S. Korean navy fires warning shots on N. Korean ships
A South Korean naval vessel fired warning shots after two North Korean patrol boats crossed the disputed maritime border Friday, just before US President Barack Obama arrived in Seoul for a two-day visit. The two North Korean boats, which normally serve to keep fishing boats on the right side of the boundary, crossed “one nautical mile south” into South Korean waters, a defense ministry official told AFP.
China’s navy commissioned 17 new warships last year, the most of any nation. In a little more than a decade, it’s expected to have three aircraft carriers, giving it more clout than ever in a region of contested seas and festering territorial disputes.
President Barack Obama is warning of a “firm response” should North Korea go ahead with a fourth nuclear test that some analysts and officials say could take place in the coming days.
Tensions in Ukraine flare as EU calls for groups to lay down weapons
Ukrainian forces killed up to five pro-Moscow rebels on Thursday (24 April) prompting Russia to launch army drills near the border and raising fears the crisis is escalating. EU foreign affairs spokesman Michael Mann told reporters in Brussels that all parties to the joint Geneva statement must put pressure on the groups to help diffuse the recent rise in tensions.
West and Russia must unite to tackle radical Islam, says Tony Blair
Highlighting the ”growing” danger from religious extremism, the former prime minister is to call for it to be put at the ”top of the agenda”. Failing to ”take sides” with moderates in the Middle East and North Africa could mean the 21st century is dominated by conflict rather than peaceful coexistence, he will say. Mr Blair is due to make the intervention in a speech at Bloomberg in London on Wednesday morning.
Dutch scramble jets after Russian bombers approach
The Dutch defense department says several NATO member countries scrambled jets Wednesday afternoon after a pair of Russian bomber planes approached their airspace over the North Sea. The Dutch ministry identified the planes as two Russian TU-95 Bears, and said it had launched two F-16s from Volkel air force base to intercept them.
US troops arrive in Poland for exercises across Eastern Europe amid Ukraine crisis
U.S. Army paratroopers are arriving in Poland on Wednesday as part of a wave of U.S. troops heading to shore up America’s Eastern European allies in the face of Russian meddling in Ukraine. Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said an initial contingent of about 600 troops will head to four countries across Eastern Europe for military exercises over the next month.
US troops arrive in Poland for drills amid rising tensions over Ukraine
The first wave of US troops has arrived in Poland to begin military drills “promoting peace and stability” across Eastern Europe. Tensions continue to mount in the region, as Ukraine teeters on the brink of a civil war.
President Barack Obama’s trip to Asia this week will be dominated by a country he’s not even visiting: China. Each of the four nations on the president’s itinerary is involved in territorial disputes with an increasingly assertive China…years of military spending gains have boosted the capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army faster than many defense analysts expected…
Far-right parties are set to do well in next month’s elections to the European Parliament, a fact that has thrown a spotlight on their links with the Kremlin. A recent study by the Budapest-based Political Capital Institute documents the support that far-right parties in the EU have given to Russian President Vladimir Putin, particularly throughout the Ukraine crisis.
Russia is on God’s side – Pat Buchanan
Analyzing Vladimir Putin’s speech on the day when Russia reunited with Crimea, Pat Buchanan made a conclusion that “Russia is on God’s side. The West is Gomorrah.” Pat Buchanan, Former Assistant to the President for Communications gave his assessment of the Putin’s actions
South Korea said Tuesday that it identified an increased activity in North Korea nuclear test site and warned that it could well be preparing to carry out a fourth nuclear test.
US Vice-President Joe Biden has said Russia must “stop talking and start acting” to defuse the Ukraine crisis. He was speaking during a joint press conference in Kiev with interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. Mr Biden warned Russia that further “provocative behaviour” would lead to “greater isolation” and urged Moscow to end its alleged support for pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine.
Ed Davey: Russia holding world to ransom over energy
Energy ministers from leading nations hope to reduce the influence President Putin holds over the West by reducing their reliance on gas from Russia, The Times reported.
China has flexed its growing economic muscle in recent years by investing billions in American real estate and major U.S. companies like Smithfield Foods Inc. Now, it is jumping into the art market with multimillion-dollar offers to buy paintings and artifacts from American museums and collectors. But more than just investing, China wants to buy back its cultural heritage, experts say.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the Kiev authorities of breaking last week’s Geneva accord on resolving the Ukraine crisis. He said the Kiev government – not recognised by Moscow – had not moved to disarm illegal groups, especially the ultra-nationalist Right Sector. “Extremists are calling the tune,” he alleged, condemning a fatal shooting near Sloviansk, in eastern Ukraine.
China’s seizure of a Japanese cargo ship over a pre-war debt could hit business ties, Japan’s top government spokesman has warned. Shanghai Maritime Court said it had seized the Baosteel Emotion, owned by Mitsui OSK Lines, on Saturday. It said the seizure related to unpaid compensation for two Chinese ships leased in 1936.
Japan Begins First Military Expansion In More Than 40 Years
Japan began its first military expansion at the western end of its island chain in more than 40 years on Saturday, breaking ground on a radar station on a tropical island off Taiwan. The move risks angering China, locked in a dispute with Japan over nearby islands which they both claim.
Jews urged to flee Ukraine by Holocaust survivor
ALL Jewish people should leave Ukraine at once, a Holocaust survivor warned last night, after “grotesque” anti-Semitic leaflets were handed out in the country. The pamphlets and posters, distributed in the eastern Ukraine city of Donetsk, demanded that the Jewish population register, pay a new tax or leave.