Chinese firm suspected in missile-linked sale to North Korea: U.S. official

(Reuters) - The United States believes a Chinese firm sold North Korea components for a missile transporter showcased in a recent military parade and will press Beijing to tighten enforcement of a U.N. ban on such military sales, a U.S. official said on Saturday.

The Obama administration suspects the Chinese manufacturer sold the chassis - not the entire vehicle - and may have believed it was for civilian purposes, which means it would not be an intentional violation of U.N. sanctions, the senior official said.

But such a sale - coming to light amid tensions over a failed North Korean rocket launch earlier this month - raises concerns in Washington on whether China is making enough of an effort to abide by the prohibition on weapons sales to Pyongyang.

The New York Times first reported on U.S. findings about the origin of parts of the transporter launcher system - essentially a large truck on top of which a missile is mounted - displayed in a parade in Pyongyang on Sunday. Read More

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8 Americans Died of Heroin Overdose in Afghanistan, Army records show...and More are hooked

(CNN) -- Eight American soldiers died of overdoses involving heroin, morphine or other opiates during deployments in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011, according to U.S. Army investigative reports.

The overdoses were revealed in documents detailing how the Army investigated a total of 56 soldiers, including the eight who fell victim to overdoses, on suspicion of possessing, using or distributing heroin and other opiates.

At the same time, heroin use apparently is on the rise in the Army overall, as military statistics show that the number of soldiers testing positive for heroin has grown from 10 instances in fiscal year 2002 to 116 in fiscal year 2010. Read More

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French ICRC official kidnapped in Yemen

(CNN) -- A French official of the International Committee of the Red Cross was kidnapped Saturday in western Yemen, an ICRC spokeswoman said.

The ICRC official, whose identity was not disclosed, was taken about 30 kilometers (19 miles) outside of Hudaida, a coastal city on the Red Sea, said Dibeh Fakhr. He was traveling with two Yemeni drivers, who were also taken but then released, she said. They were unharmed.

"Until now, we have no contact with the kidnappers or our employee," Fakhr told CNN.

The spokeswoman declined to identify the official because of concerns for his safety. For the same reason, she said she would not comment on the possible identity of the kidnappers. Read More

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China, Russia start joint naval exercises in Yellow Sea

(CNN) -- Chinese and Russian warships began six-day joint naval exercises Sunday in the Yellow Sea, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

"The exercises will involve several simulated missions, including the rescue of a hijacked ship, the escort of a commercial vessel and the defense (of) a convoy from air and sea attacks," a Russian defense ministry spokesman said Friday, according to Russia's RIA Novosti news agency.

The war game will include 16 Chinese vessels and two submarines, as well as 13 aircraft and five shipboard helicopters, Xinhua said. The agency said four Russian warships and three Russian supply ships arrived Saturday.

More than 4,000 Chinese service members will attend the exercises, Xinhua said, citing navy sources. Source

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UN monitors should be from neutral countries, like BRICS: Syria

DAMASCUS: Syria has said it was ready to facilitate UN monitors, but stressed that a majority of them should be from "neutral countries" like BRICS, which also includes India.

Syria also stressed that while it was committed to the UN-backed peace plan, the Western powers wanted it to fail due to their own agenda.

"The Syrian government is committed to the success of the UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan," Syria's Information Minister Adnan Mahmoud told a group of Indian journalists visiting Syria.

"We welcome the UN observers from countries like BRICS which look at the situation objectively. Syria is committed to the Annan plan and will facilitate the UN mission," he said. Read More

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MI5 agents betrayed Libyan dissidents to Gaddafi's goons in rendezvous just yards from store

MI5 betrayed enemies of Colonel Gaddafi given refuge in Britain in a covert joint operation with Libyan spies working on UK soil, documents obtained by The Mail on Sunday reveal.

Gaddafi’s secret agents were supplied by MI5 with intelligence, secure mobile phones and a luxurious safe house in the heart of London’s Knightsbridge.

