South

May 26 (UPI) — South Carolina’s state Senate adjourned Tuesday without acting on a new congressional map that would have redrawn voting districts in favor of Republicans.

President Donald Trump has called on states to redraw their voting maps to favor Republicans, especially after a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that badly weakened a part of the landmark federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 that helped protect minority voting power.

However, as voters started heading to the polls Tuesday for the first in-person voting in primaries, state senators said it was just too late. If the state Senate pushed the map through Tuesday, the state would have had to throw out tens of thousands of ballots that had already been cast that day and schedule a new primary.

“Neither my conscience nor my common sense would allow me to stop an election that is already underway,” Republican state Sen. Richard Cash said during the vote, The BBC reported.

The new congressional map pitched for South Carolina would do away with the state’s only majority Black district, which is represented by Rep. James Clyburn, a Democrat. Clyburn is seeking his 18th term in office this year.

Republicans have a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Trump and other conservatives are calling for district changes to hold on to that majority during the midterm elections in November. Other states, including Tennessee, have already redrawn and approved new maps eliminating majority Black districts.

CNN reported that Trump called Republican state Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey at least twice about the plan, and the president has posted regularly on social media about the matter as well.

“South Carolina Republicans: BE BOLD AND COURAGEOUS, just like the Republicans of the Great State of Tennessee were last week!” the president wrote in a post earlier this month.

South Carolina state senators will likely pick up the matter again after the primary voting ends June 9. State Sen. Brad Hutto, a Democrat, said his party members worked all weekend to make voters headed out to the polls today, The New York Times reported.

“The people in South Carolina were sending us a message that their vote mattered,” he said. “It was important, and they didn’t want us to cancel their vote.”

Democrats had another win in the redistricting wars on Tuesday, with a federal court temporarily blocking Alabama from using its newly redrawn congressional map, which includes only one Black majority district out of seven. The population of Alabama is about 27% Black.

The South Carolina map in question, meanwhile, would have resulted in no Black majority districts out of the state’s seven. The state is about 26% Black, based on 2025 U.S. Census numbers.

Across South Asia, concerns over press freedom, political influence, and media credibility are drawing increasing international scrutiny. From Bangladesh and Pakistan to India, journalists and independent media organisations face mounting political, economic, and legal pressures that are reshaping how information is produced and consumed.

Recent international assessments point to what rights groups describe as a broader regional decline in media independence. The 2026 World Press Freedom Index placed multiple South Asian countries near the lower end of global rankings, reflecting concerns over censorship, political pressure, and growing ideological polarisation within news ecosystems.

Among these cases, India continues to attract the most sustained global attention due to its scale, democratic profile, and influence as the world’s largest electoral democracy.

When a country that defines itself as a global democratic model falls to 157th out of 180 nations on the World Press Freedom Index, the question is no longer whether there are challenges within its media environment. The question is how deeply those challenges have reshaped journalism itself.

Together with other regional indicators, the findings suggest not isolated failures but a structural transformation in how media systems operate across South Asia.

The concerns highlighted in global reports do not exist in isolation. Across South Asia, governments and political actors are increasingly accused of exerting pressure on journalists through legal action, advertising influence, regulatory scrutiny, and informal intimidation.

According to World Press Freedom Index in 2026, Bangladesh stood at 152nd. Afghanistan remained among the lowest-ranked countries globally, reflecting ongoing restrictions on press activity. Nepal, while comparatively better positioned at 87th, has also faced periodic concerns over political influence and media ownership concentration.

Analysts argue that while each country’s political context differs, a shared pattern is emerging: fragile media economies, heightened political polarisation, and increasing hostility toward independent journalism.

However, India’s trajectory is often singled out due to its democratic stature and its role as a regional political and cultural benchmark. This contrast between democratic identity and media freedom rankings has intensified global debate about the state of its information ecosystem.

Political Influence and the Changing Nature of News

Within India, one of the central concerns raised by international observers is the perceived growth of political influence over large sections of mainstream media.

A detailed report by Genocide Watch described what it termed a “severe crisis of credibility” in parts of the Indian media landscape, arguing that dominant narratives in some outlets increasingly align with those of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party rather than independently scrutinising power.

This does not imply uniformity across the entire media sector. India still has a diverse ecosystem of investigative journalists, regional newspapers, and independent digital platforms producing critical reporting. However, critics argue that the dominant tone of mainstream television and high-visibility digital media increasingly reflects political messaging rather than adversarial journalism.

The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) assessment echoed concerns about structural vulnerabilities. It highlighted the heavy dependence of Indian media on advertising revenue, including significant spending by both central and state governments. Critics argue that this financial structure creates subtle incentives for compliance, where editorial decisions may be influenced not through direct censorship, but through economic dependency.

In such an environment, formal restrictions are often unnecessary. Editorial caution can emerge internally, as news organisations weigh political and financial risks before pursuing certain stories.

The Rise of Divisive Television Narratives

Another recurring concern involves the increasing polarisation of televised political discourse.

Genocide Watch and other rights-focused assessments have warned that sections of mainstream media increasingly frame political and social issues through identity-based narratives, often centred on religion and nationalism. Complex policy debates are frequently simplified into binary positions, contributing to heightened social tension.

Human Rights Watch, in its World Report 2026, also documented concerns that hostile rhetoric in parts of media and online spaces has coincided with rising incidents of discrimination and attacks against minority communities, including Muslims in different parts of the country.

While causation is difficult to establish definitively, observers argue that repeated framing of communities through suspicion or collective identity can contribute to an environment where social hostility becomes easier to normalise.

The RSF report additionally pointed to structural imbalances within media representation, noting concerns about concentration of leadership within certain social groups and the underrepresentation of women in prominent political debate programming. These imbalances, critics argue, shape not only who speaks in media spaces, but also which perspectives are amplified or marginalised.

Self-Censorship and Invisible Constraints

Not all constraints on journalism are explicit. In many cases, they manifest as self-censorship.

According to Genocide Watch, journalists and editors increasingly avoid topics that could lead to political backlash, regulatory scrutiny, legal threats, or coordinated online harassment campaigns. Over time, this produces a newsroom culture in which certain subjects are quietly excluded before formal editorial decisions are even made.

This form of pressure is difficult to measure, but its effects can be significant. When reporters internalise risk calculations, the range of publicly available information can narrow without any formal ban or directive.

RSF similarly highlighted concerns over actions taken against independent journalists, commentators, and publications. It cited instances of restrictions, legal pressure, and bans on certain media outlets in sensitive regions, including Jammu and Kashmir, where authorities have taken action against publications accused of promoting separatism.

Critics argue that such measures contribute to a wider climate of caution, particularly around politically sensitive reporting.

A Broader Democratic Stress Test

The implications of these developments extend beyond journalism alone.

Genocide Watch framed the weakening of press freedom as part of a broader institutional credibility challenge linked to political polarisation and majoritarian dynamics. In this view, media independence is not an isolated issue but part of a wider ecosystem that includes accountability, governance, and civic trust.

A free press plays a central role in democratic systems by enabling scrutiny of power and facilitating informed public debate. When that role weakens, the consequences extend into how citizens engage with institutions and interpret political realities.

India’s trajectory in the RSF index over recent years reflects this concern. The country ranked 150th in 2022, fell further to 161st in 2023, improved slightly to 151st in 2025, and then declined again to 157th in 2026. Analysts interpret this pattern not as random fluctuation but as part of a longer-term structural challenge.

