SEOUL: South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol denied he had committed insurrection Monday, as the impeached leader appeared in court on the first day of his criminal trial over his martial law declaration.
Yoon was formally stripped of office earlier this month, after being impeached and suspended by lawmakers over his December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament.
He became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in January in connection to the criminal case against him, although he was later released on procedural grounds.
Yoon attended the trial at Seoul Central District Court on Monday morning and was asked by the justices to state his name, date of birth and other personal information, according to pool reports.
Yoon is accused of insurrection over his abortive martial law declaration, but his legal team denied all the charges, with the former president then taking to the stand to defend himself.
“To frame an event that lasted only a few hours, was non-violent, and immediately accepted the dissolution request from the National Assembly as insurrection... strikes me as legally unfounded,” Yoon told the court.
Yoon, himself a former prosecutor, asked the court to display the prosecution’s presentation on a courtroom monitor, and proceeded to rebut their opening statement point by point, according to pool reports.
The prosecution argued that Yoon “planned to incite an uprising with the intent to subvert the constitutional order.”
They gave evidence including Yoon’s planning of the martial law in advance and his deployment of the military to the parliament, with orders to break windows and cut the power.
The court will hear witness testimonies from two military officers called by prosecutors, including one officer who claims he was instructed by top commanders “to drag out the lawmakers gathered in the National Assembly to lift the martial law.”
Lawmakers defied armed soldiers and climbed over fences in order to gather in parliament and vote down Yoon’s martial law declaration, forcing him to backtrack in a matter of hours.
Experts say his criminal trial is likely to be a lengthy one.
“The first verdict is likely to be delivered around August, but the case involves around 70,000 pages of evidence and numerous witnesses. So if deemed necessary by the court, the trial may be extended,” lawyer Min Kyoung-sic said.
Former president Park Geun-hye, for example, was impeached in December 2016 — but it wasn’t until January 2021 that the Supreme Court finalized her sentence for influence peddling and corruption.
If found guilty, Yoon would become the third South Korean president to be found guilty of insurrection – after two military leaders in connection to a 1979 coup.
“Legal experts say that the precedent coup could be applied in the current case, as it also involved the coercive deployment of military forces,” said Min.
For charges of insurrection, Yoon could be sentenced to life in prison or the maximum penalty: the death sentence.
But is it highly unlikely that sentence would be carried out. South Korea has had an unofficial moratorium on executions since 1997.
South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol denies insurrection at criminal trial
https://arab.news/b7e3f
South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol denies insurrection at criminal trial
- Yoon Suk Yeol was formally stripped of office earlier this month
- He became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested
France condemns Israeli minister’s accusations of inciting hatred
“These are completely outrageous and completely unjustified remarks,” foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said.
“France has condemned, France condemns and France will continue to condemn, always and unequivocally, any act of anti-Semitism.”
In Washington on Wednesday, two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead outside a Jewish museum by a gunman who shouted “free Palestine” as he was arrested.
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led global condemnation of the attack, each of them blaming anti-Semitism.
Israel’s foreign minister said: “There is a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder.”
He added: “This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe.”
Tensions have risen in recent days between Israel and European governments over Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and the plight of civilians in the territory.
Speaking in the southern French city of Nice, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot reiterated that France had condemned the killing as “a horrific attack targeting Israeli diplomats.”
He said he had sent a message to his Israeli counterpart “to tell him how saddened I was by what had happened, how much I was thinking of the families of these diplomats but also of all their colleagues at the Israeli foreign ministry.”
“This blind violence is obviously unjustifiable,” he added.
“We deplore an explosion of anti-Semitic acts that we have seen on our territory in recent years, but we are fighting this explosion with the utmost determination,” he said.
France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told police earlier Thursday to “step up surveillance at sites linked to the Jewish community.”
On Monday, the leaders of Britain, France and Canada condemned Israel’s “egregious actions” in Gaza and warned of joint action if it did not halt a heightened military offensive on the Palestinian territory.
Last week France’s President Emmanuel Macron accused Netanyahu of “unacceptable” behavior in holding up aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is fighting to crush the militant group Hamas.
Netanyahu accused Macron of siding with a “murderous Islamist terrorist organization.”
Suspected Houthi fighter arrested in Germany
- The man, partially named as Hussein H., was detained by police in the southern town of Dachau
- Prosecutors said the man had briefly fought for the militia in clashes in Yemen’s central Marib province in 2023
BERLIN: A Yemeni man suspected of having fought with the country’s Iran-backed Houthis was arrested in Germany on Thursday, prosecutors said.
The man, partially named as Hussein H., was detained by police in the southern town of Dachau, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
He is suspected of “being a member of a terrorist organization” after allegedly joining the Houthis in October 2022.
