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GMA Network
2 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Russian teams remain banned from competing at 2026 Winter Olympics
Performers and the Olympic rings are seen during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics at the National Stadium in Beijing, China on Sunday, February 20, 2022. REUTERS/ Kim Hong-Ji PARIS - Russian teams, including the country's powerful national ice hockey side, remain banned from competing at next year's Milano-Cortina winter Olympics as part of sanctions imposed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday. The IOC was responding to reports out of Russia that hockey officials from the country had held talks with the international ice hockey federation (IIHF) over Olympic participation. "The IOC Executive Board recommendation from March 2023 with regard to teams of athletes with a Russian passport remains in place," the IOC said. "It is based on the fact that, by definition, a group of Individual Neutral Athletes cannot be considered a team. We take note that the IIHF has confirmed that it will follow this recommendation. A small number of individual Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to take part in the Paris 2024 summer Olympics after rigorous vetting by the IOC. They competed without the Russian or Belarusian flag and anthem. Instead they took part as neutral athletes. All Russian teams were banned. Belarus has acted as a staging ground for the invasion. Four Russian figure skaters in men's and women's singles were recently approved by the International Skating Union to try to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics as neutral athletes. Russian ice hockey players won gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and silver four years later in Beijing. The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee in October 2023 for recognising regional Olympic councils for Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine - Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. "This (October 2023) recommendation was made after consultations with the International Federations concerned and the other Olympic Movement stakeholders," the IOC said. "This position reflects the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee because of its annexation of regional sports organisations on the territory of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine." "Such action constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine, as recognised by the IOC in accordance with the Olympic Charter," the Olympic body said. The Winter Olympics in Italy run from February 6-22. —Reuters
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
How a Gen Z gender divide is reshaping democracy
A woman casts her early vote for the upcoming presidential election at a polling station in Seoul, South Korea, May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL/LONDON/BERLIN - South Korea's young women are expected to lead a broad political backlash against the main conservative party at presidential elections on June 3, punishing it for months of chaos. Multitudes of young men, though, are unlikely to join them. In democracies worldwide, a political gender divide is intensifying among Gen Z voters, with young men voting for right-wing parties and young women leaning left, a break from pre-pandemic years when both tended to vote for progressives. Recent elections spanning North America, Europe and Asia show this trend is either consolidating or accelerating, with angry, frustrated men in their 20s breaking to the right. First-time South Korean voter Lee Jeong-min is one of them. He says he will vote for the right-wing Reform Party's candidate, Lee Jun-seok, on June 3. Lee, the candidate, vows to shut down the ministry of gender equality, speaking to an issue that resonates with men like Lee, the voter, who particularly resents that only men have to do military service. "As a young man, I find this to be one of the most unfair realities of living in Korea. At the prime of their youth — at 21 or 22 years old — young men, unlike their female peers, are unable to fully engage in various activities in society because they have to serve 18 months in the military." In South Korea, almost 30% of men aged 18-29 plan to back the Reform Party compared with just 3% of young women, according to a Gallup Korea poll this month. Overall, more than half of the men back right-wing parties while almost half the women want the left-wing Democratic Party candidate to win. The divergence shrinks for older age groups. Political economist Soohyun Lee, of King's College London, said many young South Korean men felt unable to meet society's expectations: find a good job, get married, buy a home and start a family. And they blame feminism, many believing that women are preferred for jobs. With negligible immigration in South Korea, Lee said, "women become the convenient scapegoat". ANGRY YOUNG MEN In South Korea and other democracies, Gen Z men are seeing an erosion of their relative advantage, especially since the pandemic -- to the point where in a few countries the gender pay gap among 20-somethings favours young women. EU data shows one of them is France, where men aged 18-34 voted in larger numbers for Marine le Pen's far-right party than women in last year's legislative elections. In the UK, where more young men than women vote conservative, males aged 16-24 are more likely to be neither employed, nor in education than female counterparts, official data shows. In the West, young men blame immigration as well as diversity programmes for competition for jobs. In Germany's general election in February, the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a record 20.8% of