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South Korea’s Constitutional Court will issue its long-awaited ruling on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment Friday, months after he was suspended for declaring martial law.Yoon’s December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule plunged South Korea into political chaos, after he sent armed soldiers into parliament.Lawmakers defied the troops to vote the measure down and impeached Yoon soon after, but the months of political instability have hit South Korea’s economy and left the country in leadership limbo, even as US President Donald Trump targets the region with tariffs.The court has held weeks of impeachment hearings to determine whether to officially remove Yoon from office, and then took weeks to deliberate on the case, giving rise to a surge in speculation with some suggesting the justices must be experiencing intense disagreements.”The president’s impeachment case verdict will be on April 4, 2025 at the Constitutional Court,” the court said in a statement Tuesday.For Yoon to be removed from office, at least six of the court’s eight justices must vote in favour. Confirmation of his impeachment would trigger elections which must be held within 60 days.Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans have been rallying for and against Yoon every weekend in central Seoul.Yoon, a former prosecutor, was detained in January on insurrection charges but was released in early March on procedural grounds. He has remained defiant throughout and blamed a “malicious” opposition.He is also the first sitting South Korean president to stand trial in a criminal case, facing charges of insurrection over the martial law bid.- Fresh elections? -“After four long months of waiting, the Constitutional Court has finally responded to the people,” the opposition Democratic Party’s spokesperson said.”We believe the Court will demonstrate its firm resolve to defend the constitutional order and founding principles of the Republic of Korea by removing Yoon Suk Yeol, the insurrectionist, from office.” Yoon’s party said it welcomed the court’s move to issue a ruling, saying it hoped the verdict would be “fair and impartial” and would not lead to further social unrest.The People Power Party “will respect and accept the court’s decision, and after the ruling, both the ruling and opposition parties… must take the lead in easing public divisions and promoting national unity,” Kweon Seong-dong PPP party floor leader said.If the Constitutional Court decides to formally dismiss the president, it would trigger elections, which opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is currently frontrunner to win.An appeals court last week overturned an election law conviction against Lee, potentially clearing the way for him to mount a presidential campaign.But if it is reinstated on appeal before the election, he will be stripped of his parliamentary seat and barred from running for office for five years, including the next presidential vote.Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said the ruling on Lee may have appeared “to many Koreans to be reading the political tea leaves”.”This is the judiciary trying to unwind the lawfare of the past three years to allow South Korea’s political crisis to be resolved by an election rather than by the courts.” In a separate case, the Constitutional Court last week dismissed the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, reinstating him as acting president — a role he took after the president was suspended for declaring martial law.Experts said the ruling did not have a direct legal correlation with the pending decision on Yoon’s impeachment, as it was not focused on the legality of martial law itself.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged dozens of countries attending an immigration crime summit on Monday to join forces to dismantle migrant smuggling gangs “once and for all”.Starmer is seeking to crack down on would-be asylum seekers arriving in England on flimsy small boats and has brought together delegates from more than 40 nations for the two-day meeting in London.The interior ministers of France and Germany were among those attending the Organised Immigration Crime Summit. China and the United States also sent representatives.The UK government is struggling to stop undocumented migrants embarking on dangerous boat journeys across the English Channel from France. “This vile trade exploits the cracks between our institutions … and profits from our inability at the political level to come together,” Starmer said. He argued that resources and intelligence must be shared and that governments need to “tackle the problem upstream at every step of the people-smuggling routes”.”There’s nothing progressive or compassionate about turning a blind eye to this,” Starmer added.Britain’s interior ministry, known as the Home Office, billed the gathering as “the first major international summit in the UK to tackle the global emergency of illegal migration”.In a video message, Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hailed her country’s agreement with Albania to process asylum claims at detention centres in the non-European Union country.She claimed countries “criticised (it) at first but that then has gained increasing consensus”.Italian judges have repeatedly refused to sign off on migrants intercepted by Italian authorities at sea being detained in Albania, ordering them to be transferred to Italy instead, and the European Court of Justice is reviewing Rome’s policy.