DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ At Center of Niger’s Coup Is One of America’s Favorite Generals
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Michael M. Phillips | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

At Center of Niger’s Coup Is One of America’s Favorite Generals Brig. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou, long courted by Washington as a partner against Islamist extremism, has emerged as the main diplomatic channel between the U.S. and the juntaBrig. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou, left, the main diplomatic channel between the U.S. and the junta, met in June with the head of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command to discuss antiterrorism policy. Amy Younger/U.S.

Persons: Moussa Salaou Barmou, Amy Younger Organizations: of, U.S, U.S . Army, Command, Staff, . Air Force Locations: Gen, Washington

[1/3] Participants play with a ball at the camping site for the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Buan, South Korea, August 4, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Organisers of the World Scout Jamboree raced on Monday to evacuate thousands of mainly teenage participants from their South Korea campsite before a typhoon is expected to hit the area just days after a debilitating heatwave. Typhoon Khanun, which has wreaked havoc in southern Japan, is forecast to reach southern South Korea on Thursday, near the jamboree's campsite in Jeolla province. South Korea's government has informed the group that they were planning an early departure from the campsite due to the typhoon, the World Organization of the Scout Movement said. South Korea has pledged to ensure the event's safety, and have laid on water trucks, air-conditioned spaces and medics.

Persons: Kim Hong, Ji, Khanun, Yoon Suk, Kim Kwan, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, World Organization of, Scout Movement, Local, Scouts, ABC, Thomson Locations: Buan, South Korea, Ji SEOUL, Korea, Japan, Jeolla province, Seoul, North Jeolla, Australian, U.S, British

☆ US Army no longer has Senate-confirmed leader, joining Marines
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Army Chief of Staff General James McConville testifies before the House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. June 29, 2021. Retiring Chief of Staff of the Army General James McConville relinquished command on Friday. It will be the first time in history the U.S. military will have two branches, the Army and the Marine Corps, without a confirmed leader, the Pentagon said. "In our dangerous world of security, the United States demands orderly and prompt transitions of our confirmed military leaders," U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during the ceremony on Friday. Several states have limited abortion access since Roe v. Wade was overturned, and the military argues that women service members cannot choose where they are stationed.

Persons: James McConville, Jonathan Ernst, Tommy Tuberville, Lloyd Austin, Randy George, Roe, Wade, Christine Wormuth, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Mark Porter, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Army, Armed, Committee, Capitol, REUTERS, U.S . Army, U.S, Republican, Staff, Marine Corps, Pentagon, . Defense, Supreme, Democratic, Navy, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Alabama, United States

☆ Heatwave-hit jamboree in S.Korea in doubt as American scouts leave
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Participants wait in a long line to get into a souvenir shop at the camping site for the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Buan, South Korea, August 4, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiBUAN, South Korea, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The World Scout Jamboree in South Korea faced calls to be cancelled on Saturday after large contingents from the United States and Britain pulled out a week early over extreme heat and weather conditions. The U.S. contingent will take part in a jamboree programme on Saturday before moving to U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys near the jamboree site on Sunday, according to an email reviewed by Reuters. "The US Contingent to the World Scout Jamboree has made the difficult decision that we will be departing the 25th World Scout Jamboree site early because of ongoing extreme weather and resulting conditions at the jamboree site," said the email sent to parents by the U.S. group's media team. Organisers would meet on Saturday to discuss whether to continue, cancel or scale back the event, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

Persons: Kim Hong, Ji BUAN, U.S . Army Garrison Humphreys, Hyunsu Yim, Tom Hogue, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, South Korean, U.S, U.S . Army, Reuters, Contingent, Organization of, Scout Movement, Korean Scout Association, Minwoo, Thomson Locations: Buan, South Korea, United States, Britain, U.S, Saemangeum, South Korea's, Seoul

As an active-duty soldier he might appear to qualify as a POW, given that the United States and North Korea technically remain at war. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on King's POW status, but said the defense department's priority was to bring him home and it was working to achieve that through all available channels. Washington has conveyed that message in private communications to Pyongyang, the U.S. officials said, adding that those communications have not invoked POW status. PROTECTIONS FOR CAPTIVESPrisoners of war are protected by the Third Geneva Convention, to which North Korea and the U.S. are signatories. After serving time in detention in South Korea, King had been due to face military disciplinary action on his return to Fort Bliss, Texas.

