and corporate governance”.

REGULATORY RELATIONS

The Danske Bank and Swedbank scandals have also raised questions about often close relationships between regulators and the banks the oversee.

Former Danish FSA chairman Henrik Ramlau-Hansen, who had served as finance chief at Danske Bank for five years before joining the FSA in 2016, stepped down in May last year.

Denmark now prohibits the chairman and deputy chairman to have worked at financial institutions for five years prior.

Sweden’s FSA boss Thedeen had in previous roles worked with Swedbank’s board member Peter Norman, although there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by either.

The FSA has said that Thedeen earlier recused himself from the Swedbank investigation due to the conflict of interest, and that money laundering supervision, including the probe, were being handled by his deputy.

For some, such closeness is inevitable. “Sweden is quite a small country,” said Torbjorn Hallo, an economist at the Swedish Trade Union Confederation. “Most people know each other.”

And some investors say it is time for change.

“We have had some concerns about the Nordic model … for some time. Often boards lack industry experience, and are instead pulled from a local pool,” the head of corporate governance at one London fund manager said, adding that the management often goes unchallenged as a result.

(Additional reporting by Teis Jensen in Copenhagen and Simon Jessop in London; Writing by John O’Donnell; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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Erdogan’s ruling party challenges results of local elections

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party is appealing the results of the local elections in Istanbul, where preliminary results give the opposition a razor-thin victory.

Nationwide, Erdogan's party won a majority of votes in Sunday's elections, but it lost the capital Ankara to the opposition and is trailing in the tight race for Istanbul.

Bayram Senocak, the ruling party's top official in Istanbul, said Tuesday he has filed appeals to challenge results in 39 districts, seeking a recount to fix alleged irregularities and a reassessment of invalid votes.

The party is also contesting the results in Ankara.

Meanwhile, the opposition's candidate for Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, traveled to Ankara to visit the mausoleum of the secular republic's founder, where large crowds gathered to greet him, chanting "Mayor Ekrem."

Source: Fox News World

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Heavy weapons fire rocks Yemen’s Hodeidah as U.N. pushes to clinch troop pullout

General view of a market on Sadam street in Hodeidah
General view of a market on Sadam street in Hodeidah, Yemen March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad

March 25, 2019

By Mohamed Ghobari

ADEN (Reuters) – Yemen’s warring parties exchanged heavy weapons fire overnight in Hodeidah, residents and military sources said, as the United Nations scrambled to salvage a ceasefire deal in the Yemeni port city that is a lifeline for millions at risk of starvation.

The clashes were the heaviest since the ceasefire went into effect on Dec. 18, residents said, and came as the United Nations announced a deal setting out details of a mutual military withdrawal envisaged by the Stockholm truce accord.

Iran-aligned Houthi forces and troops backed by a Saudi-led coalition traded artillery, mortar and rocket salvoes late on Sunday and early on Monday, with explosions heard across the Red Sea city, residents said.

“The Houthis tried a surprise assault on our troops but we stopped them,” a military source from the internationally-recognized government said.

The Houthis’ Al Masirah TV accused government forces of shelling their positions without provocation.

The fighting affected Hodeidah’s usual flashpoints – the “July 7” district, four km (2.5 miles) away from the port, and southern outskirts where thousands of United Arab Emirates-backed troops are massed.

The Houthis and the government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi agreed at U.N.-sponsored talks in December to a truce and troop withdrawal from Hodeidah, the entry point for the bulk of Yemen’s humanitarian aid and commercial imports.

The ceasefire has broadly held although sporadic clashes continued as the United Nations struggled to implement a troop withdrawal, a confidence-building measure meant to clear the way for a broader peace settlement after four years of war.

DETAILS OF WITHDRAWAL AGREED

However, the U.N. observer team chief, Danish General Michael Anker Lollesgaard, was expected to convene both sides this week to formally launch newly agreed steps towards disengagement, according to sources involved in the discussions.

Houthi forces had agreed to withdraw 5 km (3 miles) from the Hodeidah district ports of Saleef, used for grain, and Ras Isa, an oil terminal, as a first step, three sources said.

