The US has sent warships into waters near the Korean Peninsula in a show of force against North Korea's "reckless" nuclear threat.
It comes days after North Korea condemned America's strike on Syria as an act of "intolerable aggression", claiming the move justified "a million times over" their reasons for developing a nuclear deterrent.
President Donald Trump talked to China's leader Xi Jinping this week about the need for Beijing to encourage Kim Jong-Un to halt his nuclear weapons programme.
Ahead of the meeting, North Korea fired a medium-range ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan.
Now, in the latest sign that tensions are increasing, the US has deployed a Navy strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier from Singapore.
It described the decision to divert the fleet from scheduled calls in Australia as "a prudent measure to maintain readiness and presence in the Western Pacific".
Despite UN resolutions barring North Korea from any use of ballistic missile technology, Mr Kim has been busy developing missile capabilities. So far five nuclear tests have been staged, two of them last year.
:: After Syria, could North Korea be next?
US Pacific Command spokesman Commander Dave Benham said: "The number one threat in the region continues to be North Korea, due to its reckless, irresponsible and destabilising programme of missile tests and pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability."
It is feared Pyongyang may be preparing its sixth nuclear test.
Experts believe North Korea may be just two years away from developing long-range missiles capable of reaching the United States.
In February they fired four ballistic missiles towards Japan, an act Japanese PM Shinzo Abe called "absolutely intolerable".
Last August, Pyongyang successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile 500 kilometres (300 miles) towards Japan.
When it comes to putting a stop to North Korea's nuclear ambition, US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said: "The policy of strategic patience has ended.
"We're exploring a new range of diplomatic, security and economic measures. All options are on the table."
Sunday, April 9, 2017
U.S. Navy sends strike group toward Korean peninsula
SEOUL — A U.S. Navy strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier was making its way towards the Korean peninsula Sunday “to maintain readiness” as Kim Jong Un’s regime in North Korea prepared to mark key anniversaries this coming week.
North Korea is expected to hold a huge military parade on April 15 to celebrate the 105th birthday of its founding president, Kim Il Sung, and to mark the 85th anniversary of the creation of the Korean People's Army on April 25 with similar fanfare.
Analysts expect the recent barrage of missiles to continue, and activities around its known nuclear test site have raised concerns North Korea may be preparing for a sixth nuclear test.
Over the weekend, North Korea said it was not afraid of military strikes like those the United States launched on Syria last week, saying it could defend itself with its “tremendous military muscle with a nuclear force.”
In this atmosphere, the Carl Vinson strike group, which includes a carrier air wing and two guided-missile destroyers, was ordered to travel to the “western Pacific.” When the group left Singapore on Saturday, it was bound for Australia before receiving the new orders.
[ Will North Korea fire a missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland? Probably. ]
“The U.S. Pacific Command ordered the Carl Vinson Strike Group north as a prudent measure to maintain readiness and presence in the Western Pacific,” said Dave Benham, a spokesman for the Pacific Command.
“The number one threat in the region continues to the North Korea, due to its reckless, irresponsible and destabilizing program of missile tests and pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability,” he said, according to the AFP news agency.
The Vinson group last month participated in joint drills with the South Korean military to prepare for a sudden change on the peninsula — including the collapse of the North Korean regime or an invasion.
North Korea has been testing medium-range missiles over recent months, and Kim in January said North Korea had “entered the final stage of preparation for a test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile” capable of hitting the mainland United States. In response, President Trump tweeted: “It won’t happen!”
North Korea is expected to hold a huge military parade on April 15 to celebrate the 105th birthday of its founding president, Kim Il Sung, and to mark the 85th anniversary of the creation of the Korean People's Army on April 25 with similar fanfare.
Analysts expect the recent barrage of missiles to continue, and activities around its known nuclear test site have raised concerns North Korea may be preparing for a sixth nuclear test.
Over the weekend, North Korea said it was not afraid of military strikes like those the United States launched on Syria last week, saying it could defend itself with its “tremendous military muscle with a nuclear force.”
In this atmosphere, the Carl Vinson strike group, which includes a carrier air wing and two guided-missile destroyers, was ordered to travel to the “western Pacific.” When the group left Singapore on Saturday, it was bound for Australia before receiving the new orders.
[ Will North Korea fire a missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland? Probably. ]
“The U.S. Pacific Command ordered the Carl Vinson Strike Group north as a prudent measure to maintain readiness and presence in the Western Pacific,” said Dave Benham, a spokesman for the Pacific Command.
