NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
Seoul mayor: The official funeral for Seoul Mayor Park Wonsoon will be held online Monday because of coronavirus concerns, his funeral committee said Sunday. The announcement comes amid a heated debate over how big a funeral should be arranged for Park, 64, who was found dead Friday. He reportedly had been embroiled in sexual harassment allegations. Police said there was no sign of homicide when Park’s body was discovered. But they’ve refused to disclose the cause of his death. Seoul officials said Park’s will was found at his residence.
Residency offer: The Australian government said Sunday that it will offer around 10,000 Hong Kong passport holders currently living in Australia a chance to apply for permanent residence once their current visas expire. Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government believes China’s imposition of a new tough national security law on the semiautonomous territory means prodemocracy supporters may face political persecution. Critics view the security legislation as a further deterioration of freedoms promised to the former British colony, in response to last year’s massive protests calling for greater democracy and more police accountability. China’s foreign ministry said it reserved the right to “take further actions” in response to moves by Canberra.
Magna Carta: A judge has sentenced a man to four years for attempting to steal one of the original copies of the the Magna Carta from Salisbury Cathedral in England. Mark Royden was convicted of using a hammer to try to smash the security case holding the document on October 25, 2018. Royden failed to break the protective glass, and was tackled moments later by tourists and cathedral staff. Defense attorney Nicholas Cotter said a car accident in 1991 had “tragically” affected Royden, causing him brain damage. The 1215 charter established the principle that the king is subject to the law. It is considered the founding document of English law and civil liberties and influenced the creation of the U.S. Constitution.
Balkan talks: The European Union praised the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo on Sunday for resuming longstalled talks on normalizing their tense relations and for setting up a facetoface meeting in Brussels this week. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti held video talks mediated by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, aimed at resuscitating the BelgradePristina dialogue process, which has been frozen since November 2018. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, around a decade after Belgrade sent troops into its former territory to crush an uprising by ethnic Albanian separatists. Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo’s statehood. Borrell said clinching an agreement on normalizing ties is crucial for the security and stability of the region.
Hagia Sophia: Pope Francis said Sunday that he is “deeply pained” over the decision by Turkey to change the status of Hagia Sophia — which was originally built in Istanbul as a Christian cathedral — from a museum to a mosque. Francis noted that the Catholic Church marked Sunday as International Day of the Sea. “And the sea brings me a little far away with my thought: to Istanbul,” the pontiff said. “I am thinking of St. Sophia and I am deeply pained.” Francis was referring to the move last week by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to convert the monumental building back into a mosque. The colossal Santa Sophia cathedral was turned into a mosque after the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453. The Turkish secular government in 1934 decided to make it a museum.
Chronicle News Services