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Violence spikes in Mexico By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer Fri Jan 18, 7:01 PM ET Rosalba Padilla thought the first shots were nothing but construction in her quiet, upper-class Tijuana neighborhood. It wasn't until she looked out her window and saw a sea of police that she realized the noise was gunfire. Down the street, at the Preschool of Happiness, director Gloria Rico activated the school's alarm, prompting police to rush into the building, their guns drawn. Rico said the children were terrified by the chaos. "Some were crying, one vomited and another wet his pants," she said Friday,...

Crude-oil prices, which yesterday rose to their fourth record close in as many days, have combined with tight gasoline supplies to set the stage for a potential surge in gasoline prices. Refinery snags, a Gulf of Mexico storm or other disruptions could ripple quickly through the supply chain, taxing consumers and adding another burden to the economy. Oil yesterday finished at $83.32 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 36% this year, though it trails the inflation-adjusted high of about $101 a barrel reached in April 1980. Gasoline, which is refined from crude, generally follows oil up the pricing scale....

Russia tests the world's largest ever non-nuclear bombLast updated at 00:56am on 12th September 2007 Russia has exploded the world's biggest non-nuclear bomb in a dramatic escalation of the new Cold War. Nicknamed 'the father of all bombs', it was filmed being dropped from a strategic bomber and exploding in a massive fireball. The film then showed the debris of apartment buildings and armoured vehicles at a testing range, as well as ground burned by a massive explosion. Scroll down for more...DESTRUCTION: The world's largest non-nuclear bomb tested by Russians  It didn't give the bomb's military name or say when...

The Bush administration is quietly on track to nearly double the number of combat troops in Iraq this year, an analysis of Pentagon deployment orders showed Monday. The little-noticed second surge, designed to reinforce U.S. troops in Iraq, is being executed by the sending more combat brigades and the extending tours of duty for troops already there. The actions could boost the number of combat soldiers from 52,500 in early January to as many as 98,000 by the end of this year if the Pentagon overlaps arriving and departing combat brigades. Separately, when additional support troops are included in this...

Iran shoots down U.S. spy drone amid growing military pressure www.chinaview.cn 2007-01-17 08:41:25 Special report: Iran Nuclear Crisis by Liang Youchang TEHRAN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iranian troops have shot down a U.S. pilotless spy plane recently, an Iranian lawmaker announced on Tuesday as the Islamic Republic was facing increasing military pressure from its arch rival -- the United States. The aircraft was brought down when it was trying to cross the borders "during the last few days," Seyed Nezam Mola Hoveizeh, a member of the parliament, was quoted by the local Fars News Agency as saying. The lawmaker gave...

Democrats’ reaction to the troop escalation reveals their mental incapacity to deal with the post-9/11 world. Democrats cannot be trusted with national security; they don’t understand what it is, and they certainly lack strategies to achieve it. Democrats would have the United States leave Iraq immediately – give or take a few months - without regard to the effects of that decision. Whether such an action would cause long-term problems for America is not even considered. The United States cannot just exit Iraq and move on to negotiating prescription drug prices as if no harmful consequences will develop from our...

U.S. holding Iranian officials seized in Iraq: NYT 46 minutes ago The U.S. military is holding at least four Iranians in Iraq, including men the Bush administration calls senior military officials, who were seized in raids last week, The New York Times reported on Sunday. The raids were aimed at people suspected of conducting attacks on Iraqi security forces, the Times said, citing senior Iraqi and U.S. officials in Baghdad and Washington. Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, told the Times two Iranian diplomats were among those initially detained in the raids. They were turned over to...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The U.S. military is planning to move a brigade of troops into Kuwait in what could be the first step of a short-term surge of American forces into Iraq to stabilize the violence. The 2nd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division is expected in Kuwait shortly after the new year, a senior Defense Department official told The Associated Press on Friday. The official requested anonymity because the plans had not yet been announced. The 2nd Brigade, made up of roughly 3,500 troops, is based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and would be deployed in Iraq early...

Rice says N.Korea trying to escalate nuclear crisis By Sue Pleming 1 hour, 30 minutes ago U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cast doubt on reports that North Korea had pledged not to stage another nuclear test, saying on Saturday it seemed instead bent on escalating the crisis. News reports had raised hopes that tension was easing on Friday by saying North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had told China's special envoy Tang Jiaxuan this week he planned no further nuclear tests. But Rice met Tang in Beijing on Friday and later told reporters traveling on to Moscow with her: "Tang...

Saturday July 22, 4:44 PM U.S. carefully watching possibility of N. Korea nuke test (Kyodo) _ The United States is vigilantly watching the possibility of North Korea conducting a nuclear test now that it has test-fired ballistic missiles, a senior U.S. administration official told Kyodo News on Friday. "I wouldn't rule it out," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding he is unaware of any indication from North Korea that it plans to test its nuclear weapons. Asked if the United States is exercising "vigilance" about a nuclear test, the official said, "Very absolutely." North Korea warned of...

