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An independent view of the world
seen from Pacific Tokelau
The Independent New York Times
Pacific,
November 2012 - News
Magazine's Summary of News |
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Ankara - The Turkish government has
confirmed it is deploying more fighter
jets to an airbase close to the border
with Syria, amid artillery exchanges
along its tense south-eastern border
with Syria. Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Turkey's prime minister, addressed
parliament on the issue on Tuesday,
saying that his country does not want
war, but that Turkey needs to be
prepared for anything.At least 25
additional F-16 fighter jets were
deployed at Turkey's Diyarbakir air base
late on Monday. |
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| Naval
forces that could be deployed in the
Middle East: China's new aircraft
carrier (left), Iranian warships
(centre), Russian aircraft carrier and
support vessels (right). Speaking after
a Friends of Syria conference, held in
Tunisia, Hillary Clinton said that
Russia and China must join international
condemnation of President Assad's
regime. 'It's quite distressing to see
two permanent members of the Security
Council using their veto while people
are being murdered – women, children,
brave young men – houses are being
destroyed,' she said. 'It is just
despicable and I ask whose side are they
on? They are clearly not on the side of
the Syrian people.' Hillary Clinton
predicted a military coup inside Syria,
the kind that ended the old regimes in
Egypt and Tunisia. 'We saw this happen
in other settings last year, I think it
is going to happen in Syria,' she
announced. 'We also know from many
sources that there are people around
Assad who are beginning to hedge their
bets – they didn't sign up to slaughter
people.' Assad allies Russia and China
have blocked UN action on Syria want so
as to avoid the kind of foreign
intervention that happened in Libya.
Moscow and Beijing vetoed UN Security
Council resolutions backing Arab League
plans aimed at ending the conflict and
condemning Assad's crackdown. |
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Tension in the oil shipping lanes of
the Gulf intensifies amid
indications that Iran, Israel and
the US will hold military exercises
designed to test weaponry and
tactics following Iran's threats to
block the Strait of Hormuz, which
serves as the conduit for 17
millions barrels of oil every day.
Naval commanders believe the
deployment of HMS Daring, a Type 45
destroyer, will send a significant
message to the Iranians because of
the firepower and world-beating
technology carried by the warship.
Philip Hammond, the Defence
Secretary, has publicly warned Iran
that any blockade of the Strait of
Hormuz would be "illegal and
unsuccessful". The Daily Telegraph
understands that HMS Daring has been
fitted with new technology that will
give it the ability to shoot down
any missile in Iran's armoury. The
£1 billion destroyer, which will
leave Portsmouth next Wednesday,
also carries the world's most
sophisticated naval radar, capable
of tracking multiple incoming
threats from missiles to fighter
jets. Daring, with its crew of 190,
will transit through the Suez Canal
and enter the Gulf later this month
to replace the Type 23 frigate
currently on station. Iran completed
a 10-day naval exercise in the
sensitive waters near the Strait of
Hormuz on Tuesday, staging
manoeuvres which included firing
three anti-ship missiles understood
to be the Chinese-made C-802.
Yesterday, Tehran said that another
exercise would be held in the same
area next month. Admiral Ali Fadavi,
commander of the naval branch of the
Revolutionary Guard, warned that
this would be different from the
most recent one. Speaking earlier,
Mr Hammond said that our joint
naval presence in the Arabian Gulf
was key to keeping the Strait of
Hormuz open for international
trade. A Navy source has indicated
that more British ships could be
sent to the Gulf if required. The
second Type 45, HMS Dauntless, will
also be available to sail at short
notice.
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EDITORIAL - As the City of London leads
the battle against the euro it is
time to look more closely at Britain's
situation, which is far from glorious.
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