South Korean police raid president’s office

South Korean police raid president’s office
A protester holds a poster with an image of South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol during a candlelight rally calling for the ouster of the president in Gwanghwamun in Seoul on December 5, 2024.(AFP)
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Updated 12 December 2024
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South Korean police raid president’s office

South Korean police raid president’s office
  • Defense minister Kim Yong-hyun resigned last Thursday and was formally arrested Tuesday on charges including “engaging in critical duties during an insurrection” and “abuse of authority to obstruct th

Seoul: South Korean police raided President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office on Wednesday as the investigation into his declaration of martial law gathered pace.
Prison authorities, meanwhile, said the country’s former defense minister tried to kill himself shortly before his formal arrest over the events of the night of December 3.
The extraordinary drama saw troops and helicopters sent to parliament in an apparent — but failed — attempt to prevent lawmakers from voting down Yoon’s martial law declaration.
The deeply unpopular Yoon is already under a travel ban as part of an “insurrection” probe into his inner circle.
On Wednesday, a special investigation unit of South Korea’s police said it raided the presidential office as well as the National Police Agency, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the National Assembly Security Service.
A statement gave no further details.
Former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun tried to kill himself shortly before midnight on Tuesday (1500 GMT Tuesday) while in custody, authorities said.
Kim was first detained on Sunday. The suicide attempt took place shortly before he was formally arrested, the justice ministry and a prison official said.
They added that he was in good health on Wednesday.
Kim was arrested on charges of “engaging in critical duties during an insurrection” and “abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights.”
The former defense minister said through his lawyers that “all responsibility for this situation lies solely with me” and that subordinates were “merely following my orders and fulfilling their assigned duties.”
He had already been slapped with a travel ban along with the former interior minister and the general in charge of the martial law operation.
Cho Ji-ho, commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, and Kim Bong-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, were also arrested early Wednesday, police said.

'Fascist dictatorship'
North Korean state media on Wednesday made its first comments about what it called the “chaos” in the South.
“The shocking incident of the puppet Yoon Suk Yeol, who is facing impeachment and a governance crisis, suddenly declaring a martial law decree and unhesitatingly wielding the guns and knives of its fascist dictatorship wrought chaos across South Korea,” a commentary said.
Yoon had said his declaration of martial law was intended, in part, to safeguard South Korea “from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness.”
Relations between the two Koreas have been at one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles in violation of UN sanctions.
Former defense minister Kim had been accused by opposition lawmakers of calling for strikes on sites from which North Korea was launching trash-carrying balloons, an order reportedly refused by his subordinates.
He also allegedly ordered drones sent to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang in an apparent attempt to provoke a conflict as a pretext for declaring martial law.

Task force
Yoon survived an impeachment motion in parliament on Saturday even as tens of thousands of South Koreans braved freezing temperatures to demand his ouster.
Further smaller protests have continued every evening since, with polls showing record-low public support for Yoon.
A special task force within Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) on Tuesday proposed a plan for the president to resign in February or March, followed by fresh elections in April or May.
But the proposal has not yet been adopted by the party as a whole.
Even if approved, the roadmap is unlikely to head off another opposition attempt to impeach Yoon on Saturday.
The motion only needs eight members of Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) to secure the necessary two-thirds majority.
Last week, two PPP lawmakers — Ahn Cheol-soo and Kim Yea-ji — voted in favor, and two more said Tuesday they would support the motion this time.


