| Malala Has Powerful Message For Myanmar Leader: Condemn 'Tragic' Rohingya Violence Posted: 04 Sep 2017 06:24 AM PDT  Activist Malala Yousafzai has issued a powerful statement urging "my fellow Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi," Myanmar's de facto leader, to do something about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the country's Rakhine state, where tens of thousands of the Rohingya people are fleeing deadly violence against their minority group.
|
| Idaho Police Department Thanks 'Heroic' Nurse For Standing Up To Utah Cop Posted: 04 Sep 2017 01:58 AM PDT  An Idaho police department is hailing nurse Alex Wubbels as a hero for standing up to Salt Lake City Detective Jeff Payne, who tried to take blood from a patient without a warrant or the patient's consent.
|
| Firefighters Face Largest Fire In Los Angeles History Posted: 03 Sep 2017 10:50 AM PDT  A historic brush fire ravaged almost 5,900 acres of land in California as over 1,000 firefighters continued to push back the flames, KABC, a Los Angeles-based ABC affiliate reports Sunday morning.
|
| US warns N Korea of 'massive military response' after nuke test Posted: 03 Sep 2017 03:28 PM PDT  The United States warned Sunday it could launch a "massive military response" to threats from North Korea following Pyongyang's provocative detonation of what it claimed was a miniaturized hydrogen bomb. The comments from defense secretary Jim Mattis came after President Donald Trump called an emergency meeting of his national security advisers to discuss what was an unexpectedly powerful nuclear test said to exceed in magnitude the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. Mattis told reporters: "Any threat to the United States or its territories, including Guam, or our allies will be met with a massive military response, a response both effective and overwhelming.
|
| Houston refineries and plants leak thousands of tons of pollutants Posted: 02 Sep 2017 09:45 AM PDT  Houston's petrochemical industry has leaked more than 2,700 tons of extra air pollution in connection with Hurricane Harvey. Hurricane Harvey has resulted in Houston's petrochemical industry leaking thousands of tons of pollutants, with communities living near plants damaged by the storm exposed to soaring levels of toxic fumes and potential water contamination.
|
| Sara Netanyahu undergoes lie detector test in bid to deflect fraud investigation Posted: 03 Sep 2017 09:14 AM PDT  Sara Netanyahu, the wife of the Israeli Prime Minister, has undergone a lie-detector test in an attempt to deflect allegations she misused public funds. Police are investigating her on fraud and breach of trust charges after the former caretaker of her official residence made claims she had told him to inflate the number of guests at dinners and to record their purpose as state instead of private in order to receive more money for them. She has denied the charges. Avi Hadad, the owner of the company which conducted the test, said that, "upon examination of the test, we did not find in Mrs. Netanyahu's answers to the relevant questions any physiological responses which would indicate she is lying." Mrs Netanyahu is a divisive figure, and has been described as "one of the most unpopular people in Israel". The results of private lie detector tests are not admissible in Israeli courts because they are not believed to be reliable. The news of the test came amid reports on Israeli television that the attorney general was expected to indict her by September 10. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Credit: REUTERS/Amir Cohen Yossi Cohen, her lawyer, told Israeli public radio that the decision to take the test was taken, "following the horrible mudslinging against her and after we heard that she is going to be put on trial". Her husband, Benjamin Netanyahu, is also under investigation in two corruption cases. The first relates to suspicion he received illegal gifts from wealthy supporters, and the second alleges that he attempted to improperly arrange favorable coverage from a daily newspaper in exchange for legislation that would have hurt its competitor. He has been questioned in relation to both the cases. Close associates of his are also implicated in two other corruption investigations, though Mr Netanyahu is not directly suspected in them. The scandals resulting from accusations against him and his inner circle have raised questions about his political survival. He denies all allegations of wrongdoing, and is not required to stand down unless convicted.
|
| NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson Has Spent A Record-Breaking 665 Days In Space Posted: 03 Sep 2017 10:06 AM PDT  Peggy Whitson returned to Earth on Saturday with an out-of-this-world record under her belt.
|
| Mexico breaks world record with 3-tonne guacamole Posted: 03 Sep 2017 05:21 PM PDT  By Fernando Carranza CONCEPCION DE BUENOS AIRES, Mexico (Reuters) - The recipe for a record-breaking guacamole? 25,000 avocados and 1,000 people to mash them. That is what avocado growers in Mexico's Jalisco state mobilized on Sunday to break the world record for the biggest guacamole, a whopping 3 tonnes (6,600 lbs) of delicious dip made from "green gold." The mass mash-up was part entertainment and part politicking, as growers and Mexico make the point that they - and the guacamole loving Americans - have benefited from the North American Free Trade Agreement that is now under threat from U. ...
|
| Joel Osteen Tells Harvey Survivors Not To Have A ‘Victim Mentality’ Posted: 03 Sep 2017 08:58 PM PDT  Pastor Joel Osteen, who has been under fire for his Houston megachurch's slow response to helping survivors of Hurricane Harvey, vowed on Sunday that God would "pay back" victims for what they lost.
