South Korea's Ex-President Yoon Arrested in Martial Law Probe
The Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant early Thursday, citing the risk of Yoon destroying evidence, a special counsel team looking into his case said. It's Yoon's second detention since he shocked the nation and the world by briefly imposing martial law in early December.
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Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
China begins building world's largest dam, fuelling fears in India
Chinese authorities have begun constructing what will be the world's largest hydropower dam in Tibetan territory, in a project that has sparked concerns from India and Bangladesh. Chinese Premier Li Qiang presided over a ceremony marking the start of construction on the Yarlung Tsangpo river on Saturday, according to local media. The river flows through the Tibetan plateau. The project has attracted criticism for its potential impact on millions of Indians and Bangladeshis living downriver, as well as the surrounding environment and local Tibetans. Beijing says the scheme, costing an estimated 1.2tn yuan ($167bn; £125bn), will prioritise ecological protection and boost local prosperity. When completed, the project - also known as the Motuo Hydropower Station - will overtake the Three Gorges dam as the world's largest, and could generate three times more energy. Experts and officials have flagged concerns that the new dam would empower China to control or divert the trans-border Yarlung Tsangpo, which flows south into India's Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states as well as Bangladesh, where it feeds into the Siang, Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers. A 2020 report published by the Lowy Institute, an Australian-based think tank, noted that "control over these rivers [in the Tibetan Plateau] effectively gives China a chokehold on India's economy". In an interview with news agency PTI earlier this month, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu expressed concern that the Siang and Brahmaputra could "dry up considerably" once the dam was completed. He added that the dam was "going to cause an existential threat to our tribes and our livelihoods. It is quite serious because China could even use this as a sort of 'water bomb'". "Suppose the dam is built and they suddenly release water, our entire Siang belt would be destroyed," he said. "In particular, the Adi tribe and similar groups... would see all their property, land, and especially human life, suffer devastating effects." In January a spokesperson for India's ministry of external affairs said they had expressed concerns to China about the impact of mega-dams and had urged Beijing to "ensure the interests of downstream states" were not harmed. They had also emphasised the "need for transparency and consultation with downstream countries". India plans to build a hydropower dam on the Siang river, which would act as a buffer against sudden water releases from China's dam and prevent flooding in their areas. China's foreign ministry has previously responded to India, saying in 2020 that China has a "legitimate right" to dam the river and has considered downstream impacts. Bangladesh also expressed concerns to China about the project, with officials in February sending a letter to Beijing requesting more information on the dam. Chinese authorities have long eyed the hydropower potential of the dam's location in the Tibet Autonomous Region. It's in a massive canyon that is said to be the world's deepest and longest on land, along a section where the Yarlung Tsangpo - Tibet's longest river - makes a sharp U-turn around the Namcha Barwa mountain. In the process of making this turn - which has been termed "the Great Bend" - the river drops hundreds of metres in its elevation. Earlier reports indicated that authorities planned to drill multiple 20km-long tunnels through the Namcha Barwa mountain, via which they would divert part of the river. Over the weekend a Xinhua report on Li Qiang's visit said that engineers would conduct "straightening" work and "divert water through tunnels" to build five cascading power stations. Xinhua also reported that the hydropower dam's electricity would be mainly transmitted out of the region to be used elsewhere, while accommodating for Tibet's needs. China has been eyeing the steep valleys and mighty rivers in the rural west - where Tibetan territories are located - to build mega-dams and hydropower stations that can sustain the country's electricity-hungry eastern metropolises. President Xi Jinping has personally pushed for this in a policy called "xidiandongsong", or "sending western electricity eastwards". The Chinese government and state media have presented these dams as a win-win solution that cuts pollution and generates clean energy while uplifting rural Tibetans. But activists say the dams are the latest example of Beijing's exploitation of Tibetans and their land - and past protests have been crushed. Last year, the Chinese government rounded up hundreds of Tibetans who had been protesting against another hydropower dam. It ended in arrests and beatings, with some people seriously injured, the BBC learned through sources and verified footage. There are also environmental concerns over the flooding of Tibetan valleys renowned for their biodiversity, and the possible dangers of building dams in a region rife with earthquake fault lines. CORRECTION 21 July 2025: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the estimated cost of the dam was $1.67bn. A dam ignited rare Tibetan protests. They ended in beatings and arrests, BBC finds Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Traditional public service media should be more discoverable on YouTube
