South Korea resumes anti-North broadcasts

The broadcast blares out eclectic mix of K-pop, weather forecasts and snippets of news [Getty Images]

South Korea has resumed propaganda broadcasts via loudspeakers into North Korea, a step that has angered the country in the past.

Friday's moves came as the international community struggled to find common ground on how best to penalise North Korea following its announcement two days ago that it had successfully testedits first hydrogen bomb.

The loudspeaker broadcasts began at noon local time (03:00 GMT) and an official said the military heightened the level of alert around the locations where the propaganda was being broadcast.

"We're putting out critical messages about Kim Jong-un's regime and its fourth nuclear test, saying North Korea's nuclear weapons development is putting its people in more difficult times economically," a military official said.

The resumption of the cross-border broadcasts, which include a mix of everything from K-pop and weather forecasts to snippets of news and critiques of the North Korean regime, revives psychological warfare tactics that date back to the 1950-53 Korean War.

Their use during a flare-up in cross-border tensions last year angered North Korea, which, at one point, threatened artillery strikes against the loudspeaker units unless they were switched off.

The South finally ended the broadcasts after an agreement was reached in August to de-escalate a situation that had brought the two rivals to the brink of an armed conflict.

Al Jazeera's Scott Heidler, reporting from Paju in South Korea, said that the North viewed this as an act of war and a distinct violation.

"South Korea has said it will continue this indefinitely and we haven't yet seen direct retaliation from the North Koreans."

North Korea's test prompted the UN Security Council to discuss possible sanctions as world leaders sought to build a consensus on an appropriate response.

On Thursday President Barack Obama spoke with the leaders of the two main US allies in Asia - and North Korean neighbours - South Korea and Japan.

The three countries, who have long sought to project a united front against the North Korean nuclear threat, agreed to work together at the UN to secure the strongest possible Security Council resolution.

North Korea, meanwhile, has said virtually nothing since its TV broadcast at noon on Wednesday announcing the "world startling event" of its latest test.

The test, personally ordered by leader Kim Jong-un, was of a miniaturised H-bomb, North Korea said, adding that it had now joined the ranks of "advanced nuclear nations".

Clinton's Fear For Princes Revealed In Blair Calls

In the same call Tony Blair said her death was "like a star falling" and said he would personally miss her.

The emotional private conversation, on 1 September 1997, is disclosed in documents published by the Clinton Presidential Library.

It is one of many between the two leaders and political soulmates now released in 500 pages of transcripts, covering major international issues like Iraq, the Middle East and Northern Ireland.

But the transcripts also include deeply personal conversations, such as one when Mr Blair was shocked at becoming a father again in 2000.

After Diana died in 1997, just months after he became prime minister, Mr Blair famously paid tribute to her publicly by declaring: "She was the people's princess."

His former spin doctor Alastair Campbell has always claimed authorship of that phrase. But the transcripts reveal Mr Blair also spoke colourfully about her in private, too.

He told the then-president about the last time he had spoken to her. "She said that were it not for the boys, she'd be off the board."

Mr Blair added: "She was not the Royal Family but she was liked by ordinary people, it gave her problems with the Royal establishment."

Then he said: "I will personally miss her, it's like a star falling. She was a star for them."

Mr Clinton, expressing his fears for William and Harry, told the PM: "I worry a lot about those kids now."

Another personal chat came in April 2000 as Mr Blair and wife Cherie prepared for the birth of their fourth child, Leo.

Mr Clinton called the PM "dad" and joked that after the presidential elections he was "available for babysitting duties".

As they discussed balancing work and family life, Mr Blair confessed: "I could do with a bit of help, I tell you. Cherie is in great form but just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I tell you, just the thought and I feel as if my life's about to begin again."

Discussions on policy issues included a telephone call in January 1999, when Mr Clinton spoke about his concerns over Northern Ireland.

"I'm really worried," he said. "Gerry Adams was here not long ago, and I had a firm talk with him. I am really getting kind of frustrated by them not doing anything."

Mr Clinton also warned the Prime Minister about how Iraq could "become a real nightmare" for him when they discussed how to deal with Saddam Hussein.

