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Ruling party member seats are vacant as they walked out of the National Assembly chamber before a parliamentary vote on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol survived an impeachment vote against him after a whelming majority of governing party lawmakers boycotted parliament on Saturday. Most ruling People Power Party lawmakers left the National Assembly’s main chamber ahead of the impeachment vote over his declaration of martial law earlier this week, which was overturned in parliament a few hours later. The opposition bloc needed at least eight ruling party lawmakers in favor of the impeachment motion, which requires a two-thirds majority in the 300-seat parliament. Only two ruling party lawmakers are said to have voted for impeachment. The main opposition Democratic Party said it would push again for Yoon’s impeachment by holding an extraordinary National Assembly meeting as early as Dec. 11. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol apologizes for his botched attempt to impose martial law in a nationally televised speech on Dec. 7, 2024 Earlier in the day, Yoon apologized to the nation in his first public comments since his botched attempt to impose martial law threw the country into political chaos and led to calls for his impeachment. “I will not avoid the legal and political responsibility related to this martial law declaration,” Yoon said. Pressure on Yoon has mounted in the days since, with protesters and opposition figures demanding his impeachment. The vote came after Yoon declared emergency martial law on Tuesday night, banning all political activities and sending troops to take over the National Assembly. The opposition proposed impeaching Yoon, arguing that he had committed “insurgency” and other anti-constitutional crimes when he declared martial law. Protesters taking part in a rally calling for the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, near the National Assembly in Seoul If an impeachment bill is passed at the next vote, Yoon will be suspended from office and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will fill in as leader. The Constitutional Court will then decide whether to reinstate or remove him – a process that could take up to 180 days. YOON’S FUTURE REMAINS UNCERTAIN Analysts said although he survived Saturday’s vote, Yoon’s future remains uncertain amid growing calls for his impeachment among citizens and even within the ruling camp. Special forces were entering the National Assembly to take over the parliament following President Yoon's declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024 People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon said it was “impossible for the president to carry on his normal duties.” Yoon’s surprise declaration of martial law lasted only six hours, until early Wednesday. He was forced to lift it following a vote in the Assembly to repeal the military rule. The short-lived martial law sparked outrage in the streets and concern among Korea's ally countries. The defense minister, who is said to have recommended Yoon declare martial law, has resigned. The national police are investigating accusations of treason and other related crimes over the declaration of martial law. The prosecution and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials are also considering investigations. Before the impeachment vote, the parliament voted against a bill calling for a special counsel investigation into corruption allegations surrounding First Lady Kim Keon Hee. The bill, put to a revote after President Yoon vetoed it last month, was just two votes shy of the 200 votes for approval. Protesters taking part in a rally calling for the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, near the National Assembly in Seoul ECONOMIC RAMIFICATIONS The political crisis rattled Korea’s financial markets on Wednesday in a knee-jerk reaction. Korean stock, bond and foreign exchange markets, however, have since remained relatively stable. On Friday, the Korean won retreated to 1,429.2 per dollar, marking its weakest point since Nov. 4, 2022 in domestic trading, although it recouped much of the losses on massive dollar-selling intervention. The benchmark Kospi index closed down 0.56% at 2,428.16 after declining to as low as 2,397.73, its lowest point in 13 months. Global credit ratings agencies largely maintained Korea’s current sovereign ratings but warned of downward pressure on the country’s economic credit if the crisis persists. “Downside risks would increase in the event of a protracted political crisis or if sustained political divisions erode policymaking effectiveness, economic outcomes or fiscal management,” Fitch Ratings said on Friday. Moody’s also echoed similar views. Korea’s finance minister and the central bank chief vowed to take necessary action to stabilize Asia’s fourth-largest economy. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok dismissed fears the country would fall into a recession next year as overdone. Bank Of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong also shrugged off concerns about the negative impact of the country's political risk on the economy. Write to So-Ram Jung and Jae-young Han at ram@hankyung.com In-Soo Nam edited this article.Countries criticize Trump tariff plans, which could flout trade pactsEuropean countries suspend Syrian asylum decisions after Assad's fall