“The number one threat in the region continues to the North Korea, due to its reckless, irresponsible and destabilizing program of missile tests and pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability,” he said, according to the AFP news agency.
The Vinson group last month participated in joint drills with the South Korean military to prepare for a sudden change on the peninsula — including the collapse of the North Korean regime or an invasion.
North Korea has been testing medium-range missiles over recent months, and Kim in January said North Korea had “entered the final stage of preparation for a test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile” capable of hitting the mainland United States. In response, President Trump tweeted: “It won’t happen!”
Egypt church bombings kill at least 31 people
Bomb attacks targeting worshippers marking Palm Sunday at two Egyptian churches have left at least 31 people dead.
The first explosion, in Tanta - about 70 miles north of Cairo, killed at least 25 at the Mar Girgis Coptic Church.
Officials said the blast happened "in the front rows, near the altar, during the mass" and that dozens more had been injured.
Video and pictures show crowds gathered around bodies and large blood stains on the pews and church walls.
Several hours later, the health ministry said six people had been killed and 66 injured after a suicide bombing in front of Saint Mark's Church in the coastal city of Alexandria.
Pope Tawadros II, head of the Coptic church, had earlier attended mass there.
"Either a bomb was planted or someone blew himself up," provincial governor Ahmad Deif told Nile TV of the Tanta blast.
A witness told the Reuters news agency: "There was a huge explosion in the hall. Fire and smoke filled the room and the injuries were extremely severe.
"I saw the intestines of those injured and legs severed entirely from their bodies."
Egypt is home to around nine million Coptic Christians and there have been previous attacks on them by groups linked to Islamic State.
It claimed responsibility for a bomb at a Cairo cathedral that killed at least 25 people in December 2016, many of them women and children.
Targeted killings in the country's Sinai peninsula also caused hundreds of Christians to flee the area in February, with an IS video urging more attacks.
However, no one has so far claimed responsibility for the latest atrocity.
Pope Francis, due to visit Egypt at the end of this month, condemned the attacks.
Egyptian state television said President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had ordered an emergency defence council meeting.
Copts often suffer attacks in more rural areas of Egypt, usually over things such as the construction of a church or inter-faith relationships.
The first explosion, in Tanta - about 70 miles north of Cairo, killed at least 25 at the Mar Girgis Coptic Church.
Officials said the blast happened "in the front rows, near the altar, during the mass" and that dozens more had been injured.
Video and pictures show crowds gathered around bodies and large blood stains on the pews and church walls.
Several hours later, the health ministry said six people had been killed and 66 injured after a suicide bombing in front of Saint Mark's Church in the coastal city of Alexandria.
Pope Tawadros II, head of the Coptic church, had earlier attended mass there.
"Either a bomb was planted or someone blew himself up," provincial governor Ahmad Deif told Nile TV of the Tanta blast.
A witness told the Reuters news agency: "There was a huge explosion in the hall. Fire and smoke filled the room and the injuries were extremely severe.
"I saw the intestines of those injured and legs severed entirely from their bodies."
Egypt is home to around nine million Coptic Christians and there have been previous attacks on them by groups linked to Islamic State.
It claimed responsibility for a bomb at a Cairo cathedral that killed at least 25 people in December 2016, many of them women and children.
Targeted killings in the country's Sinai peninsula also caused hundreds of Christians to flee the area in February, with an IS video urging more attacks.
However, no one has so far claimed responsibility for the latest atrocity.
Pope Francis, due to visit Egypt at the end of this month, condemned the attacks.
Egyptian state television said President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had ordered an emergency defence council meeting.
Copts often suffer attacks in more rural areas of Egypt, usually over things such as the construction of a church or inter-faith relationships.
The chemical brothers: Putin and Assad
This week the world witnessed yet another chemical attack in Syria. After horrendous footage from Khan Sheikhoun showed children suffocating from sarin gas and relatives crying over piles of dead bodies, Russia was forced to react. But while Washington used the attack as an excuse for missile strikes on a regime-held airbase in southern Syria, Moscow did the exact opposite - it used it as an excuse for more excuses. And the excuse was produced quickly: The ministry of defence announced that there was no chemical attack but that a rocket had hit a stockpile of "terrorists'" chemical weapons, which led to the release of the poisonous gas.
