Kim Jong-un shows off delivery of new 250 missile launchers
North Korea is deploying 250 new tactical ballistic missile launchers on its border with South Korea, a move that is set to escalate tensions in the region.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a ceremony to deliver the new weapons system to the military on Sunday. Photos published by state media outlet Rodong Sinmun showed dozens of military trucks lined up in neat rows before the leader.
At the ceremony, marked by massive fireworks, Mr Kim described the new missile launchers as an “up-to-date tactical attack weapon” that he had “personally designed”.
“Dialogue or confrontation can be our choice, but what we must be more thoroughly prepared for is confrontation,” Mr Kim said, adding that it was a “keynote of our policy towards the US that we have consistently maintained”.
“If the US ignores our repeated warnings and continues to attempt to undermine the security of the region,” he warned, “it will have dire consequences for its own security”.
Although photos published by state media such as KCNA showed dozens of vehicles and trucks equipped with launchers positioned behind the driver’s cab, it was unclear if any contained functioning missiles.
Joseph Dempsey, a research associate for military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said it was hard to determine if any missiles were actually loaded at the ceremony. “It would seem unlikely and illogical based on practicality and safety,” he was quoted as saying by American broadcaster CNN.
North Korea is growing its arsenal of mobile short-range weapons aimed at overwhelming missile defences in neighbouring South Korea, while also advancing its development of intercontinental ballistic missiles it claims are capable of reaching the US.
The country showcased some of these new missiles during a drill in June. They included Hwasongpho 11Da tactical ballistic missile, which is capable of carrying a 4.5-tonne “super-large warhead”.
Pyongyang launched two ballistic missiles during the drill, South Korea said, with one flying 600km and the other 120km.
The border between the Koreas is heavily fortified, with Pyongyang asserting it has extensive artillery and military equipment aimed at the South.
Lee Sung-joon, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said they believed the missile launchers were “intended to be used in various ways such to attack or threaten South Korea”. Their deployment near the border would mean the range was not long, he added.
Koh Yu-hwan, emeritus professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University, noted that while Pyongyang had ramped up the rhetoric it had fallen short of strategic provocations.
“South Korea and the US are set to hold a major military exercise in August,” he said. “North Korea is making these remarks as a response to such military exercises.”
Seoul and Washington conduct an annual joint military exercise, known as “Ulchi Freedom Shield”, in August.
Pyongyang has consistently condemned the drills as rehearsals for an invasion.
North Korea adopted a constitutional policy last September to “exponentially” expand its nuclear weapons programme.
The aim was to “ensure the country’s right to existence and development, deter war and protect regional and global peace by rapidly developing nuclear weapons to a higher level”, KCNA reported.
Additional reporting by agencies.
Egyptian archaeologists uncover rare untouched gold treasures
Archaeologists have uncovered dozens of tombs in an ancient Egyptian necropolis containing burials at least 2,500 years old, along with rare untouched gold treasures.
Unlike most ancient Egyptian treasures from millennia ago that have been looted by grave robbers, the latest site was found to contain a hoard of untouched bronze coins, gold foil and ancient figurines representing deities such as Isis, Bastet, and Horus.
Undamaged artefacts like pottery vessels, funerary amulets, and scarabs found along with the treasures throw fresh light on the customs and rituals followed by ancient Egyptians of this era, says Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities.
For decades, researchers have been carrying out excavation projects at a site in Tel el-Deir near Lebanon, found to be an ancient cemetery, or necropolis.
In 2019, archaeologists found seven gold coins dating to the Byzantine period between 284 to 641 AD, and statues engraved with the name of King Psamtik II of the 26th Dynasty.
Excavations over the years culminated in the discovery of a vast burial complex in 2022, dating to between 644 and 525 BCE.
This necropolis dated to the Late Period of ancient Egypt hosts several kinds of burials, being the final resting place of the bodies of humbler common citizens as well as those of the rich.
At the site, researchers previously uncovered miniature canopic jars, vessels into which a dead person’s organs were placed during mummification.
Tombs here were made of mud brick in the case of common folk and limestone in the case of wealthier individuals.
Surprisingly, archaeologists also unearthed 38 bronze coins in a ceramic jar at the site dated to the Ptolemaic dynasty, which lasted several hundred years after the complex was built from from 305 to 30 BC.
Along with this finding, an architectural layout of the complex unearthed during the dig may lead to re-dating of an important period for the ancient Egyptian city of Damietta, researchers say.
