N. KOREA SAYS IT MAY LIFT WEAPONS TEST MORATORIUM
KOREA» North PYONGYANG, NORTH
Korea on Tuesday suggested it might call off its 20-month suspension of nuclear and missile tests because of summertime U.S.-South Korean military drills that the North calls preparation for an eventual invasion.
The statement by North Korea’s Foreign Ministry comes during a general deadlock in nuclear talks, but after an extraordinary meeting of the U.S. and North Korean leaders at the Korean border that raised hopes that negotiations would soon resume.
The comments ramp up pressure on the United States ahead of any new talks.
North Korea has had longstanding antipathy toward U.S.-South Korean military cooperation, which the allies call defensive and routine but the North sees as hostile.
Von der Leyen confirmed as new European Commission president.
BRUSSELS» Ursula von der Leyen was confirmed as the European Commission president Tuesday, becoming the first woman to hold one of the most prestigious positions in the European Union and who will be one of the most prominent faces from the bloc on the world stage.
The European Parliament voted 383-327 with 22 abstentions to approve von der Leyen’s nomination.
The confirmation required an absolute majority of 374 votes, and the outgoing German defense minister scraped through with barely nine votes to spare in a cliffhanger vote.
She was put forward as a lastminute candidate by EU leaders as part over an overall appointments package, sidestepping parliamentary wishes. Many legislators felt cold-shouldered and said they would oppose her out of principle, not over personal considerations.
3 dead, 4 missing in float plane crash.
ST JOHN’S, NEWFOUNDLAND»
Four occupants of a downed float plane remained missing Tuesday after the aircraft crashed into a lake in the eastern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, killing three others on board.
Air Saguenay president Jean Tremblay said Tuesday the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver was carrying four fishermen, two guides and the pilot.
It left Three Rivers Lodge on Crossroads Lake, east of Schefferville, Quebec, on Monday morning headed to a remote fishing camp on Mistastin Lake in Labrador. The identities of those on the flight weren’t immediately made public.
At least 12 killed after building collapses.
Rescuers cleared debris and used sniffer dogs Wednesday to find possible survivors under the rubble of a dilapidated building that collapsed in India’s financial capital of Mumbai. At least 12 people were killed, and several were feared trapped.
Dozens of rescuers worked overnight at the site, where they pulled out 11 survivors after the four-story building collapsed Tuesday, fire official Ashok Talpade said early Wednesday. The survivors included a child who was treated at a hospital and later allowed to go home. Others remained hospitalized.
Heavy monsoon rains fall in India from June to September, causing severe flooding and collapsing poorly built and dilapidated structures.
New York raises statewide smoking age to 21.
New York will raise its smoking age from 18 to 21 under legislation signed into law Tuesday by the state’s governor.
The change — which takes effect in 120 days — will apply to the sales of traditional tobacco products as well as electronic cigarettes and vaporizers.
“By raising the smoking age from 18 to 21, we can stop cigarettes and e-cigarettes from getting into the hands of young people in the first place and prevent an entire generation of New Yorkers from forming costly and potentially deadly addictions,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said in a statement announcing his signature.