Latest news with #liberal
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
South Korea's new President Lee vows to revive democracy from 'near demise'
By Hyunsu Yim and Ju-min Park, Reuters South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae-myung. Photo: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae-myung has pledged to raise the country from the near destruction caused by a martial law attempt and revive an economy besieged by global protectionism that is threatening its very existence. Lee's decisive victory in Tuesday's snap election stands to usher in a sea change in Asia's fourth-largest economy, after backlash against a botched attempt at military rule brought down Yoon Suk Yeol just three years into his troubled presidency. He faces what could be the most daunting set of challenges for a South Korean leader in nearly three decades, ranging from healing a country deeply scarred by the martial law attempt to tackling unpredictable protectionist moves by the United States, a major trading partner and a security ally. "A Lee Jae-myung government will be a pragmatic pro-market government," he said after taking the oath of office at parliament, a location where six months ago he jumped over the perimeter wall to enter the chamber and avoid martial law troops barricading it to vote down the decree. He promised deregulation to spur innovation and growth in business and pledged to reopen dialogue with North Korea while maintaining a strong security alliance with the United States and bringing balance to diplomacy. "It is better to win without fighting than to win in a fight, and peace with no need to fight is the best security," he said on the country's often violent ties with rival North Korea. Lee was officially confirmed earlier as president by the National Election Commission and immediately assumed the powers of the presidency and commander in chief, speaking with the top military leader to receive a report on defence posture. With all the ballots counted, Lee won 49.42 percent of the nearly 35 million votes cast while conservative rival Kim Moon-soo took 41.15 percent in the polls that brought the highest turnout for a presidential election since 1997, official data showed. Lee has said he would address urgent economic challenges facing the country on the first day in office with a focus on the cost-of-living concerns affecting middle and low-income families and the struggles of small business owners. He also faces a deadline set by the White House on negotiating import duties that Washington has blamed for a large trade imbalance between the countries. South Korean stocks rallied on Wednesday morning, with the benchmark KOSPI rising more than 2 percent to its highest in 10 months, with the financial sector leading the gain on expectations of market reform by Lee. Renewable energy stocks also rose. Lee has pledged a shift to a greener energy mix. The government under a caretaker acting president had made little progress in trying to assuage crushing tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump that would hit some of the country's major industries, including autos and steel. "President Lee will find himself with little to no time to spare before tackling the most important task of his early presidency: reaching a deal with Trump," the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Lee on his election win and said the countries "share an ironclad commitment" to their alliance grounded on shared values, and deep economic ties. He also said that the countries were "modernising the Alliance to meet the demands of today's strategic environment and address new economic challenges." The White House said the election of Lee was "free and fair" but the United States remained concerned and opposed to Chinese interference and influence in democracies around the world, according to a White House official. Lee has expressed more conciliatory plans for ties with China and North Korea, in particular singling out the importance of China as a major trading partner while indicating reluctance to take a firm stance on security tensions in the Taiwan strait. Still, Lee has pledged to continue Yoon's engagement with Japan and said the alliance with the United States is the backbone of South Korea's global diplomacy. -Reuters
Associated Press
4 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland's presidential election
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Conservative Karol Nawrocki has won Poland's weekend presidential runoff election, according to the final vote count. Nawrocki won 50.89% of votes in a tight race against liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who won 49.11%.
Reuters
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
South Korea presidential candidate Lee says to restore hotline with North Korea
SEOUL, May 26 (Reuters) - South Korea's liberal presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said in a Facebook message on Monday he would pursue the restoration of communication between Seoul and North Korea, including via a military hotline if elected. Lee, who is the frontrunner in opinion polls for the June 3 election, also said he would "stably manage" relations with China, which he said had reached the "worst state" under the previous administration. He vowed to develop the U.S.-South Korea relationship into a "comprehensive strategic alliance," and respond in principle to past historical and territorial issues related to Japan while strengthening cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.
