The arrests in Azerbaijan of several journalists, including staff at the independent Meydan TV, have been condemned by the international community, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Azerbaijani authorities have detained Meydan TV’s editor-in-chief, Aynur Elgunash, and four of her reporters. Also being held are freelancer Ramin Jabrailzada, who is known as Deko, and Ulvi Tahirov, deputy director of the Baku School of Journalism.

All are charged with smuggling foreign currency and have been ordered to be held for four months in pre-trial detention. The journalists denied the charges and said the criminal case is a result of their journalism work.

During the arrests, others were briefly detained and later released, according to local reports. Journalist Ahmad Mukhtar was placed in administrative detention on charges of petty hooliganism and disobedience to the police.

Blinken in a statement called on Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release the journalists who he said were “arrested for their work on human rights.”

The media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, known as RSF, described the arrests as part of a strategy to silence critics of President Ilham Aliyev’s administration.

VOA reached out to authorities, but the calls went unanswered.

Jeanne Cavelier, who heads RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Desk, said the government has resumed its crackdown against journalists in the aftermath of COP29, the annual U.N. climate change conference that Azerbaijan hosted. 

The Meydan TV arrests again prove the regime’s “willingness to shamelessly target the individuals who dare to keep Azerbaijani citizens informed,” Cavelier said in a statement. She added that Azerbaijan has detained 13 other journalists in the past year.

RSF “calls on the international community not to turn a blind eye to these grave, systematic violations of fundamental rights,” said Cavelier.

Meydan TV in a statement described the arrests and questioning of its team as illegal.

“Since the day we began our activities, our journalists have been arrested, they and their families have been subjected to harassment, and they have been subjected to various pressures and threats. Journalists who cooperate with us have been illegally banned from leaving the country,” the statement said.

Bahruz Maharramov, a member of the Azerbaijani parliament, questioned the criticism of the arrests.

“If there are real suspicions based on valid, irrefutable evidence, why should any person’s profession prevent those suspicions from being investigated?” he said. 

“Why should we remain silent about the illegal actions of a mercenary network like Meydan TV, just because they are journalists? Where is the legality, where is the equality?” he told VOA.

Regular pressure

Meydan TV was founded in 2013 as an impartial and objective media organization. It has regularly faced pressure from the authorities, and in 2017 access to its website was blocked in the country. The network’s social media accounts have been hacked multiple times and their contents deleted.

Orkhan Mammad, an editor at Meydan TV, said that some of those detained were subjected to violence and that the authorities tried to forcefully extract statements from them.

“Ramin Deko had bruises under his eyes. He was left without a lawyer for a long time. When Aynur Elgunash’s house was searched, she was pinned against the wall, hit in the kidney region, and her computer was seized,” he said.

The lawyer for Tahirov, Bahruz Bayramov, told VOA that the assistant director of the Baku School of Journalism has no connection with Meydan TV.

“They were just family friends with Aynur Elgunash. A large amount of money was seized during a search at Tahirov’s house. However, Tahirov stated that the money belonged to his wife,” Bayramov said.

The money found was from her salary, the lawyer said.

Zibeyda Sadigova, who is representing another of the journalists, Natig Javadli, said that there was no basis for the arrest.

“We were not provided with the decision and protocols regarding the search of his home, so we were unable to review them. Natig said that his computers and phones were confiscated, but no money was found in the house,”  Sadigova said.

The lawyer said that Javadli has been in journalism for 30 years and that the arrest is related to that work. “They seized his passwords without a court order. He was subjected to psychological pressure,” the lawyer told VOA.

Lawyers representing the journalists have filed an appeal against the pre-trial detention.

Media crackdown

More than 20 journalists and media workers have been arrested in Azerbaijan since late 2023 on allegations of smuggling and other crimes.

Among those affected are journalists from Abzas Media, known for its corruption investigations, and the independent media outlet Toplum TV.

The editor-in-chief of Abzas Media, Sevinj Vagifgizi, was among the Anti-Corruption Champions honored by Blinken on Monday. 

“Vagifgizi has devoted more than a decade in exposing government abuses. She’s also the one awardee who is not with us this afternoon,” Blinken said during a ceremony.

He noted that Vagifgizi had returned to Azerbaijan in November 2023, “knowing that she might be arrested on arrival.” More than a year later, said Blinken, “she remains in detention.”

Azerbaijan’s government has rejected international criticism of the arrests, calling it an “interference in Azerbaijan’s internal affairs and the independence of the judiciary.”

