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Showing posts from November, 2019

Trump impeachment: What to expect as hearings begin next week

The next phase of Donald Trump's impeachment hearings begins next week, when members of Congress will discuss whether the president's alleged abuses of power constitute "high crimes and misdemeanours".The phrase, as outlined in the US Constitution, has primed the debate between Democrats leading the investigation and the Republicans who argue that despite several witness testimonies corroborating Mr Trump's pressure on Ukraine to investigate his political rivals in exchange for receiving military aid, none of it resembles either a high crime or a misdemeanour. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/33A6wCk

Democrats can't beat Trump, says America's first black billionaire

America's first black billionaire and founder of the BET television network doesn't believe any of the current Democratic challengers are capable of defeating Donald Trump in 2020.Bob Johnson told CNBC that the president "has always been at a position" where the election is "his to lose". from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2rII3NR

Snow to hit 2,000-mile stretch from Nevada to New England as weekend travelers head home

Black Friday blizzards and snow expected from Nevada to the Upper Midwest and into New England. Meanwhile, severe thunderstorms are headed south. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/37S6yc3

Germany to make anti-Semitism a specific hate crime as Jews 'no longer feel safe'

Germany is to tighten its laws against anti-Semitic hate crimes in the wake of last month's failed attack on a synagogue by a far-Right gunman. “I am ashamed that Jews no longer feel safe in Germany and that so many are even thinking of leaving the country,” Christine Lambrecht, the justice minister, told German MPs. “We have to send a clear signal against anti-Semitism.” Under the planned changes, crimes with an anti-Semitic motive will attract heavier sentences. The move comes after a synagogue in east Germany narrowly escaped becoming the scene of a massacre last month. Stephan Balliet, a German national who released a far-Right "manifesto" before the attack, failed in his attempts to break into the synagogue which was packed with 51  people marking Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. He later turned his gun on bystanders, killing two people. While the Halle attack was the highest profile incident, it was by no means an isolated case. Just days before,

2 victims are dead and a suspect was killed by police in a London terror incident. Here's how the attack unfolded.

Police said they were called to London Bridge just before 2 p.m. local time on Friday afternoon for reports of a stabbing. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2XYkPPS

Nuclear Nightmare? Russia’s Avangard Hypersonic Missile Is About to Go Operational.

Russia’s Avangard hypersonic boost-glide missile is about to operational. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/33DfY7T

Hundreds march in Sudan capital seeking justice for martyrs

Hundreds of protesters marched Saturday through downtown Khartoum to demand justice for those killed in demonstrations against Sudan's now ousted autocrat Omar al-Bashir. More than 250 people were killed and hundreds injured in the months-long protests that erupted in December 2018, according to umbrella protest movement Forces of Freedom and Change. Bashir, who ruled Sudan with an iron fist for 30 years, was deposed by the army in a palace coup on April 11 after the demonstrations triggered by an acute economic crisis. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2P300yI

Iraqis keep up anti-regime demos despite PM's vow to quit

Iraqis kept up angry anti-government protests in Baghdad and the south on Saturday to demand a broad overhaul of a system seen as corrupt and under the sway of foreign powers, a day after the premier vowed to quit. Protesters have hit the streets since early October in the largest grassroots movement Iraq has seen in decades, sparked by fury at poor public services, lack of jobs and widespread government graft. The toll spiked dramatically this week as a crackdown killed dozens in Baghdad, the Shiite shrine city of Najaf -- where another protester was killed Saturday -- and the southern hotspot of Nasiriyah. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/37Ri6MF

2 victims were killed and police fatally shot a man wearing a hoax explosive vest in a terrorist attack at London Bridge

London Metropolitan Police closed London Bridge and London Bridge Station is also closed. City of London police shot the man, who died at the scene. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2XWqshJ

Thanksgiving photo Bill O'Reilly posted to Twitter freaks people out

Bill O’Reilly’s promotional tweet for his interview with President Trump went viral on Thursday, but not in the way he likely would have wanted. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2OvQEg2

