United States postpones test of intercontinental ballistic missile amid North Korea tensions
The Minuteman 3 test has been delayed amid concerns it could be misinterpreted by the North Korea regime
The United States has delayed a long-planned intercontinental ballistic missile test next week because of growing tensions with North Korea, a defence official has said.
The Minuteman 3 test has been delayed amid concerns it could be misinterpreted by the North Korean regime and exacerbate the crisis in the peninsula.
Postponing the test, which was due to take place at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Tuesday, was "prudent and wise," the defence official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
BUSINESS
Trade fair can't mask German-Russian tensions
Russia is the partner country for the 2013 Hannover Messe - the trade fair for the industrial sector. While German-Russian economic ties are booming, political problems are straining relations between the countries.
The partnership with the Russian Federation for this year's Hanover Trade Fair - the Hannover Messe - is coming at the right time, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She also emphasized Germany and Russia's working shoulder-to-shoulder in their "Russia Year in Germany" and "Germany Year in Russia" events. The Hannover Messe 2013 offers an opportunity to deepen cooperation between the countries, the German leader said.
Orphanages on list of shame
April 7, 2013
Lindsay Murdoch
South-East Asia correspondent for Fairfax Media
Dozens of orphanages in Cambodia, including some run by Australians, have been accused of abuse, neglect or exploiting children to attract donations.
The government in Phnom Penh is cracking down on the multimillion-dollar orphanage industry after investigators discovered shocking abuses of children and a list has been compiled of centres targeted for raids and closure.
Children in one orphanage told investigators how they were forced to crawl while they were beaten with sticks and had to eat rice from the ground as punishment for failing to recite Bible psalms, says SISHA, an anti-trafficking and exploitation organisation working with government agencies in Phnom Penh.
Surprise disarmament exercise leaves soldier dead in Mali
A surprise operation in Bamako to disarm police thought to be close to the authors of Mali's 2012 coup sparked a clash that left one soldier dead, a military source said.
A police officer was wounded in the leg during the Saturday raid on a police camp in the Malian capital, the source told AFP.
"It was a policeman who refused to disarm that fired on the soldier who died," the source said. "The same policeman let off another shot by mistake that wounded one of his comrades," he added.
An AFP reporter saw the body of the dead soldier, as well as the wounded policeman, in the courtyard of the police camp.
Soldiers and gendarmes had surrounded the camp before seizing several automatic weapons. Around 10 police were arrested including three women, but five escaped over the camp's perimeter wall, the source said.
Ban the killer robots before it's too late
By Noel Sharkey, Special to CNN
Editor's note: Noel Sharkey is Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics and Professor of Public Engagement at the UK's University of Sheffield and Chairman of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control.
(CNN) -- As wars become increasingly automated, we must ask ourselves how far we want to delegate responsibility to machines. Where do we want to draw the line?
Weapons systems have been evolving for millennia and there have always been attempts to resist them. But does that mean that we should just sit back and accept our fate and hand over the ultimate responsibility for killing to machines?
Over the last few months there has been an increasing debate about
the use of fully autonomous robot weapons: armed robots that once
launched can select their own targets and kill them without further human intervention
Frank Gardner's return to Saudi Arabia
The Arab Spring seemed to pass Saudi Arabia by. Though its human rights record has been criticised and youth unemployment is rising, the ruling family retains absolute power. But BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner, critically injured in a militant attack there nine years ago, found subtle signs of change on his first trip back.
It's late afternoon in Riyadh, about the same time of day we got attacked here nine years ago.
I try not to think about that as I wheel off the plane into the capital's futuristic airport.
Already, I can sense a palpable difference from my last visit. In the cavernous arrivals hall there are international coffee shops, Western travellers in shorts, I even catch a Customs man smiling.
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