Japan faced with ghost ships - 11 of them arrive with with decaying bodies

Japan is faced with a unique problem of ghost shops. Eleven of them, some with decaying corpses on board, have arrived off the coast of Japan and, on board, are 20 as-yet-unidentified bodies. These have arrived during the past two months - four of them washed up in early November and another seven were spotted floating in the Sea of Japan during the past three weeks.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 29 November 2015.

In the opinion of experts, the badly damaged vessels may have been at sea for months. One of the ships was sighted by Coastguard about 100-Km offshore on the Sea of Japan. It was towed in at Fukui Port, about 400-Km north of Tokyo and there were three bodies in it.
While authorities have begun investigations as to the origin of the ships, Japanese media have speculated that the boats may have come from North Korea, about 1000-Km across the Sea of Japan. There are Korean writing on the boats and on clothing inside the vessels.
Moreover, the remains of a North Korean flag found on board along with Tangled ropes, hooks and other fishing equipment would tend to suggest that they may be fishing craft from North Korea. Incidentally, fishing ships from the impoverished state have been lost since they do not have modern equipment like GPS installed.
Another suggestion is that the boats might have been fleeing from the oppressive rule of Kim Jong-un and landed in a storm.

Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

The 'Pat & Jolie' instant noodles worry Lord Shiva (satire)

Make in India (satire)

Pat & Jolie and their biscuit making (satire)


Murder of Uzbek belly dancers in Hapur

Maggi instant noodles - 3.3-crore packets vanish within 10 days

Indians hate holidays - India is 4th most holiday-starved nation


Music venues in UK beef up their security in view of Paris terror attacks

Academy Award winner Kate Winslet and The Dressmaker

Sir Terry Wogan drops out of presenting Children In Need citing health reasons


The terror attacks in Paris bring Obama and Putin into a huddle

France joins Russia in joint airstrikes against ISIS in Raqqa

Suicide bombings by Boko Haram kill 49 in Nigeria

North Korea says ‘sorry’, South Korea shakes hand and says ‘All’s well’

North Korea and South Korea have agreed to call it quits for the time being. North has expressed "regret" over landmine attacks that wounded two soldiers from the South. And, South has reciprocated by agreeing to stop broadcasting propaganda over the border.
The decision to hold the talks at the Panmunjom truce village inside the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) came just hours before the deadline set by Mr Kim Jong-Un for the South to dismantle its loudspeakers.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 25 August 2015.

The deal came after marathon talks and it calms the fears of an escalation in the conflict between the two countries. North Korea has also agreed to end its "quasi state of war" with the South and the neighbors agreed to hold follow-up talks in order to improve relations in Seoul or Pyongyang.
Adviser to the South Korean president has said that North Korea has apologized for the landmine provocation and has promised to work to prevent the recurrence of such events and ease tensions.
South Korea had set up 11 sites from where loudspeakers would boom out anti-Pyongyang messages, news broadcasts and K-pop hits such as Gangnam Style across the border. Seoul had refused to stop unless the North expressed apology for the landmine attacks.
Of course, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un had continually denied any involvement but, an agreement has been reached and it hints at a softened stance from both sides thus ending the prospect of war on the Korean peninsula.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


Some more interesting 'must reads'-

Anaconda in a pothole of Bengaluru to galvanize the authorities to act

Cochin airport goes ecofriendly – to become only solar powered airport in the world

V Festival in Chelmsford could face tornadoes, hail and thunderstorms


Ice Cube would love to have dinner with Barack Obama once he leaves White House

Indian names of Pallavi Sharda and Dev Patel in Hollywood film ‘Lion’

Hugh Jackman of Wolverine fame could portray the role of Greek hero Odysseus


White House discloses – 2nd in command of ISIS killed in drone strike in Mosul

Bomb blast outside temple of Lord Brahma in Bangkok leaves at least 27 dead

Scuba diver smuggles cocaine across US-Mexico border via underwater tunnel


Indian kitchens must have ‘besan’

The lost world of ‘kabiraji cutlets’

Growing up days – I begin to go to the daily market

North Korea threatens to blow up White House because of Sony ‘Interview’ hacking

#sonyinterview North Korea has threatened to carry out strikes against the White House, Pentagon and "the whole US mainland" unless it withdraws its allegations that Pyongyang was responsible for the hacking of Sony Pictures that had planned to release the film The Interview on Christmas Day in America.
This film was a comedy that depicted the assassination of the North Korean leader and features James Franco and Seth Rogen as two journalists who are granted an audience with Kim Jong-Un and, the CIA then enlists the two of them to assassinate him.
US continues to insist that the hacking had been masterminded by North Koreans which Pyongyang does not accept.
In a fiery statement, North Korea has denied the US claims that it is behind cyber-attacks linked to a film that features the fictional killing of its leader Kim Jong-un. Of course, North Korea has a long history of issuing threats against the US and these latest threats comes days after the US formally accused the North of orchestrating a massive cyber-attack on Sony Pictures.
Due to the cyber-attack, the unreleased films The Interview and the script for the next James Bond film were leaked online apart from details of corporate finances and private emails between producers and Hollywood figures.
Incidentally, Pyongyang had offered to hold a joint inquiry with the US into the hacking but US president Barack Obama said that the US was considering putting North Korea back on its list of terrorism sponsors – this has angered Pyongyang still further.

North Korea woos foreign tourists – launches website

North Korea wants foreign tourists. The country, known as the Hermit Kingdom, has launched a website to lure in foreign tourists. The Korean-language website is complete with pictures of happy looking children, pools, a ski resort --and missiles. It showcases attractions of the country in the form of a pyramid-themed water park, children in traditional dress, and statues of Dictator Kim Jong-Un.
The website contains information about hotels tours and flight schedules from cities like Beijing and Vladivostok. And there is a section on the reclusive nation's political ideology and photos of short-range missiles.
In spite of a restrictive travel ban due to the Ebola outbreak, North Korea has been trying to attract foreign tourists and their money. It has opened the Masik Pass ski area which is billed as the "most exotic ski resort on Earth" and offers surfing tours along the east coast.
It seems nearly 237,000 tourist had visited North Korea in 2012 – most of them hailed from China. Westerners also visited but only a tiny fraction, with some estimates at about 4-5000.
North Korea is mired in controversies of human rights abuse and violations and foreign visitors should bear in mind the fact that they must book their tours through an accredited company and cannot move about on their own but must be accompanied at all times by foreign and North Korean guides.