To many Russian journalists, this explanation sounded familiar. In 1999 during another "counterterrorism operation" (the one that brought Vladimir Putin to the presidency), a Russian rocket attack hit the central market in Chechnya's capital Grozny. Between 60 and 140 people died, hundreds were injured. The Russian authorities were quick to announce that the incident was caused by an explosion of a stockpile of weapons belonging to the "terrorists".
Eighteen years later the Kremlin is using the same excuses, but this time not to protect itself but its ally Bashar al-Assad. But who are these excuses for? The international community would hardly believe them, given how absurd they are: Even if the Syrian opposition had stockpiles of sarin gas or a similar nerve agent, an air strike couldn't have released the gas. The two sarin gas precursors are stored separately and are mixed only just before they are to be used. In other words, you would have the same success releasing sarin gas by bombing chemical stockpiles as you would making borscht soup by throwing a grenade into a vegetable market.
To many Russian journalists, this explanation sounded familiar. In 1999 during another "counterterrorism operation" (the one that brought Vladimir Putin to the presidency), a Russian rocket attack hit the central market in Chechnya's capital Grozny. Between 60 and 140 people died, hundreds were injured. The Russian authorities were quick to announce that the incident was caused by an explosion of a stockpile of weapons belonging to the "terrorists".
Eighteen years later the Kremlin is using the same excuses, but this time not to protect itself but its ally Bashar al-Assad. But who are these excuses for? The international community would hardly believe them, given how absurd they are: Even if the Syrian opposition had stockpiles of sarin gas or a similar nerve agent, an air strike couldn't have released the gas. The two sarin gas precursors are stored separately and are mixed only just before they are to be used. In other words, you would have the same success releasing sarin gas by bombing chemical stockpiles as you would making borscht soup by throwing a grenade into a vegetable market.
Stockholm attack suspect was ordered to be deported
The suspect behind the Stockholm truck attack had been facing deportation, Swedish police say.
The 39-year-old man from Uzbekistan is suspected of having driven a truck into a department store in the city on Friday.
Police said on Sunday the man is known to have had extremist sympathies.
His application for asylum was rejected in June last year and he was being sought by immigration officials, police said.
Four people are confirmed to have died in the attack - two Swedish nationals, a Briton and a Belgian, but police have not released their identities.
The truck, hijacked from a beer company, was driven into Ahlens department store in the capital on Friday afternoon.
The suspect, who was not named, was known to the security services and was arrested later on Friday.
However, he had been seen only as a "marginal character", National Police Commissioner Dan Eliasson said.
The 39-year-old man from Uzbekistan is suspected of having driven a truck into a department store in the city on Friday.
Police said on Sunday the man is known to have had extremist sympathies.
His application for asylum was rejected in June last year and he was being sought by immigration officials, police said.
Four people are confirmed to have died in the attack - two Swedish nationals, a Briton and a Belgian, but police have not released their identities.
The truck, hijacked from a beer company, was driven into Ahlens department store in the capital on Friday afternoon.
The suspect, who was not named, was known to the security services and was arrested later on Friday.
However, he had been seen only as a "marginal character", National Police Commissioner Dan Eliasson said.
North Korea missiles: US warships deployed to Korean peninsula
The US military has ordered a navy strike group to move towards the Korean peninsula, amid growing concerns about North Korea's missile programme.
The Carl Vinson Strike Group comprises an aircraft carrier and other warships.
US Pacific Command described the deployment - now heading towards the western Pacific - as a prudent measure to maintain readiness in the region.
President Trump has said the US is prepared to act alone to deal with the nuclear threat from North Korea.
"The number one threat in the region continues to be North Korea, due to its reckless, irresponsible and destabilising programme of missile tests and pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability," US Pacific Command spokesman Dave Benham said.
What is being deployed?
The Carl Vinson Strike Group comprises an aircraft carrier and other warships.
US Pacific Command described the deployment - now heading towards the western Pacific - as a prudent measure to maintain readiness in the region.
President Trump has said the US is prepared to act alone to deal with the nuclear threat from North Korea.
"The number one threat in the region continues to be North Korea, due to its reckless, irresponsible and destabilising programme of missile tests and pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability," US Pacific Command spokesman Dave Benham said.
What is being deployed?
The strike group comprises the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, two guided-missile destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser.
As well as massive striking power, the carrier group - headed by Admiral Nora Tyson - has the capability to intercept ballistic missiles.
