World
North Korea Flies Trash Balloons Over The South As Leader Kim Doubles Down On Satellite Ambitions
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea launched hundreds of balloons carrying rubbish and excrement at South Korea in one of its most unusual provocations in years, causing the South Korean military to deploy chemical and explosive response teams to gather objects and waste around the country.
State media reported Wednesday that the balloon campaign occurred as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un urged his military scientists to overcome a failed satellite launch and continue developing space-based reconnaissance capabilities, which he described as critical for countering US and South Korean military activities.
In his first public comments regarding the launch failure, Kim also threatened South Korea with unspecified “overwhelming actions” following an exercise involving 20 fighter jets near the inter-Korean border hours before North Korea’s failed launch on Monday. In a speech Tuesday, Kim labeled South Korea’s response as a “hysterical attack formation flight and strike drill” and a “direct military challenge” to North Korea, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea | AP news Image
North Korea Flies Trash Balloons Over The South As Leader Kim Doubles Down On Satellite Ambitions
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea has been floating a huge number of trash-carrying balloons toward the South since Tuesday night in retribution for South Korean activists who flew anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over the border.
The South Korean military reported that over 260 North Korean balloons had been discovered in various regions of the country as of Wednesday afternoon and were being recovered by military fast reaction and explosive clearance teams. According to the military, the balloons carried various forms of rubbish and manure, but no human waste had been discovered thus far. It warned residents not to touch North Korean objects and to report them to the military or police if discovered.
In a statement issued over the weekend, North Korean Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang Il stated that the North planned to scatter “mounds of wastepaper and filth” over border areas and other parts of South Korea in a “tit-for-tat” response to South Korean activists’ leafleting.
Later Wednesday, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of the North Korean leader, used state media to mock a South Korean military statement asking that the North cease its “inhumane and vulgar activity.” She claimed the North was expressing its freedom of expression, which the Seoul administration has cited as the reason for its inability to prevent anti-North Korean activists from flying leaflets across the border.
“Once you experience how nasty and exhausting it feels to go around picking up dirty filth, you will realize that you shouldn’t talk about freedom of expression so easily when it comes to (leafletting) in border areas,” she stated. “We will make it clear that we will respond with tens more times the amount of filth to what the (South Koreans) spray to us in the future.”
The South Korean military released photos showing rubbish littered across highways and roads throughout the country. In Seoul, military officials discovered what looked to be a timer designed to pop trash bags in flight. Two large balloons holding an unpopped plastic bag packed with dirt-like material were seen on a road in central South Chungcheong province.
There were no early indications of balloon-related damage. However, Similar North Korean balloon activities damaged autos and other property in 2016.
North Korea | AP News Image
North Korea Flies Trash Balloons Over The South As Leader Kim Doubles Down On Satellite Ambitions
Kim Jong Un’s remarks on the satellite came during a speech at the North’s Academy of Defense Sciences, which he attended the day after a rocket carrying what would have been his country’s second military reconnaissance satellite exploded shortly after launch. The North Korean aerospace technology agency stated that the explosion was potentially caused by the reliability of a newly built rocket engine powered by petroleum and using liquid oxygen as an oxidizer.
Animosities between the Koreas have reached their highest point in years, as the tempo of both Kim’s nuclear demonstrations and South Korea’s joint military exercises with the United States and Japan has increased since 2022.
The failed satellite launch set back Kim’s plans to launch three additional military surveillance satellites in 2024, following the launch of North Korea’s first military reconnaissance satellite in November. The November launch came after two failed efforts.
South Korea, Japan, and the United States condemned Monday’s launch because the United Nations prohibits North Korea from performing such rocket launches, perceiving them as a cover for testing long-range missile technologies.
North Korea has persistently maintained that it has the right to launch satellites and test missiles in response to what it sees as US-led military threats. Kim has defined spy satellites as critical for monitoring US and South Korean military activity and increasing the threat posed by his nuclear-capable missiles.
“Although we failed to achieve the results we had hoped to get in the recent reconnaissance satellite launch, we must never feel scared or dispirited but make still greater efforts,” Kim stated. “It is natural that one learns more and makes greater progress after experiencing failure.”
North Korea | AP News Image
North Korea Flies Trash Balloons Over The South As Leader Kim Doubles Down On Satellite Ambitions
According to some South Korean experts, mentioning a liquid oxygen-petroleum rocket engine in state media signals that the North is developing a more powerful space launch vehicle capable of handling greater payloads.
It is thought that North Korea’s prior space rockets used unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine as fuel and dinitrogen tetroxide as an oxidizer. Chang Young-keun, a missile researcher at South Korea’s Research Institute for National Strategy, believes the country’s rapid transformation in space rocket designs may suggest external technological assistance, most likely from Russia.
Kim has increased the exposure of his connections with Russia in recent months, including a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September, as they converge in the face of their conflicts with Washington. Kim’s meeting with Putin took place at a spaceport in the Russian Far East following North Korea’s repeated failures to launch its first spy satellite. Putin then told Russian media that Moscow was eager to assist North Korea in the development of satellites.