At the same time, government supporters argue that India remains a robust electoral democracy with active institutions, a vibrant political opposition, and a highly diverse media landscape. They contend that international rankings often fail to capture the complexity of India’s scale, security challenges, and internal diversity.

The debate, therefore, is not solely about classification, but about how democratic quality itself should be assessed.

South Asia in a Global Decline

These concerns are unfolding within a broader global downturn in press freedom. RSF’s 2026 index noted that worldwide media freedom has reached its weakest level in 25 years, with more than half of all countries classified as having “difficult” or “very serious” conditions.

South Asia reflects this global trend particularly sharply. Alongside India, countries such as Bangladesh remain in the lower tiers of the global rankings, highlighting shared regional challenges around political influence, media ownership concentration, and journalist safety.

Yet despite this broader pattern, analysts continue to emphasise that each country’s trajectory is shaped by its own political history and institutional structures. In India’s case, its global influence and democratic identity make developments in its media landscape particularly consequential for international observers.

What Is Ultimately at Stake

The credibility of media systems plays a central role in shaping the health of democratic life. Journalism informs not only public debate but also citizens’ ability to evaluate leadership, understand policy decisions, and hold institutions accountable.

When trust in media declines, democratic accountability becomes harder to sustain.

The findings from Genocide Watch and RSF should therefore be viewed not simply as criticism of individual outlets or governments, but as indicators of broader institutional stress across South Asia.

Addressing these challenges would require a combination of stronger protections for editorial independence, more diversified ownership structures, reduced reliance on state advertising, and greater safeguards for journalists facing intimidation or harassment.

Despite these pressures, the region continues to produce significant investigative journalism and independent reporting under difficult conditions. Many journalists continue to work at considerable personal and professional risk to maintain public access to information.

Acknowledging structural challenges across South Asia is not an indictment of any single democracy. Rather, it is increasingly seen by analysts as a necessary step toward strengthening the democratic principles that the region’s constitutions and institutions claim to uphold.

With information from Reuters.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 22 (UPI) — Lebanon’s agriculture sector emerged as another victim of Israel’s widespread attacks across southern Lebanon, damaging vast areas of farmland, displacing the majority of the region’s farmers and threatening the country’s food security, economic resilience and cultural identity.

The sector, which is key to Lebanon’s economy and plays a vital role in sustaining rural communities and preserving cultural traditions, had not yet recovered from the impacts of the 2023-2024 war between Hezbollah and Israel when it was again hit by resumed hostilities in March.

The fresh escalation severely disrupted farming activities, with an estimated 22.5% of agricultural areas (56,264 hectares) damaged, including farms and greenhouses, and nearly 80% of farmers (more than 6,593) displaced and unable to access their land due to Israeli military activities, according to an updated report released by the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture on May 5.

The report indicated that the most affected crops in the south are bananas (95%), citrus trees (97%), olives (91%) and small-scale farming, which accounts for 80% of Lebanon’s total agricultural area.

Moreover, more than 1.8 million heads of livestock (cows, goats, sheep and poultry), 29,121 beehives, and 2,030 tons of fish have been lost.

Nizar Hani, the minister of agriculture, said the sector suffered its biggest losses compared with previous wars, adding that agricultural losses have doubled since the March 2 escalation to about $1.5 billion, out of an estimated total war damage that exceeds $20 billion.

Hani said Israel is establishing a buffer zone in southern Lebanon “empty of any life, where no one can pass through, hide or live,” through destruction of entire villages, properties, orchards and olive trees.

He said southern Lebanon produces 70% of the country’s citrus fruits and 90% of its bananas, supplying the local market and exporting to neighboring countries such as Syria, Jordan and Iraq.

And he told UPI that the heavy agricultural losses, inflation, and resulting job losses had a direct impact on food security, with 24% of people living in Lebanon — including Syrian displaced persons, Palestinian refugees and others — requiring immediate assistance.

According to an analysis by the Agriculture Ministry, in collaboration with the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme, 1.24 million people were expected to face food insecurity between April and August 2026, marking a significant increase from the November 2025-March 2026 period, when an estimated 874,000 people experienced acute food insecurity.

Nora Ourabah Haddad, the Food and Agriculture Organization representative in Lebanon, warned that damage to irrigation systems, productive infrastructure, livestock systems and agricultural supply chains is further weakening local production capacity.

Haddad referred to substantial declines in the production of milk, meat, eggs and honey after 1,600 farms were affected and more than 1.8 million animals killed during the war.

She said the scale of the damage is “extremely serious” and extends far beyond the affected agricultural land that included some of the country’s most productive farming areas.

“What is at stake today is Lebanon’s capacity to sustain local food production, protect rural livelihoods and preserve the resilience of its agrifood systems at a time when the country is already heavily dependent on food imports and facing severe economic pressures,” she told UPI in an interview.

Haddad said food prices rose by 8.4% in the first quarter of 2026, while transport costs increased by 21%, adding that higher fuel and logistics costs expected to continue to drive up prices.

This time, farmers fear prolonged displacement after being forced to leave their land and homes under Israeli evacuation orders in early March — as many were preparing for the planting season.

Hussein Salameh, head of an agriculture cooperative in the Bint Jbeil-Marjeyoun area, recalled how they fled without having time to take any belongings, move their cows away or release them.

Salameh, an inhabitant of the village of Aitaroun, said the displaced farmers mostly feel “frustrated and abandoned” after exhausting their savings on working their land and repairing their damaged homes when they first returned after the Nov. 27, 2024, cease-fire.

He noted that Hezbollah did not provide them then with any financial assistance, saying it no longer had the funds to do so.

Unlike other displaced employees or skilled workers who could still find work in their areas of refuge, they have lost their only source of livelihood away from their land, he said.

“This is a big tragedy. … Farmers have only their land to live on and survive,” he told UPI.

The fear is that when farmers remain separated from their land, livestock and livelihoods for extended periods, many gradually lose the ability to sustain themselves and may eventually abandon agriculture altogether, Haddad warned.

Helping farmers protect what remains of their livelihoods by providing emergency agricultural support and restoring the country’s agricultural capacity before losses become “irreversible” were emerging priorities for the Food and Agriculture Organization, she said.

However, soil contamination presents another major concern after Lebanon and international rights groups accused Israel of unlawfully using white phosphorus and the herbicide glyphosate during its attacks on southern Lebanon, destroying crops and damaging beehives and livestock.

“This is an international environmental crime,” Hani said, adding that Israel “sprayed everything with glyphosate.”

The destruction and uprooting of old olive trees — some of which have been cultivated and preserved across generations, and in some cases for centuries — was equally painful.

“It is the loss of a living heritage … olive trees are deeply connected to family history, local traditions, food culture and rural economies,” Haddad said, adding that their destruction carries not only economic consequences, but also profound social and cultural impacts on farming communities.

Restoration is possible, but it requires time as newly planted trees require many years before becoming fully productive.

“Some of these ancient olive trees may also contain unique genetic heritage that has adapted to local environmental conditions over centuries, making parts of this loss potentially irreversible from a biodiversity perspective,” Haddad said.

Even if hostilities were to stop today, recovery in southern Lebanon’s agriculture sector would not be immediate and would require extensive international funding and support.

Farmers would also need time to recover from the “deep psychological impact” of being uprooted from their land, after their “cultural and environmental values” were destroyed, according to Hani.