Chicago officer investigated for body-slamming man to ground

A Chicago police officer is being investigated for body-slamming a man who spat on his face, authorities said Friday. The officer approached the man for drinking alcohol at a bus stop, police said. “While a single video does not depict the entirety of the interactions between the police and the individual, this particular video is very disturbing,” Lightfoot said. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/34Ic1k1

Northeastern US braces for foot of snow during first days of December

The second part of a double-barreled storm is forecast to unload heavy snow and create difficult travel over a large part of the northeastern United States, including some major cities from Sunday to Monday.A winterlike storm from the Midwest will move in this weekend, then hand off to a new coastal storm that strengthens by Monday.Accumulating snow is forecast to occur in Boston; Hartford, Connecticut; New York City and even to some extent around the Trenton, New Jersey, and Philadelphia area from the storm. The heaviest snow, on the order of 6-12 inches is forecast from the northeastern corner of Pennsylvania to central Massachusetts and southwestern New Hampshire. However, pockets of 12-18 inches are in store for the Catskills and Berkshires, where an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 24 inches is expected.Heavy snow is in store for much of the Hudson, Mohawk and Connecticut river valleys with a few inches as far south as parts of the Delaware and Lehigh valleys.Part of the storm will

Ilhan Omar's Republican opponent was banned from Twitter after suggesting the congresswoman should be tried for treason and hanged

The Republican campaign promoted a wild conspiracy theory that Omar had illegally shared sensitive government information with Qatar and Iran. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/35ILumD

Inmate wanted by ICE released on bail. He was arrested weeks later for attempted murder

A 2019 Colorado law bars law enforcement officials in the state from holding a person based only on a request from ICE. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2DrcNWx

London Attack by Convicted Terrorist Disrupts U.K. Campaign

(Bloomberg) -- The man suspected of stabbing two people to death near London Bridge had been released early from jail after a terrorism conviction, allowing an attack in the heart of the city that is disrupting the U.K.’s general election campaign two weeks before the vote.Officers shot and killed the 28-year-old attacker, who was wearing a fake suicide vest after members of the public wrestled him to the ground on London Bridge, on the edge of the city’s financial district. He was tackled by passersby moments after carrying out the attack at about 2 p.m. on Friday.Boris Johnson broke away from campaigning on Friday for the Dec. 12 election to rush back to Downing Street for a security briefing on the attack. Speaking afterward, he praised the civilians who tried to stop the suspected terrorist before police arrived, and declared that “Britain will not be cowed” by the incident.On Saturday, Johnson met with police at the site of the attack and used the opportunity to criticize the U.K.

Tens of thousands rally in Europe, Asia before UN climate summit

Tens of thousands of protesters, primarily in Europe and Asia, hit the streets on Friday to make a fresh call for action against global warming, hoping to raise pressure on world leaders days before a UN climate summit. Carrying signs that read "One planet, one fight" and "The sea is rising, so must we", thousands flocked to Berlin's Brandenburg Gate for the latest "Fridays for Future" protest inspired by 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg. In total, about 630,000 people demonstrated across more than 500 cities in Germany, the Fridays for Future movement said. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2DtAXj6

Peru Opposition Leader Keiko Fujimori Walks Free from Lima Jail

(Bloomberg) -- Opposition leader Keiko Fujimori walked free from a Lima prison Friday night after Peru’s highest court annulled her 18-month preventive jail sentence for obstructing a money-laundering probe.Speaking to reporters outside the jail, Fujimori said the Constitutional Court had corrected a process that was arbitrary and “full of abuses,” and said she’ll keep cooperating with the investigation.“I’m going to take time to reconnect with my family, recuperate, and later on we’ll decide what I’ll do in the second stage of my life,” Fujimori said, according to video broadcast by the Canal N network.The 44-year-old daughter of former autocrat Alberto Fujimori was jailed 13 months ago on allegations she sought to use her party’s congressional majority and contacts in the judiciary to derail a money-laundering probe against her. Prosecutors allege she received $1 million in campaign donations from Brazilian builder Odebrecht SA, though haven’t formally charged her. She denies any wro