The United States and South Korea have also accused North Korea of helping Russia with artillery shells, missiles, and other military equipment to prolong the conflict in Ukraine.
SOURCE – (AP)
World
Hurricane Beryl Roars Toward Jamaica After Killing At Least 6 People In The Southeast Caribbean
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Hurricane Beryl roared toward Jamaica on Wednesday, leaving islanders rushing to prepare after the devastating Category 4 storm killed at least six people and inflicted substantial damage in the southeast Caribbean.
People in Kingston boarded up their windows, fishermen withdrew their boats from the sea, and workers demolished roadside advertising boards to safeguard them from the fierce winds.
Pauline Lynch, a Kingston resident, said she had prepared for the storm by stockpiling food and water. With the wind already whipping up a light rain, Lynch stated, “I have no control over what is coming, so all I can do is pray that all Jamaicans are safe and that there are no deaths or losses.”
Beryl | AP News Image
Hurricane Beryl Roars Toward Jamaica After Killing At Least 6 People In The Southeast Caribbean
A hurricane warning was issued for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. Beryl was expected to decrease slightly over the next day or two but remain at or near major hurricane strength when it passes near or over Jamaica on Wednesday, near the Cayman Islands on Thursday, and into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that the disaster zone declaration will stay in effect for seven days. He also declared an island-wide curfew from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
Security personnel “will be fully mobilized to maintain public order and aid in disaster relief.” As soon as the cyclone passed, the security forces devised strategic preparations to prevent any potential threat of looting or other opportunistic crimes,” Holness stated.
An evacuation order was also issued for Jamaica villages vulnerable to flooding and landslides. Holness warned Jamaicans to avoid low-lying regions.
A hurricane watch was issued for Haiti’s southern and Yucatan east coast. Belize issued a tropical storm watch extending south from its Mexico border to Belize City.
Late Monday, Beryl became the Atlantic’s first Category 5 hurricane, reaching 165 mph (270 kph) on Tuesday before falling to a still-destructive Category 4. On Wednesday, the storm was approximately 75 miles (125 kilometers) southeast of Kingston. It had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 kph) and was traveling west-northwest at 18 mph (30 kph).
Michael Brennan, Director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, stated that Jamaica appears in Beryl’s direct path. He asked citizens to locate a secure shelter and stay there until Wednesday.
“We are most concerned about Jamaica, where we are expecting the core of a major hurricane to pass near or over the island,” according to a briefing he gave online.
Jamaica is expected to see a storm surge of 6-9 feet (1.8 to 2.7 meters) over normal tidal levels and severe rains.
On Wednesday, Mexico’s Caribbean coast prepared for Beryl. The government has issued a hurricane warning for the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun.
The head of Mexico’s civil defense agency stated that Beryl is expected to launch a rare twin blow on the country. According to Laura Velázquez, the hurricane is forecast to land between late Thursday and early Friday on a rather unpopulated stretch of the Caribbean coast between Tulum and the inland town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto. Because the coast is primarily made up of lagoons and mangroves, there are few resorts or hotels south of Tulum.
As it traverses the Yucatan peninsula, the hurricane is anticipated to diminish to a tropical storm before reemerging as a storm in the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. According to Velázquez, Beryl is likely to impact Mexican territory again, this time on the Gulf Coast states of Veracruz or Tamaulipas, close to the Texas border.
As Beryl plowed into the Caribbean Sea, rescue personnel in the southeastern islands spread out to assess the extent of the hurricane’s destruction to Carriacou, Grenada.
Officials confirmed three deaths in Grenada and Carriacou, as well as one in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Two further deaths were confirmed in northern Venezuela, while five people are missing, officials said. Beryl’s torrential downpour also affected approximately 25,000 people in the area.
Beryl | AP News Image
Hurricane Beryl Roars Toward Jamaica After Killing At Least 6 People In The Southeast Caribbean
The environment minister, Kerryne James, told The Associated Press that a tree fell on a house in Grenada, killing one. She claimed that Carriacou and Petit Martinique suffered the worst damage, with Carriacou losing hundreds of homes and businesses.
Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell stated on Tuesday that there is no power, roads are impassable, and the possibility of an increase in the death toll “remains a grim reality.”
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has pledged to reconstruct the archipelago. He stated that 90% of homes on Union Island had been demolished and that “similar levels of devastation” were expected on the islands of Myreau and Canouan.
The most recent powerful hurricane to reach the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan, which killed scores of people in Grenada 20 years ago.
Grenada nicknamed the “spice isle,” is a major supplier of nutmeg. Mitchell stated that most of the spices are planted in the northern portion of the island, which Beryl most damaged.
SOURCE – (AP)
NBC is bringing a version of legendary sportscaster Al Michaels back to the Olympics this summer, but with an unexpected twist: his voice will be powered by artificial intelligence.
