News Briefs

Tension spreads over
North Korean nuclear presenceOn May 30, a senior American official confirmed South Korean news reports of another North Korean missile test.
These reports indicated that North Korea seemed to be in preparation for the shipment of an intercontinental ballistic missile. The missile is reported to be transferred to a testing site on the waters between Korea and Japan.
This action is being read internationally as a sign that North Korea might be planning to test another long-range missile.
The country has conducted two similar tests previously, including one over Japanese territory. International attention is set over Japan's reaction to this continuing threat.
North Korea has been test-firing short-range missiles since May 25, 2009 when the country conducted an underground nuclear test.
The country last test-fired a long-range missile on Apr. 5, which proved unsuccessful in meeting its goal of putting a satellite into orbit.
Reports include a timeline of several weeks for the missile to not only reach the required site, but also be put in place. These reports have emerged without evidence that the country have the technology to create a nuclear device small enough to fit atop one of these long-range missiles.
In addition to this tension, two American journalists have been held by North Korea for two and one-half months on accusation of illegal entry and hostile acts. If convicted, the journalists could be sentenced to five years of hard labour or more severe punishment.
North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-il, who is reportedly recovering from a stroke, is said to have picked his son as his successor.

Air France Flight 447
lost over Atlantic Ocean

On May 31, an Air France jet travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with 228 aboard disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean.
Wreckage from the jet, which vanished from the radar without any distress call, was spotted by Brazilian military planes. Brazilian defense minister, Nelson Jobim, confirmed the wreckages relation to flight 447's disappearance.
The debris, including life vests, an aircraft seat, drum, kerosene and oil, was located floating 600 miles from the coast of Brazil.
This information comes as a major lead to investigators whom, before this discovery, had few clues to go on.
The investigators main priority is locating the tail of the plane, where the voice and data recorders are located, and the contents of the cockpit, where an additional voice recorder is kept.
One theory of how the plane went down over the Atlantic Ocean is related to a storm with lightning activity in the area.
Reports transmitted from another plane in the area suggest the jet encountered difficulty with stormy weather and electrical problems.
Among the victims of this flight were many parents, eight children, and a sole Canadian citizen. The crash has caused widespread grief across the globe due to the international nature of the flight and the victims aboard.

Abortion Doctor shot to death in Kansas church

On May 31, Dr. George Tiller, one of a few doctors in the US to perform late-term abortions, was shot to death in the entrance hall of his longtime church as he handed out the church bulletin.
Providing this service for more than three decades, Dr. Tiller was a source of much debate throughout the country, especially to those who opposed it.
Amongst countless protests outside his clinic, house and church, Dr. Tiller's clinic had once been bombed. Also, in 1993, an abortion opponent shot him in both arms.
During Sunday morning services, Dr. Tiller was shot once with a hand gun.
Authorities announced they detained a man later in the day after pulling him over 170 miles away near Kansas City.
Wichita police have reported the detainment of a 51-year-old but refuse to release his name until he is officially charged.
Dr. Tiller's death is the first killing of an abortion provider in the US since 1998, when another abortion doctor was shot by a sniper in his home in the Buffalo area.
Though much of the deadly violence concerning this controversial issue occurred in the 1990s, abortion clinics and doctors continue to be the targets of much controversy and sometimes threatening protests.