- Online recruitment -Starmer’s summit is designed to build on a plan that Britain, Belgium, Germany, France and the Netherlands signed in December to boost cooperation against irregular migration.Delegates from countries from where migrants set out, such as Vietnam and Iraq, and countries they transit through, such as those in the Balkans, also attended.It also brought together the heads of UK law enforcement agencies and counterparts from Interpol, Europol and Afripol.The Home Office said the summit would discuss the equipment, infrastructure and fraudulent documents that criminal gangs use.They would also look at how supply routes work and discuss how to tackle the online recruitment of migrants, including with representatives from social media platforms Meta, X and TikTok.The UK announced Sunday it was launching adverts on Zalo, the Vietnamese instant messaging system, to warn people of the dangers of people smugglers.Vietnamese nationals are among the top nationalities making the perilous sea voyage across the Channel to Britain.Similar UK campaigns have already been launched in Albania and Iraqi Kurdistan.UK officials are also keen to speak to China about how it can stop exporting engines and other small boats parts used in crossings.- Domestic pressure -Starmer told the meeting that since his Labour government took power in July, more than 24,000 people with “no right to be here” had been returned.But the number of undocumented migrants arriving across the Channel set a new record last week for the first three months of the year — at more than 6,600.At least 10 people are dead or missing after attempting the treacherous crossing so far this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration.More than 157,770 people have been detected trying to enter Britain in dinghies since successive governments began collecting data in 2018.In February, Starmer’s government announced it was toughening immigration rules to make it almost impossible for undocumented migrants who arrive on small boats to later receive citizenship.Starmer is facing rising support for Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK party, which won roughly four million votes at July’s general election — an unprecedented haul for a hard-right party.Amnesty International said “everyone should be allowed to enter another country to seek asylum”, while the Refugee Council called on the UK government to focus on improving legal channels for gaining asylum.”Enforcement strategies alone will never work,” said Refugee Council CEO Enver Solomon.

Authorities in Thailand are investigating possible factors that led to the devastating collapse of a Bangkok construction site, where dozens remained missing on Monday, three days after a massive earthquake centred in Myanmar.The planned skyscraper was to house government offices, but the shaking reduced the structure to a pile of rubble in seconds.The collapse is the worst damage inflicted in Thailand by the 7.7-magnitude quake, which caused widespread destruction — and at least 1,700 deaths — in neighbouring Myanmar.Numerous high-rise buildings elsewhere in Bangkok were left unscathed with limited reports of major damage, prompting questions as to why the one tower was destroyed.Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters on Monday that only two buildings in the city remained inaccessible.Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra had expressed concerns on Saturday, questioning why the collapsed building was the only one in the capital to suffer major damage.”I have questions in my mind,” she said. “What happened from the beginning since it was designed? How was this design approved? This was not the first building in the country.”We have to investigate where the mistake happened.”Paetongtarn ordered a probe into the incident involving a group of experts who she said would report back to her this week.- Some substandard steel -Critics have said that the steel bars used to link the building’s concrete structures may have been too thin, or not of sufficient quality.A number of steel rods were taken from the rubble and put through various technical examinations in front of journalists on Monday afternoon.Industry minister Akanat Promphan said on Sunday that six types of steel had been found, all from a single producer.”The collapse of a building can come from several factors, from design, construction (and) material specification,” he said.”Most important is the standard of the materials.”Nontichai Likhitaporn, inspections director at the Thai Industrial Standards Institute, told a news conference that some of the steel was found to be substandard, though most was acceptable.Nattaphol Suthitham, from the Engineering Institute of Thailand, said the use of substandard steel would put the building at greater risk, but was not necessarily the sole cause of the collapse.The confirmed death toll for Bangkok stood at 19 on Monday, with fears that the number could significantly rise as dozens remain missing under the building’s rubble.Morning rain on Monday gave way to a hot, humid and overcast afternoon as responders worked to remove debris and locate any remaining survivors.Meanwhile, concerns have also been raised about Thailand’s emergency response system, after a text message alert system experienced delays when Friday’s quake struck.”Our problem is that the sending of messages was slow and did not cover enough people,” Paetongtarn said Saturday.The prime minister has called a meeting for Monday with government departments responsible for sending the SMS alerts to the public, Thai media reported.