Persons: Travis T, Sarah Leslie, Handout, Travis King, King, Rachel VanLandingham, Geoffrey Corn, we'd, Corn, Fort, Christopher Stone, Andrew Ramirez, Steven Gonzales, Robert Goodman, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Josh Smith, Simon Lewis, Don Durfee, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Security Area, REUTERS, United, Reuters, Geneva Convention, U.S, Pentagon, POW, Department, Third Geneva Convention, North, Southwestern Law School, Texas Tech University School of Law, U.S . Army, Cavalry, Korean, Force, NATO, Thomson Locations: Panmunjom, South Korea, REUTERS WASHINGTON, United States, Geneva, North, North Korea, Washington, Pyongyang, U.S, Fort Bliss , Texas, Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Syria

"It seems like they do a lot to try to make it seem like they are the party for young Black men or Black men as a whole, but they don't back it with anything. The vast majority of Black voters, including men, are still expected to choose Biden over a Republican. Black men and women under the age of 50 voted Republican in similar numbers, the poll showed. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted July 11-17 found 18% of Black Americans would pick Trump over Biden in a hypothetical matchup, compared to 46% who favored Biden, including about one in four Black men, compared to about one in seven Black women. Compared with Black women, Black men were more likely to say they would back a presidential candidate that supported abortion restrictions and increased police funding to fight crime.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, lurch, Mekonnen, Biden's, I'm, LeLann Evans, Evans, Michael McDonald, Republican Donald Trump's, Trump, Terrance Woodbury, Woodbury, Julian Silas, Silas, Kamala Harris, Jaime Harrison, Harris, Tracy King, Andre Russell, Trevor Hunnicutt, Jarrett Renshaw, Jason Lange, Eric Cox, Heather Timmons, Alistair Bell Organizations: . Army, White House, Democratic Party, Democratic, White, Reuters, U.S, Republican, Black, Biden, Nashville City Council, Democrats, Pew Research, University of Florida, Republicans, HIT, Edison Research, Federal Reserve, Democratic National Committee, Culture, NAACP, Thomson Locations: Georgia, Black, South Carolina, Philadelphia, Atlanta , Milwaukee, Detroit, Pennsylvania , Michigan, Washington, Chicago, U.S, New Orleans

However, Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said that North Korea only acknowledged the U.N. Command's request for information about U.S. Army Private Travis King and stopped short of offering detailed information about him. When pressed, Ryder said that North Korea's message back to the U.N. Command was just "an acknowledgement" of the U.N. Command's inquiry. King sprinted into North Korea on July 18 while on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone on the border, landing the United States in a new diplomatic quandary with nuclear-armed North Korea. After his release from the prison, which is designated for U.S. military members and other foreigners, King stayed at a U.S. base in South Korea for a week, Yonhap said. U.S. officials have expressed deep concern over King's fate in North Korea.

Persons: Travis T, Sarah Leslie, Handout, Patrick Ryder, Travis King, Ryder, King, Yonhap, Otto Warmbier, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Grant McCool Organizations: Security Area, REUTERS, United Nations Command, Pentagon, U.S, Army, DPRK, Democratic People's, Command, U.S . Army, Cavalry, Korean, Force, Fort Bliss , Texas ., Thomson Locations: Panmunjom, South Korea, REUTERS WASHINGTON, North Korea, Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, United States, Cheonan, U.S, Fort Bliss , Texas, Fort Bliss , Texas . U.S

☆ A.I. is changing national security systems. Here's what's ahead for defense stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Vladimir Putin said in 2017 that whoever becomes the leader in artificial intelligence "will be the ruler of the world." The department examined AI technology in defense through two pathways: The first was "autonomy at rest," which describes decision-making support software. Critically, artificial intelligence in defense will help automate more dangerous tasks while also reducing the risk of human casualties. "As of now, there is not the development of artificial intelligence technology in regards to making life-or-death choices. Boeing announced earlier in 2023 that it would partner with defense technology company Shield AI to expand AI pilot offerings for its military clients.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Bob Work, Jonathan Sakraida, Lockheed Martin, Sakraida, Northrop, Booz Allen Hamilton Organizations: Pentagon, Deutsche Bank, Department of Defense, Center, New, New American Security, U.S, Defense, CFRA Research, U.S . Army, Lockheed, Dynamics, Department of, Carnegie Endowment, International, IBM, Palantir Technologies, Cisco, BAE Systems, Research Projects Agency, Northrop Grumman, Booz, Boeing, Air Force Locations: New American, There's, China, U.S, United Kingdom

