1. S. Korean missiles ‘can hit all of North’

    South Korea on June 3 test-launched a new ballistic missile* that can hit all of North Korea, the president’s office said.

    President Park Geun-hye made a rare visit to a missile base on the west coast to watch the launch of the guided missile, which will be a key part of the South’s defense against its neighbor’s nuclear and missile threat, her office said.

    “The test demonstrated improved ballistic missile capability that can strike all parts of North Korea swiftly and with precision,” the presidential Blue House said.

    2. Canadian govt’s ‘cultural genocide’

    A Canadian policy of forcibly* separating aboriginal* children from their families and sending them to residential schools amounted to* “cultural genocide*,” a six-year investigation found on June 2.

    The residential school system attempted to eradicate* the aboriginal culture, said the long-awaited report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

    The commission was launched as part of a settlement with survivors, hundreds of whom gathered at a ballroom in downtown Ottawa to hear the report’s findings. In prepared remarks unveiling the report, Justice Murray Sinclair, who headed the panel, acknowledged “that what took place in residential schools amounts to nothing short of cultural genocide — a systematic and concerted attempt to extinguish the spirit of aboriginal peoples.”

    3. Terror suspect shot dead in Boston

    A 26-year-old terror suspect under FBI surveillance* was shot dead outside a pharmacy in Boston on June 2 after brandishing* a knife at police and federal agents, officials said.

    The FBI refused to comment on any possible allegations against Usaama Rahim, but police said he refused multiple orders to drop his military-style knife before being shot outside a CVS Pharmacy.

    Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said the suspect was wanted “for terrorist-related information.”

    4. Ex-FIFA officials on Interpol wanted list

    Interpol* on June 3 put FIFA executive members Jack Warner and Nicolas Leoz on their most-wanted list and issued an international alert.

    Four heads of sports marketing companies have also been put on the list. All six are wanted by U.S. authorities investigating more than US$150 million in bribes paid to soccer officials.

    Warner, a former FIFA vice president, is in Trinidad and Tobago. Leoz, an executive member, is reportedly under house arrest in his native Paraguay.

    5. 1,100 schools closed in S. Korea

    Hundreds of schools closed on June 4 in South Korea as officials struggled to ease growing panic over an outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus that has infected 95 people, killing seven as of yesterday.

    More than 1,100 schools — from kindergartens to colleges — have now shut their gates in response to public fears.

    The first case — reported May 20 — was of a 68-year-old man diagnosed after a trip to Saudi Arabia.

    Since then, more than 1,660 people who may have been exposed directly or indirectly to the virus have been placed under varying levels of quarantine.*

    6. Space agency plans town on the moon

    The European Space Agency (ESA) is planning a village on the moon to replace the International Space Station orbiting Earth.

    Professor Jan Woerner, the future head of the ESA, said construction could start to replace the station in 2024.

    “At the start, construction materials and food would take priority. Later it would be possible to produce water from hydrogen*. Crops could be grown in greenhouses,” he said.(SD-Agencies)