The scandal has rocked South Korea, sparking several huge demonstrations.
While the impeachment process continues, Ms Park remains formally president but with most of her powers handed to the prime minister, a role that normally has little executive authority.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye listens to a reporter's question during a meeting with reporters at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, in this handout picture provided by the Presidential Blue House and released by Yonhap on 1 January

Separately, Yonhap news agency reports that South Korea has sent a formal extradition request to Denmark for the daughter of Ms Choi, several days after saying they were working on it.
Chung Yoo-ra, a former national equestrian rider, was arrested in Denmark on Sunday and later appeared in court accused of overstaying her visa.
Part of the investigation into Ms Choi's activities relates to a gift horse from South Korean conglomerate Samsung to Ms Choi, allegedly for Ms Chung's training.
The prestigious Ewha Women's University in Seoul is also accused of giving Ms Chung a place - she has since left - because of her mother's connections.

The move comes as Trump ramps up criticism of companies he claims have moved US jobs overseas. Ford says it will instead expand a domestic plant, creating 700 jobs.

Ghosn said in an interview with CNBC that the US market is very important for most global automakers.
He said all automakers will be monitoring what measures the new administration takes.

Ghosn said any changes to production in the US will depend on Trump's actions.

Many Japanese auto and parts makers have moved manufacturing to Mexico to take advantage of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Under NAFTA, tariffs aren't imposed on automobiles exported from Mexico to the US. But companies are growing increasingly concerned that this may change under Trump.

The Bayankhoshuu border crossing was established in 2014 and operates on a seasonal basis. Officially it can operate throughout the year. Why Beijing has taken the decision to close this particular crossing has not been explained and is currently a subject of speculation.

Mongolia has 13 border crossings with China; seven of them operates regularly.

Toyota officials say they're teaming up with Ford Motor to form the group. It will also involve French automaker PSA Group and Japanese firms, including Fuji Heavy Industries, Mazda Motor, Suzuki Motor and Panasonic.

The consortium will develop technology enabling drivers to use smartphone apps and voice commands on vehicle dashboard screens.

They say the group aims to "give consumers more choice in how they connect and control their smartphone apps on the road".

Automakers are racing to develop connected cars that provide a wide range of services.

Observers say Toyota aims to set an international standard by forming the consortium.

The group is viewed as an attempt to counter Google and Apple technologies for connected cars.

Sogou, whose name means "search dog," plans to sell about 10 percent of its shares in an IPO that will probably be held this year, Chief Executive Officer Wang Xiaochuan said in an interview. The company, which is backed by social media giant Tencent Holdings Ltd and Sohu.com Inc, hasn't formally hired banks to run the listing. Sohu shares rose the most in 10 months on Wednesday.

While Baidu remains the biggest provider across all platforms in China, it's under siege after a scandal over medical advertising, as smaller rivals including Sogou and Qihoo 360 Technology Co win mobile users. Wang said he planned to use part of the IPO proceeds to improve search results by backing companies developing artificial intelligence and machine-learning technologies.

"Over the past year, we've seen a trend where people are finding themselves not trusting Baidu as much and some are even seeking a replacement," he said at the company's Beijing headquarters.

"So over the next year or two, as more people feel more comfortable with Sogou, they'll realize it is able to replace Baidu."

Shares of Sohu rose 4.9 percent to $35.54 in New York, the biggest gain since March 4. The stock has declined 34 percent in the past year.

Baidu accounted for 44.5 percent of mobile search queries in the third quarter, while Alibaba Group Holding Ltd-backed Shenma had 20.8 percent and Sogou was third with 16.2 percent, according to research from iiMedia.

Other independent researchers, including Analysys International, reported that Sogou was China's second-largest provider to the country's mobile users while some surveys have the company as the nation's second-largest overall.

Wang said Sogou could match Baidu in mobile search within three years. Baidu declined to comment.

Bloomberg

SoftBank has said it is investing at least $25 billion in the fund and has been in talks with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund for an investment that could be as much as $45 billion.

"We believe their new fund will speed the development of technologies which may be strategically important to Apple," company spokesman Josh Rosenstock told Reuters.

SoftBank has also said that it plans to make future large-scale investments via the tech fund, rather than on its own.

Reuters reported in December, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Apple had held talks with SoftBank about the investment.

SoftBank confirmed that Apple invested, said Benjamin Spicehandler, an outside public relations representative for SoftBank. He added that Foxconn, Oracle founder Larry Ellison's family office and chipmaker Qualcomm also have said they intend to invest in the fund.

(Reuters)

Cutbacks will be focused on smaller mines in north and east China, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said.
Despite reversing in November some of the restrictions imposed to local coal miners in early 2016 due to a spike in prices for the commodity, Beijing announced late last week it will continue to cut the capacity of its coal mines by 800 million tonnes a year until 2020.

Unveiling the plan’s details, the country’s top economic planner said the goal is to eliminate “outdated” and inefficient coal capacity every year while adding 500m tonnes of “advanced” capacity. The cutbacks will be focused on smaller mines in the north-east, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), according to state-run Xinhua news agency.

Main producers, mostly based on China’s western regions such as Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, are expected instead to boost supplies. As a result, the NDRC expects total coal output to increase to around 3.9 billion tonnes by 2020, compared to 3.75 billion tonnes in 2015. It also anticipates that the country will burn around 4.1 billion tonnes compared to 3.96 billion tonnes last year — quite a modest growth rate.

The fresh measures come on the heels of an International Energy Agency's (IEA) report that estimates China's coal use is likely to have peaked in 2013.

Coal generated 84% of all electricity in Asia’s richest economy in 2014, but the IEA's forecasts that figure will drop down to about 54% in 2040.

Beijing has also made public its intention of modernizing its coal-fired power plants by 2020 in an effort to cut “polluting” emissions by 60%. The government also aims to add over 20 million kilowatts of installed wind power and more than 15 million kilowatts of installed photovoltaic power by the end of the decade.

The bill, which is being currently drawn up, will regulate all types of mining activities, from identifying mining resources, opening and closing of mines and include provisions towards the engineering and technological activities and safety of miners.