ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Sixing Liu sentenced to nearly six years in prison for exporting details on missiles and unmanned drones. A Chinese national has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison following his conviction for illegally exporting details of sensitive US military technology to China. Sixing Liu, who was sentenced on Monday, was convicted in September by a federal jury in Newark, New Jersey, on nine of 11 counts, including possession of stolen trade secrets, violating the Arms Export Control Act and lying to federal agents. Prosecutors said the defendant, who is also known as Steve Liu, stole thousands of computer files that detailed the performance and design of guidance systems for missiles, rockets and unmanned drones. He stole the files from L-3 Communications Holdings, where he was employed as an engineer. Liu then made several presentations at Chinese universities and government-organised conferences about the technology without L-3's permission, hoping it would eventually help him

Puts military on 'combat-ready' status, with rocket units ordered to prepare for strikes on Hawaii, Guam and mainland. North Korea has put its military on combat-ready status, with "strategic" rocket units ordered to prepare for possible strikes against the US mainland, Hawaii and Guam, state media reported. The order, issued in a statement from the North's military "supreme command", marks the latest fiery rhetoric from Pyongyang since the start of joint military drills by US and South Korean forces early this month. "The Korea People's Army top command declares that all artillery troops including strategic rocket units and long-range artillery units are to be placed under class-A combat readiness," the Korean Central News Agency said on Tuesday. Despite a successful long-range rocket launch in December, most experts believe North Korea is years from developing a genuine inter-continental ballistic missile that could strike the continent

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's president says 13 South African soldiers were killed and 27 were wounded in fighting in the Central African Republic. President Jacob Zuma also said Monday that one soldier is missing. South African troops came under attack on Saturday in the Central African Republic as rebels advanced on the capital, Bangui. The rebels have overthrown the country's president and seized the presidential palace. South Africa had deployed several hundred soldiers to the Central African Republic to assist national forces there.

By Tony Cartalucci March 25, 2013 " Information Clearing House " - " LD " - While US President Barack Obama and the Western media lied in concert to the world regarding America's role in supporting terrorists operating in Syria, it is now revealed that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been shipping weapons to Syria via NATO-member Turkey and Jordan since at least early 2012. The New York Times in their article titled, " Arms Airlift to Syria Rebels Expands, With C.I.A. Aid ," admits that: With help from the C.I.A., Arab governments and Turkey have sharply increased their military aid to Syria’s opposition fighters in recent months, expanding a secret airlift of arms and equipment for the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, according to air traffic data, interviews with officials in several countries and the accounts of rebel commanders. The airlift, which began on a small scale in early 2012 and continued intermittently through

By Press TV March 25, 2013 "Information Clearing House" -" Press TV " - With help from the C.I.A., Arab governments and Turkey have sharply increased their military aid to Syria’s opposition fighters in recent months, expanding a secret airlift of arms and equipment for the fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, according to air traffic data, interviews with officials in several countries and the accounts of rebel commanders. The airlift, which began on a small scale in early 2012 and continued intermittently through last fall, expanded into a steady and much heavier flow late last year, the data shows. It has grown to include more than 160 military cargo flights by Jordanian, Saudi and Qatari military-style cargo planes landing at Esenboga Airport near Ankara, and, to a lesser degree, at other Turkish and Jordanian airports. As it evolved, the airlift correlated with shifts in the war within Syria, as rebels drove Syria’s army from territory by the middle of l

New rock dating techniques have helped narrow the timeframe of a chain of massive volcanic eruptions that wiped out half the world's species 200 million years ago, a study said Thursday. The result is the most precise date yet -- 201,564,000 years ago -- for the event known as the End-Triassic Extinction, or the fourth mass extinction, said the study in the journal Science. The eruptions "had to be a hell of an event," said co-author Dennis Kent, a paleomagnetism expert at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. They may offer a historic parallel to the human-caused climate change happening today, by showing how sharp increases in carbon dioxide can outpace vulnerable species' ability to adapt, researchers said. The new analysis winnows the estimated date from its previous range of up to three million years to 20,000 years at most, a blink of an eye in geological terms. The eruptions caused an already hot Earth to become even more stifling, killing

SEOUL (Reuters) - Forget "Hail to the Chief". In North Korea, the army sing their leader's praises with a chorus of "We Will Defend General Kim Jong-un at the Cost of Our Lives", or the catchy accordion and tap-dance tune, "The Naval Port in the Evening". Kim, the third of his line to rule North Korea, praised musical instruments made by the North's 1.2 million-strong army on Sunday, state news agency KCNA reported. Tensions have risen on the Korean peninsula since new U.N. sanctions were imposed after the North carried out its third nuclear test in February. Pyongyang has threatened to destroy the United States with nuclear weapons, bomb its Pacific bases and shell South Korea in response. Putting aside rising rhetoric, Kim inspected guitars and drums made by the army and said it was important to make quality instruments so soldiers could "spend their worthwhile days in the army full of militant optimism and joy", KCNA said. Kim, "S

Russia's federal migration service has introduced civilian patrols as part of a crackdown on illegal immigrants. Civic-minded citizens in Moscow can now sign up to take part in organised raids of migrant housing and street patrols. The volunteers are supervised by a migration service official and not allowed to use force, unless in self-defence. Sky News filmed a raid on a suspected migrant workers' camp in a suburb on the outskirts of Moscow. The volunteers gathered in a supermarket car park at 6am. It was snowing heavily and the temperature was -10C, but the group seemed enthusiastic as they piled out of their 4x4s to discuss the plan. We set off in convoy towards the camp along a rough track deep in snow. We were told the area is close to a large open-air market where many of the migrants find work. At first sight the camp was little more than a shanty town - a ramshackle collection of sheds and garages, improvised shelters against the depths of the Russian winter. The patro