May 29, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

YEONPYEONG, South Korea — North Korea defiantly test-fired another short-range missile Friday and warned it would act in “self-defense” if provoked by the U.N. Security Council, which is considering tough sanctions against the communist regime for conducting a nuclear test.

The North fired the missile from its Musudan-ni launch site on the east coast, a South Korean government official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the matter. It is the sixth short-range missile North Korea has test-fired since Monday’s nuclear test.

The official did not provide further details. But the Yonhap news agency cited an unidentified South Korean government official as saying the missile is a new type of ground-to-air missile estimated to have a range of up to 160 miles (260 kilometers).

With tensions high on the Korean peninsula, Chinese fishing boats left the region, possibly to avoid any maritime skirmishes between the two Koreas. But U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said the situation was not a crisis and no additional U.S. troops would be sent to the region.

North Korea, meanwhile, warned it would retaliate if provoked.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,522783,00.html?test=latestnews

“If the U.N. Security Council makes a further provocation, it will be inevitable for us to take further self-defense measures,” the North’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

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May 29, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

On 28 May 2009 four bombs were detonated in Peshawar, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than 70 others as militants targeted a busy market and a military checkpoint within the city. The bombings occurred in two separate attacks that were spaced hours after each other. The Taliban had previously warned of more attacks, following a bombing at a police station in Lahore, perpetrated less than 24 hours before the Peshawar attacks. According to reports, in the first attack explosives-laden motorcycles were detonated via timer, and as police officers arrived at the scene they were met by a Taliban ambush. The second attack occurred when a suicide bomber drove his car into a checkpoint on the outskirts of Peshawar. Pakistani officials have banned all public gatherings in the city and have placed restrictions on motorists in order to prevent additional attacks. The coordination of the attacks and the fact that they occurred only 24 hours after the Lahore incident raises some concern that a new wave of Taliban attacks may be launched against Pakistani cities.

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