The World That Was

Adrian Olivier,

Early on Sunday, South Korea’s impeached President, Yoon Suk Yeol, was formally arrested by South Korean authorities inside his presidential compound in Seoul. He faces possible imprisonment over his short-lived imposition of martial law, which set off the country’s most serious political crisis since its democratization in the late 1980s. His arrest triggered rioting by his supporters at the Seoul Western District Court, where his supporters broke in and destroyed windows, computers and furniture as they searched for the judge who had ordered the arrest – though she had left. 90 protesters were arrested and police were injured after hundreds of police were deployed. Yoon’s defence minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested and indicted for their roles in enforcing martial law.

On Monday, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States. He delivered an inaugural address that called for a new Golden Age in America. The inauguration ceremony took place inside the Capitol due to the cold temperature. Later on in the day, Trump began a blitz of executive orders – assembled by his team in the prior months – and rescinded 78 Biden-era executive actions. Trump, appearing in the Oval Office on Monday night, held court with reporters for roughly 45 minutes, taking questions on immigration, tariffs and foreign policy as he used a large black Sharpie to sign executive orders. His executive orders initiated a federal hiring freeze, ordered government workers back to the office five days a week, moved to end birthright citizenship, ordered the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization (effective after a year) and ended government-backed diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. He gave the defence secretary 10 days to provide a plan for U.S. troops to help seal the border. And he instructed the attorney general not to enforce a U.S. ban on the social-media app TikTok for 75 days. Trump didn’t implement new tariffs, but he said in the Oval Office that he plans to place 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1 and that he might still implement universal tariffs.

On Tuesday, Israel’s military leader, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, announced he was resigning. He cited the army’s failure to protect the country on October 7, 2023. “On the morning of the 7th of October, the Israeli military under my direction failed in its task to defend the citizens of Israel,” Halevi wrote in a resignation letter, adding that he had come to the decision long ago. He said he was choosing to leave at a time when the military has made “significant achievements and is in the process of implementing the agreement to release our hostages.” He said he hoped to finish his role by March 6.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a video call in which the two agreed to work more closely on overhauling the world order which orbits around the West. In an unusual move, the Kremlin published footage from the conversation on its website, showing Putin and Xi exchanging cordial greetings, calling each other “dear friend,” and issuing brief statements about their growing ties in a short clip from a call that Russia said lasted more than 90 minutes. “Both sides should continue to deepen strategic coordination, firmly support one another, and safeguard both countries’ legitimate interests,” Xi said on the call, according to a readout by the Chinese side. Putin said there was an “alignment of views on how relations between great powers should be.” Yury Ushakov, a senior adviser to Putin, said the two leaders talked about the need for a peace deal in Ukraine and discussed the situation in the Middle East, according to Russian state media. Putin stressed Russia’s support for China over the question of Taiwan, Ushakov said. He said the call was planned in advance and not tied to Trump’s inauguration. They have also worked together in a bid to undermine the U.S. dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency. Almost all transactions between China and Russia are now conducted in rubles and yuans, a senior Putin adviser said Tuesday.

On Thursday, Trump spoke at Davos via video call. He said the American Golden Age has just started and invited foreign companies to do business in the U.S. – emphasizing the lower taxes, avoidance of tariffs and support in dealing with regulations from the administration. He called on the Saudis to lower oil prices and delivered a remarkable public lashing to Bank of America chief Brian Moynihan for debanking conservative supporters. Jaws reportedly dropped when Trump went after Moynihan. The BBC had this to say: “President Trump was beamed in straight from the White House webcam to deliver his message of world domination directly to the global elite.” Later on Thursday, Trump has ordered officials to make plans to declassify documents related to three of the most consequential assassinations in U.S. history – the killings of John F Kennedy, Robert F Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. “A lot of people are waiting for this for long, for years, for decades,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday. “And everything will be revealed.” The order directs top administration officials to present a plan to declassify the documents within 15 days.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signalled he is ready to talk to President Donald Trump. Trump said on Thursday he wanted to meet Putin as soon as possible to secure an end to the war with Ukraine and expressed his desire to work towards cutting nuclear arms, something the Kremlin said Putin had made clear he wanted too.

On Friday, Ukraine launched another large drone attack on Russia, targeting an oil refinery and pumping station as well as several airports in Moscow. Social media posts by Russians showed fireballs erupting early Friday over a major refinery in Ryazan, a city about 110 miles southeast of Moscow. The general staff headquarters of Ukraine’s military issued a statement saying military and intelligence agencies had coordinated on the drone attack and hit an oil refinery and oil pumping station in Ryazan, starting fires. In the nearby Bryansk region, the statement said, Ukrainian drones hit an electrical components factory that makes chips for fighter jets and missiles, including two models of Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Topol-M and Bulava. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have downed 121 Ukrainian drones over 11 Russian regions plus Crimea and Moscow overnight from Thursday to Friday.

On Saturday, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for four soldiers who were being held hostage by Hamas. Dozens of the prisoners had been serving life sentences in Israeli jails for attacks against Israelis. About 120 of the Palestinian prisoners released on Saturday were serving life sentences for involvement in attacks against Israelis, according to lists provided by the Hamas-linked prisoners’ office. Under the terms of the agreement, about 70 will be expelled from Israeli-held territory to Hamas-controlled areas of the Gaza Strip or abroad to countries like Egypt. Those being released on Saturday included Mohammad Odeh, Wael Qassim and Wissam Abbasi, who were arrested in 2002 for a string of deadly bombings targeting Israelis in crowded civilian areas. All three were serving life sentences for their involvement in the attacks. One of the group’s most infamous attacks — which took place at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem — killed nine people, including five Americans. The three men are all slated to be exiled abroad and will never be allowed to return to their homes in Jerusalem, according to the terms of the agreement.

On Sunday, South Korea’s impeached and arrested president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was formally indicted on charges of leading an insurrection last month when he briefly imposed martial law, prosecutors said. Mr. Yoon’s indictment means that his trial is likely to start soon. It follows the indictments of a former defence minister and several military generals and police chiefs, all of whom face criminal charges of helping Mr. Yoon commit the same crime. He is the first president in South Korean history to face criminal charges while still in office. His downfall began when he unexpectedly declared martial law on December 3, accusing the opposition-controlled National Assembly of “paralyzing” his government. The Assembly voted the measure down, forcing him to rescind the order after about six hours. But it has set off South Korea’s worst political crisis in decades.