World News Thread & Breaking News!!

[Equation]

I doubt this even works, it look smaller than the actual RQ-170.

Here a captured one for comparison

Tehran (AFP) - Iran said on Sunday it has succeeded in copying a US drone it captured in December 2011, with state television broadcasting images apparently showing the replicated aircraft.

Tehran captured the US RQ-170 Sentinel in 2011 while it was in its airspace, apparently on a mission to spy on the country's nuclear sites, media in the United States reported.

"Our engineers succeeded in breaking the drone's secrets and copying them. It will soon take a test flight," an officer said in the footage.

The broadcast showed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's visit to an exhibition organised by the powerful Revolutionary Guards air wing about Iran's military advances, particularly regarding ballistic missiles and drones.

Footage showed two nearly identical drones.

"This drone is very important for reconnaissance missions," Khamenei said, standing in front of the Iranian copy of the American unmanned aircraft.

Iran said it had taken control of the ultra hi-tech drone and forced it down in the desert where it was recovered nearly intact.

Washington said it had lost control of the aircraft.

At the time, US military officials tried to play the incident down, saying Iran did not have the technology to decipher its secrets, and President Barack Obama asked the Islamic republic to return the Sentinel.

Iran has been working to develop a significant drone programme of its own, and some of its unmanned aircraft have a range of hundreds of kilometres (miles) and are armed with missiles.

The state broadcaster also showed images that the commentary said had been recorded by an Iranian drone above a US aircraft carrier in the Gulf.

In the pictures, which were relatively clear, it was possible to see American personnel working on planes and helicopters aboard the vessel.

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[TerraN_EmpirE]

There are plenty of good places to travel. Pickpockets are one thing, freaking armed kidnappers is a whole other thing.

Maybe as a North American I'm just spoiled, since we have access to places like Cuba and Jamaica which are both relatively cheap and safe.

Cuba is still embargoed last I checked. And they are holding a number of Americans right now so North Korean Rules apply :Enter at your Own Risk.

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

I doubt this even works, it look smaller than the actual RQ-170....

Here a captured one for comparison

Agreed We know the Iranians can do mock ups the question is the Guts does it have the sensors, the avionics and engines.
But we also know that they can do knockoffs. if it's true or not will be answered if we see any flights.

 

[Miragedriver]

In the wake of a spate of vicious attacks on civilians, new mobile anti-terror units are tasked with cracking down on ‘terrorists, mass violence and gun crimes’

Telegraph-Beijing has reacted to a spate of deadly attacks on civilians by deploying 150 armed response units “to fight terrorism and maintain stability” in the Chinese capital, state media announced on Monday.

The 13-man units are intended to counter “street terrorism” and “severe violence,” Xinhua, China’s official news agency, said.

Their main focus will be incidents “involving guns, bombs as well as mass violence or terrorism,” Xinhua added.


Security is currently being tightened in cities across China in response to a recent wave of attacks, which have claimed dozens of lives.


Already this year there have been three separate attacks on Chinese train stations which state media say were carried out by “knife-wielding” assailants. Beijing has blamed at least two of these attacks on religious extremists from the western province of Xinjiang.


In the most severe incident – a March 1 assault on a station in Kunming - 29 people and four attackers were killed. State media called that attack “China’s 9/11”.

The Foreign Office updated its advice for UK citizens travelling to China last week after a knife attack at a train station in the southern megacity of Guangzhou.

“Be vigilant and take extra care when transiting public transport hubs,”the new advice says.

Security has also been visibly increased in Shanghai, where 1,000 armed police officers were deployed in “densely populated areas, such as urban centers and transport hubs” on April 20, according to Xinhua.

Uniformed police officers have been ordered to start patrolling religious venues in Shanghai, The Telegraph understands.

Calls to the propaganda office of Shanghai’s Public Security Bureau went unanswered on Monday afternoon.

It is not clear whether the increased presence of security forces reflects specific intelligence about plans for new attacks or is simply an attempt to reassure the public and deter potential attackers.

Li Juan, an anti-terrorism expert from the Xinjiang Police College, told the China Daily high profile troop deployments needed to become “regular and permanent features of public safety, not merely a short-term campaign”.

Raffaello Pantucci, a senior research fellow and anti-terrorism expert from London’s Royal United Services Institute, said it was not clear if the recent attacks were connected.

“The similarities in tactics could be something that is due to imitation or strategy. What would be surprising would be if it proved that these were linked to people outside the country. The level of capability and tactics suggest something more home-grown,” he said.

Pantucci said Beijing was likely to take “a quite hardline view in the short-term”.

“We have already seen a number of measures being put in place - like armed cops wandering Shanghai's streets or police more generally taking a more proactive approach to stopping and searching people in the streets - and I imagine this will only increase.”

Monday’s deployment of armed units also comes just ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown on June 4, an event that has left Beijing jittery.

Pu Zhiqiang, one of China’s most respected human rights lawyers, was arrested last week on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” after taking part in a seminar about the deadly military crackdown. Activists believe the Communist Party is attempting to silence Mr Pu and other dissidents before the anniversary.

Drawing attention to "the June 4th incident... clearly crossed the red line of law,” the state-run Global Times newspaper argued last week, without explaining why.

