Six In The Morning Sunday February 7

North Korea fires long-range rocket despite warnings

• 7 February 2016
 
• From the section Asia

North Korea has fired a long-range rocket, which critics say is a test of banned missile technology. 

A state TV announcer said that North Korea had successfully placed a satellite in orbit.

The launch was condemned by Japan, South Korea and the US, who have requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council later on Sunday.

South Korea says it is to begin discussing with the US the deployment of a missile defence system.

Senior defence official Ryu Je-Seung said if the THAAD missile system - considered one of the most advanced in the world - were deployed it would be only to counter the threat from the North.

'Fascinating vapour'

In a statement, the North Korean National Aerospace Development Administration said earth observation satellite Kwangmyongsong-4 had entered orbit about 10 minutes after lift-off from the Sohae space centre in North Phyongan province.

Announcing the launch on state TV, a newsreader said it had been ordered by North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and said the country planned to launch more satellites in the future.

Palestinian violence is 'terrorism' not 'frustration' at occupation, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister says

She also suggested Palestinians are being pushed towards extremism under the influences of Isis

• Samuel Osborne 

Terrorism, not frustration at Israeli occupation, is responsible for the recent spate of Palestinian attacks, according to Israel's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

Tzipi Hotovely told Al Jazeera's UpFront she disagreed with both UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Israel's domestic security agency on the source of recent Palestinian attacks.

UpFront host Mehdi Hasan asked Ms Hotovely to respond to a report from Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security agency, which suggested Palestinians were carrying out attacks to "escape from a bleak reality which they perceive as unchangeable".

"That analysis is absolutely wrong," Ms Hotovely said. "I can give you thousands of other options.

Football Leaks: Whistleblower Exposes Top Players' Contracts

By Rafael Buschmann and Michael Wulzinger

Online whistleblower Football Leaks has attracted global attention for publishing the contracts of stars like Germany's Mesut Özil. For its latest exposés, the platform has provided SPIEGEL with access to around 60 documents that contain new revelations such as the annual salary paid by Real Madrid to Toni Kroos.

The man feared by football's dubious dealmakers, a man who is by now probably even hated by the bosses at Real Madrid, is somewhere in Portugal. He doesn't allow visitors -- only emails. When asked if he can be reached by phone, a reporter is told it would be better not to. The man calls himself John.

John writes: "We unfortunately cannot reveal much about our identity to you. As you can imagine, we have some pretty powerful enemies."

Powerful, indeed.

John is one of the creators of the online whistleblowers platform Football Leaks, a secret group that has been publishing spectacular details about the contracts of top international football players, including the amount paid by Arsenal London for Mesut Özil, the transfer sum paid for Brazilian forward Hulk by Zenit Saint Petersburg and the special agreement between AS Monaco and Manchester United over French player Anthony Martial. Football Leaks has the contracts, is familiar with the sums and is posting them on the Web. The football industry is in turmoil.

How Saudis outwit customs to smuggle in booze

Team Observers

The Twitter account of Saudi customs showcases the lengths to which would-be booze smugglers go to in their efforts to bring alcohol into the country. However, not everyone gets caught. Our Saudi Observer tells us how he managed to get his hands on such a rare - and illegal - commodity.

Whether it's by taping bottles of whiskey to their thighs or hiding wine bottles in petrol tanks, some Saudis will go to extraordinary lengths to sneak alcohol into the country. Yet despite the baffling array of outlandish methods used, most attempts are thwarted by custom officers. According to a local source, these small-time traffickers usually cross into the country from Bahrain. However, alcohol is reportedly trafficked into Saudi Arabia on a larger scale from the United Arab Emirates. 

"In Bahrain, there are entire streets for Saudis to get drunk in bars"

Many Saudis head to Bahrain during the weekend to get drunk. They can also go to Dubai, but that's more of a family destination. In Bahrain, there are entire streets for Saudis to get drunk in bars. Many of them come from Riyadh, having journeyed more than 400 km to give free rein to indulgences that are banned in Saudi Arabia. They don't just come for the alcohol. They also come to have sex outside of marriage. Prostitution is everywhere in Bahrain, evidence of which can be seen by going into any one of those bars. There are Russian prostitutes, as well as Moroccan and Chinese ones. There have also been Saudi prostitutes for a little while now, but they're very expensive. You'd need at least 500 euros to spend some 'time' with one of them. 

NEW DELHI, February 7, 2016

Siachen tragedy could trigger demilitarisation

JOSY JOSEPH

‘Intense Army deployment should be replaced with verifiable technological solutions’

The latest tragedy in Siachen could be an excuse for an all-out effort by both India and Pakistan to demilitarise the inhospitable glacier where India and Pakistan have sacrificed hundreds of soldiers over the last three decades.

In fact, some in the military establishment believe the death of 10 soldiers of Madras Regiment could be a trigger for New Delhi to convince Islamabad to go back to the negotiation tables, where a roadmap for demilitarising Siachen is already available.

One senior Army officer pointed out that the Pakistan too has a compelling reason to consider the demilitarisation of the glacier, where over 2,000 soldiers of both nations have died since 1984. He pointed out that after 140 Pakistani soldiers were killed in an avalanche in April 2012, the then Pakistan Army Chief, General Parvez Kayani, issued a statement favouring demilitarisation of the region. “The intense military deployment should be replaced with technological solutions that are verifiable,” the senior officer said. It is an opinion echoed in private by many within the security establishment, given the harsh realities of the glacier and the growing challenges of frequent avalanches.