|
| Los Angeles 'turns corner' on largest wildfire in city history Posted: 03 Sep 2017 11:07 PM PDT  A smattering of rain and easing temperatures helped more than 1,000 firefighters battling the largest wildfire in Los Angeles history gain the upper hand on the blaze on Sunday, but officials warned that danger remains. "We've turned the corner, but this is not over," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told reporters. "With winds this strong, anything can happen." Shifting winds could cause burning embers to spread the fire once more through the rugged northern edge of Los Angeles, said Garcetti.
|
| Old playbook behind North Korea's new nuclear test Posted: 03 Sep 2017 01:29 AM PDT  The path to Pyongyang's latest nuclear test followed a textbook North Korean strategy: escalating provocations accompanied by furious denunciations of annual South Korea-US military exercises. In the 12 days since Washington praised Pyongyang's "restraint" and held out the prospect of early talks, the North has fired three short-range missiles, sent another one soaring over Japan and detonated what appears to be a full-fledged thermonuclear device. "The hydrogen bomb test was a perfect success," an announcer on state TV claimed after Sunday's test.
|
| Trump Lawyer Asks Journalist If She's On Drugs After James Comey Question Posted: 03 Sep 2017 04:41 PM PDT  White House special counsel Ty Cobb asked Business Insider's Natasha Bertrand if she was on drugs during an email thread late on Saturday.
|
| Adorable rat portraits look to remove stigma attached to rodents Posted: 04 Sep 2017 02:00 AM PDT ![Adorable rat portraits look to remove stigma attached to rodents]( "Adorable rat portraits look to remove stigma attached to rodents") A committed photographer who's made it her mission to remove the stigma attached to the creatures took these adorable rat portraits.
|
| Foreign and 'futureless', Saudi-born women struggle to find work Posted: 02 Sep 2017 05:01 PM PDT  Hafsa had hoped to land a much-needed job distributing meals for the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday. Born in Saudi Arabia to Somali parents, Hafsa had applied for temporary work during the holiday, which marked the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in June. A voice asked her if she or anyone in her immediate family was a citizen of Saudi Arabia.
|
| GOP Lawmaker Mocks Trump’s ‘Great Heart’ In Blistering Response To DACA Threat Posted: 04 Sep 2017 12:23 AM PDT  A Republican lawmaker slammed President Donald Trump over reports that he plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which offers protections for certain undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children.
|
| 'I survived': How 1 woman lived Harvey on social media Posted: 02 Sep 2017 02:20 PM PDT  HOUSTON (AP) — Katlyn Perkins' first announcement that something was very wrong at her home in northeast Houston came at 8:19 p.m. on Aug. 24, when she updated her Facebook status.
|
| Who is Ri Chun-hee, North Korea's veteran newsreader who announced the nuclear test? Posted: 03 Sep 2017 04:39 PM PDT  The announcement that North Korea had carried out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, which it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile, fell, almost inevitably, to Ri Chun-hee. Mrs Ri has been reading the news on North Korean state television since 1971 and appeared on Sunday to announce the regime's latest military breakthrough. In front of a backdrop of Mt Paektu, the dormant volcano on the Chinese border that is the fount of Korean nationhood, she trembled with excitement, smiling broadly as she pronounced the test's "perfect success". It "clearly proved" that the North's nuclear weapons had a "highly precise basis", she said, wearing a pink and black traditional dress, known as hanbok in the South and choson chogori in the North, adorned with a badge of Kim Il-Sung and his son and successor Kim Jong-Il. This North Korean news bulletin shows what was said to be the launch of a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile Credit: KRT via AP Video The test "marked a very significant occasion in attaining the final goal of completing the state nuclear force", said Mrs Ri, who was also the one who had announced the success of the country's test of an intercontinental ballistic missle in July. Mrs Ri's appearance was the latest landmark in a remarkable TV career. Believed to be 73-years-old, Mrs Ri was born to a poor family in Gangwon Province, in central Korea, during the Japanese occupation. She studied performing arts at Pyongyang University of Theatre and Film before being selected by the party to be its mouthpiece due to her poverty and, consequently, her impeccable communist credentials. Recruited by Korea Central Television, she became chief news presenter by 1974 and survived purges and demotions of others around her at the station. North Korea 'successfully tests long-range missile capable of hitting USA' 01:24 Mrs Ri's delivery is reportedly one of the reasons she is so admired by the Kim dynasty, with an announcing style that is a combination of bombast and melodrama. When she announced the death in 1994 of Kim Il-sung, revered as the father of the nation, Mrs Ri was in tears. Seventeen years later, announcing the death of Kim Jong-il, the father of the present dictator, she was visibly restraining herself from weeping. Pedestrians walk past a TV screen showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un broadcasting news of North Korea's latest missile launch, in Tokyo Credit: EPA/KIMIMASA MAYAMA Mrs Ri lives in Pyongyang and officially retired in January 2012, but has been brought back to North Korean television screens to announce some of the most important developments of the Kim Jong-un regime. Those include the January 2016 claim that a nuclear test carried out at the Punggye-ri proving grounds had been the North's first hydrogen bomb. North Korea's nuclear threat 01:34
|
| 9 Luxury Hotels With Sweeping Views of Iconic Architecture Posted: 04 Sep 2017 05:30 AM PDT |
| Fugitive Italian 'cocaine king' arrested in Uruguay Posted: 04 Sep 2017 08:13 AM PDT  ROME/MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - One of Italy's most wanted mob bosses has been arrested in Uruguay after 23 years on the run from convictions for mafia association, drug trafficking and other serious crimes, the interior ministries of both countries said on Monday. Rocco Morabito was considered the most wanted fugitive member of the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta, Italy's most powerful organized crime group and one of Europe's biggest importers of South American cocaine. The 50-year-old was arrested in Montevideo after Uruguayan police and Italian authorities worked together to determine his real identity, the Italian ministry said in a statement.