He could have had no idea then just how big a nightmare Iraq would become for Mr Blair.

"I think if we say to this guy, 'If you start to comply, we will lift sanctions', he will quickly re-establish the weapons of mass destruction programme, and it will become known in two years that he has. It may not happen while I'm in office, but it will for you. It could become a real nightmare for you."

Some of the conversations now sound bizarre, including an exchange about how the "only decoration" in John Prescott's office was a bowl of bananas.

The president then said: "My staff won't let me talk to you unless I have a banana at hand. I'm sitting here with a banana; it's a big, ugly, brownish one."

At that point, Mr Blair replied: "Now Bill, I thought we should have a word about Kosovo." 

Saudi Arabian prince: War with Iran not going to happen

There were no visible signs of damage to the Iranian embassy after the alleged Saudi air strike [File: EPA]

Saudi Arabia does not foresee war with its arch-foe Iran despite heightened tensions between the regional heavyweights, its deputy crown prince was quoted as saying.  

Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran after an attack on its embassy in Tehran on Sunday following the kingdom's execution of Shia religious leader Nimr al-Nimr, who was put to death along with 46 mostly Sunni Muslims convicted on terrorism charges.

Asked about the possibility of war, Prince Mohammed bin Salman told the Economist magazine: "It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind.

"Because a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region... For sure we will not allow any such thing."

The deputy crown prince, widely thought to wield considerable power in the monarchy, also defended the kingdom's execution of Nimr in the interview with the London-based magazine.

"The court did not at all make any distinction between whether or not a person is Shia or Sunni. They are reviewing a crime, and a procedure, and a trial, and a sentence, and carrying out the sentence," Prince Mohammed said.

Tensions between the two regional powerhouses - which support opposite sides in the war in Yemen and Syria - have risen in recent days. Regional Sunni nations have backed Saudi in the current diplomatic crisis.

Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia deteriorated even further on Thursday as Tehran severed all commercial ties with Riyadh.

Iran also accused Saudi Arabia of bombing its embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, but reports said there was no visible sign of damage.

"This deliberate action by Saudi Arabia is a violation of all international conventions that protect diplomatic missions," foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari was quoted as saying by state television.

Residents and witnesses in Sanaa said there was no damage to the embassy building in Hadda district. They said an air strike had hit a public square about 700 metres away from the embassy and some stones and shrapnel had landed in its yard.

Iran will deliver its official report on the alleged strike to the UN later on Thursday, Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was quoted by ISNA news agency as saying.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen will investigate Iran's accusation, coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said, according to a Reuters news agency report.

Asseri said the coalition had requested all countries to supply coordinates of their diplomatic missions in Yemen and such accusations "have no credibility".

Sian Blake Died From Head And Neck Injuries

Police are treating the deaths as murder after the bodies were found in the garden of the family home in Erith, Kent, on Tuesday.

A post-mortem confirmed the identities of the victims - Miss Blake and eight-year-old Zachary and four-year-old Amon.

The search is on for the children's father, Arthur Simpson-Kent, with police investigating reports he may have fled to Ghana.

He has not been seen since detectives spoke to him on 16 December.

"Significant attempts" had been made to hide the bodies, said a statement from Metropolitan Police.

They were found when officers dug up the garden after sniffer dogs "indicated areas of interest" and soil that had possibly been disturbed.

Miss Blake and her children were last seen in east London on 13 December, prompting a missing person investigation, but the murder squad did not get involved until 4 January.

Her sister has revealed Sian was planning to leave Simpson-Kent over Christmas and wanted to end the relationship "a long time ago".

"She had asked to come back home and we said yes, so we really tried to plan on getting her to move back home," said Ava Blake.

"She said she would come back, sort of Christmas week, and after Christmas they would arrange about selling the property she lived in.

"She didn't want to throw (Arthur) out on the street but give him time to find somewhere else to live. That was the only point she was wavering on."

Ava Blake said her sister had changed from the "vivacious, happy person she once was" and that she suspected texts sent by Sian after she disappeared had not been written by her.