Traditional public service media is under threat and needs to be more discoverable on popular video sharing platforms like YouTube, regulatory body Ofcom has said. Its report, Transmission Critical: The Future of Public Service Media, says the Government should bring forward legislation to help 'ensure that PSM content is prominent and easy to find on the platforms, and on fair commercial terms.' The regulator and competition authority has made a number of recommendations in its action plan that is seeking 'urgent clarity from the Government on how TV will be distributed to reach audiences in the future.' Group director for broadcasting and media at Ofcom, Cristina Nicolotti Squires, told the PA news agency: 'We've called it (the report) Transmission Critical because we think that public service media is under real threat. 'Broadcasters are experiencing quite tough financial challenges. The business model changes with audiences fracturing everywhere.' According to research from Barb, which is responsible for calculating UK TV official viewing figures, viewing on linear channels has fallen significantly in recent years and this decline is expected to continue. The report says that public service broadcasters (PSBs) will have to work 'much harder to create content that audiences want to watch' on platforms like YouTube as 'they are competing with every other content creator in the world.' Ms Nicolotti Squires said: 'We're not saying they have to go on YouTube, but we're just saying that public service broadcasters have got to make great content where audiences are, and audiences are increasingly going onto YouTube. 'They all have different deals with YouTube in terms of commercial returns, and that's down to them. But I just think it's important that the programmes that they're making, public service programmes, are available where people are. 'So just delivering on the linear channels, obviously, we're seeing that viewing has fallen significantly in those areas. So it's a question of, as I said, pretty much putting these great programmes where people are watching them.' A key objective of the Media Act, passed in 2024, was to make it easier to find content from PSBs like the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 on smart TVs. Ms Nicolotti Squires said Ofcom is now calling for 'a logical next step on video sharing platforms'. She added: 'It might require some further legislative changes to regulation. We're starting the conversation rather than finalising it all.' The report says that stable and adequate funding is needed from the Government and emphasises that discoverability on online platforms is particularly important for news and children's content. It also recommends that online platforms invest in media literacy skills while forging ambitious strategic partnerships that can compete with global streaming platforms. On top of this, Ofcom is launching a review of its regulation of broadcast TV and radio that will seek input from stakeholders about the priority areas for reforming regulation. Sarah Rose, president of Channel 5, said: 'We are pleased that Ofcom's review highlighted the challenges producing specialist children's content and called for commercially viable funding models among its recommendations. 'Channel 5's Milkshake! continues to navigate those challenges to remain the only public service broadcaster offering a daily programming block which targets preschoolers with original content rooted in the UK's Early Years Foundation framework.' A spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said: 'We welcome Ofcom's Public Service Media Review and we will now consider its recommendations.' YouTube has been approached for comment.
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Harvard is hoping court rules Trump administration's $2.6B research cuts were illegal
BOSTON — Harvard University will appear in federal court Monday to make the case that the Trump administration illegally cut $2.6 billion from the storied college — a pivotal moment in its battle against the federal government. If U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs decides in the university's favor, the ruling would reverse a series of funding freezes that later became outright cuts as the Trump administration escalated its fight with the nation's oldest and wealthiest university. Such a ruling, if it stands, would revive Harvard's sprawling scientific and medical research operation and hundreds of projects that lost federal money. 'This case involves the Government's efforts to use the withholding of federal funding as leverage to gain control of academic decisionmaking at Harvard,' the university said in its complaint. 'All told, the tradeoff put to Harvard and other universities is clear: Allow the Government to micromanage your academic institution or jeopardize the institution's ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions.' A second lawsuit over the cuts filed by the American Association of University Professors and its Harvard faculty chapter has been consolidated with the university's. Harvard's lawsuit accuses President Donald Trump's administration of waging a retaliation campaign against the university after it rejected a series of demands in an April 11 letter from a federal antisemitism task force. The letter demanded sweeping changes related to campus protests, academics and admissions. For example, the letter told Harvard to audit the viewpoints of students and faculty and admit more students or hire new professors if the campus was found to lack diverse points of view. The letter was meant to address government accusations that the university had become a hotbed of liberalism and tolerated anti-Jewish harassment on campus. Harvard President Alan Garber pledged to fight antisemitism but said no government 'should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.' The same day Harvard rejected the demands, Trump officials moved to freeze $2.2 billion in research grants. Education Secretary Linda McMahon declared in May that Harvard would no longer be eligible for new grants, and weeks later the administration began canceling contracts with Harvard. As Harvard fought the funding freeze in court, individual agencies began sending letters announcing that the frozen research grants were being terminated. They cited a clause that allows grants to be scrapped if they no longer align with government policies. Harvard, which has the nation's largest endowment at $53 billion, has moved to self-fund some of its research, but warned it can't absorb the full cost of the federal cuts. In court filings, the school said the government 'fails to explain how the termination of funding for research to treat cancer, support veterans, and improve national security addresses antisemitism.' The Trump administration denies the cuts were made in retaliation, saying the grants were under review even before the April demand letter was sent. It argues the government has wide discretion to cancel contracts for policy reasons. 'It is the policy of the United States under the Trump Administration not to fund institutions that fail to adequately address antisemitism in their programs,' it said in court documents. The research funding is only one front in Harvard's fight with the federal government. The Trump administration also has sought to prevent the school from hosting foreign students, and Trump has threatened to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status. Finally, last month, the Trump administration formally issued a finding that the school tolerated antisemitism — a step that eventually could jeopardize all of Harvard's federal funding, including federal student loans or grants. The penalty is typically referred to as a 'death sentence.'
