North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles Into Sea

North Korea has fired two ballistic missiles into the sea, according to US and South Korean officials.

A South Korean defence ministry spokesman said the missiles were fired from Sukchon in the country's southwest at 5.55am local time on Thursday.

They reportedly flew 500 miles (800km) into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

One US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US also tracked the launch of a second ballistic missile from the same region.

The launch is the latest in a series of nuclear and rocket tests carried out by the isolated country this year which have prompted the UN and United States to impose their toughest sanctions on North Korea to date.

Congress Demands Resignations Over Flint Water

US lawmakers investigating the Flint water crisis have called on Michigan's governor and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to resign.

During joint testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the pair were accused of not acting quickly enough on the scandal.

Flint, a working class, mostly African-American city of 100,000 people, switched water supplies to the Flint River from Detroit's water system in 2014, to save money.

The corrosive river water stripped lead from the city's water pipes.

Blood samples taken from children in Flint have contained high levels of lead, which can damage the nervous system.

Governor Rick Snyder told lawmakers in Thursday's hearing: "Let me be blunt. We all failed the families of Flint."

But Democratic Representative Matt Cartwright snapped at the Republican governor: "I've had about enough of your false contrition and your phony apologies."

Police Racism Row Over Four-Leaf Clover Tweet

The Metropolitan Police has apologised after wishing its followers on Twitter a happy St Patrick's Day.

Users who saw the tweet sent from Lewisham Police, in east London, of a four-leaf clover designed from handcuffs accused the force of being "racist" and "threatening".

The picture was originally used by San Diego police in 2014 to remind party-goers not to drink and drive after 269 people were killed by drunk drivers on St Patrick's Day in five years.

The 'offensive' tweet put out by Lewisham Police

But after seeing the clover, Patch Thompson tweeted: "Hey Lewisham Police, maybe get some tact and don't do this …" while Captain Afab tweeted: "Wow. Lewisham Police threatening their Irish residents."

It comes as Kingston Council apologised for tweeting a video offering safe-drinking advice on St Patrick's Day which other users declared to be "racist" and "offensive".

After seeing the safe-drinking advice from Kingston, Mary Graham tweeted: "Is this not just a little bit racist – do you put this sort of info up on St David's Day, St Andrew's Day or St George's Day?"

Kingston Council replied: "Yes, we've also put out similar messaging around the World Cup and other football events."

Lewisham Police and Kingston Council responded by removing the messages, but many users hit back at the decision.

Journalist Martin Daubney described people who were upset at the tweets as "Tim-rich offendatrons" while Fireyfairy, who was born and raised in Dublin, said she "took no offence whatsoever" urging people to "get a grip".

Fitzy tweeted: "I'm Irish and live in London and thought the tweet was very creative and funny. In future, ignore the offence mongers".

US Eases Security On Ocean Travel To Cuba

inistration has removed Cuba from a list of countries considered security risks - a move that will ease restrictions on ocean travel to and from the island nation.

The announcement, coming just days before Barack Obama visits Havana, makes it easier for US cruise ships, cargo vessels and ferries to travel between the two countries.

Ships that visit Cuba will no longer be subject to onerous security measures before re-entering American ports, although the US Coast will still have the authority to conduct random checks.

The move is the latest in a series of developments between the former Cold War foes since presidents Obama and Raul Castro announced a normalising of relations in December 2014.

This week, Mr Obama issued sweeping regulations to promote more US travel and trade to Cuba.

It was the fifth time the President has used executive powers to sidestep the Republican-controlled Congress which has refused to lift a 54-year-old economic embargo against Cuba.

Tourism to Cuba still remains officially barred by US law, but the legal reasons for US travellers to go to Cuba have been widely extended and are loosely enforced.

However, the number of legal reasons for US travellers to go to Cuba have been widely extended and are loosely enforced.

The number of US visitors to Cuba soared 77% in 2015, and hotels and restaurants have been booked to capacity, Reuters reports.

Last month, the two countries announced they had reached a deal to restore commercial flights.

The agreement calls for as many as 110 daily flights from the US to cities across Cuba, including 20 regular daily flights to Havana by next autumn.

Mr Obama is scheduled to arrive in Cuba on Sunday, making him the first sitting US President to visit Havana since Calvin Coolidge in 1928.

Roma Clash With Riot Police Over Access To Gas

Locals say this battle has been brewing for a very long time - a revolt by a Roma settlement near the city of Tula that has pitted men, women and stick-carrying children against as many as 500 Russian riot-police.

