Kiev, Ukraine | AFP | Ukraine’s space agency said Tuesday that an engine type reportedly used in North Korean missiles was made at a Ukrainian factory, but solely for use in space rockets supplied to Russia. The development came after an expert report published Monday said Pyongyang’s recent rapid progress in …
Read More »Maduro orders Venezuela military drill after Trump threat
Caracas, Venezuela | AFP | Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro ordered the army to conduct a round of military drills later this month in response to US President Donald Trump’s threat of military action in the crisis-stricken nation. Maduro’s embattled government — facing a deepening economic emergency and swelling street protests — …
Read More »China says N.Korea crisis faces ‘turning point’
Beijing, China | AFP | China said Tuesday that the North Korean nuclear crisis had reached a “turning point” and it was time to enter peace talks. The comments by foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying came as the verbal sparring between the United States and North Korea took a less bellicose …
Read More »North Korea leader briefed on Guam missile plan: KCNA
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has been briefed on a plan to fire missiles near Guam but hinted that he would hold off on the launch, Pyongyang’s state media said Tuesday. Kim “examined the plan for a long time” and “discussed it” with commanding officers …
Read More »‘UPDF has not, and will not deploy in Kenya’
‘Uganda army has not, and will not deploy in Kenya’ Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has refuted media reports that they are on standby to support security operations in Kenya. “The UPDF wishes to totally denounce these allegations which are totally false, alarmist and misleading,” said Brig. …
Read More »Satellite photos suggest North Korea preparing submarine missile test: report
Washington, United States | AFP | Recent satellite photos suggest North Korea could be preparing for fresh submarine-based ballistic missile tests, an expert on its military said Friday. Joseph Bermudez, a specialist in North Korean defense and intelligence affairs, posted photographs on the authoritative 38 North blog of the US-Korea …
Read More »Nigerian forces in ‘unauthorised search’ of UN camp
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian forces conducted an unauthorised dawn raid on the UN’s main base in the country’s conflict-torn northeast on Friday, the UN said, further inflaming tensions between the government and aid groups. A UN source told AFP that the search of the camp in Maiduguri, known as …
Read More »North Korea hones Guam strike plans, mocks Trump
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Nuclear-armed North Korea announced a detailed plan Thursday to send a salvo of four missiles over Japan and towards the US territory of Guam, raising the stakes in a stand-off with President Donald Trump and mocking him as “bereft of reason”. The scheme to target …
Read More »US Navy sails close to artificial island in S. China Sea
Washington, United States | AFP | A US warship on Thursday sailed close to an artificial island China has built up in the South China Sea, as part of a “freedom of navigation” operation, a US official said. The USS John S. McCain destroyer sailed within six nautical miles of Mischief …
Read More »China warns against stoking Korea tensions after Trump ‘fury’
Beijing, China | AFP | China responded to US President Donald Trump’s apocalyptic “fire and fury” threat against North Korea by pointedly warning on Wednesday against any rhetoric that could inflame tensions over Pyongyang’s weapons programmes. Calling the situation on the Korean Peninsula “complicated and sensitive”, China’s foreign ministry issued a …
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