North Korea displays massive live-fire artillery drill as U.S. nuclear sub docks in South Korea

As a U.S. nuclear-powered missile submarine docked in South Korea today, North Korea put on a huge live-fire artillery drill to commemorate the foundation of its military–and, presumably, show the world who’s boss.

Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs are the subject of renewed concerns in recent weeks, as the blundering Donald J. Trump administration ‘forgets’ where its armadas are. Pretty much the entire world is freaked out today over the possibility of future nuclear tests (or worse) by ‘that gentleman’ in Pyongyang, as forgetful Donald likes to call him.

With U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley at his side (L), U.S. President Donald Trump receives applause after speaking at a working lunch with ambassadors of countries on the UN Security Council at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 24, 2017. REUTERS

A U.S. aircraft carrier strike group is heading for Korean waters, and leading nuclear envoys from South Korea, Japan, and the United States are meeting in Tokyo.

The USS Michigan, which made a port call in South Korea today, is the second Ohio-class nuclear-powered guided missile submarine in the United States Navy.

The USS Michigan, an Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarine, arrives at a naval base in Busan, South Korea, April 25, 2017. Cho Jueong-ho/Yonhap

From Reuters:
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that the North appeared to have deployed a large number of long-range artillery units in the region of Wonsan on its east coast on Tuesday, conducting a large-scale, live-fire drill.

The report, citing an unidentified government source, said the live-fire exercise was possibly supervised by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

While South Korea’s Defence Ministry could not immediately confirm the report, the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said: “Our military is closely monitoring the North Korean military’s movement in Wonsan areas and we are firmly maintaining readiness.”

North Korea defiantly said in a state media commentary marking the 85th anniversary of the foundation of the Korean People’s Army’s that its military was prepared “to bring to closure the history of U.S. scheming and nuclear blackmail”.

“There is no limit to the strike power of the People’s Army armed with our style of cutting-edge military equipment including various precision and miniaturized nuclear weapons and submarine-launched ballistic missiles,” the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a front-page editorial.

South Korea’s Navy said it was conducting a live-fire exercise with U.S. Navy destroyers on Tuesday in waters west of the Korean peninsula and would soon join the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group approaching the region. The carrier group was sent to the region as a warning to North Korea and a show of solidarity with U.S. allies.

And in related bizarre North Korea news, all 100 U.S. senators are to show up for an unprecedented briefing at the White House for a briefing on the topic Wednesday.

Evidently they’re converting a big auditorium into a SCIF for the day.

From Reuters:

Top Trump administration officials will hold a rare briefing on Wednesday at the White House for the entire U.S. Senate on the situation in North Korea.

All 100 senators have been asked to the White House for the briefing by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Monday.

While administration officials routinely travel to Capitol Hill to address members of Congress on foreign policy matters, it is unusual for the entire Senate to go to the White House, and for all four of those officials to be involved. Wednesday’s briefing was originally scheduled for a secure room at the Capitol, but President Donald Trump suggested a shift to the White House, congressional aides said.

North Korea: We are ready to sink American aircraft carrier with a single strike https://t.co/0LGTSulVnP pic.twitter.com/goVTjZkC5O

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 25, 2017
As North Korea speeds its nuclear program, U.S. fears time will run out https://t.co/Xb8X9qza50

— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 25, 2017

France Links Sarin Gas Used In Syria Attack To Regime

The attack killed scores of people and prompted the U.S. to launch a missile strike on a Syrian air base.

PARIS (Reuters) – Samples obtained by French intelligence show that forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “undoubtedly” used sarin nerve gas in an April 4 attack in northern Syria, France’s foreign minister said on Wednesday, citing a declassified report.

The attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun killed scores of people and prompted the United States to launch a cruise missile strike on a Syrian air base in response, its first direct assault on the Assad government in the conflict.

“We know, from a certain source, that the process of fabrication of the samples taken is typical of the method developed in Syrian laboratories,” Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters.

“This method is the signature of the regime and it is what enables us to establish the responsibility of the attack. We know because we kept samples from previous attacks that we were able to use for comparison.”

“Western Dress Is The Reason For Sex Assault ” Ministers Blames

New Delhi – An Indian minister has come under fire for suggesting the “Western” way women dress was the cause of a series of alleged sex assaults on the streets of Bangalore on New Year’s Eve. 

Witnesses, including journalists from Bangalore Mirror, said they saw “mass molestations” against women during celebrations in the city centre.  

Reacting to the incident, G Parameshwara, Karnataka’s state home minister, blamed the victims for dressing in Western clothing. 