Officials say that fundamental rights, as well as media freedom, are guaranteed. 

Local human rights organizations estimate that there are more than 300 political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

The country ranks 164th out of 180 on the RSF’s World Press Freedom Index, where 1 reflects the best environment for media.

Ulviyya Guliyeva contributed to this report.   
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BEIJING — The former coach of the Chinese men’s national football team has received a 20-year-prison sentence for bribery, Chinese state media reported Friday.

Liu Tie, who once played in the English Premier League as a midfielder for Everton, was found guilty of “leveraging his positions” as head coach of the national football and national selection team to receive bribes of more than 50 million yuan (about $7 million), by a court in the city of Xianning in the central Hubei province.

Liu coached the Chinese men’s team between January 2020 and December 2021. He was also charged with taking bribes between 2015 to 2019, when he worked for local football clubs.

The investigation into Liu’s conduct began in November 2022. He pleaded guilty to bribery and corruption in March of this year.

His sentencing is the latest in a series of high-profile corruption cases involving Chinese football.

In March, the former president of the Chinese Football Association, Chen Xuyuan, was sentenced to life in prison for bribery. Earlier this week, three other CFA officials received prison sentences for bribery, according to state media.
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BANGKOK — Fleeing an arrest warrant issued by Myanmar’s junta, journalist Nyan Linn Htet moved to neighboring Thailand three years ago.

From there, the founder and managing editor at the Mekong News Agency has continued to provide coverage of issues affecting his home country.

But a new law being debated in the Thai parliament could damage the fragile existence that he and so many others in exile from Myanmar have.

The Association and Foundations Bill was proposed in the Thai parliament in October. If passed, it would require nonprofits to register with the Minister of Interior and to have of a minimum of 30 Thai staff members.

Noncompliance comes with fines of up to $3,000.

The draft bill is concerning for journalists like Nyan, who have been working from exile in Thailand since the February 2021 military coup.

Many registered their outlets as nonprofits, and do not have the capacity to comply with the law.

“The new draft bill is one of the challenges for our exiled media,” Nyan told VOA. “When it comes to making financial information available to Thai authorities, many local media can find it difficult to follow since they are currently operating with the financial support made by the donors or [nongovernmental organizations].”

Thailand’s government says the bill is needed to counter national security concerns. But analysts say it would give authorities expansive powers and could make the work of Myanmar’s exiled media more precarious.

Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate, an advocacy lead at Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, says the legislation could lead to interference in nonprofits, and would give authorities the power to dissolve organizations and put civil society organizations at risk of being deemed national security threats.

“The draft act on Association and Foundations is yet another attempt by the authorities to monitor and control the work of civil society organizations, many of which take the form of either an association or a foundation,” he told VOA by email.

Akarachai noted that the law would give authorities ”expansive powers” to close organizations on grounds such as “good morals of the people,” “public order,” or “national security.” Failure to submit an annual report or balance sheet within 30 days could also result in being closed.

Thailand is not alone in passing laws around foreign funding and national security.

“The Ministry of Interior and related national security agencies seem determined to follow the lead of authoritarian neighbors like Cambodia and Vietnam in severely restricting civil society organizations, regardless of the damage it does to Thailand’s reputation and its ability to operate as a regional hub for international agencies,” Phil Robertson, director of Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates, told VOA.

The Thai government “need to live up their progressive principles and face down this conservative threat against people’s civil and political freedoms,” he said.

Safe haven

Thailand, which has a 2,400-kilometer border with Myanmar, has seen thousands of people flee the conflict between opposition groups and junta forces.

When Myanmar’s military seized power, it revoked some broadcast licenses and detained dozens of journalists, including a VOA contributor. Fearing arrest or retaliation, many journalists fled.

In Thailand they found a temporary base, especially in border towns. But the threat of being sent back to Myanmar weighs heavily.

Strict paperwork and requirements make it hard for Myanmar nationals to get proper media visas. Not all of them have the necessary documentation after fleeing their homes, and some are wanted by the junta over their coverage.

Journalist Toe Zaw Latt says most exiled media chose Thailand because they had “nowhere else to go.” It offers better facilities including internet connection and communications as well as “easy access to the sources,” he told VOA.

The journalist said he believes it would be impractical for the media to operate further away. And if the legislation comes into force in Thailand, he predicts many will evade it.

“A lot [of journalists] will go undercover. I don’t think any media want to legally register under Thai law, simply because they don’t trust it, or [because it’s] very difficult,” he said.

