Top Stories Today – June 11, 2019
Top Stories Today – June 11, 2019
Report maps hundreds of N Korea execution sites
A South Korean NGO says it has identified 318 sites in North Korea that have been used by the government to carry out public executions. The Transitional Justice Working Group interviewed 610 North Korean defectors over four years for its report. It documented decades of killings, for offences ranging from stealing a cow to watching South Korean TV. Public executions took place near rivers, fields, markets, schools, and sports grounds, the rights group said.
Crowds of 1,000 or more would gather to watch these executions, the NGO said in its report, “Mapping the fate of the dead”, released on Tuesday. The report alleges that family members of those sentenced to death, including children, were sometimes forced to watch the event. The bodies and burial locations of those killed were rarely given to their relatives. The youngest person to witness a public killing was seven years old, according to testimony. Some public executions also take place inside detention facilities such as prisons and labour camps – where people convicted of political crimes are forced into physical work such as mining and logging. BBC
US House to vote on Mueller probe lawsuits
The US House of Representatives is due to vote Tuesday on a measure authorizing lawsuits against Attorney General William Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn over their refusal to cooperate with congressional subpoenas in connection with the investigation of Russian election interference.
Lawmakers want access to documents from special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on his probe into whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice by trying to thwart the investigation, and for McGahn to testify about what took place inside the White House. Authorizing the lawsuits would allow leaders in the Democratic-led House to go forward with those steps if they choose to do so at a later date. The Voice of America
Fighting fires with help from Chinese drones
In the future, every firetruck will carry a drone, much like they carry a water hose today, says Jeff Kleven, acting division chief of operations with the Fremont (California) Fire Department. The department, which has 14 drones, uses the technology to save lives and make firefighters’ jobs safer. Recently, with the help of a drone equipped with an infrared camera able to detect body heat, the Fremont police rescued a deaf child at night.
The fire department has worked with Chinese drone maker DJI to use its drones and software for rescues and training. Recently, the US Department of Homeland Security repeated concerns that Chinese-made drones could be leaking sensitive data to China. While DJI wasn’t named, it is the world’s largest commercial drone maker. In 2017, the US Army barred use of DJI’s drones. The Voice of America
Kim’s murdered brother was a CIA source
Kim Jong Nam, the slain half brother of North Korea’s leader, was a Central Intelligence Agency source who met on several occasions with agency operatives, a person knowledgeable about the matter said.
Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of Kim Jong Il, was killed in 2017, after being attacked with a nerve agent in the Kuala Lumpur airport. After falling out of favor with his father in the early 2000s, Kim Jong Nam left North Korea, and primarily lived in Macau. North Korea is a secretive country, and it’s unclear what information he would have been able to share with the CIA. Several former US officials told the Journal Kim Jong Nam would most likely have been talking with several intelligence and security services, including China’s. The Wall Street Journal
Mexico denies Trump claims about secret agreements
President Trump was persuaded to drop his plan to impose tariffs on Mexican goods after Mexico promised to crack down on Central American migrants, arresting thousands every week, officials from both governments told The Washington Post. But in a press conference Monday, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Mexico had not reached any secret agreements on immigration or agriculture, as Trump claimed in a series of tweets.
On Monday, Trump tweeted about a “fully signed and documented” section “of the immigration and security deal with Mexico” that will be “revealed in the not too distant future.” Ebrard said Mexico had only agreed to return to talks if the number of migrants reaching the US border doesn’t drop significantly in coming months, as laid out in the published agreement. The Washington Post, The New York Times via The Week
Iran says detained US resident to be released
Iran has agreed to hand over a US permanent resident imprisoned for years in Tehran to Lebanese officials, an Iranian judiciary official said Tuesday, providing the first official confirmation that Nizar Zakka would be sent back to his native Lebanon. The comment by Gholamhossein Esmaili comes as a top Lebanese security official is in Tehran to secure Zakka’s release, which has been anticipated for days.
There was no immediate comment from Lebanon. Zakka, an internet freedom advocate, is one of a series of prisoners with either dual nationality or links to the West held in Iran. His potential release comes as tensions between Iran and the US remain high after President Donald Trump withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. The Voice of America
Biden and Trump head to Iowa for campaign
President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will both be in Iowa on Tuesday. In the western portion state, the president is scheduled to have two stops: a visit at a renewable energy facility in Council Bluffs and then an evening state Republican fundraiser in West Des Moines. Biden will head to eastern Iowa, on the heels of a weekend visit by most of the Democratic field, but which Biden skipped. There, the former vice president has three community stops on his public schedule, in Ottumwa, Mt. Pleasant and Davenport.
While the two are unlikely to cross paths in the crucial caucus state, their visit will bring heightened attention to the Hawkeye State, given each candidate’s propensity to speak off the cuff and their ongoing public spats. Polls show a tight race in a hypothetical match-up between Trump and Biden — making Iowa an important swing state for both parties. ABC News