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean legislative push to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law fell through on Saturday after most lawmakers from his conservative governing party boycotted the vote. The defeat of the motion is expected to intensify public protests calling for Yoon’s ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment. Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative party, but it is also determined to oppose Yoon’s impeachment apparently because it fears losing the presidency to liberals. Impeaching Yoon required support from two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of its 300 members. The opposition parties who brought the impeachment motion had 192 seats, but only three lawmakers from PPP participated in the vote. The motion was scrapped without ballot counting because the number of votes didn’t reach 200. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik called the result “very regrettable” and an embarrassing moment for the country’s democracy that has been closely watched by the world. “The failure to hold a qualified vote on this matter means we were not even able to exercise the democratic procedure of deciding on a critical national issue,” he said. Opposition parties could submit a new impeachment motion after a new parliamentary session opens next Wednesday. There are worries that Yoon won’t be able to serve out his remaining 2 1⁄2 years in office because his leadership took a huge hit. Many experts say some ruling party lawmakers could eventually join opposition parties’ efforts to impeach Yoon if public demands for it grow further. If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. If he is removed, an election to replace him must take place within 60 days. Woo repeatedly urged ruling party members to return to the chamber to participate in the vote, waiting several hours for them to come. At one point, Democratic Party leaders visited a hall on the floor below the main chamber where PPP lawmakers were gathered, attempting to persuade them to vote. After being blocked from entering, they angrily accused the conservatives’ leadership of preventing its lawmakers from voting freely. Earlier Saturday, Yoon issued a public apology over the martial law decree, saying he won’t shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promising not to make another attempt to impose martial law. He said would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country’s political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office.” “The declaration of this martial law was made out of my desperation. But in the course of its implementation, it caused anxiety and inconveniences to the public. I feel very sorry over that and truly apologize to the people who must have been shocked a lot,” Yoon said. Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and grappled with low approval ratings amid scandals involving himself and his wife. In his martial law announcement on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” bogging down state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.” The turmoil resulting from Yoon’s bizarre and poorly-thought-out stunt has paralyzed South Korean politics and sparked alarm among key diplomatic partners like the U.S. and Japan. Tuesday night saw special forces troops encircling the parliament building and army helicopters hovering over it, but the military withdrew after the National Assembly unanimously voted to overturn the decree, forcing Yoon to lift it before daybreak Wednesday. The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea. Eighteen lawmakers from the ruling party voted to reject Yoon’s martial law decree along with opposition lawmakers. Yoon’s speech fueled speculation that he and his party may push for a constitutional amendment to shorten his term, instead of accepting impeachment, as a way to ease public anger over the marital law and facilitate Yoon’s early exit from office. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, told reporters that Yoon’s speech was “greatly disappointing” and that the only way forward is his immediate resignation or impeachment. His party called Yoon’s martial law “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or coup.” The passage of Yoon’s impeachment motion appeared more likely Friday when the chair of Yoon’s party called for his removal on Friday, but the party remained formally opposed to impeachment. On Saturday, tens of thousands of people densely packed several blocks of roads leading up to the National Assembly, waving banners, shouting slogans and dancing and singing along to K-pop songs with lyrics changed to call for Yoon’s ouster. Protesters also gathered in front of PPP’s headquarters near the Assembly, angrily shouting for its lawmakers to vote to impeach Yoon. A smaller crowd of Yoon’s supporters, which still seemed to be in the thousands, rallied in separate streets in Seoul, decrying the impeachment attempt they saw as unconstitutional. Lawmakers on Saturday first voted on a bill appointing a special prosecutor to investigate stock price manipulation allegations surrounding Yoon’s wife. Some lawmakers from Yoon’s party were seen leaving the hall after that vote, triggering angry shouts from opposition lawmakers. On Friday, PPP chair Han Dong-hun, who criticized Yoon’s martial law declaration, said he had received intelligence that during the brief period of martial law Yoon ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians based on accusations of “anti-state activities.” Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing Friday that Yoon had ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence unit to detain key politicians. The targeted politicians included Han, Lee and Woo, according to Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting. The Defense Ministry said Friday it suspended three military commanders including the head of the defense counterintelligence unit over their involvement in enforcing martial law. Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho has told parliament that Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun ordered the deployment of troops to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law. Opposition parties accused Kim of recommending to Yoon to enforce martial law. Kim resigned Thursday, and prosecutors imposed an overseas travel ban on him.Howling winds could not stop Notre Dame’s heart from beating again. With three resounding knocks on its doors by Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, wielding a staff carved from fire-scorched beams, the cathedral roared back to life on Saturday evening. For the first time since a devastating 2019 blaze, the towering Gothic masterpiece reopened for worship, its rebirth marked by song, prayer, and awe beneath its soaring arches. While the ceremony was initially planned to begin on the forecourt, unusually fierce December winds whipping across the central Paris island, flanked by the River Seine, forced all events inside. Yet the occasion lost none of its splendour. Inside the luminous nave, choirs are singing psalms, and the cathedral’s mighty organ, silent for nearly five years, is thundering to life in a triumphant interplay of melodies. The evening’s celebration, being attended by 1,500 dignitaries, including President-elect Donald Trump, US First Lady Jill Biden, Britain’s Prince William, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, underscores Notre Dame’s enduring role as both a spiritual and cultural beacon. For President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ambitious five-year restoration timeline, it was a rare moment of unity amid profound political crises and threats to his presidential legacy.
NAIA Playoffs: Hough's hat trick, Wall's house call lifts Mustangs to shutout winPHILADELPHIA, Nov. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Enviri Corporation (NYSE: NVRI), a global, market-leading provider of environmental solutions for industrial and specialty waste streams, today announced that its subsidiary, ALTEK, will team with REAL ALLOY to build a zero-waste aluminum salt slag recycling facility in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. In its zero-waste facility in Wabash, Indiana, REAL ALLOY plans to use ALTEK’s AluSaltTM salt slag processing technology to recycle metallics and salts, and recover other non-metallic products. “ALTEK is very excited to work with REAL ALLOY on this first-of-its-kind, milestone project for the U.S. aluminum industry as they work toward achieving aggressive sustainability goals,” said James Herbert, managing director of ALTEK. “Our AluSalt technology is designed to reduce carbon emissions, eliminate landfill associated with salt slag recycling, and generate byproducts that can be reused back in REAL ALLOY’S recycling process, as well as within the cement and steel industries.” Enviri acquired ALTEK in 2018 to expand the metal recovery byproduct reuse capabilities of its Harsco Environmental division into the aluminum industry. 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Shopping strategies for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 Here are a few tips, according to us: shopping team: Are we self-promoting? Sure. However, we have a good reason to. Our shopping team spends eight hours a day, five days a week, researching, comparing, and gathering deals in Canada. We can (and will!) tell you if that laptop you have your eye on is cheaper at Best Buy or Amazon or if it's actually a better deal from the brand's own website. We do the price comparison for you. I know I just said we do the price comparison for you, and that's true! That said, we can't get to every website on the internet. For the brands and products we don't cover, price comparison websites like , and come in handy. : Black Friday and Cyber Monday are known for discounts on big-ticket items on tech, furniture, home appliances and outdoor equipment. Prices for these items are oftentimes the cheapest in November, so keep an eye out if you're looking to splurge on a new TV. Unlike Amazon Prime Day or Canadian Tire's Hot Sale, hundreds of retailers participate in Black Friday 2024, which means many of them will try to outdo one another for your business. Best Buy Canada, Amazon and Walmart typically offer the best deals if you're shopping for tech. Whereas Wayfair, Canadian Tire and mattress companies like Endy and Casper are always go-to spots for home and kitchen deals. For fashion, you can always count on Coach Outlet, Columbia, Old Navy and Roots to offer killer discounts. Tens of thousands of , which may create delays and other disruptions to holiday and Black Friday mail and parcel delivery. In a , Canada Post spokesperson Lisa Liu said, "Mail and parcels will not be processed or delivered for the duration of the national strike, and some post offices will be closed. Service guarantees will be impacted for items already in the postal network." 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The rebels' moves around Damascus, reported by an opposition war monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of southern part of the country, leaving more areas, including two provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters. The advances in the past week were among the largest in recent years by opposition factions, led by a group that has its origins in al-Qaida and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the United Nations. As they have advanced, the insurgents, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have met little resistance from the Syrian army. The U.N.’