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A woman from New York boarded a flight headed to Paris as a stowaway (someone who hides on a ship or an airplane in order to travel without paying or being seen) and bypassed security checks by hopping between bathrooms. 

As per international media, she is going to remain in France for some time as she has also disrupted a return flight to the US that was booked for her.

57-year-old Svetlana Dali boarded a jam-packed Thanksgiving flight without a ticket before it departed from John F Kennedy Airport in New York. 

The American Transportation Security Administration (TSA) asserted that while Dali went through property security channels, she never got a boarding pass and did not get her passport checked.

“TSA can confirm that an individual without a boarding pass was physically screened without any prohibited items. The individual bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations and boarded the aircraft,” the official statement quoted by The Guardian read. 

However, fellow passengers claimed that Dali managed to escape any suspicion while on the plane by moving from one bathroom to another.

She didn’t take a seat but got caught by flight attendants. 

The matter made it to headlines when a passenger made a video on the plane and shared it on social media. 

The video featured the pilot’s announcement about the stowaway.

Another eye-witness told CNN: “I overheard the flight attendants talking about it with the pilots – they said this person was in one lavatory and then would exit and walk to a different lavatory and go in there for a long time.”

“They’ve directed us to keep everyone on the airplane until we sort out the extra passenger that’s on that plane,” the video showcased the announcement.

Upon arriving in Paris, French officials detained the middle-aged stowaway for not having a visa. 

Initial investigations indicate that she is a Russian national who is also a legal resident of the US.

Dali reportedly requested asylum in France, but this request was swiftly denied.

The stowaway was then put on another Delta flight back to the United States from Paris. 
However, she became “unruly”, which prompted French authorities to remove her from the plane.

So, she is still in the country.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol faced demands to resign on Wednesday after his short-lived attempt to impose martial law was voted down by lawmakers and brought thousands of protesters to the streets.

Yoon’s shock bid to impose martial law on South Korea for the first time in over four decades plunged the country into the deepest turmoil in its modern democratic history and caught its close allies around the world off guard.

The United States, which stations nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea to protect it from the nuclear-armed North, initially voiced deep concern at the declaration, then relief that martial law was over.

The dramatic developments have left the future of Yoon — a conservative politician and former star public prosecutor who was elected president in 2022 — in jeopardy.

South Korea’s main opposition party — whose lawmakers jumped fences and tussled with security forces so they could vote to overturn the law — demanded Yoon’s immediate resignation.

“We will file charges of insurrection,” against Yoon, his defence and interior ministers and “key military and police figures involved, such as the martial law commander and the police chief”, the Democratic Party said in a statement.

It added that it would also push for impeachment.

The nation’s largest umbrella labour union called an “indefinite general strike” until Yoon resigned.

And the leader of Yoon’s own ruling party described the attempt as “tragic” while calling for those involved to be held accountable.

– Defiance –

Yoon stunned the world with a late-night television announcement that he was declaring martial law because of the threat of North Korea and “anti-state forces”.

More than 280 troops backed by 24 helicopters arrived at parliament to lock down the site after the extraordinary declaration.

But 190 lawmakers defied the rifle-carrying soldiers to force their way into parliament to vote against the move, leaving Yoon with no choice but to retract.

Under the constitution, martial law must be lifted when a majority in parliament demands it.

“Just a moment ago, there was a demand from the National Assembly to lift the state of emergency, and we have withdrawn the military that was deployed for martial law operations,” Yoon said in a televised address around 4:30 am (1930 GMT Tuesday).

“We will accept the National Assembly’s request and lift the martial law through the Cabinet meeting.”

Senior aides working for Yoon offered Wednesday to resign en masse over the martial law declaration.

By midday, Yoon had yet to reappear publicly.

– ‘Impeachment’ –

The U-turn prompted jubilation among protesters outside parliament who had braved freezing temperatures to keep vigil through the night in defiance of Yoon’s martial law order.

Demonstrators who had been waving South Korean flags and chanting “Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol” outside the National Assembly erupted in cheers.

Lim Myeong-pan, 55, told AFP that Yoon’s decision to rescind martial law did not absolve him of wrongdoing.

“Yoon’s act of imposing it in the first place without legitimate cause is a serious crime in itself,” Lim told AFP.

“He has paved his own path to impeachment with this.”

With more protests expected, large numbers of police were patrolling key avenues Wednesday morning.

– ‘Anti-state’ elements –

Yoon had given a range of reasons to justify his action.

“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a televised address.

