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North Korea Launched A ‘new type’ Of ICBM Causing Fear And Confusion In Japan

ICBM

(CTN NEWS) – In a continuation of its provocative missile tests, North Korea carried out its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch in a month on Thursday, according to the country’s neighbors.

This launch may have been used to test a new, more mobile, harder-to-detect weapons system

Even if the order to evacuate a northern island was eventually withdrawn in response to the launch, it demonstrates the neighbours of North Korea’s watchfulness regarding its expanding missile threats.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, the missile travelled 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) before crashing into the oceans between the Korean Peninsula and Japan after taking off at a high angle from a location close to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.

ICBM is one of the key high-tech weapons that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to build

The missile was described as having a medium-long range by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was referred to as an ICBM-class weapon by the Japanese defense minister but a long-range missile by the US National Security Council.

According to a defence official who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to office policies, South Korea’s military believes North Korea launched a novel ballistic missile that may have used solid fuel.

If a solid-fuel ICBM was used in the launch, it would be the North’s first demonstration of the weapon. All of the known ICBMs from North Korea have liquid propulsion systems, which necessitate fueling before launch.

However, solid propellant weapons can be moved more easily and fired more fast because the fuel is already loaded inside of them.

A solid-propellant ICBM is one of the primary high-tech weapons that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pledged to develop to better counter what he perceives as military threats from the United States.

He also wants to get a nuclear submarine, a multiwarhead missile, a hypersonic missile, and a surveillance satellite.

A new intermediate- or long-range missile propelled by solid propellants may have been used in the launch, according to Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

The launch may also have been related to North Korea’s preparations for the launch of a spy satellite

A United States National Security Council representative, Adrienne Watson, stated that the most recent launch “needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilising the security situation in the region.”

According to Watson, the United States will take all necessary steps to protect its country as well as its allies in South Korea and Japan.

Officials denounced the launch in an urgent National Security Council meeting in Seoul and emphasised the necessity of strengthening the three-way security collaboration with Washington and Tokyo.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called a Japanese NSC meeting to discuss the missile and Japan’s response to it.

During a phone discussion, the top nuclear envoys of Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo urged for a “decisive and united international response” to North Korean provocations as well as further efforts to stop illegal North Korean operations that are reportedly used to finance its weapons programme.

North Korea frequently shoots missiles in international waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan as part of missile tests

Its previous ICBM launches were local, although on elevated trajectories to avoid the surrounding nations.

Unless they are certain that weapons are headed in the direction of their territory, South Korea and Japan normally don’t issue evacuation orders for North Korean launches.

The North Korean missile that was launched on Thursday, according to Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, failed to enter Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

However, the northernmost island of Hokkaido was still advised to seek shelter by Japanese officials, who also temporarily suspended bus, train and underground operations there.

Local governments additionally sounded alert sirens over public speakers to warn residents to flee.

The government then apologised and withdrew its missile warning, claiming that its analysis had shown there was little chance a missile might land close to Hokkaido.

According to Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, the notice was sent out as a result of an early missile route assessment by the Japanese Defense Ministry.

According to Matsuno, the missile later vanished from radar, but authorities continued to broadcast a warning to prioritise the safety of the populace. He called the action taken by the administration “appropriate.”

The notification seemed to indicate that Japan was being watchful of North Korea’s escalating missile threats. When questioned about the authenticity of Japan’s intelligence sharing of upcoming North Korean launches, Prime Minister Kishida responded that the government is reviewing relevant information, including alerts.

When a North Korean intermediate-range missile passed over Japan in a launch that showed it had the ability to reach the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, Japanese officials issued a similar evacuation order in October.

The North conducted its first long-range missile test on Thursday after conducting its most advanced, liquid-fueled Hwasong-17 ICBM test on March 16.

Tuesday, Kim Jong Un reviewed his nation’s offensive strategies and promised to make his nuclear arsenal more “practical and offensive.”

Since the beginning of 2022, North Korea has fired off nearly 100 missiles, several of which are nuclear-capable and can reach the U.S. mainland, South Korea, and Japan.

