newswirk.com » War Zone

North Korean Satellite’s Revolutionary Songs

admin — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 07:41:35 +0000

North Korea said the satellite launched on saturday is now transmitting revolutionary songs while circling around the earth.

Tokyo requested an emergency session of the Security Council to call for a stern response to the launch, Japan’s U.N. spokesman Yutaka Arima said. The U.N. said it would meet Sunday afternoon in New York.

The South had put its 680,000-strong military on heightened alert against any border provocations by the North’s 1.2 million member armed forces, while Foreign Minister Yu Myung-Hwan said the launch breached Resolution 1718.

Israel carried out Sudan ‘air strike’

admin — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:15:17 +0000

The US channel CBS News reported that Israeli aircraft carried out the strike in January after Israeli intelligence discovered the trucks were intending to deliver arms through Sudan and across Egypt to be smuggled into Gaza. CBS said this account was the “semi-official American version” and said 39 people travelling in 17 trucks were reportedly killed.

Israeli officials have not commented publicly on reports that their planes may have been involved.

Israel’s Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, did not confirm any raid but said Israel hit everywhere to stop terror.

“That was true in the north,” said Mr Olmert, “and it was true in the south … Those who need to know, know there is no place where Israel cannot operate.”

North Korea Interrogating US Journalists

admin — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:41:51 +0000

Two American journalists arrested last week on the Chinese border have been transferred to the North Korean capital Pyongyang for interrogation, according to reports, as tension mounts over the North’s plans to test-fire a long-range rocket next week.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee, of the San Franciso-based Current TV, have been held for almost a week after being arrested while on assignment on North Korea’s northwestern border with China.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee, journalists working for Current TV, based in San Francisco, were in “intense interrogation,” with investigators poring through their notebooks, videotapes and camera for signs they were spying on the North’s military facilities, JoongAng Ilbo reported, citing an unidentified South Korean intelligence official.

Obama’s Warning to Afghan President

admin — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:37:52 +0000

Mr Obama used a 60 Minutes interview on Sunday night to set out more limited objectives in Afghanistan, where he said the “central mission” was to prevent terrorists plotting violence against America. “There’s got to be an exit strategy,” he said. “There’s got to be a sense that this is not perpetual drift.” Mr Obama expects a better return for the investment of so much blood and money in Afghanistan than a weak Government riddled with corruption that spends much of its time complaining about the American-led Nato forces.

Obama has approved an additional 17,000 U.S. troops to go to Afghanistan this year, bolstering 33,000 already there, to counter the Taliban’s growing resurgence in recent years in the volatile southern part of the country. He has described that as the most difficult decision of his young presidency.

In the coming days, he is expected to announce his broader rethinking of U.S. strategy and goals in the war, including changed tactics and lowered expectations for the difficult conflict. Top aides to Obama are recommending that the United States combine a boost in military deployments with a steep increase in civilian experts to combat a growing insurgency in Afghanistan, senior U.S. officials say.

Iran: West must respect Afghan wishes

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:44:30 +0000

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki urges the West to respect the will of Afghans if it intends to resolve Afghanistan’s challenges.

Iran has been invited by the United States to attend the conference in The Hague, but has so far not confirmed its participation.

Mottaki, quoted by IRNA, said the meeting at the end of the month “must focus especially on the true challenges in Afghanistan, namely respect for the will of the Afghan people and respect for its traditions.”

Mottaki’s remarks came ahead of a March 31 conference that will be held in The Hague on Afghanistan. Another conference of foreign ministers will be held on Afghanistan on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of Eight industrialized nations (G8) to be held in Trieste in June.

Sudanese president back home from visit to Eritrea

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:41:19 +0000

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir returned home on Monday after paying a short visit to Eritrea during which he held talks with his Eritrean counterpart Isayas Afewerki, the state television reported.

Eritrea invited Mr. Bashir earlier this month, soon after the International Criminal Court (or ICC) indicted him for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Mr. Bashir arrived Monday in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, and held talks with President Isaias Afwerki before returning to Khartoum later in the day.

Eritrea invited Mr. Bashir earlier this month, soon after the International Criminal Court (or ICC) indicted him for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Mr. Bashir arrived Monday in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, and held talks with President Isaias Afwerki before returning to Khartoum later in the day.

China gets ‘more aggressive’ against U.S. ships

admin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:00:34 +0000

China’s military is increasing harassment of Navy survey ships, activities viewed by U.S. intelligence as the most aggressive since 2001, when a Chinese jet flew into a U.S. EP-3 surveillance plane and set off an international crisis. Chinese diplomats have work to do to keep a confrontation between American and Chinese naval vessels from damaging a relationship that President Barack Obama deems crucial to confronting the world’s toughest crises.

China says a U.S. Navy mapping ship confronted by Chinese vessels Sunday was operating illegally in China’s exclusive economic zone. The United States says Chinese ships surrounded and harassed the Navy vessel in international waters in the South China Sea.

U.S shown the Door in Kyrgyzstan

admin — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 06:39:26 +0000

The Kyrgyz parliament has revoked all agreements it made with countries from the U.S.-led antiterrorist coalition in relation to use of Manas air base, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reports.

The Kyrgyz Parliament voted 90 to 1 on Friday to end agreements with 11 allies of the United States who use the Manas Air Base as a refueling and transport hub for the war in Afghanistan.

Kyrgyzstan says U.S. troops have to leave Kyrgyz territory by August 20.
Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbaev said Bishkek is not currently negotiating with Washington on the air base’s future.
Sarbaev added that U.S. troops are preparing to leave Manas air base in the near future.
The military base was established to assist the coalition’s operations in Afghanistan.