News Story: India says Rohingya refugees threat to national security

NEW DELHI, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- India on Monday termed Rohingya refugees from Myanmar as a "very serious and potential threat to national security" and indicated it could soon deport them from the country.

In a written submission to the country's Supreme Court, the Indian government claimed that the Rohingya Muslims, who fled violence in Myanmar and settled in India, are "indulging in anti-national activities and channelizing funds through havala (illegal) channels."

"There is a serious potential and possibility of eruption of violence by the radicalized Rohingyas against Buddhists in India," it told the court, which sought the response of the government in the wake of petition by two Rohingya Muslims challenging deportation by India.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Trump's generals look to provide a steady hand

President Donald Trump

By Thomas WATKINS

Dubbed the "axis of adults," three generals working for President Donald Trump are trying to drill a sense of good order and discipline into a sometimes chaotic White House.

The trio -- Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster -- have spent the summer cleaning up crises of Trump's own making, and trying to prevent the North Korean nuclear standoff spinning out of control.

The growing influence of the men Trump likes to call "my generals" has reassured some allies and political opponents, while others are raising eyebrows over military men being in typically civilian jobs.

"There certainly has been a feeling among many of my colleagues that they are a steadying hand on the rudder and provide a sense of consistency and rationality in an otherwise zig-zagging White House," Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told The Washington Post.

The generals' spit-and-polish gravitas was at the fore when Kelly, a recently retired Marine four-star who served in the Gulf War and the Iraq War, was promoted to Trump's chief of staff in July.

Kelly, who had been heading the Department of Homeland Security and took over from Republican figurehead Reince Preibus, moved quickly to impose order.

He booted the president's brash spokesman Anthony Scaramucci -- far-right chief strategist Steve Bannon left shortly after -- and Kelly reportedly has curtailed who sees Trump, including daughter Ivanka.

But Kelly is unable to keep his boss entirely on message, as displayed during the disastrous press conference last month where Trump defended white supremacists after deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The generals "cannot control everything that comes out of his mouth, but they can slow things down, they can moderate his instincts," said Eliot Cohen, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, who knows Mattis, McMaster and Kelly.

"They can try to get a much more deliberative process than you would have had if somebody else was in charge," he said.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Report: Malaysian Prime Minister to Visit White House in September

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak
(Image: Wiki Commons)

U.S. President Donald Trump will host Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak for talks at the White House next month.

The White House announced the visit late Wednesday, saying Trump looks forward to discussing strengthening relations with “one of America’s closest partners in Southeast Asia.”

Malaysia’s foreign ministry said the leaders would further talk about national security, combating terrorism and extremism, and trade.

Relations between the United States and Malaysia warmed after Najib and former U.S. President Barack Obama took office in 2009. Obama became the first U.S. leader to visit Malaysia in more than 50 years when he traveled there in 2014.

But a massive corruption scandal involving a state investment fund founded by Najib has caused strains with the U.S. and other countries investigating allegations of embezzlement and money laundering.

The U.S. Justice Department has tried to seize $1.7 billion in assets linked to the probe.

Najib has denied any wrongdoing.

This story first appeared on Voice of America & is reposted here with permission.

News Story: Afghan gov't launches new security plan for Kabul

KABUL, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan Interior Ministry has devised and implemented a new plan for Kabul to ensure security in the national capital and adjoining areas, the Government Media and Information Center (GMIC) said on Wednesday.

Giving priorities to providing security to diplomatic enclaves, the GMIC said the security plan would cover Kabul and adjoining districts and provinces close to the capital city.

"Up to 26 checkpoints have been placed around the capital's diplomatic areas on priority basis and 10 more mobile-checkpoints have been considered to patrol the roads and streets leading to the capital city," acting Kabul police chief Salim Ehsas said in a statement.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Defense minister orders resolute and confident response to N.K. provocations

SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo on Saturday ordered the military to fight back "resolutely and confidently" against any North Korean provocation, the ministry said.

