PYONGYANG -- Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), on Sunday supervised a test-fire of the improved surface-to-surface tactical ballistic missile Hwasongpho-11 Ra, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Monday.
The purpose of the test-fire is to verify the characteristics and power of cluster bomb warhead and fragmentation mine warhead applied to the tactical ballistic missile, according to the KCNA. (DPRK-Missile Test)
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TEHRAN -- Iran's top joint military command said on Monday that Iran will soon respond to "armed maritime piracy" by the U.S. military, according to media reports.
Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned Iran will "soon respond" to U.S. "armed maritime piracy" after American forces fired on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman, disabled its navigation system, and boarded it with armed commandos, according to Press TV. (Iran-Ship-U.S.)
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LONDON -- Thirty-five outbound vessels reversed course over the past 36 hours after Iran reimposed control over the Strait of Hormuz, a London-based maritime analytics firm said on Sunday.
According to a report released by Windward, vessel movements reflected rapidly shifting conditions. After Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz reopened on Friday, ship operators initially responded cautiously. Traffic remained sparse early on Saturday before surging later in the day, as vessels attempted to transit before conditions deteriorated. (UK-Hormuz-Vessel)
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NEW YORK -- Eight children aged from one to 14 were killed Sunday in a mass shooting in Shreveport, a city in the northwestern part of U.S. state of Louisiana, local police said.
The shooting occurred around 6 a.m. local time (1100 GMT), when officers with the Shreveport Police Department responded to reports of a "domestic disturbance," police spokesperson Christopher Bordelon told a news briefing, describing the crime scene as "extensive," as it spans two homes in the area and a third nearby. (U.S.-Shooting-Children) ■
