North Korea to launch new satellites, build drones as it warns war inevitable

Update North Korea to launch new satellites, build drones as it warns war inevitable
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gestures as he attends a plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang. The picture was released by the Korean Central News Agency on December 31, 2023. (KCNA via REUTERS)
Update North Korea to launch new satellites, build drones as it warns war inevitable
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gestures as he attends a plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang. The picture was released by the Korean Central News Agency on December 31, 2023. (KCNA via REUTERS)
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Updated 31 December 2023
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North Korea to launch new satellites, build drones as it warns war inevitable

North Korea to launch new satellites, build drones as it warns war inevitable
  • Seeking reunification with S. Korea a ‘mistake’, Kim says in year-end policy speech
  • Says provocations by South Korea and the US making war inevitable

SEOUL, South Korea: North Korea vowed to launch three new spy satellites, build military drones, and boost its nuclear arsenal in 2024 as leader Kim Jong Un said US policy is making war inevitable, state media reported on Sunday.

Kim also said he would no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with South Korea, in lengthy remarks wrapping up five days of ruling party meetings that set economic, military and foreign policy goals for the coming year.

“Because of reckless moves by the enemies to invade us, it is a fait accompli that a war can break out at any time on the Korean peninsula,” he said, according to state news agency KCNA.

He ordered the military to prepare to “pacify the entire territory of South Korea,” including with nuclear bombs if necessary, in response to any attack.

“I believe that it is a mistake that we should no longer make to consider the people who declare us as the ‘main enemy’... as a counterpart for reconciliation and unification,” KCNA cited Kim as saying during the meeting that ended Saturday.

At the meeting, Kim noted “a persisting uncontrollable crisis situation” on the peninsula, which he said was triggered by Seoul and Washington.

Inter-Korean relations are in a poor state as Seoul and Washington have ramped up defense cooperation this year in the face of a record-breaking series of weapons tests by Pyongyang.

Kim’s speech comes ahead of a year that will see pivotal elections in both South Korea and the United States.

Experts predict North Korea will maintain a campaign of military pressure to try to increase any leverage around the US presidential elections in November, which could see the return of former President Donald Trump, who traded in both threats and historic diplomacy with Kim.

“Pyongyang might be waiting out the US presidential election to see what its provocations can buy it with the next administration,” said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

The administration of US President Joe Biden says it is open to talks, but it imposed new sanctions as North Korea pushed ahead with more banned missile tests. The US also increased drills and deployed more military assets such as nuclear-armed submarines and large aircraft carriers near the Korean peninsula.

Kim said he could not overlook the return of such weapons which he said had completely transformed South Korea into a “forward military base and nuclear arsenal” of the United States.

“If we look closely at the confrontational military actions by the enemy forces .... the word ‘war’ has become a realistic reality and not an abstract concept,” Kim said.

Kim said he has no choice but to press forward with his nuclear ambitions and forge deeper relations with other countries that oppose the United States. North Korea has deep ties with both China and Russia.

South Koreans will also go to the polls in April for a parliamentary election that could impact the domestic and foreign agenda for conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has maintained a hawkish stance toward Pyongyang.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) warned on Thursday that “there is a high possibility that North Korea could unexpectedly conduct military provocations or stage a cyberattack in 2024, when fluid political situations are expected with the elections.”

Pyongyang has now ruled out the possibility of unifying with South Korea, and the country must fundamentally change its principle and direction toward South Korea, Kim said.

“North-South relations are no longer a kinship or homogeneous relationship but have completely become a relationship between two hostile countries, two belligerents at war,” he said, calling the South a colonized state completely dependent on the United States for national defense and security.

Kim also promised to nurture the economy including metals, chemicals, power, machinery and railway transportations while modernizing wheat facilities to boost production.

One key policy goal is to invest in science and technological research at schools, he said.

