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Another North Korean Missile Lands beyond Japan

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Covers longer distance than US Guam territory

Continuing its defiant moves, North Korea fired another missile that flew over Japan’s northern Hokkaido Island and landed some 2000 km beyond into Pacific Ocean early Friday morning. This was the second such missile test flying over Japan’s territory in less than 20 days.

The missile covered a distance of 3,700 km while Guam, an unincorporated US territory housing Anderson Air Force base lies at just 3,400 km from North Korean coast. Pyongyang had earlier threatened to fire 30-40 km short of Guam.

Reuters reports from Tokyo that warning announcements about the missile blared around 7 a.m. in the parts of northern Japan, while residents received alerts on their mobile phones or saw warnings on TV asking them to seek refuge.   

This was announced by Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. However, North Korea’s official news agency KCNA Watch has not announced the fresh missile test over Japan so far.

Earlier on August 29, North Korea had fired a missile flying over Japan causing nervousness in Hokkaido residents, who woke up with siren sound and warning messages on their mobiles. People were advised to evacuate and take shelter in basements of sturdy buildings.

North Korea’s State agency Korea-Pacific Peace Committee (KAPPC) on Wednesday had threatened to use nuclear weapons to “sink” Japan and reduce US to “ashes and darkness”.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who concluded his two day India visit on Thursday, told reporters in Tokyo, “The international community needs to come together and send a clear message to North Korea that it is threatening world peace with its actions.”  He described the Pyongyang’s missile launch as “unacceptable”.

The US military sources said soon after the launch that it had detected a single intermediate range ballistic missile. However they say that “the missile did not pose a threat to South Korea or the US Pacific territory of Guam.”

The missile reached an altitude of about 770 km and flew for about 19 minute over a distance of about 3,700 km.

David Wright, the Co-Director and senior scientist at Union Of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a US based advocacy organisation, wrote in his blog, “The range of this test was significant since North Korea demonstrated that it could reach Guam with this missile, although the payload the missile was carrying is not known. Guam lies 3,400 km from North Korea, and Pyongyang has talked about it as a target because of the presence of US forces at Anderson Air Force Base.”

Meanwhile, Rex Tillerson, the US Secretary of State has called for “new measures” against Pyongyang and said the “continued provocations only deepen North Korea’s diplomatic and economic isolation”. He reiterated Washington’s commitments to defend its allies.

The spokesman of South Korean President Moon Jae-in has said that dialogue with North was impossible at the point.  The President has asked his officials to analyse and prepare for possible new North Korean threats, including electro-magnetic pulse and biochemical attacks, a spokesman added.

missile pathEarlier on August 17, President Moon Jae-in had argued to prevent war saying “I will prevent war at all cost. So I want all South Koreans to believe with confidence that there will be no war. All South Koreans have worked so hard to rebuild the country from the ruins of the Korean War.”

The South Korean leader had also asserted, “No one can make a decision on military action on the Korean peninsula without our agreement.” Earlier US officials had expressed their reluctance saying that Trump will have final word on the question.

The United Nations Security Council, which has held several emergency meetings on North Korean defiant moves in the recent past, will meet once again at 1500 hrs (New York time) on Friday (00.30 hrs Saturday IST).

The meeting is being held at the request of US and Japan; just days after Security Council unanimously stepped up sanctions against North Korea over its September 3 nuclear test. The recent anti-North Korea UNSC sanctions resolution has banned Pyongyang’s textile exports and capped import of crude oil.

During last few months North Korea has launched several missiles under the leadership of Kim Jong Un for accelerating weapons program. Pyongyang claims that the tests were aimed to achieve ability to target US with a powerful nuclear tipped missile.

In July this year, North Korea conducted two long range Inter-continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) tests capable of reaching some parts of US mainland. On September 3, Pyongyang had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, capable to be used with ICBM, the largest nuclear test in the recent history.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump: Voting begins in United States

Over 82 million Americans have opted for early voting to cast their ballots for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.

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Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump: Voting begins in United States

The Voting for the 2024 US presidential election has begun in the eastern time zone in America. Following months of intense campaigning by Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her Republican challenger Donald Trump, Americans will vote to choose their next president.

Reportedly, the first ballots were cast in the minutes after midnight (US time) in a tiny New Hampshire township along the US-Canada border. Over 82 million Americans have opted for early voting to cast their ballots for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. Several pollsters have predicted a neck-and-neck contest, which brings the focus on the swing states to decide the fate of the presidential election.

