US Senate confirms Tulsi Gabbard as Trump’s director of national intelligence
By Associated Press
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as US President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence after Republicans who had initially questioned her experience and judgment fell in line behind her nomination.
Gabbard was an unconventional pick to oversee and coordinate the country’s 18 different intelligence agencies, given her past comments sympathetic to Russia, a meeting she held with now-deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and her previous support for government leaker Edward Snowden.
Gabbard, a military veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, was confirmed by a 52-48 vote, with Democrats opposed in the sharply divided Senate where Republicans hold a slim majority. The only “no” vote from a Republican came from Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
She will take over the top intelligence post as Trump works to reshape vast portions of the federal government.
Intelligence agencies including the CIA have issued voluntary resignation offers to staff, while cybersecurity experts have raised concerns about Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency gaining access to sensitive government databases containing information about intelligence operations.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created to address intelligence failures exposed by the September 11 attacks. Republicans have increasingly criticised the office, saying it has grown too large and politicised. Trump himself has long viewed the nation’s intelligence services with suspicion.
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By Associated Press
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as US President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence after Republicans who had initially questioned her experience and judgment fell in line behind her nomination.
Gabbard was an unconventional pick to oversee and coordinate the country’s 18 different intelligence agencies, given her past comments sympathetic to Russia, a meeting she held with now-deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and her previous support for government leaker Edward Snowden.
Gabbard, a military veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, was confirmed by a 52-48 vote, with Democrats opposed in the sharply divided Senate where Republicans hold a slim majority. The only “no” vote from a Republican came from Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
She will take over the top intelligence post as Trump works to reshape vast portions of the federal government.
Intelligence agencies including the CIA have issued voluntary resignation offers to staff, while cybersecurity experts have raised concerns about Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency gaining access to sensitive government databases containing information about intelligence operations.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created to address intelligence failures exposed by the September 11 attacks. Republicans have increasingly criticised the office, saying it has grown too large and politicised. Trump himself has long viewed the nation’s intelligence services with suspicion.
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Triad member held in Hong Kong cell with other gangsters found dead
By Danny Mok
A triad gang member charged with robbery and detained with two alleged accomplices from another gang was found dead in a detention cell they shared at Yuen Long Police Station in Hong Kong on Wednesday, prompting an investigation.
The deceased, a 44-year-old man surnamed Wong, had ties with the Wo Shing Wo triad gang. His cellmates, an 18-year-old man and a 20-year-old man, were affiliated with the Sun Yee On triad gang, a police source said.
All three were suspected to have been involved in a robbery early on Sunday in Tin Shui Wai. A 75-year-old man exercising alone at Tin Ching Estate was struck in the head with a plastic bottle and fell. He was then kicked and his wallet containing about HK$1,000 (US$128) stolen.
The three suspects were arrested the same day, later charged and taken to Tuen Mun Court on Tuesday.
They were then remanded in custody at the station for identification parade.
On Wednesday evening, the three men were being held in the same cell at the station. At dinner time, Wong was found unconscious and later confirmed dead.
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By Danny Mok
A triad gang member charged with robbery and detained with two alleged accomplices from another gang was found dead in a detention cell they shared at Yuen Long Police Station in Hong Kong on Wednesday, prompting an investigation.
The deceased, a 44-year-old man surnamed Wong, had ties with the Wo Shing Wo triad gang. His cellmates, an 18-year-old man and a 20-year-old man, were affiliated with the Sun Yee On triad gang, a police source said.
All three were suspected to have been involved in a robbery early on Sunday in Tin Shui Wai. A 75-year-old man exercising alone at Tin Ching Estate was struck in the head with a plastic bottle and fell. He was then kicked and his wallet containing about HK$1,000 (US$128) stolen.
The three suspects were arrested the same day, later charged and taken to Tuen Mun Court on Tuesday.
They were then remanded in custody at the station for identification parade.
On Wednesday evening, the three men were being held in the same cell at the station. At dinner time, Wong was found unconscious and later confirmed dead.
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Nato membership for Ukraine, return to 2014 borders ‘unrealistic’, says US defence chief
By Associated PressReuters
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Nato membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and in sweeping remarks suggested that the way forward for Kyiv was for the country to abandon hopes of a return to its pre-2014 borders and prepare for a negotiated settlement with Russia – one that should be backed up with an international force of troops.
