Region
North Korea launches two more short range missiles
North Korea made a new challenge today launching two short range SCUD missiles, from their east coast into the Sea of Japan, according to information from the local news agency, Yonhap.
Both missiles, with a range of around 500 km, seem to have been launched around 8 am local time (23:00 GMT) from a military base close to the coastal city of Wonsan located in the south east of North Korea.
The launch was made two days after the regime fired another four short-range missiles, also from the East coast into the Sea of Japan to coincide with US Independence Day on the 4th of July.
Next week in Moscow, Presidents Medvedev and Obama could make history
Whether in the Korean peninsula, in unstable Pakistan, or in the volatile Middle East, the risk of military or terrorist nuclear attacks is escalating daily. Yet one of the most real chances to rid the world of nuclear weapons is happening and will be won or lost far from the headlines.
Next week in Moscow, Presidents Medvedev and Obama could make history by agreeing to reduce their nuclear arsenals and set the world´s course towards a nuclear-free world. A group of highly influential figures called Global Zero has presented a four-step plan to achieve that goal and, though it seems incredible, they are successfully persuading the nuclear powers that the world is more secure without nukes.
Zelaya Vows Return as UN, OAS Condemn Coup
Honduras is facing growing regional and international pressure to restore the overthrown President Manuel Zelaya. Earlier today, the thirty-five-member Organization of American States said it would suspend Honduras unless Zelaya is returned to office within three days. The ultimatum follows Tuesday’s unanimous decision by the UN General Assembly to condemn the coup. Addressing the UN, Zelaya stuck by his vow to return to Honduras on Thursday despite threats of arrest.
Israel forces attacked Justice boat, stopped human rights workers and confiscated goods
Yesterday,Israeli Occupation Forces attacked and boarded the Free Gaza Movement boat, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The passengers and crew are being forcibly dragged toward Israel.
Obama Condemns Honduran Coup, But Won’t Suspend Aid
President Obama: “President Zelaya was democratically elected. He had not yet completed his term. We believe that the coup was not legal and that President Zelaya remains the president of Honduras, the democratically elected president there. In that, we have joined all the countries in the region, including Colombia and the Organization of American States. I think it would be a terrible precedent if we start moving backwards into the era in which we are seeing military coups as a means of political transition, rather than democratic elections.”
US Pullback Leaves Iraq in Formal Control of Urban Areas
US forces have completed a withdrawal from major Iraqi cities and towns on today’s deadline to hand formal control to the Iraqi military. Iraq has declared a national holiday to mark the pullout, and celebrations have been underway nationwide. Iraq’s Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, called the pullback a victory for national sovereignty.
Campaign against nuclear weapons to launch DVD and book about Women Atomic Bomb Survivors
Soka Gakkai International (SGI) has promoted a worldwide campaign to ban nuclear weapons and has just launched a DVD and a book including testimonies of Japanese women who survived nuclear bombings that hit Japan during the Second World War. Their testimonies of the horror of nuclear bombings call attention to the clear present danger.