at 18:00 (JST), January 19

20250119180000_english_1.mp3

Welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Gene Otani in Tokyo.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office says a ceasefire will not begin in the Gaza Strip until the Islamic group Hamas provides a list of the hostages to be released. Hamas says its delay in submitting the list was due to technical reasons. The six-week ceasefire was supposed to begin at 8:30 AM on Sunday local time after the two sides reached an agreement. Hamas is expected to free 33 hostages under the deal. Israel is scheduled to release Palestinian prisoners and pull its forces from highly populated areas in exchange.
But the Israeli military later announced it was continuing attacks in northern and central parts of Gaza after the agreed time the ceasefire was supposed to have begun. NHK has a report from Tel Aviv with simultaneous interpretation.

I am in the downtown of Tel Aviv. This is the place where Israelis have been calling for the release of hostages for the past 15 months.
Immediately before the start of the ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister's Office said that the ceasefire would not start. So far, its impact on the schedule is not clear.
People here are taking genuinely cautious stands. They are not convinced whether the release will go smoothly, since they hear that some hostages have already died, they are anxious.
I also heard the response of the Gaza residents a while ago. Although they are relieved that the attacks by the Israeli army will stop, they are not 100% happy. In the battle so far, around 2 million out of 2.3 million residents have been displaced, and more than 46,000 people have died. Whether the ceasefire will start as agreed to release the hostages and lead to permanent ceasefire, the world is watching closely.

The China-based owner of social media app TikTok has informed users in the United States of a service suspension after a legal ban took effect on Sunday.
The law required TikTok's owner Byte Dance to sell its US business to avoid the ban. Users saw a message about the suspension when they opened the app on Saturday afternoon. The message later changed to one saying, quote, a law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now. The update also says President-elect Donald Trump has indicated he will work with the company on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. In an interview with NBC News, Trump hinted he would most likely give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from a potential ban. He will be inaugurated as president on Monday.

South Korean investigators have arrested President Yoon Son-yol on charges of insurrection. This is the first time in the country's history that a sitting president has been arrested.
The arrest warrant was issued early on Sunday by the Seoul Western District Court. The Joint Investigation Team says the court granted the warrant over fears that Yoon could destroy evidence.
Before the warrant was issued, Yoon attended the court review on Saturday to explain his position. He was then returned to the detention facility outside Seoul, where he has been held since Wednesday. News of the arrests sent some Yoon supporters on a rampage. Dozens of them trespassed into premises of the court that issued his warrant arrest warrant. They broke windows and walls and threw chairs at police officers. Media reports say police have detained more than 40 people and mobilized around 1,000 officers to maintain order.
NHK World Kim Chan-ju tells us what is going on in South Korea following the arrest. She reports from the detention center just outside Seoul, where Yoon is being held.

A few dozen Yoon supporters are here waving the South Korean flag and shouting his name. But compared to the angry supporters who stormed the court building in Seoul, the mood here is not as intense. Yoon's lawyers say his arrest is a sign of the demise of the rule of law and judicial conscience. They argued that the warrant was unjustified as there weren't sufficient grounds to arrest the president. We spoke to citizens in the capital. Here's what some of them had to say.

He led an insurrection. He can't evade this misdeed. Even though he is president, he should be punished accordingly.

I was worried because it was taking a long time to arrest him, but I'm relieved that it finally happened.

We have yet to see justice in this incident. I want the court to make a decision soon so society can go back to normal.

Responses from the political field are divided. The ruling People Power Party has expressed deep sorrow and regret, and criticized the court's decision. The main opposition Democratic Party emphasized that it will serve as a foundation for restoring constitutional order, saying the court made the judgment based on common sense.
With the arrest, Yoon will need to go through procedures as all the other detainees do, including a mugshot, verifying his personal information and receiving a prison number. But due to his status as the current president, he is expected to be held in sanitary confinement rather than with other prisoners.
The cell is about 10 square meters with basic amenities like a mattress, desk, TV and toilet.
The arrest warrant allows investigators to hold him up for up to 20 days, including the time already spent in detention. Local media say the joint investigation team will have the first 10 days and prosecutors will get the rest.
Investigators notified Yoon he should appear Sunday afternoon for questioning, but his legal team decided not to comply. His team seems to be considering their next step, including a request for detention review. Given Yoon's previous record of not cooperating with the investigation, local media say it is very likely that he will maintain that stance. So now, one of the focuses is whether the investigators will have enough time to question the president.
Yoon previously stated his willingness to directly address the impeachment trial. So the hearing at the Constitutional Court is another focal point. Prosecutors are expected to make a decision whether or not to indict him by early February.

And that was NHK Real's Kim Chan-joo reporting from South Korea following President Yoon's arrest.

People opposing the policies of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump gathered in Washington to stage a large-scale protests march and rally two days before the inauguration.
The protesters marched through the city center to express their concerns about Trump's policies, including climate change and abortion rights.

There's a lot of fear right now and a lot of, but I think seeing these people come together and seeing so many people come together, and have so much courage and hope to be here. Because I oppose fascism and I want to live in a country where people are free, safe, and healthy.

For democracy, for women's rights and reproductive health, for immigrants, against racism. Too many reasons to list.

Republican Trump is poised to make drastic changes to the policies of outgoing President Joe Biden raising concerns among Liberal leaning supporters of the Democratic Party. During a phone interview with NBC News, Trump said he will sign a record setting number of executive orders just after his inauguration speech. He also said he would soon begin mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

Those were the main news stories for this hour.

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And that's the news this hour. I'm Gene Otani from all of us here at NHK Newsline to all around the world. Thanks very much for joining us.