The Pentagon Reports that North Korea could Hit U.S. with Nuclear Strike

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

While North Korea has never been forthright with their nuclear capabilities, Washington officials stated that tiny communist nation does have the capability to hit the mainland of the U.S. with nuclear strikes. The Pentagon went on to state that they are prepared for such a situation.

“I’m pretty confident that we’re going to knock down the numbers that are going to be shot,” Admiral Bill Gortney, who heads the U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said of a potential strike.

Every few years North Korea taunts Western nations with allusions to the country’s nuclear capabilities. Throughout the past several years, they have continually announced successful nuclear tests.

Last month, North Korea’s space agency announced Pyongyang was building a new satellite and getting ready to launch the satellite for possible long range missile attacks. The country continues to state that the rocket launches are part of a legitimate space program that wants to put satellites into orbit. North Korea has defied past sanctions and international warnings by continuing to conduct missile tests.

In March, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency reported that North Korea could launch an intercontinental ballistic missile this year.

In light of recent reports on North Korea’s possible nuclear capabilities, the U.S. military is investing to modernize its current missile defense system with new sensors and radars in order to better identify potential launches.

“We’re ready for him [Kim Jong Un], and we’re ready 24 hours a day…,” Gortney said.

Russia, Syria Coordinate Attacks

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

Moscow stated on Wednesday that its warships fired 26 missiles into Syria, hitting 11 targets and Syrian ground troops hit at least four insurgent positions.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that ISIS was the primary target.

Coordinated attacks by Russia and Syria were launched on Islamist factions in numerous towns in Hama and Idlib provinces in western Syria. If the reports are correct, this could be proof that Russia’s primary goal is to support President Bashar al-Assad instead of fighting ISIS.

The UK based Syrian Observatory for Human rights reported that there were no ISIS positions in the targeted areas. Instead, the areas are home to fierce clashes between regime forces and the armed Islamist rebel factions.

Turkey’s Prime Minister reported that only 3.5% of Russia’s airstrikes in Syria have targeted ISIS.

Despite the recent strikes, Russia said it was still willing to cooperate with the U.S. in Syria. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter responded by saying that the U.S. was not ready to cooperate with Russia on operations in Syria. However, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov indicated that cooperation was in the works.

China’s Foreign Exchange Reserves Fall by over $43 Billion in September

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , ,

China’s foreign exchange reserves lost $43.3 billion in September as the central bank intervened to stabilize the yuan and calm sentiment after a surprise devaluation of its currency rocked global markets.

China houses the world’s largest reserves and dropped to $3.514 trillion last month after a record slide of $93.9 billion in August. Questions have been raised about how sustainable China’s efforts to support the yuan are after the devaluation of the yuan and the fall of the reserves.

Analysts expect the reserves to keep falling.

“The decline in China’s foreign reserves, while less than market expected, still shows that China’s central bank continued the market intervention in the past month,” said Singapore-based Zhou Hao, senior economist in Asia at Commerzbank.

“As PBoC [People’s Bank of China] also intervened into the forward market in the past month, the foreign reserves will likely plunge again when these forward contracts mature,” he said.

The devaluation of the yuan has leaders worrying about a global currency war as well as it raised doubts on Beijing’s ability to manage a transitioning economy. China is shifting its economy to being led by domestic demand rather than an investment and exports led model.

According to Bloomberg, the value of yuan rose 0.22% Wednesday to 6.5340 a dollar, the strongest level since mid-August.

Edward Snowden Claims Smartphones can Easily be Hacked

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , ,

Whistleblower Edward Snowden rocked the world when he called out the actions of the NSA, but he now has new revolutionary information: UK spy agency GCHQ has the ability to hack into smartphones with encrypted text messages, and the owner would never know.

In an interview with the BBC’s Panorama program, he stated that the GCHQ “invested heavily” into technology that allows them to hack smartphones belonging to the public. The agency could gain access to the phones to take pictures and listen in to conversations.

“They want to own your phone instead of you,” he explained.

Snowden went on to explain that the GCHQ had a collection of secret intercept capabilities called a “Smurf Suite,” named after the cartoon series. Each “Smurf” controls a different aspect of the phone.

“Dreamy Smurf is the power management tool which means turning your phone on and off with you knowing,” he said.

“Nosey Smurf is the ‘hot mic’ tool. For example if it’s in your pocket, [GCHQ] can turn the microphone on and listen to everything that’s going on around you – even if your phone is switched off because they’ve got the other tools for turning it on.

“Tracker Smurf is a geo-location tool which allows [GCHQ] to follow you with a greater precision than you would get from the typical triangulation of cellphone towers.”

In order to hack the smartphone, the GCHQ sends a simple text message that is hidden from the owner. That text contains an exploit that allows the agency to control the software of the smartphone.