2 victims were killed and police fatally shot a man wearing a hoax explosive vest in a terrorist attack at London Bridge

London Metropolitan Police closed London Bridge and London Bridge Station is also closed. City of London police shot the man, who died at the scene. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2XWqshJ

Kamala Harris' campaign manager is under fire, receives blame for decline

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) isn't bouncing back after a precipitous decline in the Democratic presidential race -- and fingers are starting to point at her campaign manager.Juan Rodriguez has drawn the ire of both camapaign staffers and outside observers, The New York Times reports. "This is my third presidential campaign and I have never seen an organization treat its staff so poorly," state operations director Kelly Mehlenbacher wrote in a resignation letter obtained by the Times.Mehlenbacher clarified she still supported Harris as a candidate, but did not have confidence in the campaign's leadership. She specifically cited the campaign's decision to move people from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, Maryland, and then "lay them off with no notice" and "without thoughtful consideration of the personal consequences to them."Harris and other senior staff members were reportedly blindsided and angered by the extent of the layoffs, and some aides

The First Time Congress Tried to Impeach a President Was a Disaster

It didn't go as planned... from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Y5NjaI

Pelosi to attend climate summit amid withdrawal from climate deal

The U.S. began the formal withdrawal process from the Paris Climate Agreement earlier this month. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2r23327

Ilhan Omar GOP challenger banned from Twitter after saying she should be "tried for treason and hanged”

Danielle Stella campaign account also tweeted a picture of a stick figure being hanged with a link to a blog post about her comments. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/34ClhWK

‘Hero’ Who Ended Terror Rampage Was Convicted Killer

Simon Dawson/ReutersLONDON—A frenzied knife attack by a known terrorist who was let out of prison early on parole was halted by a posse of Londoners that included a convicted killer on day release.The first deadly terror attack in Britain for two years spilled out of a Cambridge University event on rehabilitating ex-cons. A university spokesman told The Daily Beast that the terrorist Usman Khan had been invited to the event, but could not confirm reports that he had addressed the symposium, which included former prisoners and prison staff.A more detailed account of the attack emerged Saturday as the Islamic State claimed that one of its attackers carried out the stabbing, the group’s Amaq news agency reported. The announcement didn’t provide any evidence for the claim.Khan, 28, was wearing a tracking device on his ankle and a hoax suicide belt around his waist when he walked up the grand staircase inside the historic Fishmongers’ Hall, pulled out two knives, and threatened to blow up t

Iraqi forces kill 45 protesters after Iranian consulate torched

BAGHDAD/NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces shot dead at least 45 protesters on Thursday after demonstrators stormed and torched an Iranian consulate overnight, in what could mark a turning point in the uprising against the Tehran-backed authorities. At least 29 people died in the southern city of Nassiriya when troops opened fire on demonstrators who blocked a bridge before dawn on Thursday and later gathered outside a police station. Four people were killed in Baghdad, where security forces opened fire with live ammunition and rubber bullets against protesters near a bridge over the Tigris river, the sources said, and twelve died in clashes in Najaf. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2DoqpSp

Airlines are joining in on Black Friday with major flight sales — here's how you can save

Delta, American Airlines, Southwest, Emirates, and more have posted Black Friday and Cyber Monday flight deals. We expect more sales, too. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2OvxN4L

Trump to decide if he wants lawyers at impeachment hearings

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee asked President Donald Trump on Friday to say whether he’ll send his attorneys to participate in impeachment proceedings before the panel. Rep. Jerrold Nadler also is asking Republicans on his committee which witnesses they plan to ask permission to subpoena. The letters from the New York Democrat came as the House impeachment probe enters a new phase with a hearing next week on whether Trump’s actions might constitute impeachable offenses. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2q838RE