the vote, tugged along by an undercurrent of support from young men -- though the leader of the party is a woman. Men aged 18-24 voted 27% for the AfD while young women ran to the other end of the political spectrum, voting 35% for the far-left Linke party, according to official voting data. "A lot of young men are falling for right-wing propaganda because they're upset, they have the feeling they're losing power," said Molly Lynch, 18, a Berliner who voted for Linke, drawn by its stand on climate change and economic inequality. "But it's actually losing power over women that wasn't actually equal in the first place." The gender divide is not restricted to Gen Z, voters born since the mid-to-late 1990s. Millennials, aged in their 30s and early 40s, have felt the winds of change for longer. In Canada last month, men aged 35-54 voted 50% for opposition conservatives in an election turned upside down by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on his northern neighbour. The Liberals, which had been braced for defeat, rode an anti-Trump wave back to power, thanks in large part to female voters. "It tends to be men who have a bit more life experience and are now in that situation where they're saying, 'This isn't working out for me and I want change'," said Darrell Bricker, global chief executive of public affairs at polling firm Ipsos. Nik Nanos, founder of Canadian polling outfit Nanos Research, agreed, saying social media was accelerating democracy's "angry young men symptom", especially in areas where blue collar jobs have dried up. A FOREVER WAR? Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, which promised a manufacturing renaissance and attacked diversity programmes, also resonated with young white and Hispanic men, but turned off young women, fuelling the country's big political gender gap. Roughly half of men aged 18-29 voted for Trump, while 61% of young women went for his opponent, Kamala Harris. Young Black voters of both genders still overwhelmingly backed Harris. In Australia, which went to the polls this month, the Gen Z war did not play out at the ballot box. There was no clear divergence, with compulsory voting perhaps helping to explain why radicalised gender politics have not taken root. "It tends to iron out extreme ideas, ideologies," said political scientist Intifar Chowdury of Australian National University. So how does the Gen Z war end? Pollsters said it could drag on unless governments addressed core issues such as home affordability and precarious employment. One cited young men's health as another policy challenge, especially high suicide rates. Lee, of King's College, said the divide could make consensus on over-arching tax and welfare reforms harder to achieve. "If the future generation is ever so divided along the lines of gender and then refuses to engage with each other to build social consensus, I do not think we can successfully tackle these huge issues," she said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
South Korea's presidential election by the numbers
Supporters of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for South Korea's Democratic Party, cheer during an election campaign rally at a park in Seoul, South Korea, May 28, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji A woman casts her early vote for the upcoming presidential election at a polling station in Seoul, South Korea, May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji SEOUL - South Koreans go to the polls on June 3 to elect the country's 21st president, aiming to restore political stability after months of turmoil and fill a power vacuum following the botched attempt by former leader Yoon Suk Yeol to impose martial law. Here are some details about South Korea's election system: SINGLE ROUND ELECTION The election is held in a single round and the candidate who receives the most votes is deemed the winner and entitled to serve one five-year term. LEADING CANDIDATES The top three candidates based on a recent Gallup Korea poll are the liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, with 49% public support, followed by his main conservative rival Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party with 35% and another conservative candidate, New Reform Party's Lee Jun-seok, on 11%. All of the six candidates remaining in the race are men with no women in the final lineup for the first time since 2007, according to the National Election Commission (NEC). South Korea has only had one female leader, Park Geun-hye. The youngest candidate is Lee Jun-seok, who is 40, and the oldest is Kim Moon-soo at 73. NUMBER AND MAKEUP OF VOTERS There are 44.39 million eligible voters, with women accounting for 50.5% of voters, according to data on the electoral roll from the interior ministry. South Korea is one of the world's fastest ageing societies and the number of voters aged above 60 accounts for about a third of the electorate, outstripping the 28% share of those in their 20s and 30s. Gyeonggi Province is home to the largest number of voters, accounting for 26.4%, followed by Seoul at 18.7% and Busan at 6.5%. A total of 205,268 people overseas voted between May 20 and 25 in 118 countries, the NEC said. ELECTION SECURITY South Korea's acting President Lee Ju-ho said on Monday the government was "transparently disclosing the entire process of the presidential election", according to his office. The National Election Commission will air CCTV surveillance footage of rooms storing ballots from early voting, with their entrances sealed before counting starts and transported ballots given police escorts, Lee said. After votes are cast, ballots will be initially sorted by machines and then election workers will count them, the NEC said. ELECTION SCHEDULE The official election campaign is relatively short in South Korea in a bid to contain costs. It started on May 12. There are 3,568 polling stations across the country open for early voting that will be allowed between May 29-30. Election day on June 3 is a public holiday and voting will run from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. with an indication of the results likely to start emerging that evening or early the next day. On June 4, the National Election Commission is expected to verify the results and the inauguration of the new president will be held. SOURCES: National Election Commission, Gallup Korea REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Barnama