“You paid for [the phone] but whoever controls the software owns the phone,” Snowden added.

EU Officials Warn that 3 Million More Refugees Could Flee Syria

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , ,

The European Union Council President Donald Tusk told European lawmakers on Tuesday that up to 3 million more refugees could flee the fighting in Syria.

The new wave of refugees could worsen the humanitarian crisis that has strained relations between European Union (EU) members and put additional pressure on European border facilities. Currently, 2 million Syrian refugees are in Turkey.

“Today millions of potential refugees and migrants are dreaming about Europe,” Tusk said. He then went on to slam countries that have not honored the EU’s asylum rules.

The EU has currently offered new incentives to Turkey in order to better handle the Syrian refugee crisis. This offer includes up to 1 billion euros, additional EU funding to build six reception centers for refugees in Turkey, better intelligence sharing, and easing of visa restrictions.

“I know that this is a very dramatic dilemma,” Tusk said. “We have to try to cooperate with Turkey because in fact we have no other options.”

Last month, the EU agreed on plans to relocate 120,000 refugees over the next two years.

The International Organization for Migration says it has no reports of more people leaving Syria at this time. They add that Tusk’s statements on the situation are “speculative.”

Explosions Rock Yemen, Killing 15

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

Three explosions hit Yemen’s port city of Aden on Tuesday, killing 15 people. One rocket hit a hotel housing exiled Yemeni officials, and the other two attacks struck locations used by troops from the United Arab Emirates. Authorities state no government officials have been hurt.

At this time it is not clear who the victims were.

Officials originally blamed Yemen’s Shiite rebels for the attack, but a new Islamic State affiliate claimed responsibility for the attacks. The terrorist group used Twitter to claim the attack, posting photos of the suicide bombers and the aftermath of the bombing. More chaos is expected to ensue now that the Islamic State is involved with Yemen’s months-long civil war.

Military official, Major General Ahmed Sayf stated that the attacks were deployed with car bombs.

Yemen is currently in the middle of a civil war where Shiite rebels and forces loyal to the former president are fighting the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government as well as local militias, Sunni extremists, and southern separatists. The war in Yemen began in March of this year and so far, more than 4,000 people have been killed. The country is also on the brink of famine.

Russia Violated Turkish Airspace Again, Also Sends Ground Troops into Syria

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , ,

NATO’s secretary confirmed on Tuesday that Russian planes had violated Turkish airspace a second time and that Russian ground troops were in Syria.

Officials reported that the first violation took place on Saturday, and the second violation took place on Sunday. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also confirmed the latest updates.

“We also have seen two of them, two violations of Turkish airspace,” he said. “Intelligence that we have received provides me with reason to say it doesn’t look like an accident.”

Turkey’s air force also issued a statement that said an MiG-29 fighter jet of unknown nationality interfered with eight Turkish F-16s on the Turkey-Syria border on Monday. The Turkish planes were also under a radar lock for 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Russia that the situation could escalate quickly if their actions continued. Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952, and alliance rules state that any attack on one of the 28 member states would be treated as an attack on all.

“Any attack on Turkey is an attack on NATO,” Erdogan said. “If Russia loses a friend like Turkey with whom it has cooperated on many issues, it will lose a lot.”

Russia continues to claim that the airspace violations were mistakes and that their intentions in Syria is to take down the Islamic terrorist organization, ISIS also known as ISIL. U.S. officials question Russia’s motives as the Kremlin continues to target places in Syria where ISIS has not been active. They believe that Russia’s intentions are to bolster the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. However, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that within the last 24 hours, Russia has launched at least 34 airstrikes in areas controlled by ISIS, killing at least 38 members of ISIS and destroying an arms depot.

NATO defense ministers will meet on Thursday to discuss the actions of the Russian military in Syria.

Death Toll in South Carolina Rises to 9 Due to Flooding and Torrential Rain

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

In a news conference on Monday, Governor Nikki Haley stated that nine people are now dead in South Carolina due to the extreme weather.

Authorities have encouraged residents to stay home the past few days as more than 25 inches of rain has fallen, causing half the state to be affected by flooding Monday morning. Dozens of roads and interstate highways are closed. Of the nine people who were killed, four were killed in traffic accidents. First responders received 910 calls for collisions since the downpour began.

Over the weekend, at least 600 National Guardsmen, 11 aircraft, and 8 swift water rescue teams performed more than 200 water rescues. Over 1,000 law enforcement and 1,000 workers for the transportation department were on duty. Two dozen shelters have opened for those displaced, and utility crews are still trying to restore power to 30,000 customers.

Gov. Haley also addressed another issue: getting clean drinking water to 40,000 people who don’t have it.

“We have quite a few water issues,” Haley said. “Either people are without water or contaminated water.”

