International
North Korea makes a seemingly failed launch of a missile into the Sea of Japan
North Korea fired as a test an unidentified ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan (called the East Sea in the two Koreas) that apparently failed, according to the South Korean Army, in what is the first launch of its kind since last May 30.
“Around 05.30 (Tuesday’s 20.30 GMT) today, Wednesday, June 26, North Korea launched an unknown type ballistic missile from the Pyongyang area to the East Sea, but it is believed that it failed,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.
The intelligence authorities of the Republic of Korea (official name of South Korea) and the United States are carrying out more analysis,” the text adds.
A military source cited by the Yonhap agency indicated that the projectile launched was apparently a hypersonic missile that only managed to travel about 250 kilometers before falling into the water.
In turn, the Japanese authorities have pointed out that the projectile would have fallen outside the Japanese exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the waters of the Sea of Japan.
The launch comes after the day before Pyongyang sent another wave of balloons with waste to the South for the second consecutive day – and for the fifth time in the last month – in retaliation for the sending, in a northerly direction, of propaganda against the regime made days earlier by a group of activists from the South.
In addition, on Monday the North Korean regime charged against the arrival at the South Korean port of Busan of the American aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, with nuclear propulsion, a gesture that is interpreted as a show of strength after the summit held last week in Pyongyang between the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
The South Korean president himself, Yoon Suk-yeol, visited the aircraft carrier, which today plans to start trilateral maneuvers with the South Korean and Japanese armies.
Pyongyang threatened to take “new and overwhelming” measures in response to that “provocative act,” in a statement by the North Korean Deputy Minister of Defense, Kim Kang-il, picked up by the state agency KCNA.
International
Thousands rally nationwide against Trump’s threat to U.S. democracy
Thousands of protesters gathered on Saturday (April 19, 2025) in major cities like New York and Washington, as well as in small communities across the United States, in a second wave of demonstrations against President Donald Trump. The crowds denounced what they view as growing threats to the country’s democratic ideals.
In New York City, demonstrators of all ages rallied in front of the Public Library near Trump Tower, holding signs accusing the president of undermining democratic institutions and judicial independence.
Many protesters also criticized Trump’s hardline immigration policies, including mass deportations and raids targeting undocumented migrants.
“Democracy is in grave danger,” said Kathy Valyi, 73, the daughter of Holocaust survivors. She told AFP that the stories her parents shared about Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1930s Germany “are happening here now.”
In Washington, demonstrators voiced concern over what they see as Trump’s disregard for long-standing constitutional norms, such as the right to due process.
International
ACLU seeks emergency court order to stop venezuelan deportations under Wartime Law
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Friday asked two federal judges to block the U.S. government under President Donald Trump from deporting any Venezuelan nationals detained in North Texas under a rarely used 18th-century wartime law, arguing that immigration officials appear to be moving forward with deportations despite Supreme Court-imposed limitations.
The ACLU has already filed lawsuits to stop the deportation of two Venezuelan men held at the Bluebonnet Detention Center, challenging the application of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The organization is now seeking a broader court order that would prevent the deportation of any immigrant in the region under that law.
In an emergency filing early Friday, the ACLU warned that immigration authorities were accusing other Venezuelan detainees of being members of the Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal gang. These accusations, the ACLU argues, are being used to justify deportations under the wartime statute.
The Alien Enemies Act has only been invoked three times in U.S. history — most notably during World War II to detain Japanese-American civilians in internment camps. The Trump administration has claimed the law allows them to swiftly remove individuals identified as gang members, regardless of their immigration status.
The ACLU, together with Democracy Forward, filed legal actions aiming to suspend all deportations carried out under the law. Although the U.S. Supreme Court recently allowed deportations to resume, it unanimously ruled that they could only proceed if detainees are given a chance to present their cases in court and are granted “a reasonable amount of time” to challenge their pending removal.
International
Dominican ‘False Hero’ Arrested for Faking Role in Nightclub Collapse That Killed 231
A man identified as Rafael Rosario Mota falsely claimed to have rescued 12 people from the collapse of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo—a tragedy that left 231 people dead—but he was never at the scene.
Intelligence agents in the Dominican Republic arrested the 32-year-old man for pretending to be a hero who saved lives during the catastrophic incident, authorities announced.
Rosario Mota had been charging for media interviews in which he falsely claimed to have pulled survivors from the rubble after the nightclub’s roof collapsed in the early hours of April 8, during a concert by merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was among those killed.
“He was never at the scene of the tragedy,” the police stated. The arrest took place just after he finished another interview on a digital platform, where he repeated his fabricated story in exchange for money as part of a “media tour” filled with manipulated information and invented testimonies.
“False hero!” read a message shared on the police force’s Instagram account alongside a short video of the suspect, in which he apologized: “I did it because I was paid. I ask forgiveness from the public and the authorities.”
Thousands rally nationwide against Trump’s threat to U.S. democracy
ACLU seeks emergency court order to stop venezuelan deportations under Wartime Law
UN complaint filed against Costa Rica over detention of migrant children
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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