☆ Lost samples from a secret army base reveal that Greenland's ice vanished 416,000 years ago. That means it could melt way faster than expected.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The data comes from long-lost ice cores obtained during a secret army mission during the Cold War. Grabbing ice cores for scientists to study served as a perfect cover for their real intention, burying nuclear missiles within Greenland's ice sheet, in a scheme known as Project Iceworm. Along with the ice, scientists grabbed 12 feet of sediment that sat beneath the ice sheet. "The ancient frozen soil from beneath Greenland's ice sheet warns of trouble ahead," Bierman and co-author Tammy Rittenour wrote in The Conversation. Essentially, in the coming centuries, climate change will cause the Greenland ice sheet to melt completely, the researchers said.

Persons: Paul Bierman, Bierman's, Andrew Christ, Josh Brown, Bierman, Tammy Rittenour, Kasl, David Atwood, Emilio, It's Organizations: Service, University of Vermont, U.S . Army, Oceanic Locations: Greenland, Danish, U.S, Miami, Manhattan

☆ Russian land mines pose a persistent and deadly threat in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

What lies beneath Land mines left by Russian forces in Ukraine pose a deadly threat to Kyiv's military - and civilians in liberated territory. On average, anti-vehicle mines caused more incidents with multiple fatalities than anti-personnel mines did. GICHD has documented at least 12 types of anti-personnel mines and nine types of anti-vehicle mines in use in Ukraine. Formerly occupied towns in Kyiv; Sumy, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv oblasts all saw a large number of mines, especially anti-personnel mines, left in place, Mathewson said. Ukraine is a signatory to the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, and had been destroying its anti-personnel mines when the war began.

Persons: Mark Hiznay, ”, Adam Komorowski, Tymur Pistriuha, Hiznay, PARM, GICHD, Andro Mathewson, “, Komorowsi, Mick Ryan, Mathewson, Nacho Doce, Pistriuha, Komorowski, ” Ryan, Ryan, Jack Watling, Watling, ” Watling, demining Organizations: Russian, Reuters, HALO Trust, Human Rights Watch, Advisory, Geneva International Centre, Humanitarian, Ukrainian Deminers Association, Ukrainian, U.S . Army, Australian Army, REUTERS, HALO, Mines, Royal United Services Institute, United, Surveyors, State Emergency Service, Dnipro River’s Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Russia, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Eastern Europe, South America, Caribbean, Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Germany, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia oblast, Kherson, Iraqi, Kyiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, ”, Vuhledar, United Nations, Nova, Izium

☆ 'Oppenheimer' and the story behind those who lost their land to the lab
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Andrew Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] The town of Los Alamos, New Mexico with Fuller Lodge and the "Big House" dormitories is seen in an undated photograph. "Oppenheimer had no qualms about displacing people from their homelands," said Gomez, who wrote "Nuclear Nuevo Mexico" about the setting up of the lab. Today Los Alamos County, where the lab is based, is one of the richest and best-educated in the United States. "There's no economic development in our areas because it's all focused in Los Alamos," said Cristian Madrid-Estrada, director of the regional homeless shelter in Espanola, Rio Arriba's largest town. The lab said over 61% of employees hired since 2018 were from New Mexico, with most of its workforce living outside Los Alamos County.

Persons: Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy, Loyda Martinez, Martinez, Christopher Nolan's, Marcel Torres, Torres, dispossession, Myrriah Gomez, Gomez, Alisa Valdes, Mexico Rob Martinez, homesteader, Cristian Madrid, Estrada, Andrew Hay, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Fuller, of Energy, REUTERS, U.S . Army, Homes, Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S, Department, Labor, University of New, Manhattan, Hispano, Los Alamos, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Los Alamos , New Mexico, New Mexico, Espanola, New, University of New Mexico, Nuevo Mexico, Abiquiu , New Mexico, Publicists, United States, Los, Mexico, Los Alamos County, Neighboring Rio Arriba County, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba's, Taos , New Mexico

Congress authorized up to $1 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority weapons aid for Taiwan in the 2023 budget. One official, speaking on the condition anonymity, said the package is expected to be worth around $330 million. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing has repeatedly demanded the United States, Taiwan's most important arms supplier, halt the sale of weapons to the island. Taiwan has complained of delays to U.S. weapon deliveries, such as Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, as shipments from U.S. stockpiles moved to Ukraine.