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Saturday called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition.” Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, he said the situation in Syria was changing by the minute. In Damascus, people rushed to stock up on supplies. Thousands rushed the Syria border with Lebanon, trying to leave the country. Many shops in the capital were shuttered, a resident told The Associated Press, and those that remained open ran out of staples such as sugar. Some shops were selling items at three times the normal price. “The situation is very strange. We are not used to that,” the resident said, insisting on anonymity, fearing retributions. “People are worried whether there will be a battle (in Damascus) or not.” It was the first time that opposition forces reach the outskirts of Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured the area following a yearslong siege. Amid the developments, Syria’s state media denied rumors flooding social media that Assad has left the country, saying he is performing his duties in Damascus. Assad's chief international backer, Russia, is busy with its war in Ukraine . Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad's forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict with Israel. Iran, meanwhile, has seen its proxies across the region degraded by regular Israeli airstrikes. Pedersen said a date for the talks in Geneva on the implementation of U.N. Resolution 2254 would be announced later. The resolution, adopted in 2015, called for a Syrian-led political process, starting with the establishment of a transitional governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with U.N.-supervised elections. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya. Opposition fighters were also marching from eastern Syria toward the Damascus suburb of Harasta, he added. A commander with the insurgents, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces had begun the “final stage” of their offensive by encircling Damascus. Syria’s military, meanwhile, sent large numbers of reinforcements to defend the key central city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as insurgents approached its outskirts. The shock offensive began Nov. 27, during which gunmen captured the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and the central city of Hama , the country’s fourth largest city. HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani told CNN in an interview Thursday from Syria that the aim is to overthrow Assad’s government. The Britain-based Observatory said Syrian troops have withdrawn from much of the two southern provinces and are sending reinforcements to Homs, where a battle is looming. If the insurgents capture Homs, they would cut the link between Damascus, Assad’s seat of power, and the coastal region where the president enjoys wide support. The Syrian army said in a statement Saturday that it has carried out redeployment and repositioning in Sweida and Daraa after its checkpoints came under attack by “terrorists.” The army said it is setting up a “strong and coherent defensive and security belt in the area,” apparently to defend Damascus from the south. The Syrian government has referred to opposition gunmen as terrorists since conflict broke out in March 2011. After the fall of the cities of Daraa and Sweida early Saturday, Syrian government forces remained in control of five provincial capitals — Damascus, Homs and Quneitra, as well as Latakia and Tartus on the Mediterranean coast. Tartus is home to the only Russian naval base outside the former Soviet Union while Latakia is home to a major Russian air base. In the gas-rich nation of Qatar, the foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey met to discuss the situation in Syria. Turkey is a main backer of the rebels. Qatar's top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, criticized Assad for failing to take advantage of the lull in fighting in recent years to address the country’s underlying problems. “Assad didn’t seize this opportunity to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people,” he said. Sheikh Mohammed said he was surprised by how quickly the rebels have advanced and said there is a real threat to Syria’s “territorial integrity.” He said the war could “damage and destroy what is left if there is no sense of urgency” to start a political process. After the fall of the cities of Daraa and Sweida early Saturday, Syrian government forces remained in control of five provincial capitals — Damascus, Homs and Quneitra, as well as Latakia and Tartus on the Mediterranean coast. On Friday, U.S.-backed fighters of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces captured wide parts of the eastern province of Deir el-Zour that borders Iraq as well as the provincial capital that carries the same name. The capture of areas in Deir el-Zour is a blow to Iran’s influence in the region as the area is the gateway to the corridor linking the Mediterranean to Iran, a supply line for Iran-backed fighters, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah. With the capture of a main border crossing with Iraq by the SDF and after opposition fighters took control of the Naseeb border crossing to Jordan in southern Syria, the Syrian government's only gateway to the outside world is the Masnaa border crossing with Lebanon. Karam reported from London. Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.