In Nyan’s case, he says the majority of his 17-person team are based in Thailand.

“We can’t afford to move back to Myanmar since it is crystal clear that we are at risk of being arrested, tortured or even murdered unlawfully,” Nyan said.

Myanmar is one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists, ranking second, only behind China. At least seven journalists have also been killed since the coup, according to data by the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ.

Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative, described the draft bill as a danger for Myanmar media “that operate from Thailand and play crucial roles in supporting the many Myanmar journalists driven into exile since the 2021 coup.”

“Thai lawmakers should scrap this severe and wrong-headed legislation and allow Myanmar’s exile media organizations to continue functioning without fear of reprisal,” he told VOA via email.

Nyan fears that a reduction in active exiled Myanmar media in Thailand will pave the way for Myanmar state media to spread disinformation.

He says if the law comes into force and Myanmar media are forced to leave Thailand, it will mean there is only limited independent news in Myanmar.

“This will result in having military’s disinformation, misinformation or hate speech campaigns proliferated seriously,” he said. 
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WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers and diplomatic officials stressed the need for close cooperation among the United States, South Korea and Japan in response to the possible impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. 

The officials say that Yoon, who could be removed from office as soon as this weekend over a short-lived imposition of martial law that threw his country into turmoil, has played an important role in the informal U.S. alliance that Washington has forged in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Senator Jack Reed, who spoke to VOA Korean on Wednesday, said Yoon’s diplomacy has “strengthened South Korea vis-a-vis China and Russia and other emerging threats in the Pacific.”  

“The collaboration between South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Australia — that is probably going to do more to deter hostilities than anything else. So, that has to be maintained,” said Reed, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

He emphasized that the presence of a significant number of U.S. forces in South Korea “keeps the North Koreans from doing something rash and very destructive to South Korea.” More than 28,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea.

“That relationship — the United States and South Korea — I think, is made more formidable when Japan is also part of it, and the Philippines are also part of it,” Reed said. “And I think South Korean people have to recognize that we’re talking about their safety and security.” 

The embattled president has been criticized in his own country for pursuing a foreign policy that fostered closer relations with Japan, a country still reviled by many of his countrymen for its harsh colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.  

Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told VOA Korean that a strong relationship between South Korea and Japan is beneficial to the overall Indo-Pacific region, which faces the rise of China. 

“We know there’s been historic tensions for centuries between Japan and Korea,” Warner said. “I actually think that level of collaboration between America, South Korea and Japan is in the best interests of the region.”  

Andy Kim, who was sworn in this week as the first Korean American U.S. senator, told VOA Korean he hopes “people recognize the importance of ensuring that South Korea remains engaged in the region.”  

“I do think that the work that has been happening between the United States, South Korea and Japan is important, and I hope that whoever is the leader and whatever happens next in South Korea, that type of work continues,” said Kim, who expressed shock at Yoon’s declaration of martial law on Dec. 3.  

The South Korean president said his decision was aimed at “eradicating pro-North Korean forces and to protect the constitutional order of freedom.” Soon after his declaration, a majority of South Korean lawmakers voted to overturn the order. Yoon, who was legally obligated to comply with the vote, did so six hours after his original declaration. 

South Korean lawmakers pushed Dec. 7 to impeach Yoon for the failed martial law declaration. The resolution accused Yoon of putting South Korea on the brink of war by operating a foreign policy “hostile to North Korea, China and Russia, but centered on Japan.” The opposition-led attempt failed because a boycott by Yoon’s ruling People’s Party left the legislature short of the necessary quorum.   

Yoon now faces another impeachment vote, which he vowed Thursday to “fight to the end.”  

Representative Marilyn Strickland, who recently secured a U.S. House seat for a third term, called for “good relationships” with allies, when asked about the controversy.  

“If I think about the safety and the freedom of the entire Indo-Pacific region, it is better to have good relationships with our allies than to be at odds with each other,” she said in a Zoom interview Tuesday with VOA Korean.  

‘Disturbing signals’ 

U.S. diplomatic and security experts said Yoon’s declaration of martial law was clearly wrong but questioned whether an impeachment resolution should be based on his approach to international relations. 

“If you look back at the impeachment resolution, one of the paragraphs in that impeachment resolution directly attacked President Yoon for the trilateral partnership that he had established with Japan and the United States. That was very disturbing,” said Evans Revere, the former principal deputy assistant secretary and acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He spoke to VOA Korean on Monday via Zoom.  

Kenneth Weinstein, the Japan chair at the Hudson Institute, shared a similar sentiment. 

