International

North Korea launches a dozen ballistic missiles in a rebound in tension with the South

North Korea launched a dozen short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Thursday after sending hundreds of debris-filled balloons to the south and erring in its attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit, in a week marked by the upsurge in tensions in the peninsula.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported in a statement that the missiles were launched from the Sunan area, in Pyongyang, at 6.14 local time (21.14 GMT on Wednesday), and that they flew about 350 kilometers before falling into the Sea of Japan.

Due to the flight distance, it is believed that the approximately 10 projectiles could have been fired from multiple shuttles, which means an unusually high number of missiles launched in the same round by the regime.

The South Korean Army condemned in a statement the latest “provocation” of the North and noted that it has “strengthened vigilance against additional launches, while information is being shared closely with the authorities of the United States and Japan.”

The Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, said that the projectiles fell outside the exclusive Japanese economic zone without causing any damage to vessels or aircraft, and said that the launches violate the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

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In the same vein, nuclear envoys from South Korea, the United States and Japan discussed their coordinated response to the weapons test, through a phone call.

The Director General for South Korean Nuclear Affairs, Lee Jun-il, addressed both missile launches and the other actions of the regime in previous days with the US Deputy Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific, Jun Pak, and with her Japanese counterpart, Yukiya Hamamoto.

“The three parties condemned missile launches as a violation of the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and stressed that they pose a serious threat to peace and security,” the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Today’s tests, the first of ballistic missiles since Pyongyang tested tactical projectiles equipped according to the regime with a new “autonomous” navigation system on the 17th, took place the day after the North sent more than 200 balloons filled with waste to the neighboring country.

This is the largest number of balloons of this type – similar games were sent through the North across the border in 2016 and 2018 – detected to date, and arrived after Pyongyang threatened to respond to the sending of anti-regime propaganda by activists from the South.

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In addition, the South Korean Army reported that the North had tried to interfere with the GPS signals of the South on the maritime border between the two countries, in the second action of this type this week and which caused a malfunction in the navigation systems of fishing and passenger boats in the area.

Likewise, last Monday, North Korea notified the Japanese coast guard of its intention to launch a new spy satellite and offered a launch window between that day and June 3.

Pyongyang launched his space vehicle that same Monday from its space base in Sohae (northwest of the country) and the South Korean Army detected, just two minutes after the launch, the projectile “as a large group of fragments” on the North Korean coast.

North Korea, which attributed the failed launch to a problem in the rocket engine, thus added a new failure for its space program, after two launches were failed in the spring and summer of 2023.

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International

Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty to Killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

Luigi Mangione admitted Friday to fatally shooting Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurance group in the United States, during an appearance before a federal judge.

The case shocked the U.S. business community and dates back to December 2024, when Mangione opened fire on Thompson, 50, on a Manhattan street. Prosecutors have described the attack as being motivated by Mangione’s opposition to the U.S. health insurance system.

“On the morning of December 4, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” Mangione said as he pleaded guilty to a federal stalking charge related to his pursuit of the executive.

Mangione, 28, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, and prosecutors have indicated that they will seek a life sentence.

In addition to the federal charges related to stalking Thompson, Mangione also faces a murder case brought by the state of New York.

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Following his guilty plea in federal court, Mangione’s defense asked a state court to dismiss the state charges, arguing that prosecuting him again for the same conduct would violate protections against double jeopardy.

“We have just filed our motion in state court to explain why the charges should be dismissed under New York’s protections against double jeopardy,” Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said Friday.

Both the federal and state cases could result in a life sentence. Two other federal charges that initially carried the possibility of the death penalty were dismissed by a judge earlier this year.

International

ICE Plan to Equip Agents With Electric Shock Gloves Raises Abuse Concerns

Plans to equip U.S. immigration agents with gloves capable of delivering electric shocks are raising concerns over potential abuses by a law enforcement agency that critics accuse of using excessive force and providing inadequate training to its personnel.

The plan involves the potential purchase of electric-shock gloves for agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency primarily responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s campaign to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

Democratic Representative Maxwell Frost criticized the proposal on X, arguing that the agency has already faced accusations of excessive force during immigration enforcement operations.

“As if assaulting and shooting people in the streets wasn’t enough,” Frost wrote. He also criticized the reported $20 million potential expenditure on the devices and called for greater restrictions on ICE.

The agency has faced growing scrutiny following a series of deadly shootings during immigration enforcement operations. Among the incidents were the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota in January who were participating in protests against the agency.

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Critics have focused on the tactics used by ICE agents when detaining immigrants, as well as allegations that training standards for newly recruited personnel have been lowered.

According to a procurement plan first reported by the Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, could spend between $10 million and $20 million on the devices.

The gloves are described by the agency as tools intended for “distraction and de-escalation,” rather than lethal weapons. The system, known as GLOVE, stands for “Generated Low-Output Voltage Emitter.”

The device is manufactured by Compliant Technologies, a Kentucky-based company that describes its products as advanced non-lethal tools designed to protect and assist law enforcement and other personnel.

The proposal comes amid an intensifying national debate over ICE’s enforcement methods and the use of force during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

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International

Three U.S. Executions Set for Same Day as Trump Pushes to Expand Death Penalty

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 U.S. states, while three others —California, Oregon and Pennsylvania— currently have moratoriums in place.

The United States is set to carry out three executions on the same day, a rare occurrence that has not happened since 2010, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.

President Donald Trump has sought to expand the use of capital punishment for what he describes as “the most heinous crimes.” In April, the Department of Justice proposed expanding execution methods to include firing squads, lethal gas and electrocution.

Tennessee is scheduled to execute Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines, 66, on Thursday. He was sentenced to death for the 1985 murder of a woman, according to local media.

In Oklahoma, Carlos Cuesta-Rodríguez, 70, is scheduled to be executed for a 2003 murder.

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Meanwhile, Alabama plans to execute Jeremy Williams, 42, who was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl.

The United States carried out 47 executions in 2025, the highest number since 2009, when 52 executions were recorded.

Florida conducted the largest number of executions last year, with 19, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, with five each.

Of the executions carried out in 2025, 39 were conducted by lethal injection. Three were carried out by firing squad and five through nitrogen hypoxia, a method that involves forcing nitrogen gas into a face mask, depriving the prisoner of oxygen.

The United Nations has condemned nitrogen gas as a cruel and inhumane method of capital punishment.