Overall, the unearthed artefact shed better light on the craftsmanship of the ancient Egyptians as well as their access to materials via trade.
Together, these findings hint that Damietta was an important commercial hub for a significant period in the history of ancient Egypt.
Asia stocks plunge as fears of recession grow
Taiwan’s stock exchange has called an urgent press conference to calm investor fears after markets in many major Asian economies plunged on Monday.
Stocks fell over seven per cent in morning trade in Taiwan, with tech shares, including of TSMC, nosediving as investors sold off their stakes in one of Asia’s top performing markets this year.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index plunged 12.4 per cent later in the day, closing down 4,451 points at 31,458 on Monday amid fears of a recession in the US.
South Korea’s Kospi also plunged by over seven per cent while Singapore’s Straits Times Index and Australia’s All Ordinaries slid more than three per cent, reported Nikkei Asia.
A recent report showing that hiring by US employers last month slowed more than expected has convulsed financial markets, countering the euphoria that had taken the Nikkei to an all-times high of over 42,000 in recent weeks.
The Nikkei 225 has also dropped 5.8 per cent on Friday, making this its worst two-day decline ever.
Its worst single-day rout was a plunge of 3,836 points, or 14.9 per cent, on a day dubbed “Black Monday” in October 1987.
Share prices have fallen since the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday. The Nikkei is now down 3.8 per cent from a year ago.
A key factor that prompted the interest rate hike was prolonged weakness of the Japanese yen, which pushed inflation to above the central bank’s two per cent inflation target.
Early on Monday, the dollar was trading at ¥142.39 (¥187.6 to the pound), down from 146.45 late on Friday and sharply below the mark of ¥160 a few weeks ago.
Investors are selling Japanese stocks due to concerns about the US market heading towards a recession, said Naka Matsuzawa, chief strategist at Nomura Securities.
“The fall is not really happening due to Japan-specific reasons,” he told Nikkei Asia. “Markets are still trying to find the bottom.”
He suggested taking a “wait and see approach” until US stocks show resilience.
Taiwan’s Taiex lost 8.4 per cent as the TSMC, the world’s biggest chip maker, dropped 9.8 per cent.
Explaining the drop, Kyle Rodda, senior market analyst at Capital, told Bloomberg: “We are basically seeing a mass deleveraging as investors sell assets to fund their losses. The rapidity of the move has caught me off guard; there’s a lot of panic selling now, which is what causes these non-linear reactions in asset prices to pretty straightforward fundamental dynamics.”
Stocks tumbled around the world on Friday after weaker than expected employment data fuelled worries that the US economy could be cracking under the weight of high interest rates meant to tame inflation.
Israeli shares fell sharply, reflecting the threat of an attack from Iran in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.
The benchmark TA-35 stock index fell as much as 2.7 per cent, reported Bloomberg.
Ronen Menchem, chief markets economist at Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd, attributed the slump to sharp drops in the US as well as to security tensions in Israel. He cautioned that the market is expected to be “very nervous” in the region.
Additional reporting by agencies
Australia raises national terror threat level
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has raised the country’s terrorism threat level from “possible” to “probable” amid a worrying spread of extremism in the country.
The country’s intelligence agencies have disrupted eight possible terror incidents in just the last four months, according to spy chief Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).
“Probable” is the midpoint of the country’s five-tier National Terrorism Threat Advisory System, which has been set at warning an attack could be “possible” since November 2022. Prior to that it was set to “probable” for eight years running.
Mr Albanese told a press conference that the decision reflected intelligence about the current climate of extremism in Australia, rather than any specific known threat.
“I want to reassure Australians probable does not mean inevitable, and it does not mean there is intelligence about an imminent threat or danger,” the prime minister said.
“The advice that we’ve received is that more Australians are embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies and it is our responsibility to be vigilant.”
Mr Burgess warned that the security environment in Australia had become more volatile as “more Australians are being radicalised and radicalised more quickly … (and) embracing a more diverse range of extreme ideologies.
He added: “More Australians are willing to use violence to advance their cause.”
“Provocative inflammatory behaviours are being normalised,” he said. “This trend increased during Covid and gained momentum after the terrorist attacks on Israel and accelerated during Israel’s military response. Individuals are embracing anti-authority ideologies, conspiracy theories and diverse grievances.”