The Houthi withdrawal and the pullback by coalition forces 1 km away from both the “Kilo 7” area and from Saleh city district would take place simultaneously as a second step, they said.

The government forces’ retreat would free up access to Red Sea Mills, which holds some 50,000 tonnes of World Food Programme grain, enough to feed 3.7 million people. Under the deal, humanitarian corridors would also be reopened.

The second phase of the pullout would see both sides withdraw troops 18 km (11 miles) from the city, and heavy weaponry 30 km (18 miles) away.

Tens of thousands of people have died in the war pitting the Houthis against the coalition, which intervened in Yemen in 2015 to restore Hadi’s government after it was ousted from the inland capital Sanaa.

The war has displaced over two million people and driven the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country to the verge of famine.

The World Health Organization said on Monday it had recorded 108,889 suspected cases of cholera and 190 associated deaths with the disease since the start of 2019 in several provinces. Around a third of the cases were children under five, it said.

Yemen’s conflict is widely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Houthis, who control Sanaa and most population centers, deny being puppets of Tehran and say they are waging a revolution against corruption.

(Additional reporting and writing by Aziz El Yaakoubi in Dubai; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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Kansas agency finds abuse and neglect in Wichita boy’s death

Kansas child welfare authorities investigated two reports of possible abuse or neglect involving a Wichita couple in the 17 months before their 3-year-old son was found dead in his crib.

The Kansas Department of Children and Families on Thursday completed its investigation into the April 12 death of Zaiden Javonovich, who authorities believe was dead days before his body was discovered.

In a report summary obtained by The Associated Press through an open records request, the agency said it found physical abuse and neglect in the case but provided no other details.

Zaiden's mother, Brandi Marchant, 22, and his father, Patrick Javonovich, 28, are charged with felony murder and child abuse in Zaiden's death. His body was found April 11 when police went to the home after receiving a call about a domestic disturbance. Zaiden's 4-month-old brother, who is Marchant's son, was found injured and hospitalized in critical condition.

In November 2017, the Department of Children and Families investigated possible emotional abuse after a report that Marchant made homicidal and suicidal statements in front of the children. One child who reported a homicidal statement mentioned Zaiden, according to the report. Several people were interviewed but investigators could not substantiate the claim.

A year later, the department was told the younger boy tested positive for marijuana at birth. The case could not be investigated as an abuse/neglect case because medical officials did not indicate the boy's health was hurt by marijuana use, the summary states.

Instead, a Family in Need of Assessment case was started. A social worker who met with the couple found both children appearing healthy, with all necessary supplies for the infant, according to the report. The parents, who are not married, completed a federally required plan of safe care and in another visit, Marchant completed a Department of Children and Families safety plan. The case was closed Jan. 14.

The Wichita Eagle reported the agency rejected a request for information about the younger boy. Spokesman Eric Smith confirmed the department received a report of alleged abuse and is investigating.

Source: Fox News National

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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during the inauguration of the newly-elected parliament in Kabul
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during the inauguration of the newly-elected parliament in Kabul, Afghanistan April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

April 26, 2019

By Rupam Jain and Hameed Farzad

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani encouraged newly-elected lawmakers to participate in the peace process with the Taliban as he opened on Friday the first session of parliament since a controversial election.

Ghani has invited thousands of politicians, religious scholars and rights activists to an assembly known as a loya jirga next week to discuss ways to end the 17-year war.

Several opposition leaders have said they will boycott the four-day assembly in Kabul, saying it was pulled together without their input and is being used by Ghani as he seeks a second term in a September presidential election.

“We have presented the peace plan on a regular basis and we are committed to it,” Ghani said in the first session since parliamentary elections marred by technical problems, militant attacks and accusations of voting fraud last year.

“Based on this plan, there will be no peace deal and negotiation that does not have the green card of the parliament,” he added.

Officials from the United States and the Taliban have held several rounds of talks to end the Afghan war.

U.S. negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, has reported some progress toward an accord on a U.S. troop withdrawal and on how the Taliban would prevent extremists from using Afghanistan to launch attacks as al Qaeda did on Sept. 11, 2001.