Persons: General Atomics, Defense Lloyd Austin, Mark Milley, Mike Stone, Idrees Ali, Chris Sanders, Deepa Babington, Lincoln Organizations: Reuters, Congress, U.S . Air Force, Cultural, Defense, Presidential, Authority, U.S . Army, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Thomson Locations: United States, Taiwan, China, Taipei, Beijing, U.S, Ukraine

Congress authorized up to $1 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority weapons aid for Taiwan in the 2023 budget. One official, speaking on the condition anonymity, said the package is expected to be worth around $330 million. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing has repeatedly demanded the United States, Taiwan's most important arms supplier, halt the sale of weapons to the island. Taiwan has said its defense spending this year will focus on preparing weapons and equipment for a "total blockade" by China, including parts for F-16 fighters and replenishing weapons.

☆ A Fight to Save Soldiers, From the Lab to the Battlefield
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Tom Mueller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Charles Barber’s “In the Blood” treats a consequential topic, and contains moments of real insight, drama and humor. Trouble is, Barber opens with several omissions and slights that left me on edge for the balance of the book. Barber begins his story about catastrophic bleeding and the urgent search for a cure, appropriately enough, in the savage battle for Mogadishu in 1993. More glaringly, the Army Rangers described on the raid actually played a supporting role to commandos from Delta Force, which Barber never mentions. Yet I wanted to trust this book, because it tells an important story in vivid, engrossing terms.

Persons: Charles Barber Reading, Charles Barber’s “, Barber, Mohamed Aidid’s, Aidid Organizations: U.S . Army, Army Rangers, Delta Force, millenniums, Navy Locations: Mogadishu, Somali, Bethesda

REUTERS/Jonathan Drake/File PhotoWASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday voided a 2017 court-martial conviction against Bowe Bergdahl, an Army sergeant who walked off his post in 2009 only to be captured by the Taliban and spend five years as their prisoner. Reggie Walton, a U.S. district judge, said the military judge who presided over Bergdahl's court martial proceedings failed to disclose his application at the time to become a federal immigration judge. That could create the appearance of potential bias, given then-President Donald Trump's denunciations of Bergdahl, Walton ruled. "This case presents a unique situation where the military judge might be inclined to appeal to the president's expressed interest in the plaintiff's conviction and punishment when applying for the immigration judge position," Walton wrote. The military judge who handed down Bergdahl's conviction, Jeffrey Nance, could not be reached for comment.

Persons: U.S . Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, Jonathan Drake, Bowe Bergdahl, vacates, Reggie Walton, Donald Trump's, Walton, Jeffrey Nance, Geoffrey Corn, Corn, Bergdahl, Nance, Trump, Phil Stewart, Stephen Coates Organizations: U.S . Army, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, U.S, Army, Texas Tech University School of Law, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Fort Bragg , North Carolina, U.S, United States

SEOUL, July 25 (Reuters) - Tourists should expect far stricter supervision if visits to the border between North and South Korea resume, analysts said, after U.S. soldier Travis King used an organised tour to get close enough to dash across to North Korea last week. The U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC), which oversees the area, has indefinitely suspended all JSA tours after King's unauthorised crossing. Not all DMZ tours stop at the JSA, which is the only spot where visitors can step up to and even briefly over the border into the North. Visiting JSA is free of charge for South Korean nationals, but the tour King was on started at $180, according to a Tripadvisor listing. King's case would be the first successful border crossing by a JSA tourist ever, Zwetsloot said.

Persons: Travis King, King, Andrew Harrison, I've, Jacco Zwetsloot, Zwetsloot, we'll, Lim Eul, Banning, Lim, Harrison, Soo, hyang Choi, Josh Smith, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: U.S . Army, Joint Security Area, United Nations Command, UNC, JSA, NK, South, North, Kyungnam University, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North, South Korea, Korea, Panmunjom, Washington, The U.S, Seoul

The new aid package, which was first reported by Reuters, will include for the first time U.S. furnished Black Hornet surveillance drones made by Teledyne FLIR Defense, part of Teledyne Technologies (TDY.N). The Norwegian-built Hornet is being used in Ukraine through donations by the British and Norwegian governments, the company said. More than $43 billion in U.S. military aid has been provided since Russia's invasion in 2022. Commenting on the aid announcement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted Russia's attacks on Ukraine ports and Ukrainian infrastructure since withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative last week. The Black Sea grain deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey a year ago to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia's invasion.