The extraordinary revelations emerge from hundreds of secret documents unearthed from Libyan spymasters’ archives after the Gaddafi regime was toppled – with British military help – last year.

Shockingly, they reveal tactics of intimidation and coercion – and expose the British agents’ specific fears that their actions might be reported by the press in the UK.

The documents disclose that MI5 betrayed the confidentiality that all refugees are promised when they apply for asylum, and told the Libyans that the targets could be threatened with deportation to Libya if they refused to co-operate.

The revelations will cause a political storm. David Davis, the senior Tory MP, said they made clear that the 2004 operation to arrange the ‘rendition’ of former Gaddafi opponent Abdel Hakim Belhadj from Bangkok to Tripoli was ‘merely the start of a continuing intelligence saga’. Read More

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China military warns US of confrontation over seas

(Reuters) - China's military warned the United States on Saturday that U.S.-Philippine military exercises have raised risks of armed confrontation over the disputed South China Sea in the toughest high-level warning yet after weeks of tensions.

China's official Liberation Army Daily warned that recent jostling with the Philippines over disputed seas where both countries have sent ships could boil over into outright conflict, and laid much of the blame at Washington's door.

This week American and Filipino troops launched a fortnight of annual naval drills amid the stand-off between Beijing and Manila, who have accused each other of encroaching on sovereign seas near the Scarborough Shoal, west of a former U.S. navy base at Subic Bay.

The joint exercises are held in different seas around the Philippines; the leg that takes place in the South China Sea area starts on Monday.

"Anyone with clear eyes saw long ago that behind these drills is reflected a mentality that will lead the South China Sea issue down a fork in the road towards military confrontation and resolution through armed force," said the commentary in the Chinese paper, which is the chief mouthpiece of the People's Liberation Army. Read More

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Huge explosives haul seized in Kabul

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Afghan security officials said Saturday they had seized 10 tonnes of explosives and foiled plans to stage attacks in the capital, Kabul.

Three Pakistani citizens and two Afghans were captured, the National Directorate of Security said in a statement.

The five suspected militants confessed their involvement during questioning and admitted to being members of Pakistani and Afghan Taliban terrorist groups, the NDS said.

The explosives -- amounting to about 22,045 pounds -- were hidden under bags of potatoes in a big truck with Pakistani license plates, it said. Read More

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UN Passes Resolution On Syria Monitors...And so it Begins

The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a resolution allowing a 300-strong ceasefire monitoring mission in Syria, despite the strong doubts of many Western nations.

Under UN resolution 2043, the unarmed military observers will be sent if UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon decides it is safe for them to go.

Envoys from several western nations highlighted the risks of sending the monitors as violence has not stopped amid a ceasefire.

Foreign Secretary William Hague welcomed the vote decision and implementation of the UN and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan’s six-point plan.

"This resolution increases the pressure on the Syrian regime to begin a transition to a democratic, plural political system. I welcome the fact that the council reaffirmed its full support for this goal," Mr Hague said.

"However, I remain extremely concerned that the Syrian regime is still failing to meet its commitments, and that there has been further violence and the use of heavy weapons since 12 April when a ceasefire should have come into effect." Read More

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Obama urges Sudan, South Sudan to resolve issues through dialogue

(CNN) -- U.S. President Barack Obama urged Sudan and South Sudan to resolve their outstanding issues through dialogue and avoid a return to war amid soaring tensions between the neighboring nations.

Clashes have escalated between Sudan and South Sudan in recent days following Sudan airstrikes targeting the South and the latter seizing the disputed oil-rich region of Heglig.

South Sudan said Saturday that its troops have left the region, but maintained its claim that Heglig is its territory.

Sudan troops are now in control of the region, but if they continue with attacks, South Sudan will retake it, said Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon, the South Sudanese vice president.

