SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea has carried out a “successful” new test of its “super-large multiple rocket launcher” system, state media said Friday — the latest in a series of provocations by Pyongyang. South Korea’s military said Thursday that the North had launched two short-range projectiles from South Pyongan province. They each flew approximately 370 kilometers (230 miles). It was the latest in a series of launches by the North but the first […]
Asia
N.Korea’s Kim sends Moon condolences for mother’s death
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a message of sympathy to the South’s President Moon Jae-in over the death of his mother, officials said Thursday, the pair’s first contact in months with inter-Korean ties at a standstill. Kang Han-ok, who was born and grew up in the North but was evacuated by US forces during the Korean War, died from a chronic illness on Tuesday. She was 92. […]
North Korea fires short-range projectiles: South’s military
by Kang Jin-kyu Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired two short-range projectiles on Thursday, the South’s military said, with nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington at a deadlock. The weapons were launched from South Pyongan province in an easterly direction over the sea, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. They flew 370 kilometers (230 miles) at a maximum altitude of 90 kilometers, they said, adding: “We […]
Iraq PM’s fate on the line as toll from protests rises
by Maya Gebeily BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraq’s leaders were intense talks on Wednesday over the ouster of the country’s embattled premier, as a rights commission said the latest week of anti-government demonstrations has left 100 dead. As night fell, the government faced the mounting pressure of swelling protests, pro-Iran figures defending the prime minister and deadly rockets slamming into Baghdad’s Green Zone. The missiles hit a checkpoint near the US embassy, killing one Iraqi […]
Fire engulfs World Heritage castle in Japan’s Okinawa
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A major fire ripped through a historic Japanese castle on the southern island of Okinawa early on Thursday morning, spreading throughout the World Heritage site’s complex, local authorities said. Shuri Castle is a key part of a complex dating back to the Ryukyu Kingdom, and is believed to have been in use from around the 1400s. The current structure is a reconstruction based on original plans and photos of the […]
Beijing eyes facial recognition tech for metro security
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing will use facial recognition tools to speed up security checks in the city’s overcrowded metro, using a ‘credit system’ to sort passengers into different channels, state-run media reported on Wednesday. Long queues and commuters arguing with staff over slow security procedures are common sites during rush hour in the metro system of the 20 million-strong metropolis. The city plans to install cameras that will scan the faces of passengers […]
China slams US for ‘economic bullying’ of Huawei, ZTE
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Tuesday blasted as “economic bullying” a US proposal to block telecom carriers buying from Chinese tech companies Huawei and ZTE. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Monday that the proposed rules — which also require carriers to remove any existing Huawei and ZTE equipment — were part of an initiative to “safeguard the nation’s communications networks”. The two Chinese firms have been accused of posing a […]
IS chief Baghdadi buried at sea by US military
by Paul HANDLEY Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US officials have said the body of Islamic State group chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was buried at sea, as fresh details surfaced about the US special forces operation that led to his death over the weekend. Syrian Kurds claimed to be a key source of the intelligence that led Americans to Baghdadi after years of tracking the man behind a five-year reign of […]
Rescuers hunt for missing as landslides, floods kill 10 in Japan
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Rescuers worked by hand to clear debris from a landslide triggered by heavy rains in central Japan on Saturday, as the toll from the storms rose to 10 dead with a further three people reportedly missing. Aerial footage showed emergency workers removing wreckage from two houses that were swept away in Chiba, southeast of Tokyo, just two weeks after a deadly typhoon barrelled through the area. Nine people were killed by […]
Death of IS chief ‘important milestone’: Netanyahu
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said US President Donald Trump’s announcement of the death of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in neighboring Syria was “an important milestone”. “I want to congratulate President Trump on the impressive achievement of bringing about the elimination of al-Baghdadi,” Netanyahu said on a visit to an Israeli air force base in remarks broadcast by army radio. “This reflects the united resolve of […]
Iraq students join protests as pressure on government swells
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi students joined anti-government protests in Baghdad on Sunday, ramping up the street pressure on Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi who also faced a sit-in and the first resignations from parliament. The capital and country’s south have been rocked by a second wave of demonstrations since Thursday, with protesters digging in despite tear gas, curfews, and violence that has left more than 70 dead. About a dozen schools and universities decided […]
IS spokesman killed in fresh north Syria raid: SDF official
AIN AL-BAYDAH, Syria (AFP) — The Islamic State group’s spokesman was killed Sunday in northern Syria, a top Kurdish official said, hours after the jihadists’ leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was announced dead. The official with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces — who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak on the issue — said IS spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir had been killed after SDF chief Mazloum Abdi said he had […]
