Morning brief: North Korea 'space launch' fails, debt limit deal heads to vote in full House, and more
MORNING BRIEF
North Korea launched a space object but the mission failed. The South Korean military claimed on Wednesday (May 31) that it had located and was rescuing a suspected piece of a North Korean spy satellite that had crashed shortly after launch due to a rocket malfunction. Meanwhile the US military claimed that a Chinese fighter pilot performed a "unnecessarily aggressive manoeuvre" around an American surveillance aircraft flying over the South China Sea.In an unexpected turn of events, a woman who claimed that US President Joe Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 has applied for Russian citizenship.
Click on the headlines to read more.
The South Korean military said on Wednesday (May 31) that it had located andwas salvaging a suspected part of a North Korean spy satellitethat crashed soon after launch because of a rocket failure. "At around 08:05 today, our military identified an object presumed to be part of North Korea's claimed 'Space Launch Vehicle' in waters 200km (124 miles) west of Eocheong Island and is salvaging it," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, the news agency AFP reported.
Under heat from conservatives, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy workedfrantically on Tuesday (May 30)to persuade other Republicans to support the debt ceiling and budget agreement he signedwith President Joe Biden in order to avoid a potentially catastrophic USdefault.
The United States military stated that a Chinese fighter pilot carried out an “unnecessarily aggressive manoeuvre” around an American surveillance aircraft which was flying over the South China Sea last week.
The incident, which the Pentagon called as a common behaviour of China, occurred at a time when tensions had already escalated between Beijing and Washington after the latter shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon which was spotted traversing the skies of the United States. The ties were further strained over the issue of Taiwan as China increased its military aggression against the island.
A woman who alleged that US President Joe Bidensexually assaulted her in 1993, in a dramatic turn of events, has sought Russian citizenship. Ex-Senate staffer Tara Reade made the accusations in 2020 when Biden was seeking a Democratic nomination for the president's post.
WATCH |UN pushes Russia & Ukraine to protect Europe's largest nuclear power facility