“We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” Hegseth told the meeting of more than 40 countries allied to Ukraine.
“Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” he added.
Hegseth made the comments on Wednesday during the first trip to Nato and the Ukraine Defence Contact Group by a member of the new Trump administration. Allies have been waiting to hear how much continued military and financial support Washington intends to provide to Ukraine’s government.
What they heard was that US President Donald Trump is intent on getting Europe to assume most of the financial and military responsibilities for the defence of Ukraine – to include a possible peacekeeping force that would not include US troops – and that Hegseth said should not have Article Five protections if those troops end up in contact with Russian forces.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 and then backed pro-Russian separatists in an armed insurgency against Kyiv’s forces in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine.
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By Associated PressReuters
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Nato membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and in sweeping remarks suggested that the way forward for Kyiv was for the country to abandon hopes of a return to its pre-2014 borders and prepare for a negotiated settlement with Russia – one that should be backed up with an international force of troops.
“We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” Hegseth told the meeting of more than 40 countries allied to Ukraine.
“Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering,” he added.
Hegseth made the comments on Wednesday during the first trip to Nato and the Ukraine Defence Contact Group by a member of the new Trump administration. Allies have been waiting to hear how much continued military and financial support Washington intends to provide to Ukraine’s government.
What they heard was that US President Donald Trump is intent on getting Europe to assume most of the financial and military responsibilities for the defence of Ukraine – to include a possible peacekeeping force that would not include US troops – and that Hegseth said should not have Article Five protections if those troops end up in contact with Russian forces.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 and then backed pro-Russian separatists in an armed insurgency against Kyiv’s forces in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine.
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After power cuts to scam factories, Malaysians ask for more to be done to get family home
By Hadi Azmi
A week after Thailand cut power to several Myanmar towns hosting scam compounds, the families of Malaysians still trapped inside have urged the kingdom to turn up the pressure on the cyber fraud bosses to force them to release relatives tricked into scamming.
Gathered outside the Thai embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, dozens of family members called on Bangkok to work with its Southeast Asian neighbours to smash the job scam syndicates that have lured tens of thousands of people – most of them against their will – into online fraud.
Thailand last week cut electricity, internet access and oil supplies to five areas in Myanmar suspected of hosting cyber scam operations, under pressure from China.
The crackdown followed the high-profile rescue of a Chinese actor, who said he was tricked into travelling to Thailand only to be whisked against his will across the border into a scam compound in Myanmar’s Myawaddy area.
More than 250 people rescued from the online scam centres in Myanmar were handed over to Thailand on Wednesday, Thai officials said.
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By Hadi Azmi
A week after Thailand cut power to several Myanmar towns hosting scam compounds, the families of Malaysians still trapped inside have urged the kingdom to turn up the pressure on the cyber fraud bosses to force them to release relatives tricked into scamming.
Gathered outside the Thai embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, dozens of family members called on Bangkok to work with its Southeast Asian neighbours to smash the job scam syndicates that have lured tens of thousands of people – most of them against their will – into online fraud.
Thailand last week cut electricity, internet access and oil supplies to five areas in Myanmar suspected of hosting cyber scam operations, under pressure from China.
The crackdown followed the high-profile rescue of a Chinese actor, who said he was tricked into travelling to Thailand only to be whisked against his will across the border into a scam compound in Myanmar’s Myawaddy area.
More than 250 people rescued from the online scam centres in Myanmar were handed over to Thailand on Wednesday, Thai officials said.
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Christian and Jewish groups sue Trump over immigration raids, worship arrests policy
By Associated Press
More than two-dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans – ranging from the Episcopal Church and the Union for Reform Judaism to the Mennonites and Unitarian Universalists – filed a federal court lawsuit on Tuesday challenging a Trump administration move giving immigration agents more leeway to make arrests at houses of worship.
The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Washington, contends that the new policy is spreading fear of raids, thus lowering attendance at worship services and other valuable church programmes. The result, says the suit, infringes on the groups’ religious freedom – namely their ability to minister to migrants, including those in the United States illegally.
“We have immigrants, refugees, people who are documented and undocumented,” said Reverend Sean Rowe, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.
