Thesun 2009-06-22 Page09 Uncovered N

theSun

9

| MONDAY JUNE 22 2009

news without borders

Uncovered – N. Korea’s palaces and labour camps LONDON: US researchers are using the internet to reveal what life is really like behind the closed borders of the world’s last Stalinist dictatorship The most comprehensive picture of what goes on inside the secret state of North Korea has emerged from an innovative US project. The location of extraordinary palaces, labour camps and the mass graves of famine victims have all been identified. The online operation that has penetrated the world’s last remaining iron curtain is called North Korea Uncovered. Founded by Curtis Melvin, a postgraduate student at George Mason University, Virginia, it uses Google Earth, photographs, academic and specialist reports and a global network of contributors who have visited or studied the country. Melvin says the collaborative project is an example of “democratised intelligence”. He is the first to emphasise that the picture is far from complete, but it is, until the country opens up, the best we have. The palatial residences of the political elite are easy to identify as they are in sharp contrast to the majority of housing in the deeply impoverished state. Though details about many palaces’ names, occupants and uses are hard to verify, it is known that such buildings are the exclusive domain of Kim Jong-Il, his family and his top political aides. Kim Jong-Il is believed to have between 10 and 17 palaces, many of which have been spotted on Google Earth: This lies about 18 miles north-east of Pyongyang and has an elaborate garden, set around many lakes. There are numerous guest houses, and a banqueting hall, within the security-fenced perimeter. Kenji Fujimoto, who served as Kim Jong-Il’s cook from 1988 until 2001, said entertainment at Kangdong included bowling, shooting and roller-skating. There is also a racetrack next to the complex and Kangdong airfield is just 2.5 miles away. North Korean prison camps are split into two main types. Firstly the kwan li-so, translated as “political penal-labour colonies”. These camps contain the political prisoners, and often their families, who are imprisoned without trial, usually for life. Sentences involve slave labour within the camps. The other type of camp, the kyo-hwa-so, are smaller penal-labour camps. These usually hold criminal offenders who are subject to a judicial process and fixed sentencing, after which they can be released. Kyo-hwa-so prisoners are also forced to do hard labour in mining, logging, textile manufacturing and more. North Korea was hit by a famine in the 1990s that killed a huge number of its people. Estimates of the death toll between 1995 and 1998 vary from 600,000 to 3.5 million from a population of 22 million. Google Earth images have revealed mass graves on the hills around the city of Hamhung. One can see a multitude of distinctive mounds packed on to the slopes. The graves begin within a well-organised cemetery then spread. The small mounds consume the entire hill, the hills around it and nearly all the unoccupied land surrounding the city. One North Korea Uncovered researcher, Joshua Stanton, believes the number of graves exceeds 100,000, and if the smaller and less dense burial areas are included, the total could be twice that figure. – The Independent

EARTHREPORT Week Ending June 19 Climate change now THE most comprehensive US government report on climate change to date says global warming has already altered the climate in parts of the country, with far worse consequences likely if greenhouse gas emissions are not curbed soon. The report pegs man-made pollution as the primary cause of the environmental changes. It points to higher average temperatures in the Midwest in recent decades, especially in winter. Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States says temperatures in the US will rise slightly faster than the rest of the world at between 4 and 11 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100. The rate will depend on how quickly and how much greenhouse gas emissions are curbed.

Swine flu mutation BRAZILIAN researchers say they have identified a new strain of the H1N1 swine flu virus in samples taken from a patient in Sao Paulo. The mutated strain shows changes in the hemagglutinin protein, which allows the virus to infect new hosts, the Adolfo Lutz Bacteriological Institute said. But it was unclear if the mutation makes the new strain more aggressive than the current H1N1 virus, which has spread to at least 76 countries around the world, causing more than 160 deaths.The young Sao Paulo man who provided the sample has made a full recovery.

Pacific cyclone AN area of disturbed weather that passed over the Philippines collected into Tropical Storm Linfa late in the week. Maximum winds were predicted to reach over 50 mph late in the week.

Earthquake A wide area around Peru’s second-largest city of Arequipa was jolted by a 5.1 magnitude quake that kicked up clouds of dust and sent people dashing from their homes. – Universal Press Syndicate

World’s oldest man dies LONDON:Tomoji Tanabe, the world’s oldest man, died in his sleep at his home in southern Japan on Saturday, a city official said. He was 113. “He died peacefully. His family members were with him,” said Junko Nakao, a city official in Miyakonojo on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu. Tanabe died of heart failure, she said. Tanabe, who was born on 18 Sept, 1895, had eight children – five sons and three daughters. The former city land surveyor also had 25 grandchildren, 53 great-grandchildren, and six great-greatgrandchildren, according to a statement from the Miyakonojo city. He was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest man when he was 111 years old. His favourite meals were fried shrimp and Japanese miso soup with clams, the statement said. Great War veteran Henry Allingham is now believed to be the world’s oldest man following the death. – The Independent

Spain launches ‘Spanish language day’ MADRID: Spain on Saturday launched the first international day to celebrate the Spanish language, spoken by 450 million people around the world, with events planned in 43 countries. The Cervantes Institute, which promotes Spanish language and culture, said it held open days at its 73 branches “to increase the visibility of the Spanish language in the world.” At the institute’s headquarters in Madrid, the day was officially launched when a compressed air cannon blasted out thousands of bits of coloured paper into the street with Spanish words on them. In addition, concerts, films, storytelling and children’s workshops were held throughout the day. – AFP