Mitchell Starc claimed his first five-wicket haul in T20 cricket and Nitish Rana smashed a 36-ball 81 as Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals registered victories in the IPL on Sunday.Australian left-arm quick Starc returned figures of 5-35 as Delhi bowled out Hyderabad for 163, a target they overhauled with four overs and seven wickets to spare for their second straight win in this edition of the T20 tournament.In the second match of the day in Guwahati, Rana’s batting blitz helped Rajasthan to 182-9 and then kept down Chennai Super Kings to 176-6 for a six-run win – the team’s first after two losses.”Feels good,” said stand-in Rajasthan skipper Riyan Parag. “Took some time, it was two games but felt long. Felt we were 20 short but the bowlers stepped up and executed our collective plans.”Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga returned figures of 4-35, delivering key blows against the Chennai batting order.The left-handed Rana put on 82 for the second wicket with Sanju Samson to lay the foundations of Rajasthan’s total.Afghanistan left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad broke the stand with the wicket of Samson, who is Rajasthan’s regular captain but playing only as a batsman due to an injury.Rana reached his fifty in 21 balls and bludgeoned the bowlers with 10 fours and five sixes in his stay at the crease. He was named player of the match.Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin cut short Rana’s knock when he had the batsman stumped.Parag hit 37 off 28 balls before being bowled by Sri Lankan pace bowler Matheesha Pathirana.In Chennai’s reply, England pace bowler Jofra Archer struck in the first over to have Rachin Ravindra caught behind for a duck as he celebrated his first wicket this IPL season.Hasaranga then took control and got a wicket in each of his four overs and his final strike of skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad for 63 derailed the Chennai chase.- ‘No ego’ -Earlier in Delhi’s second home of Visakhapatnam, Starc struck early and twice in one over to send back Ishan Kishan and Nitish Reddy. He then got fellow Australian Travis Head caught behind for 22 as Hyderabad slipped to 37-4 in 4.1 overs.Indian batsman Aniket Verma, who top-scored with 74, and South African wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen then put on an attacking stand of 77 in an attempt to hit back.Kuldeep Yadav, a left-arm wrist spinner, claimed figures of 3-22 before Starc completed his five to wrap up the Hyderabad innings.”There’s no ego in bowlers these days,” said player of the match Starc. “As a bowler you’ve got to think out of the box. You need to do things you wouldn’t normally do. It was nice to contribute in the win today, we move forward from here.”In reply, South African veteran Faf Du Plessis came out firing in his 27-ball 50 as he smashed India fast bowler Mohammed Shami for a six and three fours in a 15-run third over to set up the chase.Delhi, under new skipper Axar Patel, have rebuilt the team in their hunt for a first IPL title and brought in England great Kevin Pietersen as mentor.

Nitish Rana’s batting blitz combined with a four-wicket haul by Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga led Rajasthan Royals to their first victory of this IPL season against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.Rajasthan depended on a 36-ball 81 by Rana to post 182-9 after being invited to bat first at their second home in Guwahati.Hasaranga then turned on the heat with his leg-spin to help restrict Chennai to 176-6 and a six-run win to bounce back from two losses in the T20 tournament.The left-handed Rana put on 82 for the second wicket with Sanju Samson to lay the foundations.Afghanistan left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad once again proved his worth as he broke the stand with the wicket of Samson, who is Rajasthan’s regular captain but playing only as a batsman due to an injury.Rana reached his fifty in 21 balls and bludgeoned the bowlers with 10 fours and five sixes in his stay at the crease.Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin cut short Rana’s knock as he had the batsman stumped to check Rajasthan’s surge.Stand-in-skipper Riyan Parag hit 37 off 28 balls before being bowled by Sri Lankan pace bowler Matheesha Pathirana.Pace spearhead Khaleel Ahmed dismissed Jofra Archer for a duck for his second wicket.Noor and Pathirana both returned figures of 2-28.In Chennai’s reply, Archer struck in the first over to have Rachin Ravindra caught behind for a duck as he celebrated his first wicket this IPL season.Archer had a disastrous start to the tournament when he went for 76 in his four overs against Sunrisers Hyderabad for the league’s most expensive bowling figures ever.Hasaranga struck with his first ball to send back Rahul Tripathi before skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad attempted to put the chase on track in his 63 off 44 balls.Hasaranga claimed a wicket each in his next two overs including impact player Shivam Dube to dent the opposition chase but Gaikwad stood strong to reach his fifty.Hasaranga dismissed Gaikwad in his last over to return figures of 4-35.M.S. Dhoni attempted to see his team over the line in his late blitz of 16 but fell to a stunning catch in the deep by Shimron Hetmyer off Sandeep Sharma who defended 20 runs in the final over.Ravindra Jadeja hit a valiant 32 not out as Chennai suffered their second straight loss after they started the season with a win over Mumbai Indians.