To Salameh, Israel was not just targeting Hezbollah but carrying out what he described as “collective punishment” against everyone living in the south, including those opposed to the Iran-backed group.

“Would such collective punishment ensure security for Israel? Would that bring peace?” he asked.

May 22 (Asia Today) — The head of the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists warned Friday that pressure on press freedom is not limited to imprisonment, killings or direct censorship, saying lawsuits, access restrictions and online attacks can also intimidate reporters and encourage self-censorship.

Jacob Weisberg, chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists, made the remarks during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo when asked about indirect pressure on journalists in democracies such as South Korea and Japan.

“The issue of reporters being prevented from doing their jobs or being punished in unofficial ways, and the issue of threats and self-censorship, are much more difficult matters,” Weisberg said.

Asia Today asked how the organization evaluates cases in which press freedom is restricted not through direct censorship but through exclusion, intimidation or loss of access, citing press corps-centered reporting restrictions, limits on access to government briefings, defamation lawsuits and online harassment.

Weisberg said the CPJ is still considering how to respond to such issues.

“That does not mean CPJ is not concerned about such issues, but to be fair, we are still thinking about how to deal with questions like that,” he said.

He said the group’s top priority remains helping journalists who face physical danger.

“CPJ’s first obligation is to help journalists who are in physical danger,” he said. “We first deal with cases involving journalists who are imprisoned, abused, tortured or killed.”

But he stressed that this does not mean the organization is unconcerned about more subtle and complicated issues surrounding press freedom.

Weisberg also addressed Japan’s press club system. While saying he did not know enough about Japan, he said he had often heard about the country’s press clubs and the inherent limits of that system.

He said reporters outside press clubs may not have the same access to information and that the system can function as an exclusive channel through which information is delivered.

Weisberg did not equate the issue with censorship seen in authoritarian countries.

“It is not censorship, but it is a lower-level problem than that,” he said.

He also cited the United States, saying there have been no confirmed recent cases of journalists being jailed or killed there, but that the environment for reporters has worsened and become more dangerous in several ways.

He mentioned “media capture,” in which government approval or corporate merger issues can be used as leverage over broadcasters and media companies, as well as concerns over lawsuits and self-censorship.

Referring to the Trump administration, Weisberg also raised concerns about restrictions on White House access for certain media outlets and limits on access to Pentagon briefings.

Restricting government access to the press because of political views is “illegal and unconstitutional,” he said.

On Asia, Weisberg expressed more direct concern. He said that as of May 13, CPJ counted 103 journalists imprisoned across Asia. China had the largest number, with 51, followed by Myanmar with 18 and Vietnam with 16.

Weisberg also said that while Japan has no recorded cases of journalists being imprisoned or killed, worsening press freedom across Asia affects the safety, movement and reporting ability of Japanese journalists working abroad.

He cited the case of NHK Tehran bureau chief Shinnosuke Kawashima, who was arrested in Iran and later released but has not yet been able to return to Japan.

Weisberg said Japan could play a more active diplomatic role in defending press freedom in Asia.

His remarks suggested that press freedom debates in South Korea and Japan should move beyond the question of whether censorship exists and ask who monopolizes information, who loses the right to ask questions and who is pressured into silence.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260522010006683

May 22 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s leading defense and public-sector technology institutions agreed Thursday to deepen cooperation on artificial intelligence strategy as the government seeks to position the country among the world’s top three AI powers.

The Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, or KIDA, and the National Information Society Agency, or NIA, held a joint seminar in Seoul under the theme “Strategic linkage between public AI transformation and defense AI transformation for a national AI G3.”

The two organizations also signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation between the public and defense sectors on AI policy and infrastructure.

The agreement reflects growing recognition within South Korea that strategic use of AI technology is becoming a key factor in national competitiveness and future security.

The institutions said the partnership aims to create a nationwide AI ecosystem linking the private sector, government and military by integrating AI transformation efforts that had previously been pursued separately in the public and defense sectors.

As part of the initiative, KIDA plans to expand its Defense Artificial Intelligence Policy Research Office into a larger body tentatively named the Defense AI Policy Center.

The planned center would oversee tasks ranging from defense AI strategy to data planning and verification while maintaining a permanent cooperation system with NIA’s AI policy division.

Officials said the center is expected to support both the Defense Ministry and the Ministry of Science and ICT while serving as a bridge between ministries on AI policy and technology.

During the seminar, Shim Seung-bae, a senior researcher at KIDA, presented what he described as a “public-defense hybrid AI transformation strategy” aimed at strengthening South Korea’s defense industry competitiveness.

Lee Yong-jin, head of NIA’s AI policy office, said advanced public-sector AI infrastructure and methodologies should be rapidly integrated into defense applications.

Participants from government, industry and the military also discussed the need for stronger AI governance and closer cooperation between defense companies and civilian AI firms.

Lee Seung-young, chief technology officer at LIG D&A, said open collaboration between defense contractors and private AI companies is urgently needed to upgrade advanced weapons systems.

Kim Dong-hwan, CEO of FortyTwoMaru, said successful AI transformation cases and data experience from civilian and public sectors should be quickly applied to defense programs.

KIDA President Kim Jung-soo said AI has become “a core game changer” determining the success of national competitiveness and defense innovation.

NIA President Kim Hyung-chul said the agency would focus on maximizing synergy between public and defense AI transformation to help South Korea become a global “AI G3” nation.

Officials said the partnership could accelerate South Korea’s broader “Defense Innovation 4.0” initiative and its goal of becoming one of the world’s top four defense exporters.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260522010006708

May 21 (Asia Today) — Korea Electric Power Corp.’s AI-based preventive diagnostics technology will be introduced to Germany’s power equipment market under the company’s largest-ever single technology transfer deal.

Korea Electric Power said Wednesday it signed a $1.34 million, or about 2 billion won, contract with German power equipment company Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen in Berlin on Tuesday. The South Korean utility will receive technology transfer fees from the German company over seven years.

The technology, called SEDA, analyzes about 100,000 pieces of substation equipment data a day. The system uses AI to detect abnormalities in power facilities by linking data from Internet of Things sensors, facility specifications and maintenance records.

Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen, founded in 1868, specializes in transformer load tap changers, sensors and digital solutions. The company has annual revenue of about 19 trillion won, or $12.6 billion.

The German company plans to apply SEDA to its TESSA 2.0 power equipment asset management platform. The platform monitors the condition of transformers, switchgear and other power equipment.

Korea Electric Power began using SEDA in South Korea in 2021. The system has been applied to 359 of the country’s 925 substations, or about 40%, and the company is gradually expanding its use.

The company said SEDA has detected an average of 15 abnormal signs per year over the past five years. Last year, the system helped prevent equipment damage worth 36.6 billion won, or about $24.3 million.

“This technology transfer is highly significant because it gives Korea Electric Power a key foothold for entering global markets, including Europe and North America,” said Yeo Geun-taek, head of the company’s transmission and substation operation office.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260521010006459

May 21 (Asia Today) — The number of multicultural students in South Korea topped 200,000 for the first time last year, even as the country’s overall youth population continued to decline, government data showed Wednesday.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family released its 2026 youth statistics, covering 36 indicators in eight areas, to mark Youth Month in May.

The data showed the number of multicultural students reached 202,208 last year, up 4.3% from a year earlier. They accounted for 4% of all students.

Elementary school students made up 57.7% of multicultural students, followed by middle school students at 25.3% and high school students at 16.6%.

