The US Is Thinking About Sending More Weapons to the Korean Peninsula

By Reuters News AgencyJanuary 11, 2016 | 3:32 pm

The United States and its ally South Korea were discussing on Monday sending more strategic US weapons to the Korean peninsula, a day after a US B-52 bomber flew over South Korea in response to North Korea's nuclear test last week. North Korea said it set off a hydrogen bomb last Wednesday, its fourth nuclear test since 2006, angering China, the North's main ally, and the US, which said it doubted the device was a hydrogen bomb. In a show of force and support for allies in the region, the US on Sunday sent a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber based in Guam on a flight over South Korea, accompanied by South Korean fighter jets. North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party, said the US was bringing the situation to the brink of war. South Korean media said the US may send B-2 bombers, nuclear-powered submarines, and F-22 stealth fighter jets to South Korea. A South Korean defense ministry spokesman declined to give details. China called for all sides to avoid raising tension. The chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff warned that North Korea was likely to carry out further "sudden provocations," a South Korean defense ministry official said, while the commander of the 28,500 US troops in South Korea, General Curtis Scaparrotti, urged them to be vigilant. "I want you to maintain the highest level readiness from a long-term view as joint military exercises are coming up," Scaparrotti told US and South Korean forces on a visit to a base — apparently referring to joint annual military exercises that usually begin in February or March and invariably provoke an angry reaction from North Korea. On the diplomatic front, South Korea said its chief nuclear negotiator planned to meet his US and Japanese counterparts on Wednesday to discuss a response to North Korea, and the next day, he would meet China's nuclear envoy in Beijing. North Korea has been under UN Security Council sanctions since its first test of an atomic device. After its third test, in 2013, the Security Council took about three weeks to agree a resolution that tightened financial restrictions and cracked down on its attempts to ship and receive banned cargo. South Korea and Japan used a military hotline for the first time after of North Korea's test, South Korea's defense ministry said, in a sign the North's behaviour is pushing the two old rivals closer together. South Korea has also resumed anti-North propaganda broadcasts through loudspeakers along the border, a tactic that the North considers insulting. It responded with artillery fire the last time South Korea used the speakers in August. Meanwhile, CNN reported from Pyongyang on Monday that a Canadian pastor serving a life sentence in North Korea for subversion said he spends eight hours a day digging holes at a labour camp, while a naturalized American citizen said he is being held by the state for spying. If confirmed, Kim Dong Chul, who CNN said was 60 and formerly of Fairfax, Virginia, would be the second Western citizen known to be held currently in North Korea. He was being held for spying for South Korea and asked the South or the US government to rescue him, CNN said. Hyeon Soo Lim, a South Korean-born Canadian who was the head pastor at one of Canada's largest churches, who has been held by the North since February, was brought into a Pyongyang hotel for an interview. He said he works eight hours a day, six days a week digging holes in an orchard at a labour camp where he has seen no other prisoners.

 

For this week's article response I decided to choose an article that is realtible to our new discussion in which is North Korea. Ever since, North Korea tested theur Hydrogen bomb the tension between the North and South Korea has intensified. As a respond to the north's Hydrogen bomb, the US send in a B-52bomber to fly over the South Korea told their allies to stay alert. In addition, reports also show that China, North Korea's main allie, was also displeased with the testing and called for all sides to avoid raising tension. In addition to the summary of the tension between the North and South, the article also gives another story of a South Korean-born Canadian pastor who is being held by the North. When it comes to the biases of this article, I believe this article is a bit more bias towards the US and South Korea since the reports of the situation is all coming from one side rather than stories from both the South and North. Furthermore, my opinion on the situation is that the testing of the H-bomb has rasied high tension and I also believe that in order to achieve some kind of peace both the North and the South should begin by dimiliarizing their boarders. 

 Reuters News Agency,"Vice News." 11 Jan. 2016. The US Is Thinking About Sending More Weapons to the Korean Peninsula.  25 Jan. 2016. <https://news.vice.com/article/the-us-is-thinking-about-sending-more-weapons-to-the-korean-peninsula>

Syrian Children Killed In School Airstrike
An airstrike that killed eight children at a primary school in Aleppo is blamed on Russian fighter jets.
12:10, UK,Monday 11 January 2016

Eleven children have been killed by a Russian airstrike and rebel rocket fire which hit separate targets in Syria, according to a British-based monitoring group. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike that hit the school in the town of Anjara in the province of Aleppo killed eight children and also injured 20 children and teachers. The Britain-based monitoring group also reported that three children were killed by rebel rocket fire on a government-held district in Aleppo. Video posted on social media, which has not been independently verified, shows a tearful young girl who survived the attack saying: "I was supposed to sit my exam today but the plane destroyed my school." Other pictures show bloodied children covered in dust waiting to be seen in hospital and rescue teams attempting to dig people out of mounds of rubble. Control of Aleppo and its surrounding province is split between the Syrian government, a range of insurgent groups battling President Assad, and fighters from Islamic State who control some rural areas close to the city. The government controls western areas of Aleppo city and an array of insurgent groups control the east. Islamic State and other insurgents, including groups backed by President Assad's foreign enemies, have been fighting each other north of the city. The Syrian civil war has dramatically intensified in recent months and there are currently thousands of rebels and government forces across the country engaged in a deadly battle for supremacy and territory. Russian jets regularly bomb targets in non-IS areas in a strategy some observers have suggested seems to be more about saving the Assad regime, rather than destroying Islamic State. Russia says its airstrikes, which began on September 2015, are aimed at Islamic State, although many of the strikes have been in areas held by other rebel groups, including some that have received backing from Assad's foreign opponents.1/25 The war has forced millions of refugees into neighbouring countries and Europe, with the bulk of them currently living in camps along Syria's borders.

