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North Korea warns of third
nuke test, rocket launches
Mali Islamist group splits, faction leader wants talks
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Don’t force political union, UK PM tells European Union
US military lifts ban on women in combat
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North Korea warns of third nuke test, rocket launches Seoul, January 24 The announcement by the country's top military body came a day after the U.N. Security Council agreed to a US-backed resolution to censure and sanction North Korea for a rocket launch in December that breached UN rules. North Korea is not believed to have the technology to deliver a nuclear warhead capable of hitting the continental United States, although its December launch showed it had the capacity to deliver a rocket that could travel 10,000 km (6,200 miles), potentially putting San Francisco in range, according to an intelligence assessment by South Korea. "We are not disguising the fact that the various satellites and long-range rockets that we will fire and the high-level nuclear test we will carry out are targeted at the United States," North Korea's National Defence Commission said, according to state news agency KCNA. North Korea is believed by South Korea and other observers to be "technically ready" for a third nuclear test, and the decision to go ahead rests with leader Kim Jong-un, who pressed ahead with the December rocket launch in defiance of the UN sanctions. China, the one major diplomatic ally of the isolated and impoverished North, agreed to the U.S.-backed resolution and it also supported resolutions in 2006 and 2009 after Pyongyang's two earlier nuclear tests. —
Reuters
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Mali Islamist group splits, faction leader wants talks Dakar, January 24 Alghabass Ag Intallah, a senior member of the Tuareg-led Ansar Dine group which helped seize northern Mali last year from government forces, said he had created a new organisation, the Islamic Movement of Azawad (MIA), and was ready to seek a negotiated solution to Mali's conflict. A French-led military operation is underway in Mali to drive back the Islamist fighters who launched a surprise push southward toward the capital Bamako two weeks ago. An African ground force is being deployed to support French and Malian troops. "We want to wage our war and not that of AQIM," Ag Intallah said by telephone, referring to Al-Qaida's North African wing which has been at the heart of the takeover of the vast desert north by Malian and foreign Islamist fighters. "There has to be a ceasefire so there can be talks," he said, speaking from the town of Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold in northeast Mali seized by Ansar Dine last year. "The aim is to speak about the situation in the north." — Reuters
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Don’t force political union, UK PM tells European Union Davos, January 24 Cameron's comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland came a day after he promised Britons a vote on quitting the European Union, saying the country would hold a referendum on its membership by the end of 2017 if he wins the next election. His words were among his most combative to an international audience on the future direction of the EU, but were also designed to reassure EU states and investors that Britain had no intention of turning its back on the EU, despite the planned referendum and the uncertainty it has generated. "Countries in Europe have their histories, their traditions, their institutions, want their own sovereignty, their ability to make their own choices, and to try and shoehorn countries into a centralised political union would be a great mistake for Europe, and Britain wouldn't be part of it," he said in a speech. Britain wanted to reform the EU from the inside for its own benefit and for the benefit of the bloc's other 26 members, Cameron said, adding he believed the EU had to reorient itself. As the euro zone navigates its debt crisis and eyes closer integration, Cameron has said he wants Britain to repatriate certain powers. —
Reuters
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US military lifts ban on women in combat Washington, January 24 The announcement in this regard to lift the direct combat exclusion rule for women in the US military is expected by Panetta and General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, a senior US Defence official said. The official, however, provided no further details and did not indicate when the announcement might take place. US lawmakers termed it as a historic decision. "I support it. It reflects the reality of 21st century military operations," said Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. — PTI
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15,000 crocodiles escape from South African farm Pak SC for registering case against PM NAB officer’s death: Hearing begins Heavy smog grounds flights in China |
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North Korea said on Thursday it would carry out further rocket launches and a nuclear test that would target the United States, dramatically stepping up its threats against a country it called its "sworn enemy".
A faction of one of the armed Islamist groups occupying the north of the Mali has split off from its Al-Qaida allies and says it is willing to hold talks with the government, the leader of the new group said on Thursday.
Washington, January 24