“It’s disturbing in the sense that if the South Korean opposition is going to run on an anti-American, anti-Japanese agenda, it sends disturbing signals to North Korea about alliance unity. It sends disturbing signals to China about alliance unity,” Weinstein said. 

“And frankly, it sends disturbing signals to the incoming Trump administration about what kind of government South Korea is likely to have if President Yoon is impeached.” 

Harry Harris, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea during the first Trump administration, told VOA Korean on Tuesday via email that the cooperation among the U.S., South Korea and Japan should continue. 

“I’ve spoken for a while now how important President Yoon’s outreach to Japan is, especially his meetings in the U.S. and Japan with former Prime Minister [Fumio] Kishida,” he said. 

The U.S. State Department has sidestepped questions on the controversy.  

“We continue to call for the full and proper functioning of the ROK’s democratic institutions and processes, in accordance with the constitution,” said a spokesperson for the State Department in an email to VOA Korean on Saturday. ROK, or the Republic of Korea, is the official name of South Korea.  

“The United States is committed to the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula,” the spokesperson said.  

VOA’s Joon Ho Ahn contributed to this report.
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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping and other foreign leaders to his January 20 inauguration, but it is not known yet whether any of them plan to attend the ceremony on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News it was yet “to be determined” whether Xi will accept Trump’s invitation, which was extended in early November, shortly after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris for a new four-year term in the White House.

She did not name other world leaders who have been invited. Typically, foreign ambassadors to Washington and other diplomats have witnessed the peaceful quadrennial transfers of U.S. presidential power but not heads of government. State Department records dating to 1874 show that no foreign leader has attended a U.S. presidential inauguration.

But Leavitt said the invitations to the noontime outdoor ceremony in six weeks are “an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just our allies but our adversaries and our competitors, too. He is willing to talk to anyone, and he will always put America’s interests first.”

If Xi travels to Washington, it could provide a first opportunity during Trump’s second presidential term for the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies to discuss contentious trade and military issues.

Trump has threatened to impose massive tariffs on Chinese exports to the United States, partly to push Beijing to curb the deadly flow of fentanyl into the U.S. and to boost the sale of U.S. products in China.

The U.S. has imposed a January 19 deadline, the eve of the inauguration, for TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the social media app or face a ban in the U.S. TikTok is fighting the ban in court; it lost a bid last week to block the ban but is appealing the case to the Supreme Court.

Trump on Thursday, during an appearance at the New York Stock Exchange, where he was ringing the bell to open the market, said he’s been “thinking about inviting certain people to the inauguration” without referring to any specific individuals.

“And some people said, ‘Wow, that’s a little risky, isn’t it?'” Trump said. “And I said, ‘Maybe it is. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens.’ But we like to take little chances.”

The Kremlin separately on Thursday said President Vladimir Putin, at war with U.S.-supported Ukraine for nearly three years, has not received an inaugural invitation.

Since his election victory, Trump has met or talked with several world leaders, including visits with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Argentine President Javier Milei, at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida oceanside retreat.

In addition, Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Britian’s Prince William in Paris last weekend at the reopening of the refurbished Notre Dame Cathedral, much of which was gutted by a fire five years ago.

“World leaders are lining up to meet with President Trump because they know he will soon return to power and restore peace through American strength around the globe,” Leavitt said.
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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — From plastic surgery clinics to tour firms and hotel chains, South Korea’s hospitality sector is wary of the potential impact of a protracted political crisis, as some overseas travelers cancel trips following last week’s brief bout of martial law.

South Korea’s travel and tourism industry, which generated $59.1 billion in 2023, around 3.8% of GDP, has held up through previous bumps in the road, including a 2016 presidential impeachment and periodic tensions with North Korea.

But more than a dozen hospitality and administrative sources said the army’s involvement in the latest political crisis was a serious development that could deter leisure and business travel, when the sector is approaching a full recovery in visitor numbers, which stood at 97% of pre-COVID levels as of October.

“There are concerns that safety issues in Seoul would throw cold water on the tourism industry,” Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon said on Wednesday while meeting tourism industry officials to discuss a fall in travel demand.

“There is a growing number of examples of foreign tourists canceling visits to Seoul and shortening their stays,” Oh said, before declaring “Seoul is safe,” in English, Chinese and Japanese to the media.

Daily life and tourist activities have continued as usual, despite ongoing large protests, since President Yoon Suk Yeol rescinded his six hours of martial law on December 4 after parliament voted it down, with analysts noting that South Korea’s institutional checks and balances seem to be holding up.

