World
South Korea’s ruling party leader calls for suspension of Yoon’s powers
Han Dong-hoon says ‘credible evidence’ shows president intended to arrest political leaders.
The head of South Korea’s ruling party has called for the swift suspension of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s powers, citing “credible evidence” that he sought the arrest of political leaders following his short-lived declaration of martial law.
People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon, who had earlier said he would oppose efforts to impeach Yoon, said “newly emerging facts” had tipped the scales against the president.
“I learned last night the president ordered the defence counter-intelligence commander to arrest major political leaders, characterising them as antistate forces, and mobilised intelligence institutions in the process,” Han said.
“I have said that to prevent this country from descending into further chaos, I would try to stop the impeachment bill from passing this time,” Han added.
“But based on what has been revealed, to protect South Korea and our people, I believe it is necessary to stop President Yoon from exercising his powers as president promptly.”
Han said that Yoon had failed to acknowledge that his martial law declaration was illegal and wrong, and there was a “significant risk” that he could take similar extreme action again if he stayed in office.
South Korea was placed under martial law for about six hours on Tuesday night after Yoon announced the move in a surprise televised address to the nation in which he cited threats from “anti-state forces” and North Korean sympathisers.
The National Assembly quickly mobilised to overturn Yoon’s order in a 190-0 vote.
Yoon lifted the order at about 4am, but not before troops had descended on the National Assembly and scuffled with legislators and protesters.
As well as facing impeachment, Yoon is currently under investigation for treason alongside resigned Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun, Army Chief of Staff General Park An-su and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, according to local media reports.
The call from Han, who is the justice minister and one of Yoon’s top rivals in the PPP, marks a decisive shift in the ruling party’s response to the crisis.
The opposition Democratic Party has called for a vote on Saturday night to impeach Yoon, but it needs at least eight votes from the ruling party to reach the necessary two-thirds threshold in the 300-member National Assembly.
If the motion is successful, South Korea’s Constitutional Court would then rule on whether to confirm Yoon’s removal from office.
Until now, the PPP had indicated it would oppose Yoon’s impeachment, with some analysts suggesting that lawmakers feared backlash for going against their own party, as occurred following the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye in 2016.
Park was later sentenced to 20 years in prison for corruption before she was pardoned.
Not including Yoon, four of South Korea’s seven presidents have either been impeached or jailed for corruption since the country’s transition to democracy in the late 1980s.
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By James McManagan, Paul Sonne, Malachy Browne and Jackeline Luna
June 19, 2026
World
Man charged with attempted murder, released after allegedly forcing toddler into crocodile enclosure at zoo
Man FORCES child into crocodile enclosure
A British man has been arrested after allegedly forcing a 3-year-old boy into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo. The child suffered critical injuries, and authorities say the suspect did not know the boy as the investigation continues.
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A man was released from custody on Friday after he was charged with attempted murder for allegedly forcing a 3-year-old boy into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo.
Cambridgeshire police said that the man, who remains unidentified, wasn’t fit to be interviewed.
The boy suffered critical injuries in the incident at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a farm and zoo in Huntingdon, England, north of London.
The 30-year-old man will remain on bail until Sept. 30, pending further inquiries.
GEORGIA MOM’S WALMART TRIP DEVOLVES INTO ‘TUG-OF-WARRING’ IN DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO SAVE HER SON
A crocodile rests inside an enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a farm and zoo in Old Hurst, Cambridgeshire, Britain, on April 14, 2026. (Dorota Dee Trajdos/Reuters)
“The man, who is not known to the victim, was assessed as not being fit for interview,” police said in a statement.
The boy is in stable condition, after reportedly suffering a broken arm and pelvis.
He was saved from the crocodile by Tracey Johnson, the wife of the zoo’s owner.
MOTHER JUMPS INTO WATER TO SAVE 4-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WHO FELL BETWEEN CRUISE SHIP AND DOCK
“I know Tracey very well and she’s a lovely lady and it’s nothing more than I’d expect from her,” a local told BBC News. “She’d always put her own life at risk to save someone else. She’s an extraordinary lady and very brave.
The villager added that Johnson put herself in “immense danger” during the rescue.
The owners said their tropical house would remain closed until further notice.
Crocodiles rest inside an enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst farm and zoo in Old Hurst, Cambridgeshire, Britain, on April 14, 2026. (Dorota Dee Trajdos/Reuters)
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today,” the owners wrote on social media.
Johnsons of Old Hurst is a farm and zoo north of London in Huntingdon, England. (Google Maps)
Huntingdonshire district councillor Charlotte Lowe said she couldn’t “fathom how it’s happened because they’ve got all the right protection and safety equipment, for want of a better word, in there,” The Guardian reported.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Cambridgeshire Constabulary for comment.
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US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his comments on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, saying she asked him “over and over” for a photo when the pair met at the G7 summit in France earlier this week.
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Following the summit, Trump told an Italian journalist that he “felt sorry for Meloni” after she “begged me to take a picture with her”.
Meloni hit back in a video posted to social media, branding Trump’s claims as “completely made up” and insisting that neither she nor Italy begs anyone for anything.
The once close pair’s relationship has grown increasingly fractious in recent months, particularly since Rome refused to provide the US support for its operations in Iran and after Meloni defended Pope Leo XIV, who was criticised by the Trump administration over his remarks on the war and the US’s immigration policies.
“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Saturday. “She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon”.
“Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her “numbers up.” No thanks!!!” Trump added.
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