Australia summons Russian ambassador over reports captured soldier killed

Australia summons Russian ambassador over reports captured soldier killed
Updated 15 January 2025
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Australia summons Russian ambassador over reports captured soldier killed

Australia summons Russian ambassador over reports captured soldier killed
  • Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia had been maintaining “a very difficult relationship for many years” with Russia under different governments

SYDNEY: Australia summoned the Russian ambassador over reports a Melbourne man had been killed after being captured by Russia while fighting for Ukraine, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday.
The Australian government had asked Russian authorities to immediately confirm the status of Oscar Jenkins and remained “gravely concerned” over reports that he had been killed, Albanese said during a media conference.
“We’ll await the facts to come out. But if there has been any harm caused to Oscar Jenkins, that’s absolutely reprehensible and the Australian government will take the strongest action possible,” Albanese said.
When asked by a reporter if Australia would expel the Russian ambassador or recall its envoy in Moscow, Albanese said his government would determine its response after verifying all reports.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia had been maintaining “a very difficult relationship for many years” with Russia under different governments.
“We will look at the facts when they have been ascertained but I want to be clear all options are on the table,” Wong told ABC Radio on Wednesday. She said the Russian ambassador was summoned by the foreign ministry earlier this week.
Jenkins, a teacher from Melbourne, was serving alongside Ukraine’s military when he was captured by Russia last year as a prisoner of war, Australian media reported. A video taken at the time showed him, dressed in combat uniform, being asked if he was a mercenary, reports said.
Australia is one of the largest non-NATO contributors to the West’s support for Ukraine and has been supplying aid, ammunition and defense equipment.
It has banned exports of alumina and aluminum ores, including bauxite, to Russia, and has sanctioned about 1,000 Russian individuals and entities.


Irregular migration into the European Union fell sharply last year, border agency says

Migrants walk in a caravan bound for the northern border with the U.S., in Huixtla, Mexico January 13, 2025. (REUTERS)
Migrants walk in a caravan bound for the northern border with the U.S., in Huixtla, Mexico January 13, 2025. (REUTERS)
Updated 15 January 2025
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Irregular migration into the European Union fell sharply last year, border agency says

Migrants walk in a caravan bound for the northern border with the U.S., in Huixtla, Mexico January 13, 2025. (REUTERS)
  • The agency said that there were just over 239,000 detections of irregular border crossings, the lowest number registered since 2021, when migration was lower due to the COVID-19 pandemic

WARSAW, Poland: The number of irregular border crossings into the European Union fell significantly in 2024, according to the bloc’s border control agency Frontex, something which it attributed to intensified cooperation against smuggling networks.
The Warsaw-based agency said in a statement that its preliminary data for last year reveal a 38 percent drop in irregular border crossings into the 27-member bloc.
The data refers to the number of detections of irregular border crossing at the external borders of the EU, not the total number of people who tried to cross. In some cases the same erson may cross the border several times in different locations at the external border, Frontex notes.
The agency said that there were just over 239,000 detections of irregular border crossings, the lowest number registered since 2021, when migration was lower due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The agency said that despite the overall decrease, challenges persist, including dangerous sea crossings resulting in significant loss of life and the evolving tactics of smuggling networks.
Despite the decrease in irregular arrivals, a sense has taken hold across Europe that there is too much unregulated immigration to the continent.
The issue has dominated political life in Europe since 2015, when more than a million people arrived at once, many fleeing the war in Syria. The issue has boosted far-right parties that strongly oppose accepting large numbers of refugees and migrants — including in places like Austria and Germany.
The decrease in the total number was mainly driven by a 59 percent plunge in arrivals via the Central Mediterranean route due to fewer departures from Tunisia and Libya, Frontex said. It also reported a 78 percent fall in detections on the Western Balkan route following efforts in that region to halt arrivals.
At the same time irregular arrivals were up last year along the EU’s eastern borders with Belarus.
Frontex also said it recorded an 18 percent increase in arrivals to the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago close to the African coast that is increasingly used as an alternative stepping stone to continental Europe.
It said the nearly 47,000 arrivals it recorded there marked the highest figure since it began collecting data in 2009.
“While 2024 saw a significant reduction in irregular border crossings, it also highlighted emerging risks and shifting dynamics,” Frontex Executive Director Hans Leijtens said.
The Frontex statement noted that authorities have reported increasing violence by smugglers along the Western Balkan route, while growing instability in regions like the Sahel continues to drive migration toward Europe.