|
| Antifa: US security agencies label group 'domestic terrorists' Posted: 03 Sep 2017 04:00 PM PDT  US security officials have classified the left-wing group Antifa as "domestic terrorists", confidential documents have revealed. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reportedly been warning about the growing threat of violence between left-wing anarchists and right-wing nationalists since 2016, amid claims Antifa's activity has become more confrontational, according to documents seen by Politico. A confidential intelligence report by the DHS and the FBI accused the "anarchist extremists" of attacks on police, government and political institutions, along with any other symbols of the "capitalist system" or displays of racism, social injustice or fascism.
|
| In Nicaragua, a fight to save endangered tapirs Posted: 04 Sep 2017 03:25 AM PDT  The largest land mammals in Central America, the brown, pig-like animals with sloping snouts came into the world in captivity, in an enclosure a short distance from the country's Masaya Volcano, under a scheme to save their endangered species. "Here, they're well fed," said Eduardo Sacasa, a wildlife expert who runs the reproductive program. Human encroachment and climate change have decimated the woodland habitat of the Baird's tapir, one of five species left in the world, and, along with human and feline predators, have helped wipe out 16 other tapir species.
|
| Burning Man Attendee Dies After Jumping Into Flames Posted: 03 Sep 2017 11:07 PM PDT  Forty one-year-old Aaron Joel Mitchell rushed past the security ring and ran into the burning effigy of a 40-feet structure at the annual gathering in Nevada's Black Rock Desert.
|
| Golfer Vows To Donate Earnings To Houston, Then Wins Tournament Posted: 04 Sep 2017 08:13 AM PDT  LPGA veteran Stacy Lewis pledged last week to donate all her earnings from the Portland Classic to help Harvey-stricken Houston ― and she won the tournament by a stroke on Sunday to break a three-year victory drought, the Associated Press reported.
|
| Harvey Left Countless Pets Homeless. Here’s What It Takes To Shelter Them. Posted: 03 Sep 2017 03:32 PM PDT  Katy, Texas - Among the smallest victims of Hurricane Harvey are thousands of pets left without a home after floodwaters inundated large swathes of the Houston area.
|
| Artificial intelligence is bigger threat to civilisation than North Korea, Elon Musk claims Posted: 04 Sep 2017 06:07 AM PDT  The billionaire technology entrepreneur Elon Musk has suggested that artificial intelligence is a greater threat to civilisation than the North Korean regime. In a series of tweets on Monday the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX said that "AI superiority at national level [is the] most likely cause" of a third world war. Musk, who has put millions of dollars into trying to ensure that AI is developed safely, regularly raises fears about AI. Along with the likes of Professor Stephen Hawking he has demanded that governments take action to halt the use of autonomous weapons. China, Russia, soon all countries w strong computer science. Competition for AI superiority at national level most likely cause of WW3 imo.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2017 May be initiated not by the country leaders, but one of the AI's, if it decides that a prepemptive strike is most probable path to victory— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2017 However, many big names in the tech industry accuse him of scaremongering about a Terminator-like future and misrepresenting what AI is capable of. "China, Russia, soon all countries [with] strong computer science. Competition for AI superiority at national level most likely cause of WW3 imo," Musk tweeted. He followed up by saying a world war might begin almost by accident if machines are given the power to launch attacks, since they may judge that an early strike gives them an advantage when humans might be more cautious. "[WW3] may be initiated not by the country leaders, but one of the AI's, if it decides that a prepemptive [sic] strike is most probable path to victory," he said. Musk added that we should be more worried about addressing killer robots than Kim Jong-Un's North Korean regime, which escalated tensions at the weekend with a new nuclear test. Should be low on our list of concerns for civilizational existential risk. NK has no entangling alliances that wd polarize world into war.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2017 Last month, Musk led more than 100 robotics and AI leaders in calling for the United Nations to take action against lethal autonomous weapons and in July said that AI was the greatest threat we face as a civilisation. Musk's scepticism about AI was recently criticised by Mark Zuckerberg as "pretty irresponsible", leading to Musk firing back that the Facebook founder's understanding of the matter was "limited". At a glance | Autonomous weapons
|
| Venezuela bars opposition activist from traveling to Europe Posted: 02 Sep 2017 07:30 PM PDT  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A prominent anti-government activist was barred from leaving Venezuela on Saturday for planned meetings with European leaders, dealing a setback to opposition attempts to rally international pressure on President Nicolas Maduro.
