The United States has said "all options are on the table" to deal with North Korea.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley also denounced North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after the United Nations Security Council discussed Pyongyang's launch of four ballistic missiles on Monday.
"We are not dealing with a rational person," said Haley. "It is an unbelievable, irresponsible arrogance that we are seeing coming out of Kim Jong-un at this time."
She said the administration of US President Donald Trump was reevaluating how it would handle North Korea and that "all options were on the table".
"We are making those decisions now and we will act accordingly," Haley said.
North Korea fired the missiles into the sea off Japan's coast in response to the annual US-South Korea military drills, which Pyongyang sees as preparation for war.
According to the Kyodo News Agency, one of the missiles fell "closer than ever before" from the Japanese coast, around 200km northwest of the country's Noto Peninsula.
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Gunmen dressed as doctors attack military hospital in Kabul
Gunmen dressed as doctors have stormed a military hospital in Kabul, battling security forces inside the building for hours before the siege ended.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, in which at least four people were killed and 60 wounded, officials said.
All four attackers were also killed during the six-hour gun battle, said interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi.
The assault on the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital began when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the backdoor entrance to the building.
The other three attackers, carrying automatic weapons and hand grenades, then entered the complex.
Hospital administrators told the AFP news agency that they saw three attackers wearing white laboratory coats on the loose.
One worker, Abdul Qadir, told Reuters that he saw one of the gunmen, wearing a white coat, take out an AK-47 assault rifle and open fire, killing at least one patient and one hospital worker.
Security forces blocked off the roads around the building and helicopters circled over the area, as the gunmen took positions in the upper floor of the 400-bed hospital.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, in which at least four people were killed and 60 wounded, officials said.
All four attackers were also killed during the six-hour gun battle, said interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi.
The assault on the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital began when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the backdoor entrance to the building.
The other three attackers, carrying automatic weapons and hand grenades, then entered the complex.
Hospital administrators told the AFP news agency that they saw three attackers wearing white laboratory coats on the loose.
One worker, Abdul Qadir, told Reuters that he saw one of the gunmen, wearing a white coat, take out an AK-47 assault rifle and open fire, killing at least one patient and one hospital worker.
Security forces blocked off the roads around the building and helicopters circled over the area, as the gunmen took positions in the upper floor of the 400-bed hospital.
Russia gives Beauty and Beast 16+ rating due to 'gay moment'
Russia has awarded the Disney live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast a 16+ age certificate due to its "gay moment".
Ultra-conservative lawmakers previously tried to ban the film, citing the controversial Russian law that makes it illegal to disseminate "gay propaganda" to minors.
The film had previously been announced as 6+ in its Russian promotional campaign.
In a letter to the Russian culture minister, anti-gay politician Vitaly Milonov called the Disney film "blatant, shameless propaganda of sin and perverted sexual relationships".
Following the 16+ ruling he said he was pleased with the ruling which he believed aimed to impose "new European standards of tolerance so (children) think this is all the norm".
The outrage has been caused by what the film's director, Bill Condon, described as Disney's "first exclusively gay moment".
In the re-make, the manservant character of LeFou exhibits attraction towards his master, Gaston.
Condon told website ScreenCrush: "LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston."
He also voiced his frustration at the "overblown" reaction to the openly gay character.
At the initial furore over the "gay moment" actor Josh Gad, who plays LeFou, tweeted: "Beyond proud of this."
Homosexuality was banned in Russia until 1993 and was only removed from a list of psychiatric disorders in the country in 1999.
Disney said they would not comment on the rating.
Beauty and the Beast - which stars Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as Beast - is released in UK cinemas on 17 March.
Ultra-conservative lawmakers previously tried to ban the film, citing the controversial Russian law that makes it illegal to disseminate "gay propaganda" to minors.
The film had previously been announced as 6+ in its Russian promotional campaign.
In a letter to the Russian culture minister, anti-gay politician Vitaly Milonov called the Disney film "blatant, shameless propaganda of sin and perverted sexual relationships".
Following the 16+ ruling he said he was pleased with the ruling which he believed aimed to impose "new European standards of tolerance so (children) think this is all the norm".
The outrage has been caused by what the film's director, Bill Condon, described as Disney's "first exclusively gay moment".
In the re-make, the manservant character of LeFou exhibits attraction towards his master, Gaston.
Condon told website ScreenCrush: "LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston."
He also voiced his frustration at the "overblown" reaction to the openly gay character.
At the initial furore over the "gay moment" actor Josh Gad, who plays LeFou, tweeted: "Beyond proud of this."
Homosexuality was banned in Russia until 1993 and was only removed from a list of psychiatric disorders in the country in 1999.
Disney said they would not comment on the rating.
Beauty and the Beast - which stars Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as Beast - is released in UK cinemas on 17 March.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Hawaii to challenge US President Donald Trump's revised travel ban
Hawaii is to challenge Donald Trump's revised travel ban in court, according to a law firm.