The insurgents have so far rejected U.S. demands for a ceasefire and talks on the country’s political future that would include Afghan government officials.

The loya jirga, a centuries-old institution used to build consensus among competing tribes, factions and ethnic groups, is an attempt by Ghani to influence the peace talks and cement his position for a second term, Afghan politicians and Western diplomats say.

Amid growing political divisions in Kabul, opposition politicians have demanded that Ghani step down when his mandate ends next month, and give way to an interim government to oversee peace talks with the Taliban. Ghani has ruled that out.

The country’s top court said last week Ghani can stay in office until the presidential election in September.

(Reporting by Hameed Farzad, Rupam Jain, Editing by Darren Schuettler)

Source: OANN

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Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Thursday defended special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation while slamming former President Barack Obama’s administration for being slow to take action on Russian interference in U.S. elections and ex-FBI Director James Comey for telling Congress the agency was investigating collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“Our nation is safer, elections are more secure, and citizens are better informed about covert foreign influence schemes,” Rosenstein said in a speech to the Armenian Bar Association, marking his first public remarks after the Mueller report was released, reports CBS News.

He also pointed out that the investigation revealed a pattern of computer hacking and the use of social media to undermine elections as “only the tip of the iceberg of a comprehensive Russian strategy to influence elections, promote social discord, and undermine America, just like they do in many other countries,” reports The Wall Street Journal.

The Obama administration also made “critical decisions,” including choosing not to publicize the full story about Russian hackers and social media trolling, “and how they relate to a broader strategy to undermine America,” said Rosenstein.

He noted that the Mueller probe began after Comey disclosed during a hearing before Congress that President Donald Trump “pressured him to close the investigation and the president denied that the conversation occurred.”

Rosenstein said two years ago, when he was confirmed, he was told by a Republican senator that he would be in charge of the probe and that he’d report the results to the American people.

However, he said he didn’t promise to do that, because it is “not our job to render conclusive factual findings. We just decide whether it is appropriate to file criminal charges.”

Source: NewsMax Politics

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FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside its Huawei's factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province
FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside its Huawei’s factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) – Britain must get to the bottom of the leak of confidential discussions during a top-level security meeting about the role of China’s Huawei Technologies in 5G network supply chains, British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Friday.

News that Britain’s National Security Council, attended by senior ministers and spy chiefs, had agreed on Tuesday to bar Huawei from all core parts of the country’s 5G network and restrict its access to non-core elements was leaked to a national newspaper.

The leak of secret discussions has sparked anger in parliament and amongst Britain’s intelligence community. Britain’s most senior civil servant Mark Sedwill has launched an inquiry and written to ministers who were at the meeting.

“My understanding from London (is) that an investigation has been announced into apparent leaks from the NSC meeting earlier this week,” said Hammond, speaking on the sidelines of a summit on China’s Belt and Road initiative in Beijing.

“To my knowledge there has never been a leak from a National Security Council meeting before and therefore I think it is very important that we get to the bottom of what happened here,” he told Reuters in a pooled interview.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday he could not rule out a criminal investigation. The majority of the ministers at the NSC meeting have said they were not involved, according to media reports.

Hammond said he was unaware of any previous leak from a meeting of the NSC.

“It’s not about the substance of what was apparently leaked. It’s not earth-shattering information. But it is important that we protect the principle that nothing that goes on in national security council meetings must ever be repeated outside the room.”

Allowing Huawei a reduced role in building its 5G network puts Britain at odds with the United States which has told allies not to use its technology at all because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying. Huawei has categorically denied this.

There have been concerns that the NSC’s conclusion, which sources confirmed to Reuters, could upset other allies in the world’s leading intelligence-sharing network – the Five Eyes alliance of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

However, British ministers and intelligence officials have said any final decision on 5G would not put critical national infrastructure at risk. Ciaran Martin, head of the cyber center of Britain’s main eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, played down any threat of a rift in the Five Eyes alliance.

(Writing by Michael Holden; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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President Trump on Friday said “no money” was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, after reports that the U.S. received a $2 million hospital bill from Pyongyang for the late American prisoner’s care.

