North Korea Fires New Weapon
INTERNATIONAL: The South Korean military has confirmed that North Korea has fired an unidentified projectile towards the sea off its east coast in the country’s latest weapons test that has raised questions about the sincerity of its recent offer for talks with South Korea. The information was reported a day after North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations called for the United States to give up its “hostile policy” towards Pyongyang and said no one could deny a country’s right to self defence and test weapons. Washington says the missile launch “highlights the destabilizing impact of North Korea’s illicit weapons program” and that the U.S. commitment to the defense of South Korea and Japan “remains ironclad.”
Details of the launch were being analyzed by South Korean and U.S. authorities. But the Japanese prime minister says North Korea fired “what could be a ballistic missile” and that his government has stepped up its surveillance. On September 15, North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into eastern waters designed as a potential counter-strike to what it called any “threatening forces”.
R. Kelly Guilty
Former R&B singer R. Kelly has been convicted by a federal jury in his sex trafficking trial, where prosecutors accused him of exploiting his stardom over a quarter-century to lure women and underage girls into his entourage for sex. Jurors in Brooklyn’s federal court deliberated for a little more than a day before voting to convict the 54-year-old Kelly on all nine counts he faced, after more than five weeks on trial. Kelly had been charged with one count of racketeering and eight counts of violating the Mann Act, which prohibits transporting people across state lines for prostitution. A lawyer for Kelly says that the defense was disappointed but they will appeal. The singer became popular with some of the best songs of all time, including his 1996 Grammy-winning smash "I Believe I Can Fly”. He now faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years behind bars, and could face up to life in prison. He will be sentenced next May.
Tropical Storm Brings Floods to Central Vietnam
And, Tropical Storm Dianmu has brought flooding to areas across Nghe An province of central Vietnam, three days after the storm made landfall. Dianmu formed last Friday in the South China Sea, 200 kilometers from the central coast. Its strongest wind speed by then was around 75 kilometres per hour. Authorities have dispatched rescue teams to send food aid to stranded residents in some of the worst effected areas. At least 600 homes have been damaged and over a thousand hectares of crops have been swamped. Dianmu is the sixth storm that has entered the South China sea this year.
