Category World News

Authorities in South Korea have declared that the country’s wildfires are still occurring, making them the worst to have ever affected them.

At least 26 people have been killed by the wildfires that started late on Friday in Sancheong county in Northern Gyeongsang province, according to local authorities on Thursday.

More than twice as much landmass as it was reported on Wednesday, and far more than the previous worst-ever wildfire in South Korea, which scorched 59, 000 acres (24,000 hectares) of land in March 2000, has burned.

According to a report from the Reuters news agency, South Korea’s acting president Han Duck-soo stated at a government meeting that “the unprecedented rapid spread of forest fires” is “the country’s critical situation with numerous casualties.

The fires that have spread across mountainous terrain in the country’s southeast, including Gyeongbuk, Uiseong, Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang, and Sancheong, have been fought by South Korea’s fleet of more than 120 helicopters, which are being fueled by strong, dry winds.

Although the meteorological agency in South Korea has predicted rain, the majority of the affected areas are expected to receive less than 5mm of precipitation.

According to Korea’s Forest Service Minister Lim Sang-seop, “the amount of rain is going to be small, so it doesn’t appear to be a big help in trying to put out the fire.”

According to government officials, the fires were likely brought on by human error, citing potential man-made causes, such as the burning of family tombs or sparks from welding equipment.

Authorities claim that only half the average amount of rain has fallen in many affected areas this season.

After being trapped by quick-moving flames in Sancheong county, South Gyeongsang province, four government employees and firefighters died on Saturday. In a remote area of Uiseong, a pilot died as a result of his helicopter’s collision while attempting to contain a fire.

Nearly 30 000 people have been forced to leave their homes as a result of fires that are already raging across their neighborhoods. &nbsp,

Half of the 30 structures that make up the Gounsa Buddhist temple in Uiseong county have also been engulfed in flames. Two state-designated “treasures” are among the damaged structures at Gounsa, one of which was constructed in the seventh century, a pavilion-shaped structure constructed in 1668 and a 1904 Joseon Dynasty structure constructed in 1904.

With a pulsating 120-119 road victory over the Indiana Pacers, LeBron James put a stop to their three-game losing streak with a buzzer-beating rebound with 0.01 seconds left.

With 42 seconds left, the Pacers took a 119-118 lead before the Lakers were on the verge of a fourth straight defeat on Wednesday thanks to a thrilling duel in Indianapolis.

However, Luka Doncic made one last drive to the basket as the rim of his attempted 13-foot floater sank off the rim.

The Lakers won the playoff game game with a swift leap from James to give the winning score by palming the ball into the bucket.

James, 40, finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists after failing to score from the field in the opening three quarters.

Despite having an offensive off-night, Lakers coach J J Redick praised the veteran superstar’s perseverance in pulling his team over the line.

Another excellent example of how he started off slowly offensively without going too far in the direction of Redick.

He played a great defensive role for us, though. Then, in the fourth quarter, he takes over and is rewarded by the basketball gods for sticking to his rope and continuing to compete.

James claimed that his subdued offensive performance had no bearing on him.

James remarked, “Whatever it takes to help your teammates win.” Even when I’m not scoring, I can always do other things that have an impact on the game that still matter.

I’ve always built that foundation throughout my entire life, getting my guys to get involved, rebound, defend, and then sprinkle in a few points where necessary.

With 34 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, Doncic and Austin Reaves combined for the Lakers for 24 points, as well as Rui Hachimura, who had 14 points.

With a victory, the Lakers are now 44-28 in the Western Conference. The top six overall winners of the standings automatically advance to the playoffs.

For international security and safety, we need Greenland. It is required. Trump stated in a Wednesday interview that “we must have it.”

He said, “I hate to put it that way, but we’re going to have to have it.”

President Trump has repeatedly stated that he wants to control Greenland for national security since returning to the White House in January.

Despite being under Danish rule for six centuries, Trump has refrained from using military force to enslave the Arctic region.

Because it’s impossible to properly defend a large portion of this Earth, not just the United States, without it, Trump said.

We will have to have it because of the world’s current state, he said, “from a defensive posture, even from an offensive posture, it’s something we need.”

Greenland, which is situated between North America and Europe, is of strategic importance in the context of growing US, Chinese, and Russian interest in the Arctic.

Despite the current prohibition on exploration, the territory also has significant untapped mineral and oil reserves that could change the flow of global trade.

Trump responded by asking whether he thought Greenlanders were eager to enlist in the US. The interviewer responded that he did not know, but that “we have to persuade them.”

Greenland has repeatedly stated that it intends to eventually secede from Denmark. In the territory, the centre-right opposition Demokraatit party, which is described as pro-business and opposed to a slow path to independence, won parliamentary elections earlier this month.

85 percent of the semi-autonomous Arctic territory’s population has also voiced their opposition to resuming its authority in light of the Trump administration’s increasingly assertive overtures.

Vice President Vance is scheduled to accompany his wife Usha on a Friday visit to Greenland, and Trump’s most recent incendiary remarks come as he makes his most recent comments.

Initial plans that included a dog-racing event were met with anger from Greenlandic authorities and the general public. Instead of going to a US military base in Greenland, Vince, his wife, and other Trump administration officials will stop there.

