A South Korean court on Friday ordered impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol to be released from jail, a move that could allow Yoon to stand trial for his rebellion charge without being physically detained.

Yoon was arrested and indicted in January over the Dec. 3 martial law decree that plunged the country into political turmoil. The opposition-controlled parliament separately voted to impeach him, leading to his suspension from office.

The hearings in his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court concluded in late February, and that court is expected to rule soon on whether to formally remove him from office or reinstate him.

The Seoul Central District Court said it accepted Yoon’s request to be released from jail because the legal period of his formal arrest expired before he was indicted.

The court also cited the need to resolve questions over the legality of the investigations on Yoon. Yoon’s lawyers have accused the investigative agency that detained him before his formal arrest of lacking legal authority to probe rebellion charges.

Investigators have alleged that the martial-law decree amounted to rebellion. If he’s convicted of that offense, he would face the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Yoon’s defense team welcomed the court’s decision and urged prosecutors to release him immediately. The presidential office also welcomed the court’s decision, saying it hopes Yoon will swiftly return to work.

However, South Korea law allows prosecutors to continue to hold a suspect whose arrest has been suspended by a court temporarily while pursuing an appeal.

The main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which led Yoon’s Dec. 14 impeachment, called on prosecutors to immediately appeal the court’s ruling.

Yoon’s martial law decree, which involved the dispatch of troops and police forces to the National Assembly, evoked traumatic memories of past military rules among many South Koreans. The decree lasted only six hours, as enough lawmakers managed to get into an assembly hall and voted to overturn it unanimously.

Yoon later argued his decree was only meant to inform the people of the danger of the opposition Democratic Party, which undermined his agenda and impeached top officials, and said he dispatched troops to the assembly only in order to maintain order. But some top military and police officers sent to the assembly have told Constitutional Court hearings or investigators that Yoon ordered them to drag out lawmakers to obstruct a vote on his decree or detain politicians.

If the Constitutional Court upholds Yoon’s impeachment, he will be officially thrown out of office and a national election will be held to choose his successor within two months. If the court rejects his impeachment but he is still in jail, it’s unclear whether and how soon he will be able to exercise his presidential powers.

Massive rallies by opponents and supporters of Yoon have filled the streets of Seoul and other major South Korean cities. Whatever the Constitutional Court decides, experts say it will likely further polarize the country and intensify its conservative-liberal divide.

Yoon is the first South Korean president to be arrested while in office. South Korean law gives a president immunity from most criminal prosecution, but not for grave charges like rebellion or treason.

By law, a president in South Korea has the power to put the country under martial law in wartime and similar emergency situations, but many experts say South Korea wasn’t in such a state when Yoon declared martial law.

The Washington Times

Saudi Arabia has deported 8,733 illegal residents in the past week as part of a nationwide crackdown on residency, labour, and border violations, the Ministry of Interior announced on Saturday.

Between January 30 and February 5, security forces carried out joint field operations in collaboration with multiple government agencies, leading to the arrest of 21,477 individuals across various regions of the Kingdom. Those detained included 13,638 violators of the Residency Law, 4,663 violators of the Border Security Law, and 3,176 violators of the Labor Law, the ministry said.

The operation also apprehended 1,316 people attempting to cross the border into Saudi Arabia illegally, with 40 per cent identified as Yemeni nationals, 58 percent as Ethiopian nationals, and 2 per cent from other nationalities. An additional 77 individuals were arrested while trying to leave the country unlawfully.

Authorities also referred 28,661 violators to their diplomatic missions to obtain travel documents, while 2,919 individuals were in the process of completing travel reservations.

The crackdown extended beyond undocumented individuals, with 13 people arrested for facilitating illegal entry, providing shelter, or employing violators.

The Ministry of Interior confirmed that 37,120 individuals—33,547 men and 3,573 women — are currently undergoing legal procedures ahead of further punitive measures.

Saudi law imposes severe penalties on those assisting illegal migration, including prison sentences of up to 15 years and fines of up to SR1 million ($266,000). The ministry warned that vehicles and properties used to transport or harbor violators will be confiscated.

Gulf News

All 10 people on the Bering Air caravan that was reported missing Thursday are confirmed dead, Alaska State Troopers said.

“Our hearts are heavy with grief as we process this heartbreaking news. At this time, our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those affected by this tragedy. We recognize the profound loss this has caused, and we want to extend our sincerest condolences to everyone impacted,” Alaska State Troopers said in a statement Saturday.

Efforts to recover the victims’ bodies were expected to begin Saturday on the sea ice where the plane crashed, 34 miles southeast of Nome, Alaska, according to the Alaska State Troopers.

The wreckage was found on Friday with three people initially found dead inside, the Coast Guard said.

The remaining seven people were also believed to be inside the wreckage but were “inaccessible due to the condition of the plane,” the Coast Guard said Friday.

“Our heartfelt condolences are with those affected by this tragic incident,” the Coast Guard said.

There were nine passengers, all adults, and a pilot on board the commuter plane, authorities said.

The Alaska State Troopers will handle the recovery of the bodies, Coast Guard Lt. Commander Mike Salerno told ABC News. The Alaska National Guard also said Saturday that it would provide personnel and equipment to help with the operation including two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, a Nome-based UH-60L Black Hawk, an HC -130J Combat King II and a team of pararescuemen.