Notably, in the United States, most states have a very clear preference for either the Republican or Democratic candidate. With this, only seven key swing states namely Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina will decide the result. Winning the majority of these aforesaid swing states is often essential for candidates aiming to secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

In this election, Pennsylvania has emerged as the biggest prize between the two candidates. With the most electoral votes (19) than any other battleground state, Pennsylvania could possibly determine whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris clinches the White House.

On the last day of campaigning, Republican nominee Trump and Democratic nominee Harris criss-crossed key battleground states and delivered closing remarks. Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking a return to power, held rallies in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan while Vice President Kamala Harris addressed supporters in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

Earlier in 2016, Donald Trump managed to make inroads in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the three Great Lakes states that make up the blue wall or a Democratic stronghold. Nonetheless, in the 2020 US Election, US President Joe Biden wrested the states back to the Democratic camp.

Notably, to win the presidency, a candidate needs a majority of electoral votes of 270 out of 538.

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Amid India-Canada diplomatic tensions, Justin Trudeau shares video of his Diwali celebrations

This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.

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Amid the ongoing diplomatic tensions between Canada and India over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday shared a video of his Diwali celebration on social media platform X.

Sharing a 44-second video of his Diwali celebrations on social media, the Canadian Prime Minister wrote, “Happy Diwali! So many special moments shared celebrating with the community this week.”

This comes a day after India expressed its concern over the reports of cancelled Diwali celebrations in Canada.

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Saturday, while addressing the media over Canada’s serious allegation against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar, said it was unfortunate that the prevailing atmosphere in Canada has reached high levels of intolerance and extremism.

In the video, Prime Minister Trudeau showed off some colorful religious threads on his wrists, explaining that he received them during visits to three Hindu temples in Canada recently. He called them symbols of “good luck” and “protection,” adding with a smile, “I’m not taking them off until they fall off”.

Trudeau was also seen interacting warmly with the community, celebrating the festival, and enjoying delicious Indian sweets like jalebis, which he jokingly said he would “save for the team.”

On November 1, Trudeau posted on X, “Happy Diwali! Today, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain families will celebrate the triumph of light over darkness with festivities, candles, diyas, and fireworks. Wishing you all joy and prosperity during this special time.”

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Jaiswal said India condemns the recent allegations made by the Canadian government against Shah that he was purportedly involved in the killing of Nijjar and called it “absurd and baseless”.

Jaiswal also said that India had summoned the Canadian High Commissioner on Friday to protest in the strongest terms for the references made to the Union Home Minister of India before the Committee by Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison.

On Tuesday, Morrison claimed that Shah orchestrated a campaign of violence, intimidation, and intelligence-gathering aimed at Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. He informed members of Canada’s national security committee in Parliament that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which was the first to report the allegations. However, Morrison did not provide details on how Canada became aware of Shah’s alleged involvement.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

The Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

In a significant development, India and China have completed the disengagement exercise in the Depsang and Demchok friction points at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The troops of both the countries are now verifying the vacation of positions and removal of infrastructure.

Reportedly, the Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks. The two sides will exchange sweets for Diwali tomorrow.

Earlier, Foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced that New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement to disengage in the remaining friction points at LAC in eastern Ladakh. After the agreement, the two countries began troops disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang plains on October 23.

India-China relations worsened because of the Chinese troops’ aggression along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border, in April 2020. It further deteriorated on June 15, 2020, after 20 Indian soldiers died in the line of duty thwarting the Chinese offensive in the Galwan Valley. New Delhi had said India’s bilateral relations with China will normalise only after the situation at the LAC returns to what it was before May 2020.

Reports said that the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have pulled back their forward-deployed troops and equipment from the two flashpoints, and have also dismantled temporary structures that had been built during the four-year-long standoff.

The Indian soldiers will resume their patrolling in areas that had been cut off because of the PLA’s presence. Nonetheless, the disengagement in Depsang and Demchok will not lead to the creation of buffer zones.

Both the countries had disengaged from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15) areas and created buffer zones. Speaking to a newspaper publication, Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), a former director general of military operations said that the disengagement at Depsang and Demchok will facilitate patrolling by both sides in a coordinated manner, and in the agreed upon frequency and strength of the patrolling parties.

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