South Korean President Park Geun-hye Impeached.
Park Geun-Hye, South Korea’s first female president, was impeached over a corruption and cronyism scandal. (Image courtesy of Getty Images)
On 9 December 2016, South Korean Members of Parliament voted 234 to 56 to impeach President Park Geun-hye over a cronyism and corruption scandal. Elected in 2012 as the first female South Korean president, Park is accused of abusing her powers as president to provide her friend, Choi Soon-sil, with millions of dollars in funding for Choi’s organizations. As Park’s approval rating sank to just 4%, she apologized for her “carelessness” and “naivety”, but has claimed not to seek any personal gain. Park has asked for a court review of the impeachment motion, and in the meantime, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn will act as leader.
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Top figure skaters meet in Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.
Canadian figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir compete the free dance at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in France. (Image courtesy of AP/Christophe Ena)
The world’s top six figure skaters/pairs in each skating discipline, ranked based on qualifying Grand Prix of Figure Skating events, competed against one another in the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. There are 4 competitive categories at the senior level: pair skating, ice dancing, men’s singles, and ladies’ singles. Hosted at the Palais Omnisports Marseille Grand Est in Marseille, France, the Canadian team featured at least one entry in each category, for the first time ever. Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won gold in ice dancing, while teammates Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford took bronze in pair skating. Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov won gold in pair skating, while Yuzuru Hanyu and Evgenia Medvedeva defended their titles in men’s and ladies’ singles, respectively.
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France’s State of emergency could possibly be extended.
French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says a state of emergency should be extended for six months. (Image courtesy of CNN)
France might extend their state of emergency due to the upcoming elections in 2017. This would be the fifth renewal since the beginning of the state of emergency in July, after the Paris attacks. Since extraordinary provisions came into place both after the Paris attacks and the attack in Nice, the country has been even more cautious of their security measures. According to many political officials in France, the extension is to “protect their democracy” and is “indispensable in order to protect their citizens”.
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Colombian President Accepts Nobel Peace Prize.
President Santos accepts the Nobel Peace Prize. (Image courtesy of CNN)
Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in honor of his efforts to end the conflict between his country and the leftist rebel group, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. However, the deal he made is controversial, and many Colombian voters are not in support of it. Santos successfully placed a hiatus on the fifty-year-long conflict, the longest of its kind in the Americas. While the future of the war is still uncertain, the president hopes that his initiative will bring peace into the country.
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29 killed, dozens other injured in attack outside soccer stadium in Istanbul, Turkey.
The explosions in Istanbul this past Saturday left wreckage on the streets. (Image courtesy to the Globe and Mail)
Two bombs exploded outside the Vodafone Arena in Istanbul, Turkey on a Saturday night. After a coordinated attack on police, the bombs exploded less than a minute apart. Other than leaving wreckage on the streets, almost all surroundings burst into flames and 29 were killed. Approximately 166 were injured. One of the bombs was attached to the suspect, who detonated it shortly after the first blast. The attack occurred near a soccer match, one with thousands of attendees. Luckily, there were only two civilian casualties. Istanbul has seen multiple attacks this year; the country is uncertain on how Turkish leaders will enforce security to prevent further attacks.
Source and more information can be found here.