Some tourists have since canceled bookings, albeit not in great numbers, while others are enquiring whether they could pull out should the situation change, travel and hospitality sources said.

Accor hotel group, which includes the Fairmont and Sofitel brands, said it noted a “slight increase” in cancellation rates since December 3, around 5% higher than in November.

The Korea Tourism Start-up Association said on Friday bookings for the first half of 2025 already had seen a sharp decline.

Rooms in previously fully booked hotels in the capital, Seoul, have become available due to cancellations with some hotels “even lowering their rates and offering special deals to attract more bookings,” said an inbound travel agency that asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

A plastic surgery clinic in Seoul’s upmarket Gangnam neighborhood also said some foreign patients had canceled visits since the martial law incident.

“We are not worried now, but if this situation continues, that would have an impact on foreign visitors,” a clinic representative said, declining to be named.

South Korea is a top global destination for medical and plastic surgery tourism.

Soft power

The latest political crisis also threatens to deal a major blow to the country’s brand, which has been improving thanks to Korean culture and economic success, said Kim Wou-kyung, head of a government brand promotion agency.

The explosion to global prominence of South Korean drama, music and beauty, known as the “Korean Wave,” plus a reputation for safety, and global brands such as Samsung, are key forms of soft power that the government leverages to grow tourist numbers.

South Korea hopes to almost double the number of annual tourists by 2027 from 2019 levels, to 30 million.

Part of the strategy also is to focus on group business travel for events including conferences and exhibitions, a sector known as MICE tourism, which could be impacted if the political crisis continues into early next year, said Ha Hong-kook, secretary-general at Korea MICE Association.

The parliament plans to vote on a motion to impeach Yoon on Saturday, a week after its first impeachment vote was defeated.

“If we get through this immediate, unprecedented period … into a clear route to new elections, then I think actually the impact won’t be that bad,” said Andrew Gilholm, director at risk consultancy Control Risks Group.

He said the country’s reputation “might even be improved” long-term by displaying how it comes through the problems.

Su Shu, founder of Chinese firm Moment Travel in Chengdu, is also sanguine about travel demand for South Korea.

“No matter where there is chaos, there will be people who dare not go,” Su said.

China is the largest source of foreign visitors to South Korea, followed by Japan and the U.S.  
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Vietnam has recently ordered both Temu and Shein, Chinese cross-border shopping platforms, to suspend operations, following a similar move by Indonesia.  

Analysts say businesses and officials believe the Chinese platforms pose a significant threat to local small- and medium-sized enterprises, forcing authorities to take countermeasures. VOA Mandarin reports that more countries are expected to roll out similar restrictions.  

Click here for the full story in Mandarin.
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Myanmar’s economy is expected to shrink by 1% in the current fiscal year, the World Bank said Wednesday, sharply downgrading its economic forecast as severe floods compounded the challenges facing the conflict-torn country.

In June, the bank had projected Myanmar’s economy would grow 1% during the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2025, but warned of increasing poverty and escalating violence.

The country of 55 million people has been in turmoil since 2021 when the military seized power from the elected civilian government triggering a nationwide protest movement that evolved into an armed rebellion against the junta.

The coup abruptly ended a decade of tentative democratic and economic reform in Myanmar, with Western investors pulling out of the country and sanctions disrupting trade.

“The level and intensity of armed conflict remains high, severely affecting lives and livelihoods, disrupting production and supply chains, and heightening uncertainty around the economic outlook,” the World Bank said in its report released on Wednesday.

The bank said multiple sectors of the economy were struggling, and that agricultural production was likely to drop as a result of Typhoon Yagi, which struck in September and caused widespread flooding.

“The manufacturing and services sectors are projected to contract slightly, given persistent shortages of raw materials, imported inputs and electricity, weak domestic demand, and the ongoing impacts of conflict and economic uncertainty,” it said.

A junta spokesman did not respond to a call from Reuters seeking comment.

About 25% of Myanmar’s population is experiencing acute food insecurity due to inflation and supply shortages exacerbated by the war, the World Bank said.

It said inflation was expected to remain at 26% in annual average terms this fiscal year, slightly lower than 27.5% in 2023-24.

The expanding civil war, where a coalition of new armed groups and established ethnic armies have beaten back the well-armed junta, has now engulfed more than half of Myanmar’s 330 townships and forced 3.5 million people from their homes, according to the report.