“We cannot worship freely if some of us are living in fear,” he said. “By joining this lawsuit, we’re seeking the ability to gather and fully practice our faith, to follow Jesus’ command to love our neighbours as ourselves.”
The new lawsuit echoed and expanded on some arguments made in a similar lawsuit filed on January 27 by five Quaker congregations and later joined by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and a Sikh temple. It is currently pending in US District Court in Maryland.
Named as defendants in the new lawsuit are the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its immigration enforcement agencies. The DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, Tricia McLaughlin, offered this response via email: “We are protecting our schools, places of worship, and Americans who attend, by preventing criminal aliens and gang members from exploiting these locations and take safe haven there because these criminals knew that under the previous Administration that law enforcement couldn’t go inside.”
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By Associated Press
More than two-dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans – ranging from the Episcopal Church and the Union for Reform Judaism to the Mennonites and Unitarian Universalists – filed a federal court lawsuit on Tuesday challenging a Trump administration move giving immigration agents more leeway to make arrests at houses of worship.
The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Washington, contends that the new policy is spreading fear of raids, thus lowering attendance at worship services and other valuable church programmes. The result, says the suit, infringes on the groups’ religious freedom – namely their ability to minister to migrants, including those in the United States illegally.
“We have immigrants, refugees, people who are documented and undocumented,” said Reverend Sean Rowe, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.
“We cannot worship freely if some of us are living in fear,” he said. “By joining this lawsuit, we’re seeking the ability to gather and fully practice our faith, to follow Jesus’ command to love our neighbours as ourselves.”
The new lawsuit echoed and expanded on some arguments made in a similar lawsuit filed on January 27 by five Quaker congregations and later joined by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and a Sikh temple. It is currently pending in US District Court in Maryland.
Named as defendants in the new lawsuit are the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its immigration enforcement agencies. The DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, Tricia McLaughlin, offered this response via email: “We are protecting our schools, places of worship, and Americans who attend, by preventing criminal aliens and gang members from exploiting these locations and take safe haven there because these criminals knew that under the previous Administration that law enforcement couldn’t go inside.”
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Abby Choi’s ex-husband wanted yacht out of Hong Kong at any cost, court hears
By Emily HungJess Ma
A defendant accused of trying to help the ex-husband of slain model Abby Choi Tin-fung flee Hong Kong has said she was told to arrange a yacht “as soon as possible” and at any cost, with a fee of HK$300,000 (US$38,500) being quoted at one point.
But Irene Pun Hau-yin denied in Kowloon City Court on Wednesday that she knew she was aiding murder suspect Alex Kwong Kong-chi.
The defendant said she was suspicious of the identity of the man seeking to rent a yacht with the help of Pun’s friend, identified only as Ivy. Pun added that Ivy had approached her on February 24, 2023.
“But being suspicious doesn’t mean someone is a criminal. He might simply have had some difficulties,” she said.
Pun said that she had become close friends with Ivy between 2015 and 2016, adding that she had sometimes stayed at Ivy’s residence in Taipa, Macau. Ivy has been named in case details but is not a defendant in the trial.
The court heard that Ivy had asked Pun to connect her with the other defendant, Lam Shun, who was a yacht rental agent at the time.
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By Emily HungJess Ma
A defendant accused of trying to help the ex-husband of slain model Abby Choi Tin-fung flee Hong Kong has said she was told to arrange a yacht “as soon as possible” and at any cost, with a fee of HK$300,000 (US$38,500) being quoted at one point.
But Irene Pun Hau-yin denied in Kowloon City Court on Wednesday that she knew she was aiding murder suspect Alex Kwong Kong-chi.
The defendant said she was suspicious of the identity of the man seeking to rent a yacht with the help of Pun’s friend, identified only as Ivy. Pun added that Ivy had approached her on February 24, 2023.
“But being suspicious doesn’t mean someone is a criminal. He might simply have had some difficulties,” she said.
Pun said that she had become close friends with Ivy between 2015 and 2016, adding that she had sometimes stayed at Ivy’s residence in Taipa, Macau. Ivy has been named in case details but is not a defendant in the trial.
The court heard that Ivy had asked Pun to connect her with the other defendant, Lam Shun, who was a yacht rental agent at the time.