|
| Steely Dan Co-Founder and Guitarist Walter Becker Dies Posted: 03 Sep 2017 12:58 PM PDT  Guitarist Walter Becker has died
|
| Philippine lawyers to file murder complaint against police in latest teen killing Posted: 04 Sep 2017 01:55 AM PDT ![Philippine lawyers to file murder complaint against police in latest teen killing]( "Philippine lawyers to file murder complaint against police in latest teen killing") A Philippine government agency on Monday said a murder complaint would be filed against policemen who shot dead a teenager accused of robbery, the second such case in just over a week against police from the same part of the capital, Manila. The Public Attorney's Office (PAO) said an autopsy by its forensic experts indicated that Carl Angelo Arnaiz, 19, was tortured before he was shot in Caloocan City, and the manner of his killing was similar to that of a high school student shot dead in Caloocan on Aug. 16 by anti-drugs officers. The death of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos stirred rare public outrage about President Rodrigo Duterte's ferocious war on drugs, in which thousands of people have been killed.
|
| Gloves come off in Kenya ahead of new presidential vote Posted: 03 Sep 2017 08:37 AM PDT  Sparks were flying in Kenya on Sunday as the main rival of President Uhuru Kenyatta called for the ousting of members of the country's election commission, likening them to "hyenas", while judges slammed "veiled threats" by the president after the shock annulment of his re-election victory. Raila Odinga, who will now get another shot against Kenyatta in an election to be held within two months, said he had no faith in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), and called for its members to be expelled from Kenya. "Those IEBC thieves must go.
|
| Bike of the Week: R50/3 Bavarian Bobber Posted: 03 Sep 2017 10:07 AM PDT  Bike of the Week: R50/3 Bavarian Bobber German-based Titan Motorcycles delivers a less than traditional BMW build, forgoing the bells and whistles in lieu of old-school simplicity and minimalism. Photographs of some motorcycles can pretty much tell the whole
|
| 'Ink Master' Star Chris Blinston Arrested For Allegedly Strangling Daughter Posted: 02 Sep 2017 01:20 PM PDT  The "Ink Master" star's daughter claimed her father strangled her twice during a custody visit.
|
| Duchess Of Cambridge Pregnant With Third Child Posted: 04 Sep 2017 03:06 AM PDT  Prince George and Princess Charlotte are going to have another sibling!
|
| 5 Buildings That Show the Power of Modernist Architecture Posted: 04 Sep 2017 05:00 AM PDT |
| Trump condemns rogue nation as North Korea detonates sixth and most powerful nuclear test Posted: 03 Sep 2017 04:41 AM PDT  Donald Trump yesterday led world condemnation of North Korea's biggest ever nuclear test, describing the actions of the "rogue nation" as "very hostile and dangerous" to the US. In a series of tweets, he also poured scorn on South Korea for what he said were attempts at "appeasement" even though most allies believe Washington has little option but to pursue diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear crisis. His impatience with diplomacy risks dividing the international alliance arrayed against Pyongyang, as Theresa May called for action at the United Nations Security Council. His comments followed Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test and the first since Mr Trump took power. It was conducted in defiance of the American President's recent promises to rain "fire and fury" on the country if it continued threatening the US. Nuclear North Korea Japan said the explosion was 10 times the strength of the test last September, while reports in South Korea said it was up to five times more powerful than bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945. For its part, North Korea claimed it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb that could be delivered by a long-range missile "The H-bomb test was carried out to examine and confirm the accuracy and credibility of the power control technology, and internal structural design newly introduced into manufacturing the H-bomb to be placed as the payload of the ICBM," said state-run Korean Central News Agency. Analysts said they could not be certain whether Pyongyang had developed a two-state nuclear device but added that the magnitude of the blast – representing a 120 kiloton bomb - suggested they were close. That would represent a game changer in North Korea's quest to join the exclusive club of nuclear powers. World leaders were quick in their condemnation. North Koreas nuclear history: key moments Theresa May, the Prime Minister, called for United Nations Security Council to heap more pressure on Kim Jong-un's regime. "This latest action by North Korea is reckless and poses an unacceptable further threat to the international community," she said. But Mr Trump expressed impatience with diplomatic moves and turned his frustration on North Korea's neighbours. "North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success," he wrote, before adding: "South Korea is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!" North Korea's nuclear threat 01:34 Mr Trump has signalled repeatedly that he is considering military options. The Pentagon has a suite of plans for action, ranging from nuclear strikes and regime change to pre-emptive attacks on launch sites to take out missiles before they can be fired. However, North Korea would be expected to use its conventional and nuclear arsenals in retaliation, launching devastating attacks on South Korea that would kill millions. As a result, Mr Trump risks dividing the international alliance arrayed against North Korea. (URGENT) North Korean artificial quake 9.8 times more powerful than fifth nuclear test: Seoul weather agency https://t.co/RlelVLhVTv— Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) September 3, 2017 Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, said: "It's certainly our view that none of the military options are good. It is of course right to say that all