welcome to newsday. i'm steve lai, live in seoul, i'm standing in front of the south korean parliament where protesters have been calling for his resignation you might be able to hear some of them in front of the front gates in front of the front gates in front of the national assembly. the polish —— the apollo opposition have formally introduced an impeachment proceeding accusing him of declaring martial law to stop criminal investigations into himself and his family. but the ruling people power party has decided to vote against the prospective impeachment. that means that unless some of the ruling party members break from their ranks, the motion will not pass. the opposition says they plan to have the vote at 7pm on saturday.

despite not voting to oust him entirely, the party chief has asked the president to leave the party. president yoon doesn't have the full support of his party. there have been some developments this morning to tell you about. the minister of defence has resigned, claiming full responsibility for the declaration of martial law. south korea's ambassador to saudi arabia has been nominated his replacement. plenty of analysis to come, but we start our coverage with what's happened overnight, from our correspondent laura bicker. cheering. this candle—lit camp followed a night of chaos. they gathered on the steps of the parliament with one aim — to call for the impeachment of a president who declared martial law. translation: because we have a history of defending _ democracy a few times, the people will strongly defend democracy once more.

translation: i'm out - here as a citizen who could not sit by and watch the democracy breaking down. "resign," the group chanted, before their mexican wave. such a different scene from last night's turmoil. president yoon plunged his country into martial law. soldiers broke through the windows of parliament to prevent elected members from overturning his decree. they were unsuccessful, and after six hours, seoul's parliament, notjust its president, were back in control. today, the building bore the scars of that struggle. repairs have already begun, as has a motion to impeach the president.

translation: if they're willing to violate human rights under i martial law, it's obvious that they're also ready to sacrifice people's lives. stay alert and fight with us. cheering. protests sprung up in other parts of the city, as south koreans took a moment to reflect. the prospect of martial law brought back chilling memories of authoritarian rule. in the 1970s and �*80s, groups of students in seoul took on dictators, often clashing with riot police and risking their lives. their defiance and resilience helped south korea become a democratic country. south koreans value their democracy. they fought for it, some died for it, and although they may be questioning just how robust it may be, they've turned out in their thousands to protect it. but president yoon remains in power. some tried to march to his

office, but they were blocked by police. it's unclear whether mr yoon hears their calls to resign, but until he does, these demonstrations, however peaceful, will only grow. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. when declaring that martial law on tuesday president yoon cited north korea and anti— state elements as the reason behind it. we yet to hear any response from pyongyang but let's dive into this angle a little bit deeper and speak with mr lang clock a director of the korea risk group and np news. andre wanted you think when you first heard martial law was declared and north korea was given as a reason? ~ ., reason? well, i thought president _ reason? well, i thought president yoon - reason? well, i thought| president yoon has gone

reason? well, i thought- president yoon has gone crazy. i thought he was probably leading mental mental in the age of the 1960s and the age of the grandfather. all the justification is wrong. yes there is a small number of people on the extreme right that represent the ruling party who sincerely believe the president is secretly manipulated by north korean agents and kim jong orne from pyongyang but it is a bit like saying the united states in the era of senator mccarthy in the early cold war when american right thought everybody who was talking about gender equality, you know civil rights, was obviously on the payroll of moscow. however, such delusional ideas are quite small in number and i was really surprised to see such

justification for the president himself. i don't know whether he believes it or not but it is clearly complete rubbish. no serious north korean sympathiser is in south korean society now. there used to be times when some radical student �*s from north korea, say the early 90s mainly the mid— 90s, now north korea has absolutely now north korea has absolutely no impact on the south, it is basically the average south korean sees the north as something pathetic, irrelevant, dirty and poor slightly funny. it doesn't care about north korea at all, sometimes excessively so.- korea at all, sometimes excessively so. how do you think north _ excessively so. how do you think north korea - excessively so. how do you think north korea will - excessively so. how do you think north korea will be i think north korea will be viewing what has been happening down here in south korea? i think they are surprised. they have nothing to do with this story. they are obviously taken