“They try to copy westerners not only in mindset, but even the dressing … some girls are harassed…these kind of things do happen.”

Police have not yet charged anyone in connection with the alleged assaults, but are searching through CCTV footage with hopes to identify the attackers.

Malini Krishnamoorthy, a senior Bangalore police officer, has urged the public to come forward if they possess evidence in “any form”.

The central government’s junior home minister Kiren Rijiju described Parameshwara’s claims as “irresponsible” and said they marginalised the fight against sexual assault.

Respect women

Lalitha Kumaramangalam, head of India’s national commission for women, told local news that Parameshwara should apologise to the victims and step down as minister.

She questioned when Indian men will start to “respect women.

“I want to ask this minister: are Indian men so pathetic and weak that when they see a woman in Western clothes on a day of revelry, they get out of control?”, she said.

Sexual violence against women in India rose to the forefront internationally following the death of a young woman who was gang-raped on a bus in New Delhi in December 2012.

The attack left various senior Indian politicians accused of casual misogyny. One politician, Mulayam Singh Yadav, head of Uttar Pradesh’s governing Samajwadi Party, excused the incident by saying “boys will be boys” and that “they make mistakes”.

In recent years and after a wave of national protests, legislators have worked to implement anti-rape laws to protect women and children alike.

Former Survivor Contestant Dies ‘Unexpectedly’

Cape Town – According to People.com a former Survivor contestant died “unexpectedly” on 31 December 2016.

The news of Dan Kay’s death was first announced in an obituary published by the Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory.

The 40-year-old appeared in Survivor: Gabon in 2008 and was the eighth contestant voted out of the show.

“Dan had a smile that could light up a room. His desire to be challenged and his quest for adventure lead to his participation on the reality show, Survivor. He also successfully skied Tuckerman’s Ravine and completed his first half marathon,” his obituary read.

He was an attorney from Brookline, New Hampshire and had two kids, Reese Elizabeth and Jackson “Jax” Russell-Reid.

Survivor host Jeff Probst took to Twitter to express his condolences after hearing about Kay’s death. He wrote: “I just heard the very sad news about the sudden loss of Dan Kay of Survivor: Gabon. The Survivor family sends our love to Dan’s family.”

Kay’s cause of death has not been announced.

Am Not Here For The Money

Bloemfontein – A 31-year-old Free State police officer says that although his call of duty is demanding, he will not trade his profession for anything. 

Constable Diresh “Gosh” Naidoo, who was named the Best Officer for Visible Policing at the SA Police Service Free State Provincial Excellence Awards 2015/16 in October, says he could have pursued a career as a soccer player, but he felt duty bound to serve society as a police officer.

“I don’t regret the choice I made of becoming a police officer,” Naidoo told News24.

“I am not here for the money, I am here to serve. I used to look up to my brother wearing a uniform and that just inspired me to follow in his footsteps,” added Naidoo, who has been stationed at the Vrede Police Station for the past nine years.

He has been nominated for the recognition three times and he eventually walked away with the prestigious award last year.

“I was shocked to have won the award. It was an amazing feeling. I have been a nominee for the past three years. It is a good thing to know that my work has finally been recognised… It took me three years to get an award.

“I live and carry my duties according to the Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics and Batho Pele. Before I start my day, I read the above three and they are embedded in my heart.”

‘I just hate seeing people suffer’

He is stationed with the crime prevention unit in the north-eastern Free State town, and has also been appointed as the community policing officer. 

Naidoo says he could have lost hope while serving the country and curbing crime, but because of his passion, he naturally feels duty bound and always strives to ensure that work is done.

“It is difficult at times because lives are lost and I just hate seeing people suffer,” he told News24.  

Since he moved to Vrede he’s had to learn the different languages spoken in the area in order to blend in with the community – his best link to crime fighting.

More @News24

“He Is Still Alive ” Officials Says

Corcoran — A California prison official says cult leader Charles Manson is alive following reports that he was hospitalised.
TMZ reported on Tuesday that Manson was taken to a hospital in Bakersfield, close to the California prison where he has been incarcerated.

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesperson Terry Thornton declined to say whether the leader of the notorious Manson family has been hospitalised.

Thornton said Manson, 82, is still assigned to the prison in Corcoran, but she declined to say whether he’s there, citing safety and security protocols.

Privacy laws prohibit her from discussing an inmate’s medical situation, Thornton said.

Manson was convicted of orchestrating the 1969 murders of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six others.

