SOUTH KOREA
Impeachment vote moved
A vote by parliament on whether to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol over his martial law decree has been moved to 4pm today, the speaker’s office said yesterday. “Given the national significance and gravity of the matter, the plenary session was finalized for 4pm to allow adequate time for thorough discussions and consultations,” the National Assembly Speaker’s Office said in a statement.
Photo: Reuters
NIGER
Junta suspends the BBC
The ruling junta suspended the BBC for three months over the broadcaster’s coverage of an attack that allegedly killed dozens, authorities said on Thursday. “BBC broadcasts false information aimed at destabilizing social calm and undermining the troops’ morale,” Minister of Communications Raliou Sidi Mohamed said in letters to radio stations that rebroadcast BBC content. Mohamed asked the stations to suspend BBC’s programs “with immediate effect.” The BBC said it had no comment.
Photo: AFP
SERBIA
Rally targets broadcaster
Hundreds of protesters led by university students on Thursday held a noisy rally outside the state television headquarters, despite the president pledging to fulfil all of their demands. The demonstration is part of wider protests that erupted after the fall of a concrete canopy in the northern city of Novi Sad last month, killing 15 people. Blowing whistles, booing and jeering, the protesters said they are angry that state RTS television is carrying President Aleksandar Vucic’s accusations that the students were paid from the West and elsewhere to hold protests to overthrow his government. The protesters brought sacks allegedly holding bundles of money in front of the downtown RTS station in the country’s capital, Belgrade. The station has been accused of spreading pro-government narrative.
Photo: Reuters
BRAZIL
President exits surgery
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was “in perfect neurological condition” after surgery to relieve bleeding pressure on his brain and was scheduled to leave intensive care yesterday, his medical team said. A follow-up operation on Thursday to block blood flow to the affected area was a “success,” Lula’s doctor, Roberto Kalil, told a news conference at the Hospital Sirio-Libanes, where the 79-year-old president was being treated. “He is doing very well,” neurosurgeon Marcos Stavale said. The update came two days after the emergency surgery to drill through Lula’s skull to relieve pressure built up in protective intracranial membranes. The injury was linked to a blow to the head Lula sustained in October, when he fell in a bathroom in his presidential residence.
UNITED STATES
NY mayor meets Homan
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday met with Tom Homan, president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming “border czar,” with the mayor expressing an enthusiasm to work with the incoming administration to pursue violent criminals in the city while Trump promises mass deportations. Adams told reporters at a news conference that he and Homan agreed on pursuing people who commit violent crimes in the city, but did not disclose additional details or other plans. “We’re not going to be a safe haven for those who commit repeated violent crimes,” he said. “That was my conversation today with the border czar, to figure out how to go after those individuals who are repeatedly committing crimes in our city.”
Taiwanese badminton player Lin Chun-yi had to settle for silver in the men’s singles at the Orleans Masters in France on Sunday after losing in the final to his French opponent. The 25-year-old Lin, ranked world No. 14, lost to Alex Lanier 13-21, 18-21 in a match that lasted 42 minutes at the Palais des Sports arena. It was the first time that the two players were facing each other in their professional careers. In the opener, Lin was slow to warm up, which gave the 20-year-old Lanier an opportunity to take an early lead with seven consecutive points. Despite
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
Two-time Indian Wells champion Iga Swiatek on Thursday avenged her shock Paris Olympics loss to Zheng Qinwen with a 6-3, 6-3 win over the Chinese eighth seed, setting up a semi-final against 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva in the California desert. In the men’s singles, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz put on a show with his acrobatic shotmaking under the lights to close out the day’s action, overcoming a 4-1 second-set deficit to defeat Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei crashed out of the women’s doubles. Swiatek, one of the gold medal favorites when she lost to eventual champion Zheng in the
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