by the idf. welcome to newsday. it is ham in seoul, where it is the morning after a night of political chaos. calls are growing for south korea's president to step down, after he attempted to impose martial law. the country's opposition party is demanding president yoon resign, and the legislator union says it is planning to go on strike until he does.

these are live pictures from inside the parliament in seoul, inside the parliament in seoul, inside the parliament in seoul, inside the parliament building. the crisis has alarmed many around the world. both the us and the uk say they are relieved that the president reversed his decision, but are deeply concerned about what's happening in south korea, these past 2a hours. our correspondence laura bicker is in the capital and sent this report on how it all unfolded. soldiers and police block the entrance to the south korean parliament, following the orders of a desperate president. locked in a bitterfight with his political rivals, and deeply unpopular, yoon suk yeol took drastic action. translation: through this martial law, i will rebuild i and protect the free republic of korea, which is falling into the depths of national ruin. within hours, thousands of protesters made it clear they would not comply with what they viewed as an attempted coup.

"withdraw the martial law, arrest yoon," they chanted. translation: i believe i should step forward and take action. - things like this should never happen. translation: after watching the news, i felt anxious, - and i also thought that this is such a national shame. clashes broke out, as police tried to hold them back, while helicopters thumped overhead. meanwhile, members of the country's national assembly battled their own military to take back their elected seats, getting there in whatever way they could. the vote was unanimous — martial law was overruled, while the country's parliament bore the scars of the evening's chaos. many protesters stayed in place, and had to wait hours to hear that, finally, president yoon accepted his brief attempt at military rule was over. translation: the declaration

of martial law lacks _ the necessary procedural requirements and was void from the outset. south korea is a stable democracy, but it's also a noisy one, and today its parliament and its people roared at the most serious challenge to the country's democracy since the 1980s. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. extraordinary scenes there. i am joined by the former foreign minister of south korea. many thanks for your time on the programme today. i mean, those scenes are really extraordinary, aren't they? what is your reaction to events that unfolded overnight? extraordinary indeed, and just hugely relieved that this is now seems to be heading towards an end, what was basically an overnight happening. my first

reaction was this can't be happening to my country. a fractious democracy, but certainly a vibrant and increasingly mature democracy, but for the president to call martial law was just an aberration to martial law wasjust an aberration to me. martial law was just an aberration to me. but over the hours through the night, the parliamentary national assembly doing its part, the citizens out in the streets calling for this to be withdrawn, and i have to say in the end it demonstrated the democracy in my country is strong and resilient.— my country is strong and resilient. ., ., ~' resilient. what would you like to see happen _ resilient. what would you like to see happen in _ resilient. what would you like to see happen in the - resilient. what would you like to see happen in the days - resilient. what would you like j to see happen in the days and weeks ahead?— weeks ahead? that is the big question- _ weeks ahead? that is the big question- i — weeks ahead? that is the big question. i think— weeks ahead? that is the big question. i think what - weeks ahead? that is the big question. i think what is - weeks ahead? that is the big l question. i think what is going to happen with the president, who really took this dramatic, political gamble and basically failed. the opposition has

already called for him to step down immediately, or if not, they will proceed impeachment procedures in parliament, and i think you can expect that to happen in parliament, so the ball is in the president's court to find a way out of this corner that he himself has put himself in, but looking at this from the outside, and wanting very much for this crisis to become an opportunity for further maturity of our democracy, for that to be certainly lawful but also civilised, and in a dignified manner that is befitting of the office that he occupies. it manner that is befitting of the office that he occupies.- office that he occupies. it was an incredibly _ office that he occupies. it was an incredibly bold _ office that he occupies. it was an incredibly bold move. - office that he occupies. it was an incredibly bold move. why| office that he occupies. it was i an incredibly bold move. why do you think the president did this? ~ ., ,

you think the president did this? . , this? well, he was increasingly unp°pular _ this? well, he was increasingly unpopularfor_ this? well, he was increasingly unpopular for the _ this? well, he was increasingly unpopular for the way - this? well, he was increasingly unpopular for the way he - this? well, he was increasingly unpopular for the way he has i unpopular for the way he has dealt with the problems that have been raised with his own conduct and the conduct of the first lady. he blames the opposition party in parliament for blowing these issues out of proportion and asking for special prosecutions on the first lady, impeachment motions for key figures in his government, passing the budget unilaterally, having taken all of the budget line items from the president does �*s own activities, and these are the surface level issues that he, i think, was what was putting him into a corner, but when you read his statement, when you listen to his statement declaring martial law, he says there are anti—state forces,

