S Korean investigators halt arrest of impeached president due to resistance

The attempt to arrest South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol was halted on Friday after investigators met with considerable resistance at the presidential residence in central Seoul.

A group of prosecutors and investigators had moved to arrest the impeached president over his short-lived martial law declaration in December, but after a confrontation with presidential security service agents, they announced they were no longer proceeding with the arrest warrant.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) said the continued confrontation made it virtually impossible to execute the arrest warrant against Yoon, which was issued by a Seoul court on Tuesday.

The CIO said it had stopped the execution at about 13:30 Friday over concerns about the safety of investigators at the scene, expressing deep regret over the attitude of Yoon who refused to comply with legal procedures.

In the hours that preceded the arrest attempt, large numbers of vocal Yoon supporters had turned out on the streets by the presidential residence, adding to the pressure at the site.

"There was only a few hundred of them (Yoon's supporters) this morning when police managed to move through close to the residence -- no doubt choosing that moment to strike, knowing there would be massive crowds over the weekend, and given this warrant expires on Monday, this may be their last chance to serve it. They went in with 120 police officers and 20 members of the corruption investigation office, four senior officials. Initially, they were blocked by the military, a group of soldiers on the outside of the residence perimeter there. They are now through that level, apparently through the first two levels of resistance at the residence, but they're now being stopped by the presidential security guard and they are saying that they have no authority to come inside," China Global Television Network(CGTN) correspondent Jack Barton said while reporting from the scene earlier on Friday.

Yoon's supporters have been fervently rallying around the presidential residence since Thursday, with police reportedly trying to disperse the crowds.

"Everybody's innocent until they are (proven) guilty, right? He's not even in the first trial yet, we cannot say he is a criminal," said one supporter rallying in Yoon's defense late on Thursday.

After abandoning the arrest attempt on Friday, the CIO said it will decide on future measures after relevant reviews, with arrest warrant scheduled to be effective until Jan 6.

S Korean investigators halt arrest of impeached president due to resistance

As temperatures drop, swarms of migratory birds have flocked to wetland reserves in Jiangxi and Hubei provinces, enjoying their winter stopover at the wetland sanctuaries where food is abundant.

At Nanji wetland in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, a record high of over 5,000 oriental white storks, a bird species under first-class national protection in China, have been spotted recently.

According to wetland workers, the population of migratory birds has been steadily growing since fishing was banned in 2020.

In addition, relevant authorities have conducted joint law enforcement and strengthened patrols to ensure that migratory birds can safely spend the winter there.

A wetland in Yangxin County, central China's Hubei Province, has recently transformed into a lake of swans with the arrival of large numbers of little swans.

The little swans were seen foraging, playing, and swimming at the Wanghu Wetland Nature Reserve, attracting many bird enthusiasts to capture the moments in photography.

This year, the population of little swans, a species under second-class national protection, has doubled compared to previous years.

The wetland, located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, is one of the key stops along the migratory route of birds.

It has so far welcomed more than 90,000 migratory birds of 49 species, and the number is expected to reach 100,000 by the end of January.

Migratory birds flock to eastern, central China as temperatures drop