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Seoul – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attended on Tuesday a Constitutional Court hearing of his impeachment trial where the detained leader may get a chance to argue his case or answer questions over his short-lived bid to impose martial law. Near the start of the hearing, Yoon said he had worked in public service with “a firm commitment to free democracy,” when invited by the acting chief justice, Moon Hyung-bae, to speak. Dressed in a navy-colored suit with a burgundy tie, Yoon, a career prosecutor before his 2022 election as president, pledged to answer any questions the court might have. Source link

Nissan Motor will stop making its AD compact van in November to pare back excess production as Honda prepares to fold the flailing carmaker into its business. Manufacturing unit Nissan Shatai hasn’t made any decisions on job cuts, a Nissan spokesperson said, denying an earlier report by the Yomiuri Shimbun that several hundred jobs would be lost when production of the van ceases. The AD van accounted for about 7,000 of the 150,000 cars Nissan Shatai produced during the 2023 fiscal year at its Shonan plant in Kanagawa. The NV200 compact van is also manufactured at the same plant. Nissan has a 50% stake in Nissan Shatai. Source link

Freshly returned to the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump signaled Monday that his administration would not focus on maintaining the rules-based global order or cultivating the American network of alliances. Instead, he vowed that the United States would be a dominating force that would take whatever steps necessary to advance American interests — including flexing its economic muscle and, if necessary, employing its military strength. “We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer,” Trump said in a speech that mainly focused on domestic issues following his swearing-in. “During every single day of the Trump administration, I will, very simply, put America first.” Source link

U.S. President Donald Trump has wasted no time announcing steps to implement many of his campaign pledges, including on immigration, energy, the military and the federal workforce, casting many as reversing the policies of his predecessor, former U.S. President Joe Biden. “We will immediately restore the integrity, competency and loyalty of America’s government,” Trump said in his inaugural address Monday. “With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America, and the revolution of common sense.” Those actions included ordering the attorney general not to take action against TikTok for 75 days; pardoning nearly all people with criminal charges related to storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; rescinding 78 Biden-era orders — including those related to diversity, immigration and climate — and withdrawing the U.S. again from the Paris Agreement. It’s expected that many of the orders Trump signed Monday will be challenged in court. Source link

NEW YORK – One night in late October, Whitney Patterson spotted a YouTube video about people buying shares in Trump Media & Technology Group, U.S. President Donald Trump’s social media and streaming company. Patterson had never heard of Trump Media and had never invested in a stock on her own. But that night, Patterson, whose family owns a pickle business, moved a third of the cash in her retirement fund into Trump’s company. About a week later, she voted for him too. Source link

Paris – U.S. President Donald Trump has outraged environmental activists by announcing the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord for the second time. The U.S. has a long history of failing to ratify international agreements, yet many continue to exert strong influence on global policy without the world’s most powerful nation. The U.S. is the only member of the United Nations not to have ratified the convention, though the country exercises influence with observer status. Source link

Taipei – A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit Taiwan on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, with local authorities reporting three people briefly trapped in a collapsed house and two stuck in elevators. The shallow quake caused buildings in the capital Taipei to shake as it struck at 12:17 a.m. local time 12 kilometers north of Yujing, a mango-growing district in southern Taiwan. No major damage was reported. Local fire authorities rescued three people, including a child, who were trapped in a house that collapsed in another district near the epicenter. Elsewhere, a person was injured by falling debris while two people were reported trapped in elevators, authorities said. In the city of Chiayi, about 40 kilometers north of Yujing, CCTV footage inside a nut shop that was shared on Threads showed shelves swaying and goods falling to the floor. An AFP journalist in Taipei felt their residential tower shake for nearly a minute. Taiwan is frequently hit by earthquakes due to its location on the edges of two tectonic plates near the Pacific Ring of Fire, which USGS says is the most seismically active zone in the world. The island experienced its last major earthquake in April 2024 — a deadly magnitude 7.4 tremor that killed at least 17 people, triggered landslides and severely damaged buildings around Hualien. It was the most serious in Taiwan since it was struck by a magnitude 7.6 tremor in 1999. Some 2,400 people died in that quake, making it the deadliest natural disaster in the island’s history. Since then, Taiwan has updated and enhanced its building code to incorporate quake-resistant construction methods, such as steel bars that allow a building to sway more easily when the ground moves. Some major buildings that were designed before the 1999 quake were already incorporating features to guard against shaking. The government also requires the reinforcement of structures built before the updated codes were introduced. These older buildings are often the main cause for concern during earthquakes. There were complaints as recently as 2018 about a lack of funding for reinforcing such structures. Famous for its cutting-edge tech firms, Taiwan has built up an advanced early warning system that can alert the public to potentially serious ground shaking within seconds. The system has been enhanced over the years to incorporate new tools such as smartphones and high-speed data connectivity, even in some of the most remote parts of the island. Source link

Sakai, Osaka Pref. – In December, Japan put into force amendments to the cannabis control law and the narcotics control law that prohibit the use of marijuana and impose prison sentences of up to seven years for violations. There is optimism that the revised laws will curb marijuana abuse, particularly in light of a surge in illegal drug cases involving young people, including university athletes. Experts emphasize, however, the importance of supplementing the new legal framework with expanded opportunities for drug education targeted at young people. In 2023, police arrested or took other action against a record 6,482 individuals for suspected marijuana cases including possession, marking an increase of more than 20% from the previous year. The majority were young people in their 20s or younger. Source link

On Friday, Unrivaled, a new 3-on-3 women’s basketball league, made its debut. To attract players, it offers the highest average salary in women’s team sports, as well as first-class facilities on par with the National Basketball Association’s. For fans, the league plays a fast-paced, free-flowing version of basketball that empowers players to show off their skills. It’s a winning combination, and Unrivaled should inspire positive changes in the WNBA and women’s sports in general. But it’s not just women’s sports leagues that should be paying attention. The NBA should watch, too. As it deals with flagging viewership, the men’s league can learn a thing or two from Unrivaled that will help it keep and grow an audience. It’s an awkward and unexpected position for the world’s most popular basketball league, but something has to be done. Even after the NBA enjoyed some very good news over the summer, when it signed new media rights agreements worth $76 billion over 11 years, there was still the nagging question of what to do about its ratings slump. Source link

Last season’s quarterfinalist Atletico Madrid is not just vying for a deep run in the Champions League but hoping to keep its good form alive and win the competition, manager Diego Simeone said ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Bayer Leverkusen. Atletico Madrid is the only team to reach three Champions League finals without winning the trophy, including two defeats to rivals Real Madrid under Simeone in 2014 and 2016. The host is set to welcome high-flying Bayer Leverkusen, which is on an 11-match winning streak across all competitions, while Atleti’s own run of 15 consecutive victories was ended by a 1-0 LaLiga defeat by Leganes on Saturday. Source link