Prosecutors said the man, after receiving ideological and military training, had briefly fought for the militia in clashes in Yemen’s central Marib province in early 2023.
The Houthis have imposed strict rule over the large swathe of Yemen under their control, covering two-thirds of the population.
Since the Gaza war broke out after the Hamas attack of October 2023, the Houthis have regularly fired missiles and drones at maritime traffic and at Israel in what they say are acts of solidarity with Palestinians.
The militia warned Monday they would impose a “naval blockade” on the Israeli port of Haifa after the country’s military intensified its offensive in Gaza.
How CPEC expansion can transform Afghanistan’s economy
- Chinese, Pakistani and Afghan foreign ministers held a trilateral meeting in Beijing
- Afghanistan is believed to have vast reserves of lithium and other critical minerals
KABUL: The entry of Beijing’s multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor into Afghanistan is expected to boost its ailing economy and regional standing, experts say, following the announcement of expansion plans.
The Chinese, Pakistani and Afghan foreign ministers reached an agreement during a trilateral meeting in Beijing on Wednesday to broaden the flagship part of China’s global infrastructure and investment strategy.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the expansion of CPEC aimed to “deepen” cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative — a network of massive road, energy, port and industrial projects launched in 2013 to connect China to the rest of Asia, Europe and Africa.
For Afghanistan, the mega project offers an “important opportunity” to boost its political and economic ties not only with China and Pakistan, but also with the neighboring Central Asian republics, Amin Stanikzai, an economist and lecturer at the Rokhan Institute of Higher Education in Nangarhar, told Arab News.
“It can serve as the intersection of China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, as well as South and Central Asia, therefore, it benefits Afghanistan ... Afghanistan is optimistic about the CPEC project partly because regional connectivity is in Afghanistan’s interest as it is a landlocked country with no access to the sea.”
Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, its economy has been reeling under Western sanctions and unemployment has more than doubled.
“If managed well, the project can contribute to the overall stability and development in the region, in addition to improving connectivity and Afghanistan’s access to regional and international markets,” Stanikzai said.
Chinese projects could offer a significant respite to Afghanistan’s economic woes and help develop its potential.
Afghanistan is believed to have vast untapped reserves of lithium, rare earths and other critical minerals, which are key resources in the EV battery and green tech industries.
The potential value of Afghanistan’s lithium and rare earth elements has been estimated by the US Geological Survey and the US Department of Defense to range between $1 trillion and $3 trillion.
It has also some of the world’s largest untapped copper deposits. China Metallurgical Group Corp won a 30-year lease in 2008 to develop the Mes Aynak copper mine in Logar province, but the project stalled due to security issues.
Last year, the Taliban government and China renewed discussions to revive the project.
Talks on Afghanistan’s inclusion in CPEC also started several years ago but practical work has yet to begin, complicated by geopolitical considerations.
Major global powers remain skeptical of China’s BRI. The project has also been consistently opposed by India as it involves construction in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region — part of the disputed Kashmiri territory, which New Delhi and Islamabad claim in full but rule in part.
The entry of CPEC projects would, however, help mend Afghanistan’s lately troubled relations with its largest trading partner and route: Pakistan.
“Afghanistan can benefit from these projects politically as well since this is an initiative led by China and it can use its influence over Pakistan in resolving political tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the future,” said Abdul Hai Qanit, a political analyst and commentator on Afghan affairs.
“This will have a positive impact on Afghanistan’s economy as a result of becoming a part of the large transportation network that BRI and CPEC will provide. Afghanistan will be able to export its goods without any challenges and delays.”
The scope of projects in the long term could help transform Afghanistan, whose infrastructure and economy have been underdeveloped due to decades of war.
It would also secure its access to international markets and integration into regional economic frameworks.
“Direct linkage to China through Pakistan via CPEC could facilitate the construction of vital transportation corridors, energy projects and digital infrastructure. These are crucial elements for long-term development and post-conflict reconstruction,” Bashir Seddiqi, an international relations expert, told Arab News.
He was not certain, however, how soon the change could be seen.
“Feasibility of implementation remains deeply uncertain,” Seddiqi said. “The CPEC project itself, despite its strategic importance, has experienced delays and setbacks within Pakistan due to governance challenges, financial constraints and shifting political priorities.”
Philippines’ Marcos tells cabinet to resign after polls setback
- Marcos’ allies failed to win majority of Senate seats contested in midterm elections
- Majority of Filipinos expressed disapproval of his govt over economy and corruption
MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on his cabinet members on Thursday to render their resignations in a move seen as an attempt to address the public’s dissatisfaction over his administration’s performance.
Marcos, the son of a late Philippine dictator overthrown in 1986, won the presidency by a landslide in 2022 after campaigning on a vision of national unity and portraying himself as a candidate for change.