Gigantic storm to wreak havoc on post-Thanksgiving travel

A massive winter storm that has already prompted warnings from Arizona to Wisconsin will be lumbering east in coming days, almost certainly interfering with Thanksgiving return-travel plans for millions, The Washington Post reports. By the time it's finished, the storm, created by the same conditions that caused the "bomb cyclone" in California and Arizona earlier in the week, could pummel an area stretching from the Sierra Nevadas to New England -- where a nor'easter is predicted to begin on Sunday night. "This storm will... produce significant snow and blizzard conditions across the Northern Plains through Saturday before moving to the Great Lakes and Northeast Sunday and Monday," the National Weather Service said in a statement. USA Today reports that Accuweather is forecasting up to three feet of snow in South Dakota's Black Hills region, where "visibility could be so low at times it may be difficult to determine where the road surface actually

Trump administration appoints man who suggested dropping nuclear bombs on Afghanistan to senior role in arms control

A Trump adviser who suggested dropping nuclear bombs on Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks has been given a senior role on arms control issues in the State Department.Frank Wuco, a former conservative radio host and naval intelligence officer, has also promoted far-right conspiracy theories, such as debunked claims that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2R0TNG4

U.K. Police Shoot Man After Potential Terrorist Attack in London

(Bloomberg) -- Armed police shot a man after a possible terrorist attack sent hundreds of people running for their lives in the heart of London.Several civilians were believed to have been injured in a stabbing just before 2 p.m. in the London Bridge area on the edge of the capital’s financial center, police said.Prime Minister Boris Johnson broke away from the general election campaign to rush back to his Downing Street offices where he will be briefed on the events.The streets around London Bridge were locked down and armed police cleared restaurants and shops in the area. Officers are treating the incident as terror-related “as a precaution,” although the circumstances are still unclear, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.The U.K. is set to hold a general election on Dec. 12 and the last election campaign in 2017 was interrupted by attacks, including one that killed eight people in the same area of London.During the incident on Friday, armed officers burst into restaurants

Small plane crashes in Kingston, Ontario, killing seven: local police

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) said it would send a team to investigate the crash. Seven individuals in the Piper PA-32 aircraft died and police will continue to work jointly with the TSB as the investigation continues, Kingston Police said http://bit.ly/2QZt8tp in a statement. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2OWuBOj

California snow-bound highway reopens but storm snarls Thanksgiving travel

Interstate 5 through the Grapevine area, a mountain pass, was shut down in both directions early on Thursday morning and the California Highway Patrol said on Twitter it was working to clear stuck vehicles as snow kept falling. The highway, a major artery connecting Southern California to the rest of the state, was reopened later in the day, although more snow and rain were still forecast. The winter storm was expected to bring heavy snow in the mountains and high winds across much of the Western United States before moving toward the Great Plains late on Friday, the National Weather Service said. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2rBBcFW

India announces $400 million loan for Sri Lanka, in support of new president

India will lend Sri Lanka $400 million for infrastructure projects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday after talks with the island nation's new President Gotabaya Rajapaksa aimed at improving bilateral ties. Sri Lanka, located off the southern tip of India, has become an arena of competing influence between New Delhi and China, which has built ports, power stations and highways as part of President Xi Jinping's signature "Belt and Road Initiative", designed to boost trade and transport links across Asia. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2QYK0Ax

K-Pop Suicide Sparks a Reckoning on Revenge Porn, Sexual Assault

(Bloomberg) -- The suicide of a popular South Korean singer has prompted calls in the country to overhaul laws on sexual assault and to more harshly punish revenge porn.Koo Hara, 28, was found dead at her home in Seoul on Sunday. Her last message on Instagram showed her staring into a camera lens from beneath blankets on her bed with a message of “good night.” Police say a note was found at the scene in which she expressed hopelessness.Many in South Korea were already aware of her past that included assault by a former boyfriend who she alleged was threatening to release a sex video of her. The two most popular hashtags on social media in South Korea this week called for punishment of the ex-boyfriend and for the definition of sexual assault to be revamped.A petition filed with the president’s office demanding changes to laws had one quarter of a million signatures. Lawmakers said it is time to push forward measures stalled in Parliament that make it easier to impose harsh penalties on