Persons: Russia grinds, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Mike Stone, Patricia Zengerle, Ismail Shakil, Katharine Jackson, Matthew Lewis, Grant McCool Organizations: U.S . Department of Defense, Ukraine, Reuters, Teledyne FLIR Defense, Teledyne Technologies, British, Systems, U.S . Army, Patriot, Air Missile Systems, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, Stryker, Carriers, Authority, United, European Union, Thomson Locations: Russia, Norwegian, Ukraine, United States, United Nations, Turkey, Britain, Washington, Ottawa

☆ Biden administration sues Texas governor over Rio Grande buoy barrier that’s meant to stop migrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Migrants seeking asylum rest on an island while attempting to cross the Rio Grande river into the United States on July 18, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. Greg Abbott over a floating barrier that the state placed on the Rio Grande to stop migrants from crossing into the U.S. from Mexico. The suit also claims that Texas unlawfully installed the barrier along without permission near the border city of Eagle Pass. In anticipation of the lawsuit, Abbott sent President Joe Biden a letter Monday that defended Texas' right to install the barrier. The letter said the buoy wall "poses a risk to navigation, as well as public safety, in the Rio Grande River, and it presents humanitarian concerns."

Persons: Greg Abbott, Biden, Abbott, Joe Biden Organizations: The, Department, Monday, Texas Republican Gov, Democratic, Texas, Water Commission, U.S . Army Corps of Engineers Locations: Grande, United States, Eagle Pass , Texas, Rio, Mexico, Texas, Eagle, Rio Grande

☆ UN Command talking to North Korea about U.S. soldier Travis King
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The United Nations Command and North Korea have begun discussing the case of Travis King, the U.S. soldier who crossed into the North last week, the deputy commander of the U.S.-led command that oversees the Korean War truce said on Monday. King, a U.S. Army private serving in South Korea, sprinted into North Korea on July 18 while on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone on the inter-Korean border, landing Washington in a fresh diplomatic quandary with the nuclear-armed North. Last week, North Korea conducted ballistic missile tests hours after a U.S. nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine arrived at a South Korean port. North Korea is banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions from using ballistic missile technology, which Pyongyang defiantly rejects. Late last week, North Korea warned that deployment of U.S. aircraft carriers, bombers or missile submarines in South Korea could meet the criteria for its use of nuclear weapons.

Persons: Travis King, General Andrew Harrison, Harrison, King Organizations: Army, Reuters, The United Nations Command, U.S . Army, UNC, North, British Army, Korean People's Army, ., Joint Security Area, People, U.S Locations: North Korea, U.S, South Korea, Washington, Korean, Pyongyang, Fort Bliss , Texas

☆ UN Command talking to North Korea about US soldier Travis King
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, July 24 (Reuters) - The United Nations Command and North Korea have begun discussing the case of Travis King, the U.S. soldier who crossed into the North last week, the deputy commander of the U.S.-led command that oversees the Korean War truce said on Monday. King, a U.S. Army private serving in South Korea, sprinted into North Korea on July 18 while on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone on the inter-Korean border, landing Washington in a fresh diplomatic quandary with the nuclear-armed North. Last week, North Korea conducted ballistic missile tests hours after a U.S. nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine arrived at a South Korean port. North Korea is banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions from using ballistic missile technology, which Pyongyang defiantly rejects. Late last week, North Korea warned that deployment of U.S. aircraft carriers, bombers or missile submarines in South Korea could meet criteria for its use of nuclear weapons.

Persons: Travis King, General Andrew Harrison, Harrison, King, Hyunsu Yim, Jack Kim, Ed Davies, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: United Nations Command, U.S . Army, UNC, North, British Army, Korean People's Army, ., Joint Security Area, People, U.S, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, U.S, South Korea, Washington, Korean, Pyongyang, Fort Bliss , Texas

☆ US State Dept has not had substantive communication with North Korea since US soldier crossed border
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has not had any substantive communication with North Korea since U.S. soldier Travis King crossed into the North last week, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Monday. A U.S. flag hangs on the porch and a "Proud parent of a U.S. Army soldier" sticker adorns the car outside the home of 23-year-old Private Travis King's mother in Racine, Wisconsin, U.S., July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Eric Cox/File PhotoMiller said Washington has made outreach to ascertain the whereabouts of King and to ascertain information about his safety, but have not received any response. King, a U.S. Army private serving in South Korea, sprinted into North Korea on July 18 while on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone on the inter-Korean border. Reporting by Simon Lewis, Jasper Ward and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Travis King, Matthew Miller, Travis King's, Eric Cox, Miller, Washington, King, Simon Lewis, Jasper Ward, Daphne Psaledakis, Chris Reese Organizations: U.S . State Department, State, U.S . Army, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: North Korea, U.S, Racine , Wisconsin, South Korea

