World

President Yoon Suk Yeol faces an impeachment vote this Saturday after briefly imposing martial law in South Korea.

AFP looks at how the dramatic events of the past few days unfolded in a country where democracy had been assumed to be firmly anchored -- and what might happen next.

While it might seem glib to compare the thwarted coup attempt in South Korea to the United States, columnist and editor James Downie warned that the two countries share "eerie" similarities.

Writing for MSNBC, Downie walked through President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law and attempt to shut down all media and political speech. It took just five hours for the legislature to overturn his decree. Since then, lawmakers have passed articles of impeachment.

Cash-strapped Cuba was plunged into darkness on Wednesday for the third time in two months after the power grid failed.

The blackout dealt another blow to the communist-run island, which is reeling from the effects of two hurricanes, repeated power outages and a severe economic crisis.

Lucy Letby, the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history, has been questioned in prison over further baby deaths and collapses at two hospitals where she worked, police said Wednesday.

Former nurse Letby, 34, is serving a whole-life sentence after being convicted of murdering seven newborn babies and attempting to kill seven others at neo-natal units in the northwest of England where she worked.

by Florent VERGNES / Maryke VERMAAK

Months of fighting on the Ukrainian front have not taken away Kostya's sense of humor -- even when it comes to the topic of Donald Trump.

Namibia's ruling SWAPO party was declared winner Tuesday of last week's disputed elections, ushering in the southern African country's first woman president after a disputed vote that the main opposition has already said it does not recognise.

Vice-President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah took just over 57 percent of ballots followed by the candidate for the main opposition Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) with 25.5 percent, the election authority announced.

The Philippines said the China Coast Guard fired water cannon and "sideswiped" a government vessel Wednesday during a maritime patrol near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, after Beijing said it had "exercised control" over the ship.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims from other countries -- including the Philippines -- and an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

by Kang Jin-kyu

Parliamentary staffers used sofas and fire extinguishers to block soldiers armed with assault rifles and night-vision goggles from entering South Korea's National Assembly to maintain martial law, CCTV footage released Wednesday showed.

A French appeals court is to decide Wednesday whether French-Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski owes a British actor damages after he was acquitted of allegedly defaming her when she accused him of rape.

A Paris criminal court in May found Polanski, 91, not guilty of defaming Charlotte Lewis, 57, after he said her rape accusation was a "heinous lie".

Right-wing influencer Candace Owens came out in support of a Russian victory in Ukraine after claiming that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a "homosexual actor."

In a Tuesday post on X (formerly Twitter), Owens said she would never "hope that Zelensky triumphs over an orthodox Russia."

by Kang Jin-kyu

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of being "anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime" amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill.

Thousands of people have been displaced by torrential floodwaters that slammed into southern Thailand, where the death toll has risen to 25, officials said on Tuesday.

Flooding since November 22 has affected more than 660,000 homes in the kingdom's south, the country's disaster agency said on its Facebook page.

Surrounded by racks of colorful dresses and blazers in China's manufacturing hub of Guangzhou, plus-size clothing brand owner and influencer Amanda Yao is on a mission to promote body positivity.

She is part of a small but growing number of women in China challenging restrictive beauty standards, including thinness, pale skin and childlike features.