"The first part of the text, I believe my sister may have written that," she said. 

"But the rest of the wording and other texts my family received, they were not my sister. We don't use text lingo. We write full sentences."

Scotland Yard has said it is aware of a photo apparently showing Simpson-Kent, 48, arriving in Ghana, but refused to confirm reports he had flown to Africa.

Miss Blake, 43, had motor neurone disease - a fatal, rapidly progressing illness which affects the brain and spinal cord - and was reportedly looking "very frail" before she vanished.

Previously an unknown actress, her big break in EastEnders came when she was introduced as soul singer Frankie in June 1996 by series producer Jane Harris.

She was in the BBC soap for 56 episodes, reportedly quitting because of hostility from viewers towards her manipulative character.

She also appeared in episodes of The Bill, Casualty, Doctors and Skins.

The Metropolitan Police has faced questions over why it took so long for its murder squad to become involved and has referred itself to the police watchdog, the IPCC.

Exclusive: UK Helping Saudi's Yemen Campaign

At least 10,000 Yemenis have died in the civil war that is being fought as a proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Now it appears that Britain, already a massive source of weapons and bombs to the Saudi Kingdom, is helping in more direct ways.

Sky sources have confirmed that six experts are working with Saudi targeteers who select locations for attack.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in London insists they are not part of any direct operations but are training the Saudis to comply with the international rules of war.

The site of a strike in the capital of Yemen, Sanaa

But Human Rights Watch has produced detailed investigations that it says reveal some 30 examples of Saudi coalition breach of international rules of war.

The report, published in December, calls for investigations into the incidents which may constitute war crimes, according to David Mepham, director of Human Rights Watch UK.

 time when the Saudis and other members of the Gulf coalition are committing multiple violations of the laws of war in Yemen - we've documented that.

"Human Rights Watch has put out numerous reports about what the Saudis are up to in Yemen - that the British are working hand in glove with the Saudis, helping them, enhancing their capacity to prosecute this war that has led to the death of so many civilians. I think it's deeply regrettable and unacceptable."

Tory MP and former secretary of state for international development Andrew Mitchell has been critical of the Government’s policy of supplying aid to the victims of the Yemeni war and arms to Saudi Arabia while it’s fighting there.

He said he felt British training to avoid civilian casualties would be positive - but added a caution.

"There is no hiding the fact that this is an uncomfortable position for the British Government because one limb of it is desperately trying to save lives, ensure that fuel gets in, ensure that food and medicines get in, and the other arm of government is engaged in prosecuting a ferocious war which is inevitably doing great damage to innocent civilians," said Mr Mitchell.

Britain has agreed contracts worth some £5.6bn in arms exports over the last five years according to arms sales monitoring agencies. It also has a long standing commitment to training Saudi forces.

But with the additional personnel attached to the Yemen campaign it risks being dragged into a regional sectarian war which is pitting Iranian and Saudi proxies against each other in Syria and the Yemen.

Diane Abbott, Shadow International Development Secretary, told Sky News: "It is one thing to negotiate with people, it is another thing to be complacent in human rights offences.

"How sure are you that that is going on, because what Sam Kiley has revealed in his report is that there are six British military helping the Saudis with their targeting, but specifically helping them to make sure they comply with international agreements.

"We need to know more about the export licences, Saudi is a huge purchaser of British arms."

Ministers refused to comment on the Sky News revelations.

A MoD statement said: "UK military personnel are not directly involved in Coalition operations, but are supporting Saudi forces through pre-existing arrangements and additional liaison officers in Saudi headquarters.

"We operate one of the most rigorous and transparent arms export control regimes in the world with each licence application assessed on a case by case basis, taking account of all relevant information, to ensure compliance with our legal obligations.

Facebook Wants to Kill Phone Numbers Forever

Our phones have evolved drastically over the past decade. They’ve gone from devices meant for simple texting and calling to full-blown computers that fit in our pockets That’s why David Marcus, Facebook’s head of Messenger, believes the way we communicate is also in need of an upgrade.

