South Korea impeachment live: jubilation in Seoul as president Yoon Suk Yeol impeached
Sat 14 Dec 2024 14.01 GMT
Yoon is the third South Korean president impeached while in office.
In 2016, parliament impeached Park Geun-hye, the country’s first female president, over a corruption scandal. The Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment and dismissed her from office.
In 2004, President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached at parliament over an alleged election law violation but the court later overturned his impeachment and restored his presidential powers.
Impeached president vows to 'step aside' in televised address
South Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday said he would “step aside” after parliament voted to remove him from office, urging an end to “politics of excess and confrontation”.
“Though I must now step aside for a while, the journey toward the future... must never come to a stop,” he said in a televised address.
Georgia: Far-right loyalist elected president amid unrest
Pro-EU protesters took to the streets in Georgia on Saturday as an electoral college dominated by the ruling party chose a new president known for his vehement anti-West views and opposition to LGBTQ rights.
Former soccer star Mikheil Kavelashvili received 224 votes out of a possible 300 from the electoral college.
He was the only candidate in the election, which the opposition boycotted and has said it will not not recognize, insisting that current President Salome Zourabichvili remain the legitimate head of state.
A diminished Hezbollah is made even weaker by the toppling of Assad in Syria
A severely hobbled Hezbollah was in no position to help defend former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a longtime ally, from the lightning-fast insurgency that toppled him. With Assad gone, the militant group based in Lebanon is even weaker.
Hezbollah was dealt a major blow during 14 months of war with Israel. The toppling of Assad, who had strong ties to Iran, has now crippled its ability to bounce back by cutting off a vital weapons-smuggling route through Syria.
Hezbollah officials are deeply concerned but defiant.
Aftermath of impeachment: Will Yoon's 'act of governance' defense hold up in court?
By Baek Byung-yeul
President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment case has now been forwarded to the Constitutional Court, following the National Assembly's passage of a motion, Saturday, to oust him.
The court will determine whether to remove him from office and it remains to be seen how the justices will interpret the president's controversial Dec. 3 martial law declaration and legal defense.
In a televised address, Thursday, Yoon argued that his declaration was an "act of governance" and therefore cannot be considered as an insurrection, claiming it should be exempt from judicial review.
The secret treasure trove still hidden in Africa’s forests
The ‘last biotic frontier’ – home to priceless biodiversity hotspots and carbon sinks – lies in Africa’s elusive tree canopies.
It’s 8am on a Tuesday and Rudi Swart, 33, is getting ready for yet another day in the office. After tossing his work bag in his car, he picks up his colleague – experienced rock climber, Matthew Kingma – from his home in the South African town of George. From there it’s a 20-minute drive to the Groenkop Forest parking area, and a 25-minute walk to the 17-metre (55-foot) assegai tree (Curtisia dentata) Swart – who himself measures 1.94 metres (6.36 feet) – will be climbing today.
Before climbing the tree, they need to throw a rope with a weighted end over a suitable branch. This is a frustrating process that can take up to an hour of trying, but today they are in luck: Kingma scores a perfect strike on his fourth attempt. Once the rope is around the branch, they pull it down and use it to take a second rope to the top of the tree. Swart attaches one of the ropes to his harness and climbs the other one, while Kingma waits at the bottom and makes sure his charge cannot fall. “You feel it in the legs, not the arms,” says Swart, with a diffident laugh. “When I started, I was slow. But now I can get up a tree in about 10 minutes.”
U.S. airman gets 5-year sentence over sex attack on Okinawa girl
By SATSUKI TANAHASHI/ Staff Writer
In a case that drew outrage in Okinawa Prefecture, a U.S. airman was sentenced to five years in prison on Dec. 13 over the abduction and rape of a girl under 16.
The Naha District Court found Brennon R.E. Washington, a 25-year-old airman stationed at the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, guilty of non-consensual sexual intercourse.
Washington was accused of luring the girl into a car at a park in the central part of Okinawa’s main island on Dec. 24, 2023, driving her to his home, and sexually attacking her, knowing she was under 16.
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