☆ 'Oppenheimer' mania pushes Army to warn of long tourist lines at Trinity atomic test site
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A photograph of the 16 July 1945 first atomic bomb test is displayed along a fence at Ground Zero at Trinity Site, at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico 05 July 2005. WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army said its upcoming open house of the Trinity Site is expected to receive "a larger than normal crowd" due to the overwhelming popularity of Universal's "Oppenheimer." The Trinity Site on White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico is where the world's first atomic bomb was tested. Twice a year the U.S. Army allows visitors to tour the site where the "Gadget," a six-foot sphere with a grapefruit-sized powerful plutonium heart, was detonated. Following the open house in October, the U.S. Army will allow visitors again on April 6, 2024.

Persons: WASHINGTON —, Oppenheimer, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Read, —, John Donne Organizations: White, WASHINGTON — The U.S . Army, Manhattan Project, Raytheon, U.S . Army, U.S, Comcast, CNBC Locations: New Mexico, WASHINGTON — The, American, British, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, NBCUniversal

King, an active-duty U.S. Army soldier serving in South Korea, sprinted into North Korea while on a civilian tour of the Demilitarized Zone on the border between the two Koreas. Washington is fully mobilized in trying to contact Pyongyang about him, U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said on Thursday, but North Korea had yet to respond. At that time, U.S. officials had just concluded an initial nuclear agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's father, Kim Jong Il. Warmbier was eventually returned to the United States in a coma in 2017, but died days later. "Here's the response we got: one missile launch after another," referring to repeated North Korean missile tests.

Persons: Travis King, Christine Wormuth, Joe Biden, Trump, It's, Thomas Hubbard, Bobby Hall, Kim Jong Un's, Kim Jong Il, Hubbard, King, Mickey Bergman, Bill Richardson, Bergman, Jenny Town, Charles Robert Jenkins, ‘, Tae Yong, Otto Warmbier, Warmbier, Otto’s, Fred, He’s, Antony Blinken, Biden, Blinken, Simon Lewis, David Brunnstrom, Idrees Ali, Don Durfee, Stephen Coates Organizations: Army, U.S . Army, U.S, North, Koreans, United Nations Command, Richardson, . Army, Reuters, Aspen Security, Korean, Thomson Locations: United States, North Korea, South Korea, . Washington, Pyongyang, U.S, Washington, North, Korea, Koreans, Sweden, New York, Jenny, Korean, Korea's

☆ Crashed military drone belonged to U.S. army, Polish ministry says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, July 21 (Reuters) - A military reconnaissance drone that crashed in southwestern Poland late on Tuesday was being used by U.S. soldiers for a training flight, the Polish defence ministry said on Friday. "Information obtained shows that during a training flight by U.S. soldiers, contact with the drone was lost and it then fell into a forest area," the defence ministry wrote in an emailed response to Reuters questions. "No one was hurt, and there is no damage as a result of the incident ... The drone was taken over by the American side, which owns the drone." Reporting by Alan Charlish and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: RMF, Alan Charlish, Anna Wlodarczak, Alex Richardson Organizations: WARSAW, U.S, NATO, Thomson Locations: Poland, Trzebien, Ukraine

☆ Travis King disappeared into a North Korea more isolated than ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL, July 21 (Reuters) - When U.S. soldier Travis King sprinted across the border into North Korea from the South this week, he disappeared into a North Korea where lingering COVID-19 concerns and restrictions have made the already secretive country more isolated than ever. Officials in Washington said North Korea had yet to give any response through a number of channels, including at the United Nations. North Korean border guards fatally shot and burned the body of a South Korean fisheries official near their disputed maritime border in 2020. North Korean guards at the site still shelter inside buildings, apparently to avoid the risk of catching COVID. But North Korea often seeks meetings with high-level American officials before any releases, and that could be complicated by their worries over COVID, he added.

Persons: Travis King, King, Andrei Lankov, Lankov, Isaac Taylor, Kim Jong Un, Steve Tharp, COVID, Tharp, Bobby Hall, Josh Smith, Lincoln Organizations: Korea Risk, U.S, United Nations Command, United Nations, Security, U.S . Army, North, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, Korea, Pyongyang, Seoul, U.S, United States, Washington, North Korean, Korean, South . Sweden, North

Search resuls for: ". Army"

25 mentions found