options are on the table, but we really don't see an easy military solution." He called for common sense and diplomacy to prevail as he urged China to step up its pressure on its client state. But he summed up North Korea's rapid progress with a dire warning. North Korea nuclear grid "They seem to be moving closer towards a hydrogen bomb which, if fitted to a successful missile, would unquestionably present a new order of threat," he said. Mr Trump was due to meet his national security team to discuss the issue yesterday while his Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin, said he was drawing fresh sanctions that would requiring countries trading with the US to sever all ties with North Korea. Calls for oil sanctions now certain to grow louder. https://t.co/U3lvtU5q8m— Neil Connor (@neilaconnor) September 3, 2017 Meanwhile, Japan said it had deployed "sniffer" jets to detect whether there had been any leaks of radiation. Moon Jae-In, President of South Korea, called for the "strongest punishment" against North Korea, including new United Nations sanctions. China – North Korea's key economic trading partner – also strongly condemned the nuclear test and criticised Pyongyang for ignoring international condemnation of its atomic weapons programme. Tremor felt in Yanji city on China's border, as a 6.3-magnitude shallow earthquake struck North Korea pic.twitter.com/EpnCnhiSFZ— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) September 3, 2017 11:39AM China media continues to blame the US and South Korea for escalation in tensions China's Global Times newspaper said Beijing should resist tougher sanctions on North Korea and blamed heightened tensions on the US and South Korea, Neil Connor reports from Beijing. The newspaper, which is produced by The People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, also warned against cutting off Pyongyang;s oil supply and closing the border. "If North Korea's nuclear activities don't contaminate China's northeastern regions, China should avoid imposing overly aggressive sanctions on North Korea, it said in an editorial. "The root cause of the North Korean nuclear issue is that the military pressure of the Washington-Seoul alliance generates a sense of insecurity for Pyongyang who then believes that owning a nuclear strike capability is its sole guarantee for the survival of the regime." Officials in Beijing regularly blame Seoul and Washington for raising tensions on the Korean peninsula. 11:18AM South Korea's Moon sent the 'wrong signal' - opposition Conservative politicians in South Korea have called on Moon Jae-in, the left-of-centre president, to drop his "doveish" attitude towards Pyongyang and to find ways to better protect the citizens of the nation, such as by reintroducing US tactical nuclear weapons to the South, Julian Ryall reports. Some members of opposition parties even suggested that Mr Moon's policies of seeking engagement with Pyongyang had encouraged Kim Jong-un's regime to become even more belligerent. "The Moon Jae-in government's responsibility is great as it has sent the wrong signal to the North by sticking to dialogue and disregarding the threat from the regime," Yonhap news quoted Khang Hyo-shang, a spokesman for the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, as saying. 11:13AM Macron calls for 'very firm' response and 'irreversible dismantlement' of weapons French President Emmanuel Macron called for a "very firm" response to the nuclear test and for the UN Security Council to "quickly react". "The international community must be very firm in its handling of this latest provocation, in order to get North Korea to unconditionally return to talks and proceed with the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of its nuclear and ballistic programmes," Mr Macron said in a statement. 11:09AM Russia urges calm, condemns nuclear test Russia urged calm on Sunday but gave its "strongest condemnation" following North Korea's sixth nuclear test. "This latest demonstrative disregard by Pyongyang of the requirements of the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and the norms of international law deserves the strongest condemnation," the foreign ministry in Moscow said. "In the unfolding conditions, it is imperative to remain calm and to refrain from any actions that lead to a further escalation of tension." 11:06AM North Korea nuclear test 'extremely regrettable': UN watchdog North Korea's latest nuclear test is "extremely regrettable" and "in complete disregard" of the international community's repeated demands, the head of the UN atomic watchdog said Sunday, AFP reports. "Today's nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is an extremely regrettable act," International Atomic Energy Agency head Yukiya Amano said in a statement. "This new test, which follows the two tests last year and is the sixth since 2006, is in complete disregard of the repeated demands of the international community." 10:09AM Guam residents reassured following nuclear test Authorities in the US Pacific territory of Guam sought to reassure civilians after North Korea's nuclear test on Sunday, releasing a statement on the Homeland Security Facebook page, Nicola Smith reports. "There are no known immediate threats assessed for Guam and the Marianas at this time. The threat level remains the same," it said. The small island in the western Pacific Ocean is within range of North Korean medium and long-range missiles and was specifically threatened by Pyongyang last month. 9:11AM Japan calls for oil sanctions against North Korea to be explored Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Sunday that sanctions options against North Korea in the wake of that country's nuclear test include restrictions on oil-products trade, according to Reuters. Mr Suga, speaking at a news conference, also said he condemned the test in the strongest of terms. 