International
North Korea notifies Japan of its intention to launch a satellite before June 4
North Korea has notified Japan of its intention to launch a new satellite before June 4, the Japanese Government announced.
The Director General for Asia and Oceania of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Hiroyuki Namazu, the Director General for South Korean Nuclear Affairs, Lee Jun-il, and the US Deputy Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific, Jun Pak, held a telematic meeting after the announcement.
“The three parties agreed that the North Korean launch using ballistic missile technology is prohibited by current United Nations sanctions, which prohibit (to Pyongyang) any launch that uses ballistic missile technology, even if the launch is intended to deploy a satellite,” said a statement from the meeting published by the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
“This is a clear violation of the Security Council resolutions and the three parties agreed to ask North Korea to desist from the launch,” he concludes.
The warning comes hours before Japan participates in a three-way summit with South Korea and China in Seoul and designates three maritime areas as potential danger zones due to the fall of remnants of the rocket necessary to launch the device, two west of the Korean peninsula and one east of the Philippine island of Luzon, according to the details received by the Coast Guard of Japan.
Those three areas coincide with those already demarcated at the time by the North Korean regime for the launches it made last year.
Officials from Japan, the United States and South Korea contacted by phone after the announcement and agreed to ask the North to cancel its launch plan, since it involves the use of ballistic technology, something prohibited by the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council on the country.
The launch preparation notice is known days after the South Korean army said that it has detected an increase in activity at the launch base that Pyongyang has in Tongchang-ri, in the northwest of the territory, from where it made its three satellite launches in 2023, triggering speculation about an upcoming launch.
North Korea has promised to launch three more spy satellites in 2024, after successfully orbiting the first one last November and after two previous failed attempts that same year.
International
Trump signs order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to halt federal funding for two public media outlets, PBS television and NPR radio, accusing them of being biased.
NPR and PBS are partially funded by American taxpayers but rely heavily on private donations.
Trump has long maintained a hostile relationship with most media outlets, which he has referred to as the “enemy of the people.”
An exception is the conservative Fox News channel, some of whose hosts have played important roles in the administration of the Republican magnate.
“National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) receive taxpayer funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB),” Trump said.
“Therefore, I direct the CPB board and all executive departments and agencies to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” he added.
The Republican leader argued that “neither of these entities provides a fair, accurate, or impartial portrayal of current events to the taxpayer citizens.”
At the end of March, Donald Trump called on Congress to end public funding for these two “horrible and completely biased networks.”
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
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