Activity observed at test site
South Korean military officials have observed activities at the North’s suspected nuclear test site that may be preparations for a second test, news reports said Saturday.
Yonhap news agency, citing several unidentified military officials, said Seoul is keeping a close watch on the movements of trucks and soldiers at the Punggye-ri site in the country’s remote northeast.
Another official confirmed activities at the site but said another test “is not believed to be imminent,” according to Yonhap.
It was not immediately clear how the military officials first spotted the activity at the site. However, the United States and South Korea generally share intelligence information from satellite images.
BERLIN
Photos with skull draw suspensions
Germany’s military has suspended two soldiers from duty in connection with photos of troops posing with a skull in Afghanistan, the defense minister said Friday.
The pictures, published in the daily newspaper Bild, have provoked widespread expressions of disgust and triggered a review of training for foreign deployments.
They have also raised concern that militants in Afghanistan and elsewhere could seize on the pictures to justify attacks on German soldiers or facilities.
Bild says the pictures were taken in early 2003; they show soldiers posing with the skull on the hood of their vehicle and one soldier exposing himself next to the skull. Four former soldiers are also under investigation.
OAXACA, Mexico
3 killed in gunfire amid protests
A U.S. journalist and two Mexican men were killed by gunfire in the historic city of Oaxaca, where leftist protesters have barricaded streets and occupied government buildings for five months in a bid to oust the governor. Several other people were injured.
The gunfire erupted when armed men tried to remove a blockade set up by protesters who are demanding the resignation of Oaxaca Gov. Ulises Ruiz, said a police official who was not authorized to speak on the record. Both sides fired, but it was not clear who shot first, he said.
Bradley Roland Will, 36, of New York, was shot in the abdomen and died at a Red Cross hospital, police, witnesses and friends said. Will worked for Indymedia.org, an independent Web-based media organization, and also sold video footage on a freelance basis, said friends and Indymedia colleague Hinrich Schuleze.
Esteban Zurrita, a resident of Oaxaca, was also shot dead in the clash, said Oaxaca Attorney General Lizbeth Cana. The third victim was identified as Emilio Alonso Fabian.