by complete surprise by this news story pretty much everybody around and i think they will probably try to do some propaganda domestically, internationally no—one is listening to the international propaganda, domestically they have full control but they cannot really utilise this situation, they cannot use the situation, they cannot use the situation in any way so most likely they will make may be a couple of statements, because they are surprised it will take time, they are very slow operating society it will take time for them to decide what they are going to say. they will say something about their involvement with the situation will be minuscule.— involvement with the situation will be minuscule. andre, what about the _ will be minuscule. andre, what about the us _ will be minuscule. andre, what about the us president-elect l about the us president—elect donald trump, he will take office next month, he may have a different approach to the korean peninsula then—president biden does. how do you think this uncertainty in south korea

will effect that? it this uncertainty in south korea will effect that?— will effect that? it is not obvious _ will effect that? it is not obvious because - will effect that? it is not. obvious because americans will effect that? it is not - obvious because americans under donald trump are going to negotiate with north korea, which is probably a good news. but keeping in mind, some, should peculiar features of mr donald trump soon to be president donald trump, there are fairly high chances americans under his watch, will not care much about south korean interest. so, right now south korea diplomacy needs really to shift and unity in order to use good things which might emerge from likely contact with the united states and north korea but making sure americans who will not make such some deals, not favourable for the south koreans. however there is such chaos in seoul,

it will be extremely difficult. so it's quite bad news actually because i believe the current uncertainty will last for a few months. . ~ uncertainty will last for a few months. ., ~ , ., uncertainty will last for a few months. . ~' , ., �* uncertainty will last for a few months. ., ~ , ., ~ ., months. thank you andre for our months. thank you andre for your thoughts, _ months. thank you andre for your thoughts, andre - months. thank you andre for your thoughts, andre lang i months. thank you andre for i your thoughts, andre lang clock the director of korea risk group and in k news as well. the attention will turn to the korean parliament with the impeachment looming at 7pm on saturday. a special advisor serving under the former president has been a vocal critic of president yoon. he gave me his take on what we have seen play out over the past few days. he has been totally erratic, and unexpected surprising, shocking and erratic and unbelievable. if you could elaborate a bit as to your reaction to the declaration of martial law and how quickly it was taken back?

first of all, the president does not really understand what democracy means, he just violated democratic procedure, constitutional foundation, but i was really amazed by the way the opposition party responded to the martial law. they instantly convened the national assembly and it revoked the martial law, and i think that really shows the democratic resilience and maturity in south korea. an encouraging sign there. what do you make of the impeachment that has been levelled against him ? do we know the vote is now being reported to ttake place on saturday but the party seems like they will vote to not impeach him? the opposition block has 192

seats, to pass the impeachment bill they need 8 more seats, more votes, from the ruling party, depending on what can of defection will take place if more than eight members of the ruling partyjoin the impeachment bill and then it will pass the national assembly, but that is yet to be seen. as you pointed out, the ruling party had a special session and agreed to oppose the impeachment bill. it is yet to be seen. the ruling party has also asked him to step down from the party, do you think that is likely? no, it is very unlikely but given the past political history when the president's popularity goes down, they tend to disengage from the ruling party in a way of saving the ruling party but i don't know whether that will repeat again, but the pressure will be mounting on president

yoon to withdraw from the ruling party membership. can we just get your thoughts on what we have been seeing with the defence minister offering his resignation which has been accepted, almost taking the blame and saying he was responsible for the calling of martial law? that is not fair, he cannot be scapegoated. he is an important part of this martial law conspiracy but the president should be accountable as well because he alone — the former defence minister did not do all these things, the president should be accountable to what happened. do you think there is a scenario where the president could remain in office? he was ascribed to, he will make a statement to the korean people later but i think

he will make the point very clear because his argument is out of anger and frustration, he argues that he declared forces for his kind of committee, therefore he would try to stay in power, to the extent that the opposition will be extremely palpable and formidable, and it remains to be seen what will happen. what do you think this has done for the south korean reputation on the international stage? when he declares the martial law, a great setback for democracy and then with the national assembly revoked the martial law, then all of a sudden democratic resilience of south korea, it was in the spotlight, but one thing is very clear, down and up, but we are up, if we can

handle this chaos mostly, and wisely i think that korea will be shining in democracy in the world. have been keeping a close eye on what the local media has been reporting in seoul. this one has the headline resigned president yoon, talking about the candlelitjewel we saw on the candlelitjewel we saw on the steps behind me at the national assembly last night talking about the judgement as well, the process which has been enacted. this business newspaper has a headline about the opposition parties calling for the impeachment of president yoon, gained the impeachment vote set to take place at 7pm this saturday. there could be many more twists and turns before we get to that point and we will keep you up to speed with all the things that happen here in south korean stop more online with our live page with regular updates on everything unfolding

