North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il has designated his youngest son to be the country's next leader, according to reports in South Korean media.
Two newspapers and an opposition lawmaker said South Korea's spy agency had briefed legislators on the move.North Korean officials were reportedly told to support Kim Jong-un after the North's 25 May nuclear test.
There has been much speculation over who would follow Mr Kim, who is thought to have suffered a stroke last year.Analysts have said the North's recent military actions, including last week's nuclear test, may have been aimed at helping Mr Kim solidify power so that he could name a successor.
See Kim Jong-il's family tree
The reports in the Hankook Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo newspapers quoted unnamed members of South Korea's parliamentary intelligence committee briefed by the National Intelligence Service, although the spy agency refused to confirm the reports.
The Associated Press news agency reported that opposition legislator Park Jie-won, a member of the parliament's intelligence committee, told local radio he had been briefed by the government on the North's move.
Mr Park said the regime is "pledging allegiance to Kim Jong-un", it reported.
Little is known about Kim Jong-il's youngest son, who is thought to have been born in 1983 or early 1984.
The Dong-a Ilbo added that the North is teaching its people a song lauding Kim Jong-un - who reportedly enjoys skiing and studied English, German and French at a Swiss school.
Nuclear concern
There is no confirmed photograph of him as an adult.
Questions have also been raised over whether his late mother, a Japanese-born professional dancer called Ko Yong-hui, was Kim Jong-il's official wife or mistress.
The youngest Kim has been reported as being the son who most resembles his father.
The BBC's Seoul correspondent, Chris Hogg, says it is not the first time there has been speculation that the youngest son was being groomed to succeed his father.
There were reports he had been named as his successor in January. In April the South Korean news agency, Yonhap, said he had joined the North's powerful National Defence Commission.
Our correspondent notes that in a society that values seniority his youth could be a problem.
Some analysts have urged caution, noting that in the absence of much verifiable information coming out of North Korea, there is a wealth of speculation and rumour.
"We had rumours in September, October that it will be Chang Song-taek, Kim Jong-il's brother-in-law, then briefly there were rumours about his second son, then stories about his third son," Andrei Lankov of the Australian National University in Seoul told our correspondent.
"Every few months we have a new wave of rumours."
Who will eventually rule the nuclear-armed North has been the focus of intense media speculation since leader Mr Kim, 67, reportedly suffered a stroke last August.
The last succession was settled 20 years before the death of the Great Leader Kim Il-sung in 1994, and publicly announced at a party congress in 1980.
The reports of the naming of the next leader come amid growing international concern over the North's nuclear programme and its recent missile tests.
South Korea has deployed a high-speed patrol boat armed with missiles to its disputed western maritime border with the North.
It follows reports that the North has moved a long-range missile to a launch site on the west coast.
Meanwhile, at the end of a two-day summit, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and leaders from the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) condemned North Korea's recent nuclear test and missile launches.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Plane searchers spot ocean debris
Brazilian aircraft searching for an Air France jet which went missing with 228 people aboard in an Atlantic storm have spotted debris on the ocean.
A plane seat and other items were sighted 650km (400 miles) north-east of Brazil's Fernando de Noronha island, the Brazilian air force said.
It could not be immediately confirmed that the debris came from the Airbus.
The jet was heading from Brazil to Paris when it vanished about four hours into its flight, early on Monday.
See a map of the plane's route
Air force spokesman Col Jorge Amaral said the seat had been spotted by search planes early on Tuesday.
There were also small white pieces of debris, material that may be metallic and signs of oil and kerosene, which is used as jet fuel.
"The search is continuing because it's very little material in relation to the size [of the Airbus A330],"Col Amaral added.
Officials, he said, needed "a piece that might have a serial number, some sort of identification" to be sure it came from the missing jet.
French Defence Minister Herve Morin has stressed there is still "no evidence whatsoever" as to the cause of the plane's loss
"We cannot, by definition, exclude a terrorist attack, because terrorism is the main threat for all Western democracies," he added.
'Life jacket'
Plane crews from Brazil, France and other countries had narrowed their search to a zone half-way between Brazil and west Africa, hoping to pick up signals from the Airbus's beacons.
Indications that debris had been spotted first came in the early hours of the morning when it was detected by a plane flying over the area where the Air France flight went missing, the BBC's Gary Duffy reports from Brazil.
Then, after first light, another aircraft was able to identify a variety of material at two separate points more than 60km apart.
Col Amaral was quoted by the Associated Press as saying a life jacket had been spotted amid the debris.
"The locations where the objects were found are towards the right of the point where the last signal of the plane was emitted," he told reporters in Rio.
