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Nov 21, 2024 - World

The eldest son of Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit is suspected of a second rape, police said Wednesday, two days after his arrest over another allegation of sexual assault.Born of a relationship before Mette-Marit's marriage to heir Prince Haakon, Marius Borg Hoiby was arrested on Monday evening on suspicion of rape.Since the investigation unearthed a second allegation, a lawyer for the force said, police requested the 27-year-old be remanded in custody, which a judge on Wednesday ordered for one week, according to media reports."Marius is facing serious accusations, which the police and the judiciary will deal with... I am convinced they will do a good job," Prince Haakon told public broadcaster NRK before the detention order.Borg Hoiby's lawyer, Oyvind Bratlien, said he would appeal the detention ruling, but welcomed the fact that judges had not granted the police request for a two-week detention."We consider that promising," he said in a written statement to NRK.Police lawyer Andreas Kruszewski had said on the sidelines of the hearing that the second allegation "involves sexual intercourse without consent with a woman incapable of resisting the act".Investigators searched and seized items from the Borg Hoiby's home.The rape charge comes after he was accused of bodily harm following a late-night row on August 4 at the Oslo apartment of a woman he was having a relationship with, police said.Norwegian media reported that police found a knife stuck in one of the woman's bedroom walls at the time.Borg Hoiby was arrested again in September for breaching a restraining order.When he was detained on Monday he was in a car with the alleged victim of the August incident, according to police.Borg Hoiby was raised by the royal couple alongside his step-siblings Princess Ingrid Alexandra, 20, and Prince Sverre Magnus, 18.Unlike them however he has no official public role.

Nov 21, 2024 - World

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as the president-elect of the country, a day after the United States officially did the same.Meloni spoke after a meeting with Argentina's President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires."Together with the European Union, we are working for a peaceful and democratic transition in Venezuela so that the preference expressed by the Venezuelan people for president-elect Gonzalez Urrutia, and their legitimate aspirations of freedom and democracy, can finally become reality," said Meloni.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken prompted a furious reaction from Caracas Tuesday when he, too, used the term "president-elect" for the first time to refer to Gonzalez Urrutia.Venezuela's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro insists he had won July elections despite the opposition saying it can provide proof of its victory in the form of a vote breakdown.Election authorities have declined to release their own detailed vote count despite domestic and international pressure.Only a handful of countries, including Venezuela ally Russia, have recognized Maduro's victory claim.He is accused of leading a harshly repressive leftist regime, with a systematic crackdown on the opposition.Far-right Meloni has twice received Edmundo Gonzalez in Italy, and self-declared "anarcho-capitalist" Milei has also recognized him as the election victor.The Italian and Argentine leaders -- both fans of US President-elect Donald Trump -- met after this week's G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, and vowed to build "a special relationship."Milei, for his part, reiterated his call for the creation of an "alliance of free nations" including the United States, Argentina, Italy and Israel.Last week, he had said the members of such an alliance would be the "custodians of the Western legacy," threatened by "the cultural hegemony of the left."

Nov 21, 2024 - World

Four foreign tourists have died after a suspected mass methanol poisoning from drinking tainted alcohol at a backpacker hotspot in Laos, Western government officials and media said Thursday.A young Australian woman was the latest confirmed death, and her friend was fighting for her life, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.Two Danish citizens and an American had also died, officials said, after what media said was a night out in Vang Vieng where they drank possibly tainted alcohol.The group of about a dozen tourists became ill after going out on November 12, according to British and Australian media."Tragically, Bianca Jones has lost her life. Our first thoughts at this moment are with her family and friends who are grieving a terrible and cruel loss," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament."We also take this moment to say that we are thinking of Bianca's friend Holly Bowles who is fighting for her life," he said, without giving further details.Holly was on "life support" in a hospital in Bangkok, her father Shaun Bowles told Australia's Nine News on Wednesday.At the Bangkok hospital where Bowles was reportedly receiving treatment, staff said they could not confirm her presence.Denmark's foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday that two Danish citizens had died in Laos, without providing further information.The Vietnamese manager of the Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng where Australian media said the two Australian women were staying has been detained for questioning, the Laos tourist police told AFP.No charges have been made, however, as police are still "investigating," an official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.- 'Unimaginable time' -The U.S. State Department also confirmed the "death of a U.S. citizen in Vang Vieng, Laos," and said it was "closely monitoring the situation and providing consular assistance."It did not give details on the date or cause of death.New Zealand's embassy in Bangkok said it had been contacted by one of its citizens "who was unwell and may be a victim of methanol poisoning in Laos".The young Australian's bereaved family said in a statement to Australia's Herald Sun newspaper that they "are comforted by the knowledge that her incredible spirit touched so many lives during her time with us"."The kindness shown to our family during this unimaginable time has been truly humbling."Vang Vieng has been a fixture on the Southeast Asia backpacker trail since Laos' secretive communist rulers opened the country to tourism decades ago.The town was once notorious for backpackers behaving badly at jungle parties and has since re-branded as an eco-tourism destination.On their travel advice websites for Laos, UK and Australian authorities warn their citizens to beware of methanol poisoning while consuming alcohol in Laos.Methanol can be added to liquor to increase its potency, but can cause blindness, liver damage and death.In neighboring Thailand, at least six people died and more than 20 were hospitalized after drinking methanol-laced bootleg alcohol in August.- Backpacker hostel -Bowles and Jones, both aged 19 from Melbourne, became unwell while staying at the Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng last week, Australian media reported.The women drank at the hostel's bar before they went out for the evening, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported.They failed to check out on November 13, when hostel staff rushed the pair to the hospital.The Facebook and Instagram pages of the hostel had been deactivated as of Thursday and it was no longer taking bookings on websites.AFP was unable to reach the hostel for comment.UK media reported one British woman was also in hospital in Bangkok after drinking in Vang Vieng.AFP has contacted the UK's embassies in Thailand and Laos for comment.

