Fox News
“Trump may have been unclear, but Sweden experiencing a migrant crime wave”
Police investigator Peter Springare isn’t likely to be among those mocking President Trump for his remarks about refugees in Sweden. Trump’s comments during a Florida campaign rally on Saturday – which some took as a misstatement about a supposed terror attack – dovetail with what Springare has been seeing during a typical week in Orebro, Sweden. Five rapes, three assaults, a pair of extortions, blackmail, an attempted murder, violence against police and a robbery made up Springare’s caseload for a five-day period earlier this month, according to a Feb. 3 Facebook post he wrote. The suspects were all from Muslim-majority countries – Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Turkey – save for one Swedish man nabbed in a drug-related case. Springare, who is now being investigated for possible hate crime incitement based on his post, managed to elucidate what Trump only hinted at during a Florida campaign speech – somewhat opaquely. But Trump explained on Twitter late Sunday that he was only referring to a Fox News segment that aired on Friday night’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” dealing with the Swedish refugee crime. Trump tweeted again on Monday morning, blasting media outlets that failed to report on Sweden’s migrant crime epidemic. «Give the public a break – The FAKE NEWS media is trying to say that large scale immigration in Sweden is working out just beautifully. NOT!»
CNN
“Uber CEO orders ‘urgent’ investigation after sex harassment allegations”
Uber said it’s opening an «urgent investigation» after a former employee made public allegations of sexism and harassment at the company. Susan Fowler, an engineer who published a blog post on Sunday detailing her experience at Uber, claimed the company refused to do more than issue a warning to a superior after she and other women complained about sexual harassment.
Fowler wrote that she was blamed after making a number of reports detailing gender discrimination. Another superior threatened to fire her for bringing her concerns to human resources, Fowler wrote. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, in a statement issued several hours after Fowler’s post, said that what Fowler described «is abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in.»
The Economist
“Samsung’s boss is arrested on bribery charges”
In one of the many interrogations Lee Jae-yong has undergone in connection with a presidential influence-peddling scandal, he said that he would surrender management control of Samsung, the South Korean electronics giant that he is running on behalf of his incapacitated father, Lee Kun-hee, “if there is anyone better than me”. He may now be forced to do so. On February 17th Mr. Lee was arrested on suspicion of bribery, embezzlement, perjury, moving assets abroad illegally and concealing evidence of criminal profit, after a local court agreed to a request from a special prosecution team for a pre-trial detention. Last month investigators accused Mr. Lee of paying 43bn won ($36m) in bribes to organisations tied to Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of South Korea’s president, Park Geun-hye (who is herself under investigation by the constitutional court). The prosecution team’s first request for a pre-trial arrest warrant was rejected. But the court reversed its decision, it said today, after prosecutors put forward additional evidence. (The court denied, however, a request to arrest another Samsung executive, Park Sang-jin, on similar charges.) The move allows prosecutors to detain Mr. Lee for a total of 20 days while they pursue their probe. Mr. Lee could yet decide to apply for bail. Prosecutors still need to prove their case in court. But for many South Koreans, fed up with the impunity of its corporate chieftains, his pre-trial arrest will be seen as an early indictment of sorts. In a recent survey by Realmeter, a local pollster, over 40% said the government should mete out stiffer punishments to corrupt bosses. For now, investors in Samsung are composed. When the elder Mr. Lee resigned, for a short spell, after his indictment in 2008, professional managers stepped in; fellow vice-chairmen are likely to do the same for his son.
The Guardian
“Mike Pence pledges ‘strong commitment’ to EU on Brussels visit”
The US vice-president, Mike Pence, has attempted to mend fences with European leaders by pledging support for the EU, following hostile comments from Donald Trump and his supporters.
On his first visit to Brussels since assuming office, Pence said on Monday the new administration wanted to work in partnership with the EU. Pence’s emollient tone was in sharp contrast to the enthusiasm for Brexit shown by his boss in the White House. Trump welcomed Brexit and has said that more countries will leave the EU, which he recently described as “basically a vehicle for Germany”. On Saturday at the Munich security conference he criticised European countries for not meeting Nato defence spending pledges in a blunt message aimed primarily at Germany, France and Italy. EU leaders have taken differing approaches to Trump. The French president, François Hollande, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, have criticised Trump’s travel ban, but leaders in central Europe, such as Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and the ceremonial president of the Czech Republic, Miloš§ Zeman, have voiced approval of the US president. Theresa May has highlighted the importance of the UK’s special relationship with the US, as Britain seeks a post-Brexit trade deal.