Vietnam War survivor to get compensation, SKorean court orders
SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean court on Tuesday ordered the government to pay $24,000 to a Vietnamese woman who survived a gunshot wound but lost several relatives when South Korean marines rampaged through her village during the Vietnam War in 1968.
In awarding the compensation to Nguyen Thi Thanh, 62, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the government’s argument that it was unclear whether South Korean troops were responsible for the slaughter in the village of Phong Nhi in central Vietnam.
The court also rejected the government’s argument that civilian killings were unavoidable because the South Korean troops were dealing with Viet Cong guerrillas who often blended with villagers, according to Thanh’s lawyer, Lim Jae-sung. The government’s lawyers were also unsuccessful in invoking a statute of limitations.
The ruling marks the first time a South Korean court has found the government responsible for mass killings of Vietnamese civilians during the war and could open the way for similar lawsuits.
Then ruled by anti-communist military leaders, South Korea sent over 320,000 troops to Vietnam, the largest foreign contingent fighting alongside U.S. troops.
The government has never officially acknowledged responsibility for civilian massacres linked to South Korean soldiers in Vietnam, which some experts say were possibly responsible for thousands of deaths. Those atrocities haven’t meaningfully affected official relations with Vietnam, whose growing economy benefits from South Korean investment.
According to U.S. military documents and survivors, over 70 people were killed and around 20 others injured when South Korean marines allegedly fired at unarmed civilians as they swept through Phong Nhi and nearby Phong Nhut on Feb. 12, 1968. The action came after least one South Korean soldier was injured by nearby enemy fire.
Thanh was treated for gunshot wounds in her stomach while five of her family members died.
Tyre Nichols: Thirteen Memphis officers could end up being disciplined in connection with the violent arrest of Tyre Nichols, officials said Tuesday, as city council members expressed frustration with the police and fire chiefs during a meeting for not moving quickly on policy reforms following the brutal beating.
Six officers have been fired and one more relieved of duty after Nichols was pulled over for an alleged traffic violation and beaten by Memphis police. Prosecutors say the Jan. 7 arrest — captured on police video cameras — led to Nichols’ death three days later.
Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Sink told the council that the number of officers disciplined for policy violations could rise to 13. Police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph said six officers whose involvement has not been publicly disclosed could face administrative charges.
Ex-UK officer sentenced: A former London police officer was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison with a minimum term of 30 years for raping and sexually assaulting a dozen women over a 17-year period.
David Carrick, 48, admitted last month he was a serial rapist in what prosecutors described as one of the most shocking cases involving a serving police officer.
Carrick, who joined the force in 2001, pleaded guilty to 49 offenses including 24 counts of rape and charges including assault, attempted rape and false imprisonment. His crimes took place between 2003 and 2020.
During sentencing, Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said the former officer “took monstrous advantage of women.”
IS sniper trial: A former New York stockbroker-turned-Islamic State group militant was convicted Tuesday of becoming a sniper and trainer for the extremist group during its brutal reign in Syria and Iraq.
The trial of Ruslan Asainov, a Kazakh-born U.S. citizen, was the latest in a series of cases against people accused of leaving
their homelands to join militants in combat.
Asainov, 46, converted to Islam around 2009 and later quit his job and started watching radical sermons online, his ex-wife testified. He left his family in Brooklyn in December 2013 and made his way to Syria as IS stormed to power.
In a case built largely on Asainov’s own words in messaging apps, emails, recorded phone calls and an FBI interview, prosecutors said he fought in numerous battles and built a notable profile in IS by becoming a sniper and later an instructor of nearly 100 other longrange shooters.
His lawyers argued that his accounts of his role were boasts that had no firsthand corroboration and didn’t prove anyone died because of his conduct.
French pension reform:
Hundreds of thousands in France marched in a third round of protests Tuesday against planned pension
reforms, while new nationwide strikes disrupted public transport and schools, as well as power, oil and gas supplies.
Turnout at the demonstrations was lower than on previous occasions.
Train passengers were expected to face more delays Wednesday, with two rail unions calling to extend their strike by 24 hours.
The protests came a day after lawmakers began debating a pension bill that would raise the minimum retirement from 62 to 64. The bill is the flagship legislation of President Emmanuel Macron’s second term.
Over 750,000 people marched in Paris, Nice, Marseille, Toulouse, Nantes and elsewhere, according to the Interior Ministry.
A Nicaraguan court sentenced four Roman Catholic priests to 10 years in prison on conspiracy charges stemming from long-standing government allegations that the church
Priests sentenced:
backed illegal pro-democracy protests.
A human rights group in the country denounced the sentences handed down Monday.
It was the latest chapter in a crackdown on the church by President Daniel Ortega. The priests were convicted in closed-door trials in which government-appointed defenders acted as the priests’ attorneys.
The priests had worked with Matagalpa Bishop Rolando Alvarez, and one had been rector of Juan Pablo II University in the capital of Managua.
Alvarez is under house arrest on charges of conspiracy and “damaging the Nicaraguan government and society,” and is set to be sentenced soon.
Two seminary students and a cameraman who worked for the diocese were also sentenced. All six of the defendants were arrested last year, and all were stripped of the right to ever hold political office.