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North Korea and the US 'on a slide towards conflict'. Sunday April 6, 2003 The Observer War in North Korea is now almost inevitable because of the country's diplomatic stalemate with America, a senior UN official claims. Ahead of this week's crucial talks between members of the UN Security Council, Maurice Strong, special adviser to the Secretary General Kofi Annan, was gloomy on the chances of a peaceful settlement. 'I think war is unnecessary, it's unthinkable and unfortunately it's entirely possible,' he said. Strong, who has just returned from a private mission for Annan in North Korea and is due...

Last Updated: Thursday, 27 March, 2003, 12:02 GMT Is the Earth preparing to flip? By Dr David Whitehouse BBC News Online science editor Finding the shifting magnetic pole It is not just the plot for a far-fetched science-fiction disaster movie. Something unexplained really is happening to the Earth's magnetic field. In recent years, the field has been behaving in ways not previously seen in the admittedly short time it has been monitored. Some researchers think it may presage a geomagnetic reversal when the north and south magnetic poles flip. Such speculation takes place as the science-fiction movie The Core goes...

Business - AP Economic Figures Job Cuts Push Unemployment to 5.8 Percent By LEIGH STROPE, AP Labor Writer WASHINGTON - Businesses unexpectedly slashed more than 300,000 jobs last month in the largest cuts since the terrorist attacks, pushing the unemployment rate higher as the nation moved closer to war. Economists warned that February's widespread job losses signal a frail economy in danger of toppling back into recession. The civilian jobless rate reached 5.8 percent, up a tenth of a percentage point from January, the Labor Department (news - web sites) reported Friday. Economists had predicted the modest rise, but they...

NBC, MSNBC AND NEWS SERVICES Feb. 28 — North Korea accused the United States on Friday of triggering a nuclear crisis and plotting war. Pyongyang demanded direct talks with U.S. officials, but Washington instead ordered the deployment of 24 long-range bombers to Guam as a deterrent. U.S. DEPLOYS BOMBERS Defense officials told NBC News on Friday that 12 B-1 and 12 B-52 long-range bombers had been ordered deployed to Guam as a deterrent. They will most likely fly to Guam in the first week of March, joining maintenance and support personnel who had already been ordered to the Pacific island....

Sunday February 23, 5:23 AM Bush warns UN has "last chance" on Iraq US President George W. Bush said that the UN Security Council would have less than two months to pass a new resolution that paves the way for war against Iraq. As Bush announced that a new resolution would be introduced next week, chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix demanded that Iraq start destroying its stock of banned missiles within a week. "Time is short. And this is the chance for the Security Council to show its relevance, and I believe the Security Council will show its relevance...

Here's comet NEAT coming into view. Neat!! For more info try spaceweather.comhttp://lasco-www.nrl.navy.mil/cgi-bin/latest_img.cgi?c3+jpg24

Thursday February 13, 7:51 PM Taiwan on alert against any Chinese invasion during Iraq war Taiwan Defense Minister Tang Yao-ming said the military had been put on a state of alert for fear China could take advantage of a war in Iraq to launch an invasion of the island. Tang warned that Beijing's hostility towards Taipei was as strong as ever despite the unprecedented civilian flights between Taipei and Shanghai over the Lunar New Year holiday period. "They have yet to give up their attempt to take over Taiwan by force. This was clearly stated by (President) Jiang Zemin in...

World News February 13, 2003 Iraq inspectors find banned missile system From James Bone in New York THE chief United Nations weapons inspector will report tomorrow that Iraq has been developing a ballistic missile that is in clear violation of UN restrictions. The discovery of a banned weapons system on the eve of Hans Blix’s crucial presentation is tantamount to the inspectors finding a “smoking gun” — even though it was declared by Iraq to the UN as a legal programme. Diplomats said the announcement would strengthen London and Washington’s case that Iraq was in “material breach” of UN demands...

Saturday, January 18, 2003 Shvat 15, 5763 Israel Time: 04:42 (GMT+2) U.S. boosts military contacts with Israel By Aluf BennThe United States is raising the level of its military coordination with Israel in advance of its expected war against Iraq. Next week, General Charles Wald, deputy commander of the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM), will visit here. Wald, who is in charge of ties with the Israel Defense Forces, will meet with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and senior IDF officers. He will apparently also visit the American soldiers who came to Israel with the Patriot missile batteries. Wald took over as...

Russia becomes the biggest oil producer By Malcolm Moore (Filed: 10/01/2003) Russia overtook Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer in the last three months, as the country beat all expectations for its output growth. In the last quarter, Russia pumped an average of 7.97m barrels of oil a day, against 7.86m barrels from Saudi Arabia. It is a telling statistic as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the oil cartel, meets on Sunday to discuss how much more oil to release onto the market to combat the high prices caused by the five-week strike in Venezuela. Analysts now...