South Korea’s youth population, defined as people ages 9 to 24, stood at 7.409 million this year, accounting for 14.4% of the total population. That was down from 7.626 million, or 14.8%, last year.

Education indicators showed mixed trends. Seven in 10 students said they enjoyed going to school, up 1 percentage point from the previous year. The share was highest among elementary school students at 79.2%, followed by middle school students at 71.9% and high school students at 69.2%.

The private education participation rate among elementary, middle and high school students fell to 75.7%, down 4.3 percentage points from a year earlier. Average weekly time spent in private education also declined by 30 minutes to 7.1 hours.

The school dropout rate edged up to 1.1%, while the share of high school graduates advancing to higher education in South Korea or abroad rose to 74.4%.

Labor data showed the employment rate for people ages 15 to 29 was 45.0% in 2025, down 1.1 percentage points from the previous year. The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.1%.

Among middle and high school students, 5.1% said they had worked part-time during the past year.

Income was the top factor young people considered when choosing a job. Teenagers and young adults ages 13 to 24 ranked income first, followed by aptitude and interest, then job stability.

Large companies were the most preferred workplaces, followed by government agencies and public corporations.

The share of young people prioritizing income has steadily increased since 2013, when it stood at 27.0%. The trend was stronger among male youths at 42.8% than female youths at 35.9%. Women were more likely than men to cite aptitude and interest as a key factor.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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May 19 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s fast-growing defense industry is confronting a major new obstacle in the U.S. market as the Pentagon fully implements strict cybersecurity certification requirements across its global supply chain.

The U.S. Department of Defense has begun enforcing the final version of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, or CMMC, program, requiring all companies participating in U.S. defense contracts to meet specific cybersecurity standards.

Industry officials warn that Korean defense firms unable to obtain certification could be excluded not only from exports to the United States but also from ship maintenance, repair and overhaul projects and future joint weapons development programs.

The certification system applies not only to primary contractors but also to subcontractors supplying parts and components.

Even companies with advanced technology and competitive pricing can be blocked from bidding if they fail to meet required cybersecurity levels.

For many South Korean defense firms, the most critical threshold is CMMC Level 2, which is required for handling Controlled Unclassified Information, or CUI, tied to U.S. military programs.

The requirement is considered especially important for South Korea’s ambitions to participate in U.S. Navy ship maintenance and repair projects, as well as broader bilateral defense cooperation initiatives.

Defense analysts say the new rules are becoming a de facto trade barrier across Western defense markets.

“Losing access to the U.S. market effectively means being pushed out of the global defense supply chain,” one industry expert said.

Defense Acquisition Program Administration has launched information sessions and consulting support programs in response to growing industry concerns.

The agency is working with regional defense innovation clusters, the Korea Defense Industry Association and the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality to help companies prepare for certification.

But smaller suppliers say the burden remains overwhelming.

Industry estimates suggest that achieving Level 2 certification can cost companies from hundreds of thousands to several million dollars due to infrastructure upgrades, consulting fees and final audits. Preparation alone can take more than a year.

Large defense contractors have already formed dedicated task forces, but many second- and third-tier suppliers lack both funding and cybersecurity specialists.

Because the CMMC system requires certification across the entire supply chain, failure by even a single subcontractor could jeopardize broader export opportunities involving larger Korean defense firms.

Additional complications stem from differences between U.S. and South Korean encryption standards.

One key CMMC requirement involves use of cryptographic modules certified under U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology guidelines known as FIPS standards.

Many South Korean defense companies, however, rely on domestic encryption systems validated under the country’s K-CMVP framework overseen by intelligence and defense authorities.

Industry experts are calling for government-level negotiations between Seoul and Washington to seek mutual recognition or equivalency between Korean and U.S. encryption standards.

Some officials argue such talks could be linked to ongoing negotiations over a Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement between the two allies.

Concerns are also growing over South Korea’s lack of domestically accredited third-party CMMC assessment organizations, forcing companies to rely on U.S.-based auditors and raising concerns about defense technology exposure.

Analysts say South Korea’s defense industry must now treat cybersecurity as strategically important as weapons performance itself if it hopes to become a top-tier global arms exporter.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260519010005245

May 19 (Asia Today) — More than 60% of young South Koreans and college students do not trust elections or political opinion polls, according to a survey released ahead of the June 3 local elections.

The Korean Law Consumers Federation, a legal advocacy group, released the results Monday after surveying 1,201 young people and college students from 119 universities nationwide. The respondents had an average age of 23.4.

The survey found that 60.37% of respondents said they do not trust elections or political opinion polls, while 38.80% said they do.

Despite the distrust, 59.95% said they would definitely vote in the local elections, and 35.89% said they would try to vote.

Asked whether one vote can have an important effect on election results, 75.27% agreed, while 24.56% disagreed.

On early voting, 53.54% said there is a possibility of election fraud, while 40.30% said such claims are completely false.

The survey also asked about possible constitutional revisions. A total of 62.28% supported including language related to the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement in the Constitution, while 35.97% opposed the idea.

However, 91.01% opposed removing the word “freedom” from the Constitution.

The survey included 53 questions and was conducted with the help of student volunteers. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.83 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260519010005434

WASHINGTON — The NAACP is calling on Black athletes and fans to boycott the athletic programs of public universities in states that are taking steps that the nation’s oldest civil rights group says are restricting Black voting rights.

Launched on Tuesday, the “Out of Bounds” campaign urges prospective Black athletes, their families, alumni and fans to “withhold athletic and financial support” from major public universities in states that “have moved to limit, weaken or erase Black voting representation.”

If Black athletes participate in the boycott, it could deplete rosters for powerhouse football and basketball programs across the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference.

The NAACP is among groups responding to a wave of gerrymandering in the aftermath of a Supreme Court ruling that winnowed a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The boycott comes as civil rights activists have mobilized across the South to protest redistricting plans by Republican state legislatures that eliminate majority-Black congressional districts after the high court’s ruling. Activists have looked for pressure points to dissuade GOP-led states from redistricting maps, including calls for mass protests and economic boycotts.

“Across the South, Black athletes have helped build some of the most profitable college athletic programs in America,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson. Johnson noted that the programs “generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue, national television value, alumni donations, merchandising sales, ticket sales, and brand equity — much of it powered by Black football and basketball talent.”

The NAACP’s campaign calls out Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and South Carolina as states to boycott, arguing that the athletic programs of those states’ flagship universities are especially reliant on Black athletic talent and should protect Black political interests.

“Black athletes should not be asked to generate wealth, prestige, and power for state institutions while those same states strip political power from Black communities,” said Johnson.

Black lawmakers themselves are also putting pressure on athletic leagues to take action against Republican-led states that may redistrict longtime Black members of Congress.

The Congressional Black Caucus on Monday sent a letter to the commissioners of the SEC and ACC athletic conferences, as well as NCAA President Charlie Baker, that its members will oppose the SCORE Act, a bill to standardize athletes’ contracting rights across the country, unless conference leaders oppose GOP-led redistricting efforts in states that include major conference members.

“The Congressional Black Caucus believes institutions that profit from Black talent and Black communities have a responsibility to stand with those communities when their fundamental rights are under attack,” the CBC said in a Monday statement. “Silence in the face of injustice is not neutrality — it is complicity.”

Brown writes for the Associated Press.