Syria's government on Sunday promised Israel a firm and immediate retaliation for any possible Israeli attack on its territory. "Any aggression against Syria will be met with a firm and direct response whose timing and methods are unlimited," Syria's official news agency quoted Information Minister Mohsen Bilal as saying. Responding to a report in a pan-Arab daily newspaper that Israel presented Damascus with an ultimatum, an Israel Defense Forces officer said Saturday that targeting Syria is currently not on Israel's agenda. "We're not a gang that shoots in every direction," the officer said. "It won't be right to bring Syria...

A Qassam rocket landed at the center of the southern coastal city of Ashkelon for the first time on Tuesday evening, hitting the ORT Ronson High School building, causing light damage to the structure but no injuries. Hamas - via its military wing, the Iz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades - later claimed credit for the rocket attack, the deepest ever a Qassam has reached into Israeli territory. "This is a major escalation in the war of terror that the Hamas organization is responsible for," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in a speech at the home of U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard...

ISRAEL last night threatened to assassinate Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh if Hamas militants did not release a captured Israeli soldier unharmed. The unprecedented warning was delivered to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a letter as Israel debated a deal offered by Hamas to free Corporal Gilad Shalit. It came as Israeli military officials readied a second invasion force for a huge offensive into Gaza. Hamas's Gaza-based political leaders, including Mr Haniyeh, had already gone into hiding. But last night's direct threat to kill Mr Haniyeh, a democratically elected head of state, sharply raised the stakes. The bid to free...

/begin my excerptN. Koreans Ordered To Raise Their Flag At 2PM, and Listen to BroadcastN. Korean leadership ordered its citizen to raise their flag and listen to their (government) communique from TV in the evening, according to Sankei Shimbun (of Japan), quoting Japanese government sources. The paper said it is paying attention this development because it could be related to the launch of Taepodong-2. /end my excerpt

Iran launched 'secret' rocket test From correspondents in BerlinFebruary 04, 2006IRAN secretly tested a new surface-to-surface missile (SSM) on January 17, seeking to establish the measurements needed for long-range missiles, the German daily Die Welt reported in its issue to appear today. The test, conducted by members of the Revolutionary Guard led by Yahya Rahim Safavi, was successful, according to Western diplomats cited by the newspaper, which did not indicate the location where the test took place. On January 28, Safavi said that Iran would use its ballistic missiles if it was attacked. "Iran has a ballistic missile with...

Athletes form human shield22/01/2006 17:02  - (SA)     Related Articles Iran 'not worried' about UN Rice: Iran leaders not trusted SA 'consulting' on Iran France says no to nuke talks Britain open to diplomacy Iran: EU-3 wants IAEA meeting    Isfahan - Iran on Sunday gave a fresh show of its determination to press on with its disputed nuclear programme, enrolling about 1 000 athletes to form a human shield in front of a key nuclear facility. The demonstration, which took place in front of just a handful of journalists, was held under winter sunshine outside the main gate of a uranium...

Tokyo governor to visit southern islets amid dispute with China Tokyo's governor plans to visit a rocky outcrop south of the Japanese capital next month amid questions from China about the validity of Japan's claim of sovereignty over the islets and the surrounding seas. China says Okinotorishima, a pair of islets about 1,730 kilometers (1,070 miles) southwest of Tokyo, are only rocks _ not an island governed by rules of sovereignty _ and therefore can't be used by Japan to extend its economic zone while preventing Beijing from exploiting natural resources in the surrounding Pacific Ocean area. Governor Shintaro Ishihara...

A Monster on the Loose Beijing wanted to shake up Tokyo?but not like this. China Photos-Getty Images Unrest: Did protests start with the leadership's silent backing? By Melinda Liu Newsweek April 25 issue - If there was a script, this wasn't in it. China's president, Hu Jintao, convened an emergency session of the Politburo's powerful Standing Committee two weekends ago, just hours after anti-Japanese protests in the capital first turned violent. Thousands of marchers had converged on the Japanese Embassy, breaking windows and chanting "Kill the Japanese!" and "Come out, Japanese pigs!" Diplomacy aside, Hu's big worry was the...