Song made the remark during his visit to Yeonpyeong Island, a Yellow Sea island close to the inter-Korean border. The minister visited military units and paid his respects at monuments in memory of South Korean soldiers killed in the 2002 inter-Korean naval skirmish near the island, and victims of North Korea's shelling of the island in 2010.

"The defense of northwestern islands and the Northern Limit Line is the core of national security," Song was quoted by the ministry as saying, referring to the de facto maritime border.

"In case there's a provocation from the enemy, (the military) has to fight back resolutely based on an offensive operational strategy and completely destroy the enemy for a victory," he said.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: Xi's Army Day speech signals stricter defense of China's interests - Russian expert

MOSCOW, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent speech at the Army Day parade reflects "a gradual transition to a stricter defense of its interests" in the world, a Russian expert has said.

"That is why he chose such a strictly military entourage, and, wearing a military uniform in front of the troops, made a statement that China would never pursue an expansionist policy, but will never allow anyone to tear away any morsel of Chinese territory," said Vasily Kashin, research fellow of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Xi's speeches at the Army Day parade on Sunday and at the celebration for the 90th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Tuesday illustrate the Chinese leadership's firm stance against separatism, Kashin noted, particularly regarding the issue of Taiwan. 

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Parties divided over Moon's countermeasures against N.Korean ICBM test

SEOUL, July 30 (Yonhap) -- On the liberal Moon Jae-in government's countermeasures against the latest North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile test, the ruling party voiced its consent, but opposition parties called for tougher ones, criticizing the president's Berlin peace initiative that puts more weight on dialogue with the North than pressure on it.

In an emergency National Security Council meeting convened right after the North's new ICBM test Friday night, Moon proposed a set of countermeasures, including the temporary deployment of four additional THAAD interceptor launchers, and ordered consultation with the United States on ways to bolster strategic deterrence against the recalcitrant North. The presidential office said later that the provisional deployment does not mean the retraction of a declared environmental impact assessment on the deployment site.

At present, two THAAD launchers are in operation at a former golf course in Seongju, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, with four others stored at a nearby U.S. military base due to local residents' opposition.

"We understand the (provisional deployment) this time as the security on the Korean Peninsula, as well as in Northeast Asia, has become very serious due to the North's ballistic missile launch," said Rep. Woo Won-shik, the floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party.

The full-dressed deployment of the THAAD launchers, however, should be prudently examined after the environmental assessment is done as planned, Woo said in a complete agreement with the stance of the presidential office.

Opposition parties reprimanded Moon's dialogue-oriented North Korea policy in unison.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: Moon says defense one of two important pillars of nation

South Korean President Moon Jae-in

SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in urged his top military officials to continue enhancing their defense readiness and further defense capabilities Tuesday, calling national defense one of two most important pillars of the nation along with the economy.

"There are many pillars that help sustain a nation and the most important of them all are defense and economy," the president said while meeting with his top military officials, including his new Defense Minister Song Young-moo and Song's immediate predecessor Han Min-koo.

"Economy is an issue related to being better off, but defense is an issue of the country's life and death," Moon said, according to his spokesman Park Soo-hyun.

Tuesday's meeting over lunch at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae was attended by seven other top military officials, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Marine Corps commander, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

"Defense and security are more important now than ever as North Korea continues to stage military provocations," the Cheong Wa Dae spokesman quoted the president as saying.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: Ghani Under Pressure To Bring Security Reforms, Review Policies

By Mirabed Joyenda

Former president and member of the Council for the Protection and Stability of Afghanistan, Sibghatullah Mujadidi, on Sunday warned government could collapse unless President Ashraf Ghani brings reforms to his policies.

This comes just 10 days after a string of deadly attacks in the nation’s capital Kabul.

Mujadidi also voiced support for the protestors calling for reforms in the country, but suggested they should end their demonstration.

