EXPLAINERA look at the characteristics of solid-fuel technology and how it can help North Korea improve its missile systems.North Korea says it has successfully tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), its first known use of the propellant in a longer-range projectile. But what exactly is a solid-fuel missile and why does it matter to have one? What is solid-fuel technology? Solid propellants are a mixture of fuel and oxidiser. Metallic powders such as aluminium often serve as the fuel, and ammonium perchlorate, which is the salt of perchloric acid and ammonia, is the most common oxidiser. The fuel and oxidiser…
Author: National Tone
There is a strong Irish challenge for this year’s Grand National once again and my shortlist is made up of four horses trained over the Irish Sea.Gordon Elliott has won three Grand Nationals and has a strong hand this year. DELTA WORK has plenty of class and has been plying his trade largely in cross country races. He was third in this last year though and is 1lb lower this time round. Image: Delta Work and Keith Donoghue win the Cross Country Chase I also like GALVIN for the yard after he was runner up to Delta Work in the…
New Delhi, India – In 2018, a year before the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stormed back to power for a second term, a federal education minister said he believed Indians were the descendants of Hindu “rishis” (sages) and not monkeys. Satya Pal Singh, who was the minister of state for human resource development, said Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was “scientifically wrong”. “It needs to change in the school and college curriculum. Since man has been seen on Earth, he has always been a man. Nobody saw an ape turning into a man,” he said. By the 2021-2022 academic…
It remains uncertain whether China, Sri Lanka’s biggest bilateral creditor, will join the initiative launched by Japan.Japan, India and France have announced a common platform for talks among bilateral creditors to coordinate the restructuring of Sri Lanka’s debt, a move they hope would serve as a model for solving the debt woes of middle-income economies. It remains uncertain, however, whether Sri Lanka’s biggest bilateral creditor – China – will join the initiative launched by Japan, this year’s G7 chair, with the aim of kicking off a series of meetings among Sri Lanka’s creditors. “To be able to launch this negotiation…
As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 415th day, we take a look at the main developments.Here is the situation as it stands on Friday, April 14, 2023: Fighting Kyiv and Moscow announced separate investigations into a disturbing video showing the alleged beheading of a Ukrainian soldier and believed to have been filmed by Wagner Group mercenaries from Russia. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces were “blocking” Ukrainian troops from leaving or entering Bakhmut, but Kyiv rejected the claim. Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner mercenary group said it was “too early” to say Russia had the ruined city surrounded. A…
A longer-range solid-fuel ICBM has long been on leader Kim Jong Un’s weapons wish list.North Korea has announced the successful test of its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a key goal of leader Kim Jong Un’s plan to develop more advanced and powerful weaponry. The test was detected on Thursday by South Korea and Japan, which briefly ordered residents on its northern island of Hokkaido to evacuate. North Korean state media confirmed the launch of the missile, dubbed the Hwasong-18, on Friday morning. The event was supervised by Kim, who was accompanied by his young daughter. “A new type…
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a prominent figure in the Republican Party, is expected to sign into law a six-week abortion ban, which will make the southern state the latest to enact severe restrictions on the procedure in the United States. The state’s Republican-led House of Representatives approved the ban by a vote of 70 to 40 on Thursday, allowing the bill to proceed to the governor’s desk. The vote places Florida among an estimated 13 other states that have enacted similar bans on abortion at six weeks of pregnancy or earlier. Florida had previously banned abortion past 15 weeks. Critics…
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation has made an arrest related to the leak of military intelligence documents, with Attorney General Merrick Garland saying that 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a member of Massachusetts Air National Guard, had been taken into custody without incident. Teixeira’s arrest on Thursday came “in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorised removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information”, according to Garland. Pentagon officials said they were still assessing the scale and scope of the leak, which appeared to show classified information about the war in Ukraine and US allies. Officials have repeatedly warned,…
Washington, DC – There is plenty of uncertainty about the supposed secret US government intelligence assessments circulating online: Are they authentic? Are they accurate? Who leaked them? And why? Despite growing questions, experts seemed to agree on one thing: The leaks are damaging to Washington’s intelligence-gathering and foreign policy. The documents include details of the Western military support to Ukraine, information about Russia’s war effort and intelligence collected from allied states. US officials have not denied the validity of the documents, acknowledging that they “present a very serious risk to national security” and appear to be real, though in some…
West Ham’s Europa Conference League quarter-final with Gent is finely poised after the first leg ended in a 1-1 draw on Thursday night.Danny Ings’ first ever European goal and third since joining West Ham gave the visitors the lead on the stroke of half-time (45+3) but they had to withstand a late onslaught at the Ghelamco Arena. The Hammers, seeking to break a 43-year trophy drought, saw their 100 per cent record in Europe this season ended in the second period, but David Moyes will feel confident of completing the job back on home soil.Gent had won 10 of their…