north korean communist forces, north korean communist forces, north korean communist forces, north korean sympathisers, who are scheming to overthrow the system of governance in south korea, and that is completely out of touch with reality over what the country is going through at this point, so it hasjust through at this point, so it has just indicated how he seems to have created this understanding in a way that is completely detached from reality. completely detached from reali . �* , completely detached from reali .�* , reality. briefly if you can, because _ reality. briefly if you can, because we're _ reality. briefly if you can, because we're running i reality. briefly if you can, | because we're running out reality. briefly if you can, . because we're running out of time, you mention north korea and the president mention north korea. it is a dangerous situation with north korea are increasingly becoming involved and with its partnership with russia? what do you expect, in that respect? russia? what do you expect, in that reaped?— that respect? well, so far, i'm sure the authorities _ that respect? well, so far, i'm sure the authorities are - sure the authorities are watching things very carefully,

but so far they have not detected any unusual movement in north korea. the military services are on full alert and ready, as south korea always is in its combined defence posture with the united states. but yes, north korea is a constant threat element at the country always watches very closely and is prepared to deal with any contingencies, but you are also right, that it is increasingly emboldened by the new—found security pact with russia. . security pact with russia. , foreign affairs minister of south korea, great to get your insights, many thanks for joining us. insights, many thanks for joining na— you will have plenty more on the market fallout from the political chaos in south korea later this hour in business today. the korean currency fell

to its low spot in two years. we will take a closer look at the markets later this hour on business today with me. in other news, the former chief of staff of the israeli military has accused the army of carrying out ethnic cleansing in northern gaza. he says the military is cleaning the area of arabs. the israel defense forces have rejected the claims, but his remarks highlight deep concerns in israel about the ongoing conflict. 160 reserve soldiers have signed a letter, threatening not to serve or are refusing to go to gaza unless there is a deal to end the war and bring israeli hostages home. fergal keane has this special report from jerusalem. allahu, allahu akbar! there was no doubt then

about reporting for duty. shots fired. israel was under attack. seeing dead bodies on the streets, cars punctured by bullets... i know at least three people that were brutally murdered in the 7th of october. israel is a small country. everyone knows each other. the duty to serve was felt across a wide spectrum ofjewish political and religious life. i went up to our neighbour, and i knocked on his door, asked him, "what's going on?" he said, "don't ask. "we got terrorists. "they've infiltrated the country". two of our friends from our village were killed that day. one of them is shani louk. she became quite famous. it was also like, personally, very hard hitting. _ so i was, like, i knew. that the military action was inevitable, and was due, and wasjustified, in a way, l but i was very worried - about the shape it might take. as images of the attack

and the abuse of hostages in gaza spread, some prominent israeli public figures were using extreme language. people were speaking about killing the entire population of gaza, speaking about it as if it was some type of an academic idea that makes sense, and with this atmosphere, soldiers are entering gaza, you know, just a month after their friends were butchered. i think the most horrible sentence that i heard was, someone said to me, that the kids that we spared in 2014, the last war in gaza, like, became the terrorists of october 7th, which i bet is true for some cases, because, you know, some kids grew up to be terrorists, but definitely not all of them. wow. such soldiers were a minority, michael says, but the immense scale of destruction in gaza

added to fears about the way the war was being fought. the turning point was when they told us to burn down a house, and i went to my commander, and i asked him, "why are we doing that?" and the answers he gave me were just not good enough. and that was my last day in gaza. the army blames hamas for civilian suffering, and says it follows international law, a view echoed by a reservist, who believes in continuing the war. there's no way to fight a war and to prosecute a military campaign without these images happening. you know, you can't mow the lawn without grass flying up. it's just not possible. there's no way to do it. and we try and limit it to as little as possible. it's very tragic. and that can be true while also saying that it is completely the fault of the terrorist regime that rules the gaza strip.

