In brief: North Korea to launch satellites for communist party anniversary
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea said Monday it is ready to launch multiple satellites aboard long-range rockets to mark the ruling communist party’s anniversary next month, a move expected to rekindle animosities with its rivals South Korea and the United States.
The North’s state media quoted the head of the national aerospace agency as saying the country has been making “shining achievements” in space technology ahead of the 70th birthday of the Workers’ Party. It said scientists were pushing forward on a final development phase for an earth observation satellite for weather forecasts.
“Space development for peaceful purposes is a sovereign state’s legitimate right … and the people of (North Korea) are fully determined to exercise this right no matter what others may say,” the Korean Central News Agency said, quoting the agency director who was not identified by name
The world will “clearly see a series of satellites soaring into the sky at times and locations determined” by the Workers’ Party, it said.
The launches, if made, are certain to trigger an international standoff, with Seoul, Washington and other neighboring countries condemning past launches by North Korea as disguised tests of its long-range missile technology.
Egypt mistakenly kills 12 tourists
CAIRO – Egyptian forces hunting militants in the country’s western desert mistakenly opened fire on Mexican tourists on safari, killing 12 people and dealing a further blow to the government’s efforts to project an image of stability as it fights an increasingly powerful insurgency, officials said Monday.
Egyptian officials said the group did not have permission to be in the area, but have not offered a full account of Sunday’s incident, in which another 10 people were wounded. Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto condemned the attack and demanded a full investigation, and his foreign minister said survivors told officials they were fired upon by helicopters and other aircraft.
The incident, among the deadliest involving tourists in Egypt, comes as the country is trying to revive its vital tourism industry after the turmoil following the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that a joint military-police force was pursuing “terrorist elements” in the area and fired on four vehicles that turned out to be carrying tourists.
Car bombs kill 26 in Kurdish city
DAMASCUS, Syria – Two car bombings, half an hour apart, killed 26 people on Monday in a predominantly Kurdish city in northeastern Syria, the country’s state-owned media and activists reported, in an attack swiftly claimed by the Islamic State group.
Among the victims of the explosions in the city of Hassakeh were a woman and her two children and several Kurdish fighters, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Islamic State group said in a statement that its two suicide bombers targeted a gathering of Kurdish fighters and pro-regime militias.