US orders families of personnel out of southern Turkey
Washington (AFP) March 29, 2016 -
The Pentagon and US State Department on Tuesday ordered families of US troops and civilian personnel stationed in southern Turkey to leave the region due to security fears.
The order encompasses the city of Adana, where a US consulate and Incirlik air base are located, as well as Ismir and Mugla provinces.
"This decision allows for the deliberate, safe return of family members from thes ...
more
N. Korea test-fires short-range 'projectile': S. Korea
Seoul (AFP) March 29, 2016 -
North Korea test-fired a short-range missile or rocket near its east coast Tuesday, South Korea's military said, the latest in a series of launches amid rising tension on the divided peninsula.
The North fired the "short-range projectile" near the eastern city of Wonsan around 5:40 pm (0840 GMT) which flew about 200 kilometres (124 miles) to the country's northeast, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of S ...
more
Iran sanctions removal duration unclear: Austrian president
Tehran (AFP) March 29, 2016 -
Austrian President Heinz Fischer has said it is unclear how long it will take for the West to lift sanctions on Iran, in an interview with Iran's state television news agency IRIB.
Iran's historic agreement with world powers went into force on January 16, ending a 13-year standoff over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme and lifting punishing sanctions on its economy.
But more than two ...
more
Japan's PM defends new security laws as protesters denounce them
Tokyo (AFP) March 29, 2016 -
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that new security laws that took effect Tuesday will strengthen Tokyo's ability to defend itself amid increasing threats as opponents took to the streets to say they risk hurling the country into war.
Legislators in September passed the bills into law, a shift that could see Japanese troops fight abroad for the first time since the end of World War II. ...
more
Iranian president postpones Austria visit 'for security reasons'
Vienna (AFP) March 29, 2016 -
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has postponed for security reasons a planned visit to Austria this week, only his second to Europe since last year's nuclear deal, Austria's presidency said Tuesday.
"The visit for March 30-31 by President Hassan Rouhani and his delegation has been postponed by the Iranian side for security reasons," it said in a statement, without giving further details.
...
more
Lockheed Martin Opens Space Fence Test Facility
Moorestown NJ (SPX) Mar 29, 2016 -
Objects in space will soon be monitored by a radar array for the U.S. Air Force's Space Fence as part of Lockheed Martin's new test site representative of the larger system under construction on the remote Kwajalein Island.
The test facility will be used for early validation of hardware, firmware and software that will enable the Space Fence to detect, track, and catalog orbita ...
more
North Korean defector criticises China in rare Beijing talk
Beijing (AFP) March 26, 2016 -
A North Korean defector made a rare public appearance in China on Saturday, criticising Beijing's repatriation of asylum seekers despite alleged warnings from South Korea not to speak out.
Hyeonseo Lee, who escaped from North Korea to China in 1997, called on Beijing to let refugees from her original homeland - who it routinely sends back - pass "safely without being caught by the Chinese ...
more
