War

In the ongoing game of escalating verbal ping-pong, North Korea responded on Monday to the latest condemnation by the UN Security Council which responded to Pyongyang Friday missile launch with a harsly worded verbal rebuke, and warned that the more sanctions pursued by the US and its allies, "will only increase our pace towards the ultimate completion of the state nuclear force,” KCNA reported, citing ministry of foreign affairs.

A day after US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley admitted that with the latest round of sanctions the Security Council has just about reached the limits of China’s and Russia’s tolerance – and that the US will now need to explore other diplomatic, and possibly military, options, US forces joined with their South Korea counterparts for another "show of strength" meant for North Korea.

Authored by John Ivison via NationalPost.com,

Participation in the ballistic missile defence program would be costly, but, amid nuclear threats, it appears Canada is no longer under the protective umbrella of the U.S.

Politicians approach most subjects with open mouths, but they are rarely at a loss for words.

That’s why the testimony at a House of Commons defence committee, specially convened to consider the thorny problem that is North Korea, was so memorable.

For the second consecutive night, peaceful daytime protests descended into late-night violence with broken windows and thrown rocks, water bottles and garbage can lids following Friday's acquittal of a white former police officer in the shooting death of a black suspect. A small group of demonstrators refused to disperse, breaking windows at dozens of businesses and throwing objects at police, who moved in with hundreds of officers in riot gear to make arrests.

One week ago we wrote that in "The Race For Deir Ezzor: US And Syrian Forces Are About To Collide", explaining that "as ISIS continues to rapidly collapse in its last two strongholds (Raqqa and Deir Ezzor cities), the competition for recovery of territory seems in full gear between the US-SDF and Syria-Russia alliances." More importantly, "Deir Ezzor province happens to be Syria's most oil-rich territory, which means the future of some of Syria's largest oil fields remains up for grabs."