North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has dismissed the leader of the national military and called for war preparations to be stepped up, state media reported on Thursday.
Mr Kim dismissed chief of the general staff Pak Su-il at a meeting of senior generals from his ruling Worker's Party, replacing him with Vice Marshal Ri Yong-gil, Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency reported.
Mr Pak, who was promoted to the post late last year, may have been dismissed "because he did not demonstrate sufficient competence in the field of military operations", Cheong Seong-chang, a researcher at the Sejong Institute told AFP.
"Kim Jong-un has shown a tendency to quickly replace officials when they are judged to be lacking in the ability to control and perform their duties," he said.
Mr Ri was the "most suitable" replacement because he has previously held the position for a long time, Mr Cheong added.
State media, which published photos of Mr Kim at Thursday meeting pointing to maps of South Korea, said the gathering was held to discuss "the issue of making full war preparations" and ensuring "perfect military readiness for a war".
The North Korean leader called for war readiness on an "offensive" scale amid growing co-operation between the US and its ally South Korea, which has condemned a number of ballistic missile launches from North Korea in recent months.
Mr Kim signed an order to implement unspecified “important military measures," the report added, and called for the military to step up mass production of weapons and stage "actual war drills".
North Korea said it viewed major military drills between Washington and Seoul as preparation for an invasion and has warned of an "overwhelming" response.
It has launched several long-range missiles towards South Korea and Japan, prompting the US to urge its East Asian allies to co-operate more closely and beware of growing Chinese and North Korean threats.
The latest report appeared to be North Korea's "own response to the upcoming joint military training between Seoul and Washington", an official from Seoul's Unification Ministry said.
"I think he wanted to send a message to the South with a threatening action," the source added, referring to the photo of Mr Kim with a map of Seoul.
Last month, Mr Kim gave Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu a tour of an arms exhibition featuring missiles banned under UN Security Council resolutions.
It was the first visit of a Moscow defence chief to North Korea since the fall of the Soviet Union.
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Timeline
1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line
1962
250 GTO is unveiled
1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company
1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens
1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made
1987
F40 launched
1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent
2002
The Enzo model is announced
2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi
2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled
2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives
2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company
2015
Ferrari launches on Wall Street
2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
