Prosecutors have asked for South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol to be handed a death sentence if he is found guilty over his botched attempt to impose martial law.

A court in Seoul heard closing arguments in Yoon’s trial, in which he was accused of being the “ringleader of an insurrection”.

The charge stems from Yoon’s attempt in December 2024 to impose military rule in South Korea – an act that lasted just hours but plunged the country into political turmoil. He was later impeached by parliament and detained to face trial.

Yoon has denied the charges against him, arguing that martial law was a symbolic gesture to draw public attention to the wrongdoings of the opposition party.

Leading an insurrection – the most serious charge against Yoon – carries sentences of the death penalty, or life imprisonment. Under South Korean law, prosecutors had to ask the judge for either one sentence or the other.

South Korea has not executed anyone in nearly 30 years. In 1996, former military dictator Chun Doo-hwan was given the death penalty for seizing power in a military coup in 1979, though his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.

The prosecutors in Yoon’s case argue that although no one was killed in his martial law attempt, Yoon’s intent was no less violent.

Closing their arguments at Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday, prosecutors said the former president had been motivated by a “lust for power aimed at dictatorship and long-term rule”.

“The greatest victims of the insurrection in this case are the people of this country,” they told the court.

“There are no mitigating circumstances to be considered in sentencing, and instead a severe punishment must be imposed,” they said.

Prosecutors had called to the stand the military commander who testified that Yoon had ordered the arrest of lawmakers during his abortive coup.

They also presented as evidence the memo made by one of the planners of the martial law, a former military officer, containing the suggestion of “disposing” of hundreds of people including journalists, labour activists and lawmakers.

Yoon’s insurrection trial has been merged with those of two other senior figures in his administration, former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun and former police chief Cho Ji-ho.

Prosecutors sought life imprisonment for Kim, and 20 years in jail for Cho for carrying out Yoon’s illegal orders. There are five other defendants.

Yoon was in court to hear the final legal arguments. He has argued that as president, he had the power to declare martial law. Yoon was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying he had done so to fend off the “wickedness that would ruin the nation”.

Legal arguments were expected to end last Friday, but continued into Tuesday amid reports defence lawyers had delayed proceedings.

The court is expected to deliver its verdict in February. Sentences sought by prosecutors are not always upheld in courts in South Korea.

Yoon, 65, was removed from office in April, and is the country’s first sitting president to be taken into custody.

He has been detained for months while facing several criminal trials. Last month, prosecutors sought a 10-year prison term for Yoon for obstruction of justice and other charges related to his martial law attempt.

On 3 December 2024, Yoon shocked the country – and the world – by declaring martial law over South Korea. He said at the time it was to protect the country from North Korean communist forces, but some saw it as a ploy by Yoon to get a grip on power amid domestic political woes.

The short-lived martial law declaration sent South Korea into months of political turmoil, while Yoon became South Korea’s first sitting president to be arrested and charged.

South Korea’s incumbent president, Lee Jae Myung, was elected in June following a snap election after Yoon’s impeachment.

Despite his downfall, Yoon retains loyal supporters in right-wing circles who see him as a martyr who dared to rail against the liberal Democratic Party led by Lee.

Source: BBC

US President Donald Trump has introduced himself in a post on Truth Social as Venezuela’s acting president, days after a US attack that led to the abduction of the country’s President Nicolas Maduro.

Trump on Sunday posted a picture of himself on his social media website as the “acting president of Venezuela,” portraying himself as the interim leader of the country as of January 2026.

On January 3, American forces staged an illegal military attack on Caracas, abducting Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and then transferring them to a prison facility in the United States.

The democratically-elected Venezuelan leader is now being tried in a kangaroo court in New York for fake charges allegedly related to trafficking guns and drugs.

Trump later announced that his administration would “run” Venezuela. He has especially emphasized that he is now in full control of all transactions linked to the country’s oil industry.

In an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday, Trump pointed out that the United States could oversee Venezuela and control its oil revenue for years to come.

Trump has been pressing American oil companies reluctant to purchase oil from the leftist South American country to buy the country’s crude and resume their operations in Venezuela.

US oil majors, who lost their assets in Venezuela when the industry was nationalized by former President Hugo Chavez nearly two decades ago, insist that the laws in the Latin American country must be changed before they can start work.

Trump responded to their demand, telling them not to be “cute.”