15-05-2025
- Business
- Barnama
APEC Trade Talks Begin in Jeju to Tackle Protectionism and Global Trade Challenges
South Korea's Trade Minister Cheong In Kyo speaks during the opening ceremony of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting at International Convention Center in Seogwipo on Jeju island, South Korea, May 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji JEJU (South Korea), May 15 (Bernama-Yonhap) -- Trade ministers from the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies convened on Thursday on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju, amid rising global protectionism and ongoing trade negotiations involving major economies, Yonhap news agency reported. The APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting, held under the theme 'Building a Sustainable Tomorrow: Connect, Innovate, Prosper,' will run through Friday at the International Convention Center in southern Jeju, according to South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Senior officials from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are also attending the two-day event. bootstrap slideshow Key agenda items include promoting innovation through artificial intelligence (AI) for trade facilitation, strengthening connectivity via the multilateral trading system, and ensuring prosperity through sustainable trade. This year's meeting draws particular attention as several APEC member economies are in the midst of trade negotiations with the United States (US), following the implementation of sweeping tariff policies by US President Donald Trump earlier this year. 'Today, the global environment surrounding APEC economies faces an array of challenges,' South Korean Trade Minister Cheong In Kyo said in his opening address, pointing to continued uncertainties in global trade and supply chains. He noted that international institutions such as the WTO and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have revised down their forecasts for global trade and economic growth. 'Given this challenging global trade environment, the role of APEC is more crucial than ever, and the world is paying keen attention to this year's MRT meeting,' he added. South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk Geun is scheduled to hold bilateral talks on Friday with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the margins of the MRT meeting.
The Star
30-04-2025
- Climate
- The Star
South Korea's deadly fires made twice as likely by climate change, researchers say
FILE PHOTO: A vehicle stands amid the damage in the aftermath of a wildfire, in Yeongyang, South Korea, March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) -South Korea's worst ever wildfires in March were made twice as likely as a result of climate change and such disasters could become even more frequent if temperatures continue to rise, scientists said on Thursday. Fires in the country's southeast blazed for nearly a week, killing 32 people and destroying around 5,000 buildings before they were brought under control in late March. The fires burned through 104,000 hectares (257,000 acres) of land, making them nearly four times more extensive than South Korea's previous worst fire season 25 years ago. The hot, dry and windy conditions were made twice as likely and 15% more intense as a result of climate change, a team of 15 researchers with the World Weather Attribution group said after combining observational data with climate modelling. South Korea normally experiences cold dry winters and rapid increases in temperature in March and April, making it vulnerable to fires at that time of year, said June-Yi Lee of the Research Center for Climate Sciences at Pusan National University. This year, average temperatures from March 22-26 were 10 degrees Celsius higher than usual in the southeast, and patterns of low and high pressure to the north and south generated the powerful winds that helped the fire spread, she told a briefing. "This year, the size of the impact was very extreme … because of the dry weather, the heat and the high temperatures - a perfect storm of conditions," she said. The weather that drove the fires could become even more common if global warming continues on its current trajectory and rises another 1.3 degrees by 2100. "The models project on average a further increase of about 5% in intensity and a further doubling of the likelihood of similarly extreme events," said Clair Barnes of the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London (ICL). The blazes also raised concerns that South Korea's extensive tree planting programme since the 1970s had made the country more fire-prone, and forest management needs to adjust to meet the challenges of extreme heat, said Theo Keeping at ICL's Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires. "Once a wildfire event is extreme enough, it can't be put out with drops from planes and helicopters or from spraying water from the ground … so we need to manage risk before these events happen," he said. (Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
