South Korea and US forces storm mock North Korea beach

US and South Korean troops have staged a large amphibious landing exercise, storming simulated North Korean beach defences amid heightened tension and threats by the North to annihilate its enemies.

The landing and assault drills on South Korea's east coast were part of eight weeks of joint exercises between the allies which the South has said are the largest ever.

The North has denounced the exercises as "nuclear war moves" and threatened to respond with an all-out offensive.

Tension on the Korean peninsula has been high since the North conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and followed that with a long-range rocket launch last month, triggering new UN sanctions.

About 55 US marine aircraft and 30 US and South Korean ships, including the USS Bonhomme Richard and USS Boxer, which carry AV-8B Harrier attack jets and V-22 Osprey aircraft, took part in the assault on beaches near Pohang city, the US navy said.

Adele Fulfills Dream of 12-Year-Old Girl with Autism by Inviting Her Onstage

When Emily Tammam came to a recent Adele show at Manchester Arena, she had one goal — to perform onstage with her favorite artist. Armed with a sign that read, “It’s my dream to sing with Adele,” the 12-year-old British girl stood in the crowd and waited for her moment. With just a few songs left in the show, the 25 artist finally spotted Tammam’s sign and invited her up to sing. She proceeded to belt out an impressive rendition of “Someone Like You” as the audience erupted in cheers.

Tammam’s father told the Manchester Evening News that the moment was particularly special for his daughter because she suffers from autism, ADHD and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type three, a condition that causes chronic pain and limb weakness. “Adele was very nice to do that, she clearly didn’t have to do it,” he said. “Emily said she wants to show people that have disabilities or mental issues they can still do mainstream things like singing. They should not be stopped from doing them.”

Amazon Files Patent For Paying With A Selfie

Amazon has filed a patent application to allow users to pay for items by taking a selfie.

The firm argues the move would improve people's security as they carry out more and more tasks online.

"While many conventional approaches rely on password entry for user authentication, these passwords can be stolen or discovered by other persons who can impersonate the user for any of a variety of tasks," the application states.

"Further, the entry of these passwords on portable devices is not user friendly in many cases, as the small touchscreen or keyboard elements can be difficult to accurately select using a relatively large human finger, and can require the user to turn away from friends or co-workers when entering a password, which can be awkward or embarrassing in many situations."

Amazon said the "selfie pay" option would also be safer than using facial recognition software, because this "can often be spoofed by holding a picture of the user in front of the camera, as the resulting two-dimensional image can look substantially the same whether taken of the user or a picture of the user".

In order for users to pay for items using this method, they would need to take a selfie to confirm their identity, and then take another photo that confirms "the person contained in the first image corresponds to a physical being in proximity of the computing device".

This could include people smiling, blinking, or tilting their head, the application said.

The application was filed last October, but was only published recently.

MasterCard has already trialled a new technology that would allow customers to pay online by taking a selfie rather than entering a password.

The pilot was limited to 500 customers who were asked to snap a photograph of their face instead of typing in their own personal code when paying using their smartphone.

Palin's Husband Injured In Snow Machine Crash

Sarah Palin's husband has been seriously injured in a snow machine crash.

Todd Palin was recovering in an intensive care unit, the former Alaska governor told Donald Trump supporters at a campaign event in Florida on Monday.

Mrs Palin, who is expected to fly back to Alaska later on Monday, did not provide details on her husband's condition, only describing the incident as a "big wreck".

Earlier, the Trump campaign said in a statement that Mrs Palin would be "returning to Alaska to be with her husband and looks forward to being back on the campaign trail soon".

"Mr Trump's thoughts and prayers are with the Palin family at this time."

The former governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate cancelled a rally at The Villages, near Orlando, before making her scheduled appearance at a town hall in Tampa.

Mrs Palin officially endorsed Mr Trump in January.

She appeared on the GOP front runner's behalf at a rodeo and strawberry festival in Florida on Sunday.