9:00AM Unified response needed - expert Sunday's test sent reverberations across East Asia. "Today's events show the importance of a unified response from [regional] allies, specifically the US, Japan and South Korea," said Taipei-based risk analyst, Ross Feingold. Mr Feingold told The Telegraph that the test required a "robust"response from other regional allies who meet regularly under the umbrella organisation the Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN]. "Asean can no longer view this as a North Asia problem. Those Asean countries that have maintained stable, if not positive, relations with North Korea..will now also have to demonstrate that they are invested in preventing North Korea from further destabilising the region," he said. China also had to take more action, Mr Feingold argued. "Prior to today's events, China has continued to call on both North Korea and the United States to de-escalate tensions, by trading an end to missile tests for an end to military exercises," he said. "President Trump will certainly expect a more robust response from China than this. 8:45AM Timing of the test an embarrassment for Xi Jinping, China's president The nuclear test carried out by North Korea was a direct challenge to Donald Trump, but will also create maximum embarrassment for Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, China Correspondent Neil Connor reports from Beijing. Mr Xi was only hours from opening the summit of BRICS nations in the south-eastern city of Xiamen when news of the test emerged. Leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa are arriving to China for the event, which runs until Tuesday. North Korea also carried out a missile at the start of China's Belt and Road Initiative summit in May. Pyongyang's state-controlled media has expressed anger at China in recent months, claiming its historic ally is backing US attempts to contain North Korea. 8:39AM Further sanctions likely opposed by China, Russia – former South Korean official The United Nations Security Council will almost certainly face calls for further sanctions on North Korea, although a former head of South Korean intelligence believes that neither China nor Russia will faithfully implement them because Pyongyang's belligerence may yet force the US to withdraw its military from north-east Asia. Rah Jong-yil, who also served as South Korean ambassador to London and Tokyo, also believes that a full-blown war on the Korean Peninsula is becoming increasingly likely. "Sanctions have so far failed to prevent North Korea from continuing its development of weapons of mass destruction and, in the most recent round of UN talks on more sanctions both China and Russia were opposed", Mr Rah told The Telegraph. "I believe that for Beijing and Moscow, North Korea is actually a convenient tool for their desire to force the US to withdraw its forces from the region", he said. "On principle, they oppose the North developing nuclear weapons", he said. "But they have not taken the steps that could stop the North's rapid advances in this technology because they can see the advantages to themselves. 8:08AM US and South Korean security chiefs hold talks Top security officials from the United States and South Korea discussed North Korea's sixth nuclear test on Sunday, reports said. Chung Eui-yong, South Korea's National Security Office chief, and his US counterpart, H.R. McMaster held 20-minute telephone talks, Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said, according to Yonhap news agency. 8:03AM Tremors felt by residents in China and Russia Tremors from the explosion were felt by residents of Jilin, Changchun and Baishan cities, in China's north-eastern Jilin province, state broadcaster China Central Television said. Residents of Vladivostok, on Russian's eastern coast, close to the North Korean border, also reported feeling tremors at the time the nuclear test was triggered. There have been no reports of radioactive abnormalities in Russia so far. Meanwhile, Japan said it had deployed "sniffer" jets to detect whether there had been any leaks of radiation. 7:49AM North Korea claims it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb North Korea has successfully conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb that can be loaded into a new intercontinental ballistic missile, state television said. North Korea's state-run TV broadcaster made the special announcement confirmed the country's sixth nuclear test shortly after an earthquake was reported in the country. 7:04AM North Korea will make "special" announcement at 7.30 am London time South Korea's Yonhap news agency said North Korea is set to make a "special and important" announcement at 3pm, Pyongyang time, citing the North's state-run TV broadcaster. 7:01AM Japan confirms it was a nuclear test Japan has concluded that North Korea has indeed conducted its sixth nuclear test and diplomats have lodged an official protest through North Korea's embassy in Beijing. "After analysing information from the Japan Meteorological Agency and others on the recent earthquake, the government has determined that North Korea has carried out a nuclear test," Taro Kono, the Japanese foreign minister, told reporters after a meeting of the National Security Council on Sunday afternoon. Mr Kono said Japanese officials are already speaking with heir counterparts in the United States and South Korea about calling an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, Kyodo News reported. 