Defiant North Korea ‘to weaponize plutonium’

North Korea said Saturday it would strengthen its nuclear capabilities, a defiant protest against the U.N. Security Council’s move to tighten sanctions against it. North Korea officials said they were enriching uranium and would weaponize all plutonium, according to KCNA, the state-run North Korean news agency.

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NASA scrubs Saturday launch of space shuttle Endeavour

A gaseous hydrogen leak on the space shuttle Endeavour forced NASA to cancel Saturday’s planned launch, the space agency said. NASA halted fueling of the shuttle after detecting the leak on a vent line that leads from the ground umbilical carrier plate to the launch pad and to the “flare stack” where vented hydrogen is burned off, the space agency said.

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China exports slide a reality check on recovery

Hopes for a China-led recovery to the world economy got a reality check Thursday, as government data showed the country’s exports in May fell a record 26.4 percent compared to last year. With recent disappointing trade figures from South Korea, Taiwan and Germany, the numbers out of China suggests no light yet in sight at the end of the recessionary tunnel.

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WHO to consider declaring swine flu pandemic

The World Health Organization scheduled an emergency meeting for Thursday to decide whether to declare a global swine flu pandemic as confirmed cases of H1N1 virus continue to soar worldwide. By early Thursday morning, the U.N. health agency had recorded more than 27,700 cases in 74 countries, with 141 deaths.

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Japanese researcher recalls imprisonment in North Korea

As the trial for two American journalists began Thursday in North Korea, a former Japanese journalist has recounted his experience while he was imprisoned in the country for about two years. “When I was first arrested, I thought my life had ended. I was wondering how I would be killed, by public execution, by poisoning” Takashi Sugishima told CNN in a recent interview.

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Why our ‘amazing’ science fiction future fizzled

At the 1964 New York World’s Fair, people stood in line for hours to look at a strange sight. They wanted to see the “Futurama,” a miniaturized replica of a typical 21st century American city that featured moving sidewalks, computer-guided cars zipping along congestion-free highways and resort hotels beneath the sea

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