“Even assuming no further escalation in conflict, growth is expected to remain subdued the following year,” the World Bank said.
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A national security review of Nippon Steel’s $15 billion bid for U.S. Steel is ongoing and President Joe Biden will see what it yields before making a decision on whether to block it, the White House said on Tuesday, cautioning he still opposes the tie-up.

The statement comes after shares of U.S. Steel tumbled more than 10% on Tuesday afternoon following a Bloomberg report suggesting the deal would be killed in short order.

CFIUS, a powerful committee charged with reviewing foreign investments in U.S. firms for national security risks, has until December 22 to make a decision on whether to approve, block or extend the timeline for the deal’s review, Reuters has reported.

“The President’s position since the beginning is that it is vital for U.S. Steel to be domestically owned and operated,” Saloni Sharma, a White House spokesperson said in a statement. “As we have said before, the President will continue to see what the CFIUS process yields. We have not received any CFIUS recommendation. The CFIUS process was and remains ongoing.”

Bloomberg’s initial headline read that Biden was “set to” block the deal, suggesting a final decision had been made, but the outlet later updated it to say he “plans to” kill it, echoing prior comments and leaving the door open to a last-minute change.

CFIUS declined to comment.

Japan’s Nippon Steel said it was inappropriate that politics continued to outweigh true national security interests.

“Nippon Steel still has confidence in the justice and fairness of America and its legal system, and — if necessary — will work with U.S. Steel to consider and take all available measures to reach a fair conclusion,” it added in a statement.

U.S. Steel said the transaction should be approved on its merits.

“The benefits are overwhelmingly clear,” it said in a statement. “Our communities, customers, investors, and employees strongly support this transaction, and we will continue to advocate for them and adherence to the rule of law.”

The two companies are poised to pursue litigation over the process if Biden decides to block the merger.

The acquisition has faced opposition within the U.S. since it was announced last year with both Biden and his incoming successor Donald Trump both publicly indicating their intention to block it.

CFIUS told the two companies in September the deal would create national security risks because it could hurt the supply of steel needed for critical transportation, construction and agriculture projects.

Despite opposition, including from the United Steelworkers union, Japan’s Nippon has pressed on in pursuit of a deal, promising to not transfer any U.S. Steel production capacity or jobs outside the U.S. if the merger succeeds.

Nippon has also said it would not interfere in any of U.S. Steel’s decisions on trade matters, including decisions to pursue trade measures under U.S. law against unfair trade practices.

In a bid to win over support from workers, Nippon Steel said on Tuesday it planned to give employees $5,000 each if the deal with U.S. Steel closed. It also pledged $3,160 closing bonuses to employees in Europe, which would result in a nearly $100 million total payment to employees.
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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — A former South Korean defense minister was formally arrested Wednesday over his alleged collusion with President Yoon Suk Yeol and others in imposing martial law last week, as authorities investigate whether their acts amount to rebellion. 

Martial law, the first in more than 40 years, lasted only about six hours but has triggered a domestic firestorm and large street protests. Yoon and his associates face criminal investigations and impeachment attempts. The Justice Ministry has banned Yoon and eight others from leaving the country as authorities see them as key suspects in the martial law case. It’s the first time that a sitting president in South Korea has received a travel ban. 

The Seoul Central District Court said it approved an arrest warrant for former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun on charges of rebellion and abuse of power. 

Kim has been detained since Sunday. Prosecutors have up to 20 days to determine whether to indict him. A conviction on the charge of rebellion carries a maximum death sentence. 

Kim became the first person arrested over the case. He has been accused of recommending martial law to Yoon and sending troops to the National Assembly to block lawmakers from voting on it. Enough lawmakers eventually managed to enter a parliament chamber and unanimously rejected Yoon’s decree, forcing the Cabinet to lift it before daybreak on Dec. 4. 

Kim said in a statement Tuesday that he “deeply apologizes for causing significant anxiety and inconvenience.” He said all responsibility for the imposition of martial law rests solely with him and pleaded for leniency for soldiers deployed to enforce it, saying they were only following his order. 

Prosecutors reportedly accuse Kim of playing a key role in a rebellion and committing abuse of power by staging a riot to disrupt the constitution in collaboration with Yoon and other military and police officers. Prosecutors’ offices in Seoul couldn’t immediately confirm the reports. 

The opposition-controlled parliament passed a bill Tuesday to appoint an independent special counsel to investigate Yoon and other top military officials over the martial law introduction. The main opposition Democratic Party had advocated for a special counsel investigation, arguing that public prosecutors cannot be trusted to conduct a thorough investigation of Yoon, a former prosecutor-general. 