The order, which comes into effect on 16 March, temporarily suspends immigration into the United States from six predominantly-Muslim countries.
Citizens from Libya, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Somalia and Sudan will be subjected to a 90-day ban on travel to the US.
Iraq was previously listed among those nations, but a senior Department of Homeland Security official said the country was removed after the Iraqi government assured the Trump administration that they would share more information with the United States.
Here we go. Proud to stand w/State of Hawaii challenging Pres.Trump's "new" Executive Order issued yesterday. 1/2 https://t.co/GrPvlPGshL— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) March 8, 2017
The state of Hawaii has said in a court motion that it will seek a temporary restraining order against the ban.
Speaking in a statement on Monday, Hawaii's Attorney General Doug Chin said: "This new executive order is nothing more than Muslim Ban 2.0.
"Under the pretence of national security, it still targets immigrants and refugees. It leaves the door open for even further restrictions."
Court documents show that both sides have asked for a hearing on 15 March, a day before the new ban is due to come into effect.
Hawaii had filed a lawsuit against Mr Trump's initial ban but that was put on hold while a nationwide injunction remained in place.
In a statement, the Justice Department said: "We are confident that the president's actions are lawful to protect the national security of our country."
Neal Katyal, one of the lead attorneys for Hawaii, told CNN: "To be sure, the new executive order covers fewer people than the old one."
But he added that the ban still "suffers from the same constitutional and statutory defects".
He told MSNBC: "What the state of Hawaii is doing here is standing up for bedrock American values.
"This isn't about politics, this is really just about what the laws fundamentally require."
Mr Katyal is a former acting solicitor general under President Obama and his firm is giving Hawaii a 50% discount for its representation.
According to the profile on his firm's website, among Mr Katyal's high-profile cases was a victory in Hamdan v Rumsfeld, which challenged the policy of military trials at Guantanamo Bay.
He also successfully defended former Attorney General John Ashcroft against claims that he had abused civil liberties during the war on terror.
The order, which comes into effect on 16 March, temporarily suspends immigration into the United States from six predominantly-Muslim countries.
Citizens from Libya, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Somalia and Sudan will be subjected to a 90-day ban on travel to the US.
Iraq was previously listed among those nations, but a senior Department of Homeland Security official said the country was removed after the Iraqi government assured the Trump administration that they would share more information with the United States.
Here we go. Proud to stand w/State of Hawaii challenging Pres.Trump's "new" Executive Order issued yesterday. 1/2 https://t.co/GrPvlPGshL— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) March 8, 2017
The state of Hawaii has said in a court motion that it will seek a temporary restraining order against the ban.
Speaking in a statement on Monday, Hawaii's Attorney General Doug Chin said: "This new executive order is nothing more than Muslim Ban 2.0.
"Under the pretence of national security, it still targets immigrants and refugees. It leaves the door open for even further restrictions."
Court documents show that both sides have asked for a hearing on 15 March, a day before the new ban is due to come into effect.
Hawaii had filed a lawsuit against Mr Trump's initial ban but that was put on hold while a nationwide injunction remained in place.
In a statement, the Justice Department said: "We are confident that the president's actions are lawful to protect the national security of our country."
Neal Katyal, one of the lead attorneys for Hawaii, told CNN: "To be sure, the new executive order covers fewer people than the old one."
But he added that the ban still "suffers from the same constitutional and statutory defects".
He told MSNBC: "What the state of Hawaii is doing here is standing up for bedrock American values.
"This isn't about politics, this is really just about what the laws fundamentally require."
Mr Katyal is a former acting solicitor general under President Obama and his firm is giving Hawaii a 50% discount for its representation.
According to the profile on his firm's website, among Mr Katyal's high-profile cases was a victory in Hamdan v Rumsfeld, which challenged the policy of military trials at Guantanamo Bay.
He also successfully defended former Attorney General John Ashcroft against claims that he had abused civil liberties during the war on terror.
Robbers 'pose as police' in Johannesburg airport heist
Armed thieves masquerading as police have carried out a robbery at Johannesburg international airport in South Africa, reports say.
The thieves are said to have driven into a restricted zone and taken containers of cash.
Estimates vary but reports suggest that millions of dollars in different currencies may have been stolen.
The company that operates OR Tambo Airport, the continent's busiest, confirmed a robbery had taken place.
"No shots were fired and no injuries have been reported. The robbers fled‚" Airports Company South Africa said in a statement, the TimesLive news website reports.
The Hawks, an elite police unit, declined to release details.
A police spokeswoman, Athlenda Mathe, was quoted by broadcaster eNCA as saying she could not comment on "how much money exactly was stolen".
Guards from a private security firm protecting the valuable cargo were stopped by the robbers, who were travelling in a vehicle marked with "police", TimesLive says.
There have been reports of other high-value cargo robberies in recent years at the airport.
The thieves are said to have driven into a restricted zone and taken containers of cash.