Following Maduro’s abduction, his vice president, Delcy Rodrigues, was sworn in by the country’s top court as the interim president.

Since then, Rodrigues’ government has been engaged in diplomatic talks with the Trump administration, while a US team of diplomatic and security personnel arrived in Caracas to assess the possibility of reopening the US embassy in the Venezuelan capital.

At the same time, Maduro’s supporters have been marching in the streets of Caracas on a daily basis, calling for the immediate release of their popular leader and his wife, who remain in US custody.

Source: Presstv

At least seven explosions have shaken Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, as low-flying aircraft have been detected in the skies above the city, in what the Venezuelan government said were coordinated US strikes.

Explosions and smoke were reported across Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, at around 2 a.m. local time (6 a.m. GMT) with power outages near a key military base and reports of low-flying aircraft on Saturday.

People in various neighborhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.

President Nicolas Maduro announced a nationwide state of emergency, ordered the full activation of national defense plans, and authorized the deployment of comprehensive defense commands across the country in response to the attacks.

In a statement, the Venezuelan government said US forces carried out coordinated strikes on civilian and military targets in Caracas and several other states, describing the operation as a direct act of military aggression aimed at seizing the country’s oil and mineral wealth.

The government urged its supporters to mobilize nationwide in response to the attacks.

“People to the streets!” the statement said. “The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”

Caracas said it retains the right to legitimate self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter and called on regional governments and the international community to stand against what it described as imperialist aggression.

American news outlets reported that US President Donald Trump had greenlighted direct attacks on Venezuelan soil several days ago.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack, calling on the UN to convene immediately to discuss the issue.

“Caracas has been attacked by missiles, and the world must be aware; Venezuela is under attack. The Organization of American States and the United Nations must convene immediately,” Petro said in a post published on X.

Source: Presstv

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appeared before the Tel Aviv District Court for the 65th time to respond to corruption charges in cases that have haunted him throughout much of his premiership, according to Israeli media reports.

The Hebrew-language Maariv daily newspaper reported that the latest court session on Tuesday focused on Case 4000, which involves allegations of bribery in connection with Shaul Elovitch, the former controlling shareholder of Bezeq, Israel’s largest telecommunications company.

Prosecutors say that Netanyahu is accused of granting regulatory benefits to Bezeq in exchange for favorable media coverage on the Walla news website, owned by Elovitch, though the Israeli premier denies all charges.

Prosecutors also say Netanyahu and members of his family submitted “various demands” to the Elovitch couple regarding the tone and content of Walla’s news coverage, the paper reported.

Source: Presstv

US President Donald Trump’s administration is set to require all foreign visitors to the United States to submit their social media histories from the past five years, according to a notice by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The directive, released on Tuesday will be enforced for all new entrants, including travelers from countries that require visas.

In addition to social media activity, visitors may also need to provide email addresses and phone numbers used during the same period, as well as the names, birth dates, and addresses of family members, including children.

The rules would also affect travelers from countries enlisted in the visa waiver program, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, and Qatar, who currently can visit the US for up to 90 days using an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form.

The proposal, published in the Federal Register—the official journal of the US government—cites a January executive order from Trump titled “Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.”

The restrictions come as the US prepares to host major international sporting events, including next year’s FIFA World Cup for men across the US, Canada, and Mexico, and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Critics say the new requirements could pose significant obstacles for tourists and infringe on digital privacy and civil liberties.

Source: Presstv

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has named Israel the world’s greatest killer of journalists for the third consecutive year, holding it responsible for nearly half of global journalist deaths in 2025, largely in the besieged Gaza Strip.

In an annual report on Tuesday, the RSF said that 29 Palestinian reporters were killed by the Israeli military in Gaza, accounting for nearly half of the 67 journalists killed this year worldwide.

The Paris-based media freedom group added that for the third year in a row, the occupying entity emerged as the world’s deadliest menace for journalists.

Since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, nearly 220 journalists have been killed, cementing Tel Aviv’s grim record as the leading killer of media workers worldwide.

RSF’s report, which documented deaths over 12 months from December 2024, noted that Israeli forces accounted for 43 percent of journalist deaths this year, labeling them “the worst enemy of journalists.”

“Nearly half (43%) of the journalists slain in the past 12 months were killed in Gaza by Israeli armed forces,” it said.

Source: Presstv