fc sg777 love

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The president of South Korea early Wednesday lifted the martial law he imposed on the country hours earlier, bending to political pressure after in which troops surrounded parliament and lawmakers voted to reject military rule. President Yoon Suk Yeol, who appeared likely to be impeached over his actions, imposed martial law late Tuesday out of frustration with the opposition, vowing to eliminate “anti-state” forces as he who control parliament and that he accuses of sympathizing with communist North Korea. Police and military personnel were seen leaving the grounds of parliament following the bipartisan vote to overrule the president, and the declaration was formally lifted around 4:30 a.m. during a Cabinet meeting. Parliament acted swiftly after martial law was imposed, with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik declaring that the law was “invalid” and that lawmakers would “protect democracy with the people.” In all, martial law was in effect for about six hours. The president’s surprising move harkened back to an era of authoritarian leaders that the country has not seen since the 1980s, and it was immediately denounced by the opposition and the leader of Yoon’s own conservative party. , leader of the liberal Democratic Party, which holds the majority in the 300-seat parliament, said the party’s lawmakers would remain in the Assembly’s main hall until Yoon formally lifted his order. Woo applauded how troops quickly left the Assembly after the vote. “Even with our unfortunate memories of military coups, our citizens have surely observed the events of today and saw the maturity of our military,” Woo said. While announcing his plan to lift martial law, Yoon continued to criticize parliament’s attempts to impeach key government officials and senior prosecutors. He said lawmakers had engaged in “unscrupulous acts of legislative and budgetary manipulation that are paralyzing the functions of the state.” Jo Seung-lae, a Democratic lawmaker, claimed that security camera footage following Yoon’s declaration showed that troops moved in a way that suggested they were trying to arrest Lee, Woo and even Han Dong-hoon, the leader of Yoon’s People Power Party. Officials from Yoon’s office and the Defense Ministry did not respond to requests for comment early Wednesday. Seemingly hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Assembly, waving banners and calling for Yoon’s impeachment. Some protesters scuffled with troops ahead of the lawmakers’ vote, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or major property damage. At least one window was broken as troops attempted to enter the Assembly building. One woman tried unsuccessfully to pull a rifle away from one of the soldiers, while shouting “Aren’t you embarrassed?” Under South Korea’s constitution, the president can declare martial law during “wartime, war-like situations or other comparable national emergency states” that require the use of military force to maintain peace and order. It was questionable whether South Korea is currently in such a state. When martial law is declared, “special measures” can be employed to restrict freedom of press, freedom of assembly and other rights, as well as the power of courts. The constitution also states that the president must oblige when the National Assembly demands the lifting of martial law with a majority vote. Following Yoon’s announcement of martial law, South Korea’s military proclaimed that parliament and other political gatherings that could cause “social confusion” would be suspended, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said. The military said anyone who violated the decree could be arrested without a warrant. In Washington, the White House said the U.S. was “seriously concerned” by the events in Seoul. A spokesperson for the National Security Council said President Joe Biden’s administration was not notified in advance of the martial law announcement and was in contact with the South Korean government. Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said there was no effect on the more than 27,000 U.S. service members based in South Korea. The South Korean military also said that the country’s striking doctors should return to work within 48 hours, Yonhap said. Thousands of doctors have been striking for months over government plans to expand the number of students at medical schools. Soon after martial law was declared, the parliament speaker called on his YouTube channel for all lawmakers to gather at the National Assembly. He urged military and law enforcement personnel to “remain calm and hold their positions. All 190 lawmakers who participated in the vote supported the lifting of martial law. At one point, television footage showed police officers blocking the entrance of the National Assembly and helmeted soldiers carrying rifles in front of the building. An Associated Press photographer saw at least three helicopters, likely from the military, that landed inside the Assembly grounds, while two or three helicopters circled above the site. The leader of Yoon’s conservative party called the decision to impose martial law “wrong.” Lee, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, said Yoon’s announcement was “illegal and unconstitutional.” Yoon said during a televised speech that martial law would help “rebuild and protect” the country from “falling into the depths of national ruin.” He said he would “eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order.” “I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country,” he said, while asking the people to believe in him and tolerate “some inconveniences.” Yoon — whose approval rating dipped in recent months — has struggled to push his agenda against an opposition-controlled parliament since taking office in 2022. His party has been locked in an impasse with the liberal opposition over next year’s budget bill. The opposition has also attempted to impeach three top prosecutors, including the chief of the central Seoul prosecutors’ office, in what the conservatives have called a vendetta against their criminal investigations of Lee, who has been seen as the favorite for the next presidential election in 2027 in opinion polls. During his televised announcement, Yoon also described the opposition as “shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces who are plundering the freedom and happiness of our citizens.” He did not elaborate. Yoon has taken a hard line on North Korea over its nuclear ambitions, departing from the policies of his liberal predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who pursued inter-Korean engagement. Yoon has also dismissed calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and top officials, drawing quick, strong rebukes from his political rivals. Yoon’s move was the first declaration of martial law since the country’s democratization in 1987. The country’s last previous martial law was in October 1979, following the assassination of former military dictator Park Chung-hee. Sydney Seiler, Korean chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, argued that the move was symbolic for Yoon to express his frustration with the opposition-controlled parliament. “He has nothing to lose,” said Seiler, comparing Yoon’s move to the Hail Mary pass in American football, with a slim chance of success. Now Yoon faces likely impeachment, a scenario that was also possible before he made the bold move, Seiler said. Natalia Slavney, research analyst at the Stimson Center’s 38 North website that focuses on Korean affairs, said Yoon’s imposition of martial law was “a serious backslide of democracy" that followed a “worrying trend of abuse” since he took office in 2022. South Korea “has a robust history of political pluralism and is no stranger to mass protests and swift impeachments,” Slavney said, citing the example of former President Park Geun-hye, the country’s first female president, who was ousted from office and imprisoned for . Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and Matt Lee, Didi Tang and Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.

