World News Thread & Breaking News!!

[Equation]

51 confirmed dead...but expecting at least 20 more.

God rest the departed, and God grant comfort to the families and loved ones of those killed, and to the injured.

Here's a link to a Weather Channel video of the tormado. Incredible, and unbelievably frightening.

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​

And here is a youtube video showing a couple of views of this thing...the last one, whomever was taking it, was waiting way too long.

[video=youtube;40fon8AEYII]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40fon8AEYII[/video]​

My condolences to all the victims and their families.

 

[Jeff Head]

My condolences to all the victims and their families.

Thank you equation.

I was raised just south of the Red River and had a LOT of friends who went to Norman to school and ended up in the OKC area.

Now they are saying that the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office has been told to expect about 40 additional bodies, according to Amy Elliott from the office who was interviewed on Fox and CNN. The official death toll will not rise until the bodies are processed, but it could well be pushing a hundred by tomorrow. God rest them all.

 

[Franklin]

Hmmmm, it seems like that the North Koreans are up to their old tricks again.

China boat captain says hijackers were in North Korea military uniforms in latest incident to stoke tensions

Gunmen wearing North Korean military uniforms released a Chinese fishing boat Tuesday after holding its crew for two weeks, beating up the captain and stealing the vessel's fuel, the boat's owner said. He added that the hijackers did not get the 600,000 yuan ($100,000) ransom they had demanded.

The seizure May 5 in what boat owner Yu Xuejun said were Chinese waters was the latest irritant in relations between North Korea and a Chinese government increasingly frustrated with its neighboring ally over tests of its nuclear and rocket technologies in defiance of U.N. bans. One of China's North Korea watchers said rogue border guards were probably responsible, rather than the Pyongyang government itself.

Yu said in an interview that the men were allowed to move around the boat while they were held captive, but were locked in a room at night. He said the captain suffered an arm injury when he was beaten, but he has since recovered, and that no other crew member was harmed. They now planned to stay out at sea for another 10 days.

"The North Koreans only left the crew with one sack of rice and one sack of flour. But this shouldn't be a problem as there are a lot of boats in that region now, all from Dalian," he said, referring to the northeast China port where his boat is based. "With their help, the crews will do OK for the next 8 or 10 days."

Yu publicized the boat's capture over the weekend on the Twitter-like Tencent Weibo as a ransom deadline neared. China then publicly demanded that North Korea release the men, though Chinese officials have not said whether they believe the armed captors were operating on their own or under North Korean government authority.

No ransom was paid, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a news briefing Tuesday.

"We demand North Korea investigate this case fully and furnish China with details, and take measures to stop such cases repeating themselves," Hong said.

Yu also said he hadn't paid any ransom. "We were working in our country's waters — why should I pay them?" he said. He had earlier written online that he couldn't afford it.

He said the captors "looked like soldiers, and the captain said they had guns and used force to take over the boat."

Yu posted coordinates on his microblog indicating the seizure took place about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the westernmost point of North Korea and about 190 kilometers (120 miles) from Dalian.

That area is outside both countries' territorial waters — defined as 12 nautical miles from their shores — but within their overlapping Exclusive Economic Zones, which give them rights to resources including fishing. Jurisdictions in overlapping zones are not always clear.

Yu said the North Koreans took about five tons of light diesel oil and six barrels of gasoline and food, but navigation and communication equipment that was initially taken was returned, Yu said.

Yu's pleas for help and his frets that his crew might be mistreated were forwarded thousands of times on the Internet, and a high-ranking Chinese military officer, Maj. Gen. Luo Yuan, wrote on Sina Weibo of his fury over the detention.

"North Korea has gone too far! Even if you are short of money, you can't grab people across the border and blackmail," wrote Luo, who has more than 300,000 followers.

A similar abduction a year ago of Chinese fishermen by armed North Koreans caused an uproar in China. After their release, those fishermen said they had been starved and beaten, and some had been stripped of everything but their underwear.

Hong, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, had declined to answer a question Monday about who exactly China believed was behind the boat seizure, but he made clear that Beijing was looking for the North Korean government to secure the release of the boat and crew.