The dispute centres on access to a natural gas pipeline that runs through a village called Plekhanovo.

Local Roma connected dozens of their own do-it-yourself lines to the main supply for cooking, heat and fuel.

But a recent attempt to hook up another line caused a major shutdown of the system.

Some 400 homes in the area found their gas supply switched off. 

According to local journalists, the trouble began Wednesday morning, when a group of engineers tried to repair the pipeline.

Roma residents attempted to block employees from Russian energy giant Gazprom by burning tyres and throwing stones, according to local news sources.

However, local Roma claimed the violence reflected long-standing frustrations in the area.

Protesters hurled stones at gas worker. Pic: Nikolay Demidov Pravoved

Ivan Grigoryevich, who was described in Tula News as a local "Roma baron", said: "We have been living in this settlement since the 1960s and we have tried many, many times to get gas into our houses, but we are prohibited by town officials."

Images depicting a series of angry confrontations in the village have been distributed online.

At one point, young boys confronted the authorities with sticks while others lobbed stones at construction equipment.

In response, police knocked a number of local residents with riot shields. 

Human rights organisations say Roma - and other groups perceived as gypsies - are subjected to widespread discrimination in Russia.

Community representative Nadezhda Demetr said the refusal by local officials to give Roma families legal title to their land lay at the heart of this dispute.

"Instead of helping people register their houses and legalise their gas supplies, the authorities have been demolishing their houses. Since 2005, houses have been demolished without compensation because they don't have any documents."

In response, Tula police said in a statement: "The police has been given the task of acting decisively and strongly while taking measures to prevent illegal actions.

We are asking citizens to keep calm and not allow any breaches of the law."

Gas company representatives told journalists that the whole village is supplied with gas with the exception of the Roma settlement, adding: "We have found two illegal pipes with a diameter of 10cm but they have not been disconnected yet."

Superman Star Cavill Goes Incognito In NYC

Superman star Henry Cavill has managed to walk around one of the busiest tourist spots in the world, wearing a Man Of Steel T-shirt, and go unnoticed.

The actor posted a video on his Instagram account showing him posing by a huge billboard for his new film Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice in Times Square in New York.

The British star also stood by the entrance to Times Square and 42nd Street subway station and even popped into a Starbucks but still it appears no one clocked who he was.

Images showed him smirking in a series of selfies as he opened his brown coat to show off his iconic blue and red T-shirt.

He appeared to be trying to prove that Superman's somewhat flimsy disguise of dark-rimmed glasses does hold up.

"Dear Doubter, The glasses are good enough. Regards, Superman," he wrote.

Cavill starred in 2013's Man Of Steel and the video comes a week before the release of the new Warner Bros film where he stars opposite Ben Affleck as the Caped Crusader.

Earlier this week Cavill revealed in an interview while he loved the art of being an actor, he also loved the financial perks, including being able to fly first class around the world.

:: Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice is released on 25 March.

IS Committing Genocide In Iraq And Syria

The Islamic State group is committing genocide against religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, according to a review of the conflict.

US Secretary of State John Kerry announced the review findings on Thursday and said the US would do everything it could to hold the militant group accountable.

He said: "In my judgement Daesh (IS) is responsible for genocide against groups... under its control, including Yazidis, Christians and Shia Muslims.

"Naming these crimes is important, but what is essential is to stop them."

Officials have said the findings of the review do no obligate the US to take additional action against IS militants.

On Wednesday, the US State Department said Mr Kerry would miss a deadline of 17 March to complete the review.

But hours later officials said it had been finished.

It is only the second time that a US administration has declared that a genocide was being committed during an ongoing conflict.

The first was in 2004, when then-Secretary of State Colin Powell determined that atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region constituted genocide.

Mr Powell reached that decision amid intense lobbying from human rights groups, but only after lawyers advised him that it would not obligate the US to act to stop it.

The US is involved in military strikes against IS and has helped to prevent incidents of ethnic cleansing, notably of Yazidis. Some have argued that a genocide determination would require additional US action in the region.

Officials said Mr Kerry determined whether IS targeting of Christians and other groups met the definition of genocide, which according to the UN Convention is "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group".

Groups including the Catholic organisation Knights of Columbus had released reports last week documenting evidence which it claimed showed the legal standard for genocide had been met.

It comes after the House passed a non-binding resolution this week condemning IS atrocities as genocide.