No. 8 UCLA stuck with right-hander Taylor Tinsley throughout the Los Angeles Regional and that faith in the senior paid off.

During the Bruins’ NCAA tournament opener at Easton Stadium, Tinsley gave up 10 runs before her teammates rallied for a walk-off win. She returned less than 24 hours to pitch against South Carolina, giving up two earned runs in a victory. Tinsley was back in the circle Sunday afternoon, yielding one run in UCLA’s 15-1 victory over the Gamecocks to advance to the super regionals.

“I am proud of Taylor’s resiliency, the ability to do whatever she can to help this team,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “She got stronger through the weekend. I am proud of that.”

Tinsley and her teammates will host Central Florida in a super regional that begins Friday.

“I feel good,” Tinsley said after pitching three key games in three days. “I could have gone more innings if needed.”

South Carolina right-hander Jori Heard gave up only one hit through two innings, keeping UCLA’s potent bats relatively quiet. The Gamecocks had runners on first and second with two outs in the second, but Tinsley escaped the inning with a pop-up to left field.

The Bruins got on the board first with a two-run home run from left fielder Rylee Slimp in the third inning. The Bruins followed it up by loading the bases with no outs in the fifth for right fielder Megan Grant.

Grant cooked up a grand slam to make it 6-0. She has 40 home runs, extending her hold on the NCAA single-season home run record. Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells trails Grant with 37 homers.

“Its just incredible because I am blessed to be able to say the number 40,” Grant said.

South Carolina broke through on an RBI single from left fielder Quincee Lilio to cut UCLA’s lead to 6-1 in the fifth inning after being held to just one hit since the first inning. The Gamecocks couldn’t cash in the rest of the way.

The Bruins resumed scoring in the sixth inning, with the bases loaded and Grant at bat again. Fans at Easton Stadium anticipated another grand slam, holding up their cellphones hoping to catch some magic. Grant served up a two-run RBI single to expand the lead 8-1.

Jordan Woolery added to the scoring with a two-run RBI double down the left-field line, and Kaniya Bragg hit a home run to left-center field. Soo-jin Berry put a bow on the win with one more home run.

May 15 (Asia Today) — Leaders from 26 countries, including South Korea, issued a joint statement supporting the restoration of normal operations through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a CNN report.

The statement came as U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing.

The leaders of South Korea, Britain, France, Japan, Canada, Qatar and Bahrain were among those who reaffirmed support for freedom of navigation through the strait.

“We will use the full range of diplomatic, economic and military capabilities to support freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz,” the leaders said in the statement.

They said navigation must remain free under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea and international law.

The leaders also pledged support for an independent and strictly defensive multinational military mission, including mine-clearing operations, to achieve that goal.

They said any military mission would be carried out only in a permissible environment and would complement diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions.

Trump, who is visiting China, said in a Fox News interview after his summit with Xi that the Chinese leader also supports reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“President Xi wants the Strait of Hormuz open,” Trump said, adding that Xi offered to help “if he can be of any help.”

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260515010004172

May 15 (Asia Today) — South Korea may announce a basic plan for acquiring nuclear-powered submarines as early as this month, officials and diplomatic sources said Friday.

According to foreign policy and security sources, the government is preparing a “Korean nuclear-powered submarine basic plan” that would outline its core principles and a timeline for acquisition.

A Defense Ministry official said the plan is being developed in coordination with relevant agencies but said the exact schedule could not be confirmed.

The official also said it has not been decided whether the Defense Ministry will lead the announcement.

Although no specific date has been set, some observers expect the plan could be released before the Shangri-La Dialogue, an Asian security forum scheduled to take place in Singapore later this month.

The plan is expected to include the defensive nature of the submarines, their missions and roles, a detailed timeline, fuel procurement and financing plans and South Korea’s commitment to complying with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

If announced, the plan would mark a formal declaration of the government’s intention to pursue nuclear-powered submarines.

A joint fact sheet released after a recent South Korea-U.S. summit said the United States had approved South Korea’s construction of nuclear-powered submarines and would work closely with Seoul, including on fuel procurement.

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back recently visited the United States and discussed cooperation on nuclear-powered submarine construction with U.S. defense officials.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260515010004184

May 15 (Asia Today) — SK Group will merge its annual strategy meeting with the Icheon Forum, its knowledge management platform, industry officials said Friday.

The group plans to hold the New Icheon Forum from June 11-13 at the SKMS Research Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.

The event combines SK’s management strategy meeting, usually held in June, with the Icheon Forum, which has been held in August. The company plans to hold the New Icheon Forum every June.

The move is aimed at strengthening execution by bringing strategic discussions into a single forum.

This year’s forum is expected to focus on accelerating artificial intelligence.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and chief executives from major affiliates including SK Innovation, SK Telecom and SK hynix are expected to attend.

Participants plan to discuss specific measures for each affiliate to secure leadership in the AI industry and strategies to create groupwide synergy.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260515010004232

May 13 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s employment rate fell for the first time in 16 months in April as hiring growth slowed amid higher oil prices, weaker consumer sentiment and continued external uncertainty tied to the Middle East war.

The number of employed people aged 15 and older stood at 28.96 million in April, up 74,000 from a year earlier, according to employment data released Wednesday by Statistics Korea.

The increase was the smallest since December 2024 and the first time this year that job growth fell below 100,000.

The employment rate fell 0.2 percentage point from a year earlier to 63.0%, marking its first decline in 16 months.

Youth employment remained weak. The number of employed people aged 15 to 29 fell by 194,000 from a year earlier to 3.42 million, extending its decline for a 42nd consecutive month since November 2022.

The youth employment rate dropped 1.6 percentage points from a year earlier, marking its 24th straight month of decline.

By industry, wholesale and retail jobs fell by 52,000 from a year earlier, while accommodation and food service jobs declined by 29,000. Manufacturing employment dropped by 55,000.

Officials attributed the slowdown to weaker consumer sentiment and continued external uncertainty related to the prolonged Middle East war. Transportation and warehousing jobs, which are sensitive to oil prices, rose by 18,000, but the pace of growth slowed.

Agriculture, forestry and fisheries employment fell by 92,000 amid population aging, while professional, scientific and technical services dropped by 115,000 because of a high base from last year.

Health and social welfare service jobs increased by 261,000, supported by rising care demand and government-backed direct job programs for older people.

“Employment gains were led by health and welfare services, arts, sports and leisure, and real estate,” said Bin Hyun-joon, head of social statistics at Statistics Korea. “By age group, employment increased among people aged 60 and older and those in their 30s, but the pace of growth slowed from the previous month.”

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260513010003376

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has refused to resign over a “cash-in-sofa scandal” that continues to haunt his presidency.

Ramaphosa, who addressed the nation on Monday to declare his intention to remain in his post, is set to face a multi-party impeachment committee, which will investigate allegations that he covered up a 2020 break-in at his private ranch and the theft of more than $500,000, concealing the incident from police and tax authorities.

The committee’s findings could spell his impeachment; however, parliament has not provided a timeframe for the investigation, which has yet to commence.

Analysts say the scandal, which has been dubbed “Farmgate”, has been particularly damaging for a president who rode to power in 2018 on an anticorruption mandate, after the much-criticised presidency of Jacob Zuma. Now, eight years later, the case of the cash found stuffed in a sofa at his game ranch could be what takes Ramaphosa down.

Can the South African president survive? Here is what we know.

What’s the scandal all about?

