Saturday, June 30, 2018

Six In The Morning Saturday June 30

North Korea still secretly enriching uranium, say US officials

Report cites ‘unequivocal evidence they are trying to deceive the US’ in blow to Donald Trump


North Korea has increased its production of enriched uranium for nuclear weapons at secret sites in recent months, contrary to Donald Trump’s claims that it was “no longer a nuclear threat”, according to a new report.
NBC News quoted more than a dozen US officials familiar with the intelligence assessments. Coming soon after satellite images showed rapid improvements being made to a North Korean nuclear research facility at Yongbyon, the developments will make it harder for Trump to claim that his summit with Kim Jong-un in Singapore this month was a success.
Neither of the concessions the US president claimed Kim had delivered – the destruction of a missile engine testing site, and the repatriation of the remains of US soldiers killed in the Korean war – has materialised so far.

Young people being radicalised into violence by music videos and social media, former gang member warns

‘Isis does similar things, in my view I see these guys doing the same thing but with a different narrative’
Young people are being “radicalised” into violence by music videos and social media, a former gang member has warned amid a national rise in stabbings.
Raheel Butt, who now works to turn teenagers away from crime, compared the techniques used by London gangs to Isis and the Taliban.
He put the current increase in violence down to a “combination of radicalisation, extremism, gangs and serious organised crime”.

US considering troop withdrawal from Germany, report says

European officials are reportedly trying to figure out if a US evaluation of the impact of moving troops from Germany is a negotiating ploy ahead of a NATO summit in July. Some 35,000 US troops are stationed in Germany.
The US Department of Defense is examining options for withdrawing US forces stationed in Germany after President Donald Trump expressed interest in such a move, The Washington Post reported on Friday.
The newspaper, citing anonymous sources familiar with the evaluation, said officials were analyzing the cost and consequences of shifting either some or all 35,000 US troops to the US or Poland. Top defense officials, the paper said, have not been involved in the analysis.

7 days in the dark: How the Thailand cave search unfolded





Updated 0846 GMT (1646 HKT) June 30, 2018
Around 1 p.m. last Saturday, the weather was clear when Prajak Sutham, 14, Pipat Bhodi, 15, and some of their soccer teammates chained their bikes to a rail, hooked their backpacks over their shoulders, and hiked into Tham Luang Nang Non cave in the mountains of northern Thailand.
The 12 boys, members of the Wild Boars soccer team, and their 25-year-old coach, had explored inside the cave before.
Popular with tourists, it's a place locals know well. For the first kilometer (0.6 miles) or so inside the cavernous entrance, limestone rock formations hug high ceilings, creating an almost amphitheater-like atmosphere.

Supreme Court: Trump to name nominee on 9 July


US President Donald Trump says he plans to announce his nominee for a new Supreme Court judge on 9 July.
He told reporters on board the presidential aircraft Air Force One he had narrowed the choice down to "about five" candidates, including two women.
The vacancy arose when Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement earlier this week.
It gives President Trump the opportunity to solidify a conservative majority on the top court.

His nominee will need to be confirmed by the Senate where the president's Republican Party holds a narrow majority.


Japanese fishermen fear confrontation with N Korean boats


Today  04:02 pm JST

U.S. President Donald Trump has declared North Korea is no longer a threat, but that doesn't make the Japanese fishermen of Sakata feel any easier as they leave port for the peak fishing season.
Instead, they worry they will have to confront North Korean fishing boats competing for their prized catch of squid in the fertile waters of the Yamato Shallows, 400 kilometers off Japan's northwestern coast and an area Tokyo says is its exclusive economic zone.
In a ceremony marking the start of the fishing season this month, captains of Sakata's fleet prayed for a safe fishing season and plentiful harvest. Children threw colorful ribbons onto ship decks as crewmen waved to their families from departing ships.


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