South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol apologised on Saturday for his attempt to impose martial law this week but did not resign, defying intense pressure to step down even from some in his ruling party and only hours ahead of a planned impeachment vote.

Yoon said he would not seek to avoid legal and political responsibility for his decision to declare martial law for the first time in South Korea since 1980. He said the decision was born of desperation, Reuters reported.

The speech was the embattled leader's first public appearance since he rescinded the martial law order early on Wednesday, just six hours after it was declared and after parliament defied military and police cordons to vote against the decree.

The move plunged Asia's fourth-largest economy and key U.S. military ally into its greatest political crisis in decades, and threatened to shatter South Korea's reputation as a democratic success story.

"I am very sorry and would like to sincerely apologise to the people who were shocked," Yoon said in a televised address to the nation, promising there would be no second attempt to impose martial law.

"I leave it up to my party to take steps to stabilise the political situation in the future, including the issue of my term in office," he said.

Standing in front of the South Korean flag, Yoon bowed after he finished his brief remarks, staring solemnly into the camera for a moment.

Han Dong-hoon, leader of Yoon's People Power Party (PPP), said after the address that the president was no longer in a position to carry out his public duties and his resignation was now unavoidable.

On Friday Han said Yoon was a danger to the country and needed to be removed from power, increasing the pressure on Yoon to quit even though PPP members later reaffirmed a formal opposition to his impeachment.

Han met Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Saturday, local Yonhap News reported. Under the constitution if Yoon resigns or is impeached then the prime minister, who was appointed by Yoon, becomes South Korea's acting president.

If Yoon leaves office before his single five-year term ends in May 2027, the constitution requires a presidential election to be held within 60 days upon his departure.

Lawmakers are scheduled to vote at 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) on the main opposition Democratic Party's motion to impeach Yoon. DP leaders said if the motion fails, they plan to revisit it again on Wednesday.

SURPRISE DECREE

Martial law has been declared more than a dozen times since South Korea was established as a republic in 1948.

But Yoon shocked the nation late on Tuesday when he gave the military sweeping emergency powers in order to combat unspecified threats from "North Korean communist forces", and "to eradicate the shameless pro-North anti-state forces".

He went on to accuse the National Assembly of launching an unprecedented number of impeachment efforts against members of his administration, effectively paralysing key operations, and of handling the budget in a way that undermined the fundamental functions of the government, including public safety.

Yoon has been dogged by personal scandals and strife, an unyielding opposition and rifts within his own party. Once regarded as a tough political survivor he has become increasingly isolated.

The martial law declaration also sent shockwaves around the world and drew rare criticism from senior American officials who had previously praised Yoon as a champion of democracy in Asia. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin scrapped plans to travel to South Korea, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday.

Some PPP members urged Yoon to resign before Saturday's impeachment vote, saying they did not want a repeat of the 2016 impeachment of then-President Park Geun-hye, who left office after months of candle-lit protests over an influence-peddling scandal. Her downfall triggered the implosion of the party and a victory by liberals in presidential and general elections.

In scenes reminiscent of those protests, thousands of demonstrators holding candles assembled outside parliament on Friday night demanding Yoon's impeachment. More demonstrations are expected on Saturday ahead of the vote.

To impeach Yoon, 200 of the assembly's 300 lawmakers must vote in favour. With opposition parties controlling 192 seats, eight ruling party members would need to join the opposition to carry the vote.

Yoon has already lost the support of two lawmakers from his party, with PPP leader Han calling for him to be urgently suspended and Ahn Cheol-soo posting on Facebook that he would "follow the people's will" unless Yoon announced detailed plans to step down before the vote.

If Yoon is impeached, a trial by the Constitutional Court would follow. The court can confirm an impeachment motion with a vote by six of the nine justices. The court currently only has six sitting judges, and it is unclear whether it would take on the case without at least seven.

In 2017, the court took three months to remove then-President Park from office.

Prosecutors, the police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials have all launched probes, opens new tab into Yoon and senior officials involved in the martial law decree, seeking to pursue charges of insurrection and abuse of power, among others.

The officials face potential charges of insurrection, abuse of authority and obstructing other people from exercising their rights. If convicted, the crime of leading an insurrection is punishable by death or life imprisonment, with or without prison labour.

Syrian rebels said they seized control of the southern city of Daraa on Saturday, the birthplace of a 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad and the fourth city his forces have lost in a week.

Rebel sources said the military agreed to make an orderly withdrawal from Daraa under a deal giving army officials safe passage to the capital Damascus, about 100 km (60 miles) north, Reuters reported.