in south korea. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

to the other major political story we are following closely, this time in france. prime minister michel barnier was ousted late on wednesday evening after members of parliament united across the political divide to support a no—confidence motion. that toppled the government, and makes mr barnier the shortest—serving prime minister in french history. our paris correspondent andrew harding has the story. moments before the voting began here in paris tonight, michel barnier made a final, ratherforlorn, plea to french mps. the prime minister urged them to back him and his government and his budget, or create chaos. translation: ican't- believe a majority of mps here will vote to destabilise our institutions at a moment

where our country is going through a deep moral, economic, financial and civic crisis. but the answer came back fast and conclusive. the speaker of parliament revealing that 57% of mps had voted no confidence in the government, politicians from the hard right and hard left of french politics briefly uniting on this one issue. translation: idon't| feel my head spinning, and i don't consider this a victory. we had a choice to make, and the choice we made was to protect french people. having tasted blood, many french mps now want more — specifically, they want president emmanuel macron ousted. heading home from a trip to saudi arabia tonight, a badly weakened president has made it clear he is

staying put. it is 62 years since france last found itself in a situation like this. on that occasion, president de gaulle stood his ground, and eventually regained control of parliament. today feels rather different. france is in debt, public frustration growing, a nation wrestling, like so many now, with the forces of polarisation and populism. "i think it's tragic," says this woman, of today's vote. "nobody is considering the consequences." "there is a lot of anxiety," this man adds. "i'm upset both with the forces on the left and the far right." tonight, a government has fallen, but france's political deadlock remains firmly in place. andrew harding, bbc news, paris.

for more on this week for more on this we can speak to a french politic expert at the australian national university. thanks for your time in the programme this is quite extraordinary the extremely in the extreme right working together, what do you think might happen next?- together, what do you think might happen next? next france will seek a _ might happen next? next france will seek a new _ might happen next? next france will seek a new government, - might happen next? next france will seek a new government, in i will seek a new government, in the way this was expected because the michel barnier was a placeholder government, it was a minority government. we knew from the get go when he was appointed three months ago, that its chances of passing bills in the parliament were limited. this one was a big one the budget for 2025, as mentioned, the far left and far right united to defeat the government, now it is a prerogative of the french government president to appoint a new prime duster. it could be

that immanuel macron requires michel barnier to return as a 1962 with pompidou, to renegotiate the 2025 budget with the far left and the far right. that however is unlikely. the second scenario is that macron will try to broaden his majority to continue to rule from the centre and appoint a macron compatible primer stirfrom centre and appoint a macron compatible primer stir from the centre, the centre—left or centre—right. another scenario is macron resorts to work with the new popular front which is an assemblage of political groups from the left, who came first at the last general election for the french lower house, the national assembly. in which case france would go from a centre—right government to a left—wing government. but this is not the preferred option of the president. what is going to happen next is anyone's guess but what is

certain is that political instability will continue under the current house because there is no clear majority in the house, it is very scattered. that's interesting because the same situation in south korea was over the budget. briefly if you can because we are running out of time do you think macron can survive this? we understand president trump is going to france this weekend? —— president—elect. constitutionally macron can be as mandated by the french people and is mandate runs out in 22 is in seven. there is no reason to oust nobody can, the only way macron would be to go from his own volition from resignation. it is very unlikely he will be resigning the conversation about resignation comes from the far left and the far right we want to create political chaos in france. it is a created and manufactured situation, it did not have to be.—

manufactured situation, it did not have to be. many thanks for our not have to be. many thanks for your time _ not have to be. many thanks for your time a _ not have to be. many thanks for your time a french _ not have to be. many thanks for your time a french politics - your time a french politics expert from the australian national university. 0ther national university. other news. police in new york city are searching for a person who shot dead the chief executive of one of the united states' largest health insurance companies. brian thompson was fatally shot by an attacker just before 7am on wednesday outside the hilton hotel in midtown manhattan. he had been scheduled to speak at an investor conference later in the day. the 50—year—old father—of—two was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 0ur north america correspondent john sudworth has more from new york. as brian thompson arrived early for his meeting, behind him, a figure can be seen stepping out of the shadows. the gunman fires at least three rounds, before running away — all caught on cctv video. the police have released this image, showing the suspect moving further away from the scene by bike, and this one, revealing part of his face, taken, officers say, minutes before the shooting. mr thompson was ceo of unitedhealthcare, this country's biggest health

