International
Parasite actor Lee Sun-kyun found dead in Seoul

South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, best known for his role in the Oscar-winning film ”Parasite”, was found dead Wednesday, police said. He was 48.
The actor was found inside a vehicle parked on the street in Seoul’s mid-northern Seongbuk district, an official from the Seongbuk police station told AFP.
“We believe his body has now been transferred to the Seoul National University Hospital,” he added.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing police, that Lee had left a “note that reads like a will”.
Lee Sun-Kyun had been under police investigation over his alleged use of marijuana and other drugs.
Once celebrated for his wholesome image, local news outlets reported that the actor was being dropped from television and commercial projects following the scandal.
A graduate of South Korea’s prestigious Korea National University of Arts, Lee made his acting debut in 2001 in a television sitcom titled “Lovers”.
He later won acclaim for his performances in a variety of roles, including a charismatic chef and a genius neuroscientist who is incapable of empathy.
Lee received widespread critical acclaim for his performance in the 2018 TV drama series “My Mister”, for his portrayal of a diligent architectural engineer who, despite facing personal turmoil, steadfastly upheld his sense of responsibility as both an adult and a professional.
Globally, he is best known for his portrayal of the wealthy and shallow patriarch in director Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 Oscar-winning film “Parasite”.
He was also recognised for his performances in romance flicks, such as 2007 TV drama “Coffee Prince” and the 2012 film “All About My Wife”.
His last film, this year’s horror flick “Sleep” — in which he played a husband whose sleepwalking eventually leads to terrifying circumstances — was well-received and featured in the Critics’ Week section at the Cannes festival.
Devastated fans expressed their grief on social media, with one user writing on X: “I laughed and cried a lot while watching your acting. Thank you.”
Renowned Korean-American writer Min Jin Lee joined others in expressing their condolences.
“Lee was praiseworthy in ‘Parasite’ and exceptional in ‘My Mister,’” she wrote on Instagram.
“May he be remembered for his excellent work and creative gifts.”
– ‘Great disappointment’ –
Lee’s reputation suffered a significant blow when South Korean authorities launched an investigation into his alleged drug use in October.
He had been suspected of using illicit drugs at the residence of a hostess employed at a high-end bar in Seoul’s glamorous Gangnam district.
According to Yonhap, the actor asserted that he was “tricked” by the hostess into consuming the drugs and was unaware of their illegal nature.
From December 23 to 24, he attended his third police investigation session, which lasted 19 hours, Yonhap reported.
He briefly spoke to reporters in late October before entering a police station in Incheon to meet with investigators.
“I sincerely apologise for causing great disappointment to many people by being involved in such an unpleasant incident,” he said at the time.
“I feel sorry for my family, which is enduring such difficult pain at this moment.
“Once again, I sincerely apologise to everyone.”
South Korea has extremely tough laws on illegal drugs, with Koreans who take drugs such as marijuana legally abroad risking prosecution upon returning to their home country.
Lee Sun-Kyun is survived by his wife, actress Jeon Hye-jin and two sons.
Crime
Indonesia to Repatriate British Grandmother on Death Row, Says Official