Social media videos showed rebels on motorcycles and others mingling with residents on the streets. People fired shots into the air at the city's main square in celebration, according to the videos.

There was no immediate comment from the military or Assad's government, and Reuters could not independently verify the rebels' claim.

With the fall of Daraa, Assad's forces have surrendered four important centres to the insurgents in a week.

Daraa, which had a population of more than 100,000 before the civil war began 13 years ago, holds symbolic importance as the cradle of the uprising. It is the capital of a province of about 1 million people, bordering Jordan.

Daraa's seizure followed the rebels' claim late on Friday that they had advanced to the edge of the central city of Homs, a key crossroads between the capital and the Mediterranean coast.

Capturing Homs would cut off Damascus from the coastal stronghold of Assad's minority Alawite sect, and from a naval base and air base of his Russian allies there.

"Our forces have liberated the last village on the outskirts of the city of Homs and are now on its walls," the Syrian faction leading the sweeping assault said on the Telegram messaging app.

A coalition of rebel factions that include Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) made a last call on forces loyal to Assad's government in Homs to defect.

Ahead of the rebel advance, thousands of people fled Homs towards the coastal regions of Latakia and Tartus, strongholds of the government, residents and witnesses said.

ASSAD REGIME UNDER THREAT

A U.S.-backed alliance led by Syrian Kurdish fighters captured Deir el-Zor, the government's main foothold in the vast eastern desert, on Friday, three Syrian sources told Reuters.

The rebels seized Aleppo and Hama in the northwest and centre earlier in the lightning offensive that began on Nov. 27.

In another ominous sign for Assad in the east, the Syrian Kurdish force said Islamic State - a jihadist group that imposed martial law under its harsh rule before its defeat by a U.S.-led coalition in 2017 - had taken control of some areas in eastern Syria.

Aron Lund, a fellow at think-tank Century Foundation, said Assad's government was "fighting for their lives at this point".

It was possible the government could hold Homs, "but given the speed at which things have moved so far, I wouldn't count on it", he said on Friday.

Syrian state TV reported Russian-Syrian airstrikes targeting rebel headquarters in the countryside of Hama, Idlib and Aleppo killed at least 200 insurgents on Friday, citing the Russian Coordination Centre in Syria.

A Syrian army source said Iran-backed Hezbollah forces were positioned to bolster government defences in and near Homs.

Syrian state media reported dozens of rebels were killed in the Homs countryside on Friday in an operation by Syrian and Russian air forces, artillery, missiles and armoured vehicles.

Capturing Homs would solidify a chain of powerful positions under the rebels' control from Aleppo on the Turkish border in the north to Daraa on the Jordanian border to the south.

Gaining Homs would also increase the rebels' chances of isolating the seat of Assad's regime in Damascus with the ability to block the route northwest from the capital to the sea.

REBELS REENERGISED

As the rebels pressed their offensive, Russia and Jordan on Friday urged their nationals to leave Syria.

After years locked behind frozen front lines, rebel forces have burst out of their northwestern Idlib bastion to achieve the swiftest battlefield advance by either side since a street uprising against Assad mushroomed into civil war 13 years ago.

Syria's conflict killed more than 305,000 people between 2011 and 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Office said in 2022.

Assad regained control of most of Syria after key allies - Russia, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah - came to his rescue. But all have recently been weakened and diverted by other crises, giving Sunni Muslim militants a window to fight back.

Tehran, which has been focussed on tensions with arch-foe Israel since the Gaza war began last year, began to evacuate its military officials and personnel from Syria on Friday, a sign of Iran's inability to keep Assad in power, the New York Times reported, citing regional officials and three Iranian officials.

The head of the main rebel faction HTS, Abu Mohammed Al-Golani, vowed in a separate interview with the New York Times published on Friday that the insurgents could end Assad's rule.

"This operation broke the enemy," he said of the rebels’ lightning offensive.

Muhammad was the most popular name given to baby boys in England and Wales in 2023, ousting Noah to take the top spot, official figures showed on Thursday.

Muhammad had been among the 10 most popular names since 2016 and had been in second place in 2022, according to the annual list produced by the Office for National Statistics.

Oliver replaced George as the third most popular.

For baby girls, the top three most popular names in 2023 - Olivia, Amelia and Isla - were unchanged from the previous year.

The ONS said that the world of celebrity appeared to have influenced the increased popularity of some names, citing babies named Reign and Saint after those from the Kardashian-Jenner family and a rise in those sharing the names of pop musicians such as Billie Eilish.

However, it said names shared with members of the royal family, such as Charles, George, and Harry, were becoming less popular.

(Reuters)