In February 2020, burglars allegedly broke into Ramaphosa’s luxury private ranch, Phala Phala, in Limpopo province, South Africa, and stole $580,000. The cash was said to have been hidden inside furniture at the farm – hence the “Farmgate” label.

Ramaphosa has been accused of covering up the theft and keeping private efforts to trace the burglars a secret to avoid an investigation into where the money had come from – and why it was hidden in a sofa.

Corruption allegations surfaced when a former head of South Africa’s state security agency walked into a police station in 2022 and accused the president of money laundering in relation to the stolen cash.

Later that year, an independent parliamentary committee found that Ramaphosa “may have committed” serious violations and misconduct. In particular, the panel found he had failed to properly report a theft to police as required under anticorruption laws and “acted in a manner inconsistent with his office”.

At the time, the African National Congress (ANC) had a strong majority in parliament – with 230 seats out of 400. It was therefore able to reject the report and refused to open impeachment proceedings.

But the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) challenged this at the Constitutional Court in Cape Town, which, last week, overturned the government’s rejection of the 2022 parliamentary report and referred it to a multi-party impeachment committee for a full investigation.

What has Ramaphosa said?

Ramaphosa has always denied allegations of corruption and maintains that the stolen cash came from selling buffalo.

Since the constitutional court’s ruling last week, Ramaphosa has been facing renewed calls for his resignation, mostly from opposition leaders. In a televised address on Monday, the president refused to step down.

“While there have been calls in some circles that I should resign, nothing in the Constitutional Court judgement compels me to resign my office,” he said.

“Since a criminal complaint was laid against me in June 2022, I have consistently maintained that I have not stolen public money, committed any crime, nor violated my oath of office,” Ramaphosa said in his address, adding that he has cooperated in all investigations.

The president rejected the 2022 report from the independent panel again, saying: “The complaints against me are based on hearsay allegations. No evidence, let alone sufficient evidence, has been presented to prove that I committed any violation, let alone a serious violation of the Constitution or law, or serious misconduct as set out in the Constitution.”

If the committee does find enough evidence against him, it could direct him to be impeached.

It is unclear how long this will take, however. Ramaphosa has pledged to seek a judicial review of the report’s contents, which, in turn, could delay the investigation of the impeachment committee.

What is the process for impeachment?

If a president is found to have violated the constitution or the law, or is unable to perform the duties of office, South Africa’s National Assembly has the constitutional authority to remove him or her.

Beyond the parliamentary investigation that will now begin into the Farmgate scandal, and which can trigger a vote on impeachment, as well, any member of parliament may introduce a motion seeking the president’s removal. The speaker of the National Assembly would then refer the motion to an independent panel of legal experts to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to proceed.

If this panel decides there is a case against the president, lawmakers must vote on whether to begin impeachment proceedings. After this, a specially constituted impeachment committee is established to carry out a detailed investigation into the allegations. This is separate from the investigation beginning now and could take several months.

Once that committee recommends the removal of the president, parliament holds a final vote to impeach the president. Under Section 89 of the constitution, a two-thirds majority is required – meaning at least 267 lawmakers must vote in favour of removal in the 400-seat National Assembly.

Are there other ways to remove Ramaphosa?

Yes, the South African president can be removed from his job via a no-confidence vote in parliament.

Any member of the assembly can propose the no-confidence motion, and it only requires a simple majority of more than 50 percent.

Ramaphosa would need support from coalition partners to survive a no-confidence vote, however. This has already been proposed by at least two opposition parties in parliament.

Another way could be if his ANC party turns against him, as it did with the last president, Zuma, who came in for years of corruption allegations and was finally forced to resign in 2018.

How strong is Ramaphosa’s position?

Ramaphosa is not only the president of South Africa, but also the leader of its most popular party, the ANC. Nelson Mandela was the ANC’s first Black president after apartheid ended in 1994.

In 2024, the ANC stunningly lost its majority in parliament for the first time following more than three decades in power. Today, the ANC holds 159 of 400 seats in the national assembly, or about 40 percent of seats – and Ramaphosa is governing in a coalition with the Democratic Alliance, which has 87 seats, along with other smaller parties.

But Chris Ogunmodede, an independent analyst of African politics, security, and international affairs, based in Lagos, Nigeria, said Ramaphosa would likely survive any impeachment attempts, “simply because of the arithmetic”.

“His numbers in the parliament virtually guarantee that impeachment will not happen,” Ogunmodede told Al Jazeera.

“It hasn’t been easy, but there is a government that seems to be functional and is showing some signs of reinvigoration,” Ogunmodede added. “There’s a lot of uncertainty on the part of the other coalition parties that suggests that they would much rather be on the side of caution and go with the devil they know, and preserve the government by keeping Ramaphosa in power.”

Despite this, the cash-in-sofa scandal has been damaging, he said.

And, under Ramaphosa, the ANC’s popularity has continued to slide. The party’s national vote share fell from 57.5 percent in the 2019 election to 40.2 percent in the 2024 election, marking its worst performance since the end of apartheid.

The South African economy has shown some signs of improvement, however, and given the Ramaphosa government “something to show for the time that it’s been in power”, said Ogunmodede.

Yet the South African government still faces long-term structural concerns about the economy, the country’s institutions, corruption, crime and other issues, the analyst added.

On the back of underlying anti-incumbency, Ogunmodede said the top court’s ruling on the cash-in-sofa scandal “has resurrected many concerns that South Africans have had about the president and his party, and the political institutions of the country more broadly”.

May 13 (UPI) — Ten suspected hantavirus patients are being flown from the British islands of St. Helena and Ascension in the South Atlantic back to the United Kingdom to complete their self-isolation at a former COVID-19 facility, the country’s main infectious diseases agency said.

The eight passengers and two crew from the hantavirus-hit Hondius cruise ship are part of a program to relocate “some contacts who are already isolating to places where they can safely self-isolate with access to appropriate specialist medical services,” the U.K. Health Security Agency said in a news release on Tuesday.

“England’s National Health Service high consequence infectious disease network is well equipped to respond if they become unwell. Currently none of these contacts are symptomatic and this is precautionary to support communities in U.K. overseas territories,” the agency said.

The patients being flown to Britain all left the MV Hondius when it stopped in St. Helena on April 24, with the ship going on to Cape Verde, where it was refused permission to dock, before finally disembarking on Tenerife on Sunday.

UKHSA did not say where the patients would be taken on arrival in Britain, but Arrowe Park Hospital in northwestern England, where at least 20 other patients from the Hondius are currently quarantined, was the most likely destination. The hospital has a specialist isolation wing and was a designated quarantine facility during the pandemic in 2020.

The agency said plans were underway “where it is safe and possible” to discharge the 20 existing Arrowe Park patients, 18 Britons, a German citizen and a Japanese national, after completing a three-day quarantine.

Each patient assessed as fit to safely serve out a 45-day isolation period at home will receive a tailored support package with daily monitoring from health protection teams across the country until they receive the all-clear, said UKHSA.

“We are grateful to the passengers for their cooperation and patience in what we appreciate has been a very unsettling period for all involved. As this first assessment period concludes, our priority remains to ensure everyone is safe and well supported, wherever they complete their isolation. Our teams will continue to be there for all of the affected individuals every step of the way,” said the agency’s chief scientific officer, Professor Robin May.