 


Risks from unregulated tanker fleet rising, UN shipping chief says

Risks from unregulated tanker fleet rising, UN shipping chief says
Updated 15 January 2025
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Risks from unregulated tanker fleet rising, UN shipping chief says

Risks from unregulated tanker fleet rising, UN shipping chief says
  • There have been a number of incidents involving collisions and shadow fleet vessels breaking down in recent months

LONDON: The safety risks posed by unregulated oil tankers are rising, and the so-called shadow fleet is a threat to both the maritime environment and seafarers, the head of the United Nations’ shipping agency said on Tuesday.
The shadow fleet refers to hundreds of ships used by Russia to move oil, in violation of international restrictions imposed on it over the Ukraine war, as well as by oil exporters such as Iran and Venezuela hit by US sanctions.
At least 65 oil tankers dropped anchor this week at multiple locations, including off the coasts of China and Russia, since the United States announced a new sanctions package on Jan. 10.
“The risk is growing in relation to the environmental impact and the safety of the seafarers as the shadow fleet grows,” Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), told a news conference.
“We see it by different accidents and events that have taken place.”
Dominguez, who could not comment on sanctions, said his biggest concern was with aging tankers, which were “putting people onboard at risk and the environment as well.”
“The more that ships start looking to ... avoid meeting the IMO requirements, the more that we will have situations like we have been experiencing in the last part of 2024.”
There have been a number of incidents involving collisions and shadow fleet vessels breaking down in recent months.
Dominguez said an IMO meeting would follow up in March on a resolution adopted in 2023 aimed at greater scrutiny of ship-to-ship oil transfers in open seas — a frequent risk with shadow fleet tankers which carry out such transfers with little regard for safety. He said he had also met with smaller flag registry countries, which typically provide flagging for shadow fleet tankers.
Commercial ships must be registered, or flagged, with a particular country to ensure they are complying with internationally recognized safety and environmental rules.
Shipping industry sources say many of the smaller flag registries are lax about enforcing compliance and also sanctions regulations.
“Substandard shipping ...has been on the agenda at IMO for many years,” Dominguez said.

 


Venezuela restricts diplomats from ‘hostile’ European countries

Venezuela restricts diplomats from ‘hostile’ European countries
Updated 15 January 2025
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Venezuela restricts diplomats from ‘hostile’ European countries

Venezuela restricts diplomats from ‘hostile’ European countries
  • On Tuesday, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil took to Telegram to accuse the three governments of “support for extremist groups” and “interference in the country’s internal affairs”

CARACAS: Venezuela on Tuesday announced restrictions on French, Italian and Dutch diplomats on its soil, citing their governments’ “hostile” response to Nicolas Maduro’s presidential inauguration, widely rejected as a power grab.
In a move branded an “escalation” by the Dutch government, the foreign ministry announced it would limit the number of accredited diplomats to three for each of the countries.
Those remaining would also need “written authorization... to travel more than 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Plaza Bolivar” in the capital Caracas.
Maduro, 62, is embroiled in a standoff with the West and several Latin American countries over his disputed claim to have won another six year-term in July 28 elections he is widely accused of stealing.
The United States, European Union, G7 and several democratic neighbors have refused to recognize his reelection, and France, Italy and the Netherlands last week loudly condemned Maduro’s administration.
On Tuesday, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil took to Telegram to accuse the three governments of “support for extremist groups” and “interference in the country’s internal affairs.”
Within 48 hours, he said, the embassies must each reduce to three their number of accredited diplomats.
Due to the new travel restrictions, any trip outside the capital will now require a government permit. The international airport, Simon Bolivar, which serves Caracas, is 23 kilometers from the Plaza Bolivar.
“Venezuela demands respect for sovereignty and self-determination... especially from those subordinated to the directives of Washington,” wrote Gil.
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp replied that this “escalation” by Maduro “will make dialogue all the more complicated.”
In a statement to AFP, he added there would “certainly be a response.”