Both nations have a choice to avoid a return to war, Obama said in a videotape message to citizens of both nations . Read More

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Free Syrian Army Terrorists Expose Each Other, Murder, Rape and Pillage

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Syria peacekeeping plan 'doomed'

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Taliban claims responsibility in Black Hawk crash, believed to have killed four U.S. soldiers

The Taliban claimed responsibility for shooting down a Black Hawk helicopter in Afghanistan on Thursday night.

Four U.S. soldiers are believed to be have been killed in the crash, which happened in the south-west of the country.

Officials had initially suggested that unspecified weather difficulties were the cause of the accident.

But on Friday CNN received a statement from a Taliban spokesman. It said: 'Yesterday (Thursday) evening Taliban fighters shot down a helicopter and killed all its passengers in Khanashen Dewalak area near Garmsir, southern Helmand province,'

In a brief official announcement, the American military command in Kabul said there were 'no confirmed reports' of casualties 'at this time'. Read More

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'Terrorists Blow Up Oil Pipeline' in Syria

Terrorists have blown up an oil pipeline in eastern Syria, according to the state news agency.

The alleged incident comes after the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) renewed its call for the United Nations to intervene militarily in the country.

"We call anew on the UN Security Council to act with all urgency to intervene militarily to bring an end to the crimes committed by the bloody regime against the unarmed Syrian people," the SNC said in a statement.

The group claims government forces entered the Bayyada neighbourhood of Homs and attacked local residents.

It said "streets and houses were full of the bodies of martyrs and the destruction terrifying."

Troops have lauched repeated assaults on the city since the beginning of the year in a bid to retake rebel-held districts. Read More

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China offers to send monitors to Syria

April 20 - China backs ceasefire agreement between U.N. and Syria, and offers to send its own monitors. Sarah Wali reports.

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North Korea concludes investigation into failed rocket launch

Hong Kong (CNN) -- North Korea says its scientists have concluded their investigation into the failure of the country's long-range rocket launch last week, but it declined to divulge why the flight ended in a trail of debris strewn across the sea.

Experts have "wound up the specific and scientific probe into the cause" of the rocket's failure to put a satellite into orbit, the official Korean Central News Agency said in a report late Thursday without elaborating on what the cause was.

Pyongyang had insisted that the purpose of the launch was to send an "earth observation satellite" into space. But the United States, South Korea and Japan called the operation a ballistic missile test in disguise. Read More

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South Sudan says it is withdrawing from disputed oil region

(CNN) -- South Sudan announced Friday it was withdrawing its troops from a contested oil-rich area it seized last week in a move that escalated tensions and fears of a return to war with Sudan.

"An orderly withdrawal will commence immediately and shall be completed within three days," said Barnaba Marial Benjamin, South Sudan's information minister, adding that his country still claims Panthou, or Heglig as it is known in Sudan.

However, Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations said his government's forces drove out the invaders from the south.

"They were forced to withdraw," Ambassador Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman told reporters in New York. "They were chased out. If you remember a few days back, the president of the South and a number of their officials started to talk about conditional withdrawal, but yesterday they are being cornered, we fought against them and we chased them out. It is not a withdrawal. We chased them out." Read More

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Thousands march in Auschwitz to commemorate Holocaust Day

April 19 - Thousands gather at former Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau for March of the Living commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day.

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Mass North Korean rally denounces South - 15th April 2012

April 20 - Tens of thousands take part in a mass rally in Pyongyang to denounce South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

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China assisting North Korean missile program: Panetta

(Reuters) - China has provided some assistance to North Korea's missile program, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Thursday, a week after the hermit state's failed rocket launch triggered international condemnation.

Under United Nations Security Council resolutions from 2006 and 2009, states, including China, are banned from helping North Korea with its ballistic missile program, its nuclear activities as well as supplying heavy weapons.

Beijing has denied it has broken any rules, although a modern missile transporter seen in Sunday's military parade to celebrate the founder of North Korea was said by some western military experts to be of Chinese design and possibly origin.

"I'm sure there's been some help coming from China. Read More

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