MILITARY TECHNOLOGY
In the past year, North Korea says it successfully launched its first military spy satellite and test fired new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) seen as having the range to deliver a nuclear warhead to anywhere in the United States.
A new reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex appears to be operating for the first time, the UN nuclear watchdog and independent experts said this month, which would mean an additional potential source of plutonium for nuclear weapons.
North Korea has not tested a nuclear weapon since 2017 but in recent years has taken steps to resume operations at its testing site.
Kim said 2024 would see further military development, including strengthening the nuclear and missile forces, building unmanned drones, expanding the submarine fleet and developing electronic warfare capabilities.
The fleet of spy satellites would represent the first such capability for the North.
That successful launch was preceded by two failed attempts last year when its new Chollima-1 rocket crashed into the sea.
The move raised regional tensions and sparked fresh sanctions from the US, Australia, Japan and South Korea. Pyongyang has yet to release any imagery from the new satellite, leaving analysts and foreign governments to debate its capabilities.
The apparent success also came after Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to help North Korea build satellites. South Korean officials said Russian aid likely made a difference in the success of the mission, though experts said it was unclear how much help Moscow could have provided.


Le Pen threatens to topple French government over budget

Le Pen threatens to topple French government over budget
Updated 21 sec ago
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Le Pen threatens to topple French government over budget

Le Pen threatens to topple French government over budget
  • The opposition on all sides of the spectrum have denounced the budget
  • Marine Le Pen downplayed the consequences of the budget being rejected
PARIS: French far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen on Monday threatened to back a no confidence motion that could topple the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier in a standoff over the budget, saying after talks both sides were entrenched in their positions.
Months of political tensions since right-winger Barnier became prime minister at the helm of a minority government appointed by President Emmanuel Macron in the wake of this summer’s elections are coming to a head over the budget which has yet to be approved by parliament.
The opposition on all sides of the spectrum have denounced the budget, prompting Barnier to consider brandishing the weapon of article 49.3 of the constitution which allows a government to force through legislation without a vote in parliament.
However, that could prompt Le Pen’s far right National Rally (RN) to team up in an unholy alliance with the left-wing bloc in parliament and find enough numbers to topple the government in a confidence vote.
Le Pen entered the Matignon residence of the French premier for the breakfast meeting and was to be followed later in the afternoon by hard left France Unbowed (LFI) parliamentary party leader Mathilde Panot as Barnier seeks to hear voices across the board.
“My position has not changed. No more, it seems, than that (the position) of the prime minister has changed,” Le Pen after meeting Barnier, describing him as “at the same time courteous but also entrenched in his positions.”
Asked if the RN would back a no confidence motion, she replied: “Of course.”
Le Pen downplayed the consequences of the budget being rejected, saying she did not believe “in this notion that ‘if this budget is rejected, if there is a no confidence motion, it will be dramatic, there will be chaos, etc’.”
Further complicating the situation is the constitutional rule in France that there must be a one year gap between legislative elections, meaning that Macron cannot call polls until the summer to resolve the crisis.
“Michel Barnier is creating the conditions for a vote of no confidence,” RN deputy leader Sebastien Chenu said on Sunday.
But he insisted that the move would not paralyze France and that Macron still had options, including resigning before his term ends in 2027, something the president has previously ruled out.
“The president has several options... reappoint the same prime minister, appoint a new prime minister, resign if he has no other solution, or call a referendum,” he added.
Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon had warned in an interview published in the Le Parisien daily that France risked a “Greek-style situation” if the government was brought down, referring to Greece’s 2007-2008 financial crisis.
The issue comes at a critical time for three-time presidential candidate Le Pen, who fancies having her best ever crack at the Elysee in polls due in 2027.
Le Pen, 56, and other RN defendants are currently on trial accused of creating fake jobs at the EU parliament which they deny.
If convicted, she could receive a jail sentence and a ban from public office which would disqualify her from the presidential polls.
Her young lieutenant Jordan Bardella, 29, who is the RN party chief, is not among the accused and is seen by some as harboring his own presidential positions.
Baredella, who has just published his first book “Ce que je cherche” (“What I am Looking For”), told French television last week that “not having a criminal record is, for me, rule number one when you want to be an MP.”
While opponents dubbed him “Brutus” after the Roman politician who assassinated ex-ally Julius Ceasar, Le Pen denied any tensions with her protege, saying they had a “relationship of trust.”

