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North Korea says its latest missile launches were a simulation of “scorched earth” nuclear strikes on South Korea SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea said Thursday its latest missile launches simulated “scorched earth” nuclear strikes on South Korea and that it’s also been rehearsing an occupation of its rival’s territory in the event of conflict. Pyongyang has previously tested nuclear-capable missiles and described how it would use them in potential wars with South Korea and the U.S. But the North’s disclosure of detailed war plans reaffirmed its aggressive nuclear doctrine to intimidate its opponents, as it escalates its protest of the ongoing South Korean-U.S. military exercises that it views as a major security threat, observers say. North Korea’s Military said it fired two tactical ballistic missiles from the capital on Wednesday night to practice “scorched earth strikes” at major command centers and operational airfields in South Korea, according to the official Korean Central Ne...

At least 11 people are suspected to be involved with a loan scam that allegedly drove a man to kill his wife and two young boys before trying to take his own life in their family home, Thai police said Wednesday BANGKOK -- At least 11 people are suspected to be involved with a loan scam that allegedly drove a man to kill his wife and two young boys before trying to take his own life in their family home, Thai police said Wednesday. Sanit Dokmai has been charged with premeditated murder after police found the bodies of his wife and two sons, who were 9 and 13, with slash wounds Monday inside a house in Samut Prakan province, Bangkok’s eastern suburb, said local police chief Rangsan Kamsook. Rangsan said Sanit was conscious Wednesday but in critical condition and unable to speak nor eat due to severe wounds at his throat. Police believe Sanit’s motive came from a huge debt the family was in. Police said Sanit is a debt guarantor for his friend in an amount of 400,000 baht ($11,400). Th...

Iran and Iraq have reached an agreement to disarm members of Iranian Kurdish dissident groups based in northern Iraq and relocate their members from their current bases BAGHDAD -- Iran and Iraq have reached an agreement to disarm members of Iranian Kurdish dissident groups based in northern Iraq and relocate their members from their current bases, officials from the two countries said Monday. Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said in a news briefing Monday that the Iraqi government had agreed “to disarm the armed terrorist groups stationed in Iraq’s territory by September 19, and then, evacuate and transfer them from their military bases to camps designated by the Iraqi government.” He added that the deadline would not be extended and that while relations between the two countries are “entirely friendly and warm ... the presence of terrorists in the northern region of Iraq is an unpleasant stain on mutual ties.” Iran has periodically launched strikes targeting ...

A Japanese court has sentenced a man to 23 years in prison for stabbing a passenger and setting a fire on a Tokyo express train while dressed in a Joker costume on Halloween two years ago TOKYO -- A Japanese court sentenced a man to 23 years in prison on Monday for stabbing a passenger and setting a fire on a Tokyo express train while dressed in a Joker costume on Halloween two years ago, officials said. The Tachikawa branch of Tokyo District Court found Kyota Hattori, 26, guilty of attempted murder for stabbing and seriously injuring a male passenger in his 70s and of spraying lighter fluid in the train car and then lighting it to try to kill others. Twelve people were injured by the fire, most of them not seriously. During the trial, Hattori told the court he was so shocked when he learned that his girlfriend had married someone else only six months after they broke up that he decided to carry out the attack so he could end his life by receiving the death penalty, NHK public t...

A migrants rights group says security authorities in eastern Libya have freed at least 385 Pakistani migrants who were held in trafficking warehouses in an overnight raid CAIRO -- Security authorities in eastern Libya freed at least 385 Pakistani migrants who were held in trafficking warehouses in an overnight raid, a migrant rights group said Monday. Al-Abreen, a group which helps migrants in Libya, said the Pakistani nationals were released early Monday from smugglers' warehouses in the al-Khueir area, roughly 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk. The migrants — among them children — were later transferred to a nearby police headquarters, it said in a post on its official Facebook page. Esreiwa Salah, an activist with al-Abreen, told The Associated Press the Pakistani migrants arrived in Libya intending to travel to Europe but were detained by smugglers who demanded a ransom for their release. No further details were given. Several pictures posted on ...

Chinese state media say at least 20 people have been killed and 27 are missing in floods surrounding China’s capital Beijing, with thousands of others evacuated to safety BEIJING -- At least 20 people were killed and 27 are missing in floods surrounding China’s capital Beijing, with thousands of others evacuated to safety, state media reported Tuesday. Days of heavy rains have prompted authorities to close train stations and evacuate people in vulnerable areas to school gyms. Homes have been flooded, roads torn apart and cars piled into stacks by the rushing waters. The level of rainfall is rarely seen in Beijing, which generally enjoys moderate, dry summers but has experienced record-breaking extended days of high temperatures this summer. Flooding in other parts of northern China that rarely see such large amounts of rain have led to scores of deaths. Seasonal flooding hits large parts of China every summer, particularly in the semitropical south, while some northern regions this yea...

The Dutch government says a fire that had been burning on board a cargo ship carrying thousands of new cars appears to have burnt itself out after nearly a week THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- A fire that had been raging on board a cargo ship carrying thousands of new cars appears to have burnt itself out after n early a week, the Dutch ministry coordinating salvage efforts said Tuesday. The Fremantle Highway, carrying 3,783 new vehicles, including 498 electric ones, from the German port city of Bremerhaven to Singapore had been ablaze since late on July 25. Firefighters decided not to douse the flames with water for fear of making the nearly 200-meter (around 650-foot) ship unstable as it floated close to North Sea shipping lanes and a world-renowned migratory bird habitat. "The situation on board the cargo ship is still stable. There are no indications that the fire is still burning," the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management said, adding that the ship is in...

