International
Hunger Strike, South Korea opposition leader hospitalised

South Korea’s main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was hospitalised Monday after 19 days on hunger strike to protest against government policies, his party said.
Hours after he was transferred to hospital, prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for him over corruption allegations.
Lee, 58, launched his hunger strike on August 31, over what he calls the government’s “incompetent and violent” policies, in particular its failure to protest against Japan’s release of treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear reactor.
Lee, a former presidential candidate, looked pale and weak in media footage. His transfer to hospital did not stop prosecutors from seeking to arrest him.
“Whether to fast or not and how to fast is a matter of personal freedom, but it should not affect the investigation or trial,” South Korea’s Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon told a parliamentary session.
“If a precedent is set that affects investigations and trials, wouldn’t everyone, including petty criminals, start fasting when they receive a summons notice?”
Prosecutors have accused Lee of bribery in connection with a firm that is suspected of illicitly transferring $8 million to North Korea.
He is also accused of breaching his duties, which allegedly resulted in a loss of 20 billion won ($15 million) for a company owned by Seongnam city during his term as its mayor.
Lee refutes all the allegations.
In order for a court to consider the prosecution’s request for an arrest warrant, Lee’s parliamentary immunity would have to be waived by the 300-member National Assembly, where the Democratic Party — headed by Lee — hold a majority.
Lee’s party slammed the latest development, saying the arrest warrant was “a clear sign of how violent and oppressive” President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration is, it said in a statement.
The National Assembly previously dismissed a request for an arrest warrant in February.
The ruling People Power Party has asked Lee to stop fasting and said that it was ready to talk with Lee on his policy concerns once he recovers his health.
A former child factory worker who suffered an industrial accident as a teenage school drop-out, Lee rose to political stardom partly by playing up his rags-to-riches tale.
But his bid for the top office has been overshadowed by a string of scandals. He faced scrutiny over a questionable land development deal and persistent rumors linking him to organised crime.
At least five individuals connected to Lee’s various scandals in the past have been found dead, some in what appeared to be suicides.
He lost to Yoon in last year’s presidential election by a margin of 0.7 percent.
AFP
International
South Korea to ban mobile phones in school classrooms
The move makes South Korea the latest country to restrict social media use among schoolchildren, following similar steps in countries including Australia and the Netherlands.

• Classroom
South Korea has passed a bill banning the use of mobile phones in school classrooms nationwide, officials said Thursday, joining other countries in efforts to curb social media use among minors.
One of the world’s most wired nations, South Korea has recently sought to tighten rules on electronic devices in schools, citing concerns over smartphone addiction among students.
AFP reports that the bill, which will take effect in March next year, bans smart devices including mobile phones in classrooms and was passed Wednesday, by the National Assembly.
The move makes South Korea the latest country to restrict social media use among schoolchildren, following similar steps in countries including Australia and the Netherlands.
Seoul’s Education Ministry said in a statement that the law bans the use of smartphones in classrooms except when needed as assistive tools for students with disabilities or special education needs, or for educational purposes.
The measure also establishes a legal basis to “restrict the possession and use of such devices to protect students’ right to learn and support teachers’ activities”, it added.
International
Colombia Sentences Teen Shooter of Presidential Hopeful Uribe to Seven Years
The minor shot Uribe three times, including twice in the head, before the candidate’s bodyguards were able to wound and detain the shooter.

•Senator Miguel Uribe\ AFP
The 15-year-old shooter of Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe, who was attacked in June and died in August, was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in juvenile detention.
AFP reports that the right-wing politician was shot in the head during a campaign event in Bogota by the teenager, who “must remain in a specialized care center for seven years, deprived of liberty,” prosecutors said in a statement.
The teen was charged with attempted murder and illegal possession of weapons — not homicide — because Colombian law does not permit modifying charges after they’ve been accepted by a minor defendant.
Uribe, a 39-year-old opposition legislator, underwent multiple surgeries during two months in an intensive care unit in Bogota, and died of a cerebral hemorrhage on August 11.
The attack echoed the worst years of political violence in Colombia, where five presidential candidates were gunned down in the second half of the 20th century.
Videos of the June 7 attack show Uribe speaking at a rally in a working class neighborhood of Bogota before gunshots broke out.
The bloodied candidate collapsed amid the screams of hundreds of supporters.
The minor shot Uribe three times, including twice in the head, before the candidate’s bodyguards were able to wound and detain the shooter.
Five others — all adults — have been arrested and charged with aggravated homicide in connection to the attack.
Police have also pointed to a dissident wing of the defunct FARC guerrilla group as being behind the assassination.
International
US Imposes 50% Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports

US tariffs of 50 per cent took effect on Wednesday on many Indian products, doubling an existing duty as President Donald Trump sought to punish New Delhi for buying Russian oil.
India has criticised the levies as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”, with its export body calling on Wednesday for government intervention to assuage fears of heavy job cuts.
Trump has raised pressure on India over the energy transactions, a key source of revenue for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, as part of a campaign to end the conflict.
The latest salvo strains US-India ties, giving New Delhi fresh incentive to improve relations with Beijing.
While Trump has slapped fresh duties on allies and competitors alike since returning to the presidency in January, this 50-per cent level is among the highest that US trading partners face.
Crucially, however, exemptions remain for sectors that could be hit with separate levies — such as pharmaceuticals, computer chips and smartphones.
Industries that have already been singled out, such as steel, aluminium and automobiles, are similarly spared these countrywide levies.
The United States was India’s top export destination in 2024, with shipments worth $87.3 billion.
But analysts have cautioned that a 50-per cent duty is akin to a trade embargo and is likely to harm smaller firms.
Exporters of textiles, seafood and jewellery were already reporting cancelled US orders and losses to rivals such as Bangladesh and Vietnam, raising fears of heavy job cuts.
Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, called for “liquidity support from the government”.
“We want to ensure that even if business stops, we are able to keep workers on the payroll”, he told AFP, saying they were “still optimistic” for trade negotiations.
– ‘Eroded trust’ –
The world’s fifth-largest economy is looking to cushion the blow, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi promising to lower the tax burden on citizens during an annual speech to mark India’s independence.
Modi earlier vowed self-reliance, pledging to defend his country’s interests.
The foreign ministry previously said India had begun importing oil from Russia as traditional supplies were diverted to Europe over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It noted that Washington actively encouraged such imports at the time to strengthen stability in the global energy market.
Russia accounted for nearly 36 percent of India’s total crude oil imports in 2024. Buying Russian oil saved India billions of dollars on import costs, keeping domestic fuel prices relatively stable.
But the Trump administration held firm on its tariff plans in the lead-up to Wednesday’s deadline.
Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro told reporters last week that “India doesn’t appear to want to recognise its role in the bloodshed.”
“It’s cozying up to Xi Jinping,” Navarro added, referring to the Chinese president.
Wendy Cutler, from the Asia Society Policy Institute, said India had moved from being “a promising candidate for an early trade deal to a nation facing among the highest tariffs”
Cutler, a former US trade official, said the “high tariffs have quickly eroded trust between the two countries, which could take years to rebuild.
Trump has used tariffs as a tool for addressing everything from what Washington deems as unfair trade practices to trade imbalances.
US trade deficits were a key justification behind his higher duties on dozens of economies taking effect in early August — hitting partners from the European Union to Indonesia.
But the 79-year-old Republican has also taken aim at specific countries such as Brazil over the trial of its former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of plotting a coup.
US tariffs on many Brazilian goods surged to 50 per cent this month, but with broad exemptions.
AFP
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