Children killed in Mozambique election violence: HRW

Children killed in Mozambique election violence: HRW
Updated 36 min 3 sec ago
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Children killed in Mozambique election violence: HRW

Children killed in Mozambique election violence: HRW
  • The southern African nation has been rocked by unrest since an October 9 vote won by the ruling Frelimo party
  • Thousands of people have demonstrated across the country in recent weeks in protests brutally suppressed by the police

JOHANNESBURG: Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday that Mozambican security forces killed at least 10 children and injured dozens more in post-election violence.
The southern African nation has been rocked by unrest since an October 9 vote won by the ruling Frelimo party in power since independence but contested by the opposition.
Thousands of people have demonstrated across the country in recent weeks in protests brutally suppressed by the police.
One 13-year-old girl was “caught in a crowd of people fleeing tear gas and gunfire... One of the bullets hit her in the neck, and she instantly fell to the ground and died,” HRW said in a statement.
The rights group said it had documented “nine additional cases of children killed and at least 36 other children injured by gunfire during the protests.”
The authorities have not responded to HRW’s claims.
Police have also detained “hundreds of children, in many cases for days, without notifying their families, in violation of international human rights law,” HRW said.
President Filipe Nyusi, who is due to step down in January, condemned an “attempt to install chaos in our country” in a state of the nation address last week.
He said that 19 people had been killed in the recent clashes, five of them from the police force. More than 800 people were injured, including 66 police, he added.
Civil society groups recorded a higher death toll — with more than 67 people killed since the unrest began — and said that an estimated 2,000 others had been detained.
Nyusi, 65, has invited the main opposition leader, Venancio Mondlane, for talks.
Mondlane, who came in second after Frelimo’s Daniel Chapo, 47, but claims to have won, has been organizing most of the protests.
He said he would accept the president’s offer as long as the talks were held virtually and legal proceedings against him were dropped.
The 50-year-old is believed to have left the country for fear of arrest or attack but his whereabouts are unknown.


At least 22 Somalis dead after boats capsize off Madagascar, official says

At least 22 Somalis dead after boats capsize off Madagascar, official says
Updated 41 min 5 sec ago
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At least 22 Somalis dead after boats capsize off Madagascar, official says

At least 22 Somalis dead after boats capsize off Madagascar, official says

MOGADISHU/ANTANANARIVO: At least 22 Somali citizens died when two migrant boats capsized off the coast of Madagascar over the weekend, Somalia’s Information Minister Daud Aweis said.
Madagascar’s Port, Maritime, and River Authority (APMF) said the boats had set sail from Somalia for the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on Nov. 2, a journey of several hundred kilometers.
On Saturday, the port authority reported that local fishermen discovered the first boat drifting on Friday near Nosy Iranja. They rescued 25 people, including 10 men and 15 women, but seven occupants died, the authority said.
A second boat carrying 38 people arrived at Madagascar’s Port du Cratère, according to APMF. The maritime authority did not disclose a death toll for the second boat but confirmed the rescue of 23 people.
Somali Information Minister Aweis, citing information from his counterparts in Madagascar, confirmed the total death toll at 22.
“They were about 70 Somalis, 22 of them died. One boat was carrying 38 people and the other boat was carrying 32 people,” Aweis said on state-owned television late on Sunday.
In recent decades thousands of people have attempted to make the crossing to Mayotte, which has a higher standard of living and access to the French welfare system.
Mayotte is officially part of France, although Comoros claims it.
Aweis said Somalia will investigate where the boats sailed from, terming those who organized the trip as criminals involved in illicit immigration.
“This is also a message of warning to those who want to immigrate illegally before they go and die in such manner. It is unfortunate people still go despite danger,” he added.
In early November, at least 25 people died off Comoros islands after traffickers capsized their boat.