Australia’s Mitchell Starc claimed his first five-wicket haul in T20 cricket to help Delhi Capitals down Sunrisers Hyderabad for their second straight win in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.Starc, a left-arm quick, returned figures of 5-35 as Delhi bowled out Hyderabad for 163 in 18.4 overs in their second home at Visakhapatnam.South African veteran Faf du Plessis then smashed 50 off 27 balls and put on 81 runs for the first wicket with Australian batter Jake Fraser-McGurk, who hit 38, as Delhi achieved their target with four overs and seven wickets to spare.Hyderabad’s innings started badly as Abhishek Sharma was run out early for one when he was involved in a mix-up with fellow opener Travis Head.Starc then struck twice in one over to send back Ishan Kishan and Nitish Reddy and then got fellow Australian Head caught behind for 22 as Hyderabad slipped to 37-4 in 4.1 overs.Indian batter Aniket Verma, who top-scored with 74, and South African wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen then put on an attacking stand of 77 in an attempt to hit back.Klaasen fell on 32 off 19 balls to Mohit Sharma, but Aniket kept up the charge in an eye-catching 41-ball knock laced with five fours and six sixes.Fraser-McGurk ended Aniket’s blitz with a stunning catch at deep mid-wicket when he timed his jump to pluck a travelling ball out of the air and hand spinner Kuldeep Yadav a prized wicket.Kuldeep, a left-arm wrist spinner, claimed figures of 3-22 before Starc completed his five to wrap up the Hyderabad innings.In reply, Du Plessis came out firing as he smashed India fast bowler Mohammed Shami for a six and three fours in a 15-run third over to set up the chase.Du Plessis fell after his 50 to Indian leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari who took a beating at the hands of Fraser-McGurk but hit back with his second wicket in the same over.Ansari later bowled KL Rahul round his legs before Abhishek Porel, on 34, and Tristan Stubbs, on 21, steered the team home in an unbeaten stand of 51.Delhi, under new skipper Axar Patel, have rebuilt the team in their hunt for a first IPL title and brought in England great Kevin Pietersen as mentor.Hyderabad, winners in 2016 under David Warner, have two losses and one victory in three outings this season.

Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra overcame a rocky start to clinch the Hero Indian Open by two strokes on Sunday for his maiden DP World Tour title.Chacarra, 25, came into the final round as overnight leader but slipped after carding a double bogey on the first and a bogey at the third round at the DLF Golf and Country Club near New Delhi.But a burst of birdies at the sixth, ninth, 11th, 12th and 14th holes saw bounce back to open up a four-shot lead.Chacarra finished on four under par, two shots clear of Japan’s Keita Nakajima, who won the title last year, in second place. Joost Luiten of the Netherlands was another stroke back in third.”Man it was a tough day,” Chacarra said after the win. “We knew it was going to be a long day, going be a lot of pressure and I didn’t have the start that I really wanted.”Chacarra survived a late scare on the 17th hole when he found himself near the long grass after his second shot but escaped with a bogey.He closed his round with a par for a comfortable win in the end as he raised his hands to a cheering crowd.Chacarra was playing on a tournament invitation this week.”It means everything, I stayed patient,” he said. “I know when I play my best, I’m one of the best players in the world. I already proved that a million times.””I surround myself with good guys, have a good team. They trust me. My family probably didn’t sleep tonight. It’s just awesome. It is going to need to sink in, but really proud and I’m just, just happy.”Italy’s Andrea Pavan made Sunday a memorable day with a hole-in-one at the par-three 12th from 189 yards.

Ravaged by four years of civil war, Myanmar is ill-prepared to cope with the destruction brought by Friday’s massive earthquake.The 7.7-magnitude quake that struck central Myanmar has killed more than 1,600 people and destroyed thousands of homes.But the bloody conflict sparked by the 2021 military coup has brought the country’s infrastructure, healthcare system and power network to their knees.Here are some of the challenges facing relief efforts in Myanmar:- Humanitarian crisis -The United Nations and aid agencies have warned that millions were already facing a dire humanitarian crisis before the quake, and are now in urgent need of yet more aid.Much of the country was already plagued by a punishing mix of conflict, poverty and instability after the civil war that left 3.5 million people displaced and smashed the economy.”We have estimated that 19.9 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and this is just before the earthquake,” said UN humanitarian coordinator in Myanmar Marcoluigi Corsi.”The situation will be further aggravated.”Before the quake, the World Food Programme (WFP) said more than 15 million out of a population of 51 million were unable to meet their daily food needs.Just two days after the quake, the UN said the aid effort was being hampered by a severe lack of medical supplies, while rescuers on the ground have pleaded for more equipment to comb ruined buildings for survivors.The quake also struck Myanmar at a time when US President Donald Trump has slashed jobs and funding to Washington’s foreign aid agency.Trump has promised US help but one million civilians in Myanmar face WFP aid cuts after he took an axe to the US Agency for International Development.Countries around the world have begun sending rescue teams and aid shipments.