Sarah Ardalani of the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said in an email that the agency had no information on Manson. The office prosecuted Manson and has objected to his release. He was most recently up for parole in 2012 — his 12th bid for freedom.

The California State Prison, Corcoran, has medical facilities to treat inmates requiring urgent or emergency care as well as in-patient hospital stays.

“In general, inmates are sent to outside hospitals if they need surgical services, emergency care, or diagnostic services of an acute nature,” said Joyce Hayhoe, a spokeswoman for the federal receiver who controls prison medical care. “These services are not provided in state prison facilities.”

In November, the state inspector general, which monitors the corrections system, characterised care at Corcoran as “inadequate.”

Manson was convicted of leading a cult in which disaffected young people living in a commune followed his orders and were ultimately turned into killers.

Manson and three female followers, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkle and Leslie Van Houten, were convicted of murder and sentenced to death for killings at two gruesome scenes in the summer of 1969. Another defendant, Charles “Tex” Watson, was convicted later.

All were spared execution when a US Supreme Court ruling temporarily banned the death penalty in 1972.

Fish Drags Man Into Shark Infested Waters

Sydney – A man has survived for hours in cold, shark-infested waters after being dragged out of his boat as he struggled to land a large fish in Australia, rescuers said on Wednesday.

The man, believed to be in his 20s, was fishing alone on Tuesday about 30 nautical miles off Western Australia when he hooked a marlin – a game fish that can weigh more than 400kg.

It pulled him overboard after being hooked and his boat drifted away, leaving him treading water for six hours in the shark-infested area.

A fellow fisherman spotted the empty boat and alerted authorities.

Exmouth Volunteer Marine Rescue Group Commander Rusty Ellis said the man was “extremely lucky” to be found in such a remote area.

“He was just one tiny little head bobbing in the ocean,” he told AFP. The fisherman was treated for hypothermia.

Ellis added that Tuesday’s rescue highlighted the need for anglers to take proper safety precautions when fishing off Australia’s west coast, with two lone fishermen lost to the seas near the same area last year.

Front Door Walled Overnight

Berlin — Police say a man in western Germany ran into a wall, literally, as he opened his front door to leave the house earlier this week.

The man was heading out of his house in Mainhausen, near Frankfurt, on Monday morning but found that unknown perpetrators had — it seems quietly and without attracting anyone’s attention — built a wall in the doorway during the night. He had to tear down the wall to leave.

A police statement said the man “must have felt like a Berliner in August 1961,” referring to East Germany’s unannounced sealing of its border with the Berlin Wall.

Police spokesman Ingbert Zacharias told news agency dpa late on Tuesday that officers don’t know whether a prank, a dare or an act of revenge was behind the wall.

Stay Away From Somerset West Area, Firefighter Warns

Cape Town – Members of the public should avoid the Somerset West area if possible because wildfires, which are burning for the second consecutive day, have made it dangerous.

“For the public, I’d advise them to stay away from these areas because it’s very dangerous… It’s very, very unsafe,” Robert van Wyk, a nature conservationist for the City of Cape Town, said on Wednesday.

He added that smoke from the fires was making visibility in the area poor.

Firefighters had turned their focus to the Vergelegen area, as flames spread there.

Man Drops Cellphone At Crime Scene

Beitbridge – A “poaching escapade” went wrong for a Zimbabwean man, 43, when he dropped his cellphone at a natural conservation park where he allegedly dehorned a rhino worth $120 000, the state-owned Chronicle newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Godknows Mashane was arrested after police investigators tracked him through his cellphone which he dropped at the crime scene.

During a police raid, three firearms, two empty magazines, explosives, a hunter’s torch, ammunition plus two Kudu horns were recovered at the suspect’s house.

The suspect had since appeared at the Beitbridge court, facing charges of illegal hunting and killing of a rhino.

He was remanded in jail pending his bail application.

According to reports, Zimbabwe’s wildlife authorities last year dehorned at least 700 adult rhino in a bid to curb rampant poaching in the southern African country.

A conservative group in August said that they were aiming to dehorn every adult rhino in the country, while they would ear-notch the young ones for record-keeping.

The rhino were among the most poached animals in Zimbabwe and their population had been dwindling over the years due to illegal hunting, prompting authorities to keep them in protected areas.

Lisa Marabini, director for the Aware Trust Zimbabwe (ATZ) conservation group, was at the time cited as saying that at least 50 rhino were killed by poachers in Zimbabwe’s game reserves in 2015.

Rhino horns were worth thousands of dollars due to demand in East Asia for their supposed medicinal qualities.

Credit : News24