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32 Years After, Iceland Minister Admits She Had Child With 16-year-old Boy, Resigns

Published

4 months ago

March 22, 2025

Iceland’s minister for children, Ásthildur Lóa Thórsdóttir, has resigned from her position following her public admission that she had a child with a teenage boy more than three decades ago.

In an interview with local media, Thórsdóttir revealed that she began a relationship with the boy when he was 15 and she was a 22-year-old counsellor at a religious group he attended.

She gave birth to his child when he turned 16, while she was 23. “It’s been 36 years, a lot of things change in that time and I would definitely have dealt with these issues differently today,” the 58-year-old told Icelandic media.

The disclosure prompted a swift response from Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, who described the development as “a serious matter”, although she stated that she knew little more than “the average person”. “This is a very personal matter [and] out of respect for the person concerned, I will not comment on the substance,” she said.

According to Visir newspaper, the prime minister said she only became aware of the situation on Thursday night and subsequently summoned Thórsdóttir to her office, where the resignation was tendered.

The revelations were first reported by the Icelandic news agency RUV on Thursday evening. In an interview with the agency, Thórsdóttir disclosed that she had met the boy, identified by RUV as Eirík Ásmundsson, while working at the religious organisation Trú og líf (Religion and Life), which he had joined due to a troubled home environment. Thórsdóttir gave birth to their son a year later, when Ásmundsson was 16 and she was 23.

RUV reported that the relationship remained secret at the time, though Ásmundsson was present at the birth of his son and spent the child’s first year with him. The news agency also stated that the arrangement changed after Thórsdóttir met her current husband.

Documents reportedly seen by RUV indicate that Ásmundsson had applied to the justice ministry for access to his son, a request that was denied by Thórsdóttir. Despite this, she continued to receive child support payments from him for the following 18 years.

A relative of Ásmundsson reportedly contacted the prime minister twice last week about the relationship. Frostadóttir said she only pursued the matter after learning that a government minister was involved, which subsequently led to the full disclosure and resignation.

Speaking again during her TV interview with RUV on Thursday night, Thórsdóttir expressed her dismay over the matter being brought to the prime minister’s attention. “I understand… what it looks like,” she said, adding that it is “very difficult to get the right story across in the news today”.

While the age of consent in Iceland is 15, the law prohibits sexual relationships with individuals under 18 in cases where the older party holds a position of power or trust, such as being a teacher, mentor, financial provider, or employer. The maximum penalty for such an offence is three years’ imprisonment.

Although she has stepped down from her ministerial role, Thórsdóttir confirmed that she has no intention of vacating her seat in parliament.

Headline

Trump Birthright Citizenship Order Halted In Class-action Suit

Published

1 day ago

July 10, 2025

Editor

A federal judge on Thursday halted President Donald Trump’s order restricting birthright citizenship, as opponents of the policy pursue a new legal avenue following the US Supreme Court’s overturning of a previous block.

The high court’s conservative majority delivered a landmark decision in late June that limits the ability of individual judges to issue nationwide injunctions against presidents’ policies.

Several such judges had in fact blocked Trump’s attempt to end the longstanding rule, guaranteed in the US Constitution, that anyone born on US soil is automatically an American citizen.

However, the Supreme Court left open the possibility that orders could be blocked via broad class-action suits against the government.

Trump’s opponents quickly filed new class-action suits seeking to block again the executive order.

On Thursday, Judge Joseph Laplante of the US District of New Hampshire granted class-action status to any child who would potentially be denied citizenship under Trump’s order. The judge ordered a preliminary halt to it as legal proceedings carry on.

The judge delayed his ruling for seven days to permit the Trump administration to appeal.

Cody Wofsy, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who argued the case, called the ruling a “huge victory” that “will help protect the citizenship of all children born in the United States, as the Constitution intended.”

Trump’s executive order decrees that children born to parents in the United States illegally or on temporary visas would not automatically become citizens — a radical reinterpretation of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.

His administration has argued that the 14th Amendment, passed in the wake of the Civil War, addresses the rights of former slaves and not the children of undocumented migrants or temporary US visitors.

The Supreme Court rejected such a narrow definition in a landmark 1898 case.

The current high court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, avoided ruling last month on the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order and only addressed the issue of nationwide injunctions.

It nonetheless permitted the order to go ahead but delayed its ruling from taking effect until late July to allow for new court challenges.

Several lower courts, in issuing their previous injunctions, had ruled that the executive order violated the Constitution.

Headline

PICTORIAL: Two Undocumented Nigerians Arrested For Drug Trafficking In Libya

Published

1 day ago

July 10, 2025

Editor

Libya’s Counter-Terrorism Forces have arrested two undocumented Nigerians over alleged involvement in drug trafficking.

According to a statement shared by Migrant Rescue Watch on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, the suspects were caught with quantities of hashish and hallucinogenic pills, including Tramadol and Lyrica.

Authorities also recovered a large sum of cash suspected to be proceeds from drug sales during the operation.

Following their arrest, the two Nigerians have been handed over to the appropriate legal authorities for further investigation and possible prosecution.

The statement said, “Counter-Terrorism Forces arrested 2 undocumented #migrants of Nigerian nationality for drug trafficking. The individuals were found in possession of hashish, hallucinogenic pills “Tramadol” & “Lyrica” as well as cash from proceeds.

“Both individuals were referred to competent authorities for legal action.”

Headline

31 Workers Escape Death As Tunnel Collapses In Los Angeles

Published

2 days ago

July 10, 2025

Editor

All 31 workers escaped without injuries from a collapsed industrial tunnel in Los Angeles’ Wilmington area, after scrambling over a tall pile of loose underground soil, city officials said late on Wednesday.

The trapped workers were shuttled back to the tunnel’s entry point, more than 5 miles (8 km) away from the affected area, after they escaped the collapsed section and met several coworkers in the unaffected part of the tunnel, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement.

The tunnel, which had a diameter of 18 ft (5.5 m), trapped 27 individuals, while four workers entered the damaged section to assist with rescue, LA Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva told reporters in a media briefing.

“The workers had to climb through debris. They had to make themselves out through,” before they were assisted out, Villanueva said.

Robert Ferrante, chief engineer and general manager of Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, told the briefing that a section of the already built part of the tunnel experienced squeezing ground conditions and partially collapsed.

“LAFD has just reported that all workers who were trapped in the tunnel in Wilmington are now out and accounted for. I just spoke with many of the workers who were trapped. Thank you to all of our brave first responders who acted immediately,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a post on X.

The collapsed section was a part of the Los Angeles County’s Clearwater Project, where the new 7-mile tunnel is being built to upgrade the region’s sewer system, officials added.

(Reuters)