An expert on North Korea at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences in northeast China said he doubted the North Korean government would have had any knowledge of the incident when it happened.

"This incident is purely about a lawless act by the North Korean border police to blackmail our fishermen," said Lu Chao, adding that such things frequently happen to Chinese fishermen working near border waters.

"Sometimes, if the amount they are asking for isn't too high, the boat owner would just pay it," he said. This time, it might be related to spring food shortages, "so they are asking for a huge ransom."

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[Equation]

Hmmmm, it seems like that the North Koreans are up to their old tricks again.

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Sounds more like sea pirates in DPRK uniform to me.

 

[bd popeye]

I thought the North Koreans released that crew. Let me check.

Sure did.

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BEIJING -- Gunmen wearing North Korean military uniforms released a Chinese fishing boat Tuesday after holding its crew for two weeks, beating up the captain and stealing the vessel's fuel, the boat's owner said. He added that the hijackers did not get the 600,000 yuan ($100,000) ransom they had demanded.

The seizure May 5 in what boat owner Yu Xuejun said were Chinese waters was the latest irritant in relations between North Korea and a Chinese government increasingly frustrated with its neighboring ally over tests of its nuclear and rocket technologies in defiance of U.N. bans. One of China's North Korea watchers said rogue border guards were probably responsible, rather than the Pyongyang government itself.

Yu said in an interview that the men were allowed to move around the boat while they were held captive, but were locked in a room at night. He said the captain suffered an arm injury when he was beaten, but he has since recovered, and that no other crew member was harmed. They now planned to stay out at sea for another 10 days.

"The North Koreans only left the crew with one sack of rice and one sack of flour. But this shouldn't be a problem as there are a lot of boats in that region now, all from Dalian," he said, referring to the northeast China port where his boat is based. "With their help, the crews will do OK for the next 8 or 10 days."

Yu publicized the boat's capture over the weekend on the Twitter-like Tencent Weibo as a ransom deadline neared. China then publicly demanded that North Korea release the men, though Chinese officials have not said whether they believe the armed captors were operating on their own or under North Korean government authority.

No ransom was paid, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a news briefing Tuesday.

"We demand North Korea investigate this case fully and furnish China with details, and take measures to stop such cases repeating themselves," Hong said.

Yu also said he hadn't paid any ransom. "We were working in our country's waters – why should I pay them?" he said. He had earlier written online that he couldn't afford it.

He said the captors "looked like soldiers, and the captain said they had guns and used force to take over the boat."

Yu posted coordinates on his microblog indicating the seizure took place about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the westernmost point of North Korea and about 190 kilometers (120 miles) from Dalian.

That area is outside both countries' territorial waters – defined as 12 nautical miles from their shores – but within their overlapping Exclusive Economic Zones, which give them rights to resources including fishing. Jurisdictions in overlapping zones are not always clear.

Yu said the North Koreans took about five tons of light diesel oil and six barrels of gasoline and food, but navigation and communication equipment that was initially taken was returned, Yu said.

Yu's pleas for help and his frets that his crew might be mistreated were forwarded thousands of times on the Internet, and a high-ranking Chinese military officer, Maj. Gen. Luo Yuan, wrote on Sina Weibo of his fury over the detention.

"North Korea has gone too far! Even if you are short of money, you can't grab people across the border and blackmail," wrote Luo, who has more than 300,000 followers.

A similar abduction a year ago of Chinese fishermen by armed North Koreans caused an uproar in China. After their release, those fishermen said they had been starved and beaten, and some had been stripped of everything but their underwear.

Hong, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, had declined to answer a question Monday about who exactly China believed was behind the boat seizure, but he made clear that Beijing was looking for the North Korean government to secure the release of the boat and crew.

An expert on North Korea at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences in northeast China said he doubted the North Korean government would have had any knowledge of the incident when it happened.

"This incident is purely about a lawless act by the North Korean border police to blackmail our fishermen," said Lu Chao, adding that such things frequently happen to Chinese fishermen working near border waters.

"Sometimes, if the amount they are asking for isn't too high, the boat owner would just pay it," he said. This time, it might be related to spring food shortages, "so they are asking for a huge ransom."