- Junta rule -The junta, led by General Min Aung Hlaing, has lost control of large parts of Myanmar throughout the conflict, though it remains in charge of major cities including Mandalay — the closest to the quake epicentre and worst hit. But many civil servants chose to switch sides following the military coup and join resistance to the junta.This loss of personnel has further weakened an already antiquated civil administration, making the management and distribution of relief efforts harder.In a sign of the enormity of the disaster — and perhaps in a tacit admission of the state’s inability to respond — Min Aung Hlaing issued a rare appeal for foreign aid on Friday.This marked a major shift from previous military rulers who shunned all international assistance. Poverty is rampant, the economy shattered, and international sanctions combined with the expense of fighting the civil war have drained the junta’s coffers.- Splintered control -Much of Myanmar is controlled by a shifting patchwork of junta forces, ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy partisans.The complex mosaic of control on the ground, often involving competing groups with different agendas, may further frustrate efforts to move relief resources to where they are needed around the country.Sagaing city — near the quake’s epicentre — has seen some of the heaviest fighting between junta forces and armed resistance groups.Ethnic armed groups, border militias and the military have all been vying for control of local resources, spurring fears there will be a similar tussle for aid.- Poor infrastructure -Myanmar’s infrastructure and medical system have been ravaged by the civil war.The junta has bombed hospitals in rebel-held areas and many doctors have abandoned government medical facilities to join the rebellion.The UN has said hospitals in Mandalay, Magway and the capital Naypyidaw “are struggling to cope with the influx of people injured”.The country was already beset by phone and internet blackouts but the quake has further hurt communications and the ability to direct aid to the most in need.Internet communications in Mandalay were patchy and land and air routes severely disrupted after the quake buckled roads.With many houses collapsed, the UN and other NGOs say solutions are needed for the many left homeless.

An American woman freed by the Taliban in Afghanistan celebrated her release, in a video shared Saturday by US President Donald Trump, in which she thanked him for helping secure her freedom.In a video shared on Trump’s Truth Social account, Faye Hall is seen smiling and in apparently good health, saying: “Thank you for bringing me home.”Hall, a British couple and their Afghan translator were detained on February 1 as they traveled to central Bamiyan province.Washington’s former envoy to Kabul, Zalmay Khalilzad, said Hall was in the care of the Qatari delegation in Kabul. “American citizen Faye Hall, just released by the Taliban, is now in the care of our friends, the Qataris in Kabul, and will soon be on her way home,” Khalilzad, who has been part of a US delegation working on Taliban hostage releases, wrote on X.While at the Qatari embassy, Hall “has been confirmed in good health after undergoing a series of medical checks,” according to a source with knowledge of the release.She was released on Thursday following a court order and with logistical support from Qatar, the source added.In the video promoted by Trump’s account, Hall said she was proud to be a US citizen and urged support for Afghan women held in Taliban jails.”Thank you, Mr President,” she said. “And I just want you to know, all the women in the Afghan jail, they always ask me, ‘When is Trump coming?’ You, truly, they just treat you like their savior. They’re waiting for you to come and set them free.”In the post accompanying the video, Trump said: “Thank you Faye — So honored with your words!”Hall, identified by the Taliban’s interior ministry as Chinese-American, was detained along with Peter and Barbie Reynolds, who are in their 70s, as they travelled to the British couple’s home in central Bamiyan province. Their Afghan translator was also arrested.Taliban officials have refused to detail the reasons for their arrest, but one report said Hall had been detained on charges of using a drone without authorization.- Hopes for ‘new chapter’ -Khalilzad had been in the Afghan capital earlier this month on a rare visit by US officials to meet Taliban authorities, accompanying US hostage envoy Adam Boehler. Following their visit, the Taliban government announced the release of US citizen George Glezmann after more than two years of detention, in a deal brokered by Qatar.He and Hall are among several Americans to be released from Taliban custody this year. In January, two Americans detained in Afghanistan — Ryan Corbett and William McKenty — were freed in exchange for an Afghan fighter, Khan Mohammed, who was convicted of narco-terrorism in the United States. At least one other US citizen, Mahmood Habibi, is still held in Afghanistan.The British couple detained with Hall remain in Taliban custody.Their daughter has expressed grave fears for her father’s health and appealed to the Taliban authorities to free them. The Reynolds, who married in Kabul in 1970, have run school training programs in the country for 18 years.They remained in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021 when the British embassy withdrew its staff. The government in Kabul is not recognized by any country, but several, including Russia, China and Turkey, have kept their embassies open in the Afghan capital. Qatar, too, has maintained diplomatic channels with the Taliban and has facilitated negotiations for the release of US hostages.Since Trump’s reelection, the Kabul government has expressed hopes for a “new chapter” with Washington.