Indonesia will sign an agreement on Tuesday to repatriate two British nationals convicted of drug-related crimes, including Lindsay Sandiford, a grandmother sentenced to death, according to a senior Indonesian government source.
“The practical arrangement will be signed today. The transfer will be done immediately after the technical side is agreed,” the official told AFP, naming Sandiford and Shahab Shahabadi, 35, as the individuals to be returned to the UK.
Sandiford was sentenced to death in 2013 after she was caught smuggling cocaine worth over $2.1 million into Bali from Thailand. The drugs were discovered concealed in a false bottom of her suitcase. Shahabadi, arrested in 2014, is currently serving a life sentence for separate drug offences.
Although the Indonesian source listed Sandiford’s age as 68, public records indicate she is 69.
A joint press conference with Indonesian officials and the British ambassador to Indonesia was scheduled for later Tuesday, according to the Coordinating Ministry for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Affairs.
Tabloid Attention and Personal Testimony
Sandiford’s case received widespread attention in the UK after she admitted to the offences but claimed she was coerced by a drug syndicate that threatened to kill her son. In a 2015 article published in The Mail on Sunday, Sandiford wrote from prison about her fear of imminent execution:
“My execution is imminent, and I know I might die at any time now. I could be taken tomorrow from my cell. I have started to write goodbye letters to members of my family.”
Originally from Redcar, in northeast England, she also wrote that she planned to sing the Perry Como hit “Magic Moments” before facing the firing squad.
During her time in prison, Sandiford reportedly became close friends with Andrew Chan, one of the “Bali Nine” Australian drug smugglers who was executed in 2015.
Policy Shift on Repatriation
The planned transfer follows recent moves by the Prabowo Subianto administration to repatriate foreign nationals serving harsh sentences for drug crimes. In December 2024, Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina who spent nearly 15 years on death row, was allowed to return home. In February 2025, Serge Atlaoui, a French national, was repatriated after 18 years on death row.
Indonesia, known for having some of the world’s strictest drug laws, last carried out executions in 2016, when three Nigerian citizens and an Indonesian were executed by firing squad. As of early November 2025, more than 90 foreign nationals remain on death row in the country, all for drug-related offences.
The British Embassy in Jakarta declined to comment, directing inquiries to the Indonesian government.
Indonesian authorities have recently signalled the potential resumption of executions, after nearly a decade-long de facto moratorium.
International
Protest in US over Trump’s policies
Organisers said seven million people marched in protests spanning New York to Los Angeles, with demonstrations popping up in small cities across the US heartland and even near Trump’s home in Florida.

(AFP): Huge crowds took to the streets in all 50 US states at “No Kings” protests over the weekend, venting anger over President Donald Trump’s hardline policies, while Republicans ridiculed them as “Hate America” rallies.
Organisers said seven million people marched in protests spanning New York to Los Angeles, with demonstrations popping up in small cities across the US heartland and even near Trump’s home in Florida.
“This is what democracy looks like!” chanted thousands in Washington near the US Capitol, where the federal government was shut down for a third week because of a legislative deadlock.
Colourful signs called on people to “protect democracy,” while others demanded the country abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency at the centre of Trump’s anti-immigrant crackdown.
Demonstrators slammed what they called the Republican billionaire’s strong-arm tactics, including attacks on the media, political opponents and undocumented immigrants.
“I never thought I would live to see the death of my country as a democracy,” 69-year-old retiree Colleen Hoffman told AFP as she marched down Broadway in New York.
International
Thieves steal French crown jewels
They included the emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon gave his wife Empress Marie Louise, and the diadem of Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III.

•A tiara worn by the Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III was stolen
Thieves wielding power tools raided the Louvre in broad daylight Sunday, taking just seven minutes to grab some of France’s priceless crown jewels, but dropping a gem-encrusted crown as they fled, officials and sources said.
Authorities recovered the 19th-century crown — damaged — near the museum.
The spectacular heist, one of several to target French museums in recent months, forced the closure of the Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum and home to the Mona Lisa.
Police are looking for a team of four thieves, Paris’s chief prosecutor Laure Beccuau, told the BFMTV channel.
Soldiers patrolled the famed glass pyramid entrance, while evacuated visitors, tourists and passersby were kept at a distance behind police tape.
It was “like a Hollywood movie”, one American tourist, Talia Ocampo, told AFP.
It was “crazy” and “something we won’t forget — we could not go to the Louvre because there was a robbery”, she said.
A culture ministry statement said eight items of jewellery had been stolen from the Gallerie Apollon which houses the French crown jewels.
“Two high-security display cases were targeted, and eight objects of invaluable cultural heritage were stolen,” said the ministry statement.
They included the emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon gave his wife Empress Marie Louise, and the diadem of Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III.
Beccuau said the thieves threatened museum guards with the angle grinders they used to break into the jewellery cases. She said a team of 60 investigators were assigned to the crime.
– ‘Unsellable’ –
The robbers used a powered, extendable ladder of the sort used to hoist furniture into buildings to get into a gilded gallery housing the crown jewels, sources and officials said.
The 19th-century crown of Empress Eugenie, was found broken near the museum afterwards, a source following the robbery said, asking to remain anonymous because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
The crown, featuring golden eagles, is covered in 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, according to the museum’s website.
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