But public support for the 67-year-old leader has faced a steep decline this year, with surveys by Pulse Asia showing his approval rating with voters dropping to 25 percent in March from 42 percent in February.
Marcos’ latest move comes after his allies failed to secure a majority of contested Senate seats at the May 12 midterm elections, raising questions over the president’s weakened mandate in the remaining three years of his term, which ends in 2028.
“It’s time to realign government with the people’s expectations,” Marcos said in a statement issued by his office on Thursday.
“This is not business as usual … The people have spoken, and they expect results — not politics, not excuses. We hear them, and we will act.”
The call for courtesy resignations — described as a “bold reset” — marks “a clear transition” to a “more focused and performance-driven approach,” the statement reads.
At least 21 cabinet secretaries have either immediately submitted their resignations or expressed their readiness to do so.
The midterm elections were “reflective of the true desire and sentiments of the people on the ground,” said Froilan Calilung, political science professor at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.
“There was a massive decrease in his numbers, and this could be attributed to the fact that there are no concrete measures, programs, or policies that can be attributed to his government for at least the past two or three years,” he told Arab News.
Pulse Asia’s survey in March also showed the majority of Filipinos expressing disapproval of the Marcos administration on issues seen as most urgent, including controlling inflation and fighting corruption, which stood at 79 percent and 53 percent, respectively.
“I think what the president is trying to do right now is to salvage whatever is left of his political capital before he enters the lame-duck phase of his administration, which could happen anywhere between the fourth and the fifth year of his term of office,” Calilung said.
By calling for the resignations of his cabinet secretaries, Marcos may also be seeking to “shake off the stigma” of himself as a weak and indecisive leader and trying to project an “image of somebody who is in charge or is in control” of the situation, he added.
Though it will be hard to recover after the “wasted” first three years of his presidency, there was still a chance that Marcos could make a comeback.
“The president should come up with better legislation, more well-meaning policies and programs that will directly address the current conditions of the current problems of inflation, job security, food security, agrarian self-sufficiency, among others,” Calilung said.
“If the president will be able to do these things, then I think there’s still some time to recover.”
UK net migration in 2024 fell by half to 431,000
- Rule changes led to big drops in the numbers of people arriving on work- and study-related visas
- PM Keir Starmer unveiled tough new policies this month vowing to 'take back control' of Britain’s borders
LONDON: Net migration to the UK dropped by half in 2024, the latest official figures showed on Thursday, in what will be a welcome boost for under-fire Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated the figure for last year stood at 431,000, a dramatic drop from the 860,000 recorded in the year to December 2023.
It was the biggest fall in net migration since the Covid pandemic.
“Long-term net migration is down by almost 50 percent,” the ONS said in its latest report.
“We are seeing reductions in people arriving on work- and study-related visas,” it added.
It had also recorded “an increase in emigration over the 12 months to December 2024,” especially by those on work and study visas.
The previous Conservative government had toughed the rules for people applying for such visas, setting higher caps on salaries and refusing permission for people to bring their families with them.
Migration has become a hot-button issue in UK politics and Starmer unveiled tough new policies on May 12 vowing to “finally take back control” of Britain’s borders.
The measures included cutting overseas care workers, doubling the length of time before migrants can qualify for settlement and new powers to deport foreign criminals.
Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who voted for the UK to remain part of the European Union, is under renewed pressure to tackle immigration following surprise gains by the anti-immigration Reform UK party in May local elections.
He said in his speech that Britain risked becoming “an island of strangers,” triggering sharp criticism from within his own Labour party for his toughened rhetoric.
The aim of the new measures is to “reduce net migration substantially, with visa numbers falling by up to 100,000 a year by the end of this parliament” in 2029, the interior ministry said in a statement.
Interior minister Yvette Cooper said: “The 300,000 drop in net migration since the election is important and welcome after the figures quadrupled to nearly a million in the last parliament.”
She added that nearly 30,000 unsuccessful asylum seekers, many arriving on UK shores in small boats, had been returned to their countries of origin since the general election in July.
It marked a 12-period increase compared to the same period 12 months ago.
But opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch argued on X: “Numbers are still too high and Starmer STILL keeps voting against every plan to bring them down further.”
She alleged that as soon as Labour took power after winning the July election they had scrapped “the tough measures we took to get these numbers down.”
Conservative former home secretary James Cleverly said while Labour “will try to claim credit,” the changes were a result of policies enacted by his government.
“This drop is because of the visa rule changes that I put in place,” he argued on X.
According to the latest poll of voting intentions by YouGov, the Reform party of hard-liner Nigel Farage is ahead in the polls, with 29 percent support, compared to 22 percent for Labour.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats edged ahead of the Conservatives with 17 percent, who were relegated to fourth place on 16 percent.
