U.S. halting food aid means scrapping food-for-nuke deal: North Korea

U.S. halting food aid means scrapping food-for-nuke deal: North Korea

BEIJING (Kyodo) -- North Korea warned the United States on Saturday that suspending food aid to the country under a bilateral food-for-nuclear deal would amount to scrapping the agreement "in its entirety."

The deal, struck in Beijing and announced Feb. 29, commits North Korea to implement moratoriums on nuclear tests, long-range missile launches and uranium enrichment activities in exchange for 240,000 tons of U.S. food aid.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry sounded the warning in criticizing the United States for signaling the suspension of planned food aid if Pyongyang goes ahead with the launch of a "satellite" in mid-April that Washington says violates a 2006 U.N. Security Council resolution.

The United States "responded to the DPRK's planned satellite launch with the announcement to stop following through on its commitment to food aid. This would be a regrettable act of scrapping the DPRK-U.S. agreement in its entirety as it is a violation of the core articles of the February 29 DPRK-U.S. agreement," a Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the official Korean Central News Agency. Read More

Bomb attacks by Muslim Separatists in southern Thailand kill 16, injuring more than 400 People

BANGKOK (Kyodo) -- Muslim separatists unleashed a series of bomb attacks in southern Thailand on Saturday, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 400, authorities said Sunday.

National police chief Gen. Priewphan Damapong said a deadly explosion and fire at a hotel and shopping complex in Hat Yai, Songkhla Province, on Saturday was caused by a car bomb planted in an underground parking area.

The blast and fire, which occurred at around noon at the 33-story Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel building, killed five people, including a Malaysian national, and injured more than 300 others, local police officials said.

An hour earlier, three explosions in rapid succession occurred in a busy downtown area of Yala city, Yala Province, killing 11 people and injuring 127 others, the Public Health Ministry said. Read More

Britons urged to leave Mali as rebel gunmen attack northern city of Gao ten days after claiming capital

British citizens currently in Mali, in west Africa are being urged to leave.

The Foreign Office has changed its travel advice, urging all but those who have urgent business there to leave.

The new advice follows an attempted coup last week and specifically warns those in the capital, Bamako, to be cautious.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said: 'We advise against all travel to Mali and you should leave if you have no pressing need to remain.'

It said a curfew that had been imposed from 6pm to 6am had now been lifted, but added: 'We continue to advise British nationals in Bamako to exercise caution and stay away from crowds and demonstrations when travelling around the city.

'There have been reports of some shops beginning to run low on supplies and of long queues forming outside some banks. Read More

Mali: Army Forced Back By Major Rebel Assault

Mali's army has reportedly abandoned its military bases around the key northern garrison town of Gao after a fierce assault by heavily-armed rebels.

The defeat was the latest for the army after a lightning 48-hour advance by northern rebels seeking to capitalise on chaos in the West African country after last week's coup.

Junta leader Captain Amadou Sanogo read a statement on state television, saying: "Given the proximity of the camps to residential areas, our forces decided not to fight."

One civilian source told Reuters news agency that rebels had already occupied both main bases around the town while another source said just one of the two camps was now under rebel control. No fighting was visible in Gao itself.

"The army has hit the road to Bamako," said the civilian source of the road towards the capital around 600 miles further south. Read More