It was originally due to make port calls in Australia but instead has been diverted from Singapore to the west Pacific - where it recently conducted exercises with the South Korean Navy.
In detail: North Korea's missile programme
How advanced is North Korea's nuclear programme?
What is the context?
North Korea's missiles
North Korea has carried out several nuclear tests and experts predict more could be in the offing as it moves closer towards developing a nuclear warhead that could reach the US.
There have been indications from North Korea that it may test an intercontinental missile, even though it is banned from any tests under UN resolutions (restrictions it has consistently ignored).
On Wednesday, it test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile from its eastern port of Sinpo into the Sea of Japan. That test came a month after four ballistic missiles were fired towards the Sea of Japan, moves that provoked a furious reaction by Japan.
On its part, North Korea says it is provoked by military exercises between the US and South Korea, which it sees as preparation for an invasion.
Syria
North Korea has also been closely watching how US President Donald Trump has been responding in Syria.
Early on Friday, the US military launched air strikes against the Syrian government, in retaliation for a reported chemical attack.
North Korea called it an "intolerable act of aggression against a sovereign state", and said the strike showed it was justified in bolstering its own defences.
Is South Korea equipped to defend itself?
What can the outside world do about N Korea?
What are the moves behind the scenes?
The most recent test - condemned by Japan and South Korea - came on the eve of a visit by China's President Xi Jinping to the US to meet President Trump.
The two leaders discussed how to rein in North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes as the US steps up the pressure on China, a historic ally of Pyongyang, to help reduce tension.
China has, however, been reluctant to isolate its neighbour and ally, fearing its collapse could spawn a refugee crisis and bring the US military to its doorstep.
China has long been North Korea's closest diplomatic ally and trading partner, but the relationship has become increasingly strained over Pyongyang's refusal to halt nuclear and missile testing.
Mr Trump said in a recent interview that Washington was ready to act without Beijing's co-operation: "If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will."
The US Treasury recently slapped sanctions on 11 North Korean business representatives and one company, while US politicians overwhelmingly backed a bill relisting the North as a state sponsor of terror.
North Korea responded by warning that it will retaliate if the international community steps up sanctions, saying the US was forcing the situation "to the brink of war".
As well as massive striking power, the carrier group - headed by Admiral Nora Tyson - has the capability to intercept ballistic missiles.
It was originally due to make port calls in Australia but instead has been diverted from Singapore to the west Pacific - where it recently conducted exercises with the South Korean Navy.
In detail: North Korea's missile programme
How advanced is North Korea's nuclear programme?
What is the context?
North Korea's missiles
North Korea has carried out several nuclear tests and experts predict more could be in the offing as it moves closer towards developing a nuclear warhead that could reach the US.
There have been indications from North Korea that it may test an intercontinental missile, even though it is banned from any tests under UN resolutions (restrictions it has consistently ignored).
On Wednesday, it test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile from its eastern port of Sinpo into the Sea of Japan. That test came a month after four ballistic missiles were fired towards the Sea of Japan, moves that provoked a furious reaction by Japan.
On its part, North Korea says it is provoked by military exercises between the US and South Korea, which it sees as preparation for an invasion.
Syria
North Korea has also been closely watching how US President Donald Trump has been responding in Syria.
Early on Friday, the US military launched air strikes against the Syrian government, in retaliation for a reported chemical attack.
North Korea called it an "intolerable act of aggression against a sovereign state", and said the strike showed it was justified in bolstering its own defences.
Is South Korea equipped to defend itself?
What can the outside world do about N Korea?
What are the moves behind the scenes?
The most recent test - condemned by Japan and South Korea - came on the eve of a visit by China's President Xi Jinping to the US to meet President Trump.
The two leaders discussed how to rein in North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes as the US steps up the pressure on China, a historic ally of Pyongyang, to help reduce tension.
China has, however, been reluctant to isolate its neighbour and ally, fearing its collapse could spawn a refugee crisis and bring the US military to its doorstep.
China has long been North Korea's closest diplomatic ally and trading partner, but the relationship has become increasingly strained over Pyongyang's refusal to halt nuclear and missile testing.
Mr Trump said in a recent interview that Washington was ready to act without Beijing's co-operation: "If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will."
The US Treasury recently slapped sanctions on 11 North Korean business representatives and one company, while US politicians overwhelmingly backed a bill relisting the North as a state sponsor of terror.
North Korea responded by warning that it will retaliate if the international community steps up sanctions, saying the US was forcing the situation "to the brink of war".
