North Korea fires unidentified projectile, South Korea says - CNN

If confirmed to be a missile test, it would be Pyongyang's 13th missile test since May.

The uptick in weapons testing comes amid increasing friction between North Korea and its main adversaries, South Korea and the United States. Nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been at an impasse for weeks, and North Korea recently stated it is no longer interested in holding talks with the US.

Thursday's launch took place on Thanksgiving morning in the US, and the symbolism might be significant. North Korea has previously conducted missile tests on important American holidays. Its first successful test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) came on July 4 -- US Independence Day -- in 2017. North Korean state media went on to call that launch part of a "package of gifts" for "American bastards."

It also comes almost exactly two years after North Korea test-fired its Hwasong-15 ICBM, which analysts believe could target much of the United States with a nuclear warhead.

Those launches preceded the flurry of summit diplomacy between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump.

But nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington have essentially been on ice since early October, when the two sides met in Stockholm. That ended abruptly and without any agreement, and North Korea would go on to conduct two missile tests later that month.

Washington and Seoul postponed military drills scheduled for mid-November in an attempt to convince North Korea to return to the negotiating table, but Pyongyang rebuffed those efforts and went ahead with its own drills.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper called North Korea's response "disappointing," but said he did not "regret trying to take the high road, if you will, and keep the door open for peace and diplomacy if we can move the ball forward."

However, the clock could be ticking. North Korean leader Kim said in an important policy speech in April that he would give the Trump administration until the end of the year to change its negotiating strategy. It is unclear how serious that deadline is.

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2019-11-28 09:09:00Z
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North Korea has fired an unidentified projectile, Seoul says - Fox News

SEOUL -- South Korea says North Korea has fired an unidentified projectile.

A brief statement Thursday from Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff gave no further details, such as what kind of projectile was launched and where it landed. In the past, such reports by South Korea about North Korean launches have turned out to be test launches of missiles and artillery pieces.

The reported launch came three days after North Korea said its troops performed artillery drills near its disputed sea boundary with South Korea.

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U.S.-led diplomacy on ending the North Korean nuclear crisis has remained stalled for months.

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2019-11-28 08:59:05Z
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North Korea fires unidentified projectile, South Korea military says - CNBC

People watch a TV broadcast showing file footage for a news report on North Korea firing two projectiles, possibly missiles, into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, in Seoul, South Korea, October 31, 2019.

Heo Ran | Reuters

North Korea fired unidentified projectiles on Thursday, South Korea's military said, the first such launch in nearly a month, amid a stalemate in denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington, as a year-end deadline looms to strike a deal.

Japan's Coast Guard said it had detected what appeared to be a missile launched by the North and was monitoring where it would land. The defense ministry said the projectile did not enter its airspace or its Exclusive Economic Zone, however.

South Korea's military said the North fired two projectiles from an eastern province into the sea off its coast. The launch is the first since the North fired two suspected missiles into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan on Oct. 31.

It comes after South Korea pulled back from a decision to scrap an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, a key element of regional security cooperation between the two biggest Asian allies of the United States.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has set an end-of-the-year deadline for denuclearization talks with Washington, but negotiations have been at an impasse after a day-long working level meeting on Oct 5 ended without progress.

North Korean officials have warned the United States to abandon its hostile policy toward the North or Pyongyang would walk away from the talks.

The North has demanded the lifting of sanctions against it and the abandonment of joint military drills by the United States and South Korea, which it calls preparations for an invasion.

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2019-11-28 08:14:00Z
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Iraq condemns attack on Iranian consulate in Najaf - Al Jazeera English

Anti-government protesters stormed and set the Iranian consulate ablaze in the southern city of Najaf on Wednesday, drawing condemnation from Iraq's government, as the political turmoil continues to escalate.

The attack was the strongest expression yet of the anti-Iranian sentiment by Iraqi demonstrators, who have taken to the streets for weeks in the capital Baghdad and Shia-Muslim-majority south - and have been shot in their hundreds by Iraqi security forces.

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Staff at the Iranian consulate evacuated safely before the attack in the holy city, which was later placed under a curfew, state media reported.

On Thursday, Iraq's state news agency quoted the foreign ministry as condemning the attack on the diplomatic facility.

Al Jazeera's Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from the capital Baghdad said: "What we're being told by eyewitnesses is that protesters surrounded the Iranian consulate in Najaf and they then set fire either to the building itself or the fence that surrounds the building."

"But we're still awaiting more details about it, specifically."

One protester was killed and at least 35 people were wounded when police fired live ammunition to prevent them from entering the building, a police official told The Associated Press.

Demonstrators removed the Iranian flag from the building and replaced it with an Iraqi one. Iranian consulate staff escaped the building from the back door, unharmed.

The incident marked an escalation in the demonstrations that have raged in Baghdad and across mostly Shia southern Iraq since October 1.

The protesters accuse the government of being hopelessly corrupt and complain of poor public services and high unemployment.

They also decry growing Iranian influence in Iraqi affairs. Iran-backed political parties and paramilitary groups dominate state institutions and Parliament.

Iran on Thursday demanded Iraq take decisive action against "aggressors".

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi, quoted by state news agency IRNA, condemned the attack and "demanded decisive, effective and responsible action... against destructive agents and aggressors".

Deadly demonstrations

Security forces have fired live rounds, tear gas, and smoke bombs on a near-daily basis since the unrest began.

At least 350 people have been killed and thousands wounded in what has become the largest grassroots protest movement in Iraq's modern history.

