North Korea shot, burned missing South Korean official, military confirms

SEOUL, Sept. 24 (UPI) – North Korea fatally shot a missing South Korean fisheries official and burned his body earlier this week, defense officials confirmed Thursday, condemning the "brutal" act.

The 47-year-old victim, an employee of the Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries, went missing on Monday while on an inspection boat patrolling waters roughly 6 miles south of the Northern Limit Line, the disputed maritime boundary between the two Koreas.

"Our military has conducted a thorough analysis of various intelligence reports and confirmed that North Korea has committed a brutal attack by shooting and burning the body of a South Korean national found in North Korean waters," the defense ministry said in a statement read by Lt. Gen. Ahn Young-ho, chief director of operations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"We strongly condemn North Korea's brutality and strongly urge North Korea to provide an explanation and to punish those responsible for this atrocity," the statement added.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2020/09/24/North-Korea-shot-burned-missing-South-Korean-official-military-confirms/1861600934489/

Commerce Township house explosion rocks neighborhood, sends 2 to hospital

A Commerce Township house explosion just after midnight Thursday rocked the area near Abrutus Street, just north of Pittsfield, and sent at least two people to the hospital with injuries.

Firefighters confirmed the house exploded at about 12:30 a.m.

According to news reports, two people were rescued from the home, and the first big explosion was followed by smaller ones. Neighboring homes were also damaged in the fire.

In addition, WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) reported first responders moved a half dozen gas tanks away from the house leading to speculation that the home may have been a marijuana grow operation.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2020/09/24/explode-commerce-township/3514515001/

Rep. Kevin McCarthy Floats Theory About Breonna Taylor Protests on Fox & Friends, Suggests Antifa Has ‘Training Facilities’

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) wildly speculated about the existence of Antifa “training centers” in response to protests against the decision made in the Breonna Taylor shooing case.

As he spoke to Fox & Friends on Thursday, McCarthy was asked for his response to footage of demonstrators gathering riot gear and protest signs from a U-Haul truck in Louisville. This emerged shortly after the news broke that former police officer Brett Hankison will not be directly charged for Taylor’s death.

Ainsley Earhart offered the view that the protests were “coordinated,” to which, McCarthy responded “more than coordinated…it’s planned.”

“What is going on from Portland, Chicago, New York and now in Louisville that these are planned, orchestrated events that people cannot be safe and secure in their own streets,” McCarthy said.

Brian Kilmeade followed up by claiming similar U-Haul drop-offs happened throughout the country in recent months, then he questioned the testimony of Chris Wray. The FBI director spoke before Congress this month and explained (correctly) that Antifa is an “ideology” rather than any type of cohesive organization.

“Let’s look at the license plate of the U-Haul? Who rented that U-Haul? Who is funding this?” McCarthy asked. “You can’t just supply people with this type of armor without resources, without funding. Where is that funding coming from and why is it being used? How are these people knowing to come? Are there training facilities that are teaching these people how to do this? This is a grave concern, and this is something that the FBI should be focused on.”

For the record, the grand jury announcement date for the Taylor case decision has been public knowledge for some time, considering how much civil unrest surrounded it throughout the last few months. As for McCarthy’s insinuation that some larger entity is backing Antifa “training facilities” or funding protesters, it’s worth noting that U-Haul trucks cost roughly $20 to $30 a day to rent.

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/rep-kevin-mccarthy-wonders-if-antifa-has-training-facilities-in-response-to-protests-over-breonna-taylor-decision/

Report: Probable missile launcher spotted at North Korea parade practice

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (UPI) – A vehicle that appears to be a carrier and launcher for a large-scale missile was spotted during practice for an upcoming parade in North Korea, according to U.S.-based website 38 North.

Commercial satellite imagery revealed a "probable missile-related vehicle" at the Mirim Parade Training Ground in Pyongyang, according to a report published Tuesday on the website, which provides analysis on North Korea under the umbrella of The Stimson Center think tank.

The size and shape of the vehicle "suggests that it may be a transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) for a large missile," the report said. "Alternatively, it could be a towed mobile-erector-launcher (MEL) with its truck-tractor attached."

The resolution of the satellite imagery "precludes a clear determination" on the precise nature of the vehicle, but the report concluded that other uses are "unlikely in this particular location and circumstance."

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2020/09/23/Report-Probable-missile-launcher-spotted-at-North-Korea-parade-practice/2721600843645/

Lebanese official says 49 ‘dangerous’ containers still at Beirut’s port

There are 49 “highly dangerous” containers at Beirut’s port according to a top Lebanese parliamentarian, Nazih Najem.

Najem, who is the Chairman of the Lebanese parliament’s public works and transport committee, said this on Thursday, as reported by Elnashra news website. “Some of these containers have been at the port since 2009 and they have been neglected since then,” he said.

He added that investigations must be conducted to check why the containers have not been removed until this moment from the port. Two huge explosions rocked Beirut’s port on Aug. 4, destroying a big part of the city and causing damage with a cost estimated at over 15 billion U.S. dollars.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/09/lebanese-official-says-49-dangerous-containers-still-at-beiruts-port/

Vietnam police bust ring selling ‘recycled condoms’

HANOI — Police in Vietnam have confiscated an estimated 345,000 used condoms which had been cleaned and resold as new, state media reported.