On Saturday, the British military conducted an airdrop of medics and four tons of oxygen and other medical supplies on Tristan da Cunha, another island in the St. Helena and Ascension Island British Overseas Territory, to treat a hantavirus patient who left the Hondius when it stopped there in mid-April.

The patient is a resident of Tristan da Cunha, population 220, one of the most remote places on Earth, 1,510 miles southwest of St. Helena and 1,750 miles west of Cape Town, which has no airstrip and very limited medical facilities.

May 12 (UPI) — The South Carolina Senate voted Tuesday against a measure to extend its legislative session to redraw the state’s congressional map. President Donald Trump has pressured lawmakers to move forward with redistricting to give Republicans an advantage.

Five Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the resolution, which would have extended the session by a week, NBC News reported. This would have given the Senate more time to vote on a plan that would break up the state’s only Black-majority district. The legislative session ends Thursday, and the state’s primaries are June 9.

The redistricting push by Trump comes after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in late April that badly weakened a key part of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, one that had helped ensure minority groups could elect their choice of candidates.

State Sen. Shane Massey, a Republican and Senate majority leader, spoke out about the efforts before the vote, saying it’s a show of weakness to use redistricting to quash minority votes, Greenville News reported.

“My conscience is clear on this one,” Massey said. “I know what the right thing to do is.”

Massey said he’d received a call from Trump in recent days about pushing forward redistricting. On Monday night, Trump posted on social media that he was watching the vote closely.

“South Carolina Republicans: BE BOLD AND COURAGEOUS, just like the Republicans of the Great State of Tennessee were last week!” he wrote.

Last Thursday, the Tennessee state legislature passed a redistricting map that eliminated the state’s last Democrat-leaning, Black-majority district. Other Southern states have also been moving in this direction.

Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto said the vote sends a message that the state rejects a White House power grab, Greenville News reported.

“The people of this state expect us to focus on real issues affecting their daily lives, not carry out an outside political agenda,” he said.

Later Tuesday, Republican candidates for governor in South Carolina criticized the members of their party who voted against the resolution.

Rep. Nancy Mace, who’s been endorsed by Trump for the governor position, posted on social media that the state needs “a Governor who the statehouse will fear and listen to.”

“You know I’d whip every single ‘NO’ vote into shape if I was Governor,” she posted.

Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto reports from southern Lebanon, where displaced residents say they will not leave again despite a sharp rise in deaths and intensifying Israeli strikes.

May 10 (Asia Today) — The South Korean government said Sunday that a fire aboard the HMM Namu was caused by strikes from two unidentified flying objects.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Il said during an emergency briefing that two unidentified aircraft struck the outer shell of the portside ballast tank near the stern of the HMM Namu twice, about one minute apart, on Monday.

“The objects were captured on CCTV footage, but there are limits to identifying the launch source, exact model and physical size,” Park said.

The government said the incident does not appear to have been caused by a drifting mine or an underwater drone attack. Authorities plan to conduct further analysis of debris collected at the scene to determine the type and size of the objects that struck the vessel.

After an explosion and fire broke out aboard the HMM Namu on Monday, speculation emerged over whether the incident was a simple fire or an attack by Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the vessel acted independently and suggested Iran was responsible. The South Korean presidential office initially said the possibility of an attack appeared low.

Iranian state television reported that force had been used against a South Korean vessel, but the Iranian Embassy in Seoul denied any attack on the ship, adding to confusion over the cause of the fire.

The HMM Namu arrived at a repair shipyard in Dubai on Thursday, and a detailed internal and external inspection was conducted from Friday through Sunday. A joint South Korean government investigation team, including officials from the Korean Maritime Safety Tribunal and the National Fire Agency, was dispatched to the site. The South Korean Consulate General in Dubai also supported the investigation.

The presidential office said the investigation team had completed necessary on-site work and would return to South Korea individually depending on flight availability.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260510010002226

South Korea says it is investigating an incident on May 4 when two unidentified objects struck a Korean-operated cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
The strike caused a fire and damaged the vessel’s stern.

Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone” universe, the sprawling neo-western TV franchise that chronicles the embattled Dutton family across time and locations, continues its aggressive expansion on screen with next week’s arrival of “Dutton Ranch.”

Premiering May 15 on Paramount+, the series continues the story of Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) — she’s the daughter of the late John Dutton (Kevin Costner), while he’s John’s longtime ranch foreman and fixer — as they migrate their passionate and unwavering love from Montana to South Texas to build a new life. The new series picks up about a year after the events that closed out the mothership series — namely, the selling of Yellowstone Ranch. And as you might expect, it doesn’t take long for them to make new enemies in their efforts to keep their new ranch operating.

Christina Alexandra Voros, who is an executive producer and director on the series, stopped by Guest Spot to talk about what sets “Dutton Ranch” apart from its parent show.

Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our recommendations include the return of a classic Cartoon Network series and a new addition to the growing microdrama landscape. And wait. Did you hear “The Bear” released a special episode? Let us tell you about it.

Scroll down and stream on. See you next week.

— Yvonne Villarreal

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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Mordecai, a blue jay who works at the park, in “Regular Show: Lost Tapes.”

(Cartoon Network)

“Regular Show: The Lost Tapes” (Cartoon Network )

Nearly a decade after “Regular Show” flashed into history with a metafictional battle for the fate of the universe, J.G. Quintel is restoring his cult-beloved cartoon series to life, with its cast and creatives back in place. (Following the “Gumball” revival, these are great days for old-school CN fans.) A surreal hardly workplace comedy, it’s set in a city park (even when, in the last season, the park was hijacked into a tree-shaped space station), where the characters — a blue jay, a raccoon, a lollipop man, a Yeti, a muscular little green monster, a video-game ghost with a hand growing out of its body-head and a walking gumball machine, who runs things — get into scrapes as strange as that cast list might suggest. As the original series ended 25 years into the future, “The Lost Tapes” no doubt indicates a rewind — VHS is the preferred format of this crew — into an earlier world we can regard as the present. Though what, after all, is time to a cartoon? (The show premieres Monday on Cartoon Network, and will come to Hulu and HBO Max later in the year.) — Robert Lloyd

Eric C. Lynch, Brittney Jefferson and Jenna Nolen in a scene from “Screen Time.”

(Liliane Lathan)

“Screen Time” (TikTok, PineDrama)

When word hit that Issa Rae’s Hoorae Media was set to premiere its first microdrama series, which are essentially super-short TV shows shot for smartphones, it felt like it was finally time for me to see what this format on the rise is all about. “Screen Time” begins with a double-date movie night that goes off the rails after a mysterious figure hijacks the TV and sends two couples — Danielle (Brittney Jefferson of “Rap Sh!t”) and Marcus (Eric C. Lynch of “Queen Sugar”); and James (Xavier Avila of “Á La Carte”) and Olivia (Jasmine Luv of “Tell It Like a Woman”) — on a tailspin as they’re forced to confess their secrets or risk their online footprint being made public. It’s a fun and ridiculous ride, made all the more entertaining when you scroll the comments for a full communal experience. It’ll have you doing an inventory on your phone’s contents, if you’re not busy unplugging any nearby virtual assistants while questioning what’s up with Marcus. There are 27 episodes now available to watch, with each clocking in at roughly a minute and flowing into the next. (For a bit of comparison, the viral “Who TF Did I Marry?” TikTok series by Reesa Teesa, which held me hostage in 2024, had about 50 videos, with many lasting around 10 minutes. But that was real-life drama.) Of course, Rae knows something about making online content stand out. Long before “Insecure” made her an in-demand storyteller in TV and film, Rae broke through with her YouTube series “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl.” The next episode drop arrives on May 22. — Y.V.

