Foreign News
South Korea’s impeached president gets pay rise
South Korea’s suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol will receive his annual pay rise despite his impeachment for briefly placing the country under martial law, the government has said.
Yoon’s salary will increase by 3% to 262.6 million won ($179,000; £147,000), in line with the standard for government officials.
Since his impeachment in December, Yoon has resisted attempts to investigate and arrest him for alleged insurrection and abuse of power, placing the country deeper in political turmoil.
While suspended from his duties, Yoon remains in office until South Korea’s constitutional court upholds his impeachment.
Yoon cited threats from “anti-state forces” and North Korea to justify his martial law declaration. However, it soon became clear that his move had been spurred not by external threats but by his own domestic political troubles.
News of Yoon’s salary increase has drawn criticism among South Koreans, some of whom say they cannot believe he is still getting paid – let alone getting a increment – while he is suspended.
Some on social media pointed out that the Yoon’s 3% salary rise is nearly double the increase in the country’s minimum wage.
“Minimum wage increased by 1.7% while Yoon gets 3% for what?” reads a post on X which has received thousands of likes.
Earlier this month, Yoon’s security blocked investigators from reaching him at the presidential residence. The stalemate saw an initial arrest warrant expire at midnight on 7 January, but a local court extended it.
Investigators are preparing for another attempt to arrest Yoon and have requested assistance from the police.
On Monday, authorities said any attempt to arrest Yoon would make sure to avoid “any casualties or bloodshed”. They also warned that security staff and lawmakers could be arrested if they obstruct the arrest.
Yoon’s lawyers said assigning police officers and investigators to arrest the president was “a betrayal of the public”. They have claimed that the arrest warrant was “illegal”.
They also demanded that personnel on the arrest team not wear a mask to “prevent rioters from breaking into a national secret site and impersonating police officers”.
In the capital Seoul, thousands have joined large-scale protests, both in support of and against Yoon.
While his critics want to see the disgraced president impeached and arrested over his martial law attempt, Yoon supporters see his short-lived martial law order as justified to protect the South Korea’s democracy.
Han Duck-soo, who became acting president after Yoon’s impeachment but has since been impeached by parliament himself, will also see his annual salary increase by 3% to 204 million won ($138,000; £114,000).
For comparison, the US president is paid $400,000 (£329,000) and the UK Prime Minister’s salary is around £172,000 ($209,000).
[BBC]
North Korea has cancelled the Pyongyang marathon for unspecified reasons, a tour agency linked to the event has said.
British-owned Koryo Tours, which describes itself as the official partner of the marathon, said on Monday that it had received notice of the cancellation from North Korea’s athletics association.
A message it attributed to the association said the marathon was being cancelled “due to some reasons”.
The annual event was established in 1981 to celebrate the birth of North Korea’s founding leader Kim Il Sung. The 2026 race was set to take place on 5 April.
The message, purportedly from the North Korea athletics association’s general secretary, thanked “all the Elite Marathoners and Amateur Runners of the world who are interested in Pyongyang International Marathon”.
The message gave no further explanation on what the reasons for the cancellation were.
Koryo Tours said it understood the decision was final and had been taken “at a level above the organisers of the event itself”.
It said it would be seeking clarification on the circumstances surrounding the decision.
The tour company added that neither organisers nor event partners were involved in making the decision, and said it recognised “this announcement will be disappointing to many runners who had already registered or were planning to participate”.
Koryo Tours, based in Beijing, China, offers several marathon packages to foreigners, departing from Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang.
Packages start from €2,190 ($2,529; £1,894) for 2.5 nights in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, including a marathon place and “highlights” of the capital and tickets were sold out this year, according to the agency’s website.
It said all deposits paid will be returned and runners have the option to retain their deposit for a future event or North Korea tour.
A date for the 2027 marathon has not yet been set.
The event had only returned last year after it was suspended for five consecutive years due to the Covid pandemic.
