While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Dec 8, 2024
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Demonstrators calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol outside the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec 7.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
S. Korean opposition to propose new impeachment Bill
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has managed to cling on to power for now, after an impeachment motion against him over the Dec 3 martial law debacle failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed for it to pass.
Tabled by the 192-member opposition bloc for voting on Dec 7, the motion needed eight more votes from ruling party lawmakers to meet the 200-vote quorum. But the motion fell short with 195 votes – 194 for, and one against, from a ruling party lawmaker.
All but three of the 108 ruling People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers boycotted the vote. They were determined to prevent Mr Yoon from being impeached as it would mean a snap presidential election, which the PPP would most likely lose.
The opposition Democratic Party of Korea said it will propose a new impeachment Bill against Mr Yoon on Dec 11, which will be put to a vote on Dec 14.
Macron brings together Trump, Ukraine’s Zelensky
US President-elect Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky held talks in Paris on Dec 7, brought together by a grand ceremony to mark the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Mr Macron convened the trilateral meeting ahead of an evening event he was hosting to celebrate the cathedral’s restoration five years after it was ravaged by fire.
President Zelensky and European leaders have been concerned that Trump, who takes office in January, could withdraw US military aid to Ukraine at a crucial juncture in Kyiv’s battle to repel Russia.
Fear and protests as Syria rebels advance on Damascus
PHOTO: AFP
Panic gripped Damascus after fast-advancing rebels said on Dec 7 they had begun operations to surround Syria’s capital, residents said, with many scrambling to stock up on vital supplies.
Protests spread like wildfire in neighbouring provinces, with anti-government demonstrators toppling statues of late president Hafez al-Assad in the Jaramana suburb of Damascus and in the southern city of Daraa.
Residents spoke to AFP in a state of panic as traffic jams clogged central Damascus and people sought supplies and queued to withdraw money from ATM machines.
NYC mayor says suspect identified in CEO’s murder
PHOTO: REUTERS
Authorities have identified the man suspected of killing UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson and are closing in on him, New York City Mayor Eric Adams was quoted as saying on Dec 7 by the New York Post.
“The net is tightening,” Mr Adams told reporters at a Police Athletic League holiday party in Harlem, according to the Post. He declined to name the suspect.
Mr Thompson, 50, who became CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance unit in April 2021, was shot in the back around 6.45am Eastern Time (7.45pm Singapore time) on Dec 4 in what police described as a targeted attack by a masked assailant lying in wait.
West Ham’s Michail Antonio stable after traffic accident
Action Images via Reuters
West Ham forward Michail Antonio is in a stable condition in hospital, “conscious and communicating”, following a road traffic accident, the Premier League club said on Dec 7.
The Hammers said the 34-year-old was under “close supervision at a central London hospital”.
The update was issued after unverified images of a heavily damaged Ferrari began to circulate online.
