In what may serve as a catalyst for another US military intervention in Syria, a blast has reportedly hit a convoy of buses carrying evacuees from the government-held towns of Fuaa and Kefraya near the Syrian city of Aleppo. The blast was reportedly caused by a suicide attacker detonating a car bomb according to Syrian state TV while local press estimates that up to 60 civilians have been killed in the explosion.
For all the expectations of a North Korean nuke test, the country's "Day of the sun" celebrations ended up being a relatively subdued affair, with Pyongyang marking the 105th anniversary of its founding leader Kim Il-sung with a military parade in Pyongyang, where it for the first time publicly showcased its submarine-launched ballistic missiles as well as what appears to be a new type of ICBM, even as a U.S. aircraft carrier group steamed towards the region.
A Government of Morons
Paul Craig Roberts
As expected - and feared - during the annual "Day of the Sun" celebration parade (celebrating the birth of the nation's founder), Bloomberg blasted a headline that Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that North Korea has fired a projectile.
Judging by the precautionary actions of North Korea's neighbors, the next 48 hours on the Korean peninsula could see substantial volatility, because at the same time as China's largest carrier was said to suspend flights to Pyongyang, the Japanese government has asked the U.S. to provide advance consultation if it is about to launch military action against North Korea, and "has ramped up preparations for emergency situations" according to Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun, including the potential evacuation of some 57,000 Japanese citizens currently in South Korea.