"That suggests that it might have tried to make a turn, maybe to return to Fernando de Noronha, but that is just a hypothesis."
Searchers now planned to focus their efforts on collecting the debris and trying to identify it, he said.
Electrical failures
In his last radio message, at about 0200 GMT on Monday, the captain of Flight AF 447 reported entering turbulence, French media say.
Up to a dozen reports of electrical failures were sent automatically from the plane before it vanished over the ocean just after.
Most of the missing people are Brazilian or French but they include a total of 32 nationalities. Five Britons and three Irish citizens are among them.
Crisis centres have been set up at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and Rio's Tom Jobim international airport.
One of the Brazilians on board was Pedro Luis de Orleans e Braganca, a direct descendent of the last Brazilian emperior, Dom Pedro II, a spokesman for the family said.
Three young Irish doctors were also aboard, returning from two-week holiday in Brazil. Aisling Butler's father John paid tribute to his 26-year-old daughter, from Roscrea, County Tipperary.
"She was a truly wonderful, exciting girl," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
"She never flunked an exam in her life - nailed every one of them - and took it all in her stride."
Flight path of AF 447
1. 2200 GMT, 31 May: AF 447 leaves Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, bound for Paris
2. 0133 GMT, 1 June: Last radio contact with AF 447
3. 0148 GMT: Plane leaves radar surveillance zone off islands of Fernando de Noronha and enters band of stormy weather
4. 0214 GMT: Series of automated messages sent from AF 447 indicating electrical fault
5. 0220 GMT: AF 477 due to arrive in Senegal airspace but no contact received
A plane seat and other items were sighted 650km (400 miles) north-east of Brazil's Fernando de Noronha island, the Brazilian air force said.
It could not be immediately confirmed that the debris came from the Airbus.
The jet was heading from Brazil to Paris when it vanished about four hours into its flight, early on Monday.
See a map of the plane's route
Air force spokesman Col Jorge Amaral said the seat had been spotted by search planes early on Tuesday.
There were also small white pieces of debris, material that may be metallic and signs of oil and kerosene, which is used as jet fuel.
"The search is continuing because it's very little material in relation to the size [of the Airbus A330],"Col Amaral added.
Officials, he said, needed "a piece that might have a serial number, some sort of identification" to be sure it came from the missing jet.
French Defence Minister Herve Morin has stressed there is still "no evidence whatsoever" as to the cause of the plane's loss
"We cannot, by definition, exclude a terrorist attack, because terrorism is the main threat for all Western democracies," he added.
'Life jacket'
Plane crews from Brazil, France and other countries had narrowed their search to a zone half-way between Brazil and west Africa, hoping to pick up signals from the Airbus's beacons.
Indications that debris had been spotted first came in the early hours of the morning when it was detected by a plane flying over the area where the Air France flight went missing, the BBC's Gary Duffy reports from Brazil.
Then, after first light, another aircraft was able to identify a variety of material at two separate points more than 60km apart.
Col Amaral was quoted by the Associated Press as saying a life jacket had been spotted amid the debris.
"The locations where the objects were found are towards the right of the point where the last signal of the plane was emitted," he told reporters in Rio.
"That suggests that it might have tried to make a turn, maybe to return to Fernando de Noronha, but that is just a hypothesis."
Searchers now planned to focus their efforts on collecting the debris and trying to identify it, he said.
Electrical failures
In his last radio message, at about 0200 GMT on Monday, the captain of Flight AF 447 reported entering turbulence, French media say.
Up to a dozen reports of electrical failures were sent automatically from the plane before it vanished over the ocean just after.
Most of the missing people are Brazilian or French but they include a total of 32 nationalities. Five Britons and three Irish citizens are among them.
Crisis centres have been set up at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and Rio's Tom Jobim international airport.
One of the Brazilians on board was Pedro Luis de Orleans e Braganca, a direct descendent of the last Brazilian emperior, Dom Pedro II, a spokesman for the family said.
Three young Irish doctors were also aboard, returning from two-week holiday in Brazil. Aisling Butler's father John paid tribute to his 26-year-old daughter, from Roscrea, County Tipperary.
"She was a truly wonderful, exciting girl," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
"She never flunked an exam in her life - nailed every one of them - and took it all in her stride."
Flight path of AF 447
1. 2200 GMT, 31 May: AF 447 leaves Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, bound for Paris
2. 0133 GMT, 1 June: Last radio contact with AF 447
3. 0148 GMT: Plane leaves radar surveillance zone off islands of Fernando de Noronha and enters band of stormy weather
4. 0214 GMT: Series of automated messages sent from AF 447 indicating electrical fault
5. 0220 GMT: AF 477 due to arrive in Senegal airspace but no contact received
Monday, June 1, 2009
Killings provoke Kashmir protests
By Altaf Hussain
Violent protests are continuing across Indian-administered Kashmir, following the deaths of two women who many believe were raped by Indian troops.