the turning point came for one refuser when three hostages were shot dead while walking towards soldiers under a white flag. a soldier opened fire, after reportedly feeling threatened. another disobeyed a ceasefire order. and then i remember thinking, to what level of moral corruption that we got, right, moral decay that we got, that this is something that can happen? and i can also remember thinking, there's just no way this is the first time it happened. it's just the first time that we are hearing about it, because there our hostages, because if the victims were palestinians, wejust would never hear about it. the suffering of palestinians was a constant concern for the refusers we spoke with. 0ne soldier, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, described the abuse of prisoners, not these, that he says he witnessed.

act or's voice: soldiers that i know beat palestinians that| were helpless and could afterwards boast about it to the soldiers in their companies and to their commanders, and people would pretty calmly talk about cases of abuse or even like murder, as if it was technicality, with real serenity. the idf says prisoner abuse is banned, and investigated, if alleged. the refusers are a small group, just scores out of hundreds of thousands of reservists. but polls suggest more israelis want a peace deal to bring hostages home. the refusers we met were caught between worry for the future and hope that, in the long run, palestinians and israelis might find a way to make peace. i think, in this conflict, there are only two sides. not the israeli side and the palestinian side. there is the side that supports violence, and the side that supports, you know, finding better solutions. it's scarier and scarier every day. it just looks less and less

likely that we will, that i will be able, holding the values that i hold, wanting the future that i want for my kids, to live here. with israel under attack on october 7th, there was national solidarity. it hasn't disappeared, but the questioning of the war�*s aims is gathering pace. fergal keane, bbc news, jerusalem. meanwhile, israel's defence minister israel katz has warned that lebanon suffer consequences if maastricht�*s ceasefire between israel and hezbollah collapses. both sides have accused each other of breaching the truce. the us, which broke the agreement with france and is monitoring its compliance said "largely compliance said " la rgely speaking, compliance said "largely speaking, the ceasefire was holding". deadly israeli strikes in southern lebanon and a mortar attack by hezbollah have raised fears the deal

could fall apart. in the syriac, anti—government forces say they have captured one of the largest military bases on the largest military bases on the edge of the city of hama, just 200 kilometres north of the capital, damascus. the syrian defence ministry said reinforcements had been sent to hama and that syrian and russian warplanes were bombarding the rebels. last week, the rebels seized the city of aleppo in a lightning offensive that undermined president bashar al—assad's grip on power. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news in the uk. masterchef presenter gregg wallace is facing fresh allegations. 0ne allegation says he was touching a woman.

he denies engaging in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature. south western railway will be the first train operating company to come under public control, out of the government passed a major piece of legislation last week. the company operates train services across large parts of southern and southwest england, with an announcement expected tomorrow. rail nationalisation was a key part of labour's election ma nifesto. the conservative leader in the welsh parliament, andrew rt davies, has resigned, despite narrowly surviving a vote of confidence of his party colleagues. he said a substantial minority of his party opposed his continued leadership, which made it untenable. you're live with bbc news. thousands of people are back on the streets of the georgian capital for a sixth night of protests. demonstrators save the government is making georgia more authoritarian and returning it to russia rash of �*s orbit. they also angered by

the prime minister saying he would delay talks on joining the eu until 2028. police again used water cannon to clear the streets outside parliament. earlier, georgia's constitutional court rejected an opposition lawsuit, seeking to overturn the result of parliamentary elections in october, which saw the georgian 0ctober, which saw the georgian dream party returned to office. i'm joined now by ian former united states ambassador to georgia. thank you very much for coming on the programme. is georgia's ruling party moving away from the us and europe and playing into russia my hands?- into russia my hands? well, i think the short _ into russia my hands? well, i think the short answer - into russia my hands? well, i think the short answer to - into russia my hands? well, i think the short answer to that j think the short answer to that is yes, and it's been going on for a couple of years, really since the russian invasion of ukraine, they've adopted anti—western rhetoric and have made many accommodating moves to appease russia. we

