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Court lifts sentence on South Korean woman who bit off attacker’s tongue

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Court lifts sentence on South Korean woman who bit off attacker’s tongue

The 1965 conviction imposed a longer sentence on Choi Mal-ja than the then 19-year-old’s attacker was handed.

A South Korean court has acquitted a woman previously convicted for defending herself against an act of sexual violence six decades ago.

Busan’s District Court overturned the previous ruling on Wednesday, saying Choi Mal-ja’s actions “constitute justifiable self-defence” under South Korean law.

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Choi’s actions at the time are now “deemed an attempt to escape an unjust infringement on her bodily integrity and sexual self-determination”, the court said in a statement.

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The ruling overturns Choi’s 1965 conviction, when the court found her actions had “exceeded the reasonable bounds of legally permissible self-defence”.

Choi, who was 19 at the time of the incident, was attacked by a 21-year-old man in the southern town of Gimhae in 1964.

The man pinned her to the ground and repeatedly forced his tongue into her mouth, at one point blocking her nose to stop her from breathing, according to court records.

Choi managed to break free by biting off about 1.5cm (0.6 inches) of his tongue.

In one of South Korea’s most contentious rulings on sexual violence, the aggressor received only six months in prison, suspended for two years, for trespassing and intimidation – but not attempted rape.

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But Choi, now 79, was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm and handed a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

Wearing a bright pink blazer, Choi beamed as supporters handed her multiple bouquets after the new ruling.

Women’s rights activists and her supporters celebrated, many visibly emotional, waving a placard that read, “Choi Mal-ja did it!”

“Sixty-one years ago, in a situation where I could understand nothing, the victim became the perpetrator, and my fate was sealed as a criminal,” Choi said in a news conference following the ruling.

“For the victims who shared the same fate as mine, I wanted to be a source of hope for them,” she said.

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The Korea Women’s Hotline (KWH), one of the groups that supported Choi during the trial, said the verdict will pave the way for other victims of sexual violence seeking justice.

“Going forward, women’s defensive acts will be understood as legitimate. I expect this will mean fewer women will face unjust suffering,” says Song Ran-hee, head of the KWH.

Choi’s appeal gained momentum after the #MeToo movement, which took off globally in 2017, inspired her to seek justice.

In South Korea, huge women’s rights protests have led to victories on issues ranging from abortion access to tougher penalties for spycam crimes.

Choi filed for a retrial in 2020, but lower courts initially rejected her petition.

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After years of campaigning and an appeal, South Korea’s top court finally ordered a retrial in 2024.

Her lawyers said they now plan to seek compensation from the state for the damages she suffered from her conviction six decades ago.

South Korea has seen at least two other cases of women biting off the tongues of sexual assailants: One in Andong in 1988 and another in Busan in 2020. In both instances, courts ruled the actions were legitimate acts of self-defence, and the women were acquitted.

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Video: Humpback Whale Stranded Off German Coast Is Freed by Rescuers

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Video: Humpback Whale Stranded Off German Coast Is Freed by Rescuers

new video loaded: Humpback Whale Stranded Off German Coast Is Freed by Rescuers

In a last-ditch effort, rescuers were at last able to free a 40-foot humpback whale that had been stuck in shallow waters near the coast of Germany for four days.

By Axel Boada

March 27, 2026

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Russian man who assaulted woman during Barron Trump FaceTime call sentenced to 4 years

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Russian man who assaulted woman during Barron Trump FaceTime call sentenced to 4 years

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A Russian man convicted of assaulting a woman in London in an attack witnessed by Barron Trump, President Donald Trump’s youngest son, on a video call was sentenced to four years in prison by a London court on Friday. 

Matvei Rumiantsev, 23, an MMA fighter, was convicted by a jury on Jan. 28 of assault with bodily harm but was acquitted of rape and choking charges. He was also convicted of perverting the course of justice stemming from a letter he sent the woman from jail asking her to retract her allegations.

