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One of South Korea's most powerful white collar criminals, Lee was twice imprisoned for bribing a former president. South Korea's government justified the move, saying the de-facto leader of the country's biggest company was needed back at the helm to spearhead economic recovery post-pandemic. This marks another swing in a struggle over how the country is run that has raged since mass protests took over Seoul six years ago and ousted a president from office. Lee's crimes were directly tied up in the corruption scandal that led to the imprisonment of former president Park Geun-Hye, in office from 2013-2017. The "Crown Prince of Samsung" - as he was dubbed by protesters - paid $8 million (£6.6m) in bribes to President Park and her associate to ...

The cache includes documents marked "TS/SCI", a designation for top secret material that could cause "exceptionally grave" damage to US national security. Mr Trump denies any wrongdoing and said the items were declassified. It was the first time an ex-president's home was searched in a criminal probe. The list of items was made public on Friday afternoon after a judge unsealed a seven-page document that included the warrant authorising the search of Mr Trump's Palm Beach residence, Mar-a-Lago. It said more than 20 boxes of items were taken on Monday, including a binder of photos, a handwritten note, unspecified information about the "President of France" and a clemency letter written on behalf of long-time Trump ally Roger Stone. A...

Russia used the Crimea peninsula as a launchpad to invade the rest of southern Ukraine in February - and unusually it was Crimea that was rocked by several explosions on Tuesday. It is not yet clear what caused the blasts, which sent big black clouds billowing over a military airfield near Novofedorivka, on the peninsula's west coast. The Russian-installed regional leader, Sergei Aksyonov, said one person had died in the blasts at Saky base. Local health officials say five people, including a child, were treated for injuries. Video footage shows tourists on a nearby beach at the time fleeing in panic. The Russian Defence Ministry said several rounds had exploded in an ammunition store and the airfield had not come under attack. But the BBC co...

The torrent of outrage from Donald Trump's supporters on Tuesday has been predictable. Of course they were going to vent their fury after FBI agents searched the former president's home. It plays straight into the narrative Mr Trump himself perpetuates that he is a victim of a corrupt establishment. As he likes to say at his rallies, no political leader has ever been treated as badly as he has. In fact, the FBI search Mr Trump has called a "raid" is helping to solidify his campaign of grievances against the state. Listening to the gist of what his supporters are saying, there is a specific point about government overreach in persecuting Mr Trump. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican senator and Trump critic-turned-acolyte, compared the FBI's actions to "so...

An Aberdeen woman has won one of the world's toughest ultra triathlons in Norway. The Norseman Xtreme Triathlon involves a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike ride and a marathon. Eilidh Prise qualified for the event, which doubles up as the XTri World Championships, after winning Scotland's Celtman event last year. She crossed the finish line at the peak of southern Norway's highest mountain in under 12 hours. Eilidh, 26, told BBC Scotland: "For me it wasn't a race,Mephisto Shoes  it was an individual battle of survival. I never had any expectations of winning. "At the mountain top plateau, the temperature was 2C (36.5F) with 30mph winds. "You are swimming in a fjord for almost four kilometres, that was 13C (55.4F). "It'...

Rescuers in France have launched an ambitious operation to save an ailing beluga whale stuck in the Seine river. The four-metre (13ft) whale - a protected species usually found in much colder Arctic waters - was first spotted a week ago north-west of Paris. It is now trapped more than 100km (62 miles) inland and its health has deteriorated after failing to eat. About 80 people are involved in the operation,Keen Canada including divers, vets, and police officers. Rescuers will try and lift the beluga onto a sort of hammock before moving it onto a refrigerated truck that will take it back to the sea, a local official said. They will then hope to treat the animal for several days before releasing it back into the open water. ...