
Protesters demand Malaysia reject US ambassadorial nominee Nick Adams
Protesters in Kuala Lumpur demanded that Malaysia reject US ambassadorial nominee Nick Adams, a self-declared 'Alpha Male' and accused Islamophobe. Al Jazeera's Rob McBride explains why the government may have a hard time saying no.
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Al Jazeera
6 hours ago
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South Korea ex-leader Yoon indicted as martial law probe continues
Disgraced former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been indicted over his declaration of martial law last year as investigators widened an insurrection probe. The prosecution indicted Yoon on charges including abuse of power and obstruction of special official duties, prosecutor Park Ji-young told reporters on Saturday. Park said Yoon also did not follow the required procedure to declare martial law, including holding a meeting with all government cabinet members. He was also charged with 'drafting and discarding a false document' that stated the prime minister and defence minister endorsed martial law. Yoon has denied all wrongdoing. He plunged South Korea into a political crisis when he sought to subvert civilian rule in December, sending troops to parliament in a bid to prevent lawmakers from voting down his declaration of martial law. Yoon became the first sitting president in the country to be taken into custody when he was detained in January after resisting arrest for weeks, using his presidential security detail to thwart investigators. He was released on procedural grounds in March even as his trial on insurrection charges continued. Last week, he was detained again after an arrest warrant was issued over concerns he might destroy evidence in the case. Yoon appeared in court on Friday at a hearing to argue for his arrest warrant to be cancelled. The ex-president's legal team told reporters Yoon defended himself for more than 30 minutes and noted his 'limited physical mobility and the challenges he was facing'. The court denied the request. State prosecutors have already indicted Yoon on other criminal charges, including masterminding a rebellion, a charge with conviction carrying only two sentences — capital punishment or life imprisonment. Meanwhile, a demonstration with thousands attending took place in the South Korean capital, Seoul, as well as other parts of the country against the policies of current President Lee Jae-myung. Lee won a snap election in June after Yoon was removed from office. Many South Koreans are angry because they believe the new government has not addressed their concerns in its reform plans.


Al Jazeera
12 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Gaza students sit exams for first time since war began in October 2023
Hundreds of Palestinian students in Gaza are taking a crucial end-of-secondary-school exam organised by the besieged enclave's Ministry of Education in the hope of entering university studies. Earlier this month, the ministry announced Saturday's exam, which will be the first since Israel began its genocidal war on Gaza after the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel in October 2023. The ministry confirmed that about 1,500 students are registered to take the exam, which will be conducted electronically using specialised software, adding that all necessary technical preparations have been carried out to ensure smooth administration. Some students are sitting the online exam at home, while others are taking it at venues depending on the region they are in, with safety considerations in mind, given the daily Israeli bombardment. Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah, stressed that for Palestinian students, the exam is a critical gateway to higher education, scholarships and a future beyond the Israeli blockade. He said: 'Even in a warzone, with no classrooms, no books and barely any internet, Gaza's students are showing up, logging in and sitting their final exam, refusing to let war erase their future.' After the war started, the education of many students in Gaza has been put on hold, and the results of Saturday's exam will allow them to continue their studies at university. Many should have been at university by now, but remained at the high school level due to the war, as Israeli attacks have devastated Gaza's education system, along with the rest of the territory's civilian infrastructure. In response, Gaza's Education Ministry has launched an online platform – the first of its kind in Gaza – to enable high school seniors to take their final exam. 'Students have downloaded the app to take their exam, but they face many challenges,' Morad al-Agha, the exams director of the Central Gaza Governorate, told Al Jazeera. 'We have raised these concerns with the ministry to make sure they're resolved, so students can sit for their exams without disruption.' 'It is so difficult' Students log in from cafes, tents and shelters – wherever they can find a charged device and a working internet connection. Before the final exam, they have completed a mock test, designed not only to test their knowledge but also the system's stability. However, students tell Al Jazeera that going digital in Gaza has not been easy. 'We are taking exams online, but it is so difficult,' student Doha Khatab said. 'The internet is weak, many of us do not have devices and there is no safe space to take the test. We also lost our books in the bombardment.' To support them, a few teachers have reopened damaged classrooms and are offering in-person guidance. 'It is the first time the ministry has done this online and students are confused, so we're trying to guide them step by step,' teacher Enam Abu Slisa told Al Jazeera. The war in Gaza and the destruction of 95 percent of educational infrastructure have left more than 660,000 children out of school – nearly all of Gaza's school-aged population, according to the United Nations. Many former UN-run schools are now being used as shelters for displaced people and also face relentless, deadly Israeli attacks. A report to the UN Human Rights Council found that Israeli forces systematically destroyed education infrastructure in Gaza. The report described these actions as potential war crimes.


