Pence: Trump ‘actively considering’ moving US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem (Source thehill.com) Vice President Pence said Tuesday the Trump administration is “actively considering” moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, one of the president’s core campaign promises.

“President Trump is actively considering when and how to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” Pence said during a speech in New York.  The vice president spoke at an event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the United Nations vote that led to the creation of the state of Israel.   Pence vowed that “the days of Israel-bashing at the United Nations are over,” stressing the U.S. will stand up for the Jewish state “because her cause is our cause, her values are our values and her fight is our fight.” During the 2016 campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.  Such a move would break with longstanding U.S. policy, which maintains the status of Jerusalem should be determined in peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.  Despite his pledge, Trump has not yet moved the embassy. The president signed a waiver in June to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv, saying he will eventually move the embassy but wants to keep alive the possibility of peace talks.

Russia Will Build Its Own Internet Directory, Citing US Information Warfare (Source Defense One)

The Russian government will build an “independent internet” for use by itself, Brazil, India, China, and South Africa — the so-called BRICS nations — “in the event of global internet malfunctions,” the Russian news site RT reported on Tuesday. More precisely, Moscow intends to create an alternative to the global Domain Name System, or DNS, the directory that helps the browser on your computer or smartphone connect to the website server or other computer that you’re trying to reach. The Russians cited national security concerns, but the real reason may have more to do with Moscow’s own plans for offensive cyber operations.

According to RT, the Russian Security Council discussed the idea during its October meeting, saying that “the increased capabilities of western nations to conduct offensive operations in the informational space as well as the increased readiness to exercise these capabilities pose a serious threat to Russia’s security.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has set a date of August 1, 2018, to complete the alternative DNS. Why are they doing it? Russia, along with China, has long pushed for national governments to assert more control over the DNS and net governance in general, via the UN International Telecommunication Union, or ITTU. Then, as now, the Russian and Chinese arguments were rooted in national security. “Now, when China stands up and says, ‘We want a seat at the table of internet governance,’ the U.S. can say, ‘No. The internet should be stateless.’ They’re in a much stronger position to make that argument today than they were before,” Matthew Prince, co-founder of the company Cloudflare, told Defense One at the time. In a statement Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov framed Russia’s desire for an alternative DNS as essential to “protecting it from possible external influence.”

“We all know who the chief administrator of the global internet is. And due to its volatility, we have to think about how to ensure our national security,” Peskov said.

North Korea releases photos of new intercontinental ballistic missile (Source globalnews.ca)

North Korea released dozens of photos Thursday of the Hwasong-15, a new intercontinental ballistic missile it claims can reach any target in the continental United States.

Their general conclusion is that it’s bigger, more advanced and comes with a domestically made mobile launcher that will make it harder than ever to pre-emptively destroy.

The North’s new missile appears to be significantly bigger than the Hwasong-14 ICBM it tested twice in July. Note how it dwarfs North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who stands about 170 centimetres (5 feet 7 inches) tall.

In a tweet just after the photos were published, Michael Duitsman, a researcher at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California, said: “This is very big missile … And I don’t mean ‘Big for North Korea.’ Only a few countries can produce missiles of this size, and North Korea just joined the club.”

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U.S. Is Forcing North Korea War By Pressuring Kim Jong Un To ‘Fly Off The Handle,’ Top Russian Diplomat Says (Source Newsweek) Russia’s top diplomat accused the United States Thursday of deliberately creating a context for a possible invasion of North Korea by pushing leader Kim Jong Un to take increasingly extreme measures to protect his totalitarian regime. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov took umbrage with Washington’s approach to the ever-escalating threat posed by the North’s nuclear and missile defense programs. He also questioned U.S.’s increasing sanctions on Pyongyang, and challenged joint military drills with South Korea, which he claimed the U.S. told Russia would be pushed back until next year. “The latest U.S. actions look designed to deliberately provoke Pyongyang into taking new extreme action,”  Lavrov said while in Belarus, according to Reuters.

The drills, called Vigilant Ace 18, are scheduled to take place between December 4 and 8 and involve 12,000 U.S. personnel from across the entire military, the U.S. military announced last week. North Korea has labeled the drills as practice runs for a military invasion and overthrow of its government. But Lavrov said  Russia has been led to believe the drills would take place next spring, to enable a prolonged cooling off period for diplomacy.

“We were encouraged by that approach,” he said. “And then suddenly … they announced large-scale exercises in December. We have the impression that it was all done especially to get Kim Jong Un to ‘fly off the handle’ and take another reckless step.”

USA ALERT: North Korea missile ‘could have struck WASHINGTON DC’ analysts warn (Source express.co.uk)

THE latest missile to have been fired by Kim Jong-un into the sea of Japan was powerful enough to reach Washington DC, scientists have claimed. Kim Jong-un carried out his latest missile test at 3am local time, striking fear across the region as he continues on a path that could trigger World War 3.

Now scientists have warned the test fire shows the hermit kingdom could strike the US at any time.

David Wright, senior scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists, claimed the missile could be capable of reaching anywhere in the USA. He said: “Reports are saying that the missile test was highly lofted and landed in the Sea of Japan some 960 km (600 miles) from the launch site. “They are also saying the missile reached a maximum altitude of 4,500 km.

“This would mean that it flew for about 54 minutes, which is consistent with reports from Japan.

“If these numbers are correct, then if flown on a standard trajectory rather than this lofted trajectory, this missile would have a range of more than 13,000 km (8,100 miles).

“This is significantly longer than North Korea’s previous long range tests, which flew on lofted trajectories for 37 minutes (July 4) and 47 minutes (July 28). “Such a missile would have more than enough range to reach Washington, DC, and in fact any part of the continental United States.