Iraqis shatter taboos in rage at Iran, but bloodshed may follow

By torching Tehran's consulates and slapping their muddy shoes against photographs of top Iranian officials, Iraqi protesters have shattered a taboo on public criticism of their influential eastern neighbour. In the latest expression of fury, protesters crowded around the Iranian consulate -- already emptied of diplomats -- in Iraq's shrine city of Najaf late Wednesday. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2OXHLeh

Transgender paedophile sues NHS for refusing her reassignment surgery while she serves prison sentence

A transgender paedophile has sued the NHS for refusing her reassignment surgery after she transitioned from male to female while in prison.  The 60-year-old, known only as KK for legal reasons, is serving an indefinite sentence for public protection for making indecent photographs of children, and also has a previous conviction for sexual activity with a young girl. She has been in prison for over a decade and has been living as a woman for the last eight years, The High Court heard.  The prisoner claims the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust has unlawfully adopted a "de facto policy" of refusing to refer serving prisoners with gender dysphoria for gender reassignment surgery (GRS). But the trust argues that the reason KK was not referred was because "the treating clinicians at a world-class clinic for gender dysphoria did not consider it clinically appropriate to refer her for surgery". In brief | Transgender prisoners policy On Thursday, KK's barrister

2 victims were killed and police fatally shot a man wearing a hoax explosive vest in a terrorist attack at London Bridge

London Metropolitan Police closed London Bridge and London Bridge Station is also closed. City of London police shot the man, who died at the scene. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2XWqshJ

Teenage girl stuck in chimney rescued by Phoenix firefighters

The girl was trying to get into her house when she became stuck right above the flue of the chimney, authorities say. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2OQ0mZE

2 K-pop stars were jailed for raping a drunk, unconscious woman in a scandal that shows the industry's dark underbelly

Choi Jong-hoon of FT Island was sentenced to five years and Jung Joon-young of Drug Restaurant was given six years by Seoul Central District Court. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2L6NqgN

Unhappy Thanksgiving: Explosions at Texas chemical plant keep more than 50,000 out of their homes

More than 50,000 people in southeast Texas remain under evacuation orders on Thanksgiving after two powerful explosions at a chemical plant. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2L2AFUl

Trump impeachment: White House 'can't find any record' of call which president insists exonerates him

The White House reportedly has no record of a phone call Donald Trump claims exonerates him over a scandal which is threatening to bring down his presidency.The US ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland testified to congress earlier this month that Mr Trump had made clear to him in the call that there was “no quid pro quo” with Ukraine. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2OR1QCV

We Aid the Growth of Chinese Tyranny to Our Eternal Shame

We can’t say we didn’t know.Reports of the repression of Muslims living in northwestern China have been leaking out for years in drips and drabs. Satellite photos picked up the construction of massive prison facilities in the Xinjiang province. The BBC was even invited into one of the “thought transformation camps,” from which inmates are released a few hours a week, to see the program of patriotic re-education. Inmates were frank with the Beeb’s reporters that religious activity — including prayer — was banned inside the building.Now, in the last week, a more complete picture of Beijing’s repression campaign has emerged. Leaked memos have revealed some of the details of China’s modernized and tech-supported religious persecution of Muslims in Xinjiang. These are the first Venona cables of our generation. They make certain what sharp observers must have guessed: China uses cutting-edge technology to identify, classify, and detain Muslims for re-education in the old-school argot of tota

Thanksgiving storm blankets Southern California mountains with snow, delays holiday travel