Walmart has donated 80,000 bottles of water, and officials are setting up water distribution stations throughout the state.

State officials are calling the situation a 1,000 year storm – a reference to a weather term describing a storm with a 1-in-1,000 chance of happening in any given year. The National Weather Service reported that Sunday was the wettest day in the history of Columbia, with the rainfall total at 6.87 inches.

While the rain is slowing and will soon move out of the region, meteorologists report that as much as two inches could still fall and that most rivers will not crest for another two weeks.

Some South Carolina residents were absolutely devastated by the storm. Columbia resident, Angela Williams, told CNN that the storm destroyed her neighborhood.

“We have lost everything. What I got on my body is what we have,” she told CNN affiliate WIS-TV. “Pretty much everybody down that hill there has lost everything … our vehicles, our clothes, everything.”

She added: “But the best thing is that we still have our lives.”

23 Civilians Killed in Afghan Hospital Due to U.S. Airstrikes

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , ,

A U.S.-led bombing accidentally hit a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, resulting in the death of 23 civilians.

The victims included 13 staff members and 10 patients. Three of the patients who were killed were children. Doctors Without Borders also reported that 37 people were wounded. One nurse recounted the terrible situation to the Huffington Post.

“There are no words for how terrible it was. In the intensive care unit, six patients were burning in their beds,” Lajos Zoltan Jecs said in an account posted on the MSF website.

She continued describing the situation. She watched colleagues die, heard patients calling out for help in all directions, and watched some of the staff just freeze, tears streaming down their faces.

General John Campbell addressed reporters at the Pentagon Monday. He stated that the strikes were called for by Afghan forces to protect U.S. forces.

“We have now learned that on October 3, Afghan forces advised that they were taking fire from enemy positions and asked for air support from U.S. forces,” he said. “An airstrike was then called to eliminate the Taliban threat, and several innocent civilians were accidentally struck.” Campbell also offered his condolences.

Afghan officials called the situation a tragedy, but have remained mute on the situation.

U.S., NATO, and Afghan officials are investigating the situation. Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), is demanding an independent investigation and calling the situation a “war crime.”

“Under the clear presumption that a war crime has been committed, MSF demands that a full and transparent investigation into the event be conducted by an independent international body,” the organization said. “Relying only on an internal investigation by a party to the conflict would be wholly insufficient.”

MSF reports that the series of bombings took place in 15 minute intervals between 2:08 a.m. and 3:15 a.m. Saturday. The charity added that the bombings continued even after U.S. and Afghan officials were notified that the hospital was being attacked.

Afghan police report that Taliban militants had been using the hospital compound as a hiding place, but Doctors Without Borders denied the claims.

The charity has since closed the hospital due the extensive damages to the building and equipment. In less than a week, MSF has treated 394 wounded people in Kunduz.

“There is no access to trauma care now for the civilians and for the wounded in the whole area of Kunduz, which is some kind of battleground for the moment,” said Christopher Stokes, the aid group’s general director.

Turkey Intercepts Russian Fighter Plane for Airspace Violation

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

Tensions are rising between Turkey and Russia as officials reported on Monday that Syria had intercepted a Russian fighter plane after it violated Turkish airspace near the Syrian border.

The incident occurred Saturday in the Yaladagi region of Turkey’s southern Hatay province. The Russian plane was intercepted by two F-16s of the Turkish air force. Immediately after the situation, Turkey summoned Russia’s ambassador to protest the violation and warn Russia not to repeat the same mistake in order to keep the situation from escalating.

The Anadolu news agency quoted Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu: “Whoever violates our airspace, our rules of engagement are clear,” he said. “We will warn whoever violates our borders and our airspace in a friendly manner. This country can be whichever and Russia is our neighbor, our friend. In this way, there is no tension between Turkey and Russia. The Syria issue is not a Turkish-Russian crisis,” he said.

However, Turkey and Russia are at odds in Syria concerning their position on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey believes al-Assad should step down from his position for the conflict to end while Russia supports al-Assad.

NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, met Davutoglu on Monday. He stated that the Russian violation of Turkish airspace was unacceptable and an emergency meeting regarding the issue would take place later in the day.

“Russia’s actions are not contributing to the security and stability of the region,” Stoltenberg said. “I call on Russia to fully respect Nato airspace and to avoid escalating tensions.”

U.S. officials believe the Turkish airspace violation was deliberate and the kind of unpredictable act they have feared since Russia began building up its military presence in Syria last month.

“I don’t believe this was an accident,” said a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss deliberations with Turkey and other NATO allies. “This is exactly the type of unprofessional, non-professional incident we were hoping to avoid.”

According to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia is currently looking into reports of the violation, but at this time, Russia has made no further comment regarding the issue.