Nov 21, 2024 - World

A Philippine woman sentenced to death in Indonesia on drug charges said Thursday that she was "elated" to be returning home, after a deal brokered between the two nations.Mary Jane Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin and later sentenced to death by firing squad.The mother-of-two's case sparked an uproar in the Philippines, with her family and supporters saying she was innocent and had been set up by an international drug syndicate.On Wednesday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said she would be handed over to Manila following years of "long and difficult" negotiations."I am very elated to hear there is an opening chance for my hope to return home and be with my family," Veloso said in a written statement read by the prison warden Evi Loliancy on Thursday."I'm grateful and would like to thank everybody who keeps making efforts so I can return to my country," she said.The 39-year-old said she would utilize skills she has learned in prison, including local cloth-dying techniques, to earn money for herself and her family.Veloso's family maintained that she was duped into signing up for a non-existent job abroad as a domestic worker and was not aware the suitcase given to her by the recruiter contained hidden drugs.The Philippine government won a last-minute reprieve for Veloso in 2015 after a woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested and put on trial for human trafficking in a case in which Veloso was named as a prosecution witness.Indonesia's law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said President Prabowo Subianto had "approved the transfer", which is expected to happen next month.Philippine leader Marcos on Wednesday posted a message thanking his Indonesian counterpart.He said Veloso's "story resonates with many: a mother trapped by the grip of poverty, who made one desperate choice that altered the course of her life".

Nov 21, 2024 - World

Billionaire Indian industrialist Gautam Adani, whose business empire has been rocked by US bribery charges against him, is one of the corporate world's great survivors.The tycoon -- a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- oversees a vast conglomerate encompassing coal, airports, cement and media operations.The US court charges that he paid hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes sent his companies' shares plunging. But Adani has seen off big threats before.On New Year's Day in 1998, Adani and an associate were reportedly kidnapped by gunmen demanding a $1.5 million ransom, before being later released at an unknown location.A decade later, he was dining at Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace hotel when it was besieged by militants, who killed 160 people in one of India's worst terror attacks.Trapped with hundreds of others, Adani reportedly hid in the basement all night before he was rescued by security personnel early the next morning."I saw death at a distance of just 15 feet," he said of the experience after his private aircraft landed in his hometown Ahmedabad later that day.Adani, 62, differs from his peers among India's mega-rich, many of whom are known for throwing lavish birthday and wedding celebrations that are later splashed across newspaper gossip pages.A self-described introvert, he keeps a low profile and rarely speaks to the media, often sending lieutenants to front corporate events."I'm not a social person that wants to go to parties," he told the Financial Times in a 2013 interview.- 'Stop Adani' -Adani was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state, to a middle-class family but dropped out of school at 16 and moved to financial capital Mumbai to find work in the lucrative gems trade.After a short stint in his brother's plastics business, he launched the flagship family conglomerate that bears his name in 1988 by branching out into the export trade.His big break came seven years later with a contract to build and operate a commercial shipping port in Gujarat.It grew to become India's largest at a time when most ports were government-owned -- the legacy of a sclerotic economic planning system that impeded growth for decades and was in the process of being dismantled.Adani in 2009 expanded into coal, a lucrative sector for a country still almost totally dependent on fossil fuels to meet its energy needs, but a decision that brought greater international scrutiny as he rose rapidly up India's rich list.His purchase the following year of an untapped coal basin sparked years of "Stop Adani" protests in Australia after dismay at the project's monumental environmental impact.Similar controversies plagued his coal projects in central India, where forests home to tribal communities were cut down for mining operations.- 'Extraordinary growth' -Adani is considered to be close to Prime Minister Modi, a fellow Gujarat native, and offered the leader the use of a private company jet during the 2014 election campaign that swept him to power.The tycoon has invested in the government's strategic priorities, in recent years inaugurating a green energy business with ambitious targets.In 2022, he completed a hostile takeover of broadcaster NDTV, a television news service considered one of the few media outlets willing to outwardly criticize Modi.Adani batted away press freedom fears, but told the Financial Times that journalists should have the "courage" to say "when the government is doing the right thing every day".Last year a bombshell report from US investment firm Hindenburg Research claimed the conglomerate had engaged in a "brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades".Hindenburg said a pattern of "government leniency towards the group" stretching back decades had left investors, journalists, citizens and politicians unwilling to challenge its conduct "for fear of reprisal".Adani Group denied wrongdoing and characterized the report as a "calculated attack on India" but lost $150 billion in market capitalisation in the weeks after the report's release.Its founder saw his own net worth plunge by $60 billion over the same period, and he is now ranked by Forbes as the 25th-richest person globally.US prosecutors on Wednesday charged the tycoon and two other board members with paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes and hiding the payments from investors.The indictment accuses Adani Group's leadership of bribing Indian government officials to secure lucrative government contracts.The conglomerate and its founder have yet to respond to the charges.