The prime minister also asked lawmakers in the country to watch their language. “When the temperature of the security environment is rising, we must lower the temperature of debate – something I’ve been saying for some time. Our words and our actions matter.”
Mr Albanese said: “Living in a country as stable and open as ours, social cohesion cannot be taken for granted, it must be nourished and it must be cherished as a national asset.”
The ASIO said it had intercepted or responded to eight alleged terrorist attacks since April. Among these incidents was the Wakeley church stabbing in western Sydney, where a bishop was stabbed during a live-streamed sermon.
A “probable” terror rating indicates there is credible intelligence suggesting that individuals or groups have both the intent and capability to carry out an attack. The five-tier system ranges from “certain” to “not expected”.
Mark Dreyfus, the attorney general, said: “This is a return to the same national terrorism threat level that was in place in Australia for more than eight years. This return to a national terrorism threat level of ‘probable’ was informed by ASIO’s expert assessment of our current security environment.”
He added: “The director-general has outlined the dynamics that have raised the temperature of the security environment, but he has also said that these threats are not insurmountable. As the director-general and the prime minister have said, it does not mean that there is any imminent threat of terrorist attack in Australia.
“Rather, it means that ASIO’s experts in the national threat assessment centre have assessed current intelligence and made a decision that reflects our current security environment. I want to reassure the public that ASIO and our law enforcement partners are working hard to detect terrorist threats and are well-practised at disrupting them.”
Nine children killed after wall collapses during religious event
At least nine children died after a wall collapsed on them during a religious event in India’s Madhya Pradesh state on Sunday.
The children, aged between 10-15 years, were making religious figurines with clay as a part of a ceremony at a temple in Sagar district when the wall of the house next door collapsed.
The dilapidated house was nearly 50 years old and run down by heavy rain, the local administration said, according to NDTV.
An earth mover was pressed into the rescue action to remove the debris and save the trapped children.
“The children were sitting in a tent at the temple premises when the wall fell on them,” district official Deepak Arya told local reporters.
“The wall’s foundation became weak due to recent rainfall” and collapsed around 8.30am (local time), he added.
Several other children were rushed to a nearby hospital after sustaining injuries in the incident. “All the debris has been removed from the site of the incident,” Mr Arya added.
The bodies were taken to Sagar district hospital for autopsy.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav announced a compensation of Rs400,000 (£3,728) each for kin of the dead and Rs100,000 (£932) to the injured.
“I have directed the district administration to provide proper treatment to the injured children,” he said in a statement.
The wall collapsed in Sagar just a day after four other children were killed after a wall of an abandoned building crumbled in the state’s Rewa district. The students, aged 5-7 years, died while returning home from school, authorities said.
The local police on Saturday arrested two owners of the run down building.
At least 200 people have died in Madhya Pradesh in rain-related incidents during the monsoon season of 2024.
Meanwhile, seven people died and another 40 sustained injuries after a bus fell into a ditch in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. The double-decker bus, en route capital Delhi, collided with a car coming from the wrong direction on the highway during the early hours.
At least four out of the 60 passengers on the bus died in the incident along with all three people in the car.
Woman rescued after falling into 100ft-deep gorge while taking selfie
A 29-year-old woman in India was rescued to safety after she fell nearly 100ft into a gorge reportedly while clicking a selfie.
The woman, along with a group of friends, was visiting the Bhorane Ghat in the Maharashtra state on Saturday when she fell near the Thoseghar waterfalls, according to reports.
The local administration had banned visits to the waterfall, one of the popular tourist spots in the state, due to challenging weather conditions amidst heavy rainfall.
The group had initially planned to visit the waterfall but upon finding it closed, took a detour to the mountain pass, reports said.
While clicking pictures, the woman slipped from the edge and fell, theTimes of India reported.
Her friends immediately called the police, who rushed to the spot along with home guard personnel.
The woman was successfully rescued and taken to a hospital. She remains in a stable condition.
A video from the rescue operations showed the woman being brought up from the gorge by a home guard personnel with the help of a rope.
The incident comes nearly a fortnight after a 27-year-old woman died after falling into a gorge at Kumbhe waterfall near Maharashtra.
Aanvi Kamdar died after falling 350ft from a hillock near the waterfall while filming a video for her Instagram page. Authorities conducted a six-hour rescue but she was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
India reportedly has recorded the highest number of selfie deaths followed by the US and Russia.