Yoon did not give details about the North’s threats, but the South remains technically at war with nuclear-armed Pyongyang.

“Our National Assembly has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyse the judicial and administrative systems and overturn our liberal democratic order,” Yoon said.

The president labelled the main opposition Democratic Party, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime”.

Yoon and his People Power Party are also bitterly at odds with the opposition over next year’s budget.

Opposition MPs last week approved a significantly downsized budget plan through a parliamentary committee.

Yoon’s move came after his approval rating dropped to 19 percent in the latest Gallup poll last week, with many expressing dissatisfaction over his handling of the economy and controversies involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee.

– Concern, relief –

Democratic South Korea is a major ally of the United States in Asia, but Washington said it was not given advance notice of Yoon’s plan to impose martial law.

“We welcome President Yoon’s statement that he would rescind the order declaring emergency martial law,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

“We continue to expect political disagreements to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law.”

China, a key ally of North Korea, urged its nationals in the South to stay calm and exercise caution, while Tokyo said it was monitoring the situation with “exceptional and serious concerns”.

Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korea studies at the University of Oslo, said Yoon’s move to impose martial law was “an attempt to wind history back”.

“I don’t think South Korea’s civil society can recognise Yoon as a legitimate president any longer,” he told AFP.

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday declared martial law, accusing the opposition of being “anti-state forces” and saying he was acting to protect the country from “threats” posed by the North.

The National Assembly was sealed late on Tuesday night and helicopters were seen landing on the roof, as army chief General Park An-su took charge as martial law commander and immediately issued a decree banning “all political activities”.

Troops entered the building for a short time, while hundreds of protesters gathered outside parliament chanting: “arrest Yoon Suk Yeol” and facing off with security forces guarding parliament.

Yoon’s stunning announcement — South Korea’s first declaration of martial law in more than 40 years — came as his party and the opposition bicker over the budget.

“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation.

Yoon did not give details of the North’s threats, but the South remains technically at war with nuclear-armed Pyongyang.

“With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralysed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” Yoon added.

“Our National Assembly has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyse the judicial and administrative systems and overturn our liberal democratic order,” Yoon said.

With martial law imposed, all military units in the South have been ordered to strengthen their emergency alert and readiness postures, Yonhap news agency reported.

Some 190 lawmakers managed to get in to the assembly in the early hours of Wednesday, where they unanimously voted in favour of a motion to block the martial law declaration and call for its lifting.

Under the constitution, martial law must be lifted when a majority in parliament demands it, but it was not immediately clear whether this would be respected.

Democratic South Korea is a major ally for the United States in Asia, and the US State Department said it had “grave concern” about the situation.

“We are watching the recent developments in the ROK with grave concern,” Campbell said, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.

“We have every hope and expectation that any political disputes will be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law,” he said.

China, a key ally of North Korea, urged its nationals in the South to stay calm and exercise caution, while Britain said it was “closely monitoring developments”.

– ‘Anti-state’ forces –

The decree by martial law commander Park also banned “actions that deny or seek to overthrow the liberal democratic system, including the spread of fake news, public opinion manipulation, and false propaganda”.

The president labelled the opposition, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, as “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime”.

Yoon described the imposition of martial law as “inevitable to guarantee the continuity of a liberal South Korea,” adding that it would not impact the country’s foreign policy.

“I will restore the country to normalcy by getting rid of anti-state forces as soon as possible,” he said, without elaborating further other than the martial law in place.

He described the current situation as South Korea “on the verge of collapse, with the National Assembly acting as a monster intent on bringing down liberal democracy”.

– Budget row –

Yoon’s People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party are bitterly at odds over next year’s budget.

Opposition MPs last week approved a significantly downsized budget plan through a parliamentary committee.

The opposition has slashed approximately 4.1 trillion won ($2.8 billion) from Yoon’s proposed 677 trillion won budget plan, cutting the government’s reserve fund and activity budgets for Yoon’s office, the prosecution, police and the state audit agency.

Yoon, a former prosecutor, accused opposition lawmakers of cutting “all key budgets essential to the nation’s core functions, such as combatting drug crimes and maintaining public security… turning the country into a drug haven and a state of public safety chaos.”

The imposition of emergency martial law came after Yoon’s approval rating dropped to 19 percent in the latest Gallup poll last week, with many expressing dissatisfaction over his handling of the economy and controversies involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has expressed doubts about new legislation imposing tougher penalties on women who flout mandatory hijab regulations.

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women in Iran have been required to cover their hair in public.