6:59AM Up to 5 times the strength of Nagasaki - report The head of the South Korean parliament's defence committee told Yonhap news that the nuclear blast yield was likely 100 kilotons, which would be 4-5 times the strength of the Nagasaki bomb. 6:25AM Japan preparing strong protest Julian Ryall reports from Tokyo. Japan is preparing to lodge a strong protest with North Korea as soon as Tokyo has confirmed that Pyongyang has conducted its sixth underground nuclear test. "If North Korea has indeed gone ahead with a nuclear test, it is completely unacceptable and we must lodge a strong protest", Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, told reporters in Tokyo on Sunday afternoon. Mr Abe has instructed government ministries to gather all available data on the test and provide the public with information on any developments that will impact citizens' safety. The test comes just five days after a North Korean intermediate-range ballistic missile flew over Japan before crashing into the Pacific Ocean. He added that Japan will work closely with the United States and South Korea to handle this latest provocation from North Korea. Graphic: North Korea missile launch North Korea's nuclear test came just hours after Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, spoke on the phone with President Donald Trump, with the two leaders agreeing that they need to step up the pressure on Pyongyang to make the regime change its aggressive and destabilising behaviour. "We completely agreed that we must thoroughly coordinate with each other and with South Korea, and cooperate closely with the international community to increase pressure on North Korea and make it change its policies", Mr Abe told reporters at his official residence on Sunday morning. Mr Abe spoke with Mr Trump on Saturday - the third conversation between the two leaders since North Korea launched a ballistic missile over northern Japan on Tuesday. The Japanese leader said he discussed with Mr Trump the shared analysis of "the latest information on North Korea and how we will respond", Kyodo News reported. There was no indication from the Japanese leader that another North Korean nuclear test was imminent. 6:24AM Second earthquake detected A second zero kilometre deep earthquake has been detected by Chinese authorities, official Chinese media media said. The People's Daily said the second quake was magnitude 4.6, and happened "minutes after" the magnitude 6.3 quake. 6:23AM Another nuclear test 'unacceptable' says Shinzo Abe Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said a sixth nuclear test by Pyongyang would be "absolutely unacceptable," after a 6.3 magnitude explosion in the North indicated a new detonation. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe Credit: Akio Kon/Bloomberg "If it forcibly conducted a nuclear test, it's absolutely unacceptable. We have to strongly protest it," Abe said. "There is a possibility that this is not a natural quake and that North Korea conducted a nuclear test," he said, adding that the Japanese weather agency detected a seismic wave. 6:19AM Latest earthquake far bigger than that which accompanied September 2016 test Nicola Smithreports from Taipei: The US Geological Survey said it had recorded a magnitude 6.3 earthquake, after initially assessing it to be 5.1. If the magnitude stays at 5.2, this would be the same size as the Kim-5 in September 2016, which was a few tens of kilotons. 1/— Jeffrey Lewis (@ArmsControlWonk) September 3, 2017 A 6.3 magnitude quake would be ten times as powerful as the one triggered by the North's September 2016 nuclear test, which triggered a 5.3 strength earthquake, and had an estimated yield of about 10 kilotons. According to Jeffrey Lewis, Director of the East Asia non-proliferation programme at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, a magnitude 6.3 explosion would likely mean an explosive power of around a megaton. "That would be a staged thermonuclear weapon," he said on Twitter. 6:12AM South Korean forces on high alert Julian Ryallin Tokyo has the latest from Seoul. "South Korea has ordered all its military forces to a state of high alert, according to Yonhap news, with Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff announcing that the magnitude 5.6 "artificial earthquake" recorded in North Korea at around 12:20 local time is "presumed" to have been an underground nuclear test." 5:59AM The location of the the earthquake #UPDATE US monitor @USGS: M5.1 #earthquake detected in #DPRK at depth of 0 km, tremors felt in northeast #China's Jilin Province pic.twitter.com/yY7bFktJ9v— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) September 3, 2017 5:54AM South Korea holding national security council meeting Seoul is scrambling to get information about the explosion. The country's national security council is meeting. Agreement was reached between Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart, President Moon Jae-in as Washington sought to boost South Korea's ability to defend itself against its northern neighbour. 5:45AM Xinhua reporting epicentre close to site of previous nuclear tests A strong shallow earthquake struck the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday, triggering suspicions that it might be caused by explosion. In its latest update, the U.S. Geological Survey reported that the tremor happened at 0330 GMT and measured 6.3 magnitude, with an epicenter 24 km east-northeast of Sungjibaegam and zero km deep.The institution noted that it might be caused by explosion and that its epicenter was located near the site where the DPRK detonated nuclear explosions in the past.The China Earthquake Networks Center also placed the magnitude at 6.3 and the depth of its epicenter at zero km, and noted that explosion was suspected. In the wake of the earthquake, South Korean President Moon Jae-in called an emergency meeting of the National Security Council. 5:26AM Earthquake was 'artificial' South Korea's military says the 5.6 quake in North Korea was artificial, and is analysing if it was a nuclear test.
|
| Merkel, rival Schulz spar over Turkey in TV election debate Posted: 03 Sep 2017 02:32 PM PDT  BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her center-left rival, Martin Schulz, locked horns over how to deal with Turkey in their only televised debate Sunday, three weeks before the country's general election.
|
| Activists Face Rain And Security Threats As 10-Day March Against White Supremacy Continues Posted: 02 Sep 2017 02:44 PM PDT  Braving the rain, threats of violence and uncertainty over police permits, dozens of civil rights activists set out on the sixth day of their 118-mile trek from Charlottesville, Virginia, to Washington, D.C., on Saturday to protest the white supremacist ideas that inspired deadly violence in Charlottesville a few weeks ago.
