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Kim Jong Un Calls for Stronger North Korea Nuclear Deterrent

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, making his first public statement in three weeks, ordered military leaders to increase the country’s “nuclear war deterrence,” the official Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday.

The meeting of the Seventh Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea also discussed putting the nation’s strategic armed forces on high alert, and increasing the standing army’s firepower.

Kim spoke of the need to fix “unreasonable machinery and compositional defects” of the military, adding that the issue made it harder for the organization to better defend itself from “foreign forces,” according to KCNA.

State media also released photos of Kim purportedly at the meeting, including one of him standing in front of a presentation board with a long white pointer held toward what looks like a blurred out, black-and-white photo.

The report is the first apparent confirmation of Kim’s activities since he was photographed at a May Day ceremony opening a fertilizer plant. On April 11, he chaired a meeting of the party’s central committee.

Australia’s Victoria State Eases Virus Lockdown, Urges Vigilance

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Australia’s second-most populous state will reopen galleries and museums and allow bigger outdoor gatherings in a week as the rate of new coronavirus infections remains flat.

Skateparks, outdoor gyms and playgrounds will reopen from Tuesday and from just before midnight on May 31, as many as 20 people can gather inside a home or outside, Premier Daniel Andrews said Sunday.

If community transmission rates remain low, there will be a further easing of restrictions from June 22, including allowing as many as 50 people inside cafes, restaurants, and for the first time, cinemas and theaters. People should continue to work from home until at least the end of June, Andrews said.

“It’s up to all of us to make this work,” he said. “In all your activities, be considered. Be cautious. Use your common sense.”

Australia has a three-stage plan to reopen the economy by the end of July, after lockdown restrictions smashed businesses, particularly in the hospitality and services industry. The nation’s eight state and territory governments are moving at their own pace, depending on the number of Covid-19 infections in their jurisdictions.

Ex-Congressman Allen West Injured in Texas Crash

Waco, Texas (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Allen West of Florida was injured in a motorcycle crash Saturday in Texas.

The former congressman was in stable condition after having been airlifted to a hospital, according to a Saturday night post on West’s Facebook page.

The Facebook post said West was on his motorcycle when a car cut him off, causing him to collide with another motorcyclist.

West’s wife, Angela Graham-West, earlier wrote on Facebook that the crash occurred outside Waco.

The Dallas Morning News reported that West attended a rally Saturday morning at the Texas Capitol that was focused on reopening the state amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Former state Sen. Don Huffines told the newspaper West got in the accident on the way back from the rally.

West, a Republican, moved from Florida to Texas after leaving Congress in 2013. He served one term and once called for then-President Barack Obama’s impeachment.

West is running for chair of the Republican Party of Texas.

Turkey Raises Tax on Individual FX Purchases to Aid Virus Battle

Turkey hiked the tax on individual foreign currency purchases to raise additional resources to battle the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The so-called bank and insurance transaction tax rate on individual foreign exchange purchases has been raised to 1% from 0.2%, according to a statement in the Official Gazette on Sunday.

The tax won’t apply to interbank market and credit transactions, foreign exchange purchases by Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Ministry, to exporters or to those paying loans in foreign currencies.

Ex-Congressman Allen West Of Florida Injured In Motorcycle Crash

WACO, Texas (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Allen West of Florida was injured in a motorcycle crash Saturday in Texas.

The former congressman was in stable condition after having been airlifted to a hospital, according to a Saturday night post on West’s Facebook page.

The Facebook post said West was on his motorcycle when a car cut him off, causing him to collide with another motorcyclist.

West’s wife, Angela Graham-West, earlier wrote on Facebook that the crash occurred outside Waco.

The Dallas Morning News reported that West attended a rally Saturday morning at the Texas Capitol that was focused on reopening the state amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Former state Sen. Don Huffines told the newspaper West got in the accident on the way back from the rally.

West, a Republican, moved from Florida to Texas after leaving Congress in 2013. He served one term and once called for then-President Barack Obama’s impeachment.

West is running for chair of the Republican Party of Texas.