<p>Nondefense spending has skyrocketed under Republican control of Congress and the White House, and critics say the outlays will hit the stratosphere with the passage this week of a drug entitlement for seniors. The Congressional Budget Office reported that nondefense spending rose 7 percent in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, nearly double the 4 percent discretionary spending caps that President Bush insisted Congress honor. Since Mr. Bush took office in 2001, nondefense spending has leapt 13 percent — 21 percent if spending on the war on terrorism is included. And he is poised to become the first Republican president to sign into law a new federal entitlement: the $400 billion Medicare expansion to cover prescription drugs. Sean Spicer, spokesman for Rep. Jim Nussle, Iowa Republican and the conservative chairman of the House Budget Committee, said the spending increases appear worse when lumping in the annual late-year "emergency" congressional expenditures that he said are little more than thinly veiled pork projects. "Even without the emergencies, we're looking at [spending] numbers well above inflation, and that's definitely a concern," Mr. Spicer said. Chris Edwards, director of fiscal policy at the libertarian Cato Institute, said the Bush record on spending has been a major disappointment. "My impression of Bush is that I've never seen him give a speech in which he says government is too big and we need to cut costs," Mr. Edwards said, pointing out that President Reagan vetoed 23 bills in his first three years in office, while Mr. Bush has yet to unsheathe his veto pen. Accepting additional spending is the price Mr. Bush pays for getting his agenda through Congress, Mr. Edwards said. "When you have a president who has a bunch of his own spending initiatives like education and the Medicare drug bill, it makes it difficult for him to go out and say that Congress is being wasteful," he said. Prominent conservatives are beginning to chafe about the kind of spending occurring on their watch. Nine Republican senators and 25 House Republicans voted against the Medicare drug bill, citing cost as the major reason. The $31 billion energy bill also has stalled, largely because many in Congress object to the price tag. The president is itching to get the bill to his desk even though it is four times more expensive than what he had proposed. Even radio host Rush Limbaugh, an unwavering booster of the president and his policies, told listeners Tuesday that after passing the Medicare bill Republicans no longer can contend they are the party of smaller government. The White House did not return a call for comment. Brian M. Riedl, a budget analyst for the conservative Heritage Foundation, said mandatory government spending on entitlements such as Medicare will reach 11.1 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, a record high. That number will climb exponentially, he said, once seniors begin getting government-paid drugs in 2006. "Congress often underestimates entitlements by a lot," Mr. Riedl said. "By our calculations, it will cost $2 trillion between now and 2030." That's assuming that the program never is expanded, he said, an unlikely scenario. When Congress created the Medicare program in 1965, the projected cost in 1990 was $9 billion. The true cost, after several expansions that came with low-balled price tags, was $67 billion, 7.4 times higher. "The lawmakers who pushed for the Medicare drug bill never answered the question of how they would pay for it," Mr. Riedl said. "Apparently, they are leaving the $2 trillion tax hike to future congresses to figure out." Tom Schatz, executive director of Citizens Against Government Waste, said he hopes that conservatives can bring the president and Congress "back to earth in terms of spending" if Mr. Bush wins a second term. "We hope that this is not the legacy of the Bush administration," Mr. Schatz said. "We hope these will be aberrations that will be corrected in coming years." A senior Republican congressional aide said many conservatives on Capitol Hill are hoping that is the case. If it isn't, Mr. Bush and the party will have some explaining to do to their political base. "There's only so long we can be told [by the White House], 'Just keep waiting for spending restraint,' " the aide said. "Eventually you develop a credibility problem. There's a point where people say, 'We've heard that for five years and nothing's happened.' "</p>

SELECTED QUOTES By SANG-HUN CHOE, Associated Press Writer SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea's military went on heightened alert Thursday against possible North Korean attempts to raise tension on the Korean Peninsula amid war in Iraq...South Korean officials have feared that North Korea might use the opportunity to cause alarm across the heavily guarded border with South Korea in an attempt to force Washington into direct negotiations… Yonhap, quoting unnamed sources, said South Korea elevated its military's Watch Condition to a level 2 for the first time in seven years. The move affects mostly military intelligence and other units assigned...

US and Britain pound Iraqi defences in massive escalation of airstrikes By Raymond Whitaker 23 February 2003 Iraq has been ordered to destroy dozens of missiles which violate UN limits, but the US and Britain are not waiting to see whether Saddam Hussein complies. In recent days, an Independent on Sunday investigation reveals, they have stepped up attacks on missile sites near Basra which could threaten the military build-up in Kuwait and the Gulf. The raids are being carried out by aircraft patrolling the "no-fly" zones in northern and southern Iraq, established by the victors after the first Gulf war....

Chinas Xinhua news agency, in a dispatch from Pyongyang, North Korea tonight (Asia time) said the North Koreans have commenced emergency air defense drills (blackout) due to the movement of US military troops/navy in the Korean peninsula area. This was top news on Yahoo in Japanese (www.yahoo.co.jp) a few minutes ago.

Wednesday May 22, 11:02 PM Missile-carrying Indian warships sail near Pakistan, air force on alert Missile-carrying Indian naval warships steamed into the Arabian Sea, closer to Pakistan, as military tensions between the two South Asian nuclear neighbours soared, officials here said."We have moved five frontline ships of the eastern fleet to be cross-deployed to the western seaboard to augment the force levels," Naval spokesman Commander Rahul Gupta said.Highly-placed naval sources told AFP that four of the vessels are armed with missiles but the spokesman declined to elaborate on the redeployment, which comes in the middle of heightening military tensions between...