On Wednesday, NBC said that it will utilize AI software to reproduce Michaels’ voice to offer daily Summer Games summaries to users of its Peacock streaming platform. This marks a significant milestone in the application of AI by a major media firm.
NBC | CTV Image
NBC To Use AI Version Of Announcer Al Michaels’ Voice For Olympics Recaps
The employment of an artificial intelligence voice for the Olympics comes at a time when technology has advanced dramatically, particularly in its ability to generate images, sounds, and text. This has sparked concerns in creative industries, such as journalism, regarding how artificial intelligence may—or should—be utilized.
A new tool, “Your Daily Olympic Recap on Peacock,” will allow subscribers to create 10-minute highlights packages incorporating event updates, athlete back stories, and other related content based on their preferences.
The company stated that the highlights could be packaged in approximately 7 million distinct ways, based on 5,000 hours of live coverage in Paris, thereby making AI (artificial intelligence, not the guy) a far more efficient way to give individualized summaries.
“When I was approached about this, I was skeptical but obviously curious,” Michaels stated in a press statement. “Then I saw a demonstration of what they had in mind. I replied, ‘I’m in.'”
An NBC representative told CNN that Michaels is being rewarded for his participation.
A veteran broadcaster, Michaels is now the play-by-play sportscaster for Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime. He is well noted for his work on earlier Olympic Games broadcasts for NBC and ABC and for announcing the Miracle on Ice Game at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
NBC | Fox Image
NBC To Use AI Version Of Announcer Al Michaels’ Voice For Olympics Recaps
NBC stated that the AI system was trained using previous NBC broadcast audio from Michaels.
The business stated that a team of NBC Sports editors will evaluate all of the content, including audio and footage, to ensure that it is factually correct and that names are pronounced correctly.
Beginning July 27, the highlights tool will be available on Peacock in web browsers and iOS and iPad apps.
SOURCE – CNN
Mount Fuji, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Japanese icon, has implemented new climbing limits in response to concerns about overpopulation.
Beginning July 1, climbers must pay 2,000 yen ($12.40) per person, and there is a daily limit of 4,000 climbers.
Mount Fuji | Japan Times
Japan’s Mount Fuji Implements Tourist Tax In Response To Overcrowding Concerns
“By strongly promoting comprehensive safety measures for climbing Mount Fuji, we will ensure that Mount Fuji, a world treasure, is passed down to future generations,” stated Koutaro Nagasaki, governor of Yamanashi Prefecture, when he announced the new laws earlier this year.
“To revitalize traditional mountain climbing from the foot of Mount Fuji, we shall get a thorough grasp of the Fuji-ko and Oshi cultures that fostered Mount Fuji worship. We hope to connect different civilizations through mountain climbing, which is steeped in religious cultural values.”
Fuji-ko is a religion unique to the mountains.
Human traffic bottlenecks, garbage-strewn hillsides, and poorly dressed hikers – some attempting the trip in sandals – are among the challenges afflicting the renowned Japanese destination.
In addition, new guides will oversee trail safety and notify climbers if they violate mountain etiquette, such as sleeping along the trail, making a fire, or wearing inappropriate attire.
According to prefectural data, five million people hiked Mount Fuji in 2019, up three million from 2012.
“Overtourism – and all the subsequent consequences like rubbish, rising CO2 emissions, and reckless hikers – is the biggest problem facing Mount Fuji,” Masatake Izumi, a Yamanashi prefectural government official, told CNN Travel last year.
In 2023, a volunteer named Tomoyo Takahashi told CNN that she planned to ask tourists to donate 1,000 yen ($6.20) to help maintain the mountain.
“Not everyone pays the 1,000 yen, which makes me sad. “There should be a much higher mandatory entrance fee so that only visitors who truly value Mount Fuji’s heritage come,” she stated.
Takahashi will finally achieve her wish.
Mount Fuji | CNN Image
Japan’s Mount Fuji Implements Tourist Tax In Response To Overcrowding Concerns
The new limitations, however, only apply to Yamanashi prefecture, which has the most popular hiking trails. Fuji is also located in Shizuoka prefecture, which has yet to have any tariffs or visiting restrictions. Governor Nagasaki told reporters that he and Shizuoka’s governor will meet at the end of the climbing season to swap notes.
Overtourism has become a major issue in Japan since the country reopened during the pandemic.
Locals in Kyoto’s historic Gion area have expressed concern over tourists flocking to photograph and sometimes harass the geisha who live and work there, giving them the term “geisha paparazzi.”
While the city has posted signs and boards urging visitors not to photograph geisha, several locals told CNN Travel that more is needed. The neighborhood council proposed issuing fines or penalties.
Hatsukaichi, in Hiroshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, has also been hit. The little hamlet is notable for its orange “floating shrine” torii gate, part of a 1,400-year-old Shinto complex.
In October 2023, the town started charging 100 yen (62 cents) for visitors to the temple. The “tourist tax” funds the site’s maintenance and infrastructure.
SOURCE – (CNN)
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