IRAN
Spanish Company Embroiled in Nuclear Smuggling Scheme with Iran
Reuters – November 26, 2012
A company from Spain’s Basque country smuggled machinery to Iran for likely use in the country’s nuclear programme through an elaborate scheme involving a shell company in Turkey, Spanish tax authorities said on Monday. Spain’s tax agency said the company had managed to send over seven machines designed to make parts for turbines used in energy plants, in a scheme that violated United Nations security council sanctions against Iran.
NORTH KOREA
South Korea Says North is Preparing for New Missile Launch
Chico Harlan, Washington Post – November 27, 2012
With fresh satellite images showing increasing activity at its launch site, North Korea could be ready to fire off a long-range rocket within several weeks, South Korean officials said Tuesday. “There is a high possibility” of a launch between December and January, a senior military official told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
Kim Jong-un Warns Against Unrest in North Korea
Julian Ryall, The Telegraph – November 27, 2012
In a meeting of the heads of internal security branches, a message from Mr Kim was read out demanding that they find and eliminate “rebellious people who are maneuvering behind the scenes to destroy our unity and prompt a riot.” Mr Kim’s orders, reported by North Korea’s KCNA news agency, are being taken as confirmation that there have been small-scale incidents against the regime in recent years.
SYRIA
Syria Renews Border Attacks as NATO Seeks Missile
Selcan Hacaoglu and Brian Parkin, Businessweek – November 27, 2012
Syrian warplanes attacked targets close to the Turkish border for the second consecutive day as North Atlantic Treaty Organization officers arrived to select missile sites to counter President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. U.S., Dutch and German officers representing the three NATO countries with Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries visited Turkish provinces near the Syrian border today, authorities said. As work began, Assad’s jets struck the town of Harim, the state-run Anatolia news agency said.
Syrian Planes Bomb Olive Press, Many Killed
Bassem Mroue, AP – November 27, 2012
Syrian warplanes bombed an olive press factory in the country’s north on Tuesday, killing and wounding dozens of people, including farmers who were waiting to convert their olives to oil, activists said.
AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Post 2014: U.S. May Keep Thousands of Troops in Afghanistan
Phil Stewart, Reuters – November 26, 2012
President Barack Obama publicly scoffed at the idea of keeping 10,000 troops in Iraq. So could he really be persuaded to keep that many in Afghanistan after the war formally ends in 2014? The 10,000 figure is well within a preliminary range put forward by the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, and which is informing deliberations by the Obama administration, one U.S. official said.
Pakistan & India
Is Pakistan’s Paranoia Pushing it Into a Nuclear War with India
Felix Imonti, ISN Blog – November 27, 2012
The possibility of a nuclear war between Pakistan and India grows every day. If the Pakistanis do not bring under control the terrorist groups in the country and resolve the conflicts with India, it is not a matter of if it will happen, but when.
