Cincunri Sakia

Kamis, 03 November 2022

North Korea: Pyongyang fires suspected ICBM - BBC

A man watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test

By Tessa Wong in Seoul and Yvette Tan in Singapore

BBC News

North Korea has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) but it failed mid-flight, says the South Korean military.

The ICBM launch, the North's seventh this year, sparked an alert in Japan - but fell short, landing in the sea.

Tensions are escalating amid fears the North will soon conduct a nuclear test.

On Wednesday both Koreas fired missiles near each other's waters. The exchange saw the most number of missiles launched by the North in a single day.

North Korea's multiple launches comes as the US and South Korea are staging their largest-ever joint air drills, which Pyongyang has strongly criticised as "aggressive and provocative".

On Thursday North Korea fired a long-range missile at around 07:40 local time (23:40 GMT), according to a statement from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. A source confirmed with the BBC that it was an ICBM.

It flew for about 760km (472 miles) and reached a height of around 1,920 km.

But the launch was "presumed to have ended in failure", South Korea's military said.

Pyongyang also fired two short-range ballistic missiles.

The launches led the Japanese government to issue a rare emergency alert on Thursday morning to residents in some of its northern regions, telling them to stay indoors.

Tokyo initially said the missile had flown over Japan, but Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada later said it did "not cross the Japanese archipelago, but disappeared over the Sea of Japan".

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida later condemned North Korea's "repeated missile launches", calling them an "outrage".

The US said the launch demonstrated the threat North Korea's missile programme poses to neighbours and international peace and security.

"Our commitments to the defence of the Republic of Korea and Japan remain ironclad," a state department spokesman said.

Meanwhile South Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said the launches were "deplorable, immoral" during a phone call on Thursday, according to South Korea.

After the ICBM launch the US and South Korea agreed to extend their joint air drills beyond their scheduled end date of Friday, South Korea's Air Force said.

It comes just a month after North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan - the first time it had done so in five years.

The North has tested a record number of missiles this year as tensions have risen.

Despite crippling sanctions, Pyongyang conducted six nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017 and is believed to be planning a seventh.

It has continued to advance its military capability - in breach of United Nations Security Council resolutions - to threaten its neighbours and potentially even bring the US mainland within striking range.

Wednesday's launches saw one of Pyongyang's ballistic missiles cross the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a disputed maritime border between the Koreas.

It landed outside South Korea's territorial waters but was the closest a North Korean missile got to the border.

Seoul responded with warplanes firing three air-to-ground missiles that also crossed the disputed maritime demarcation line. It fired a total of 23 missiles on Wednesday.

And they were launched from various points across the country, according to Kim Jong-dae, a visiting scholar of Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies.

"South Korea and the US believe that if they find the starting point of the provocation, they can precisely strike it. But there are starting points all over North Korea, and North Korea is posing multi-dimensional, systematic and simultaneous threats that they can fire (missiles) anywhere in their land. This is a situation which I've seen for the first time," he told local news channel YTN.

With accelerated activity from North Korea since late September, "the end of this is likely to be the seventh nuclear test, to prove their nuclear capabilities and determination," Park Won-gon, North Korean studies professor at Ewha Woman University, told the BBC.

"It's unrealistic to expect North Korea to denuclearise, as it wants de facto nuclear state status to sit on the negotiation table with the US."

Additional reporting by Youmi Kim and Sangmi Han

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2022-11-03 06:17:42Z
1622275830

Rabu, 02 November 2022

'Unpredecented, unlawful, un-American': Biden warns democracy at risk as midterms loom - Sky News

Analysis: Biden's intervention is high risk - and controversial

This was no normal pre-election speech, and be in no doubt, an intervention like this is extremely controversial.

By saying that only his Democratic Party stands for democracy - however true he may believe that to be - is he essentially telling voters that the nation's democracy has already been lost?

Just days from the elections in such a tense environment, it's a high-risk speech indeed.

Scheduled late in the day and with a sense of urgency, it wasn't about policy, it was about the stability of the country - the "soul of the nation" as he put it.

"We're facing a defining moment, an inflection point," Mr Biden warned. "Make no mistake - democracy is on the ballot."

His party may well be trailing the polls - a drubbing next week is possible, and so he's looking for votes of course. But the president sought to get beyond that.

"This is not about me ... It's about all of us. It's about what makes America, America. It's about the durability of our democracy."

The context is a nation bitterly divided and a former president who continues to insist he won the last election.

Ever since the 2020 presidential race, Donald Trump has claimed, without any evidence, that he was robbed. A significant proportion of his supporters believe him - some polls suggest as many as 70%.

Defending the election's integrity, Mr Biden said: "Every legal challenge that could have been brought was brought. Every recount that could have been undertaken was undertaken. Every recount confirmed the results."