made many accommodating moves to appease russia.— to appease russia. we are on the sixth — to appease russia. we are on the sixth day _ to appease russia. we are on the sixth day of— to appease russia. we are on the sixth day of protest. - to appease russia. we are on the sixth day of protest. do i the sixth day of protest. do you see the government backing down at all? i you see the government backing down at all?— down at all? i haven't seen any sins down at all? i haven't seen any si . ns of down at all? i haven't seen any signs of it- _ down at all? i haven't seen any signs of it. it _ down at all? i haven't seen any signs of it. it does _ down at all? i haven't seen any signs of it. it does seem - down at all? i haven't seen any signs of it. it does seem that i signs of it. it does seem that they are planning to double down, and i would guess that they are hoping that they can outlast these nightly demonstrations, that people will lose interest after a while. i think that's the wrong calculation. i think this is quite a spontaneous demonstration of protest against the policies of this government.— against the policies of this government. against the policies of this covernment. , , ., ., government. yes, there is a lot of pressure _ government. yes, there is a lot of pressure on _ government. yes, there is a lot of pressure on the _ government. yes, there is a lot of pressure on the protest - of pressure on the protest movement as well, isn't there, and accusations of police brutality. do you see the protest fizzling out? it’s brutality. do you see the protest fizzling out? it's hard for me to _

protest fizzling out? it's hard for me to see _ protest fizzling out? it's hard for me to see that, - protest fizzling out? it's hard for me to see that, unless i protest fizzling out? it's hardl for me to see that, unless the government does try to placate the demonstrators, for example, by reversing their decision to stop accession talks. but i think that things really have gone too far, and i think that the protesters, the demonstrators, are fed up after several years of anti—democratic moves and rhetoric, anti—western rhetoric, anti—western rhetoric, and basically moving to one—party rule. rhetoric, and basically moving to one-party rule.— to one-party rule. yes, medvedev, _ to one-party rule. yes, medvedev, the - to one-party rule. yes, medvedev, the former| to one-party rule. yes, - medvedev, the former president and prime minister, warned georgia could be set to "quickly follow ukraine's path into a dark abyss". do you think that russia has the means and desire to military action? well, they certainly have the means, they occupy 20% of georgia, after the 2000 war, where they occupied two

georgian regions —— after the 2008 war. but whether they want to take on yet another, or further occupation, in the case of georgia, is another matter. they certainly are using the kind of hyperbolic rhetoric that we see in ukraine, in an attempt, i think, that we see in ukraine, in an attempt, ithink, to that we see in ukraine, in an attempt, i think, to deter support for georgia.- attempt, i think, to deter support for georgia. yes, and briefl , support for georgia. yes, and briefly. if _ support for georgia. yes, and briefly. if you _ support for georgia. yes, and briefly, if you can, _ support for georgia. yes, and briefly, if you can, what - support for georgia. yes, and briefly, if you can, what is - briefly, if you can, what is the international community saying? i mean, presumably there is some concern, given there is some concern, given the location?— there is some concern, given the location? well, i think for one thing. — the location? well, i think for one thing. i— the location? well, i think for one thing, i think _ the location? well, i think for one thing, i think that - the location? well, i think for one thing, i think that they i one thing, i think that they are ready to impose costs. you saw the baltic states impose sanctions on some of the leaders of the georgian government. the united states

is already imposing some sanctions, there is discussion of more sanctions, but, you know, i would of more sanctions, but, you know, iwould hope of more sanctions, but, you know, i would hope that the georgian dream government would accept some kind of international role in trying to adjudicate this process and have new elections.- adjudicate this process and have new elections. ok, we will have new elections. ok, we will have to leave _ have new elections. ok, we will have to leave it _ have new elections. ok, we will have to leave it there, - have new elections. ok, we will have to leave it there, ian - have to leave it there, ian kelly, former united states ambassador to georgia, joining us from chicago. ambassador to georgia, “oining us from chicagofi let's ta ke let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. in the filing his lawyers site president biden's pardon of his son, arguing that trump, like hunter biden, was unfairly targeted by thejustice targeted by the justice department. thejudge targeted by thejustice department. thejudge in the case had postponed sentencing indefinitely to give the president elect the to seek

dismissal. vietnamese property tycoon behind what is thought to be the world's largest ever bank fraud has lost her appeal the death sentence. she stole $44 billion the death sentence. she stole $41; billion from a bank she controlled. the sentence can still be commuted to life in prison she hands back three quarters of the funds. wade king charles has officially welcomed the emir of qatar to the uk for a two—day state visit. full military pomp and pageantry was on display. the trip has been criticised by groups who highlight qatar's poor record on human rights, in particularfor lgbt and migrant workers. the british partner of former abercrombie and fitch ceo, mikejeffries, has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking and interstate prosecution in a new york federal court.

