North Korea Pledges Imminent Jihad on South

North Korean troops on parade

 North Korean military cut into national TV to make a special announcement. (Original translation by BNONews edited by TORARADICAL.com)

In view of the situation getting graver as the days go by, the NPRK Supreme Command special operation action group issues the following notice upon authorization:

The special actions of our revolutionary armed forces will soon meet the reckless challenge of the group of traitors.

Those actions are an eruption of public anger and resentment, and a sacred war of all service personnel and people to protect the dignity of our supreme leadership.

Their targets are the Lee Myung Bak group of traitors, the arch criminals, and the group of rat like elements, including conservative media destroying the mainstay of the fair public opinion.

Once the above said special operations kick off, they will reduce all the rat like groups and the bases for provocation to ashes in three of four minutes, in much shorter time, by unprecedented peculiar means and methods of our own style.

Our revolutionary forces do not make empty threats.

 
This is an extremely unusual bold threat from the North. One which in some form they will have to back with action, due to the extremely public nature of the statement.

Things are already tense after the earlier attempted launch of a rocket by North Korea.

Japan and South Korea have called emergency meetings. Their troops, and those of the US in the area have gone on alert.

Update: Korean Central News Agency (North Korean state run media) has now released their own article about it. They have been nice enough to include an English version.

Theories about the promised destruction are leaning towards it being a cyber attack.

Socialist Hollande Ahead in France

After having over an eighty percent turnout, France is one step closer to finishing the presidential elections. Socialist Francois Hollande has taken the lead with 28.6% of the vote, whilst President Nicholas Sarkozy trails with 27.1%.

The vote today did not decide the final election, but narrowed it down to the final two candidates. There had been ten to choose from in this vote. Final voting occurs on May 6.

Marine Le Pen came in third with 18.1% and Sarkozy will have to win over a good portion of her far right votes, in order to be able to beat Hollande. For her National Front party it was a huge night, as they gained their highest number of votes ever.

Communist Jean-Luc Melenchon, who had nearly 12%, urged his followers to back Hollande. Francis Bayrou, considered the top centrist, took 9%. The remaining five candidates, split only about five percent of the vote.

This is the first time, during the Fifth Republic, that a returning President has failed to win the first round. Current polls suggest Hollande will win. If Sarkozy can not sway enough to his side, he will become the first incumbent not to win the election since 1981. At that time socialist Francois Mitterrand was elected for two terms.

"The choice is simple, either continue policies that have failed with a divisive incumbent candidate or raise France up again with a new, unifying president," Mr Hollande said. He promises to raise taxes on the rich and on corporations, increase the minimum wage, lower retirement to sixty, and higher sixty thousand new teachers.

Sarkozy promises to continue working on lowering the national debt. He also wants to create a tax that would tax anyone who moved out of France for tax reasons.

Deadly Violence in Bahrain

Violence continues in Bahrain as the people protest their government, and the government continues to send troops in to enforce peace.

One of the protest leaders, Salah Abbas Habib, was found beaten to death on Saturday. Witnesses state that police were responsible. Many other protesters were beaten as well, though none so severely.

The Minister of the Interior said an investigation was under way and asked for calm.

Protesters are trying to get the international formula one race cancelled.

Bahrain has been racked with protests for over a year now. The original protests were cracked down upon by government troops, who were joined by soldiers from Saudi Arabia.

The US has been very silent on condemning the brutality of the government. US Fifth fleet is head quartered in the country, and it is a crucial ally of the US.

UN to Expand Syria Mission

The UN Security Council has approved the expansion of it's peace mission in Syria from the current thirty, up to 300. Joined to the expansion was a demand from the council, that violence end immediately.

Critics point out that the UN brokered cease fire, has only really been effective when the peace keepers are in the way of fire. Also, only seven of the thirty peace keeper/observers have made it to Syria so far.

Homs, had been still being shelled until the observers arrived at the town. At that point government forces did cease fire. Arrests and firing upon protestors have continued in many cities. Attacks on government forces have not fully ceased either.

Vikings Could Go to Los Angeles

Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Vikings have been unable to come to an agreement on the Vikings' demand for a new stadium. The current contract ended last year, but it has been agreed that they'll stay through this year in the old stadium.

The Vikings have been angling for a $975-million stadium to be built partly on the Metrodome site, with the state shouldering $398 million of the load, the city paying $150 million, and the Vikings and the NFL covering the remaining $427 million.

Minnesota has recently helped both the Minnesota Twins and the University of Minnesota gain new stadiums. The Vikings are massively popular in the state, but other places might be willing to give them the stadium they desire.

Reports place a plane belonging to Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, as being in Southern California. Rumors are that he's met with Los Angeles city officials. Los Angeles has been without an NFL team since they lost both the Raiders and Rams to other cities.

Yemeni Forces Retaking Zinjibar

Yemen has announced that it's troops have retaken parts of Zinjibar.

The town had been captured by Al-Qaeda during last year's uprising against the now former president.

Fighting continues as the government continues it's work to reclaim the southern part of the country from Al-Qaeda.

Twelve enemy fighters were killed, whilst seven soldiers lost their lives.

Baby With 6 Legs Doing Well After Removal of 4

A baby born in Pakistan with six legs is doing well after doctors removed the four extra limbs. Jamal Raza, the director of National Institute of the Child Health in Karachi said it was a case of parasitic conjunction.

Parasitic conjunction is a condition where multiple babies were present in the womb, but conjoined, and then only one baby formed fully.

The Pakistani government announced that it will be taking care of all the expenses for the family.

China Releases Vietnamese Fisherman Held Captive

The Chinese have announced the release of twenty-one Vietnamese fishermen. For over a month the fisherman were detained for fishing near the Paracel Islands.

Both China and Vietnam claim the islands. China however controls them by default through occupation forces.

Earlier this month Chinese fishermen were caught fishing illegally in globally recognized Philippine waters, that China claims is theirs. This caused a standoff due to Chinese naval forces showing up to block the Philippines from making arrests.

China has become increasingly hostile and demanding that their claims, to nearly the entire South China Sea, be recognized.

Remembering: The Red Baron

April 21, 1918 the Red Baron is shot down by enemy fire.

Manfred von Richthofen, the son of a Prussian noble had been in the cavalry until 1915. It was then that he switched over to the Imperial Air Service and began terrorizing the skies.

In 1917, he switched from an Albatross biplane to a Fokker triplane. He had the plane painted completely red, in honor of his old cavalry regiment. The plane earned him the nickname, The Red Baron.

With 80 victories under his belt, he was by far the greatest pilot in WWI. But on April 21, he went too far behind enemy lines, and was shot down. British troops recovered his body, and at the age of 25, he was buried with full military honors.

Remembering: The Battle of San Jacinto

Sam Houston

The Texan army is reeling from multiple defeats at the hands of the Mexican army. The Alamo has fallen, and there seems to be nothing but retreat.

On, April 21, 1836, the Texas militia under Sam Houston launch a surprise attack against the forces of Mexican General Santa Anna.

The attack is completely effective, the Mexican army is routed, and many including Santa Anna are captured. In exchange for his freedom, Santa Anna agrees to recognize Texan independence.

Sam Houston would be elected President of the Lone Star Republic, and guide it towards becoming the twenty-eighth state.