South Korea urges restraint after North's missile test

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo is fending off calls to step up pressure on North Korea after it test-fired missiles last month.Jeong told an annual security conference in Singapore Saturday that the tests are being investigated and a conclusion is within reach.North Korea itself has defended the launches, saying it was exercising its right to self-defense.Jeong was responding to a question on whether the tests were a violation of a military agreement between South and North Korea last September to halt acts of aggression against each other.He said the North was "in fact acting within the boundaries" of the agreement and tensions between their militaries "have been lowered to a significant extent."The U.S. and Japan say North Korea tested short-range ballistic missiles on May 4 and 9, ending a pause that began in late 2017. Both countries called it a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.Jeong says Pyongyang has shown it intends to work toward peace and urged the international community to “assure North Korea that the decision to denuclearize is indeed the right decision.”Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya, who spoke at the same session on Korean security, stressed that a strict implementation of sanctions against North Korea was necessary.He specifically directed his comments at South Korea, China and Russia.

spelling bee record eight children win scripps national in the us

Record eight children win Scripps National in the US On Thursday night. The finalists, aged 12 to 14, spelled their way through 20 tough rounds of the competition.2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee at National Harbor on Oxon Hill, Maryland.Organisers eventually announced that it was a tie, as they had run out of words that were challenging enough.With six of the winners being Indian-American, it is the 12th year in a row that the bee has been won by children of Indian descent.The Scripps National Spelling Bee has seen an increasingly competitive field in its 94-year history but organisers were stunned when several hours of spelling tests were unable to break the final eight competitors. All successfully navigated 20 rounds of increasingly obscure words to be crowned co-champions in one of America's oldest competitions. The Scripps National Spelling Bee has seen an increasingly competitive field in its 94-year history but organisers were stunned when several hours of spelling tests were unable to break the final eight competitors.As the hours ran on, Jacques Bailly, the competition's pronouncer, told the finalists: "We're throwing the dictionary at you, and, so far, you are showing the dictionary who's boss".Rishik Gandharsi, 13; Erin Howard, 14; Saketh Sundar, 13; Shruthika Padhy, 13; Sohum Sukhantankar, 13; Abhijay Kodali, 12; Christopher Serrao, 13 and Rohan Raja, 13, were eventually crowned co-champions after spelling 47 consecutive words correctly.  Some 562 super-spellers under the age of 15, from across the US, US territories and six other countries, took part.Each will now receive a prize of $50,000 (£39,700), a $2,500 savings bond and reference books.Among the words they spelled correctly were omphalopsychite, a person who stares at their navel to induce a mystical trance, and auftaktigkeit, a musical principle where all musical phrases begin on an upbeat.There were quite a few tough medical terms in there too - including erysipelas, an infection that causes red rashes on the skin, and geeldikkop, a type of plant poisoning that can affect sheep.

Afghanistan gov`t forces free 28 from taliban prison,kill 2 militants

Twenty-eight people, including 16 civilians, were freed after Afghan security forces launched a special operation in restive southern province of Zabul overnight, the country's Ministry of Interior Affairs said Thursday. The special operation was launched in Naw Bahar district, Zabul province. A clash took place following the raid and two armed militants were killed, the ministry said in a statement. The freed people received medical treatment after they were shifted to an army camp, according to the statement.They will join their families soon, the statement added.Taliban insurgents frequently detain civilians and off-duty soldiers from across villages and highways and charge civilians for spying for government security forces.The Taliban militant group has not made a comment on the report so far.

International group asks Pakistan to release journalist

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based group that advocates for the rights of journalists has urged Pakistan to immediately release a reporter who was arrested for his coverage of this week's violent clash between minority Pashtuns and troops in a northwestern region near the Afghan border.The international organization group, in Tuesday's statement says Gohar Wazir, a reporter working for the private TV station Khyber News, was detained in the town of Bannu after reporting on the demonstration of the Pashtun Protection Movement, a group campaigning against the perceived high-handedness by security forces.The arrest came days after the group led by two lawmakers clashed with troops at an army post in the North Waziristan district, setting off a shootout that wounded five troops and killed three activists. Wazir's arrest came days after the group led by two lawmakers clashed with troops at an army post in the North Waziristan district, setting off a shootout that wounded five troops and killed three activists."Gohar Wazir should not have to face arrest merely for doing the job of reporting the news, even reporting on controversial events such as protests by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement," Steven Butler, CPJ Asia program coordinator, said.