matthew smith, along with mrjeffries, and their alleged middleman, james jacobson, were arrested in october, and charged with running an international sex trafficking and prostitution business. mrjeffries and mrjacobson have also pleaded not guilty. before we go, who stole all the pies? that is the question people in north yorkshire are asking this week. 2500 of them have been stolen from the michelin—starred chef, tommy banks. his van has since been found, but in a statement, police said we are pleased that the owner has now been reunited with his van, butjust as sad as everyone else to hear that the tasty pies in the van have sadly perished. stay with bbc news. we will have all the latest on developments in south korea over night. of course, the president has agreed to lift martial rule. many more stories on that on our website.

we are running a live page, we are live reporting from here in singapore. stay with bbc news, online and on tv. hello, there. wednesday promises to be another fairly settled day, with some sunshine around, albeit on the cool side, but we'll start to see some changes later on wednesday, and as we push towards the end of the week, it'll turn milder, but that's because we'll start to see wet and windy weather spreading off the atlantic from the south west. colder weather, though, will return by the end of the weekend, and that colder theme will last into the new week. now, we've had this weather front spreading across northern areas, clearer skies behind it. that will allow temperatures to dip, so there is an ice risk across some central and northern parts of the uk to start wednesday. plenty of sunshine around, a bit of cloud and fog for the midlands, into wales, that should tend to break up. later in the day, though, it'll start to turn milder, wetter and windier out west,

with gales developing for the hebrides, so the best of the sunshine will tend to be through central and eastern areas through the afternoon. it's here where we'll see the lowest temperatures. it will be turning milder, with the wet and windy weather, out west, you can see there, into double figures. that wet and windy weather spreads across all areas, as we move through wednesday night, with gales, even severe gales, developing in northwest scotland, up to 70 mph winds here, but it will be ushering in some milder air, certainly for england and wales, into double figures by the end of the night. further north, though, something a little bit cooler. so that cluster of weather fronts, strong winds, pushes through. we see a window of fine weather to start thursday, before the next weather system moves in during the day. so we will start with some sunshine across the country, but it won't last. as we head into the afternoon, we'll start to see the next batch of wet and windy weather pushing into northern and western areas. some heavy bursts of rain, as you can see there, across scotland, northern ireland, maybe northern england, and again, it'll be windy. but a mild day to come, with temperatures in double figures, for most, for thursday afternoon.

so that moves through during thursday night, wet and windy weather. then we're in a run of north—westerly winds. it'll be quite cool, i think, feeding in some showers, mainly into northern and western parts of scotland. there will be a wintry element to them over the higher ground. it will turn cloudier, further south and east, and we look to the south west, this deepening area of low pressure, which is likely to bring a spell of very windy and wet weather to england and wales, later on friday, and into the start of saturday. so that wet, very windy weather eventually clears away on saturday from southern areas, and then it'll be colder on sunday and beyond, with strong, northerly winds. take care.

hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. south korea's financial authority step in after a dramatic night of political turmoil. south korean stocks opened lower this morning, we will bring you all the news on the region �*s financial markets and reactions from around the world. welcome to business today. a dramatic night in south korea the finance ministry says it is ready to deploy unlimited cash to shore up financial markets. it comes hours after turmoil

with the president you declaring martial law before announcing he would lift the order. financial officials met overnight in the country central bank has been holding emergency meeting. south korea's main labor union has called for an indefinite general strike until the president resigns. there were chaotic scenes throughout the night as protesters gathered outside the national assembly with some mps having to climb fences or break through barriers to get inside. a vote was held overnight in parliament with a majority deciding to block the president �*s decision to declare martial law. a number of his close aides have offered to resign on mass. markets opened this morning with the benchmark across the index down 2%. the korean currency stabilising after a choppy night of trading full. we will get market reaction later in the show but

let's take a look at what could