Fox News
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Maher calls out SNL for 'zombie lie' that Republicans are racist, warns they are 'not helping'
Talk show host Bill Maher called out liberal writers on "Saturday Night Live" for their portrayal of conservatives, arguing they used an outdated stereotype. Maher spoke about the current state of American culture with fitness icon and commentator Jillian Michaels in an episode of "Club Random" released on Sunday. After Maher spoke about Trump's unique appeal as a brash outsider willing to be called "deplorable" by his detractors, Michaels marveled at how Democrats are still tarring his supporters. "The whole 'deplorable'" thing," Michaels said, referring to then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton infamously smearing Trump's supporters as "a basket of deplorables," noting, "They're still doing that." Michaels recalled having met outspoken liberal actor Tom Hanks multiple times, saying he was "lovely" in person, but crossed a line with his portrayal of a Trump supporter on "Saturday Night Live." Hanks portrayed a caricature of an unkempt racist Southerner in a MAGA hat named "Doug" several times on the sketch comedy show. In one famous moment in the recurring "Black Jeopardy" sketch, Doug initially balks at shaking the hand of the Black host, before eventually relenting. "I hated it too, and I said it on my show. I know. I hated it. Wearing the MAGA hat, not shaking hands with a Black person. And that's when I thought, 'You people don't know MAGA people,'" Maher said. "I mean, they have their issues and I certainly have my issues with them, but they're general — I mean, of course, there's some racists everywhere who are that bad, but generally, all the MAGA people I know have no problem shaking hands with a Black person." Maher then appeared to address the people behind such a portrayal by declaring, "You're just hysterical, and you're not helping." Maher referred to such a smear of Trump supporters as a "zombie lie." "Mostly what I hate is, it's what I call a zombie lie. Don't lie to me," he said, again addressing those who smear Trump supporters. "It's a lie that MAGA people won't shake hands with — I get it, it's part of a skit, and it's exaggeration, and that's comedy. It's a little too delicate a subject to just make — to go there for that one. You know, look, we all in comedy step over the line sometimes or do one that they want to take back. I doubt if they want to take that one back. I think they probably think it's great." One of the rules of comedy, said Maher - a comedian himself - is that good jokes have to have some element of observational truth about the world in them. "But I'm telling you, as a liberal, I don't like it," he said. "Again, because lying offends me. I'm a comedian. When the premise isn't real, I can't go with — the joke is not gonna work. The premise has to ring true. That premise doesn't ring true. It might have rang true, I don't know, X years ago. It doesn't now. So, you know — but that's where we are. Everybody has to just play the hate card, because that's what gets clicks. That's what gets you loved by your side."
The Independent
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, a Republican who became a liberal darling, has died
Retired Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, the ascetic bachelor and New Hampshire Republican who became a darling of liberals during his nearly 20 years on the bench, has died. He was 85. Souter died Thursday at his home in New Hampshire, the court said in a statement Friday. He retired from the court in June 2009, giving President Barack Obama his first Supreme Court vacancy to fill. Obama, a Democrat, chose Sonia Sotomayor, the court's first Latina justice. Souter was appointed by Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1990. He was a reliably liberal vote on abortion, church-state relations, freedom of expression and the accessibility of federal courts. In retirement, Souter warned that ignorance of how government works could undermine American democracy. "What I worry about is that when problems are not addressed, people will not know who is responsible. And when the problems get bad enough ... some one person will come forward and say, 'Give me total power and I will solve this problem.' That is how the Roman republic fell,' Souter said in a 2012 interview. His lifestyle was spare — yogurt and an apple, consumed at his desk, was a typical lunch — and he shunned Washington's social scene. He couldn't wait to leave town in early summer. As soon as the court finished its work in late June, he climbed into his Volkswagen Jetta for the drive back to the worn farmhouse where his family moved when he was 11. Yet for all his reserve, Souter was beloved by colleagues, court employees and friends. He was a noted storyteller and generous with his time. 'Justice David Souter served our Court with great distinction for nearly twenty years. He brought uncommon wisdom and kindness to a lifetime of public service," Chief Justice John Roberts said. Souter continued hearing cases on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for more than a decade after he left the high court, Roberts said.