“No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not two Million Dollars, not anything else. This is not the Obama Administration that paid 1.8 Billion Dollars for four hostages, or gave five terroist[sic] hostages plus, who soon went back to battle, for traitor Sgt. Bergdahl!” Trump tweeted Friday.

NORTH KOREA GAVE US $2M HOSPITAL BILL OVER CARE OF AMERICAN OTTO WARMBIER, SOURCES SAY

The Washington Post first reported that North Korean authorities insisted the U.S. envoy sent to retrieve Warmbier, 21, who was a student of the University of Virginia, sign a pledge to pay the bill before allowing Warmbier’s comatose body to return to the United States. Sources confirmed the bill and the amount to Fox News on Thursday.

Sources told the post that the envoy signed an agreement to pay the medical bill on instructions from the president, but a source told Fox News that the U.S. did not ever pay money to North Korea.

The White House declined to comment when asked on the bill, with Press Secretary Sarah Sanders saying in a statement that: “We do not comment on hostage negotiations, which is why they have been so successful during this administration.”

Meanwhile, the president added: “’President[sic] Donald J. Trump is the greatest hostage negotiator that I know of in the history of the United States. 20 hostages, many in impossible circumstances, have been released in last two years. No money was paid.’ Cheif[sic] Hostage Negotiator, USA!”

Warmbier was on tour in North Korea when he allegedly stole a propaganda sign from a hotel. He was arrested in January 2016 and sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor in March 2016. Warmbier, for unknown reasons, fell into a coma while in custody and was held in that condition for an additional 17 months.

North Korean officials did not tell American officials until June 2017 that Warmbier had been unconscious the entire time. He died less than a week after he returned to the U.S. North Korean officials, though, have repeatedly denied accusations that Warmbier was tortured, instead claiming that he had suffered from botulism and then slipped into a coma after taking a sleeping pill.

AMERICAN PRISONERS HELD IN NORTH KOREA ON THEIR WAY HOME AFTER POMPEO VISIT, TRUMP SAYS

Fred and Cindy Warmbier sued North Korea over their son’s death and in December were awarded $501 million in damages – money that the Hermit Kingdom will probably never pay.

While the Warmbiers blamed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump has said he believes Kim’s claims that he did not know about the student’s treatment.

Trump and Kim have met in two separate summits. The most recent, held in February, ended without an agreement on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told Fox News: “Otto Warmbier was mistreated by North Korea in so many ways, including his wrongful conviction and harsh sentence, and the fact that for 16 months they refused to tell his family or our country about his dire condition they caused.  No, the United States owes them nothing. They owe the Warmbier family everything.”

Last year, the Trump administration was also able to save three American prisoners held by North Korea. Kim Dong Chul, Tony Kim, and Kim Hak Song were all detained in North Korea. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brought the three Americans home last May, and said they were all in “good health.”

Fox News’ John Roberts, Rich Edson, Nicholas Kalman, and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon
Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon, South Korea, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

April 26, 2019

SEOUL (Reuters) – K-pop and drama star Park Yu-chun was arrested on Friday on charges of buying and using illegal drugs, a court said, the latest in a series of scandals to hit the South Korean entertainment business.

Suwon District Court approved the arrest warrant for Park, 32, due to concerns over possible destruction of evidence and flight risk, a court spokesman told Reuters.

Park is suspected of having bought about 1.5 grams of methamphetamine with his former girlfriend earlier this year and using the drug around five times, an official at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said.

Park has denied wrongdoing, saying he had never taken drugs, and he again denied the charges in court, Yonhap news agency said.

Park’s contract with his management agency had been canceled and he would leave the entertainment industry, Park’s management agency, C-JeS Entertainment, said on Wednesday.

Park was a member of boyband TVXQ between 2003 and 2009 before leaving the group with two other members, forming the group JYJ.

A scandal involving sex tapes, prostitutes and secret chat about rape led at least four other K-pop stars to quit the industry earlier this year.

The cases sparked a nationwide drugs bust and investigations into tax evasion and police collusion at night clubs and other nightlife spots.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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