Pair 'Accidentally' Shot Dead In Wildlife Park

An Italian father and son have been shot dead by a ranger in Zimbabwe, after being mistaken for elephant poachers, a wildlife agency has said.

Claudio Chiarelli and his son Max Chiarelli were members of the volunteer anti-poaching organisation, Zambezi Society.

The pair were on patrol in Mana Pools National Park on Sunday when they were shot, said the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. 

The two men had been with a group sent out to relieve a team of rangers deployed the previous day to follow a trail of suspected poachers.

"The rangers ... saw movement in the thicket, heard voices and opened fire, accidentally shooting and killing on the spot the pair," the parks agency said.

"Unbeknown to them these were fresh deployments who had come to replace the rangers and had stopped to attend to a mechanical problem on their vehicle."

It said investigations were under way. An official from the Italian embassy in Harare confirmed the deaths.

The official said Claudio Chiarelli, a professional hunter, had been taking eight park rangers in his vehicle to relieve the previous group.

It is understood he had lived in Zimbabwe since 1982 and his son had been born in the southern African country.

Mana Pools adjoins the Zambezi River, which runs along Zimbabwe's border with Zambia.

Authorities have for years been battling poachers, most of whom come from Zambia and who have recently been using cyanide to kill elephants.

Poachers cut off the dead animals' tusks and sell them to dealers for up to £45,500/kg according to conservationists.

The ivory is ultimately used for ornamental carving in China and other parts of east Asia.

RAF drill sparked 'real world' crash rumours

An RAF drill was mistaken for a real event and sparked reports of a tornado crash and ejections on social media.

An exercise at RAF Marham in Norfolk on Monday is understood to have included a call sign which was misinterpreted.

The RAF was forced to admit there had not been a "real world" incident shortly afterwards.

"We conducted a routine air safety drill involving RAF Marham's emergency services. We confirm there has been no actual incident," RAF Marham tweeted.

By mid-afternoon, tweets from various sources had claimed one of the two crew had ejected from the aircraft, and "witnesses reporting crashing tornado and ejections".

Shortly after 15:00 GMT, the RAF tweeted: "We can confirm there has been no "real-world" incident; ops continue, safely, as normal."

Efforts to end Syria war gain momentum five years on

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his defence minister to begin pulling out "the main part" of Russian troops in Syria.

The announcement came just hours after peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition got under way in the Swiss city of Geneva on Monday.

"The task presented to the defence ministry and the armed forces has been completely fulfilled," Putin told Sergei Shoigu, according to the state news agency TASS.

"Thus, I order the defence minister to begin withdrawing the main part of our troops from the Syrian Arab Republic."

Putin said he hoped the withdrawal of Russian troops from Tuesday will be a stimulus for a political resolution of the conflict.

"I hope today's decision will be a good signal for all conflicting parties. I hope it will sizeably increase trust of all participants in the process," he said.

"I ask the Russian foreign ministry to intensify Russia's participation in organising the peace process to solve the Syrian problem."

Shoigu said the Russian troops killed more than 2,000 rebel fighters, including 17 rebel leaders, since the start of the operation.

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, said Putin discussed and coordinated the decision with Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad.

"Everything voiced at the meeting [of Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu] was told our Syrian colleagues and coordinated with President [Bashar] Assad," Peskov said.

Russian bases in Syria's Tartus and Khmeimim are to continue operating in routine regime, Putin said.

"Our bases - the naval base in Tartous and the airbase at the Khmeimim airfield - will operate in a routine mode. They are to be safely protected from the land, from the sea and from air," he said.

Those Russian soldiers who will stay in Syria will be engaged in monitoring the ceasefire regime, Putin said.

Pavel Felgenhauer, a Russia defence analyst, says Russia is seeking a compromise with the West.

"This is Russia's air force that is in action," he told Al Jazeera from Bucharest, Romania.