Mute Egede, the acting head of state for the territory, had referred to the uninvited trip as a “provocation” and “foreign interference” in its affairs. The Greenlandic government, in a post on Facebook, stated that it had not “extended any invitations for any visits, neither private nor official.”

Mette Frederiksen, the country’s prime minister, also accused the US of using the trip to “express unacceptably on Greenland and Denmark.”

She told Danish media on Tuesday, “It is pressure that we will resist.” It is obvious that this visit is not intended to address Greenland’s needs or wants.

The White House later clarified that the Vances would now travel to Greenland’s Pituffik Space Base in place of the dogsled race, where a rumored anti-US demonstration was being planned.

Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the foreign minister of Denmark, welcomed the decision to omit the US base.

“It’s very encouraging that Americans have canceled their visit to Greenlandic society,” I think. We have no objections to them visiting their own base, Pituffik, he said.

Kim oversaw the testing of “various kinds of reconnaissance and suicide drones” produced by North Korea’s Unmanned Aerial Technology Complex, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The attack drones will be used for “various tactical attack missions,” according to KCNA, noting that both drone systems have been equipped with “new artificial intelligence.”

Kim reaffirmed his desire to increase the production of “unmanned equipment and artificial intelligence” and stressed the need for a long-term strategy to support “the rapid development” of “intelligent drones,” which he described as “the trend of modern warfare.”

According to the images captured during the tests on Tuesday and Wednesday, attack drones reportedly successfully hit ground targets, including military vehicles.

Despite images that were made available by KCNA, Kim was seen boarding an airborne early warning and control (AEW) aircraft and walking with aides near a recently developed unmanned aerial reconnaissance aircraft, which appeared to be larger than a fighter jet.

The North, which had a radar dome on the fuselage similar to the Boeing-manufactured Peace Eye operated by the South Korean air force, has unveiled such an aircraft for the first time since the photos.

Analysts had previously reported on North Korea’s plans to build an early warning system after discovering that Pyongyang was using commercial satellite imagery to transform a cargo aircraft made of Russian-made Il-76 into an early-warning role.

An AEW aircraft would add to North Korea’s existing land-based radar systems, according to an IISS report from last year, even though just one aircraft would not suffice.

Kim was also given information on intelligence-gathering abilities as well as electronic jamming and attack systems that the nation’s electronic warfare group had recently developed, according to KCNA during his visit to the test site.

In exchange for Kim’s donation of thousands of North Korean troops and weapons to support Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, the South Korean government and analysts have repeatedly warned about the potential transfer of sensitive Russian military technology to North Korea.

The Seoul-based military reported on Thursday that North Korea has already given Russia an additional 3, 000 troops and other ammunition this year.

According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), “an additional 3, 000 troops were reportedly sent as reinforcements between January and February,” adding that 4, 000 of the initial 11, 000 North Korean soldiers sent to Russia in 2024 are thought to have been killed or wounded.

According to a report from the JCS, “North Korea continues to provide missiles, artillery equipment, and ammunition.”

It is estimated that North Korea has so far provided a sizable number of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), as well as about 220 170mm self-propelled gun units and 240mm multiple rocket launchers, according to the statement.

As Israel’s army continues its renewed offensive against the besieged enclave, a Hamas spokesperson has been killed by an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza, according to reports from news outlets.

Israeli fighter jets bombed Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua’s tent shelter in the city of Jabalia early on Thursday morning, according to Al-Aqsa television and the Shehab News Agency.

According to Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza, Hind Khoudary, there were also some more people who were hurt in the attack, including children.

Khoudary claimed that the Israeli military carried out the latest wave of attacks in the Strip, including one that claimed the lives of six members of the same family in Gaza City.

Israel resumed its intense bombing campaign and ground operations in Gaza on March 18 with the abrupt end of a tense two-month ceasefire. In an effort to persuade Hamas to release the remaining captives in the war-torn enclave, Israel has since killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians.

In addition, several senior Hamas figures have been killed recently. Ismail Barhoum, the head of finances and institutions at Hamas’ political office, was among the five people killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday at Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Israeli fighter jets also bombed Palestinian refugees’ tents in Khan Younis on the same day. Sallah al-Bardaweel, a well-known Hamas politician and member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, was killed along with his wife.

Both men were members of Hamas’ political office, a 20-member decision-making body, with 11 of them dead since the start of the war in late 2023, according to the Reuters news agency.

During the southern Israel attack on October 7, 2023, Hamas still holds 59 of the roughly 250 captives.

Since Hamas launched its ground and air assault on the Palestinian enclave, the Israeli military has killed at least 139 people in Israel and injured at least 183 Palestinians, 828 others, and at least 1,139 in the country.

According to statistics from Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 80% of the casualties are women and children, with more than 50% of those killed coming from Israel’s reprisal attacks ten days ago.

The Israeli military has forcibly displaced 142, 000 Palestinians since March 18, according to the UN’s humanitarian agency (OCHA), which only adds to the already dire humanitarian situation brought on by Israel’s ongoing restrictions on aid entering Gaza.

In the midst of weeks of tense and contentious ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, the death toll in Gaza is rising. The mediators, including the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, were unable to secure a three-phase agreement extension after it expired on March 1.

Hamas claims that Israel purposefully undermined negotiations to end fighting permanently.

After Hamas’ demands for an extension, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed he had ordered Israeli forces to retaliate against Gaza.