Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin

Merkel spy uncovered

-

A MAN who worked in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s press office is suspected of having spied for Egypt, a government report released on Friday (AEST) claims.

Police carried out “executive measures” against the man in December after he was found to have “worked for years for an Egyptian intelligen­ce service”, the report says.

It also reveals that the main tasks of Egyptian secret service agents operating in Germany include gathering informatio­n about members of religious groups such as the Muslim Brotherhoo­d.

PARK Won-soon, the powerful and outspoken mayor of Seoul and a potential South Korean presidenti­al candidate, was found dead on Friday after a suspected suicide. He was 64.

Mr Park’s body was found on a mountain north of the city, police said, after his family had reported him missing, sparking a frantic search by hundreds of officers.

Police said no suicide note was found, but Yonhap news agency reported that he was “presumed to have taken his own life”.

A former Seoul City employee had filed a police complaint against him, allegedly involving sexual harassment. Mr Park’s daughter contacted police on Thursday, saying her father had been unreachabl­e. He left a message that sounded like “last words” and his phone had been turned off, she said.

A leading figure in the country’s ruling Democratic party, Mr Park was a favoured candidate to succeed President Moon Jae-in. He did not deny his presidenti­al ambitions in an interview earlier this year.

 ?? Pictures: GETTY, AFP ?? The body of Seoul's mayor is removed from a mountain, and (inset) Mr Park Won-soon.
Pictures: GETTY, AFP The body of Seoul's mayor is removed from a mountain, and (inset) Mr Park Won-soon.
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Australia