There are up to 300 Republican election deniers on the ballot next week - Trump allies such as Arizona's candidate for governor, Kari Lake.

Mr Biden drew a line between what he called "the big lie" and the hammer attack last week on the House Speaker's husband.

"The assailant ended up using a hammer to smash Paul's skull. We don't settle our differences America with a riot, a mob, or a bullet or a hammer," he said in a stark warning about violent political extremism.

Mr Biden's speech built on similar comments and rhetoric he's made over the past few weeks.

"This has not happened since the civil war," he said a few days ago. "It sounds like hyperbole, but it hasn't happened since then, as bad as it is now."

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2022-11-03 02:05:58Z
1629389673

North Korea: Pyongyang fires suspected long-range missile, says Seoul - BBC

By Yvette Tan

BBC News

North Korea has fired at least one long-range and two short-range ballistic missiles, said South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says one may have been an intercontinental ballistic missile.

It comes after Pyongyang on Wednesday launched its most missiles in a single day - including one that landed near South Korea's territorial waters.

Seoul responded by firing three missiles of its own.

North Korea's multiple launches comes as the US and South Korea are staging their largest-ever joint air drills, which Pyongyang has strongly criticised as "aggressive and provocative".

The latest launch on Thursday morning led the Japanese government to issue a rare emergency alert to residents in some of its northern regions, telling them to stay indoors.

Tokyo initially said the missile had flown over Japan, but Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada later said it did "not cross the Japanese archipelago, but disappeared over the Sea of Japan".

PM Kishida later condemned North Korea's "repeated missile launches", calling them an "outrage".

It comes just a month after North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan - the first time it had done so in five years.

The North has tested a record number of missiles this year as tensions have risen.

Despite crippling sanctions, Pyongyang has conducted six nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017, and is believed to be planning a seventh.

Wednesday's launch saw one of Pyongyang's ballistic missiles cross the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a disputed maritime border between the Koreas.

It landed outside South Korea's territorial waters but was the closest a North Korean missile got to the border.

Seoul responded with warplanes firing three air-to-ground missiles that also crossed the disputed maritime demarcation line.

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2022-11-03 01:18:07Z
1622275830

Israel elections: Benjamin Netanyahu set for dramatic comeback, exit polls say - bbc.com

By Raffi Berg

BBC News Online Middle East editor, Jerusalem

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on course for victory in the country's general election, exit polls say.

The projections give his right-wing bloc a slim majority of seats over his centre-left opponents led by current Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

Such a result would mark a dramatic comeback for Mr Netanyahu, toppled last year after 12 straight years in power.

"We are close to a big victory," he told jubilant supporters in Jerusalem.

The election was widely seen as a vote for or against Mr Netanyahu's return.

The exit polls suggest his bloc will command 61 or 62 seats in the 120-seat Knesset (parliament).

With just under 85% of the votes cast on Tuesday counted, it was projected to pick up as many as 65 seats. However, that could change as the remaining ballots are processed.

In order to secure a parliamentary majority, Mr Netanyahu and his Likud party will be dependent on the support of the far-right, ultra-nationalist Religious Zionism party.

Its leaders have gained notoriety for using anti-Arab rhetoric and advocating the deportation of "disloyal" politicians or civilians.

Far right advance in polls as Israel election looms

Mr Netanyahu, accompanied by his wife Sara, appeared at his Likud party's election night venue at 03:00 local time (01:00 GMT) on Wednesday to thunderous applause.

"We have won a huge vote of confidence from the people of Israel," he told his cheering supporters.

Since the exit polls were announced hours earlier when voting ended, the room had been a scene of celebration as people jumped up and down, waved flags and chanted Netanyahu's nickname, Bibi. One man repeatedly blew a shofar, or ram's horn, a ritual instrument used by some Jewish people at times of special significance.

At his party's camp in Tel Aviv however, Prime Minister Lapid told his supporters that "nothing" was yet decided and his centre-left Yesh Atid party would wait for the final results.

Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Yair Lapid (file photo)

Mr Netanyahu, 73, is one of Israel's most controversial political figures, loathed by many on the centre and left but adored by Likud's grassroots supporters.

He is a firm supporter of Israel's settlement-building in the West Bank, occupied since the 1967 Middle East war. Settlements there are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

He opposes the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict - a formula supported by most of the international community, including the Biden administration in the US.

Mr Netanyahu is also currently on trial for alleged bribery, fraud and breach of trust - charges he fiercely denies. His possible partners in a Likud-led coalition government have said they would reform the law, in a move which would bring a halt to his trial.

According to the exit polls, Likud stands to be the biggest party, with 30-31 seats, commanding a majority with the support of nationalist and religious parties.

