North Korea Says South Korea's Peace Overtures a 'Pipedream'
The North Korean leader's powerful sister said on Thursday (Aug 14) that the country has never taken down propaganda loudspeakers and will not do so, calling South Korea's belief that Pyongyang was responding to its peace overtures a "pipedream."
Kim Yo-jong, who is a senior official in the North's ruling Workers' Party, also said a change made to the plan for annual joint military drills by South Korea and the United States was a "futile" move that does not change the allies' hostile intent, Reuters reported.
Kim, who officials and analysts believe speaks for her brother, has in recent weeks rebuffed moves taken by South Korea's new liberal government aimed at easing tension between the two Koreas.
Humanitarian groups call on Israel to end 'weaponisation of aid' in Gaza
More than 100 organisations have signed a joint letter calling on Israel to stop the "weaponisation of aid" into Gaza, as "starvation deepens".
Humanitarian groups, including Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), say they are increasingly being told they are "not authorised" to deliver aid, unless they comply with the stricter Israeli regulations, BBC reported.
Groups risk being banned if they "delegitimise" the state of Israel or do not provide detailed information about Palestinian staff, the letter says.
Israel denies there are restrictions on aid and says the rules, introduced in March, ensure relief work is carried out in line with Israel's "national interests".
US proposes nearly $1 billion in funds for critical minerals, materials
The Trump administration is proposing nearly $1 billion in funding to speed the development of U.S. critical minerals and materials, used in everything from electric vehicle batteries to semiconductors, the Energy Department said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
The department intends to offer funding to advance and scale up mining, processing and manufacturing technologies in the critical minerals and materials supply chains, sectors that have been dominated by China and other countries, the statement said.
"For too long, the United States has relied on foreign actors to supply and process the critical materials that are essential to modern life and our national security," said Energy Secretary Chris Wright, according to Reuters.
Putin appears ready to test new missile as he prepares for Trump talks, researchers say
Russia appears to be preparing to test its new nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered cruise missile, according to two U.S. researchers and a Western security source, even as Russian President Vladimir Putin readies for talks on Ukraine with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, Reuters reported.
Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and Decker Eveleth of the CNA research and analysis organization, based in Virginia, reached their assessments separately by studying imagery taken in recent weeks until Tuesday by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite firm.
They agreed the photos showed extensive activity at the Pankovo test site on the Barents Sea archipelago of Novaya Zemlya, including increases in personnel and equipment and ships and aircraft associated with earlier tests of the 9M730 Burevestnik (Storm Petrel), according to Reuters.
