Sledgehammer of cyber warfare? EMP attack
But that may not be the worst of it. Those same adversaries – China, Russia, Iran and North Korea – also incorporate in their military doctrine the use of a nuclear electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, attack as “part of a strategic operation that would basically ‘throw the kitchen sink’ at the United States.” “The last, an EMP, is their best chance to collapse our national power grid and take us down, perhaps permanently,”
‘Gigantic jet’ lightning over China reaches 55 miles high
The first confirmed gigantic jet was reported in 2001, after American researchers saw a blue jet reaching 44 miles (70 km) above the clouds at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. This was nearly double the 26-mile (42 km) limit for jets that was previously observed.
Iran exploring second route to nuclear bomb
The newspaper published images on its website which appear to show steam rising from forced air coolers, suggesting heavy-water production at the plant, which has been closed to international inspectors for 18 months.
Syrian tank shell lands in Golan Heights
Residents of a town in the Golan Heights reported hearing a loud blast in the area Wednesday morning. A 100 mm tank shell fired from Syria was then found near the community.
The Telegraph can disclose details of activity at a heavily-guarded Iranian facility from which international inspectors have been barred for 18 months. The images, taken earlier this month, show that Iran has activated the Arak heavy-water production plant. Heavy water is needed to operate a nuclear reactor that can produce plutonium, which could then be used to make a bomb.
Several people have been killed and seriously injured during a shooting at a factory near the Swiss city of Lucerne, police say. The incident happened at the Kronospan wood processing plant in the town of Menznau, police said in a statement. Swiss media said shooting started in the canteen at around 09:00 (08:00 GMT).
An official count shows at least 26,121 people were reported missing during the term of President Felipe Calderon, who launched the country’s offensive against drug cartels, Mexico’s new administration said Tuesday. Lia Limon, the Interior Department’s subsecretary for human rights, said the list used data from local prosecutors across Mexico, and includes people reported missing for any reason during the previous administration. It doesn’t include information collected after November 2012.
France’s defense minister said Tuesday that French troops are involved in “very violent fighting” in the mountains of northern Mali and that it’s too early to talk about a quick pullout from the West African country, despite the growing cost of the intervention.
Mali Islamists warned about Sharia in al-Qaeda ‘manifesto’
A “manifesto” left by Islamists in Mali indicates that disagreements between them may have led to their defeat – so far – on the battlefield. The document, published by a French newspaper, is said to contain advice by the head of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Abdel Malek Droukdel. It criticises militants in Mali for implementing Islamic law too quickly and predicts France’s intervention.
Rocket explodes in Israel, first attack from Gaza since November truce
A rocket fired from Gaza exploded in Israel on Tuesday, the first such attack since a November truce and an apparent show of solidarity with West Bank protests after the death of a Palestinian in an Israeli jail.
Huge explosion rattles Syrian capital
Damascus residents and state-run TV say a huge explosion has shaken the city. The blast followed by heavy gunfire caused panic in the capital, where a massive car bombing on Thursday near the ruling Baath party headquarters killed at least 53 people.
Medvedev Warns of ‘Full-Blown Wars’
“At some point such actions, which undermine state sovereignty, may well end in a full-blown regional war and even – I’m not trying to spook anyone – the use of nuclear weapons,” he said. The right of nations to choose their own path of development is a universal value, he said referring to the situation in Syria and the Middle East as a whole ahead of a G8 summit.
Erdoğan: Assad a ‘mute devil’ for not defying Israel
Turkey’s prime minister denounced Syria’s leader Sunday, calling him a “mute devil” for carrying out attacks on his own people but not standing up to Israel’s occupation of Syrian territory.