Upcoming national holiday is prime opportunity for regime to display its military might
PYONGYANG, North Korea — New satellite images show that North Korea may be preparing to conduct its sixth nuclear test. A U. S.-based watchdog group says the country is “primed and ready” after analyzing telltale signs of activity at the remote underground test site.
Satellite images show activity at a North Korea nuclear facility
Exploding a more powerful bomb, or launching a new ballistic missile, could be timed to coincide with this weekend’s celebration of North Korea’s founder — often marked by a massive parade in which the country is not subtle about showing off its military might.
Kim Jong Un, the current North Korean leader, made an appearance in Pyongyang Thursday in front of a crowd so large it appeared to be everyone who lives in the city.
U. S., China ramp up warnings against North Korea ahead of celebration
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He cut a ribbon to officially open a newly built neighborhood with more than a dozen new high rises, some 70 stories tall. It was an attempt to show economic progress in a country where the reality is that most people live in poverty.
Kim Jong Un at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Pyongyang
Kim did not speak at this event, but he didn’t have to; He let the buildings do the talking. His message to America: your sanctions don’t work and we will keep building our buildings and our missiles.
North Korea’s goal is a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States, which experts now say they could accomplish in the next few years.
That threat has become one of the most serious issues facing the Trump administration. In a tweet Thursday, President Trump once again called on China to rein in North Korea or said the U. S. will do it.
I have great confidence that China will properly deal with North Korea. If they are unable to do so, the U. S., with its allies, will! U. S. A.
Just over a week ago Trump hinted at his recent reversals of several campaign promises
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The attack on a tunnel complex in remote eastern Afghanistan with the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U. S. military left 36 Islamic State group fighters dead and no civilian casualties, Afghanistan officials said Friday.
(Pentagon photo)
Posted: Apr 14 2017 06:45AM EDT
Updated: Apr 14 2017 05:07PM EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – The attack on a tunnel complex in remote eastern Afghanistan with the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U. S. military left 36 Islamic State group fighters dead and no civilian casualties, Afghanistan officials said Friday.
The Ministry of Defense said in a statement that several IS caves and ammunition caches were destroyed by the giant bomb, which terrified villagers on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border with its „earsplitting blast. “
The U. S. military headquarters in Kabul said the bomb was dropped at about 7:30 p.m. local time Thursday on a tunnel complex in Nangarhar province, where the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State group has been operating. The target was close to the Pakistani border.
„I want a hundred times more bombings on this group,“ said Hakim Khan, 50, a resident of Achin district, the site of the blast.
Pakistani villagers living near the Afghan border said the explosion was so loud they thought a bomb ad been dropped in their village by U. S. warplanes targeting terrorists in Pakistan.
„I was sleeping when we heard a loud explosion. It was an earsplitting blast,“ said Shah Wali, 46, who lives in the village of Goor Gari, 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the border with Nangarhar. „I jumped from my bed and came out of my home to see what has gone wrong in our village. “
Wali said dozens of other villagers also came out of homes and later he went near the border, where he met with other residents. He said he could see smoke in the sky.
The U. S. estimates 600 to 800 IS fighters are present in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar. The U. S. has concentrated heavily on combatting them while also supporting Afghan forces battling the Taliban. President Donald Trump called Thursday’s operation a „very, very successful mission. “
The bomb, known officially as a GBU-43B, or massive ordnance air blast weapon, unleashes 11 tons of explosives.
Inamullah Meyakhil, spokesman for the central hospital in eastern Nangarhar province, said the facility had received no dead or wounded from the attack.
District Gov. Ismail Shinwari said there is no civilian property near the airstrike location.
There was no immediate comment from the Islamic State group or other militants regarding the U. S. bomb attack.

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Russia’s state broadcaster has said it will boycott this year’s Eurovision song contest after the host country, Ukraine, said it would bar entry to the Russian contestant and Moscow rejected two possible compromises suggested by the organizers.
Ukraine said Russian singer Yulia Samoylova could not travel to Kiev for the competition next month because she had performed in Crimea after the region was annexed by Russia.
Moscow accused Ukraine of discriminating against Samoylova and of breaching the contest’s rules. The contest organizers also condemned the Ukrainian decision but said the event will go ahead.
Russia’s Channel One, the state broadcaster that transmits the contest to large Russian audiences, said organizers had offered the option of sending a different contestant or of having Samoylova perform via video link from Moscow.
„In our view this represents discrimination against the Russian entry, and of course our team will not under any circumstances agree to such terms,“ said Yuri Aksyuta, the station’s chief producer for musical and entertainment programs.
„Naturally, we are not taking part in the Eurovision 2017 competition under the terms that are being offered to us, and we will not broadcast it either,“ he said.
„The absence of a Russian participant, in my view, is a very serious blow to the reputation of the contest itself, and for Russian viewers it is also another reason not to pay attention to the contest. “
The annual singing contest attracts millions of television viewers across Europe. For many countries, especially former Communist states in Europe, performing well in the event is seen as a matter of national pride.
Kiev said that Samoylova has violated Ukraine’s borders by entering Crimea without seeking permission from the Ukrainian authorities. Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014, but all but a handful of countries consider it part of Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed „regret that the Eurovision organizers have turned out to be unable to fulfill the terms of their own rules,“ and compel Ukraine to allow Samoylova to travel to Kiev.
The organizers of the contest, the European Broadcast Union (EBU), said in a statement they had done everything in their power so that all eligible countries could take part.
„We strongly condemn the Ukrainian authorities‘ decision to impose a travel ban on Julia Samoylova as we believe it thoroughly undermines the integrity and non-political nature of the Eurovision Song Contest,“ Frank Dieter Freiling, chairman of the event’s steering committee, said in statement released by the EBU.
„However, preparations continue apace for the Eurovision Song Contest in the host city Kyiv. Our top priority remains to produce a spectacular Eurovision Song Contest. “
(Additional reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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