The bodies of the two women were recovered on Saturday morning after they went missing on Friday.
A general strike called by separatist groups in response to the deaths of the women brought life in the Kashmir Valley to a standstill.
The government has ordered a judicial probe into the killings.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said an inquiry had become necessary because of the people's lack of faith in police investigations.
"Initial findings do not suggest either rape or murder. But there is a need to establish beyond doubt so that people are satisfied as far as possible.
"Most of the Valley is shut down. People want truth and they want it from a credible source," he said.
A retired high court judge, Justice Muzaffar Jan, has been given one month to complete the inquiry.
Action demanded
The incident has sent shockwaves throughout the Kashmir Valley in recent days. The separatist call for a strike was met with an overwhelming response as shops closed and traffic was suspended.
Daily demonstrations have paralysed the town of Shopian, where the women were from, as local residents demanded action from security forces.
The authorities have also imposed an undeclared curfew in the southern district of Shopian and police and paramilitaries have been deployed across the area.
The two women, who were sisters-in-law, went missing on the way home from their orchard on Friday. Their bodies were found the next morning, one in a canal and one on open ground about 1km (0.6 mile) away.
The results of the post-mortem report have not yet been made public.
On Saturday thousands of people marched in procession to the main square in Shopian town where they ransacked the local hospital in which the post-mortem had been performed.
The demonstrators allege that the women were gang-raped and subsequently killed by Indian security forces.
Local police reject the allegations saying that the women appeared to have drowned in a stream, the Associated Press news agency says.
Violent protests are continuing across Indian-administered Kashmir, following the deaths of two women who many believe were raped by Indian troops.
The bodies of the two women were recovered on Saturday morning after they went missing on Friday.
A general strike called by separatist groups in response to the deaths of the women brought life in the Kashmir Valley to a standstill.
The government has ordered a judicial probe into the killings.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said an inquiry had become necessary because of the people's lack of faith in police investigations.
"Initial findings do not suggest either rape or murder. But there is a need to establish beyond doubt so that people are satisfied as far as possible.
"Most of the Valley is shut down. People want truth and they want it from a credible source," he said.
A retired high court judge, Justice Muzaffar Jan, has been given one month to complete the inquiry.
Action demanded
The incident has sent shockwaves throughout the Kashmir Valley in recent days. The separatist call for a strike was met with an overwhelming response as shops closed and traffic was suspended.
Daily demonstrations have paralysed the town of Shopian, where the women were from, as local residents demanded action from security forces.
The authorities have also imposed an undeclared curfew in the southern district of Shopian and police and paramilitaries have been deployed across the area.
The two women, who were sisters-in-law, went missing on the way home from their orchard on Friday. Their bodies were found the next morning, one in a canal and one on open ground about 1km (0.6 mile) away.
The results of the post-mortem report have not yet been made public.
On Saturday thousands of people marched in procession to the main square in Shopian town where they ransacked the local hospital in which the post-mortem had been performed.
The demonstrators allege that the women were gang-raped and subsequently killed by Indian security forces.
Local police reject the allegations saying that the women appeared to have drowned in a stream, the Associated Press news agency says.
French Plane Lost in Ocean Storm
An Air France plane carrying 228 people from Brazil to France has vanished over the Atlantic after a possible lightning strike, airline officials say.
The Airbus sent an automatic message at 0214 GMT, four hours after leaving Rio de Janeiro, reporting a short circuit as it flew through strong turbulence.
It was well over the ocean when it was lost, making Brazilian and French search planes' task more difficult.
Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris has set up a crisis centre.
"We are without a doubt faced with an air disaster," Air France chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told reporters.
"The entire company is thinking of the families and shares their pain."
Flight AF 447 left Rio at 1900 local time (2200 GMT) on Sunday. It had 216 passengers and 12 crew on board, including three pilots. The passengers included one infant, seven children, 82 women and 126 men.
Most of those aboard were Brazilians while the others included 40 French people and at least 20 Germans, the French government said.
A number of Italians and Britons are also believed to have been aboard.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport to visit the crisis centre, AFP news agency reports.
'Long search'
The Airbus 330-200 had been expected to arrive in Paris at 1110 local time (0910 GMT).
It made its last radio contact at 0133 GMT (2233 Brazilian time) when it was 565km (360m) off Brazil's north-eastern coast, Brazil's air force said.