 

[perfume]

I can't quote links yet, but thought this was interesting:

China offers 500 troops to UN Mali force

news24.com/Africa/News/China-offers-500-troops-to-UN-Mali-force-20130523-2

france24.com/en/20130523-china-offers-500-troops-un-mali-force


I was referred this by a friend, what do you guys think?
This would be a major step for China, they have only ever contributed to the UN peacekeeping missions in terms of engineering and logistics before. If this were true, it could be the first time we see the PLA in real combat operations in perhaps........I'm not old enough to remember

 

[plawolf]

I can't quote links yet, but thought this was interesting:

China offers 500 troops to UN Mali force

news24.com/Africa/News/China-offers-500-troops-to-UN-Mali-force-20130523-2

france24.com/en/20130523-china-offers-500-troops-un-mali-force


I was referred this by a friend, what do you guys think?
This would be a major step for China, they have only ever contributed to the UN peacekeeping missions in terms of engineering and logistics before. If this were true, it could be the first time we see the PLA in real combat operations in perhaps........I'm not old enough to remember

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Too early to conclude that these would be combat troops since they troop type has not been confirmed. But at least 155 of those soldiers would be combat engineers, and it remains to be seen if the reminder will serve a combat role.

I kinda hope that these will turn out to be the usual engineering, medical and other support troops because Mali is not really a good place to get involved in combat operations in.

The Islamists were routed by the French, but they might have been routed too easily, whereby the bulk of their fighting strength simply melted away and dispersed rather than being destroyed.

If the Islamists were planning to avoid the French forces on the field but instead bleed them dry after they spread out into a garrison and peacekeeping role all over the country, as has happened with western forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, then sending in combat peacekeepers after the French forces pull out could be a costly mistake.

But I expect China would have had its diplomatic and intelligence agency staff on the ground in Mali for some time before it decided to make this offer, so hopefully they have a better understanding of how things are on the ground, so if they think sending combat troops is a good idea, it would be.

A good sign is that the local population seemed overwhelming against the Islamists, so any attempts at a guerrilla campaign may be easily defeated if the locals are not actively helping the Islamists or are actively working against them.

A more cynical part of me cannot help but wonder if the Chinese offer might be related to the likely significant reconstruction contracts that will likely follow. Even without such a big contribution of forces for the UN peacekeeping force, Chinese companies would have been top contenders for contracts, and such a big contribution would easily make Chinese companies front runners, and if they win, they would likely bring in significantly Chinese civilian workers to Mali with them. If China is expecting a lot of its nationals to move into Mali as part of the reconstruction effort, it would make sense to send in Chinese troops as peacekeepers to get the diplomatic kudos as well as be on hand to provide security to Chinese companies and nationals working in Mali.

A big UN combat mission in Mali would also give the PLAN the perfect location and opportunity to gain some much needed actual combat experience with the Liaoning when she is finally combat capable.

 

[airsuperiority]

I can't quote links yet, but thought this was interesting:

China offers 500 troops to UN Mali force

news24.com/Africa/News/China-offers-500-troops-to-UN-Mali-force-20130523-2

france24.com/en/20130523-china-offers-500-troops-un-mali-force


I was referred this by a friend, what do you guys think?
This would be a major step for China, they have only ever contributed to the UN peacekeeping missions in terms of engineering and logistics before. If this were true, it could be the first time we see the PLA in real combat operations in perhaps........I'm not old enough to remember

I support China's efforts. I want to see China contribute more to assist humanitarianism missions.

 

[delft]

It is good to see victims of dictatorships meeting and cooperating:

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A scar that stretches across continents
By Stephanie Wildes

GWANGJU, South Korea - As news of the death of former Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla in a prison cell spread around the world, Julia Parodi, who was in this South Korean city to receive the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights on behalf of HIJOS, said he died in the right place.

HIJOS, the acronym for "Sons and Daughters for Identity and Justice Against Oblivion and Silence", is an Argentine rights group founded in 1995 when children of people "disappeared" by that country's 1976-1983 military regime came together to hold escraches, or outings, of human-rights violators.

