• Egypt receives 10 US attack helicopters

    Dec 21
    The Egyptian army has received 10 Apache attack helicopters from the United States, following the US decision to reverse an imposed hold on military aid.

    State-run Al-Ahram Gate quoted a military source confirming the arrival of the helicopters, whilst a US senior administration official also told AFP "they got there a few weeks ago."

    The US, which allocates $1.5bn in aid to Egypt, including $1.3bn in military assistance, froze aid to the country in October 2013 after the military overthrew the then elected president Mohamed Morsi.
  • North Korea threatens US over Sony hacking
    North Korea has threatened to confront the United States in retaliation for White House claims that Pyongyang was behind the recent cyber attack on Sony.

    In a statement, North Korea said "the army and people of the DPRK are fully ready to stand in confrontation with the US in all war spaces including cyber warfare space."

    "Our toughest counteraction will be boldly taken against the White House, the Pentagon and the whole US mainland, the cesspool of terrorism, by far surpassing the 'symmetric counteraction' declared by Obama."

    The North Korean statement went on to accuse US President Barack Obama of "recklessly making the rumour" that North Korea was responsible for the Sony attack, which leaked a Hollywood comedy film on the fictional assassination of North Korea's leader.

    Obama said on Sunday that the United States would respond "proportionately" to the cyber-attack. "I'll wait to review what the findings are," he said in an interview to CNN, stating however, that the cyberattack was not "an act of war". He went on to say that fresh sanctions were being considered, including putting North Korea on the list of states that sponsor terrorism.
  • Germany votes to send troops to support Kurdish Peshmerga forces
    The German government voted in favour of sending military experts to the Kurdistan region as part of Berlin’s commitment to support Peshmerga forces in a war against Islamic State militants.

    “We have had excellent relations with Peshmerga forces. They are reliable and very much concerned, but they need guns and training,” said the German defence minister, Ursula Von Der Leyen, on Thursday.

    The deployment of roughly 100 troops is expected to happen in January 2015, reports Rudaw news.

    The Peshmerga, known for their devout commitment to the Kurdish nationalist cause and regarded as well-trained, well-armed and capable, are the Iraqi Kurdish military force of the Kurdish struggle for self-determination. The term Peshmerga translates to ‘those who follow death.’
  • US seeks China's help to combat North Korean hackers
    The US has sought China’s help to curb North Korea’s ability to launch Cyberattacks, as first steps of a proportional response to recent Cyberattacks that pressured Sony into dropping a film, senior administration officials told the New York Times.

    Obama has also asked the US military’s Cyber Command, which is led by the National Security Agency, to produce a range of offensive options that could be directed at North Korea.

    “What we are looking for is a blocking action, something that would cripple their efforts to carry out attacks. There are a lot of constraints on us, because we live in a giant glass house,” an official said.
  • Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza
    The Israeli military launched airstrikes in Gaza in response to rocket fire on Saturday, the first time such action has been taken since hostilities in August ended in a truce.

    A Hamas cement factory was reportedly the target of the strike, taking place in retaliation for a rocket attack from Gaza into southern Israel on Friday. Local hospital officials reported no casualties from the airstrike.

    The rocket attack, which landed in an open field and caused no injuries, was the third instance of fire from Gaza since the August 26 truce.

    Commenting on the strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said,
    “Israel's safety comes first. I won't allow even one rocket, and that is why the IAF responded to the rocket and destroyed a cement factory that was making cement to repair tunnels that were hit during Operation Protective Edge. Hamas will be held responsible for every escalation.”
  • Now is the moment to act' on Syria says David Miliband
    Former British Foreign Minister and chief executive of the International Rescue Committee David Miliband has highlighted the urgent need for a step-change in international engagement with Syria in an opinion piece co-authored with Justin Forsyth, chief executive of Save the Children UK and Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

    Writing in the Guardian, the opinion piece said “obligations enshrined in international law hold no purchase” in Syria, noting that schools and hospitals were continually subjected to attacks. “Murder, torture and sexual violence are part of daily life,” it continued.
  • Kurds break IS siege at Sinjar
    Kurdish peshmerga fighters are reported to have beaten back Islamic State (IS) forces at Mount Sinjar, recapturing a large area of territory and opening a pathway to free hundreds of trapped Yazidis.