Footage broadcast by state-owned Vietnam Television (VTV) this week showed dozens of large bags containing the used contraceptives scattered across the floor of a warehouse in the southern province of Binh Duong.

Police said the bags weighed over 360 kilograms, equivalent to 345,000 condoms, according to VTV.

The owner of the warehouse said they had received a "monthly input of used condoms from an unknown person," state newspaper Tuoi Tre reported.

A woman detained during the bust told police that the used prophylactics were first boiled in water then dried and reshaped on a wooden phallus before being repackaged and resold.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/world/757091/vietnam-police-bust-ring-selling-recycled-condoms/story/

Antifa "organized" enough to rent Uhaul truck in Louisville

quick y/t vid

Welcome to Clown World #Vol.1

Stained relations? Israeli PM accused of taking dirty laundry on state trips??

While black-tie banquets, lavish royal receptions and priceless gifts are the most obvious extravagances of international diplomacy, Israel’s leader and his wife have spotlighted a lesser-known perk of the state visit: free dry cleaning.

Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu have developed a reputation for lugging bags and suitcases of dirty clothes on foreign trips to be laundered at another country’s expense, a practice noticed by staff at the White House guesthouse, according to the Washington Post.

“The Netanyahus are the only ones who bring actual suitcases of dirty laundry for us to clean,” the paper quoted an unnamed US official as saying. “After multiple trips, it became clear this was intentional.”

The Israeli prime minister’s office has denied the allegation, but it is not the first time the 70-year-old leader has been accused of taking soiled clothes abroad for a rinse.

In 2018, leaked transcripts emerged containing allegations that Sara Netanyahu packed “four or five” suitcases worth of laundry for state trips. Two years previously, the prime minister successfully launched a legal bid to have his domestic laundry bills remain private.

The Israeli embassy in Washington said in a statement the allegations were “groundless and absurd”, and aimed at distracting from Netanyahu’s recent US visit, where he signed accords to normalise relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/24/stained-relations-israeli-pm-netanyahu-accused-taking-dirty-laundry-state-trips

Secret ‘Man Cave' Discovered Below Grand Central Platform, 3 MTA Employees Busted

At least three MTA employees secretly turned a storage room below one of the platforms at Grand Central Terminal into a private "man cave," complete with a futon, TV, exercise equipment, a fridge and beds, the agency's inspector general said Thursday.

“Many a New Yorker has fantasized about kicking back with a cold beer in a prime piece of Manhattan real estate – especially one this close to good transportation,” MTA Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny said in a statement. “But few would have the chutzpah to commandeer a secret room beneath Grand Central Terminal & make it their very own man-cave, sustained with MTA resources, and maintained at our riders’ expense.”

According to Pokorny's office, the secret lair below Track 114 was hidden behind a locked door inside a larger storage room.

Station management told investigators they were not aware the room even physically existed, much less how it was being used. Metro-North's security manager did not have a working key for the room, and the supervisor of the locksmith shop who is not a licensed locksmith could not access the room because only actual locksmiths had access.

Three employees a wireman, a carpenter foreman and an electrical foreman have been suspended without pay pending resolution of disciplinary cases.

In addition, the inspector general's office said it determined that Metro-North Security failed to take any steps to investigate the initial complaint about the room. The IG's office opened its own probe more than a year ago after receiving multiple anonymous complaints.

In response to the report, Metro-North is now working on a project to map all the rooms in Grand Central as well as how they're locked and implementing a process to better track complaints.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/secret-man-cave-discovered-below-grand-central-platform-3-mta-employees-busted/2634061/

German bishops set up system for larger sex abuse payments

BERLIN (AP) — The Catholic Church in Germany is setting up a new system to compensate survivors of sexual abuse by clergy that will provide for payments of up to about 50,000 euros ($58,400) each.

Victims will be able to apply for payments under the new system starting Jan. 1, the head of the German Bishops' Conference, Limburg Bishop Georg Baetzing, said Thursday after conference members signed off at a regular twice-yearly meeting on details of a proposal approved in March.

The Catholic Church church has been shaken in recent years by sex abuse and cover-up scandals in several countries, including Germany, the homeland of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI.

A church-commissioned report in 2018 concluded that at least 3,677 people were abused by clergy in Germany between 1946 and 2014. More than half of the victims were ages 13 or younger when the abuse took place, and nearly a third of them were altar boys. A top bishop has apologized for the abuse.

The level of compensation will be based on the awards from court judgments and verdicts in comparable cases and oriented toward the “upper region” of those payments, Baetzing said, meaning “a framework of up to 50,000 euros.”

“These are one-time payments that will be set individually by an independent body for every person affected who makes an application,” he added.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/german-bishops-set-up-system-for-larger-sex-abuse-payments/ar-BB19nGZB

Twin Cities Family Says Antifa Targeted Them, Painted 'Biden 2020' On Their Garage Before Burning It Down

https://news.yahoo.com/twin-cities-family-says-antifa-193700490.html