After the assault, Rumiantsev admitted he was jealous of his girlfriend’s friendship with the 19-year-old son of President Donald Trump.

BARRON TRUMP REPORTEDLY SAVED WOMAN’S LIFE AFTER WITNESSING VIOLENT ASSAULT ON FACETIME CALL

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Barron Trump attends inauguration ceremonies in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool/Getty Images)

“Your lack of insight and empathy was apparent at trial,” Justice Joel Bennathan said. “You continue to try to blame the complainant for everything that has happened.”

Trump told investigators he had placed a late-night FaceTime call to the woman, whom he had met on social media, and had been startled when the call had been briefly answered by a shirtless man on Jan. 18, 2025.

“That view lasted maybe one second and I was racing with adrenaline,” Barron Trump said. “The camera was then flipped to the victim getting hit while crying, stating something in Russian.”

BARRON TRUMP SPOTTED ON NYU CAMPUS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE INAUGURATION

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Barron Trump looks on ahead of the Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 20, 2025. (KEVIN LAMARQUE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Barron Trump called the police in London.

“It’s really an emergency … I’m calling from the U.S., uh, I just got a call from a girl, you know, she’s getting beat up,” he told an operator. 

Police responded to the address and arrested Rumiantsev, a London-based receptionist.

At his trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Rumiantsev was acquitted of rape and choking related to the attack, as well as a separate rape and assault allegation from November 2024.

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His attorney, Sasha Wass, said that Trump wasn’t aware the woman had a boyfriend and questioned how much he could have seen in just a few seconds of video. 

Barron Trump watches as his father, President Donald Trump attends an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event at Capital One Arena, in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

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Trump never testified in the case. However, the judge praised him for his quick-thinking actions. 

“Mr, Trump properly and responsibly, despite being in the United States, made sure the emergency services here were called, and he told them what he had seen,” he said.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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EU Parliament unblocks key political hurdle in digital euro talks

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EU Parliament unblocks key political hurdle in digital euro talks

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EU lawmakers have overcome a key political hurdle in the negotiations of digital euro, making the project closer to approval, according to a draft text seen by Euronews.

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The Parliamentary rapporteurs involved in the legislation have found an agreement on the design of the digital euro, which will be able to function both online and offline.

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The digital euro would be an electronic form of cash issued by the European Central Bank, designed to sit alongside banknotes and the payments services offered by commercial banks.

It has taken on new political weight as economic tensions between the EU and the US sharpen the debate over Europe’s reliance on American payment giants, such as Visa and Mastercard.

Under the European Commission’s proposal, digital euro users would have a wallet for both online and offline payments, with transactions designed so they are not trackable.

The situation in Parliament changed on Wednesday evening, when the centre-right politician Fernando Navarrete, who is the leading rapporteur on the file, announced the withdrawal of his position to reduce the scope of the digital euro to offline use only.

His position blocked the advancement of negotiations for months, jeopardising the whole legislative process, according to three sources familiar with the negotiations.

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The political deadlock has pushed EU leaders to accelerate progress on the digital euro. At the European Council meeting on 19 March, they set a goal to have the digital euro legislation approved by the end of 2026.

With the Council, representing EU countries, having already adopted its position, the European Parliament is now the only institution left to advance the law.

“Thanks to our amendments and firm stance, we have finally broken the political deadlock on the digital euro. The distinction between online and offline has been removed, and it is now established as a single payment system,” Pasquale Tridico, the rapporteur for The Left, told Euronews.

However, lawmakers still need to agree on two key aspects: the “hold limits” and the “compensation.”

The hold limits determine the maximum amount a user can store in a digital euro wallet, while compensation sets out a model for reimbursing commercial banks that provide digital euro services.

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Although negotiations are not yet complete, the text is expected to be voted on in the Parliament’s economy committee before the summer, according to a source familiar with the matter.

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