Tupac Shakur joins Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... but does he belong there?
Tupac Shakur has become the first solo rapper to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The late star is only the sixth hip hop artist to be initiated in the hall's 30-year history - and the decision has raised eyebrows.
Shakur was killed at the age of 25 in a still unsolved drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in September 1996.
Son of political activists and former Black Panther members, he explored themes of social and racial injustice in some of his songs.
Selected on his first nomination, the honour reflects the continued influence of the rapper 20 years after his death.
According to the hall's website, artists are eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first recording.
The criteria goes on: "Besides demonstrating unquestionable musical excellence and talent, inductees will have had a significant impact on the development, evolution and preservation of rock and roll."
The inductees are then voted on by music fans and 900 industry experts.
The rapper's life and music has sparked the release of documentaries, movies and a Broadway musical, although many would question his impact on rock and roll.
Predictably, people on Twitter have questioned why Shakur has made the cut when LL Cool J - who is widely considered to be rap's first superstar - is not a member.
Accepting the award on his friend's behalf, fellow rapper Snoop Dogg said they were there to "celebrate one of music's most prolific and outspoken artists as he's rightfully enshrined as one of the greatest musicians to ever do it".
Snoop went on: "Pac proved we ain't just a character out of someone else's story book. To be human is to be many things at once.
"Pac's a part of history for a reason because he made history. He's hip hop history. He's American history."
Last month Kiss frontman Gene Simmons said that although he "highly respects rap", the genre of hip hop does not belong in the rock hall.
He said: "The day Led Zeppelin gets put into the Hip Hop Hall of Fame is the day I will personally accept rap artists as being brought into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It just ain't the same thing."
Hip hop artist Ice Cube - who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year along with the five other members of NWA - said he thought Shakur would have "shown up" to receive the honour.
But he admitted: "I don't know if he'd be happy or not. Hip hop needs our own Hall of Fame."
The 1960s protest singer Joan Baez, British progressive rock group Yes, and Seattle-based grunge band Pearl Jam were also among the rock hall class of 2017.
Tributes were paid to the first ever member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Chuck Berry, who died last month at the age of 90, and Prince, who died of an accidental painkiller overdose in April 2016.
The 2017 induction ceremony will be broadcast on HBO on 29 April.
The late star is only the sixth hip hop artist to be initiated in the hall's 30-year history - and the decision has raised eyebrows.
Shakur was killed at the age of 25 in a still unsolved drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in September 1996.
Son of political activists and former Black Panther members, he explored themes of social and racial injustice in some of his songs.
Selected on his first nomination, the honour reflects the continued influence of the rapper 20 years after his death.
According to the hall's website, artists are eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first recording.
The criteria goes on: "Besides demonstrating unquestionable musical excellence and talent, inductees will have had a significant impact on the development, evolution and preservation of rock and roll."
The inductees are then voted on by music fans and 900 industry experts.
The rapper's life and music has sparked the release of documentaries, movies and a Broadway musical, although many would question his impact on rock and roll.
Predictably, people on Twitter have questioned why Shakur has made the cut when LL Cool J - who is widely considered to be rap's first superstar - is not a member.
Accepting the award on his friend's behalf, fellow rapper Snoop Dogg said they were there to "celebrate one of music's most prolific and outspoken artists as he's rightfully enshrined as one of the greatest musicians to ever do it".
Snoop went on: "Pac proved we ain't just a character out of someone else's story book. To be human is to be many things at once.
"Pac's a part of history for a reason because he made history. He's hip hop history. He's American history."
Last month Kiss frontman Gene Simmons said that although he "highly respects rap", the genre of hip hop does not belong in the rock hall.
He said: "The day Led Zeppelin gets put into the Hip Hop Hall of Fame is the day I will personally accept rap artists as being brought into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It just ain't the same thing."
Hip hop artist Ice Cube - who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year along with the five other members of NWA - said he thought Shakur would have "shown up" to receive the honour.
But he admitted: "I don't know if he'd be happy or not. Hip hop needs our own Hall of Fame."
The 1960s protest singer Joan Baez, British progressive rock group Yes, and Seattle-based grunge band Pearl Jam were also among the rock hall class of 2017.
Tributes were paid to the first ever member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Chuck Berry, who died last month at the age of 90, and Prince, who died of an accidental painkiller overdose in April 2016.
The 2017 induction ceremony will be broadcast on HBO on 29 April.
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