The wreckage was found by a search and rescue crew on a USCG MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and then two rescue swimmers were lowered down to survey the plane.

The US State Department has issued a halt to nearly all existing foreign assistance and paused new aid, according to an internal memo sent to officials and US embassies abroad.

The leaked notice follows President Trump’s executive order issued on Monday for a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance pending a review of efficiencies and consistency with his foreign policy.

The United States is the world’s biggest international aid donor spending $68bn in 2023 according to government figures. The State Department notice appears to affect everything from development assistance to military aid.

It makes exceptions only for emergency food aid and for military funding for Israel and Egypt. The leaked memo’s contents have been confirmed by the BBC.

“No new funds shall be obligated for new awards or extensions of existing awards until each proposed new award or extension has been reviewed and approved,” says the memo to staff.

It adds that US officials “shall immediately issue stop-work orders, consistent with the terms of the relevant award, until such time as the secretary shall determine, following a review.”

It also orders a wide scale review of all foreign assistance to be completed within 85 days to ensure the aid adheres to President Trump’s foreign policy goals.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio – the US’s top diplomat – has previously stated that all US spending abroad should take place only if it makes America “stronger”, “safer” or “more prosperous”.

One former senior State Department official told the BBC the notice meant a “potentially huge” impact on foreign aid programmes funded by the US.

“One can imagine, for example, the humanitarian de-mining programmes around the world suddenly being told stop work. That’s a pretty big deal,” said Josh Paul, who oversaw Congressional relations on weapons transfers at the State Department until late 2023.

Dave Harden, a former US Agency of International Aid (USAID) mission director in the Middle East, told the BBC the move was “very significant”, saying it could see humanitarian and development programmes funded by the US around the world being immediately suspended, while the review is carried out.

He said it could affect a wide range of critical development projects including water, sanitation and shelter.

“The employees of the implementing partner or the [non-governmental organisation] would be able to be paid, but actual assistance, I think, needs to be halted,” said Mr Harden.

“I have gone through [assistance suspensions] many times when I was the West Bank and Gaza mission director, but that was specific to that account. This is global,” he said.

“Not only does it pause assistance, but it puts a ‘stop work’ order in existing contracts that are already funded and underway. It’s extremely broad,” he added.

The AFP news agency reported the funding freeze could also potentially affect Ukraine, which received billions of dollars in weapons under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden.

Rubio’s memo, justifying the freeze, said it was impossible for the new administration to assess whether existing foreign aid commitments “are not duplicated, are effective and are consistent with President Trump’s foreign policy”.

Rubio has issued a waiver for emergency food assistance, according to the memo.

This comes amid a surge of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began, and several other hunger crises around the world, including Sudan.

The memo also said waivers have so far been approved by Rubio for “foreign military financing for Israel and Egypt and administrative expenses, including salaries, necessary to administer foreign military financing”.

The State Department has been approached for comment.

Credit: BBC

The Kremlin said on Thursday it saw nothing particularly new in a threat by U.S. President Donald Trump to hit Russia with new sanctions and tariffs if it did not agree to end the war in Ukraine.

Referring to Russia and the war, Trump said on Wednesday: “If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.”

Trump said he would be doing a very big favour to Russia and Putin by getting them to bring an end to what he called “this ridiculous war”.

Asked about Trump’s comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Trump had often applied sanctions against Russia in his first term as president.

“We do not see any particularly new elements here,” Peskov told reporters. “He likes these methods, at least he liked them during his first presidency.”

Moscow was closely monitoring all Trump’s statements, said Peskov.

“We carefully record all the nuances. We remain ready for dialogue, President Putin has repeatedly spoken about this – for equal dialogue, for mutually respectful dialogue.”

Trump, who earlier this week said the Ukraine conflict was “destroying” Russia, has said he plans to speak to Putin soon. Peskov said Moscow was still waiting for “signals” from the U.S. side.

Among the first executive orders signed by President Donald Trump was an order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the newly named “Gulf of America.”

“President Trump is bringing common sense to government and renewing the pillars of American civilization,” the newly inaugurated president’s executive order said.

Trump also called for Alaska’s 20,000-foot mountain, Denali, to be reverted back to Mount McKinley, which was its name before former President Barack Obama had it changed in 2015.

Trump’s executive order calls for the U.S. secretary of the interior to change the names on federal maps.

He has appointed former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for the position.

During his January press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump declared he would change the name, saying the gulf is currently run by cartels and that “it’s ours.”

“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of territory, the Gulf of America,” Trump said at the time. “What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate. And Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country.”

Presidents do have the authority to rename geographic regions and features, but it needs to be done via executive order.

The U.S. Board of Geographic Names typically has the jurisdiction for geographic names.

The Gulf of Mexico is one of the largest and most important bodies of water in North America. It’s the ninth-largest body of water in the world and covers some 600,000 square miles.

Half of the U.S. petroleum refining and natural gas processing capacity is located along the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and it supplies about 40% of the nation’s seafood, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.

Following Trump’s inauguration on Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order on winter weather in the state that already refers to the gulf as the “Gulf of America.”

While referring to a weather system that could impact the state beginning Tuesday, DeSantis’ executive order said, “An area of low pressure moving across the Gulf of America, interacting with Arctic air, will bring widespread impactful winter weather to North Florida.”

“For us and the whole world, it is still the Gulf of Mexico,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday in a response to Trump’s various decrees.

ABC News