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Attempt to arrest S Korea president suspended after dramatic standoff
After a dramatic six-hour long standoff with security, South Korea police have called off an attempt to arrest suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol.
The military and Yoon’s security service officers formed a human wall and used vehicles to block the arrest team’s path, local news outlet Yonhap reported.
Yoon is under investigation for abusing his power and inciting an insurrection when he tried to impose martial law in early December.
The move, although short-lived, led to a political crisis as Yoon was impeached by an opposition-led parliament and suspended from office.
A Seoul court issued a warrant for his arrest early this week after he ignored three summonses for him to appear for questioning.
If they had been successful, Yoon would have become the first sitting president to be arrested in South Korea’s history.
Since early morning on Friday, dozens of police vans lined the street outside Yoon’s residence in central Seoul.
At about 08:00 local time (23:00 GMT), an arrest team made up of police officers and CIO members marched towards the compound.
The operation started out with a 20-strong team, but quickly multiplied to some 150 people. Even then, they were outnumbered.
While about half of the team was able to get inside, they were locked for hours in a standoff with security officers – who are still responsible for protecting Yoon, despite him being stripped of his powers – and a military unit responsible for protecting the city of Seoul.
At one point Yoon’s security team engaged in a “confrontation” with the investigating officers, an official with Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told AFP.
“We’ve determined that the arrest is practically impossible,” said the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which has been investigating Yoon’s short-lived martial law declaration last month.
Yoon’s “refusal of the legal process” is “deeply regrettable”, the CIO said, adding that next steps will be decided after a review.
Yoon’s supporters, who have been camped out in front of the presidential residence for days, cheered in song and dance as the suspension was announced. “We won!” they chanted.
The CIO said that concern for the safety of the team on the ground was another factor in their decision to call off the attempted arrest.
[BBC]
Mexico has deployed thousands of soldiers to bolster security after a wave of violence erupted following the death of a powerful drug lord, the country’s security minister has said.
Defence Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said an extra 2,500 soldiers had been sent to western Mexico on Monday, with the government saying about 9,500 troops have been deployed overall since Sunday.
At least 20 states have seen unrest since Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes – better known as “El Mencho” – died in custody on Sunday shortly after being captured by Mexican special forces in Jalisco state.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is one of Mexico’s most feared criminal organisations and its leader was the country’s most wanted man.
At least 25 members of Mexico’s National Guard have died in Jalisco state since the violence erupted, the country’s security minister said.
El Mencho was captured after forces tracked down a romantic partner he was meeting, according to defence secretary Trevilla.
The drug lord was was seriously injured in a firefight between his bodyguards and the military commandos deployed to capture him, and he died while the military was transporting him from the town of Tapalpa to the capital, Mexico City.
At least six of El Mencho’s security guards were also killed in the operation, while three members of the Mexican military were injured, the defence ministry said.
Security secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said a prison guard, a member of the state prosecutor’s office and 30 members of El Mencho’s criminal organisation were killed in the unrest since his death, according to the AFP news agency.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has praised the army’s operation that led to El Mencho’s death and said her priority is to guarantee peace and security across the country.
“There is calm, there is government, there are armed forces and there is a lot of co-ordination,” Sheinbaum said.
As news of El Mencho’s death spread, members of his cartel launched attacks in many towns and cities where the CJGN is active.
In some towns, they blocked roads by throwing spikes and nails on to the tarmac – in others, they commandeered buses and other vehicles then torched them in the middle of the road.
Sheinbaum said that the road blocks had been cleared by Monday morning.
However, dozens of banks and local businesses have been damaged after they were set alight by cartel members.
[BBC]
West Indies went on an unfettered big-hitting spree at the Wankhede Stadium, crushing Zimbabwe by 107 runs and sounding out a warning to other title-contenders in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Led by turbo-charged fifties from Shimron Hetmyer and Rowman Powell, West Indies racked up 254 for 6 – the second highest total at a men’s T20 World Cup – including 19 sixes. No team has hit more sixes in an innings in the history of the competition.
In response, Zimbabwe were all out for only 147, suffering their first loss in this tournament after topping Group B in the lead-up to the Super Eight.
It was Hetmyer, who started the carnage with a 19-ball half-century before former captain Powell and the rest of the middle order joined the six-hitting party. Hetmyer, Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder all kept launching the ball into the night sky and made it look ridiculously easy, like West Indies’ hitters did in 2012 and 2016.
