http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/foreign-news/ en-us Mon, 6 Jul 2009 05:02:49 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286310/posts The top Russian military commander, the Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Defense Minister Army-General Nikolai Makarov during the Paris air show this week said: "Georgia is saber-rattling and preparing weapons to resolve its territorial problems by any means." Makarov accused NATO of supporting Georgian aggressive intentions and E.U. observers of ignoring Georgian rearmament and war preparations. Makarov stated that the Russian army and the FSB Border Guards in Abkhazia and South Ossetia are preparing together with local forces and forming new military infrastructure. He confirmed that the defense ministry will permanently station "somewhat less combat troops in... JamesTown http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286310/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 05:02:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286299/posts A national strike by thousands of rain-forest Indians is spawning accusations of a proxy war involving Venezuela and an emboldened peasant movement seeking to undermine Peru's pro-U.S. president. For more than two months, thousands of natives have been protesting land reforms issued by President Alan Garcia. The laws -- required by a U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement -- open vast tracts of rain forest to private energy and agriculture investment. In April, natives angered by the new laws donned war paint and grabbed spears, overran roads and rivers, seized control of jungle oil facilities and blocked rural airports. Mr. Garcia initially... washington times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286299/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 04:40:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286289/posts "Iran said Sunday it has released a British-Greek journalist detained for two weeks during its postelection crackdown..." Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286289/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 04:21:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286279/posts US pressures IAI to drop bid on fighter jets to India By YAAKOV KATZ Under pressure from the Pentagon, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has been forced to back out of a joint partnership with a Swedish aerospace company to compete in a multi-billion dollar tender to sell new multi-role fighter jets to the Indian Air Force. The deal, estimated at a whopping $12 billion for over 120 new aircraft, is being fought over by Lockheed Martin's F-16, Boeing's F-18/Hornet, Russia's MiG-35 and BAE's Eurofighter. IAI was asked by Saab, manufacturer of the Gripen fighter jet, to jointly develop an advanced... The Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286279/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 04:08:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286277/posts 35 Years After by Ari Bussel While in Israel, I was invited to visit the old cemetery of Tsfat. Major restoration work is taking place there, alongside a hillside spread with stones. Underneath are hundreds of graves. Over the centuries, their tombstones became rubble, washed away by rain, exposing some of the graves underneath. This was my opportunity to learn that all tombstones in a Jewish cemetery face East, thus all headrests are aligned, row after row, toward Jerusalem. A separate section of the cemetery is the final resting place of a group of school children murdered 35 years ago... "Postcards from Israel - Postcards from America" http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286277/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 04:08:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286263/posts On Monday July 6, President Barack Obama is expected in Moscow for a summit to discuss nuclear arms control, Iran, Afghanistan the post-Soviet space and other issues. It has been announced that Obama will spend most of July 6 in formal as well as informal talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. There will be a joint press conference and a late night dinner with spouses (RIA Novosti, July 1). The two presidents will concentrate on discussing a progress report from the Russian and American negotiating teams that are working on preparing a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) (Interfax,... Eurasia Daily Monitor http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286263/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 03:28:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286262/posts WASHINGTON – Colin Powell says the U.S. took too long to strengthen its forces in Iraq after Baghdad fell early in the war. Powell, the nation's top military officer under President George H.W. Bush and secretary of state for President George W. Bush, said the decision to use a lighter force to defeat the Iraqi army was correct. But he said in a television interview broadcast Sunday that the younger Bush's administration should have realized the initial success in 2003 was only the start of a longer fight. AP via Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286262/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 03:27:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286261/posts SEOUL, July 6 (AP) - (Kyodo)—South Korea's Defense Ministry said Monday that North Korea's missile launches conducted on Saturday showed an improvement in accuracy. "We are aware accuracy has been improved (in the North's missile launches," ministry spokesman Won Tae Jae told a press briefing. Won said North Korea's missiles launches have had "somewhat big margins of error" in terms of landing at intended points so far. "Much improvement has been made this time in that regard," Won said, declining to go into details. North Korea fired seven missiles into the Sea of Japan in defiance of a U.N. Security... Kyoto via Breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286261/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 03:14:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286251/posts Two groups on campus, Anns Race Alternatives (ARA) and Students Against Militarism (SAM), work within these mental limits to foster awareness and practical action necesary to counter the growing threat of war. Though the emphasis of