The North’s testing binge is largely in retaliation for military exercises involving South Korea and the US, which Pyongyang perceives as a warm-up for an invasion.

According to some analysts, North Korea exploits the opposing nations’ military exercises as an excuse to modernise its arsenal and put pressure on Seoul and Washington to demand concessions like removing economic sanctions.

According to South Korean and American officials, the drills are defensive in character and were planned in response to North Korea’s increasing nuclear and missile threats.

Late in March, North Korea showed a brand-new kind of nuclear warhead, sparking fears that it would perform its first nuclear test in more than five years.

Experts from other countries disagree on whether North Korea has created small and light warheads to fit on its more sophisticated missiles.

According to South Korean officials, North Korea has been ignoring calls from South Korea on a number of cross-border inter-Korean hotlines over the past week or so.

Communications on those channels are supposed to avert unexpected conflicts over the rivals’ disputed western sea frontier.

Kwon Youngse, the minister of South Korea’s reunification, voiced “strong regret” on Tuesday for what he described as North Korea’s “unilateral and irresponsible attitude” about the hotlines.

Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea and Joe Biden of the United States will meet later this month in Washington, where a key topic is likely to be North Korea’s expanding nuclear weapons.

In order to keep up diplomatic pressure on North Korea, experts say the conversations between world leaders at the Group of Seven summit in Japan in May could be vital.

China and Russia, two permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, have obstructed tougher sanctions on North Korea in recent months, highlighting a rift that Russia’s conflict with Ukraine has widened.

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Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding, But Still Accounting 48% Search Revenue

Google

Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.

According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.

Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.

google

Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding

Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.

Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.

Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.

To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.

Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.

On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.

In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.

Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.

google

Pixa Bay

Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding

On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.

TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.

When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.

And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.

Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.

A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.

google

Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.

But today, it feels more like reality.

Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.

Could we remember Google in the same way that we remember Yahoo or Ask Jeeves in decades? These next few years could be significant.

SOURCE | CNN

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2024 | Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

trump

Washington — Trump Media,  The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will not hear an appeal from social media platform X about a search warrant acquired by prosecutors in the election meddling case against former President Donald Trump.

The justices did not explain their rationale, and there were no recorded dissents.

The firm, which was known as Twitter before being purchased by billionaire Elon Musk, claims a nondisclosure order that prevented it from informing Trump about the warrant obtained by special counsel Jack Smith’s team violated its First Amendment rights.

The business also claims Trump should have had an opportunity to exercise executive privilege. If not reined in, the government may employ similar tactics to intercept additional privileged communications, their lawyers contended.

trump

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

Two neutral electronic privacy groups also joined in, urging the high court to hear the case on First Amendment grounds.

Prosecutors, however, claim that the corporation never shown that Trump utilized the account for official purposes, therefore executive privilege is not a problem. A lower court also determined that informing Trump could have compromised the current probe.

trump

Trump utilized his Twitter account in the weeks preceding up to his supporters’ attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to spread false assertions about the election, which prosecutors claim were intended to create doubt in the democratic process.

The indictment describes how Trump used his Twitter account to encourage his followers to travel to Washington on Jan. 6, pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to reject the certification, and falsely claiming that the Capitol crowd, which battered police officers and destroyed glass, was peaceful.

musk trump

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

That case is now moving forward following the Supreme Court’s verdict in July, which granted Trump full immunity from criminal prosecution as a former president.

The warrant arrived at Twitter amid quick changes implemented by Musk, who bought the company in 2022 and has since cut off most of its workforce, including those dedicated to combating disinformation and hate speech.

He also welcomed back a vast list of previously banned users, including Trump, and endorsed him for the 2024 presidential election.

SOURCE | AP

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The Supreme Court Turns Down Biden’s Government Appeal in a Texas Emergency Abortion Matter.

Supreme Court

(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.

The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.

Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.

This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.

In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.

The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.

This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.

The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.

In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.

According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.

Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.

The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.

Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.

For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.

Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.

As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.

As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.

The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.

SOURCE: AP

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