During a parliamentary hearing Tuesday, Kwak Jong-keun, commander of the Army Special Warfare Command whose troops were sent to parliament, testified that he received direct instructions from Kim Yong Hyun to obstruct lawmakers from entering the National Assembly’s main chamber. Kwak said the purpose of Kim’s instructions was to prevent the 300-member parliament from gathering the 150 votes necessary to overturn Yoon’s martial law order. 

Kwak said Yoon later called him directly and asked for the troops to “quickly destroy the door and drag out the lawmakers who are inside.” Kwak said he discussed Yoon’s order with the commander at the scene and that they concluded there was nothing that could be done, ruling out the possibility of threatening the lawmakers by shooting blanks or cutting off electricity. 

At the same hearing, senior officer Kim Dae-woo of the military’s counterintelligence agency said his commander, Yeo In-hyung, asked him if an army bunker in Seoul had space to detain politicians and other figures after martial law was imposed. Yeo is considered a close associate of Kim Yong Hyun. Last week, Hong Jang-won, a deputy director of the country’s spy agency, said Yoon ordered him to help Yeo’s command to detain some of his political rivals but he ignored the president’s order. 

Kwak and Yeo are among those who face opposition-raised rebellion charges along with Yoon and Kim, and the Defense Ministry suspended them last week. 

Opposition parties and many experts say the martial law decree was unconstitutional. They say a president is by law allowed to declare martial law only during “wartime, war-like situations or other comparable national emergency states” and South Korea wasn’t in such a situation. They argue that deploying troops to seal the National Assembly to suspend its political activities amounted to rebellion because the South Korean Constitution doesn’t allow a president to use the military to suspend parliament in any situation. 

In his martial law announcement, the conservative Yoon stressed a need to rebuild the country by eliminating “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces,” a reference to his liberal rivals who control parliament. 

Yoon avoided impeachment on Saturday after most governing party lawmakers boycotted a floor vote in the National Assembly. 

The Democratic Party said it would prepare for a new vote on Yoon’s impeachment on Saturday. The party on Tuesday submitted motions to impeach Yoon’s police chief and justice minister as well. It pushed to impeach Kim Yong Hyun and the safety minister, but they resigned before parliament took a vote. 

If Yoon is impeached, his presidential powers would be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to restore his powers or remove him from office. If it voted for removal, a new presidential election would be required.
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SEOUL, South Korea — While South Korean protesters have long employed songs, dances and chants, customized light sticks popular with K-pop fans have emerged as an effective new tool for demonstrators calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Tens of thousands of protesters have braved near sub-zero temperatures and gathered outside the National Assembly in the capital of Seoul since Yoon’s failed martial law attempt last week.

“Impeach, impeach. Impeach Yoon Suk Yeol,” protesters chanted to the beat of K-pop group aespa’s latest techno track “Whiplash.”

Videos of synchronized chanting and light stick movements in unison at the protests have gone viral on social media along with flags carrying messages and memes from mainly younger demonstrators.

“Give us geeks the freedom to only worry about geek things,” one meme flag carried on a flagpole at Saturday’s protest read, capturing the mood among young people amid deepening political turmoil.

One of the advantages of the light sticks is how sturdy they are, said Kim Do Heon, a Seoul-based music critic.

“It also shines very bright and comes in a size that is easy to carry around.”

South Koreans are playing the long game, said Shin Jae-yun who came out to protest against Yoon with a light stick for K-pop boy band TREASURE, because protests are a “very painful act” yet there is no guarantee things will improve right away.

“To endure such pain, you have to have something to enjoy in it so that people can stay hopeful for a long time even when it drags on,” Shin said.

Playlists of popular K-pop protest songs are also being shared on X. Kim Byung-joo, a lawmaker from the main opposition Democratic Party, jumped on the trend on Monday and posted a playlist on the platform: “Impeach Yoon Suk Yeol, ringleader of treason!…from folk songs to K-pop.”

South Korea has a rich history of protest since democracy took root in the 1980s after a series of military interventions. Demonstrations over worker rights, threats from neighboring North Korea and perceived government failings have sometimes turned violent in the past.

Lee Seul-gi, a 36-year-old woman who is a fan of K-pop boyband ATEEZ, said the impeachment protests this time around have become more accessible.

“Previous rallies might have been a bit violent and scary. But the light sticks and K-pop have lowered the barrier,” Lee said.