Al Jazeera
14 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Japan's minority gov't faces election setback over inflation, immigration
Japan's shaky minority government looks poised for another setback in a crucial upper house vote this weekend, in the first national election since Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba took office last year. Half of the 248 seats in Japan's Upper House of Parliament will be contested on Sunday. Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), along with its longtime junior coalition partner Komeito, need to win 50 of its 66 seats up for re-election to hold on to its majority. But polling suggests the coalition will fail to do so, in a potential repeat of October's disastrous election, when the LDP-Komeito coalition lost its parliamentary majority in Japan's more powerful lower house – the worst result since briefly losing power in 2009. The LDP has ruled Japan for almost all of the country's post-war history. Inflation has been a killer issue for Ishiba, with the price of rice – which has doubled since last year due to poor harvests and government policies – becoming a lightning rod for voter discontent. In response, opposition parties have promised tax cuts and welfare spending to soften the blow of Japan's long-running economic stagnation. While locals face a rising cost of living, the country's weak Yen has attracted significant numbers of foreign tourists. Concerns about over-tourism and a lack of respect for local customs have fed local discontent, which has been capitalised on by upstart populist party Sanseito. Initially launched on YouTube by streamer Kazuya Kyoumoto, politician Sohei Kamiya, and political analyst Yuuya Watase in 2019, the party rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic as it peddled conspiracy theories and far-right talking points. In the years since, Sanseito has successfully appealed to a small but growing section of Japan's electorate with its 'Japanese First' campaign and anti-immigration stance, rallying against what it describes as a 'silent invasion' of immigrants. While foreigners still only make up a small fraction of Japan's population, at about 3 percent, the country has taken in about a million immigrant workers over the past three years to fill jobs left vacant by its ageing population. Kamiya, the party's 47-year-old leader, said Sanseito is forcing the government to address growing concerns about foreigners in Japan, as it drags rhetoric once confined to the political fringe into the mainstream. 'In the past, anyone who brought up immigration would be attacked by the left. We are getting bashed too, but are also gaining support,' Kamiya told the Reuters news agency this week. 'The LDP and Komeito can't stay silent if they want to keep their support,' Kamiya added. While polls show Sanseito may only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs in this vote, each loss is crucial for Prime Minister Ishiba's shaky minority government – increasingly beholden to opposition parties to cling to power. Should the LDP's seat share be eroded, as expected, Ishiba will almost certainly seek to broaden his coalition or strike informal deals with opposition parties. But doing so with Sanseito could prove problematic for the LDP, which owes much of its longevity to its broad appeal and centrist image. 'If the party [LDP] goes too far right, it loses the centrists,' Tsuneo Watanabe, a senior fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation think tank in Tokyo, told Reuters. In a worst-case election outcome for the LDP, David Boling, director for Japan and Asian trade at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, says he believes Ishiba may be forced out of office. 'If he had an overwhelming loss, I think he would have to resign,' Boling said. But a move such as that would unleash political turmoil, at a time when Japan is frantically seeking to secure a reprieve from Donald Trump's proposed 25 percent tariffs before an August 1 deadline touted by the US president. Illustrating the urgency of the issue, on Friday Ishiba took a break from campaigning to urge Washington's chief tariff negotiator and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to continue talks with Japan's top tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa. Following his meeting with Ishiba, Bessent said 'a good deal is more important than a rushed deal. 'A mutually beneficial trade agreement between the United States and Japan remains within the realm of possibility,' he added.