Comdr. of Syria's al-Farouq rebels Abdul Razzaq Talas killed

 << Comdr. of Syria's al-Farouq rebels killed

Syrian rebel group leader Abdul Razzaq Talas, whose al-Farouq group is accused of participation in terror attacks in the country, has been killed.

The mystery of missile defence

The mystery of missile defence

After the latest failed missile defence tests, critics wonder why the US has spent $100bn on the system.

The cold war ended two decades ago, but dreams of an impenetrable missile shield from Ronald Reagan - who once called the Soviet Union an "evil empire" - are firmly back on the US national security agenda. Late on Wednesday, the US tested its newest round of interceptors, spending $100m to blast a missile from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean towards California.The anti-ballistic missile system failed, as the kill vehicle designed to blow the projectile out of the sky missed its target, adding to a long-list of unsuccessful tests for the expensive weaponisation scheme.Since the end of the cold war the US has spent "approximately $100bn" on missile defence systems, Richard Lehner, a spokesman for the Missile Defence Agency, told Al Jazeera.Wednesday’s failed long-range test was important because it involved an attempt to intercept a dummy warhead, rather than the usual testing scheme of just maneuvering the missile to a particular point in space, said Ian Anthony, the research coordinator for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a think-tank in Sweden.

Big bucks

Despite constant technological problems with the system, the White House has requested $9.9bn for missile defence programmes for the next fiscal year (2011), Anthony told Al Jazeera.

Those vast sums of money concern Theodore Postol, a professor of science and international security at MIT and a former scientific adviser to the head of US naval operations. The weapons expert, hardly a liberal dove, just doesn’t believe missile defence can work technologically.

View Mapping the missiles in a larger map

Euro may become new reserve currency - Putin

Speaking at an economic forum in Berlin Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that Euro may become a good reserve currency.“Due to the financial problems of Portugal, Greece and Ireland euro is a bit shaky but in general it is a reliable currency” he said. He urged the European countries to move away from the monopoly of the American dollar as the reserve currency. According to him this makes the global economy unbalanced.At the same time he said that the US is not losing its leading position.“Nobody is interested in it and nobody needs new disasters.

All countries should work together to make the global economy more efficient” Putin said.

Transnistria Associates Its Security with the Russian Federation Military Contingent

A. Arshinova: Transnistria Associates Its Security with the Russian Federation Military Contingent and Peacekeepers

The acting President of Moldova Mihai Ghimpu’s appeal letter to NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen with a request to assist in the withdrawal of Russian troops from Moldova is predictable. This opinion was expressed to the portal Peacekeeper.Ru by Alena Arshinova, regional policy coordinator of the Young Guard of United Russia. “Firstly, this action was taken by Ghimpu on the eve of the NATO summit in Lisbon, in which Russia's president Dmitry Medvedev is planning to take part. Secondly, this is not the first statement to be announced within a campaign of Mihai Ghimpu and his party in parliamentary elections. The rule in Moldova is to earn political bonuses using the Transnistrian topic. In the Republic of Moldova there are forces which associate themselves with Romania and NATO and resolve all problems by requesting assistance and support in similar structures – this is an opposition to Russia and russian influence in the region,” said Alena Arshinova.  “The official Kishinev's attempts to unilaterally resolve the Moldo-Transnistrian problem, including the issue of the Russian military contingent presence on the territory of Transdniestria – have not led yet to any good results: this is an information, railway and economic blockade around the unrecognized republic, A. Arshinova reminded, but such behavior on the part of Moldova only mobilizes and consolidates Transdniestrians.” According to her, such appeals concerning the presence of the Russian Federation peacekeeping forces on the territory of Transnistria on the part of high-ranking leaders of Moldova are puzzling. “Russia’s peacemaking operation in Transnistria is the world's most successful operation, there was not a single shot for 18 years during which time there was not a single shot,” said the MGER coordinator. “I would emphasize that the population of Transnistria does not believe the Moldovan leadership and associates its security with the Russian Federation military contingent and peacekeepers, who are lawfully staying in the territory of Transnistria and carry out their mission,” said A.Arshinova. “Politicians of the Republic of Moldova are seeking to change the format of the peacemaking operation on the Dniester, alleging as their reason that de jure Transnistria is Moldova’s territory. But let's not forget, and all the more deceive others and ourselves: De facto Transnistria is the republic independent of Moldova, and the process of peaceful settlement of the Moldo-Transnistrian conflict has been going on up till now. Such statements just irritate the parties to the 5 +2 format negotiations, especially the Transnistrian side. Such actions discourage from reaching a rapid peaceful settlement . As for Moldova, this country is not marked by consistency and coherence-based approaches: Unfortunately the RM does not comply with previous agreements, and from time to time breaks the negotiation process in order to please momentary political vortex,” said Alena Arshinova. 

2010-11-18 09:27

North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire

North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire

INCHEON, South Korea — North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire Tuesday after the North shelled an island near their disputed sea border, killing at least two South Korean marines, setting dozens of buildings ablaze and sending civilians fleeing for shelter.The clash, which put South Korea's military on high alert, was one of the rivals' most dramatic confrontations since the Korean War ended, and one of the few to put civilians at risk, though no nonmilitary deaths were immediately reported. Sixteen South Korean soldiers and three civilians were injured and the extent of casualties on the northern side was unknown. (Scroll down for video.) The skirmish began when Pyongyang warned the South to halt military drills in the area, according to South Korean officials. When Seoul refused and began firing artillery into disputed waters, albeit away from the North Korean shore, the North retaliated by bombarding the small island of Yeonpyeong, which houses South Korean military installations and a small civilian population. South Korea responded by firing K-9 155mm self-propelled howitzers and dispatching fighter jets. Officials in Seoul said there could be considerable North Korean casualties. The entire skirmish lasted about an hour.