North Korea’s Missile Program Is Progressing Faster Than Expected: South Korea
North Korea’s missile program is progressing faster than expected, South Korea’s defense minister said on Tuesday, hours after the U.N. Security Council demanded the Kim Jonj Un’s regime halt all nuclear and ballistic tests.
The reclusive North, which has defied all calls to rein in its weapons programs, has been working on a missile, mounted with a nuclear warhead, capable of striking the U.S. mainland.
President Donald Trump’s administration has called for an immediate halt to Pyongyang’s provocations and has warned that the “era of strategic patience” with North Korea is over.
South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo told parliament that Sunday’s test-launch was “successful in flight.”
“It is considered an IRBM (intermediate range ballistic missile) of enhanced caliber compared to Musudan missiles that have continually failed,” he said, referring to a class of missile designed to travel up to 1,860 to 2,485 miles.
Asked if North Korea’s missile program was developing faster than the South had expected, he said: “Yes.” (mediafax.ro)
Most Americans Favor An Independent Inquiry Into Trump Associates’ Ties With Russia
As questions swirl about the contact members of President Trump’s campaign had with Russians throughout the 2016 election, a majority of Americans favor an independent investigation, a new poll has found.
Fifty-two percent of Americans support such an inquiry, while 23% are opposed, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released Saturday. Meanwhile, 22% said they neither favor nor oppose an investigation.
The poll, conducted March 23-27, surveyed nearly 1,100 voters and found stark partisan divides.
More than three-quarters of Democrats favor an independent investigation into ties between Russia and Trump and his campaign, compared with a quarter of Republicans who would like to see such an inquiry.(mediafax.ro)
Grindeanu Cabinet Likely To Get Reshuffled
The government led by Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu is likely to be reshuffled in the upcoming period and five of its ministers could be on the black list.
The five ministers likely to be replaced are as follows: Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, Finance Minister Viorel Stefan, Energy Minister Toma Petcu, deputy PM and Development Minister Servil Shaidedeh and Labor Minister Lia Olguța Vasilescu. (mediafax.ro)
Romania Posts Highest GDP Growth In The EU In 1Q/2017
Romania saw the biggest economic growth rate among European Union member states, in the first quarter of 2017, compared with the previous quarter and with the same period a year before, the EU’s statistics office Eurostat said in a report on Tuesday.
Romania’s gross domestic product grew an annual 5.7% in the first quarter, a flash estimate from the country’s statistics board INS showed Tuesday. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2016, Romania posted 1.7% GDP growth in the first quarter, the data showed.
Finland places second by GDP growth on the year in the first quarter (+1.6%), being followed by Latvia (+1.5%). In terms of first-quarter GDP growth, Romania (+5.6%) is followed by Poland and Lithuania (each posting GDP growth rates of 4.1%).
Seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.5% in both the euro area (EA19) and the EU28 during the first quarter of 2017, compared with the previous quarter.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 1.7% in the euro area and by 2.0% in the EU28 in the first quarter of 2017, after +1.8% and +1.9% respectively in the previous quarter. (mediafax.ro)