Estimates vary but reports suggest that millions of dollars in different currencies may have been stolen.
The company that operates OR Tambo Airport, the continent's busiest, confirmed a robbery had taken place.
"No shots were fired and no injuries have been reported. The robbers fled‚" Airports Company South Africa said in a statement, the TimesLive news website reports.
The Hawks, an elite police unit, declined to release details.
A police spokeswoman, Athlenda Mathe, was quoted by broadcaster eNCA as saying she could not comment on "how much money exactly was stolen".
Guards from a private security firm protecting the valuable cargo were stopped by the robbers, who were travelling in a vehicle marked with "police", TimesLive says.
There have been reports of other high-value cargo robberies in recent years at the airport.
Microsoft says issue resolved after Hotmail sign-in glitch
Hotmail owner Microsoft said a sign-in problem affecting some users had been resolved - after users worldwide reported they were unable to access emails.
It is unclear what was behind the problem, though people took to social media in their droves to complain about the outage.
Microsoft said in a brief statement: "Some customers may have experienced difficulty signing in to some services.
"The issue has been resolved."
A spokeswoman was unable to provide any further details when asked about the scale of the outage.
Hotmail, which has been rebranded under Microsoft's Outlook banner, is believed to have crashed before midday GMT.
Microsoft's Twitter accounts were flooded with users desperate for information - with some saying their usual business operations were being damaged by the glitch.
The company responded to one user in Ireland: "Sorry for the inconvenience. We know about the issue and are currently working on the resolution. Request you try and log in again after a few hours."
Another user wrote on a Microsoft community site: "I've had repeated issues in the last 15 mins logging into Hotmail -first it said my account doesn't exist and then it says that my account can't be located, and then finally it asks for my password but the page doesn't look legit."
It comes months after Microsoft disclosed details of cyber attacks by a hacking group that exploited a security flaw in its Windows operating system.
The disclosure in November revealed that a group previously linked to the Russian government and US political hacks was behind the attacks.
It said at the time that it was issuing a new "patch" to protect Windows against the newly discovered threat.
Microsoft has not said what might be behind the latest problems.
It is unclear what was behind the problem, though people took to social media in their droves to complain about the outage.
Microsoft said in a brief statement: "Some customers may have experienced difficulty signing in to some services.
"The issue has been resolved."
A spokeswoman was unable to provide any further details when asked about the scale of the outage.
Hotmail, which has been rebranded under Microsoft's Outlook banner, is believed to have crashed before midday GMT.
Microsoft's Twitter accounts were flooded with users desperate for information - with some saying their usual business operations were being damaged by the glitch.
The company responded to one user in Ireland: "Sorry for the inconvenience. We know about the issue and are currently working on the resolution. Request you try and log in again after a few hours."
Another user wrote on a Microsoft community site: "I've had repeated issues in the last 15 mins logging into Hotmail -first it said my account doesn't exist and then it says that my account can't be located, and then finally it asks for my password but the page doesn't look legit."
It comes months after Microsoft disclosed details of cyber attacks by a hacking group that exploited a security flaw in its Windows operating system.
The disclosure in November revealed that a group previously linked to the Russian government and US political hacks was behind the attacks.
It said at the time that it was issuing a new "patch" to protect Windows against the newly discovered threat.
Microsoft has not said what might be behind the latest problems.
Iraqi forces in Mosul take government complex from Islamic State
Iraqi forces have recaptured a government complex in western Mosul from Islamic State fighters.
Troops hoisted an Iraqi flag on top of the buildings in the Dawasa district and Lt Gen Abdul-Amir Raheed Yar Allah hailed the federal police as "heroes".
A Joint Operations Command statement said: "The heroes of the federal police and Rapid Response liberate the government building for Nineveh province and control the second bridge (Al-Hurriyah Bridge)."
The operation to retake west Mosul - the extremist group's largest remaining urban stronghold - was launched on 19 February, but the advance had been hampered by several days of bad weather until a renewed push began last week.
:: Mosul battle lessons will help when IS fight turns to Raqqa
Lt Gen Yar Allah, who commands army operations in Ninevah, Mosul's provincial capital, said the troops also control the western side of a second bridge across the Tigris River.
Troops hoisted an Iraqi flag on top of the buildings in the Dawasa district and Lt Gen Abdul-Amir Raheed Yar Allah hailed the federal police as "heroes".
A Joint Operations Command statement said: "The heroes of the federal police and Rapid Response liberate the government building for Nineveh province and control the second bridge (Al-Hurriyah Bridge)."
The operation to retake west Mosul - the extremist group's largest remaining urban stronghold - was launched on 19 February, but the advance had been hampered by several days of bad weather until a renewed push began last week.
:: Mosul battle lessons will help when IS fight turns to Raqqa
Lt Gen Yar Allah, who commands army operations in Ninevah, Mosul's provincial capital, said the troops also control the western side of a second bridge across the Tigris River.
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