North Korea confirms conducting nuclear warhead explosion

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

• North Korea has confirmed that it conducted a nuclear warhead explosion, believed to be the country’s most powerful nuclear test so far. Pyongyang said the test was meant to counter what it called US hostility towards the country and that the North is now capable of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic rockets.
• South Korean President Park Geun-hye has reacted to North Korea’s latest nuclear test, calling the move an act of self-destruction. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also strongly slammed the test as absolutely unacceptable. US President Barack Obama warned North Korea of serious consequences.
• US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Geneva for high-level talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. The two will discuss efforts to forge a nationwide truce in Syria and improve aid delivery. On Thursday, the Pentagon downplayed hopes of reaching an agreement.
• The top military commander of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terrorist group, Abu Omar Saraqeb, has been reportedly killed in an airstrike in northern Syria. It is not yet clear which country conducted the airstrike. The terror group operates against the Syrian army and harms civilians across the war-torn country.
• US Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says if she is elected, she would work with Tel Aviv to make sure Israel’s strategic military edge is preserved. In an interview with Israel's Channel Two television Clinton also pledged close military and intelligence coordination with Israel.
• A Dutch lawmaker has refused to shake hands with the visiting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the city of The Hague. Tunahan Kuzu said the red carpet is rolled out for Netanyahu while the bloodshed of Gaza has been forgotten. Netanyahu's visit to the Netherlands has also sparked angry protests.
• The United Nations has warned that Nigeria is on the brink of a large-scale famine that could claim the lives of thousands of people if remains unaddressed. The UN says its missions in Nigeria have recorded emergency levels of severe malnutrition in Borno state, where Boko Haram terrorists are most active.
• People in Brazil have again taken to the streets to rally against the newly-installed government of President Michel Temer. The protesters slammed a recent Senate vote that stripped Dilma Rousseff of the presidency. Rousseff was impeached on charges of manipulating state budget before the presidential election in 2014.

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