the two p:roups differ, they share an aversion to current government policy. These groups, visualizing the possibilities of destruction and grasping the tendencies of distorted national priorities, are throwing their weight into shifting America off the dead-end track. The Reagan administration's stalling at the Geneva talks on nuclear weapons has thus already caused severe tension and could ultimately bring about a dangerous rift between... Sundial (via NY Times) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286251/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 02:30:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286248/posts MOSCOW -- With the clock running out on a new US-Russian arms treaty before the previous Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, expires on December 5, a senior White House official said Sunday said that the difficulty of the task might mean temporarily bypassing the Senate’s constitutional role in ratifying treaties by enforcing certain aspects of a new deal on an executive levels and a “provisional basis” until the Senate ratifies the treaty. abcnew.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286248/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 02:23:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286225/posts BEIJING, July 6 (AP) - (Kyodo)—"A number of civilians and one armed police officer" died in violence in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Sunday, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Monday. Some ordinary people and armed police officers were also injured, and many motor vehicles and shops were smashed and burned, Xinhua quoted sources with the regional government as saying. Kyoto via Breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286225/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 01:42:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286221/posts CAIRO — An important group of religious leaders in Iran called the disputed presidential election and the new government illegitimate on Saturday, an act of defiance against the country’s supreme leader and the most public sign of a major split in the country’s clerical establishment. A statement by the group, the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qum, represents a significant, if so far symbolic, setback for the government and especially the authority of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose word is supposed to be final. The government has tried to paint the opposition and its top presidential candidate,... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286221/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 01:39:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286218/posts DUBAI // Iranian protesters who gathered in Dubai last night were prevented by police from signing a petition against their president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Officers told the 100-strong crowd they were forbidden from sending official petitions from UAE soil. The Iranians had gathered on the beach at Jumeirah Beach Residence to sign a green banner in protest at recent events in Iran. They had planned to send it to Paris, where it would join others from around the world in being hung from the top of the Eiffel Tower, along with the slogan “Ahmadinejad is not our president”. But protesters said... The National http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286218/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 01:35:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286213/posts BEIRUT: Days after officials in Washington announced that a US ambassador would soon be sent to Syria, reports have emerged of an upcoming Syrian-Saudi Arabian summit to be held in Damascus that could include Lebanon. Conventional wisdom holds that any improvement in Syrian-Saudi ties generally contributes to increased stability in Lebanon, and according to experts on Levantine politics, Lebanon may already be benefiting from those nations' thawing ties and a revamped US policy in the region. "Any relief or stabilization in the Syrian-Saudi relationship will be positively reflected in the Lebanese political life," Chafik Masri, an international law professor at... Daily Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286213/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 01:29:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286204/posts The UN's top health official has opened a forum in Mexico on combating swine flu by saying that the spread of the virus worldwide is now unstoppable. World Health Organization head Margaret Chan added that the holding of the meeting in Cancun showed confidence in Mexico, which has been hard hit. The WHO says most H1N1 cases are mild, with many people recovering unaided. As the summit opened, the UK alone was projecting more than 100,000 new cases of H1N1 a day by the end of the summer. As the peak of the flu season approaches in South America, some... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286204/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 01:11:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286199/posts The military intelligence officer was sitting in his office in northern Lebanon when the call came from his colleagues in Beqaa Valley. They were asking for his help in negotiating a truce between the Lebanese army and a loose alliance of families in Beqaa who dominate Lebanon’s multibillion dollar hashish trade after a crackdown on drug trafficking and carjacking had turned violent, with casualties on both sides. But the officer had no intention of getting involved. “I know these families, now that they have had martyrs, there is no talking to them,” he growled down the phone. “There is only... The National http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286199/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 01:01:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286196/posts Nearly 60 years since the Egyptian army overthrew the monarchy, some Egyptians may be looking to the army again for a successor to 81-year-old head of state and former air force chief Hosni Mubarak. On front of the podium where President Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981 while watching a military parade there is a huge frieze. The gilded triptych glorifies the military and places it at the heart of Egyptian society from the time of the Pharaohs. The central scene portrays soldiers, together with farmers, workers and students, carrying a plaque inscribed with 1952 - the year a group... BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286196/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:56:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286168/posts Ousted Zelaya fails to land in Honduras 05 Jul 2009 23:42:51 GMT Source: Reuters CARACAS, July 5 (Reuters) - The Honduran army thwarted an attempt by ousted President Manuel Zelaya to land at Tegucigalpa airport on Sunday by blocking the runway with military vehicles. AlertNet.