Candle upgrade

Until 2016, candles were prominent at many protests and played a central role in the rallies that led to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye.

Park was ousted over a graft scandal and was later jailed over the scandal that exposed webs of corruption between political leaders and the country’s conglomerates.

“So many people were holding candles, putting paper cups over them and carrying them out so they wouldn’t go out. But now the age of the light sticks is here, not candles,” music critic Kim said.

Stephanie Choi, a researcher at the State University of New York at Buffalo, said the light sticks still reflect the “power of solidarity while maintaining the original meaning of non-violence.”

While men and women from all age groups are gathering and calling on parliament to impeach Yoon, young women are outnumbering their male peers at the protests.

Yoon vowed to abolish the gender equality ministry before taking office and was an unpopular candidate with women voters in their 20s in the 2022 presidential election.

He won office in 2022 by the slimmest margin in South Korean history but his party suffered a landslide defeat in parliamentary elections earlier this year.

The K-pop industry is notoriously apolitical and so are the lyrics of many K-pop songs playing at the impeachment protests. In South Korea, celebrities expressing political opinions are often frowned upon.

But experts say fans are conscious of K-pop’s power and the underlying messages of female empowerment it carries.

“K-pop is a female-dominant space…and their feminist demands have shaped K-pop’s esthetics and performances today,” Choi said.

Kim Da-in, a 19-year-old fan of virtual idol group Plave, said the impeachment protests are uniting all K-pop fandoms.

“Here, I feel that we are citizens of South Korea first before we are idol fans.”
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BANGKOK — One of the most powerful ethnic minority armed groups battling Myanmar’s army has claimed the capture of the last army outpost in the strategic western town of Maungdaw, gaining full control of the 271-kilometer (168-mile) border with Bangladesh.

The capture by the Arakan Army makes the group’s control of the northern part of Rakhine state complete and marks another advance in its bid for self-rule there.

Rakhine has become a focal point for Myanmar’s nationwide civil war, in which pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority armed forces seeking autonomy battle the country’s military rulers, who took power in 2021 after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the Arakan Army, told The Associated Press by text message from an undisclosed location late Monday that his group had seized the last remaining military outpost in Maungdaw on Sunday.

Outpost commander Brigadier General Thurein Tun was captured while attempting to flee the battle, Khaing Thukha said.

The situation in Maungdaw could not be independently confirmed, with access to the internet and mobile phone services in the area mostly cut off.

Myanmar’s military government did not immediately comment.

Maungdaw, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) southwest of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, has been the target since June of an Arakan Army offensive. The group captured Paletwa and Buthidaung, two other towns on the border with Bangladesh, earlier this year.

Since November 2023, the Arakan Army has gained control of 11 of Rakhine’s 17 townships, along with one in neighboring Chin state.

Ann, a town in Rakhine that hosts the strategically important military headquarters overseeing the western part of the country, appears to be on the verge of falling entirely to the Arakan Army.

The group said in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app late Friday that it had taken more than 30 military outposts, except the army’s western command, which controls Rakhine and the southern part of neighboring Chin state, as well as the country’s territorial waters in the Bay of Bengal.

Recent fighting in Rakhine has raised fears of a revival of organized violence against members of the Muslim Rohingya minority, similar to what drove at least 740,000 members of their community in 2017 to flee to neighboring Bangladesh for safety.

The Arakan Army, which is the military wing of the Buddhist Rakhine ethnic group in Rakhine state, where they are the majority and seek autonomy from Myanmar’s central government, denies the allegations, though witnesses have described the group’s actions to the AP and other media.

Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for generations, but they are widely regarded by many in the country’s Buddhist majority, including members of the Rakhine minority, as having illegally migrated from Bangladesh. The Rohingya face a great amount of prejudice and are generally denied citizenship and other basic rights.

The border between Myanmar and Bangladesh extends from land to the Naf River and offshore in the Bay of Bengal.

The Arakan Army said Sunday it had ordered the suspension of transport across the Naf River because police and local Muslims affiliated with the army were attempting to escape by boat to Bangladesh.

The rebel group has been accused of major human rights violations, particularly involving its capture of the town of Buthidaung in mid-May, when it was accused of forcing an estimated 200,000 residents, largely Rohingyas, to leave, and then setting fire to most of the buildings. It was accused of attacking Rohingya civilians fleeing fighting in Maungdaw in August.

The Arakan Army is also part of an armed ethnic alliance that launched an offensive in northeastern Myanmar in October last year and gained strategic territory along the border with China.
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