An estimated 30,000 people were forcibly disappeared during the Argentine dictatorship's systematic suppression of dissent. In 1976, then army chief Videla led the junta made up of the commanders of the three military forces after the coup d'etat that overthrew the democratic government of Isabel Peron.

Videla, who died on May 17, may be physically no more, the 25-year-old Parodi told the audience in her acceptance speech, but Argentina is still trying to correct the historical wrongs of the regime he led for most of its seven years in power. Parodi was with her colleague Marcos Kary in Gwangju to share the human-rights experiences of Argentina and South Korea.

The Gwangju Prize is awarded in South Korea by the May 18 Memorial Foundation, which like HIJOS was established by the families of those subjected to the brutal excesses of a dictatorship. Protests against the rule of South Korean military commander and strongman Chun Doo-hwan (1979-1988) had culminated in the May 18-27, 1980, uprising in Gwangju, also known as 518, an allusion to the date the bloody crackdown began.

In spring 1980, there was a wave of demonstrations across South Korea. In Gwangju, in the southwest, the military responded with brute force, firing indiscriminately into crowds. Even passers-by were killed. The final death toll is still uncertain, but up to 2,000 people may have died. The uprising is seen as a pivotal moment in the struggle for South Korean democracy.

The May 18 Memorial Foundation was established in 1994, and the Gwangju Prize was created in 2000. Xanana Gusmao, who fought for the freedom of East Timor in Southeast Asia and was elected as its first president when it became a new country in 2002, was the first recipient of the prize.

The award has since gone to other leaders in South Asia, notably Aung San Suu Kyi, the icon for democracy in Myanmar, in 2004; Manipur's Irom Sharmila, fighting the excesses of the military in northeastern India, in 2007; and Dr Binayak Sen, a civil rights activist working for the rights of tribal populations in India, in 2011.

For the first time, the prize has gone this year to an organization so many miles and whole continents away from the parent country. HIJOS was chosen for its dedication to get justice for victims of human-rights abuses during Argentina's dictatorship.

Parodi and Kary, both students who work for and represent HIJOS, are not the children of any of those who fell prey to the atrocities of the regime but are willing to carry on the job that the daughters and sons of the victims began nearly two decades ago.

Like other workers with human-rights groups in their country, their aim is to help restore truth and bring justice to Argentine society. The organization has helped collect evidence, arranged legal assistance for those wishing to prosecute human-rights violators, and offered psychological support.

Videla's sentencing was a part of this effort. Tried and sentenced to life for human-rights abuses soon after democracy was restored, he served only a few years in prison before he was released under a broad presidential pardon from Carlos Menem (1989-1999). But the sustained efforts of organizations like HIJOS ensured that this impunity would not be permanent.

In the mid-2000s, the Argentine Supreme Court struck down the presidential pardon for the former members of the junta, as well as the two late 1980s amnesty laws, ruling that they were unconstitutional.

"In the period that no trials took place," Parodi told IPS, "we undertook social action by identifying the perpetrators of atrocities and distributing leaflets to their neighbors indicating that the people next door were responsible for the brutal abuses that happened in the 1970s and 1980s".

The human-rights trials resumed after the pardons and amnesty laws were thrown out. In the central city of Cordoba, where Parodi and Kary work, there have already been four trials involving 400 victims and 43 accused, said Parodi. A fifth trial began in December 2012 and will last another two years, the two activists told IPS.

However, helping to bring the perpetrators to court is not the end of HIJOS's job, Parodi said, adding that there is still a lot to be done for human rights in their country.

"Human rights continue to be suppressed in Argentina," Kary told IPS. "The military may no longer be in power, but the police continue to wield power, and their mindset has never really changed. Torture in jails continues."

Meanwhile, the Gwangju Prize - and its US$50,000 cash award - has given the organization an opportunity to share its human rights experience with rights groups and democratic movements in Asia. It is the first international recognition that HIJOS has received, and one it hopes to build on in its fight for human rights.

(Inter-Press Service)

 

[delft]

There is rioting in England, which happens occasionally, and in Sweden, where it is much rarer. The Swedish rioting is already going on for several days:

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The immediate causes are different, but the geographical spread of the rioting in both countries suggests a connection, the wide spread unemployment especially among young people