A South Korean special prosecutor on Thursday demanded the death penalty for ousted president Yoon Suk-yeol, ahead of an appeal court verdict on rebellion charges over his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024. The Seoul High Court has yet to set a date for a verdict on Yoon’s appeal of a life sentence handed down in February by the Seoul Central District Court. The court found that he illegally mobilised troops and police to seize the legislature, arrest political opponents and...

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the Pentagon’s top military planner, a defence official said on Wednesday, the latest in a series of generals to be ousted and one that comes even as President Donald Trump weighed renewed strikes on Iran in the eight-month-long war. US Army Lieutentant General Brett Sylvia was removed as head of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is the second general to be ousted from the post, known in military circles as the “J5”, under...