Charlotte airport workers plan to strike during busy Thanksgiving travel week

Charlotte airport workers plan to strike during busy Thanksgiving travel week
Updated 52 min 50 sec ago
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Charlotte airport workers plan to strike during busy Thanksgiving travel week

Charlotte airport workers plan to strike during busy Thanksgiving travel week
  • Employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services cast ballots Friday to authorize the work stoppage in North Carolina
  • Workers say they previously raised the alarm about their growing inability to afford basic necessities, including food and housing

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina: Service workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport plan to go on strike during a busy week of Thanksgiving travel to protest what they say are unlivable wages.
Employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services cast ballots Friday to authorize the work stoppage in North Carolina, which is set to begin Monday at 5 a.m.
Officials with Service Employees International Union announced the impending strike in a statement early Monday, saying the workers would demand “an end to poverty wages and respect on the job during the holiday travel season.”
ABM and Prospect Airport Services contract with American Airlines to provide services including cleaning airplane interiors, removing trash and escorting passengers in wheelchairs.
Workers say they previously raised the alarm about their growing inability to afford basic necessities, including food and housing. They described living paycheck to paycheck, unable to cover expenses like car repairs while performing jobs that keep countless planes running on schedule.
“We’re on strike today because this is our last resort. We can’t keep living like this,” ABM cabin cleaner Priscilla Hoyle said in a statement. “We’re taking action because our families can’t survive.”
Several hundred workers were expected to walk off the job and continue the work stoppage throughout Monday.
Most of them earn between $12.50 and $19 an hour, which is well below the living wage for a single person with no children in the Charlotte area, union officials said.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport officials have said this holiday travel season is expected to be the busiest on record, with an estimated 1.02 million passengers departing the airport between last Thursday and the Monday after Thanksgiving.
In addition to walking off the job, striking workers plan to hold an 11 a.m. rally and a 1 p.m. “Strikesgiving” lunch “in place of the Thanksgiving meal that many of the workers won’t be able to afford later this week,” union officials said.
“Airport service workers make holiday travel possible by keeping airports safe, clean, and running,” the union said. “Despite their critical role in the profits that major corporations enjoy, many airport service workers must work two to three jobs to make ends meet.”
ABM said it would take steps to minimize disruptions from any demonstrations.
“At ABM, we appreciate the hard work our team members put in every day to support our clients and help keep spaces clean and people healthy,” the company said in a statement last week.
Prospect Airport Services said last week that the company recognizes the seriousness of the potential for a strike during the busy holiday travel season.


UK travel disrupted as Storm Bert fallout continues

UK travel disrupted as Storm Bert fallout continues
Updated 25 November 2024
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UK travel disrupted as Storm Bert fallout continues

UK travel disrupted as Storm Bert fallout continues
  • There were more 200 flood warnings and flood alerts in place across England and Wales
LONDON: Britain’s roads and railways were hit by closures on Monday after Storm Bert battered the country over the weekend, causing widespread flooding and killing four people.
There were more 200 flood warnings and flood alerts in place across England and Wales, while trains from London to the southwest were canceled and rail services in central England were severely disrupted.
“Do not attempt to travel on any route today,” Great Western Railway, whose trains connect London to Bristol and Cornwall, said on X.
Amongst those killed during the storm include a dog walker who in North Wales, and a man who died when a tree hit his car in southern England.
Major roads in Northamptonshire and Bristol were closed, while fallen trees on rail lines cut off services between London and Stansted Airport, Britain’s fourth busiest hub.
The disruption comes after Storm Bert hit Britain late on Friday, bringing snow, rain and strong winds.
The Met Office kept a warning for strong winds in place for northern Scotland on Monday and said the storm would clear from that part of the country early on Tuesday.