In this article reports the recent events on the Russian air force bombing Syrian primary school in Aleppo, Syria. Due to the bombing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that the strike that hit the school in the province of Aleppo killed eight children and also injured 20 children and teachers. So far, Russia say their these bombing are aimed towards the Islamic State, however reports say many of their strikes have been in areas where the rebels are holding. In my personal opinion i believe the reason why these strikes are happening near rebel areas are due to Russia wanting the Assad regime to remain in Syria. As far as I can tell when it comes to the biases in this article I believe this article is bias against Russia. In conclusion I believe there are many people suffering from Russia's false claims of fight against the Islamic state and I hope and pray for the people of Syria.   

citation 

"Syrian Children Killed In School Airstrike" 11 Jan. 2015. SkyNews. 11 Jan. 2015.

<http://news.sky.com/story/1620645/syrian-children-killed-in-school-airstrike>

Saudi Arabia Bans All Flights To And From Iran

The country cuts all commercial ties with Iran following attacks on its embassy in Tehran as tensions in the region grow.

16:31, UK,Monday 04 January 2016
Saudi Arabia is reportedly stopping all flights to and from Iran - and banning its citizens from travelling there. Saudi foreign minister Adel al Jubeir told Reuters all commercial ties between the countries would also be cut. It follows attacks on the Saudi embassy in Iran by protesters angry at the execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al Nimr. Nimr al Nimr was among 47 prisoners executed by the Saudi regime Sunni-led Saudi Arabia claims the killing was part of a war on terrorism - but it has sparked protests among Shia Muslims throughout the region. In response to attacks on its diplomatic missions, Saudi has ordered all Iranian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours. The foreign minister blamed "Iran's aggressive policies" over many years. Sunni allies Bahrain, Sudan and United Arab Emirates have also severed or reduced diplomatic ties with Iran. Their intervention represents another escalation in tension between the two branches of Islam. Iran, a Shia powerhouse, has accused Saudi Arabia of using the attacks on its embassy in Tehran to deliberately stoke "tensions" in the region. "Saudi Arabia, which thrives on tensions, has used this incident as an excuse to fuel the tensions," foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said in televised remarks. No Saudi diplomats were in the embassy at the time and all have now been called home. Iranian officials condemned the attack, as well as Sheikh al Nimr's execution by Saudi Arabia. The 56-year-old was a driving force behind anti-government protests in Saudi during the Arab Spring of 2011. He was put to death along with 46 other prisoners on Saturday. Iran's supreme leader said Saudi politicians will face "divine vengeance" for killing the cleric. There has also been sectarian anger in eastern parts of Saudi, with hundreds of Shia Muslims marching through the streets, and demonstrations spread to countries including Turkey, Pakistan, India and Lebanon. Police fired tear gas at demonstrators in Bahrain, while two Sunni mosques were bombed in Iraq's Hilla province. Some 5,000 Shia demonstrators amassed near the foreign ministry in Baghdad on Monday calling for Iraq to sever all ties to Saudi Arabia. China declared itself "highly concerned" with the developments, while Germany and the US called for calm. An unnamed diplomat quoted by Russian state media said Moscow was ready to act as a peacemaker between the two countries. The Arab League said it would hold emergency talks at the request of Saudi Arabia. There had been concerns that Iranians would be barred from making pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia amid the tensions, but the foreign minister confirmed this would not be the case.

In this article explains and sums up the situation and the relations around the middle east after the execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al Nimr.  Since of the death of Sheikh protests among Shia Muslims throughout Iran sparked which later resulted in an attack on the Saudi embassy in Teharan, As a response Saudi has ordered all Iranian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours and cut commercial ties with Iran. After the Saudi's response other Arab nations like Bahrain, Sudan and United Arab Emirates decrased their diplomatic ties with Iran. In my personal opinion, I didn't not expect the situation between these two countries would lighten up. I also didn't understand how important Sheikh was to Shia Muslims. in addition, I believe Sky news has done unbiased job on reporting information and the situation between Iran and Saudi Arabia. In conclusion, the tension between the Saudis and the Iranians have increased resulting in other Arab countries to lessen their ties with Iran. In addition, other countries like the US and China show their concerns and the even the Russian have offered their services to keep peace between these nations.   

citation

"Saudi Arabia Bans All Flights To And From Iran." 04 Jan. 2016. SkyNews. 04 Jan. 2016. <http://news.sky.com/story/1616506/saudi-arabia-bans-all-flights-to-and-from-iran>