The crew said they were planning to enter Senegalese airspace at 0220 GMT and that the plane was flying normally at an altitude of 10,670m (35,000ft) and a speed of 840km/h (520mph).
At 0220, when Brazilian air traffic controllers saw the plane had not made its required radio call saying it was crossing into Senegalese airspace, air traffic control in the Senegalese capital was contacted.
At 0530 GMT, Brazil's air force launched a search-and-rescue mission, sending out a coast guard patrol plane and a specialised air force rescue aircraft.
"The plane might have been struck by lightning - it's a possibility," Francois Brousse, head of communications at Air France, told reporters in Paris.
Douglas Ferreira Machado, head of investigation and accident prevention for Brazil's Civil Aeronautics Agency, said the search would take "a long time".
"It could be a long, sad story," he told Brazil's Globo news. "The black box will be at the bottom of the sea."
France's minister responsible for transportation, Jean-Louis Borloo, ruled out hijacking as a cause of the plane's loss.
'No information'
An Air France official told AFP that people awaiting the flight would be received in a special area at Charles de Gaulle airport's second terminal.
Tearful relatives and friends were led away by airport staff after they arrived expecting to greet passengers.
About 20 relatives of passengers on board the flight arrived at Rio's international airport on Monday morning seeking information.
Bernardo Souza, who said his brother and sister-in-law were on the flight, complained he had received no details from Air France.
"I had to come to the airport but when I arrived I just found an empty counter," he was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
"With a lack of information, it is even more worrying."
Air France has opened a telephone hotline for friends and relatives of people on the plane - 00 33 157021055 for callers outside France and 0800 800812 for inside France.
This is the first major incident in Brazilian air space since a Tam flight crashed in Sao Paulo in July 2007 killing 199 people.
The Airbus sent an automatic message at 0214 GMT, four hours after leaving Rio de Janeiro, reporting a short circuit as it flew through strong turbulence.
It was well over the ocean when it was lost, making Brazilian and French search planes' task more difficult.
Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris has set up a crisis centre.
"We are without a doubt faced with an air disaster," Air France chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told reporters.
"The entire company is thinking of the families and shares their pain."
Flight AF 447 left Rio at 1900 local time (2200 GMT) on Sunday. It had 216 passengers and 12 crew on board, including three pilots. The passengers included one infant, seven children, 82 women and 126 men.
Most of those aboard were Brazilians while the others included 40 French people and at least 20 Germans, the French government said.
A number of Italians and Britons are also believed to have been aboard.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport to visit the crisis centre, AFP news agency reports.
'Long search'
The Airbus 330-200 had been expected to arrive in Paris at 1110 local time (0910 GMT).
It made its last radio contact at 0133 GMT (2233 Brazilian time) when it was 565km (360m) off Brazil's north-eastern coast, Brazil's air force said.
The crew said they were planning to enter Senegalese airspace at 0220 GMT and that the plane was flying normally at an altitude of 10,670m (35,000ft) and a speed of 840km/h (520mph).
At 0220, when Brazilian air traffic controllers saw the plane had not made its required radio call saying it was crossing into Senegalese airspace, air traffic control in the Senegalese capital was contacted.
At 0530 GMT, Brazil's air force launched a search-and-rescue mission, sending out a coast guard patrol plane and a specialised air force rescue aircraft.
"The plane might have been struck by lightning - it's a possibility," Francois Brousse, head of communications at Air France, told reporters in Paris.
Douglas Ferreira Machado, head of investigation and accident prevention for Brazil's Civil Aeronautics Agency, said the search would take "a long time".
"It could be a long, sad story," he told Brazil's Globo news. "The black box will be at the bottom of the sea."
France's minister responsible for transportation, Jean-Louis Borloo, ruled out hijacking as a cause of the plane's loss.
'No information'
An Air France official told AFP that people awaiting the flight would be received in a special area at Charles de Gaulle airport's second terminal.
Tearful relatives and friends were led away by airport staff after they arrived expecting to greet passengers.
About 20 relatives of passengers on board the flight arrived at Rio's international airport on Monday morning seeking information.
Bernardo Souza, who said his brother and sister-in-law were on the flight, complained he had received no details from Air France.
"I had to come to the airport but when I arrived I just found an empty counter," he was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
"With a lack of information, it is even more worrying."
Air France has opened a telephone hotline for friends and relatives of people on the plane - 00 33 157021055 for callers outside France and 0800 800812 for inside France.
This is the first major incident in Brazilian air space since a Tam flight crashed in Sao Paulo in July 2007 killing 199 people.
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