 

[Miragedriver]

The same old rhetoric from North Korean. They must have run out of money again and are making threats to get a payoff. Even the Chinese are starting to get feed up with them. The only reason why Chinese (reluctantly) supports them is because North Korea is a buffer between them and the USA. Chinese Generals must get a cold shiver down their spine at the thought of US troops on the Chinese border with radar and other listening devices. The only thing that is scarier now is the fact that North Korea has nuclear weapons with missiles to carry them.

North Korea threatens to attack South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea threatened Tuesday to "wipe out" South Korea's government in a furious response a day after a Seoul official said the North "must disappear soon," in an escalation of rhetoric between the rivals.
The North's powerful National Defense Commission called the South Korean comments an "intolerable" provocation that showed the South wants to take over the North.

It said in a statement carried by state media that North Korea will launch "all-out ... merciless" strikes to "wipe out every last person" in South Korean President Park Geun-hye's government.

South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said Monday that North Korea wasn't a real country and existed for the benefit of only one person — a reference to its leader, Kim Jong Un. He said the North has no human rights or public freedoms.

Kim's comments followed a series of slurs by North Korea against the leaders of South Korea and the United States. North Korea's media likened Park to an "old prostitute" and President Barack Obama to a "monkey" in recent dispatches.
South Korea's Defense Ministry said North Korea's military hadn't undertaken any suspicious activities. A ministry official said South Korea is always ready to repel any provocation by the North.

South Korea has been highly critical of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, including recent rocket and missile launches and apparent preparations for a fourth nuclear test. But the comments from Seoul on Monday are stronger than usual. South Korea tries to avoid publicly talking about anything that could be interpreted as a collapse of the North Korean government because of worries that the North would raise tensions.

North Korea has been ramping up its rhetoric against Seoul and Washington since Obama and Park met in Seoul last month. During that visit, Obama said it may be time to consider further sanctions against North Korea and that the U.S. will not hesitate to use its military might to defend its allies.

South Korea has called the North's verbal insults against Park immoral and unacceptable. The U.S. State Department described the North's racist slurs against Obama as "disgusting."

Earlier Tuesday, the North Korean government-run Uriminzokkiri website warned that Kim himself would pay a high price for his comments. "We will not sit idle by while this mad dog keeps ... barking noisily," the website said.

 

[bd popeye]

Mine disaster in Turkey...Follow the link for more information...

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At least 17 people have been killed after an explosion and fire at a coal mine in western Turkey, officials say.

Hundreds were reported to be trapped underground at the mine in Soma, Manisa province, but Turkish media suggest as many as 157 have died.

A huge rescue operation has begun and some 20 people are reported to have been brought out so far.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul has ordered the regional governor to deploy all resources to rescue the miners.

They are thought to be 4km (2.4 miles) from the entrance, at a depth of 2km.

While it is estimated that 580 workers were underground at the time of the blast, it is thought many of them managed to escape.

Union officials said as the blast occurred at shift changeover time, there was uncertainty about how many miners were still inside, Reuters news agency reports.

Large crowds of worried family members gathered near the privately-owned mine.

 

[Equation]

Mine disaster in Turkey...Follow the link for more information...

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I hope they ALL get out safe soon.

 

[ManilaBoy45]

Philippines Says China Appears to be Building Airstrip on Disputed Johnson South Reef

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By Manuel Mogato
MANILA Tue May 13, 2014 9:35pm EDT

(Reuters) - The Philippines accused China on Wednesday of reclaiming land on a reef in disputed islands in the South China Sea, apparently to build an airstrip, only a day after Washington described Beijing's actions in the region as "provocative".If confirmed, the airstrip would be the first built by China on any of the eight reefs and islands it occupies in the Spratly Islands and would mark a significant escalation in tensions involving several nations in the area.China claims almost the entire South China Sea, an area rich in energy deposits and an important passageway traversed each year by $5 trillion worth of ship-borne goods.

Philippine Foreign ministry spokesman Charles Jose told Reuters that China had been moving earth and materials to Johnson South Reef, known by the Chinese as Chigua, in recent weeks. He said China was reclaiming land in violation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, an informal code of conduct for the region."They're about to build an airstrip," Jose said.He said evidence of the Chinese activity on the reef had been shown in aerial photographs taken by the Philippine Navy. The Philippines and Taiwan already have airstrips in the area.The ministry had already lodged a protest with the Chinese and raised the issue behind closed doors at last weekend's summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations in Myanmar, Jose said.

 

[joshuatree]

^^^^^^^^

Not really breaking news, already discussed on this thread. Furthermore, Vietnam also has been busy building themselves.

http://www.sinodefenceforum.com/navy/plan-south-seas-fleet-bases-21-4059.html#post280366

For example:

Is this the construction/facilities the Vietnamese have on Johnson South Reef:

​

And then is this what the Chinese are building directly across from it, within sight?

​

 

[Miragedriver]

Residents of three villages in northern Nigeria have repelled an attack by suspected Boko Haram Islamist fighters, an eyewitness has told the BBC.

About 200 of the militants were killed during the fighting in the Kala-Balge district of Borno state, he said.

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