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North Korea says it has completed preparations to send a satellite into orbit and will launch the rocket soon. The country's neighbors and the United States believe Pyongyang is actually planning to use the launch as a test of a long-range ballistic missile. They are closely monitoring North Korea's movements, in case the launch takes place. If fired, the rocket likely will sail over Japanese territory. Tokyo has deployed land-to-air missile interceptors in case any debris fall over the country. North Korea's military has warned it will attack the interceptors and key Japanese facilities if Tokyo tries to take the...

(Israel) Government okays massive strikes on Lebanon By Amos Harel, Aluf Benn and Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies (snip) The Israel Defense Forces began preparing Wednesday night for a widespread aerial assault on Lebanon, after the cabinet approved a "severe" response to Hezbollah's attack on the northern border on Wednesday, which ended with eight soldiers dead and two kidnapped. . . The response will include a series of aerial attacks against Hezbollah, and particularly against the batteries of rockets aimed at Israel that the organization has stationed along the northern border. . . . . . Hezbollah is likely...

Tuesday July 11, 11:22 AM Satellite photos detect activity at N Korea missile bases: report TOKYO (AFP) - North Korea could be preparing for new launches of mid-range missiles following last week's tests, with activity detected at its bases, a report has said citing Japanese government sources. US and Japanese satellite photos show that mid-range Rodong missiles had been set up on launch pads at a base in southeastern North Korea, but were later removed, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported. Fuel tanks could be seen near the launch pads, the report said. The report said the satellite photos were taken...

Report: NKorean envoy to UN threatens countermeasures in case of sanctions(Updated 11:39 a.m.) 2006/7/6 TOKYO (AP) A North Korean envoy to the United Nations has threatened "all-out countermeasures" if other nations enforce sanctions over its test-launch of several missiles, Japanese broadcaster TBS has reported. "We will be forced to take all-out countermeasures if sanctions are exercised," Han Song Ryol, deputy chief of North Korea's U.N. mission in New York, said in a telephone interview Wednesday, TBS said. Han said the missile launches were part of a regular military drill, according to TBS.

Monday June 26, 09:41 AM North Koreans Criticize U.S. In Massive Rally SEOUL, June 26 Asia Pulse - Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans staged a massive anti-U.S. rally in Pyongyang on Sunday, the North's state media reported, as regional tension has risen over the communist state's reported plan to launch a long-range missile. Pyongyang's Kim Il-sung Square "shook with their voices denouncing the U.S. imperialists, the sworn enemy of the Korean people," the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an article. Sunday marks the 56th anniversary of the start of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with...

Iran: Tehran Has Stake In Success Of Korean Missile By Breffni O'Rourke The current international outcry over North Korea's apparent plans to test fire a new intercontinental ballistic missile shows that the world is taking Pyongyang's intentions seriously. But experts say Iran has also had a hand in developing the multistage Taepodong-2, which is said to have a range that would enable it to reach U.S. territory. A successful launch could bring both countries closer to a reliable delivery system for conventional or nuclear weapons. PRAGUE, June 22, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- North Korea has a way of creating dramatic situations...

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060621/kyodo/d8icjovo0.html Wednesday June 21, 8:32 PM Chinese, N. Korean military confirm ties amid missile question (Kyodo) _ Chinese and North Korean military officials agreed Wednesday to boost bilateral cooperation, China's state-run media reported in a dispatch that gave no hint as to whether a possible test-firing of a missile by North Korea was mentioned in their Beijing talks. The talks were held in the Chinese capital between a visiting North Korean delegation headed by Ri Yong Hwan, an army commander of the Korean People's Army, and Liang Guanglie, chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, Xinhua News...

N Korea warns of arms race in space; US launches massive war games in Pacific (Updated 04:20 p.m.) 2006/6/20 SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea warned Tuesday that U.S. moves to build a missile shield are fueling a dangerous arms race in space, as countries in the region urged the communist nation to halt apparent plans to launch a long-range missile. Amid rising tensions in the region, the United States staged massive war games in the western Pacific Ocean with 22,000 troops and three aircraft carriers that filled the skies with fighter planes. The U.S. ambassador to South Korea conveyed...

US: If N. Korea Launches Missile Without Notice, Can't Assume it is Test By Al Pessin Washington 19 June 2006 The Defense Department says in the absence of any statement by the North Korean government it will not be possible to know whether a widely expected missile launch is a test or an attack. Spokesman Bryan Whitman would not confirm reports that North Korea is preparing to launch a long-range missile, saying he could not discuss intelligence matters. But he says if there is a launch without any advance notice from the government in Pyongyang, there will be no basis...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/conditions/05/13/indonesia.birdflu/index.html?section=cnn_latest Indonesia probes possible bird flu Four of eight cases investigated were fatal (snipped) Saturday, May 13, 2006; Posted: 1:24 a.m. EDT (05:24 GMT) All eight cases were from the same family. Four members of the family have died from what health officials suspect could be bird flu, said WHO spokeswoman Sari Setiogi. . . Health officials closely study such groups of cases, know as "clusters," to see whether the virus, which currently is almost always transmitted from birds to humans, has mutated into one that can easily pass between humans -- a scenario that many fear could turn into...

Al-Qaida Figure Backs Iraqi Insurgents Top al-Qaida Figure Ayman Al-Zawahri Urges Support for Iraqi Insurgents in Video The Associated Press (snipped) CAIRO, Egypt - No. 2 al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri praised insurgents in Iraq, particularly Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and called on all Muslims to support them in a video posted Thursday on the Internet. The video was dated with an Islamic month corresponding to November 2005 and al-Zawahri mentions an Oct. 23 earthquake that hit Pakistan and Afghanistan. But it appeared to be the first time the 28-minute video has been made public. It was not clear why the video...