It is open to both amateur and some professional athletes and offers several race distances – 5km (3.1 miles), 10km (6.2 miles), half marathon (21.1km; 13.1 miles) or full marathon (42.2km; 26.2 miles).
[BBC]
Twenty-three people have been rescued by helicopter crews in Ontario, Canada, after the ice shelf they were standing on broke, sending the group floating into Lake Huron.
Ontario Provincial Police said on social media that the rescue began around noon (16:00 GMT) on Sunday after “winds and current moved the ice shelf away from shore” approximately 2km (1.2 miles).
The rescue involved two helicopters making multiple trips to pluck people off the shelf as it continued to fracture into more pieces in the Owen Sound, about 200km north-west of Toronto.
One member of the group said that he only realised the ice he was fishing on had detached from shore when he noticed that his GPS showed him moving.
Members of the rescued group described harrowing moments, with several of them becoming partially submerged in the cold waters as they sought out the thickest ice on the floe, or sheet.
“I looked at my GPS. We were moving,” fisherman Kevin Fox wrote, identifying himself on Facebook as one of those who were caught up in the incident. “I turned around and saw waves forming behind us.”
He said that he and several others started running towards a route that they hoped still connected to shore.
“We decided to run toward one side of the bay, but when we got there the ice had already separated from shore. We turned and ran the other way, but the ice there was breaking apart too,” he wrote.
Some started phoning their families, said Fox, adding: “It’s something I will never forget – seeing grown men crying while saying goodbye to the people they love.”
Fellow fisherman Alfie How told The Owen Sound Sun Times that they eventually “just sat down as a group and said this could be the end”.
Fox told the paper that the rescue occurred during high wind, and the group was concerned that the helicopters would not be able to fly.
“It was being eroded,” Fox said. “It kept getting smaller, and smaller.”
Police say several members of the group suffered hypothermia, but that everyone was expected to make a full recovery.
“Great teamwork and a quick response by all involved,” police added.
Last month in the US state of Vermont, police rescued a group of ice skaters who had also become trapped on floating ice.
Using kayaks and ferry boats, rescuers brought the group back from the icy Lake Champlain.
Officials warn that ice fishing conditions can change rapidly during the relatively warm daylight hours.
[BBC]
At least 23 people have been killed in Nairobi after heavy rain overnight caused severe flooding in Kenya’s capital city.
Police said about 30 people had been rescued but many others drowned after being swept into rivers – some have been electrocuted.
Kenya’s military has been deployed to help people trapped inside their cars as police described widespread damage to properties as well as road closures.
Several flights bound for Nairobi Airport had to be cancelled or diverted to the coastal city of Mombasa.
“The torrential rains have led to significant flooding, unfortunately resulting in 23 fatalities so far, the destruction of property, road closures, and the displacement of residents,” police said in a statement on Saturday afternoon.
[BBC]
Australia grants asylum to 2 more members of Iranian women’s football team
Showers are likely in the Northern, Eastern, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and Uva provinces and in Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
CEBEU warns of operational disruptions amid uncertainty over CEB restructuring
Remittances up compared to last year before outbreak of war, but the economic picture is not rosy
The Netherlands alleges Russian Embassy interfering in World Press Photo Exhibition
Switzerland appreciates GoSL’s stand on ME situation
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News5 days agoUniversity of Wolverhampton confirms Ranil was officially invited
-
News6 days agoLegal experts decry move to demolish STC dining hall
-
News5 days agoFemale lawyer given 12 years RI for preparing forged deeds for Borella land
-
News4 days agoPeradeniya Uni issues alert over leopards in its premises
-
News2 days agoRepatriation of Iranian naval personnel Sri Lanka’s call: Washington
-
Business7 days agoCabinet nod for the removal of Cess tax imposed on imported good
-
News5 days agoLibrary crisis hits Pera university
-
News4 days agoWife raises alarm over Sallay’s detention under PTA