The opposition says its tally of results from the July vote showed a clear victory for its candidate, 75-year-old Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who went into exile in Spain in September after first taking refuge at the Dutch embassy.
Venezuela’s CNE electoral council, loyal to the regime, had announced victory for Maduro within hours of polls closing. It never provided a detailed vote breakdown.
In a sign of Maduro’s isolation, only two prominent regional leaders — Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Nicaraguan ex-guerrilla Daniel Ortega — attended his inauguration. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his congratulations and China’s Xi Jinping sent a special envoy.
Washington and London promptly issued a bevy of sanctions on Maduro’s regime for staging what the opposition called a coup.
Critics denounced a fresh crackdown on opponents and critics in the lead-up to Friday’s swearing-in ceremony, with several activists and opposition figures detained.
More than 2,400 people were arrested, 28 killed and about 200 injured in protests that erupted after Maduro disputed claim to election victory.
He has since maintained a fragile peace with the help of the security forces and paramilitary “colectivos” — armed civilian volunteers accused of quelling protest through a reign of neighborhood terror.

French President Emmanuel Macron last week insisted “the will of the Venezuelan people must be respected” in a call with Gonzalez Urrutia, recognized by several countries as the legitimate president-elect.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denounced “another unacceptable act of repression by the Maduro regime” after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was briefly detained at an anti-Maduro rally on the eve of his inauguration.
And Veldkamp, writing on X, had expressed deep “respect” for Machado and voiced concern about the “increased violent rhetoric of the Maduro regime and reports of recent arrests.”
In office since 2013, the former bus driver and trade unionist has clung to power through a mix of populism and repression, even as the United States imposed punishing sanctions on the key oil sector and the economy imploded.
 

 


‘I’m not a priority’ for Sweden: Swede on death row in Iran

‘I’m not a priority’ for Sweden: Swede on death row in Iran
Updated 14 January 2025
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‘I’m not a priority’ for Sweden: Swede on death row in Iran

‘I’m not a priority’ for Sweden: Swede on death row in Iran
  • Ahmadreza Jalali: ‘It seems to not be a priority for the Swedish officials, what may happen to me as a Swedish citizen while I risk dying either by execution or due to poor health’
  • Jalali’s remarks came as German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi was released from Tehran’s Evin prison and returned home on Sunday

STOCKHOLM: Ahmadreza Jalali, an Iranian-Swedish academic on death row in Iran since 2017, accused the Swedish government of doing nothing to obtain his release, in a voice message obtained by AFP on Tuesday.
Jalali’s remarks came following the recent release of Italian and German-Iranian hostages held by Iran.
On June 15, Tehran freed two Swedes, Johan Floderus, an EU diplomat who had been held in Iran since April 2022, and Saeed Azizi, who was arrested in November 2023, in exchange for Hamid Noury, a former Iranian prisons official serving a life sentence in Sweden.
But Jalali, whom Iran sentenced to death in 2017 on espionage charges and was granted Swedish nationality while in jail, was left out of the swap.
“The Swedish officials are informed about me but nothing has been done to improve my situation,” he said in a message given to AFP by his wife, Vida Mehrannia.
“It seems to not be a priority for the Swedish officials, what may happen to me as a Swedish citizen while I risk dying either by execution or due to poor health,” he said on Tuesday, his 53rd birthday.
“It seems that due to my dual nationality I am considered as a second-class citizen,” he said.
His remarks came as German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi was released from Tehran’s Evin prison and returned home on Sunday, just days after Iran released Italian journalist Cecilia Sala.
Western countries have for years accused Iran of detaining their nationals on trumped-up charges in a policy of state hostage-taking to use them as bargaining chips to extract concessions.
“We have repeatedly told Iran that the death sentence (against Jalali) must under no circumstances be carried out,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told AFP.
The government has insisted that it tried to obtain Jalali’s release at the same time as Floderus and Azizi.
“Unfortunately Iran didn’t want to discuss him at all, they don’t recognize him as a Swedish citizen since he was only an Iranian citizen when he was arrested,” Stenergard said.