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286168/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 23:57:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286167/posts Suspected Muslim guerrillas detonated a bomb near a Roman Catholic cathedral in the southern Philippines on Sunday, killing at least five people and wounding 46. The bomb exploded outside the Immaculate Conception cathedral in Cotabato city as churchgoers were attending Mass. Two people were killed instantly in the attack and three others, including a militiaman, later died in hospitals, military officials said. Among the wounded were six soldiers and militiamen who were in an army van that passed by the cathedral when the device, fashioned from a mortar round, exploded, Cotabato city Mayor Muslimin Sema said. The improvised explosive, which... The Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286167/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 23:56:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286159/posts Manuel Zelaya, the president of Honduras ousted in a coup, is attempting to fly home from Washington and reclaim his office, sparking clashes between his supporters and the security forces which have led to at least one death. At least one person was killed and several were injured as soldiers opened fire and let off tear gas rounds after at least 10,000 supporters of the Leftist leader descended on the airport outside the capital, Tegucigalpa. As his supporters mobbed the airport, soldiers were deployed en masse. Violent confrontations then erupted along the perimeter fence. As demonstrators tried to rip down... Telegraph,co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286159/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 23:33:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286146/posts TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) - Honduras' exiled president flew toward home in a Venezuelan jet in a high-stakes attempt to return to power on Sunday, even as the interim government ordered the military to turn away the plane. "I am the commander of the armed forces, elected by the people, and I ask the armed forces to comply with the order to open the airport so that there is no problem in landing and embracing with my people," Manuel Zelaya said while en route. "Today I feel like I have sufficient spiritual strength, blessed with the blood of Christ, to be... Breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286146/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 22:34:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286144/posts Religious Jews have rioted in Jerusalem on the Jewish Sabbath for the second straight week. Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews took to the streets of Jerusalem, throwing stones and scuffling with police. The demonstrators were protesting the opening of a parking lot on the Sabbath to accommodate an influx of Israeli visitors from around the country to Jerusalem's Old City. Jewish religious law forbids driving on the Sabbath and the Orthodox accuse the secular government and public at large of desecrating the biblical holy day of rest. Some demonstrators chanted that "Sabbath desecrators will die." Riots first erupted last month when... VOA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286144/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 22:30:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286135/posts WASHINGTON, July 5, 2009 – Additional American troops in Afghanistan are making it possible to institute the new strategy in the country, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today. Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union program, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said Operation Khanjar, which means Strike of the Sword, will challenge the Taliban and al-Qaida in the Helmand River valley in southern Afghanistan. The area has been a terrorist safe haven and which has most of the opium poppy cultivation in the country. “This is really the most concentrated area for opium growing and we expect... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286135/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 22:04:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286128/posts Capt. Dorothy Watkins and Spc. Joshua Watkins, both of Hazleton, Pa., are deployed to Camp Taji, a base camp north of Baghdad, with the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania National Guard. Photo by Jon Soles, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. TAJI — One Pennsylvania National Guard Soldier has two ways he can address Capt. Dorothy Watkins. He can call her ma'am or he can call her mom. Spc. Joshua Watkins and his mother, Capt. Watkins, are both serving here with the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division. The mother and son from Hazleton, Pa., are... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286128/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 21:56:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286123/posts Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher (right) and Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher share some laughs with U.S. servicemembers during a National Football League coaches USO tour of Iraq, at Al Faw Palace, Baghdad, July 2. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Edwin L. Wriston, Joint Combat Camera Center – Iraq. KIRKUK — It was a long line for Soldiers and Airmen, but awaiting them at the end were legendary NFL coaches ready to sign photos, shirts or anything else you could scribble a signature on. The coaches, who included New York Giants’ Coach Tom Coughlin, Baltimore Ravens’... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286123/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 21:52:39 GMT