    "Peshmerga forces have reached Mount Sinjar, the siege on the mountain has been lifted," Masrour Barzani, head of the Iraqi Kurdish region's national security council, said on Thursday.

    The Kurdish security council said,
    “In under 48 hours, peshmerga forces have succeeded in retaking 700 square kilometres of Isis-held territory... This corridor . . . has enabled the peshmerga to gain direct access to the displaced people trapped on Mt Sinjar, to provide humanitarian support and evacuation where necessary.”
    Kurdish fighters were backed by US-led airstrikes, with reports of 45 strikes in total, a figure described as “unprecedented” by the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut. He also said the Kurdish attack as the “biggest offensive ever mounted by anybody against IS”.

    Colonel Nawruz Majid Mohammed, a Kurdish commander, acknowledged the role the strikes played, saying, “We couldn’t have done any of this without the help of coalition airstrikes”.
  • US imposes sanctions on Venezuelan government officials
    President Barack Obama signed a new legislation to impose sanctions on Venezuelan government officials accused of violating protesters’ rights during demonstrations earlier this year.
  • India launches first indigenous nuclear submarine
    India launched its first ever indigenously built nuclear submarine for a test run, on Monday.

    Over 40 years after India first started its efforts for nuclear submarines, the INS Arihant, is set to undergo operational tests for the next 18 months before it is deemed a fully operational nuclear submarine.
  • Trial begins for men held in Burma for 'insulting Buddhism'
    A New Zealand bar manager and two Burmese men have gone on trial for insulting Buddhism, with Buddhist monks and supporters of "969" gathered outside the courthouse.

    Philip Blackwood and two of his business partners who run the VGastro Bar, posted a flyer on their Facebook page advertising for their bar, showing Buddha with his eyes shut, wearing large headphones.

  • Suspected Boko Haram militants kidnap over 100 women and children
    Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnapped more than 100 women and children whilst killing 35 other people on Sunday during a raid in northeast Nigeria. 
  • US warns North Korea over Sony cyber-attacks
    Sony Pictures cancelled the release of a comedy on the fictional assassination of North Korea’s leader following cyber-attacks, originating from Pyongyang, that lead to the leaking of UN released films on the internet. 

    Several theatres due to show the film pulled out after, hackers threatened to attack any theatres that screened the movie, reports Reuters.

    “Sony has no further release plans for the film,” a Sony spokesperson said on Wednesday when asked whether there would be a future release of the film.

    Though North Korea has denied involvement with the hacking, security experts in Washington have said that it was an open secret that Pyongyang was responsible.
  • UN General Assembly seeks referral of North Korea to ICC
    The UN General Assembly voted on Thursday in favour of North Korea being referred to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

    The resolution was voted for by 116 states, 20 against and 53 abstentions, reported Reuters.

    North Korea rejected the resolution, describing it as "a product of political plot and confrontation".

    The resolution follows a UN inquiry that published its findings earlier this year, detailing instances of atrocities committed by North Korean state officials.

  • 10 Bosnian Serbs arrested for war crimes
    Ten Bosnian Serb officials were arrested on Tuesday by Bosnian police for alleged war crimes committed between 1992 and 1995.

    The officials, all senior military and police personnel, are accused of "planning, leading and participating" in the killing of 67 Muslim civilians, including women and children, in 1992 in the Bosnian village of Lokanj, reports VoA.

    Recent months have seen a steady number of arrests of former Bosnian Serb officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

  • EU court annuls Hamas proscription
    The European Union’s lower court annulled the bloc’s prevision decision to keep Hamas on a list of terrorist organisations citing technical procedures, reports the BBC.

    Hamas was removed from the proscription list based on technical grounds involving “factual imputations derived from the press and the internet.”

    The EU court stressed that the decision did “not imply any substantive assessment of the question of the classification of Hamas as a terrorist group,” reports Al Jazeera.

    The court said that it would maintain existing measures for three months to ensure effectiveness of any possible future freezing of funds.

    Responding to Hamas’ de-listing, Israeli prime minister slammed the EU for its ‘prejudice’ against the Jewish community.
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