For the second time in less than a month, North Korea has fired a missile over Japan. This time, a ballistic missile was sent soaring overhead Hokkaido. The move was a direct reaction to Security Council sanctions put into effect against the country. The United States called on China and Russia to take “direct actions” in retaliation, effectively attempting to hand over the diplomatic mess it created to neighbours of North Korea.

Hamza bin Laden, Osama bin Laden’s son, has called for Muslims to wage jihad against “crusaders” and Shiites in Syria. Bin Laden the younger had become a vocal propagandist in the wake of bin Laden the senior’s death in 2011. Intelligence analysts have Hamza pipped as the next leader of al-Qaeda. Expect his face on a deck of cards near you.

The Papal representative has stated that the Pope will not visit Kinshasa until elections are held. Calling the DRC a “predatory state”, Monsignor Luis Mariano Montemayor noted that the Pope was “saddened” by the political divide between Congolese people and its political fat cats.

Nasa’s Saturn explorer Cassini has run out of fuel as expected, putting it on a collision course with its host planet. Launched 20 years ago, Cassini circled Saturn and contributed to an enormous amount of knowledge about the solar system. Cassini will make one final contact with Nasa this morning, following which it will plunge into Saturn, allowing it a heroic Viking-esque end to its life.

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