Tuesday, March 19, 2024

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: North Korea's Kim oversees artillery drills

 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen a series of firing drills by artillery units in the west of the country, state-run KCNA news agency said Tuesday.

The announcement came amid tensions with Seoul and Washington, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits South Korea and after the allies wrapped up one of their major annual joint military training exercises.

The exercises have prompted angry retorts and live-fire drills from nuclear-armed Pyongyang, which routinely condemns all such exercises as rehearsals for invasion.

This time, Blinken's visit appeared to be adding fuel to the fire. The artillery drills were announced a day after Seoul said the North fired three short-range ballistic missiles, described by analysts as a calculated move to grab attention during Blinken's stop in the South.

The drills involved "super-large multiple rocket launchers," according to a report from the state-run KCNA news agency.

When the order was given, it said, the soldiers "simultaneously fired the gun of annihilation".

"Massive shells of super-large multiple rocket launchers, which were fired from the sharp gun barrels like lava, flew to the target with the flame of annihilating the enemy," it said.

The drills also featured a simulation of an "air explosion of a shell of" a super-large multiple rocket launcher, the report continued.

Blinken is attending the third Summit for Democracy and met with President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul early Monday. He is also meeting his South Korean counterpart on the sidelines of the event, for discussions now likely to be dominated by the allies' efforts to counter threats from the North.

Seoul is one of Washington's key regional allies, and the United States has stationed about 27,000 American soldiers in the South to help protect it against the North.

Pyongyang this month warned that Seoul and Washington would pay a "dear price" over their military exercises, and later announced that Kim had guided an artillery unit it says was capable of striking the South Korean capital.

Monday's ballistic missile test was the North's second this year, after Pyongyang launched one tipped with a manoeuvrable hypersonic warhead on January 14.


Source: Agence France-Presse 

Let's Do The News! (March 19, 2024)

 

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- San Miguel Corporation is reportedly calling off the Pasig River Expressway project following opposition from the public.

-  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on nuclear-armed nations to lead the way toward nuclear disarmament, including an agreement on no-first-use. The UN Secretary-General said that an accidental launch is one mistake, one miscalculation, one rash act away. And ultimately, all of humanity will pay the price. A nuclear war must never be waged because a nuclear war can never be won.

- US President Joe Biden warned Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu that a ground offensive in Rafah would be a "mistake," as they spoke for the first time in a month amid growing tensions over the war in Gaza.

- A three-way summit between the US, Japan, and the Philippines will take place this April 11. US President Joe Biden will meet Philippine President Bongbong Marcos and Japan PM Fumio Kishida in the latest in a series of meetings with Asia-Pacific allies.

- The head of the EU's main leftist political grouping has said it is time to "negotiate" an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, rallying behind a controversial call by Pope Francis for Kyiv to raise the "white flag."

- Donald Trump favors an abortion ban after a certain number of weeks with exceptions but did not confirm how many weeks.

- GB News has been warned about the use of politicians as presenters after Ofcom ruled that five episodes of programs hosted by serving UK Conservative MPs violate its rules. Ofcom said shows hosted by Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, Esther McVey, and Philip Davies broke rules stating politicians should not usually front news coverage.

- The Audi Q6 e-tron range was unveiled. The new model's electric drivetrain produces 387PS of power and up to 625km of EV range while the SQ6 e-tron variant has up to 516PS of power with launch control active and 598km of driving range.

2025 Audi Q6 e-tron

2025 Audi SQ6 e-tron

- Kang Tae Oh was officially discharged from the military. The actor is in talks to star in a new rom-com following his discharge.

- Hyeri broke her silence over her ex-boyfriend Ryu Jun Yeol's relationship with Han So Hee.

- Two Manchester United fans have been arrested following Sunday's FA Cup quarterfinal against Liverpool at Old Trafford for alleged tragedy chanting relating to the Hillsborough disaster.

- Boxing legend Roberto Duran was given a pacemaker after he was hospitalized on the weekend. Duran suffered health issues Saturday because of an atrioventricular blockage.

TTFN.

Monday, March 18, 2024

Let's Do The News! (March 18, 2024)

                                

                                                                        


Your daily round-up of today's news...

-  The Philippine National Police is prepared for Oplan: Sumvac ahead of next week's Holy Week. The PPA, meanwhile, ordered most of the country's docks to go "full manpower" ahead of Holy Week.

- The investigation into the illegal structures in Chocolate Hills has been widened by the Senate, days after the closure of the controversial Captain's Peak swimming pool.

- San Miguel Corporation and the Philippine Department of Tourism have formally signed the concession agreement for the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Last weekend, San Miguel Corporation bagged the privatization of NAIA.