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Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China and economy stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
Beijing has condemned Taiwan’s ruling party for ordering a ban on DeepSeek in government departments and public schools, while calling for cross-strait cooperation on artificial intelligence.
Tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea may be next on the agenda for US President Donald Trump as he looks to punish other nations with trade surpluses following a hike in Chinese duties, analysts said – though higher US tariffs on those countries could strengthen intra-Asian trade and help Chinese exporters.
Competition in space between the US and China could be about to intensify, with US President Donald Trump’s picks to lead the United States Air Force notable for their strong backgrounds in the field, according to analysts.Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
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Can DeepSeek’s Liang Wenfeng stay true to his AI ideals?
By Audrey Jiajia Li
Almost 20 years ago, when I was a computing undergraduate, my seniors often said that for a good programmer, putting people first was the simplest, most fundamental principle. The software we write, whether for the back end of a complex system or a protocol used only by developers, ultimately serves people.
The recent emergence of R1, the open-source reasoning model from DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up, made me think of this again.
DeepSeek’s team is small compared to many of its American AI peers, and reportedly entirely local. Using less- efficient graphics processing unit hardware, they managed to train an AI model in less than two months – the V3 unveiled last December – and both its large language models (LLMs) perform on a par with well-established models. DeepSeek’s achievements were nothing short of a Lunar New Year miracle.
Before this, AI was seen as an exclusive game for top-tier companies with unlimited resources. That perception has been overturned. Suddenly, the AI race is no longer just about who has the most resources but about who can innovate better. As DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng put it, “we accidentally became a catfish” – stirring up the industry.
What I find astonishing is not just their innovation under constraints or their ability to achieve more with less, but their stunning choice to freely share their work. Not only is DeepSeek’s open-source code free to use but it has also published research papers explaining the development process.
Transparency and openness are the cornerstones of the internet. Yet people had become accustomed to proprietary LLMs as black boxes: we had no idea how they work. DeepSeek is disrupting this.
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By Audrey Jiajia Li
Almost 20 years ago, when I was a computing undergraduate, my seniors often said that for a good programmer, putting people first was the simplest, most fundamental principle. The software we write, whether for the back end of a complex system or a protocol used only by developers, ultimately serves people.
The recent emergence of R1, the open-source reasoning model from DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up, made me think of this again.
DeepSeek’s team is small compared to many of its American AI peers, and reportedly entirely local. Using less- efficient graphics processing unit hardware, they managed to train an AI model in less than two months – the V3 unveiled last December – and both its large language models (LLMs) perform on a par with well-established models. DeepSeek’s achievements were nothing short of a Lunar New Year miracle.
Before this, AI was seen as an exclusive game for top-tier companies with unlimited resources. That perception has been overturned. Suddenly, the AI race is no longer just about who has the most resources but about who can innovate better. As DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng put it, “we accidentally became a catfish” – stirring up the industry.
What I find astonishing is not just their innovation under constraints or their ability to achieve more with less, but their stunning choice to freely share their work. Not only is DeepSeek’s open-source code free to use but it has also published research papers explaining the development process.
Transparency and openness are the cornerstones of the internet. Yet people had become accustomed to proprietary LLMs as black boxes: we had no idea how they work. DeepSeek is disrupting this.
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Chinese defence industry exec Liu Weidong under investigation for alleged corruption
By Meredith Chen
The deputy head of a major state-owned ordnance equipment manufacturer has become the latest defence boss targeted by China’s far-reaching anti-corruption campaign.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced on Wednesday that Liu Weidong, deputy general manager of China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC), was under investigation on suspicion of “serious violations of Communist Party discipline and the law” – which is usually a reference to corruption.
CSGC, also known as China Ordnance Equipment Group Corporation, is a leading producer of armaments for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and was listed as a Fortune 500 company for many years.
It was ranked 28th in 2023 among the world’s top arms-producing and military services companies by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a Swedish think tank, in its annual report published in December.
Liu is a senior engineer at the research fellow level, and before being appointed CSGC deputy general manager in 2018, he worked mainly in the car industry, including at Dongfeng Motor Corporation, a major state-owned carmaker.