Jamjoom said the latest incident is "clearly a significant escalation in Najaf, the seat of the Shia religious authority in the country".

"This really adds fuel to the crisis at a time when the protesters are continuing to come out."

The burning of the Iranian consulate followed tense days in southern Iraq, where protesters have burned tyres and cut access to main roads in several provinces.

In Karbala, four protesters were killed by live fire from security forces in the previous 24 hours.

Three of the anti-government protesters were killed when security forces fired live rounds to disperse crowds in the holy city of Karbala late Tuesday, security and medical officials said.

One protester died of wounds suffered when a tear gas canister struck him in clashes earlier in the day.

Authorities have warned against exploitation of the unrest by armed groups. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) group claimed three bomb blasts in Baghdad overnight that killed at least six people, although it provided no evidence for the claim.

Beleaguered Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi expressed concern over both the violence and the financial toll of the unrest late on Tuesday.

"There have been martyrs among protesters and security forces, many wounded and arrested ... We're trying to identify mistakes" made by security forces in trying to put down the protests, he told a televised cabinet meeting.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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2019-11-28 06:50:00Z
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Hong Kong protesters praise Trump, Congress for law; Beijing calls move sinister - Fox News

Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong cheered President Trump and members of Congress for passing two laws that support the months-long uprising that has crippled the city while Beijing's anger over the legislation was on full display, calling the move a "nakedly hegemonic act" before summoning the top American diplomat in the country in protest.

The protests in Hong Kong started in June in response to, in part, an extradition bill that would have sent alleged criminals to China to stand trial. The bill never went forward, but the protests remained and only grew in size and violence since June.

PROTEST LEADER SPEAKS OUT AGAINST BEIJING 

Trump signed the bills, which were approved by near-unanimous consent in the House and Senate, even as he expressed some concerns about complicating the effort to work out a trade deal with China's President Xi Jinping.

Up until Wednesday's announcement, Trump did not indicate whether or not he would sign the bill. Secretary of  State Mike Pompeo refused to answer a reporter's question about the president's leanings as recent as Tuesday.

The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which was sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., requires that the U.S. conducts yearly reviews into Hong Kong’s autonomy from Beijing. If ever found unsatisfactory, the city's special status for U.S. trading could be tossed.

"I signed these bills out of respect for President Xi, China, and the people of Hong Kong," Trump said in a statement. "They are being enacted in the hope that Leaders and Representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences leading to long term peace and prosperity for all."

The statement did little to calm Beijing. The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement that the bill will only "strengthen the resolve of the Chinese people, including the Hong Kong people, and raise the sinister intentions and hegemonic nature of the U.S."

The statement continued, "The US side ignored facts, turned black to white, and blatantly gave encouragement to violent criminals who smashed and burned, harmed innocent city residents, trampled on the rule of law and endangered social order."

The statement, which was obtained by Reuters, said the U.S. plot "is doomed" and threatened vague "countermeasures."

The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office called the U.S. the "largest black hand causing chaos in Hong Kong."

Carrie Lam's administration said it "strongly opposes and regrets" the laws, according to London’s Independent newspaper. Her office said "Democracy is alive and well" there and pointed to the recent elections that overwhelmingly favored antigovernment candidates.

Protesters, however, cheered the bill and, according to the New York Times, see the measure as a warning to Beijing and Hong Kong.

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"I hope it can act as a warning to Hong Kong and Beijing officials, pro-Beijing people and the police," Nelson Lam, 32, told the Times. "I think if they know that what they do may lead to sanctions, then they will become restrained when dealing with protests. We just want our autonomy back. We are not their foe."

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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2019-11-28 07:19:58Z
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China furious after Trump signs Hong Kong legislation - Al Jazeera English

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2019-11-28 06:14:55Z
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Seven Islamist militants to be hanged for roles in Bangladesh terror attack that left American, 21 others dead - Fox News

Seven Islamist militants are set to be hanged in Bangladesh for their roles in a 2016 terror attack that left 22 people, including one American, dead.

The siege on a café in Dhaka was carried out by five men who shot and hacked diners to death with machetes while taking others hostage. Following a 12-hour standoff, Bangladesh’s army stormed in and killed all five assailants. Thirteen hostages were rescued, but 22 people died during the attack, including an American, nine Italians and seven Japanese citizens, according to the BBC.

"The court gave them the highest punishment," Golam Sarwar Khan, a prosecutor, is reported to have said to the media Wednesday after the sentences were announced.

Police escort a member of a banned militant group after he was sentenced to death for an attack on a cafe that killed more than 20 people in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 2016. (AP)

AT LEAST SEVEN KILLED IN BANGLADESH GAS EXPLOSION

Bangladesh has accused a local militant group of being behind the attack and those on trial were suspected of supplying the attackers with machetes and assault rifles, in addition to helping them plan the siege, the BBC reported.

The lawyer of those sentenced to death said he would appeal their punishment. Some of the men, the AFP said, shouted “Allahu Akbar” as they were led to a police van outside of the courtroom Wednesday.

Eight other militants connected to the attack reportedly were killed in government raids in the months afterward.

Members of the militant group shout slogans from inside a police van after their sentence was announced Wednesday. (AP)

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Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2016 called the café attack “an extremely heinous act.”

"What kind of Muslims are these people? They don't have any religion,” she said during a televised address, according to the BBC.

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2019-11-27 13:30:19Z
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