insurer, providing cover for some 30 million americans. as the investigation began, with numbers marking where the shell casings had been recovered, the police said they had little doubt the killing was premeditated. in midtown manhattan earlier this morning, 50—year—old brian thompson, the ceo of unitedhealthcare, was shot and killed in what appears at this early stage of our investigation to be a brazen, targeted attack. this does not appear to be a random act of violence. after the shooting, the street here was quickly closed off, and the police investigation has been continuing all day, and while they say they do not yet have a motive, significantly, perhaps, mr thompson's wife has given a phone interview to nbc news, in which she said her husband had been receiving threats of some kind, and although she didn't go into any detail that will clearly feed into the investigation. gun crime in new york is lower than the national average,

and extremely rare in central manhattan. those close by when it happened spoke of their shock. i mean, its new york. it's kind of, it's not normal here at 8:00 and 7:00 in the morning, but it's pretty scary, huh? i feel so sorry for his family, and no matter whatjob he has, no matter where he worked or what he done, nobody deserves to be murdered. for now, the priority is finding the suspect. police drones, helicopters and dogs, and thousands of cctv cameras are combing the city, street by street, and a reward of $10,000 is being offered for information that helps to track him down. it will take you live to seoul and show you the national assembly, we have got some news the south korea —— south korean president will not make any statements today. we will be in

seoul live with our team is coming up on business today. stay with us on bbc news. hello there. the weather is set to stay pretty unsettled as we head towards the weekend, but it's not a complete wash—out. there will be some drier, brighter interludes from time to time before the wet and windy weather moves through, and then it will turn noticeably colder, particularly for the second half of the weekend. so, one weather front has been bringing some heavy rain — that's sweeping its way east. a brief lull, but only briefly, before the next system starts to pile in, so rainfall accumulations are going to start to pep up over the next few days. widely, we could see 50mm of rain, but across north wales, northwest england, some areas could see 70—80mm, possibility of further localised flooding. so, not a bad start for many across central and eastern areas, clouding over from the west, and some of that rain really

turning quite heavy, with gale—force gusts of winds, particularly for the highlands and islands. here, we'll see 8 or 9 degrees. highest values, though, further south of around 13 or 1a celsius. so a slightly milder feel to things, but a spell of very wet weather will sweep its way through, and as we move towards the early hours of friday morning, the wind direction changes once again, back to a northwesterly. so a slightly cooler start to friday, but friday should be a relatively dry start with some sunny spells coming through. there will be a few scattered showers into the far northwest, and with elevation, some of these a little wintry, but later on, the next system starts to push in from the atlantic. yet more wet and windy weather to come. 0n the whole, friday will be a slightly cooler day, 6 to 9 degrees. now, this area of low pressure could still be just that little bit further north, but at the moment, the current thinking is that it's going to move its way across the country, and with elevation, across the pennines and the southern uplands, we could see some snow as it clears through.

but it was going to move through during the early half of saturday. the wind directions swing around to a northerly. some of those showers with the elevation could turn quite wintry, as well. temperatures down again, 5 to 8 degrees quite widely across the country. for the second half of the weekend, though, it looks likely that we're going to start to see high pressure building in from the west. it'll still be a windy day, a cold wind coming down from the north. but on the whole, sunday will be drier with more sunshine coming through, but it will feel very chilly indeed. take care.

i am steve lai in i am steve lai in south korea. south korea. proceedings south korea. to impeach proceedings south korea. to impeach president proceedings to impeach president yoon are underway. president proceedings to impeach president yoon are underway. they may have hit a snag with opposition parties trying to oust him. plus — bitcoin crosses the 100,000 mark for the first time. we'll have more on what's driving the rally behind the world's biggest cryptocurrency. hello, and welcome to business today. i'm live from seoul, standing in front of the

national assembly building, the parliament building here in