Sunday December 15, 5:33 AM Israel defense minister heads to Washington as army hunts militants Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz headed to the United States for talks on military coordination in light of a possible war on Iraq, as the army and Palestinian militants traded punches. For his part, Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to visit western Europe next week for talks on Iraq and international terrorism. During his four-day visit to the United States, Mofaz is due to meet with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, national security advisor Condoleezza Rice and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, his...

21:12 13/12/2002 Last update - 23:04 13/12/2002 Syria moves troops on border, experts say steps defensive By Amos Harel, Ha'aretz Correspondent The Syrian army has recently made several changes in its deployment of troops along the border with Israel. After an analysis of the troops movements, however, members of the security establishment believe the changes are designed to boost defenses in the area and eliminate weaknesses in Syrian troop positions. Security sources said that at this stage, there is no change in the basic assessment that Syria poses no concrete threat to the Golan Heights. In contrast, Israel is more...

ISRAEL PLANS TO CAPTURE TERRITORY IN ARAB WAR TEL AVIV [MENL] -- Israel's military is preparing for an offensive war against its Arab adversaries that would involve the capture of territory to ensure victory in any future regional conflict. Israeli military planners have been discussing and drafting strategies in response for a regional war that could take place in 2003. They said such a war is likely to begin with a Hizbullah rocket barrage from southern Lebanon in an attack supported by Syria. Such a war, military officials said, would be fought differently from the more than two-year-old campaign against...

'Divine intervention' diverts Etna lava By Bruce Johnston on Mount Etna (Filed: 27/11/2002) The sweat of emergency workers and the intervention of God were credited yesterday for halting a river of lava only yards from a complex of buildings on Mount Etna. Experts admitted that the Rifugio Sapienza, high up on the southern flank of Etna in Sicily, had been saved "against all the odds" by earth barriers which workers threw up in a desperate attempt to divert the lava. When the local archbishop, Mgr Salvatore Gristina, arrived escorted by forestry guards, the lava's advancing front had acquired the awesome...

Britain to Publish Files on UFO Sightings Thu November 28, 2002 10:59 AM ET LONDON (Reuters) - The British government will publish files on reported UFO sightings as part of a shake-up of its laws on freedom of information. Among the documents to be published is the "Rendlesham File," which deals with one of the country's best known sightings of an unidentified flying object. Until now, only about 20 members of the public have seen the file, which relates to a sighting in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, eastern England, in 1980. According to some UFO enthusiasts, eyewitnesses including U.S. officers at...

Roswell Incident Had Victims, Program Says By RICHARD BENKE | The Associated Press 11/22/2002 ALBUQUERQUE - While he told the world that a weather balloon went down in Roswell, an Army general had in his hand a memo telling Pentagon brass of a UFO crash with "victims," according to a new television documentary. A computer analysis of that memo, held by Brig. Gen. Roger Ramey during a July 1947 press briefing, is the "smoking gun" of the Roswell Incident, researchers say in the documentary being broadcast today on the Sci-Fi Channel. Using a digital photo scanner to enlarge and enhance...

Saturday November 23, 8:03 AM Security fears prompt US to allow diplomats to leave Jordan The United States said it would allow its non-essential diplomats in Jordan to leave the country amid heightened security concerns following the still-unsolved murder of a US diplomat there last month. In addition to implementing a so-called "authorized departure" program, under which non-emergency diplomats and the families of all US embassy employees in Amman may leave at Washington's expense, the State Department advised Americans to re-evaluate any plans to visit Jordan. "All US citizens in Jordan are urged to consider their personal security and to...

U.S. to deploy Aegis destroyer to guard Israel from Iraqi Scuds Special to World Tribune.com MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE Thursday, November 21, 2002 The U.S. Navy plans to conduct the first of a series of tests to ensure that its Aegis missile defense system can help protect Israel from an Iraqi Scud attack. Officials said the Defense Department and the military have launched a program to conduct six tests of the Aegis to develop an emergency deployment sea-based ballistic missile defense against short- to medium-range ballistic missiles. The first test is scheduled for Thursday and will take place in the Pacific...

Thursday October 31, 8:45 AM (AFP) US sees end of UN talks on Iraq as it moves bombers The United States reported progress in UN Security Council talks on a new tough weapons control regime for Iraq, as the Pentagon said it was moving its stealth bombers closer to the Gulf region. The draft, introduced by the United States, sets new tougher conditions for weapons inspections designed to ensure Iraq is free from weapons of mass destruction and means of their delivery. But as diplomats from the United States, France, Russia and other countries haggled over the proposal, Washington stepped...

Syria also admits plans to join the nuclear club SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM Friday, October 18, 2002 NICOSIA — Syria acknowledged Wednesday night that it seeks to restore its nuclear program. The Syrian announcement came hours after Washington disclosed that North Korea has violated an agreement to halt the production of highly-enriched uranium and has several nuclear weapons. Syria is also a major client of North Korea and last week signed a deal for scientific and technology exchange with Pyongyang. Pyongyang is a leading supplier of missiles and weapons of mass destruction technology to Damascus. But the regime of Syrian...