After missing Zimbabwe’s group-stage fixtures against Australia and Sri Lanka with injury, left-arm quick Richard Ngarava marked his return by having Brandon King holing out to long leg for 9 off 12 balls with a 101kph slower ball. Then, in the final over of the powerplay, Craig Evans dug an offcutter into the pitch and had Shai Hope caught spectacularly by Brian Bennett in the outfield for 14 off 12 balls.
Despite losing two wickets, West Indies scored 55 runs in their first six overs, with Hetmyer responsible for 20 of those. Hetmyer was just getting started at No. 3, a new(ish) role for him in this T20 World Cup after spending the previous edition on the bench.
Identified by coach Daren Sammy as a batter who could perform Nicholas Pooran’s role, Hetmyer aced it on Monday. He was particularly severe on spin, cracking Graeme Cremer and Sikandar Raza for 56 off 17 balls, with all seven of his sixes coming against spin. Hetmyer’s strike rate of 329.41 is the second-highest among batters to have scored 50-plus runs against spinners in a men’s T20I, where ball-by-ball data is available.
Along the way, Hetmyer charged to a 19-ball half-century, toppling his own record for West Indies’ fastest fifty at a men’s T20 World Cup. Earlier in this tournament, Hetmyer had clubbed a 22-ball fifty against Scotland in Kolkata.
Hetmyer was also aided by Zimbabwe’s fielding lapses. Tashinga Musekiwa dropped Hetmyer on 9 and then again on 70. Hetmyer added 15 to his tally after the second reprieve before Bennett eventually held onto a chance in the deep.
But the momentum seamlessly switched from one West Indies batter to another. Powell, who was on 15 off 17 balls at one point, teed off when he imperiously whipped Evans over midwicket. He hit three more sixes, including a 106-metre monster over extra-cover off part-time seamer Dion Myers in the 13th over. He pressed on to bring up a 29-ball fifty.
In the next over, Powell drilled one back so fiercely that the ball burst through the hands of Raza and left him needing attention from the physio. Raza even had to spend some time off the field, with Ngarava, the Test captain, standing in for him in the closing stages of the first innings.
Though Powell departed for 59, with Musekiwa getting third-time lucky and clinging onto a catch, electric cameos from Rutherford, Shepherd and Holder powered West Indies past 250.
Zimbabwe need a strong start to stay in the game. However, that was not to be and by the end of three overs, they were three down. Gudakesh Motie then precipitated Zimbabwe’s collapse with his career-best T20I figures of 4 for 28.
Having hurt his finger in the first innings, Raza (27 off 20 balls) came out to bat but only flickered briefly before Motie castled him with a delightful delivery that pitched on middle and ripped away to hit off.
Akeal Hosein’s dismissal of Bennett with his stock ball that drifted in towards middle and leg and turned away to hit off was another contender for the ball of the day.
The end was nigh for Zimbabwe when they slumped to 103 for 9 in the 15th over, but Evans delayed it with a 21-ball 43. Forde wrapped up the win – West Indies’ second biggest in terms of runs – when he had Evans top-edging a catch to short third in the 18th over.
Brief scores:
West Indies 254 for 6 in 20 overs (Shai Hope 14, Shimron Hetmyer 85, Rovman Powell 59, Sherfane Rutherford 31, Romario Shepherd 21, Jason Holder 13; Richard Ngarava 2-47, Blessing Muzarabani 2-42, Brad Evans 1-46, Graeme Cremer 1-38) beat Zimbabwe 147 in 17.4 overs (Tadiwanashe Marumani 14, Brad Evans 43, Dion Myers 28, Sikandar Raza 27, Tony Munyonga 14; Gudakesh Motie 4-28, Akeal Hosein 3-28, Matthew Forde 2-27, Jason Holder 1-25) by 107 runs
[Cricinfo]
Having been under covers for long periods, the surface showed some stickiness in the previous Super Eights game here, making run-scoring far from straightforward. However, with no rain around now, the pitch has had time to settle, which could aid better batting compared to the England-Sri Lanka game. That said, spin is still expected to play a major role. On the weather front, there is no rain forecast for Tuesday.
Even though Shaheen Afridi spent a fair amount of time bowling in the practice session on the eve of the game, it appears unlikely that the left-armer will return to the XI, with Salman Mirza set to retain his place. Pakistan brought back Fakhar Zaman into the mix against New Zealand in place of Khawaja Nafay. With the game getting washed out, they would want to stick to their call and give the experienced Zaman a go.
In that scenario, Babar’s role could be limited to that of a stabiliser at No. 4 in case of early wickets.
[Cricbuzz]
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