40 h. ago South Korea’s Yoon gets 5 years in prison for obstructing justice during martial law bid

A South Korean judge sentenced former president Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday to five years in prison for obstructing justice and other charges linked to his disastrous martial law declaration and its chaotic aftermath. It is the first in a series of verdicts for the disgraced ex-leader, whose brief suspension of civilian rule in South Korea on December 3, 2024, prompted massive protests and a showdown in parliament. Now ousted from power, Yoon faces multiple trials for actions taken during that...

Events

40 h. ago South Korea’s Yoon sentenced to 5 years in prison over martial law charges

Impeached former South Korean president Yoon Seok-yeol was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison after being found guilty of resisting arrest and other offences linked to his botched martial law declaration in 2024. The ruling marks the first conviction among eight criminal trials Yoon is facing, including a case in which prosecutors demanded he be sentenced to death for his role as the “ringleader” of an insurrection in imposing the ill-fated decree that plunged the country into political...

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3 d. ago South Korea’s Yoon could become ‘martyr’ if given death penalty: observers

When prosecutors in South Korea demanded the death penalty for ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol, he shook his head in disbelief and let out a contemptuous laugh – a moment that encapsulated his defiant posture throughout nine months of hearings. Yoon stands accused of being the “ringleader” of an insurrection stemming from his failed martial law bid in 2024 that plunged the country into political chaos. The public gallery, packed with Yoon’s supporters, erupted into protests, forcing the presiding...

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8 d. ago Hong Kong rugby player charged with indecent assault and criminal damage

A Hong Kong professional rugby player has been accused of molesting a patron at a bar and damaging a door bolt inside a police station while he was held in custody. Faizal Solomona Penesa, 33, on Friday appeared at Eastern Court for the first time over a count of indecent assault and another of criminal damage. Prosecutors accused the Samoan national of indecently assaulting an individual at Bobby’s Rabble bar in Central on September 28 last year. On the same day, he was taken to the Central...

Events

9 d. ago Mother of 3 killed by ICE in Minneapolis was a devout Christian and poet

The woman shot and killed by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday was Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who had recently moved to Minnesota. She was a US citizen born in Colorado and appears to never have been charged with anything involving law enforcement beyond a traffic ticket. In social media accounts, Good described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom”. She said she was currently “experiencing Minneapolis”, displaying a...

Events

9 d. ago South Korea’s conservatives attempt break from Yoon with martial law apology

South Korea’s conservative People Power Party (PPP) has issued a belated apology for Yoon Suk-yeol’s failed attempt to impose martial law – more than a year after it sparked a constitutional crisis that toppled his government. Yet analysts described the gesture as a tactical retreat by the ex-president’s former party, aimed at salvaging electoral fortunes rather than confronting its role in the fiasco. Delivered on Wednesday by PPP chairman Jang Dong-hyuk, the apology laid bare the...

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong police charge man with manslaughter after reclassifying drug death

Hong Kong police have charged a 36-year-old man with manslaughter after reclassifying a suspected drug-related death from last week as a more serious offence. A police spokesman said on Wednesday that officers had upgraded the case of a 24-year-old man found unconscious in a hotel room in Tsim Sha Tsui, charging the 36-year-old discovered in the corridor of the same hotel with manslaughter. “After police in-depth investigation, it was believed that the 36-year-old foreign man attempted suicide...

Events

1 week ago Hong Kong equestrian coach denied bail over hotel room drug death case

An equestrian coach with the Hong Kong Jockey Club has been denied bail after being charged with manslaughter and drugs possession, with prosecutors alleging that he killed a man last week in a suicide pact. British national Kyle McCullock, 36, appeared at Kowloon City Court for the first time on Wednesday after missing an earlier hearing this week for medical reasons. McCullock initially faced three drug-related charges for allegedly keeping an unspecified amount of methamphetamine, sildenafil...

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1 week ago Hong Kong drops charges against surgeon ruled unfit to face fatal botox trial

Hong Kong prosecutors have dropped 21 charges against a 93-year-old plastic surgeon over a fatal botox injection in 2018, citing an earlier court ruling that he was unfit to stand trial because of dementia. Dr Franklin Li Wang-pong, who was released unconditionally by the High Court last year over the unlawful killing of a top banker, was separately indicted for allegedly misleading police and failing to maintain a register of dangerous drugs at his clinic after the botched procedure came to...

Events

2 w. ago Hong Kong auxiliary policeman charged over alleged indecent act while driving taxi

An off‑duty Hong Kong auxiliary police officer has been charged with acts outraging public decency after he was arrested for allegedly committing an indecent act while driving a taxi in Causeway Bay. The 57‑year‑old man was suspended from duty following his arrest on September 1 and is scheduled to appear in Eastern Court on Tuesday. Police said the suspect was driving a taxi with a 55‑year‑old woman as his passenger when he allegedly masturbated during the journey. The passenger reportedly...

Events

4 w. ago South Korea’s top court overhauls handling of martial law trials to regain public trust

More than a year after former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol’s failed attempt to impose martial law, the country’s top court has announced changes to how politically explosive cases are handled, as public anger over delays and alleged bias continues to mount. The Supreme Court said it would revamp procedures for high-stakes national security trials, including cases stemming from Yoon’s December 2024 martial law bid, in what it described as an effort to ensure swift and fair proceedings and...

Events