Prophetic Times
|
WEEKLY WORLD NEWS UPDATE |
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA |
10 MAY 2003 |
NORTH KOREA MAY
EXPORT NUKES
May 7, 2003 The Washington
Times reports: "North Korea threatened during recent talks in
Beijing to export nuclear arms or add to its arsenal, in addition to saying it
will test an atomic bomb, The Washington Times has learned. North Korea's negotiator in the talks, Li
Gun, made the threat during an 'aside' session with Assistant Secretary of
State James Kelly, said U.S. officials familiar with the closed-door meeting in
Beijing.
'This was clearly a threat,' said one
official familiar with reports of the three-way talks among the United States,
North Korea and China.
Additionally, the North Koreans said at
the talks that they have nearly finished reprocessing the 8,000 spent fuel rods
that were supposed to be kept in storage under a 1994 agreement with the United
States. Mr. Li, a North Korean Foreign
Ministry official, told Mr. Kelly during the side meeting that Pyongyang will
'export nuclear weapons, add to its current arsenal or test a nuclear device,'
one administration official said.
North Korea is considered to be a major
supplier of missiles and other weapons to rogue states and unstable regions. U.S.
officials said they do not doubt that North Korea would export nuclear weapons
or technology. North Korea is believed to have two or three nuclear devices and could
make five or six more from the 8,000 spent fuel rods that had been in storage
until OctoberY"
PASSPORTS WILL CARRY EYE PRINTS
May 6, 2003 The London
Daily Telegraph reports: "Passports will be equipped with chips
capable of storing details of the holder's fingerprints and eyes under plans
agreed by David Blunkett and other G8 ministers yesterday. The patterns in the iris - the colored area
around the pupil - are individual and impossible to duplicate, making them a
virtually foolproof way of checking identity.
The Home Secretary agreed with his
counterparts in the other industrialized countries to develop the technology
that would allow biometric chips to be introduced in British passports in two
years. He confirmed that the technology
could be expanded for use in national identity cards - the 'entitlement cards'
he wants to introduce as a way of controlling asylum seekers.
Within five years, travelers crossing
borders can expect to have automatic checks on their irises or the distance
between certain facial features.
Speaking after the meeting of interior
ministers in Paris, Mr. Blunkett said: 'We need to be ahead of the game in
using technology in the fight against international crime and terrorism. These
criminals operate without respect for international boundaries.'
Britain has carried out trials of the
technology, checking details of frequent travelers between Britain and America
against a databaseY"
U.S. DEBATES
RESPONSE TO NORTH KOREAN THREATS
May 6, 2003 Fox News reports:
"The Bush administration is considering multiple avenues to convince North
Korea to put down its nukes, and may impose a blockade on the nation to elicit
compliance. Plans range from establishing an economic embargo to blocking North
Korean ships. A possible blockade would prevent nuclear material from reaching
rogue countries or terrorist groups.
White House aides are taking issue with a
New York Times report that suggests the administration has come to the
realization it can't end North Korea's nuclear program and is instead focusing on
keeping the North Koreans from selling nuclear materials or technology. Deputy
Press Secretary Scott McClellan said the administration is equally concerned
about North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons as well as its potential
transfer of material.
North Korea is producing plutonium for
nuclear weapons and is threatening to build bombs in what experts say is a form
of blackmail against the United States in order to get more food and money.
North Korea denies that it is a state-sponsor of terrorism, a designation by
the State Department that prevents it from receiving U.S. aid or World Bank
loans.
During talks last month among the United
States, North Korea and China, the U.S. sought a peaceful remedy to the nuclear
issue. North Korea, however, offered what it called a 'bold proposal' to settle
the dispute -- threatening to use or export the weapons if it doesn't get more
aid from USY"
CHINA STEPS UP SARS CURBS
May 6, 2003 BBC News reports:
"China has quarantined 10,000 people in the eastern city of Nanjing in a
bid to contain the SARS outbreak which has claimed 214 lives in the country and
infected 4,409 people.
Eight deaths and 138 new cases of Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome were announced on Tuesday. Four of the deaths were in the capital
Beijing, where 563 more people were isolated, bringing the total number of
quarantined to more than 16,000, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Riots have also been reported in rural
parts of China where villagers attacked buildings they learned were to be used
as quarantine centers. The violence in
Henan province where villagers ransacked a planned quarantine centre happened
last week, but news of it has only leaked out now. It was at least the third attack on an
isolation facility in the last two weeksY"
POWELL WARNS
SYRIA OF 'CONSEQUENCES'
May 5, 2003 BBC News reports:
"US Secretary of State Colin Powell has warned of 'consequences' if Syria
fails to pull its weight in bringing peace to the region. Mr. Powell was speaking following his first
visit to the Middle East since the fall of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein
and Washington's publication of a 'roadmap' for Israeli-Palestinian peace.
He said it was important that Syria
played a positive role in the region by sealing its border with Iraq and
closing the Damascus-based offices of hardline Palestinian groups. 'What counts now is performance,' Mr. Powell
said in an interview on ABC television.
'We're looking for a new attitude on the part of Syria.'
But he also told CBS television that a
comprehensive settlement between Israel and the Palestinians would 'include the
interests of the Syrians and the Golan Heights issue'.
Syria has said peace can only be achieved
if Israel withdraws from land claimed by the Arabs which Israel captured in the
1967 war - including the Golan Heights - and guarantees the right of return for
Palestinian refugees. Syria has
responded coolly to US demands, saying Washington should be putting pressure on
Israel.
In the first official statement on Mr.
Powell's visit to Damascus, Syria said Arabs had given their all for peace. It
made no mention of his demand over the Palestinian hardlinersY"
HAMAS CONTINUES MISSILE FIRE TOWARD
ISRAEL
May 5, 2003 The Middle East
Newsline reports: "Hamas has succeeded in resuming missile fire
toward Israeli targets despite the assassination of a key military
commander. Hamas gunners fired Kassam-2
short-range missiles toward several Israeli communities over the weekend. The
group said in a statement on Saturday that three Israeli communities were
targeted.
On Thursday, Israeli commandos, backed by
helicopters and tanks, killed a Hamas commander and his two brothers said to
have been responsible for Kassam missile attacks on a nearby Israeli city. In
all, 13 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli operation.
The Hamas statement said the latest
missile strikes were meant to retaliate for the Israeli operation in Gaza City.
The organization said it will continue to resist Israeli forcesY"
Compiled by L. Jim Tuck
UCGIA Pastor Oakland, San Jose, and Stockton, CA