ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Agence France-Presse in Seoul North Korea has fired two short-range missiles into the sea, Seoul's military has said, in an apparent show of anger at an upcoming joint military drill between South Korea and the United States . The North fired the two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea (Sea of Japan) at 1.20am and 1.30am local time on Sunday, the South's defence ministry told AFP. "Their range appear to be around 500km [310 miles]," he said, adding that Seoul's military had stepped up monitoring for additional launches. The move – the latest in a series of similar launches in recent weeks – came a day after Pyongyang condemned an upcoming Seoul-Washington naval joint exercise. The annual drill, to be held from 16 to 21 July, involves the US aircraft carrier George Washington, which arrived in the southern port of Busan on Friday. The North bristled at the massive, nuclear-powered carrier visiting the port, calling it a "reckless" act of pr...

At least 80% of all audio calls, not just metadata, are recorded and stored in the US, says whistleblower William Binney – that's a 'totalitarian mentality' William Binney testifies before a German inquiry into surveillance. Photograph: Getty Images William Binney is one of the highest-level whistleblowers to ever emerge from the NSA. He was a leading code-breaker against the Soviet Union during the Cold War but resigned soon after September 11, disgusted by Washington’s move towards mass surveillance. On 5 July he spoke at a conference in London organised by the Centre for Investigative Journalism and revealed the extent of the surveillance programs unleashed by the Bush and Obama administrations. “At least 80% of fibre-optic cables globally go via the US”, Binney said. “This is no accident and allows the US to view all communication coming in. At least 80% of all audio calls, not just metadata, are recorded and stored in the US. The NSA lies about what it stores.” The NS...