Catch up

Jon Bernthal as Michael “Mikey” Berzatto and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard “Richie” Jerimovich in a stand-alone episode of “The Bear” titled “Gary.”

(FX)

Everything you need to know about the film or TV series everyone’s talking about

“Dutton Ranch” isn’t the only show spinning off family dynamics in new places. “The Bear” made a surprise episode drop earlier this week. Titled “Gary,” the stand-alone episode — listed on Hulu separate from the main show and not considered part of a season — is a one-hour flashback that mostly functions as a prequel. It follows Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as he sets out on a work trip to Gary, Ind., with Mikey (Jon Bernthal).

Though not biologically related, the pair are best friends who consider each other family of the “cousin” variety. And they’re tasked with running an errand for cousin Jimmy (Oliver Platt) to deliver a box whose contents neither knows. Moss-Bachrach and Bernthal, who have been friends since 2003, co-wrote the episode. And TV critic Robert Lloyd had this to say about the pair’s collaboration here: “One senses that as writers, they’ve built themselves a playground to act in; both are phenomenal.”

It’s also worth noting that, a day after the episode’s release, FX confirmed the Emmy-winning series is coming to an end next month. Fans questioned the show’s fate when the fourth season concluded with its tortured but deeply ambitious head chef Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) announcing he planned to leave the restaurant. So, yes, chef: When “The Bear” returns on June 25 for it’s fifth season, it will be the series’ last.

Guest Spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

(Emerson Miller / Paramount+)

A pair of “Yellowstone” siblings are keeping television screens supplied with Dutton drama. After “Marshals,” the CBS procedural that follows Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) as he leaves ranch life to join an elite U.S. Marshals unit in Montana, became runaway hit for the network when it premiered earlier this year, quickly earning a Season 2 renewal, the fictional character’s sister, Beth (Reilly), is poised for her spin-off debut. Joined by her husband Rip (Hauser) and their surrogate son Carter (Fin Little), the trio relocate to South Texas to escape the ghosts of the Yellowstone ranch and build a new life in “Dutton Ranch.” Managing a new 7,000-acre property, they encounter new friends (a compassionate veterinarian played by Ed Harris) and foes (a rival rancher played by Annette Bening). The nine-episode series premieres with two episodes on May 15. Ahead of the show’s launch, reports surfaced that Chad Feehan, the show’s creator and showrunner, would not return for Season 2. I spoke with Voros, a longtime collaborator of Sheridan, about how the new series is different from the mothership, whether its central couple parallels the epic love story featured in “The Madison” and the show’s she’s been watching. — Y.V.

How is “Dutton Ranch” different from “Yellowstone”?

“Yellowstone” was entirely about a family holding on to the legacy of a place, and “Dutton Ranch” is entirely about building a new legacy. From a spiritual sense, what is driving these characters is similar — it is the bond to family, it is protection of each other. But the landscape has changed. In many ways, what was about land in the mothership has alchemized into being about family in “Dutton Ranch” because that’s what is left. The land that has brought them to their knees in war for generations is no longer something that burdens them, but they are tasked with building a new life and protecting that new life that they have built.

What is it about Beth and Rip that struck a chord with “Yellowstone” viewers? And why do you think they are well–suited to stretch this TV universe?

Everyone loves a good love story and everyone loves an imperfect hero. When two people find each other and complete each other in a way that is both untraditional and heroic and romantic, it’s hard not to fall in love with them — and it’s hard to not want to fight for them and want to see them succeed. I’ve been with “Yellowstone” since the first season, and I remember very clearly being out there in Montana, making this crazy, big, ambitious TV show. And I remember, the next year, no one could go out to a restaurant in town without being accosted. Then the next year, there were Rip and Beth costumes at the store for Halloween. It takes a very special kind of actor to be able to carry that story and that character forward and to keep evolving, and to not become a caricature of themselves, but to grow not just the fictional person, but to also grow as an artist, to continue breathing life into that character. And I think Kelly and Cole have done so with with such grace and such a profound commitment to each other and to the show and to storytelling. They’re both EPs this season, and it’s so well-earned. It’s not just on face value. They have been in the trenches from the very beginning, really fighting for and protecting themselves and the DNA of the series.

I know, in theory, Taylor’s other series that you worked on, “The Madison,” is not in the same fictional universe. But at the heart of that series is this epic, once-in-a-lifetime romance. Do you see parallels? Do you think Preston (Kurt Russell), whose character loved visiting Montana, and Rip would have ever crossed paths? Would they have liked each other?

They would have enjoyed a beer together if they stumbled into each other at the same bar. I think the pursuits that feed their souls are different. Beth and Stacy would have ultimately gotten along after probably some kind of caustic series of remarks at the same bar.

I think there’s something about enduring love that is in both of those relationships. There are parallels in terms of the secrets that people carry, not necessarily nefarious ones, but sides of yourself that you don’t always see. I will say, Rip and Beth understand all the facets of each other in a way that is different from Stacy and Preston. The love story of “The Madison” is about two people who share everything but this one thing. Rip and Beth’s characters have also known each other since they were teenagers, and they have experienced most of each other’s lives together. If you look at Taylor’s writing, and maybe this comes from his own love story, he loves writing these strong romances, whether it’s Rip and Beth or Stacy and Preston. There are these grounding relationships that are formed by these volatile people, and it is fascinating to watch, and I think people find something familiar in them.

Ed Harris as Everett McKinney and Annette Bening as Beulah Jackson in “Dutton Ranch.”

(Emerson Miller / Paramount+)

The cast in the Sheridan TV universe are all pros. You’re also working with some major screen heavyweights — Kevin Costner, Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer, etc. In “Dutton Ranch,” you have Annette Bening and Ed Harris. What was the pinch-me moment?

I don’t even know where to start. Ed came into my office to chat at the very beginning, before we started prep. I just froze for a second; I lost my ability to speak like a normal human being. You have to forget that they are who they are in the beginning until you settle into a routine, otherwise you would be too awe-inspired to really do anything productive with your day. I feel so spoiled by the caliber of artists that I’ve had the opportunity to work with. I’m working with Sam Jackson right now on “Frisco King.” I look at the work that I’ve done with Michelle and Kurt, then Annette and Ed on this — it’s such an honor that artists of that caliber are excited to come play in these worlds. Everyday on set with Annette and Ed makes me a wiser director, makes me a smarter human being.

It was recently reported that Chad Feehan, the series co-creator, departed the series as showrunner. What was your collaboration with him like? And how do you think he handled setting the foundation for this series?

Writing a spin-off to “Yellowstone” comes with a tremendous amount of responsibility and a tremendous amount of opportunity. It’s a gift to be able to work with characters like Rip and Beth, and I think Chad did a wonderful job creating a world of characters for them to go toe to toe with in the Jacksons. The original DNA of the No. 1s on our call sheet was always there, but they are entering a new path and a new part of their own journey and worthy adversaries were needed.

OK, before I let you go, what have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?

“The Beast in Me” [Netflix], I thought was unbelievable. It’s not the kind of thing that I normally watch. I just finished watching “Imperfect Women” [Hulu]. I was so taken by the performances in both of those shows. I love “Hacks” [HBO Max], I love “Shrinking” [Apple TV]. I balance my dark thriller with comedy.

ICYMI

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