- The suspension order of an additional 20 officials of the National Food Authority has been lifted by the Ombudsman.

- Russian President Vladimir Putin secured his fifth term in an inevitable election landslide. Alexei Navalny's wife Yulia thanks those who protested against President Vladimir Putin after she voted at the Russian embassy in Berlin.

- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promises that Palestinian civilians will be able to leave Rafah before Israeli forces launch their assault on the southern Gazan city.

- The largest democratic exercise in the world - the Indian elections - will take place over six weeks from April.

- South Korea's SUPERRACE championship gets a new title for the 2024 season. It will now be called the O-NE SUPERRACE Championship and in addition to the Super 6000 Class, the Radical Cup Korea, and the BMW M Class, the 2024 season features GT/GT4 Class, the Korea Trofeo motorbike races, and the Prius PHV one-make races.



- The Lynk & Co 07 EM-P PHEV sedan was unveiled. The new saloon is powered by a 1.5L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine mated to an electric motor and 3-speed gearbox.

2025 Lynk & Co 07 EM-P

- Animate Ikebukuro is named by Guinness World Records as the largest anime store.

- ICYMI: Voice actor Lee Woo Ri passed away at the age of 24. Woo Ri voiced characters in the Shinbi's House anime series, Genshin Impact's Korean dub, and NPCs from Cookie Run Kingdom.

Carlos Alcaraz tops Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (5), 6-1 for the second straight year, to defend his Indian Wells title.

TTFN.

2024 NASCAR Cup Series - Food City 500

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series continues in Bristol, Tennessee for the Food City 500 as The Last Great Coliseum roars alive with drivers clashing before the flowers bloom for springtime.

As the green flag waved, the springtime action in Bristol is on. The first stage saw William Byron getting into the wall and breaking the toe link, causing debris and a yellow flag three laps later, not to mention Zane Smith losing a tire. As Ty Gibbs won Stage 1, Stage 2 saw Noah Gragson indicting a safety violation, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. colliding with each other, and a spin by Kyle Busch. With Ty Gibbs winning Stage 2, the final stage saw Noah Gragson tap to the wall, Ross Chastain bumping Ryan Blaney, a loose tire for Blaney, and a flat tire for Carson Hocevar.

Screengrab from NASCAR

Despite severe tire management issues, Denny Hamlin wins the Food City 500 of the NASCAR Cup Series!

The next race is at Circuit of the Americas for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix this Palm Sunday, March 24th.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship - Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring

The 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship continues in Sebring International Raceway for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, where wild moments await in this 12-hour endurance slugfest.

Screengrab from IMSA

This year's Sebring endurance race saw numerous misfortunes on track from a spin for the Risi Competizione 296 to an unfortunate crash for the #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R with Pipo Derani behind the wheel. Amid the series of unfortunate events, this is becoming one of the most thrilling races ahead of the Spring season.

After a grueling 12-hour thriller, the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-06 emerged as the winner of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring while the #18 Era Motorsport LMP2 07 won the LMP2 class, the #14 VasserSullivan RC F GT3 for the GTD PRO class, and the #57 Winward Racing AMG GT3 for the GTD class.

The next race is the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach this April 19-20.

ABB FIA Formula E S10 - Sao Paulo ePrix

Formula E's 10th-anniversary celebration continues in the streets of Sao Paulo for the Sao Paulo ePrix and this race saw the biggest surprise in Formula E history. The one no one saw coming.

Screengrab from Formula E

Sam Bird ended his 37-lose streak as he managed to overtake Mitch Evans and piloted his way towards McLaren's first-ever Formula E win. Nissan driver Oliver Rowland completes the Sao Paulo podium after finishing third.

After Sao Paulo, Nick Cassidy of Jaguar is leading with 57 points, four points ahead of Porsche's Pascal Wehrlein, while this race's second-placer Mitch Evans is in third with 39 points.

The next race is at an all-new venue: Tokyo, Japan, on March 30th.

Guinness Six Nations 2024 FINAL

The 2024 Guinness Men's Six Nations championship is in full charge with the Super Saturday finale with Wales v Italy, Ireland v Scotland, and France v England. As Ireland leads with 16 points, four points ahead of England, will they win the Grand Slam? Let's find out.

Italy beat Wales at the score of 24-21 while Ireland barely defeated Scotland at the score of 17-13 and France beat England at a razor-thin score of 33-31.

Screengrab from Six Nations

The 2024 season concludes with Ireland securing their back-to-back Grand Slam title for only the third time in their history. 

This concludes the 2024 Guinness Men's Six Nations season but the Six Nations action continues with the 2024 Guinness Women's Six Nations season beginning Saturday, March 23rd with France v Ireland, Wales v Scotland, and a day later, Italy v England.