Michigan WR Morris set to enter transfer portalThe year in review: Influential people who died in 2024

Medtronic PLC stock outperforms competitors despite losses on the day

Social media users are misrepresenting a Vermont Supreme Court ruling , claiming that it gives schools permission to vaccinate children even if their parents do not consent. The ruling addressed a lawsuit filed by Dario and Shujen Politella against Windham Southeast School District and state officials over the mistaken vaccination of their child against COVID-19 in 2021, when he was 6 years old. A lower court had dismissed the original complaint, as well as an amended version. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was filed on Nov. 19. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Several years ago, we were having a discussion with some friends, and someone was trying to come up with the first name of someone we’d all seen on television. “You know, he was in that show with the woman who was a ballerina in that other show,” someone said. Then Johno piped up, emphatically: “Now, let’s not start the name game,” he said. It was more command than comment, so we moved on. I understand his frustration with that. As I cram more and more into this watermelon on my shoulders, I tend to have a bit of trouble connecting the dots. My mind was once nimble, and I had immediate recall. The accuracy of that recall is another story. Last week, an old colleague sent me a photograph of a yellowed newspaper clipping. “Look what I found,” he wrote. It was an Op-Ed page with three essays about an incident that once happened at a movie theater when I joined him and his wife for an afternoon film. The clipping wasn’t familiar, so I read each piece before responding — including the one I wrote long ago. Finally I fessed up: “Neat find,” I said. “Of course, I have absolutely no memory of any of it.” I can’t say that I’m surprised. For years I have heard members of my family recite stories from the Perkins/Fuller lore that I’d swear they were making up on the spot to gaslight me. But considering I’ve spent most of my existence lost in thought and not really paying attention to what’s being said, I know these stories must be true. I’m reminded of a song by one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Bob Schneider, and one particular lyric resonated. The narrator talks about a conversation he had with a guy he met in a bar. The stranger had told him he could remember the names of everyone he’d ever met, and though it may be a gift, he thought it “more of a curse, I must confess.” In the next line, our narrator asks him to name everybody in his first-grade class, and reports: “... and he did — I guess.” That would be impressive – assuming he did it accurately. Our narrator would never know unless he knew all the names already. And how would he? That’s the weird thing about memory — people tend to remember things differently. Like many local folks, I follow a Facebook page called Old Dothan Memories, and I am amused by some of the threads that point this out. They most always revolve around the locations where some business or building long gone and lost to time once stood, living now only in the memories of those who recall. It tickles me to read how someone is firmly convinced that something was on this corner, when everyone knows it was on that one. More often than not, the outlier is correct and everyone else is wrong. As an exercise, I thought I’d make a list of all the phone numbers I have had. I started with the home phone number I grew up with. Simple enough; done. The next would be the first number after moving away from home. I have no idea. College? Don’t remember that one either, but I’m pretty sure it had some 1s in it. I had a land line for years after moving back to town until I had it disconnected about a decade ago. I don’t remember that number, either. I remember only two of countless email addresses I no longer use, although there have surely been more. One is connected to an account through which I bought some digital music from Apple iTunes, but I can’t remember the password. That’s frustrating. Once when I was a child, I heard an adult recite a short string of numbers without reading them from paper. I was tremendously impressed. Wow, all those numbers. How in the world could she remember all that? But now it’s not so impressive. I know my Social Security number, driver license number, Delta Skymiles number, bank account number, routing number, various PIN numbers, my Wheel of Fortune Spin ID, the first three digits of pi, the street address of the Fountain Pen Hospital, the sequence of steps to reset the clock on the microwave, the number of scoops required for a pot of coffee, the year of the Norman Invasion, and Archie Campbell’s license plate number. I never get them confused – although it turns out that what I remember as Archie’s license plate, BR-549, is actually Junior Samples’ telephone number on Hee-Haw. The things I can’t remember start with my jacket size and go on to encompass an entire constellation of things I would be better off remembering. I think I may have remarked to someone recently that I tend to believe that if I cannot remember something, it must not have happened. I don’t know if I said it out loud or just thought it, or whether I was kidding if I did utter it. It’s disconcerting to run into someone I haven’t seen in many years, and in the course of reminiscing, discover that something they remember my having said or done is completely foreign to me. Have I forgotten, or are they remembering it wrong? One thing I know with great certainty: I do not share the gift – or curse – of Bob Schneider’s stranger in the bar. I have seen the class photographs from multiple school years, and while I can name a good third of them, the rest of those kids are absolute strangers to me. I don’t remember them, so they must not have really been there. Bill Perkins Bill Perkins is editorial page editor of the Dothan Eagle and can be reached at bperkins@dothaneagle.com or 334-712-7901. Support the work of Eagle journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at dothaneagle.com . Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Editorial Page Editor {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.