South Korea speeds up creation of Kim Jong Un 'decapitation unit'

South Korea is ratcheting up its rhetoric against Pyongyang with a new threat: Come at us, and we'll cut off the head of the snake.

The country is speeding up plans to set up what some call a "decapitation unit," a brigade specifically tasked with targeting North Korea's "wartime command," including leader Kim Jong Un, according to a South Korea Defense Ministry official.

The unit will be activated in the "event of war," the official said. Technically, South Korea and North Korea are still at war; they signed an armistice in 1953 but not a treaty.

The brigade was initially supposed to be ready in 2019, but the Defense Ministry now says it'll be established "by this year."

The move comes after a series of provocations by Pyongyang, including broadcasting images of Kim leading a combat drill targeting the South Korea's presidential residence, the Blue House.

The South Korean Defense Ministry says it believes North Korea will stage more nuclear and missile tests in 2017, despite sanctions and pressure from the international community.

Kim promised as much in his New Year's speech when he said that the country was close to testing an intercontinental ballistic missile.

It's a worrying development for Seoul, though many analysts say the country's missiles aren't yet developed enough to deliver a nuclear warhead.

It has been rumored for some time that South Korea has so-called "decapitation units," said Professor Choi Jong-kun from Yonsei University.

He said by making what would seem like a sensitive military tactic public, South Korea is sending a message to the North.

"It's a signal game," Choi said. But he also says it's a mistake.

"We do not have the leadership yet," he said. "We need to essentially maintain a defensive posture while essentially maintaining a low profile."

South Korea's in the midst of a leadership crisis after President Park Geun-hye's impeachment.

Many in the South Korean left believe that the Defense Ministry -- which is made up of more hawkish elements -- shouldn't be making important tactical decisions while the government is in turmoil.

"The pattern has been such that the Ministry of Defense tends to be more aggressive, they tend to be much more in control of South Korea's national Korea's policy," he said.

"Often times, their decisions and announcements tend to be much overblown."

Syria War: latest joke in the Syrian capital is also a prayer of sorts: "May the gold you hold become water."

Nour, a housewife in Damascus, says the latest joke in the Syrian capital is also a prayer of sorts: "May the gold you hold become water."

It is a half-hearted attempt to make light of a water crisis that is impacting millions in Damascus, a city that has been relatively sheltered from the violence raging elsewhere in the country.

Nour said that her family just got water on Tuesday morning, after four days without access. Her family quickly lined up to use the shower and she switched on the washing machine. Now, when she hears the sound of the water motor running, she says it is "like a wedding."

"When the water comes, it's the same joy as a mom having a boy after 10 daughters," Nour said. She did not feel comfortable sharing her last name with CNN.

Some four million people in Damascus have suffered from acute water shortages for more than a week after springs outside the Syrian capital were targeted, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement on December 29.

Water from the Wadi Barada and Ain al-Fija springs, which serve 70 percent of the population in and around Damascus, was cut after infrastructure was damaged in fierce clashes. OCHA described the damages as "deliberate," without saying who was responsible.

Dems: GOP Wants to 'Make America Sick Again' With Obamacare Repeal Effort

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is ready to fight Republicans over their plans to dismantle Obamacare—and he’s got a slogan to encapsulate the effort: “Make America Sick Again.”

"Less health care and it will cost more," Schumer (D-N.Y.) told Politico’s Playbook. "And it will create chaos. Because you cannot repeal a plan and put nothing in its place. It doesn’t matter if you say the repeal won’t take place for year or two years.”

Schumer said the Democrats will be using the slogan nationwide during health care-themed rallies, which will start Jan. 15, as part of a new messaging campaign designed to save Obama’s signature health law.

"Our message is not just on Obamacare. Our message is don’t cut health care," Schumer told Politico. "Medicare. Medicaid. Obamacare."

And he’s confident his Democratic colleagues won’t be interested in helping Republicans rework the law.

"I’ve talked to just about every one of my colleagues," Schumer said. "Obviously they’re not going to say we won’t look at anything. But the idea of just tweaking a Republican plan that takes away these benefits, the bottom line is there is virtual unanimity in our caucus that we’re all from Missouri: Show me. If they show us a plan, and it’s a plan that we can live with, of course. But we’re not going to sit down in a room with them once they repeal and say let’s figure out a joint plan."

Israeli president- Reuven Rivlin opposes contacts with Europe's far-right

Indirectly rejecting overtures by Austria's right-wing party toward Israel, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has told Jewish officials that he strongly opposes contacts between European parties with a history of anti-Semitism and his country's officials.

Rivlin, in a letter emailed to The Associated Press Wednesday by Vienna's Jewish Community, says he will "never condone" meetings between representatives of Israel and "European parties of the far right that are tainted with a history of anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial ... or the promotion of racial hatred or intolerance."

Dated Dec. 20, the letter is in response to one sent in November by World Jewish Congress Vice President Ariel Muzicant and Vienna Jewish Community head Oskar Deutsch that the community also emailed to the AP.