|
| Malaysian police arrest suspected Abu Sayyaf leader, seven others Posted: 03 Sep 2017 01:28 AM PDT ![Malaysian police arrest suspected Abu Sayyaf leader, seven others]( "Malaysian police arrest suspected Abu Sayyaf leader, seven others") Malaysian police arrested a suspected leader and seven members of the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf Islamist group in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, a police source said on Sunday. Police detained Hajar Abdul Mubin - otherwise known as Abu Asrie - in the Wednesday raid, according to the source, who was not authorized to speak to the media on the case. Hajar, a Filipino, was arrested along with one other Filipino and six Malaysians from the Borneo state of Sabah, which shares a porous maritime border with the Philippines.
|
| Africa's opposition leaders take heart in Kenya election ruling Posted: 03 Sep 2017 09:01 AM PDT  Opposition leaders across Africa, long frustrated in their campaigns to topple firmly entrenched leaders, are hailing the shock overturn of last month's presidential vote in Kenya, calling it an example for their own countries to emulate. "If it happened in Kenya, it can happen in Zimbabwe as well," Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai told thousands of supporters at a rally on Saturday. Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has made three failed attempts at the Zimbabwean presidency, losing all of them to President Robert Mugabe, who has kept an iron grip on the country since 1980.
|
| Parisians protest 'genocide' of rats as city battles rodent infestation Posted: 03 Sep 2017 10:11 AM PDT  Thousands of Parisians have signed a petition denouncing efforts to control a rat infestation as a rodent "genocide." The French capital is facing its worst rat crisis in decades, and rapid proliferation of the animals has forced several parks to close temporarily amid fears that children could be bitten or infected by disease. Paris authorities are spending £14 million this year on "deratisation". But some residents have spoken out in defence of the creatures. Influenced perhaps by the loveable rat Remy in Disney's acclaimed 2007 film Ratatouille, 25,000 people have signed a petition to stop the "genocide" of the rodents. Josette Benchetrit, a clinical psychologist who launched the petition at the end of last year, said: "Rat phobia is an unwarranted social phobia, like spider phobia. Give a rat a beautiful bushy tail and you've got a squirrel — an animal we love. These poor unfortunates are being mercilessly killed because they've been designated by society as scapegoats to be eradicated." 'Give a rat a beautiful bushy tail and you've got a squirrel' Credit: Urs Flueeler / EyeEm More than 2,000 comments have been posted online by defenders of the rodents. "Rats deserve the same consideration as people," one said. "Let's eliminate socialists instead, they're much more harmful for Paris," another urged. A third expressed the hope that the Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo, will be "erat-icated" in the next elections. The Green mayor of the capital's second arrondissement, Jacques Boutault, has joined the pro-rat lobby. "The law stipulates that all animals are living, sentient beings," he said. "We should be asking ourselves why we need to wipe out rats." However, many Parisians are fed up with seeing rats on the streets and say the "deratisation" campaign appears to have had little impact, partly because of EU regulations restricting the use of poison. New rules ban the sprinkling of anticoagulant pellets to avoid contaminating pets, water supplies or people. Instead, poison must be placed in small plastic boxes, which pest control workers say is less effective
|
| Massive WWII bomb defused in Frankfurt Posted: 04 Sep 2017 03:40 AM PDT  German explosives experts defuse a massive World War Two bomb found on a building site last week, following an evacuation of 60,000 people. David Doyle reports.
|
| This 'Game Of Thrones' Star Just Got An Adorable New Puppy Posted: 03 Sep 2017 05:42 PM PDT  "Game Of Thrones" actress Sophie Turner just made a furry new friend.
|
| Camera lenses literally melted during the solar eclipse Posted: 03 Sep 2017 11:12 PM PDT  Will people ever learn? A camera rental company found its cameras and lenses severely damaged after people took them to shoot the solar eclipse last month. This, despite warning users not to point their cameras directly at the sun. SEE ALSO: The most epic images from the 2017 total solar eclipse Online rental shop LensRentals told renters that solar filters had to be attached to lenses to protect them and camera sensors during the eclipse. Naturally, some people didn't listen. Here are the results, from burnt shutter systems: Image: lens rentalsTo damaged sensors: Image: lens rentalsThis Nikon D500 saw its mirror melt: Image: lens rentalsAnd this Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens (which costs a casual $11,499) had its aperture blades destroyed: Image: lens rentals"The most common problem we encountered was sensors being destroyed by the heat. We wanted everyone to buy a solar filter for your lens and also sent out mass emails and fliers," said Zach Sutton, the editor of LensRentals in a blogpost. "Hopefully [this] will serve as a warning to those who are already prepping for the next eclipse in 2024." WATCH: How to watch the solar eclipse without burning your eyes out
|
| North Korea Says it Detonated a Hydrogen Bomb: What We Actually Know Posted: 03 Sep 2017 12:26 PM PDT  It was big, for starters.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment