Six In The Morning

China calls for calm as North Korea 'readies rocket force' to attack US targets

AP

FRIDAY 29 MARCH 2013

North Korea's leader responded Friday to America's use of nuclear-capable B-2 bombers in joint South Korean military drills with more angry rhetoric, saying his rocket forces are ready “to settle accounts with the U.S.”

The threats, while not an indication of imminent war, are most likely aimed at coercing South Korea into softening its policies, to win direct talks and aid from Washington, and to strengthen young leader Kim Jong Un's credentials at home.

Kim “convened an urgent operation meeting” with his senior generals early Friday, signed a rocket preparation plan and ordered his forces on standby to strike the U.S. mainland, South Korea, Guam and Hawaii, state media reported.

Bersani fails to form new Italian government

Centre-left leader cites unacceptable conditions demanded for formation of coalition

Paddy Agnew

Italy’s ongoing government – or indeed no-government – crisis appeared to deepen last night when centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani, after a week of broad consultations with all the major social partners and political parties, reported to President Giorgio Napolitano that he was not in a position to form a new government.

As a result, the ball is yet again back in the court of the president, who in a statement last night indicated he would intervene personally “without delay” in an attempt to identify “possible future developments”.

Even though the context is different, it would appear the clock has been turned back to November 2011, when the president played a critical role in forming the technocrat government of current prime minister Mario Monti, urgently appointed as Italy stood on the brink of financial collapse.

ARMS EXPORTS

Iran, North Korea, Syria block UN Arms Trade Treaty

A proposal to regulate the global weapons trade has failed to win unanimous support at the UN, opposed by Iran, Syria and North Korea. Diplomats hope the bill could still pass via a General Assembly vote.

The three countries rejected the UN's Arms Trade Treaty on Thursday, complaining that the document was flawed and failed to prevent the sale of weapons to rebel groups. Iran, North Korea and Syria are all currently under some form of UN arms sanctions. Several other countries had cited concerns and secured ammendments to the draft during a difficult negotiating period, but they agreed to accept the final text.

"There is no consensus for the adoption of this text," said Australian Ambassador Peter Woolcott, who chaired the talks in New York.

The three things that CAR taught us

28 MAR 2013 09:55 - JOHN STUPART

By now much of the dust has settled around the battle which waged for roughly 13 hours a few kilometres outside Bangui at checkpoint PK12

There is a lot of finger-pointing and many questions around why the hell we were there in the first place. Before larger allegations of uranium and oil deals emerge between South Africa, CAR, France, and god knows who else, we should take stock of three important points that can be learned regardless of how the forthcoming weeks proceed.

Our soldiers fought well
There is a longstanding misconception that our soldiers cannot fight: that they’re all HIV-positive layabouts incapable of doing any actual soldiering. Naturally this might be true for certain portions of the military, as it would be for virtually any defence force around the world, but Saturday’s fire fight proved, above everything else, that our soldiers are not only capable of defending themselves, they are able to fight back with a tempo that rivals most international forces of the same calibre.

Venezuela's precampaign season off to a roaring start

Venezuela's presidential campaigning doesn't officially begin until April, but both candidates have gotten a head start. Interim President Nicolás Maduro has a leg up with his access to state media.

By Emiliana Duarte, Guest blogger / March 28, 2013

Let’s recap of the first seven days of non-campaigncampaigning, or in criollo doublespeak: pre-campaña. Technically, you see, the official campaign only starts on April 1 and lasts a mere 10 days. Obviously neither candidate has taken the [electoral commission] CNE campaign schedule particularly seriously.

[Opposition candidate Henrique] Capriles began a nation-wide stump tour, hitting two states per day, holding mass outdoor rallies that follow, more or less, the same format. His Asambleas Populares, as they’re called, kick off with four or five speakers who articulate their grievances – campaign sources confirm the testimonials always center on five key issues: 

Middle East

Iranian people caught in crossfire of duel By Farideh Farhi HONOLULU - Since Barack Obama became president of the United States, messages marking the Iranian New Year - Norouz - celebrated at the onset of spring have become yearly affairs. So have responses given by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from the city of Mashhad where he makes a yearly pilgrimage to visit the shrine of Shi'ite Islam's eighth imam, Imam Reza.  This year, like the first year of Obama's presidency, the two leaders' public messages had added significance because of the positive signals broadcast by both sides after Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany met in Almaty, Kazakhstan in March. The second meeting is slotted to occur April 6.  Considering that the exchanged messages came in the midst of ongoing talks, a degree of softened language and the abandonment of threats was expected.