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By Meredith Chen
The deputy head of a major state-owned ordnance equipment manufacturer has become the latest defence boss targeted by China’s far-reaching anti-corruption campaign.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced on Wednesday that Liu Weidong, deputy general manager of China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC), was under investigation on suspicion of “serious violations of Communist Party discipline and the law” – which is usually a reference to corruption.
CSGC, also known as China Ordnance Equipment Group Corporation, is a leading producer of armaments for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and was listed as a Fortune 500 company for many years.
It was ranked 28th in 2023 among the world’s top arms-producing and military services companies by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a Swedish think tank, in its annual report published in December.
Liu is a senior engineer at the research fellow level, and before being appointed CSGC deputy general manager in 2018, he worked mainly in the car industry, including at Dongfeng Motor Corporation, a major state-owned carmaker.
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Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai denies op-ed piece pushed for sanctions on then-city leader
By Fiona Chow
Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has defended the publication of an opinion piece that discussed US sanctions against a former chief executive in his now-defunct tabloid newspaper after the enactment of the national security law, saying the piece was not advocating penalties.
Prosecutors grilled Lai on Wednesday about the piece headlined “Will US sanction Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor?” published in Apple Daily on July 18, 2020, after the national security law took effect on June 30 of that year.
The author asked readers to consider past sanctions imposed on Chinese officials in charge of Xinjiang in the far west of mainland China and raised the question of whether then-city leader Cheng would face the same treatment.
Deputy Director of Prosecutions Anthony Chau Tin-hang questioned whether Lai and seniors management figures, including editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee and editor-in-chief Ryan Law Wai-kwong, had either overlooked the op-ed piece or reached a “consensus” to publish content mentioning sanctions even after the new law had been passed.
Lai, 77, is contesting two conspiracy charges of collusion with foreign forces and a third of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications. Yeung and Law were prosecuted along with their former boss and earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.
In earlier testimony, Lai said he had been “cautious” over the terms of the national security law and was aware that calling for foreign authorities to impose sanctions against Hong Kong and the mainland would “cross the red line”.
He repeated that position on Wednesday and explained he thought the piece in question was not purporting to advocate for sanctions but rather touched upon some penalties imposed in the past.
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By Fiona Chow
Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has defended the publication of an opinion piece that discussed US sanctions against a former chief executive in his now-defunct tabloid newspaper after the enactment of the national security law, saying the piece was not advocating penalties.
Prosecutors grilled Lai on Wednesday about the piece headlined “Will US sanction Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor?” published in Apple Daily on July 18, 2020, after the national security law took effect on June 30 of that year.
The author asked readers to consider past sanctions imposed on Chinese officials in charge of Xinjiang in the far west of mainland China and raised the question of whether then-city leader Cheng would face the same treatment.
Deputy Director of Prosecutions Anthony Chau Tin-hang questioned whether Lai and seniors management figures, including editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee and editor-in-chief Ryan Law Wai-kwong, had either overlooked the op-ed piece or reached a “consensus” to publish content mentioning sanctions even after the new law had been passed.
Lai, 77, is contesting two conspiracy charges of collusion with foreign forces and a third of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications. Yeung and Law were prosecuted along with their former boss and earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.
In earlier testimony, Lai said he had been “cautious” over the terms of the national security law and was aware that calling for foreign authorities to impose sanctions against Hong Kong and the mainland would “cross the red line”.
He repeated that position on Wednesday and explained he thought the piece in question was not purporting to advocate for sanctions but rather touched upon some penalties imposed in the past.
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In the US-China battle for critical minerals, where will Australia stand?
By Kandy Wong
When Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese discussed trade issues with US President Donald Trump earlier this week, the call quickly sparked the concern of another key partner: China.
Australia holds huge reserves of critical minerals coveted by both Beijing and Washington. And as tensions between the two powers rise, Canberra is increasingly getting stuck in the middle.
The US is not only a major trade partner and source of investment for Australia, it is also an ally that recently tightened military ties with Canberra via the Aukus trilateral security partnership.
But China, too, has massive investments in the Oceanic nation and has been working in recent years to restore economic ties with Australia that were disrupted during the administration of Scott Morrison, the hawkish former prime minister.
For Beijing, there is a persistent worry that Chinese companies could find themselves shut out of the Australian market as business and economic matters increasingly become entangled with security issues.