A Thanksgiving Day storm brought a near definite end to the fire season in Southern California, as well as disruptive snow to people driving through the region's mountains."Thanksgiving started on a stormy note for many across Southern California as heavy rain and thunderstorms moved across the region. Many areas across the LA Basin picked up a quick 0.50 to 0.75 of an inch of rain this morning," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alyson Hoegg. "Due to the heavy rainfall across Southern California, flooding was reported in several areas around the Los Angeles Basin."The storm moved south from Northern California into Southern California, dousing the state in the early hours of Thursday morning. The National Weather Service issued a significant weather advisory for the coastal Los Angeles County, and a flood advisory for the county soon followed. Surrounding counties have been set on flood watch into Thursday evening.Flood advisories were issued for Ventura and Los

North Korea warns Japan's Abe may soon see real ballistic missile launch

North Korea's state media on Saturday lashed out at Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as an "imbecile and political dwarf" for calling Pyongyang's latest test of a large multiple-rocket launcher a ballistic missile launch and warned he may see a real one in the near future. North Korea fired two short-range projectiles into the sea off its east coast on Thursday in a fourth test of its new "super-large multiple-rocker launcher," with its North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressing "great satisfaction" over the latest test. In the wake of Pyongyang's firing, Abe said on Thursday that North Korea's missile launch was a threat to Japan and the international community, and that Tokyo would monitor the situation with its partners. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2qPbBcS

Row over Chinese 5G equipment further strains U.S.-German relations

U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell called a German official's remarks this week "an insult to the thousands of American troops who helped ensure Germany's security." from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2QZpy2r

Trump's antics leaving Republicans 'disgusted and exhausted', says former GOP congressman

A former Republican congressman said he would “probably vote to impeach” Donald Trump if he were still serving in the US House of Representatives while suggesting the president's scandals are “infuriating" current GOP House members.Charlie Dent, a frequent critic of Mr Trump who resigned from Congress last year, said he has heard from several of his former Republican colleagues who are “absolutely disgusted and exhausted by the president’s behaviour”. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/37OHeDL

Texas cities evacuated after second explosion at chemical plant; three injured in first blast

An early morning explosion rocked an East Texas chemical plant in Port Neches, injuring three workers. An afternoon blast prompted evacuations. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2OSIahO

Iran arrests eight 'linked to CIA' in street unrest

Iran has arrested eight people it accused of CIA links and sending abroad information on recent urban unrest, days after the United States said it had received thousands of messages on a protest crackdown in the Islamic republic. New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused Tehran of "deliberately covering up" more than 140 deaths that it said came when security forces suppressed demonstrations against a sharp fuel price hike. Iran said that among the more than 500 people arrested were eight who were "linked to the CIA", state news agency IRNA said late Wednesday, citing the head of the intelligence ministry's counter-espionage department. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2R92VZF

Hawaii man arrested for 'extreme stalking' of family in Utah

U.S. prosecutors have arrested a Hawaii man they accuse of sending hundreds of unwanted service providers, including plumbers and prostitutes, to a Utah home. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/34seFKu

Rudy Giuliani was angling for a 6-figure business deal with a corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor while pushing him to get political dirt on the Bidens

Rudy Giuliani said he had been approached by the Ukrainians with multiple business offers, but dismissed all of them and never accepted any money. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/37FWEud

North Korea test fires two missiles month before deadline for US to respond on talks

North Korea fired two "unidentified projectiles" on Thursday, Seoul said, as nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington remain deadlocked. The projectiles were fired eastwards from South Hamgyong province and came down in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. They added that the launch, the latest in a series by Pyongyang, was carried out at 16:59 pm local time - or the early hours on the east coast of the United States, during Thanksgiving, one of the country's biggest annual holidays. It was also one day short of the two-year anniversary of the North's first test of its Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile, which analysts say is capable of reaching the entire US mainland. Pyongyang is banned from firing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that Thursday's launch was the latest in a series of violations.  "North Korea's repeate