Niger’s prime minister, who has been stuck outside the country since last week’s coup, is appealing to the international community’s help in rolling back the military takeover, saying it was crucial for the defense of democracy in West Africa PARIS -- Niger’s prime minister, who has been stuck outside the country since last week’s coup, appealed Tuesday for the international community's help in rolling back the Military takeover, saying it was crucial for defending democracy in West Africa. Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou said in an interview with The Associated Press that Niger should be considered a linchpin for supporting democracy in the region and for protecting countries to the south “against the spread of terrorism.” Mahamadou was staying in France because he was unable to go back to Niger due to borders closing after the coup, which happened as he was travelling to Italy for international meetings. Coup leaders pushed out the democratically elected President Mohamed...

The efforts to locate Alix Dorsainvil and her child continued Tuesday -- five days after they were reportedly kidnapped. While the whereabouts of an American nurse and her young child reportedly kidnapped in Haiti late last week are still a mystery, the alarming surge of abductions taking place in the country demonstrates a clear and growing danger for both foreign travelers and Haitian citizens. The efforts to locate Alix Dorsainvil and her child continued Tuesday -- five days after they were reportedly kidnapped. Dorsainvil was working near Port-au-Price with El Roi Haiti, a Christian aid organization, when the group says she and her child were taken by unknown assailants -- the only publicly known details regarding the apparent abduction. U.S. officials have been tight-lipped, declining to share any information that may put their efforts to recover the two in jeopardy. MORE: Haiti: The Forgotten Crisis "We're in regular contact with Haitian authorities and continue to work ...

Not everyone is hostile to last week's coup in Niger NAIROBI, Kenya -- Not everyone is hostile to the coups in Niger and other African nations in the past few years that have worried the West. In the “family photo” for last week’s Russia-Africa Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin stood next to Ibrahim Traore, the young military officer who seized power in Burkina Faso in September. It was an uncomfortable moment for many leaders elsewhere in Africa. “The normalization and dignifying of military takeovers must trouble our great continent,” Kenya’s cabinet secretary for foreign affairs wrote while sharing the photo this week. Now Burkina Faso and another military junta-led country friendly with Russia, Mali, have taken the unusual step of declaring that foreign military intervention in neighboring Niger after last week's coup would be considered a declaration of war against them, too. They are defying the West African regional body known as ECOWAS, which said on Sunday it c...

Pope Francis is challenging Europe to retake its role as a peacemaker and bridgebuilder LISBON, Portugal -- LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis challenged Europe to retake its role as a peace maker and bridgebuilder as he arrived Wednesday in Portugal to open World Youth Day, hoping to inspire the next generation of Catholics to work together to combat co NFL icts, climate change and other problems facing the world. Francis was spending five days in Lisbon, blending a state visit and pilgrimage to the Catholic shrine at Fatima with the raucous trappings of World Youth Day, the Catholic jamboree that aims to rally young Catholics in their faith. More than 1 million young people from around the world were expected to attend the gathering, which culminates with a papal Mass on Sunday. As he was traveling to Lisbon, Francis vowed to continue urging young people to “make a mess” – a reference to his now-famous exhortation at his first World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in 2013. It was a cal...

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, say they are separating after 18 years of marriage TORONTO -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, announced Wednesday that they are separating after 18 years of marriage. The two said in statements posted on Instagram that they made the decision after “many meaningful and difficult conversations.” A statement from the prime minister's office said they both have signed a legal separation agreement. Trudeau, the 51-year-old scion of one of Canada’s most famous politicians, was sworn into office in 2015. Sophie Trudeau is a former model and TV host. The couple were married in 2005. Together, they brought star power to the prime minister's office and appeared in the pages of Vogue magazine. They have three children, 15-year-old Xavier, 14-year-old Ella-Grace and 9-year-old Hadrien. “As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other an...

Singapore has executed a third prisoner in two weeks for drug trafficking, despite calls for the city-state to halt capital punishment for drug-related crimes KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Singapore hanged a third prisoner in two weeks on Thursday for drug trafficking despite calls for the city-state to halt capital punishment for drug-related crimes. The Central Narcotics Bureau said Mohamed Shalleh Abdul Latiff, a 39-year-old Singaporean, was executed at Singapore's Changi Prison after being accorded due process under the law. He was sentenced to death for trafficking 54 grams (1.9 ounces) of heroin, an amount “sufficient to feed the addiction of about 640 abusers for a week,” it said in a statement. Transformative Justice Collective, an anti-death penalty advocate in Singapore, said Shalleh, an ethnic Malay, worked as a delivery driver before his arrest in 2016. He was sentenced in 2019 but his appeal was dismissed last year. The group said Shalleh had maintained in his trial th...

Russian shelling has damaged a landmark church in the city of Kherson that once held the remains of the renowned 18th-century commander who exerted Russian control through the southeast parts of moedern Ukraine and annexed the Crimean Peninsula KYIV, Ukraine -- Russian shelling on Thursday damaged a landmark church in the southern city of Kherson that once held the remains of a renowned 18th-century Russian commander. Ukraine's emergency service said four of its workers were wounded in a second round of shelling as they fought the fire at St. Catherine's Cathedral. Four other people were wounded in the first shelling attack, which also hit a trolleybus, the prosecutor general's office said. The shelling followed the severe damage sustained by a beloved Orthodox cathedral in a missile strike last week in Odesa and underlined the war's risk to the country's cultural monuments. Fighting has intensified in multiple regions as Ukraine's military steps up a ...