News Headlines - 20 December 2017
▽US making plans for 'bloody nose’ military attack on North Korea
America is drawing up plans for a “bloody nose” military attack on North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons programme, The Telegraph understands.
The White House has “dramatically” stepped up preparation for a military solution in recent months amid fears diplomacy is not working, well-placed sources said.
▽20th death attributed to Takata airbag | Fox News
A driver killed in a crash in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on July 10 was the victim of a faulty Takata airbag, Honda has confirmed.
It is the 20th known death caused by one of the defective devices globally, which can break apart and spray shrapnel at the occupants of a vehicle... Honda says the owners were sent several notices about the recall and urgent need to replace the older devices with new ones, but never did.
▽Crack found on Japan's shinkansen bullet train "extremely serious": JR West VP - Xinhua
Train operator West Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday that a 16 centimeter crack found in a steel frame of a carriage of a shinkansen bullet train was "extremely serious."
JR West Vice President Norihiko Yoshie also told a press briefing on the matter that the incident had caused public mistrust in the safety of Japan's shinkansen trains.
▽TASS: Moscow urges Tokyo to prevent discharge of Fukushima radioactive water
The Japanese government should prohibit the discharge of liquid radioactive waste from the disaster-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP) into the Pacific Ocean, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
The European Union was joined by 12 other nations in its call for Japan to end its whaling programme, stating that it is “resolutely opposed” to commercial whaling.
Japan is a signatory to the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) moratorium on whale hunting, but Tokyo continues to hunt the mammals each year under the claim it is for scientific research.