There have been 379 selfie-related deaths recorded worldwide between 2008 and 2021, according to a study published in the Journal of Travel Medicine.
Vietnam president To Lam appointed new Communist Party chief
Vietnam’s president To Lam has been named the new chief of the Communist Party following the death of his predecessor two weeks ago.
Mr Lam, 67, had taken over the country’s most powerful political role temporarily on 18 July, a day before the death of previous secretary general Nguyễn Phú Trọng.
The Communist Party on Saturday unanimously supported Mr Lam’s nomination to the top post.
Addressing the delegates in Hanoi, he vowed to inherit and promote his predecessor’s legacy, make no changes to the Southeast Asian nation’s foreign policy, focus on achieving its socio-economic development goals, and continue a campaign against graft.
Trọng dominated Vietnamese politics since he became party chief in 2011 and viewed corruption as the gravest threat facing the party.
“In the coming time, the work on anti-corruption will be continued fiercely,” Mr Lam told the press conference.
“Personally, I feel fortunate that I have much experience in handling anti-graft campaign during the time I worked at the police ministry.”
Mr Lam spent over four decades in the ministry of public security before becoming the minister in 2016. He then led Trọng’s sweeping anti-graft campaign until May, when he became president following the resignation of his predecessor.
The Communist nation has become a major destination for manufacturing investment due to its political stability, but experienced major turbulence in recent months that officials said was fuelled by the anti-graft effort.
It was not immediately clear whether Mr Lam would retain both top jobs until the legislative session ends in 2026, or whether a new president would replace him.
If Mr Lam retains both jobs, that could pave the path for him to adopt a more autocratic leadership style similar to that of Xi Jinping, who is China’s party chief and state president.
It would not, however, be unprecedented. Trọng held both top jobs for nearly three years until April 2021 after the death of a former president.
“It is a sign of a temporary halt of internal fighting within the party,” Nguyen Khac Giang, a Vietnam expert at Singapore think tank the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
“Although Lam vowed to push forward the anti-corruption campaign, the campaign may slow down a little as he may prioritise stabilising the party system before the party congress in 2026.”
Officials and diplomats said the party had discussed possibly naming a new president so that Mr Lam could focus on the party chief’s job, Reuters reported.
“In case the plenum ends without naming any new state president to replace Lam, it is a signal of a new chapter for Vietnam,” Mr Giang said.
Mr Xi congratulated Mr Lam on his new role, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Additional reporting by agencies.
Singapore hangs man for trafficking 36g of heroin
Singapore has executed a man for trafficking 36.93g of heroin, making it the city-state’s second hanging this year.
The 45-year-old man was sent to the gallows at the Changi prison after being found guilty of trafficking more than twice the 15g of pure heroin that merits the death penalty, the Central Narcotics Bureau said on Friday.
Under Singapore’s law, which dictates harsh punishments for drug trafficking, anyone convicted of trafficking more than 500g (17.6oz) of cannabis or 15g (0.5oz) of heroin will be executed.
The identity and details of the case were kept private by rights groups at the request of the man’s family.
The man was convicted and subsequently sentenced to death in February 2019, AFP reported. His legal petitions for clemency were dismissed.
“He was accorded full due process under the law, and was represented by legal counsel throughout the process,” the narcotics bureau said.
In February, Singapore executed Bangladeshi national Ahmed Salim, making him the first person convicted of murder to be hanged since 2019.
Singapore’s authorities had put execution sentences on hold in 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, but resumed the hangings in 2022 despite calls to cease capital punishment for drug-related crimes.
In 2023, Singapore conducted its first execution of a woman in 19 years for trafficking nearly 31g of pure heroin.
Human rights groups, international activists and the UN have urged Singapore to halt executions for drug offenses and say there is increasing evidence it is ineffective as a deterrent.
Singapore authorities insist capital punishment is key to halting drug demand and supply. “Capital punishment is used only for the most serious crimes in Singapore that cause grave harm to the victim, or to society,” the Singapore Police Force previously said in a statement.
There are just over 50 people on death row with all but two convicted of drug offences, according to the Transformative Justice Collective, a Singapore-based NGO that campaigns against the death penalty.
Singapore has so far executed 18 convicts since 2022.
“Singapore reversed the Covid-19 hiatus on executions, kicking its death row machinery into overdrive,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, previously said.
“The government’s reinvigorated use of the death penalty merely highlighted its disregard for human rights protections and the inherent cruelty of capital punishment.”