Adam Berry-Getty ImagesFacebook is relaxing some rules to its “real-name policy”

“And just like the flip phone is disappearing, old communication styles are disappearing too,” wrote Marcus in a blog post Thursday.

Marcus believes Facebook’s Messenger app, which now has 800 million users, will be the go-to chat platform of the future. Unlike with text messaging, you don’t need to know a person’s phone number in order to reach them on Messenger, Marcus argues. And it’s a more feature-rich platform than simple calling: you can use the app to send money, GIFs, stickers, voice clips, and your location in addition to sending text and multimedia.

Marcus’ post comes as Facebook is busy changing Messenger from a simple chat app to a full-blown platform. Facebook introduced“Messenger as a Platform” last year, an effort to attract outside developers to build new features for the service. The strategy is already bearing fruit: Messenger users can now interact with businesses to make purchases, chat with customer service representatives, and order rides through Uber.

This, Marcus believes, is a better user experience than launching different apps to achieve all of these tasks. “It is so much easier to do everything in one place that has the context of your last interactions, as well as your identity — no need to ever log in — rather than downloading apps that you’ll never use again and jumping around from one app to another,” he writes.

Facebook is also experimenting with artificial intelligence to make Messenger more attractive. The company is developing a virtual assistant called “M” that can complete tasks on your behalf. It’s still early days, and the AI gets help from human assistants. But Marcus writes the project is “going well” so far.

Before the company started adding new features and capabilities to Messenger, Facebook users weren’t thrilled with the idea of downloading a separate app to send private messages to their friends. Shortly after Facebook broke Messenger broke off from its main app in 2014, it received one-star reviews in the App Store even though it was listed as the top free app.

Marcus’ post offers a window into what Facebook is planning to do with Messenger over the next 12 months. The company clearly views itself as a mobile platform, not just a social media app.

CES 2016: Intel drone dodges 'falling tree' on stage

demoed at the CES tech show where it autonomously detected and avoided a fallen object.

Intel part-owns Yuneec, the company behind the drone, and provided the device's 3D camera sensor. 

The RealSense technology involved uses infrared lasers to detect the distance of nearby things.

Should evasive action be necessary, the aircraft takes it on its own.

Falling 'tree'

At CES, the Typhoon H drone followed a cyclist through a small course on stage, complete with a handful of mock "trees".

When one of these obstacles was made to fall in the drone's path, it dodged it, and thereby avoided a collision.

"The drone was able to stop, wait and go round that obstacle as well - following the rider all the time," said Intel's chief executive Brian Krzanich.

"Any other commercial drone out there would have crashed into the tree."

The Typhoon H also has a 4K camera which has can pan 360-degrees and take photographs with a 12 megapixel sensor.

Intel said it would be on sale within six months. It is set to cost $1,799 (£1,200).

Features such as collision avoidance are not likely to prevent the kind of tumbles which nearly caught skier Marcel Hirsher last month, commented IHS analyst Tom Morrod, when a drone malfunctioned.

"There's a safety aspect which is probably not going to go away - things that fly occasionally crash," he said.

However, he added, the benefits of more intelligent drones are not to be underestimated.

"Things like collision avoidance, self navigation, spatial awareness - all of these technologies that take away the manual control of the drones are enabling drones for commercial purposes," he said.

"Those could be security or delivery or maintenance, all of those types of applications - that's going to be what really drives the market."

Another safety conscious drone at CES comes in the form of Belgian firm Fleye's device. It encloses its spinning blades within both a shell and a cage to help reduce the risk of injury.

However, as a demo for the BBC proved, it is still possible for the device to swerve off-course and crash.

'Drone on steroids'

Parrot announced another new drone - one capable of flying much further and faster than helicopter-inspired devices, thanks to a fixed wing design.

The Disco drone can fly for up to 45 minutes and follow a pre-planned flight path via GPS waypoints.

Its on-board camera is embedded into the drone's nose and captures video in 1080p high definition.

Parrot hopes to make the device available later in 2016.

"This 'drone on steroid' speaks to the innovation in this wave of consumer drones," said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Research.

"We believe this is a $3bn market opportunity over the next few years and high-octane drones like Parrot's are a sign of things to come."