The two complain that "certain politicians in Israel are willing to meet populist parties of the European extreme right," including Austria's Freedom Party and ask Israeli leaders "to draw a very clear red line between us (the Jews/Israel) and those who represent hate, Neonazism and anti-Semitism.

Founded by former Nazi officials after the war, the Freedom Party has ditched anti-Jewish outbursts in the last two decades to concentrate on wooing a broader voter base.

It has become Austria's strongest political force, due in great part to disenchantment with established parties. Although Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer lost presidential elections last month, he garnered more than 46 percent of the vote.

The party describes itself as right-wing but not far right. But its supporters also include the neo-Nazi fringe, and its surge in popularity is largely linked to the embrace of many Austrians of an anti-immigration message tinged with anti-Muslim overtones.

Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache last year blamed "uncontrolled immigration" for the "import of Islamic anti-Semitism" to Europe, at a party event entitled "The New Anti-Semitism in Europe" that the party says was attended by several former Israeli Knesset members.

Rivlin told Muzicant and Deutsch that his comments applied to all "political parties you mention." But The Freedom Party rejected any link to itself.

A party statement Wednesday said that in past visits to Israel, Strache had met officially with government ministers and Knesset members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party. And it quoted Freedom Party legislator David Lasar, himself a member of the Vienna Jewish Community, as saying the party is "neither extreme right, nor racist and definitely not anti-Semitic."

"We ...condemn the Holocaust as the most horrible crime in human history," he said.

Pipeline Bombings in Southern Iran,Arab separatists claim responsibility

An Arab separatist group has claimed two pipeline bombings in Iran's oil-rich south and threatened to launch more attacks in the coming year as the country tries to boost production following the nuclear deal with world powers.

Iranian Interior Ministry spokesman Salman Samani later denied the claim by the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, which said it bombed the pipelines early Tuesday morning in Khuzestan province.

The militants released online video they said showed one of the pipelines exploding. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the footage, though previous attacks have been attributed to the group.

The separatists' statement said the bombings came in response to Iran's Oil Ministry publishing a list of 29 international companies qualified to bid for projects following the atomic accord.

The group said 2017 will be "very different to previous years since the movement has prepared detailed and precise plans to carry out a number of high-quality important operations against the Iranian enemy state."

Coordinated pipeline attacks could hinder Iran's efforts to recoup cash lost under international sanctions. The country has boosted production to around 3.8 million barrels of oil a day since the deal.

Iran has faced low-level separatist unrest from Kurds in its northwest, the Baluch in its east and Arabs in its south since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In recent months, however, such attacks have grown in scale. Iran in June announced breaking up what it called one of the "biggest terrorist plots" ever on Iranian soil by Sunni extremists.

Tensions also remain high between the Shiite power and Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia.

Ban Ki Moon Bows Out As UN Secretary-General

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon bade goodbye to staff and Permanent Representatives at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday, being his last official working day as the UN scribe.

Ban, whose 10-year tenure comes to an end on Dec. 31, was full of appreciation for the opportunity to serve.
The outgoing two-term UN Scribe was also full of praise for the UN staff for their hard work and was thankful to those who had gathered to wish him well.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” the outgoing secretary-general, who assumed office on Jan. 1, 2007, said continuously, as he waved to his well-wishers, some of whom were close to tears.

“I thank all of you the staff and the delegations for your hard work and leadership for humanity.

“I have been motivated by this commitment and I am proud to call you my colleagues,” the two-term scribe, whose tenure has been described by many as “eventful”, said.

He re-emphasised that sustainable development, climate change, gender empowerment and youth, among other issues, had been at the top of his agenda in his 10-year tenure.

“It has been a privilege to serve the world’s people.

“And it has been an honour to serve with you and all our partners, including Member States, civil society, and many more,” he stressed.

The eighth UN scribe urged the enthusiastic gathering to “keep believing and working hard” to achieve the noble goals of the UN and to be a “voice for the voiceless”.

Ban’s last day in office will be the culmination of a decade of service at the helm of the UN, during which he sought to mobilise world leaders around a set of new global challenges, his office said.

“The challenges ranged from climate change and economic upheaval to pandemics and increasing pressures involving food, energy and water.

“In addition, he has sought to be a bridge-builder, to give voice to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people, and to strengthen the 193-member global organisation itself.”

For his last day in office on Dec. 31, Ban would serve as a special guest on Saturday at the annual New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square, according to his office.

He would join New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to push the Waterford crystal button and lead the 60 seconds countdown to the New Year.

Approximately two million revelers are expected to fill the fabled Square, joined by over 198 million Americans and more than one billion television viewers worldwide.

The revelers would ring in the New Year watching the historic Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball Drop, according to the event organisers.

Ban began his first term as Secretary-General on Jan. 1, 2007, and was unanimously re-elected by the General Assembly to a second term on June 21, 2011.

He will be succeeded on Jan. 1, 2017 by António Guterres, of Portugal, who was formally appointed by the UN General Assembly on Oct. 13, 2016.