Yesh Atid, which led the coalition which brought down Mr Netanyahu in elections last year, is forecast to win 22-24 seats.

Religious Zionism appears to have won 14 seats, which would make it the third largest party.

"It will be better now," said Religious Zionism supporter, Julian, at the party's venue in Jerusalem.

"When [Religious Zionism politician Itamar Ben-Gvir] will be minister of public security, it will be even better - he'll bring back security to the people of Israel. That's very important."

However, political scientist Gayil Talshir, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, warned that if the exit polls "reflect the real results, Israel is on its way to become Orban's Hungary", recently branded an "electoral autocracy" by the EU.

If the polls are confirmed, it will stave off the prospect of a sixth election in just four years after analysts predicted deadlock.

It would mark a remarkable turnaround for Mr Netanyahu, whose political future was widely written off after Mr Lapid formed an unlikely alliance of ideologically diverse parties to take power in June 2021, with the uniting aim of making it impossible for Mr Netanyahu to form a government.

At the time, Mr Netanyahu vowed to bring it down as quickly as possible and one year later the coalition government concluded it could not survive and collapsed after resignations meant it no longer had a majority.

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North and South Korea fire missiles off each other's coasts for first time - bbc.co.uk

People watch a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing ballistic missiles into the sea, in Seoul, South Korea, November 2, 2022.

By Frances Mao in Singapore & Jean Mackenzie in Seoul

BBC News

North and South Korea have both fired missiles landing in waters off each other's coasts for the first time.

Seoul retaliated on Wednesday three hours after Pyongyang launched a missile that landed less than 60km (37mi) off the South's city of Sokcho.

The South's military said this was an "unacceptable" breach of its territory.

It fired three air-to-ground missiles in response, which officials said landed a similar distance past the Northern Limit Line (NLL).

The demarcation line marks the rough midway-point in the sea between North and South Korea, but the North has never accepted the boundary.

On Tuesday North Korea warned that South Korea and the US would pay "the most horrible price in history" if they continued joint military drills, seen as a veiled threat to use nuclear weapons.

The North is expected to resume nuclear weapons testing soon after a five-year break, with US and South Korean intelligence saying Pyongyang has completed all the necessary preparations.

Why is Kim Jong-un upping the pressure?

The tit-for-tat missile launches come during a period of national mourning in South Korea, following the crowd crush in Seoul at the weekend which killed more than 150 people.

North Korea fired at least 10 missiles in both east and west directions on Wednesday, South Korean officials say.

At least one of the North Korean missiles - launched before 09:00 (00:00 GMT) on Wednesday - landed about 26km south of the border, 57km east of Sokcho and 167km north-west of Ulleung island.

It triggered air-raid sirens on Ulleung, where residents were told to evacuate to underground shelters.

The launch was picked up immediately by South Korean and Japanese authorities who swiftly condemned the escalation from Pyongyang.

South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol labelled it an "effective territorial invasion", although the missile landed outside South Korean territorial waters, and vowed a "swift and firm response".

Under international law, countries can only establish territorial claim to 12 nautical miles of sea bordering their land. Mr Yoon has made it his policy to take a tough line on North Korea.

Around three hours later, the South fired three precision air-to-ground missiles from warplanes into waters off North Korea's east coast.

The firings are a marked escalation in hostilities across the peninsula this year, which has already witnessed over 50 missile launches from North Korea - including one ballistic missile that passed over Japan.

On Monday a US nuclear-powered submarine arrived off the coast of South Korea as part of the joint US-South Korean drills, which began in August.

Wargaming a North Korean attack

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2022-11-02 06:19:07Z
1622275830

Israel elections: Benjamin Netanyahu set for dramatic comeback, exit polls say - bbc.com

By Raffi Berg

BBC News Online Middle East editor, Jerusalem

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on course for victory in the country's general election, exit polls say.

The projections give his right-wing bloc a slim majority of seats over his centre-left opponents led by current Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

Such a result would mark a dramatic comeback for Mr Netanyahu, toppled last year after 12 straight years in power.

"We are close to a big victory," he told jubilant supporters in Jerusalem.

The election was widely seen as a vote for or against Mr Netanyahu's return.

The exit polls suggest his bloc will command 61 or 62 seats in the 120-seat Knesset (parliament).

With just over 70% of the votes cast on Tuesday counted, it was projected to pick up as many as 67 seats. However, that is expected to change as the remaining ballots are processed.

In order to secure a parliamentary majority, Mr Netanyahu and his Likud party will be dependent on the support of the far-right, ultra-nationalist Religious Zionism party.

Its leaders have gained notoriety for using anti-Arab rhetoric and advocating the deportation of "disloyal" politicians or civilians.

Far right advance in polls as Israel election looms