Free Republic

Sea mines might have caused the tragic sinking of a South Korean naval ship, U.S. experts said Saturday, dismissing concerns over possible North Korean involvement. "I doubt that North Korea was involved in the incident," John Feffer, co-director of the Foreign Policy in Focus program at the Institute for Policy Studies, said. "It didn't seem to involve any artillery fire from the North." The 1,200-ton "Cheonan" sank Friday night (Seoul time) after a mysterious explosion that South Korean witnesses and military officials say split the vessel in two. Only 58 of the 104 crew aboard were rescued. The others are...

EU NAVFOR warship FS Tonnerre located and boarded two pirate ships early this morning, 1st May, 450 nautical miles east of Somalia. Evidence was secured, weapons and a ladder, and 11 suspected pirates were taken on board the Tonnerre. On Friday evening an EU NAVFOR maritime patrol aircraft from Sweden detected a pirate action group (PAG) of one mother ship and two skiffs. The Force Commander, Rear Admiral Jan Thörnqvist, ordered the nearest EU NAVFOR vessel, the French warship Tonnerre, to interdict the PAG. Early this morning Tonnerre located the PAG and deployed her helicopter. When the suspected pirates realised...