And those concerns intensified on Tuesday, after Albanese and Trump spoke about the possibility of the US granting Australia an exemption to its newly announced 25 per cent tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium.
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By Kandy Wong
When Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese discussed trade issues with US President Donald Trump earlier this week, the call quickly sparked the concern of another key partner: China.
Australia holds huge reserves of critical minerals coveted by both Beijing and Washington. And as tensions between the two powers rise, Canberra is increasingly getting stuck in the middle.
The US is not only a major trade partner and source of investment for Australia, it is also an ally that recently tightened military ties with Canberra via the Aukus trilateral security partnership.
But China, too, has massive investments in the Oceanic nation and has been working in recent years to restore economic ties with Australia that were disrupted during the administration of Scott Morrison, the hawkish former prime minister.
For Beijing, there is a persistent worry that Chinese companies could find themselves shut out of the Australian market as business and economic matters increasingly become entangled with security issues.
And those concerns intensified on Tuesday, after Albanese and Trump spoke about the possibility of the US granting Australia an exemption to its newly announced 25 per cent tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium.
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By Zhao Ziwen
At least six people died after a bus caught fire on a highway in southern China on Wednesday morning.
Authorities in Huaiji county in Guangdong province said the blaze occurred in Qiashui, a township administered by the city of Zhaoqing.
“At 9.40am on February 12, a bus caught fire on County Road 813 in Qiashui township, Huaiji county, killing six people and injuring some passengers,” the county government said.
“The injured have been sent to hospital for treatment but are not in a life-threatening condition.”
The incident was under investigation, it said.The remains of a deadly bus fire in southern China on Wednesday. Photo: QQ.com
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‘Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’: Danes petition to buy California as Trump seeks Greenland
By Associated Press
A lighthearted Danish petition to buy the state of California and “bring hygge to Hollywood” has been launched in response to President Donald Trump’s talk about taking control of Greenland, a vast and mineral-rich Arctic island, from Denmark.
“Have you ever looked at a map and thought, ‘You know what Denmark needs? More sunshine, palm trees, and roller skates,’” the petition asks. “Well, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make that dream a reality.”
The petition’s website claimed more than 200,000 signatures on Wednesday, with a goal of 500,000 signers, as well as “US$1 trillion (give or take a few billion). That’s just 200,000 kroner (US$27,800) from every Dane.” It’s not clear how long the petition has been running, and a representative did not immediately return a request for comment.
“It is in the national interest to promote the extraordinary heritage of our Nation, so California will become New Denmark. Los Angeles? More like Løs Ångeles,” the petition states.
While Løs Ångeles is a joke, another very Danish city in Southern California is real. Known as “the Danish capital of America,” Solvang was founded by three immigrants from Denmark in 1911.
The city is popular with tourists, who come in droves for its aebleskiver pastries, Scandinavian windmills, a main street called “Copenhagen Drive” and, of course, a Hans Christian Andersen Museum to honour the famous Danish fairy tale author. Danish royals have visited several times over the decades.
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By Associated Press
A lighthearted Danish petition to buy the state of California and “bring hygge to Hollywood” has been launched in response to President Donald Trump’s talk about taking control of Greenland, a vast and mineral-rich Arctic island, from Denmark.
“Have you ever looked at a map and thought, ‘You know what Denmark needs? More sunshine, palm trees, and roller skates,’” the petition asks. “Well, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make that dream a reality.”
The petition’s website claimed more than 200,000 signatures on Wednesday, with a goal of 500,000 signers, as well as “US$1 trillion (give or take a few billion). That’s just 200,000 kroner (US$27,800) from every Dane.” It’s not clear how long the petition has been running, and a representative did not immediately return a request for comment.
“It is in the national interest to promote the extraordinary heritage of our Nation, so California will become New Denmark. Los Angeles? More like Løs Ångeles,” the petition states.
While Løs Ångeles is a joke, another very Danish city in Southern California is real. Known as “the Danish capital of America,” Solvang was founded by three immigrants from Denmark in 1911.
The city is popular with tourists, who come in droves for its aebleskiver pastries, Scandinavian windmills, a main street called “Copenhagen Drive” and, of course, a Hans Christian Andersen Museum to honour the famous Danish fairy tale author. Danish royals have visited several times over the decades.
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