“With consideration of the incidents which happened and in view of the situation in Afghanistan, we don’t think that it would be appropriate to fire top government officials from the job. We call on government to think about systematic reforms, government should review its policies when it comes to the affairs of the people, we are against their current policy, government is committing major mistakes in its policies and it should come to an end, otherwise, the time will come for the collapse of the government,” said Mujadidi

“Our position has remained clear, there is a need for a consensus between the Jihadi personalities and the political elites to overcome the issues of cooperation with the government,” said Sayed Hamid Gailani, a member of the Council for the Protection and Stability of Afghanistan.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Report: Fragmentation of Afghan Conflict Leads to New Security Incidents - ICRC

The conflict in Afghanistan is growing all the more complicated due to fragmentation, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross head.

GENEVA (Sputnik) — The ongoing conflict in Afghanistan has become more fragmented and therefore more complicated as new actors enter into play, inevitably leading to various incidents where national security is put at risk, Peter Maurer, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told Sputnik.

"We are concerned that the security environment is getting much more complicated because Afghanistan is a conflict which gets more fragmented and the fragmentation is now more visible and it translates into security incidents… I think we are among the first ones to recognize and we have recognized now for a long time that this remains a highly unstable situation in which there seems to be an outstanding political solution, which brings stability in the country," Maurer stressed.

News Story: Xi calls for public security forces to be loyal to CPC

BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with heroes and role models from public security departments across the country on Friday, stressing loyalty to the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, called for those working in the country's public security departments to serve the people, promote impartiality in law enforcement, and remain disciplined.

Premier Li Keqiang and Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, also joined the meeting.

Xi said that the heroes and role models are not only models for the public security system, but also the whole of society.

Hailing the public security forces as a team with a glorious tradition and excellent work, Xi said they have made remarkable contributions in safeguarding national security and social stability.

They have forged an "indestructible iron wall" for national security, public security and the safety of people's lives and property, with their sweat, and even blood and lives, the president said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: (China) Defense Minister stresses national defense education

NANJING, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan has called on military and governments at all levels to strengthen national defense education with practical measures.

Chang, also a member of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during his recent inspection tour which included Shanghai and Fujian, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces.

He called for clear understanding of the complicated situation facing China's national security and development and of the importance of national defense education for all citizens.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Chinese Government Appears Bewildered at Australian Accusations of Spying

The Chinese government has said that it had no idea about the Australian Defense Minister's emphatic comments that China was carrying out espionage on Australian soil.

Australian Secretary of Defense Dennis Richardson made the allegation on Friday, May 12, that China is spying on and using "unreasonable" influence on Chinese communities and media in Australia.

"It is no secret that China is very active in intelligence activities directed against us — and it is more than cyber," Mr. Richardson said during a farewell speech to the National Press Club of Australia.

Mr. Richardson is soon to depart from his post as secretary of defense.

"That is no reason to engage in knee jerk anti-China decision making, or to avoid seeking to build a stronger relationship with China. It is simply the world in which we live. The Chinese government keeps a watchful eye inside Australian Chinese communities and effectively controls some Chinese language media in Australia."

News Story: IS continues to be "active terrorist threat" to U.S. - intelligence chief

WASHINGTON, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) group continues to be an "active terrorist threat" to the U.S. despite its degrading strength, U.S. intelligence chief said Thursday.

Speaking at a U.S. Senate hearing on world threats to the U.S., Dan Coats, Director of National Intelligence, said the IS is experiencing territorial losses in Iraq and Syria as a result of persistent counter-terrorism operations.

However, Coats told lawmakers that the terrorist group still has the ability to "direct and inspire attacks against a wide range of targets around the world."

"Homegrown violent extremists remain the most frequent and unpredictable terrorist threat to the United States homeland," he said, adding that this threat will persist with many attacks happening with little or no warning.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: S.Korean president re-organizes Blue House staff to focus on economy, security

SEOUL, May 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday re-organized the system of his office staff to focus on economic and security issues.

Under the re-organization plan, one ministerial-level secretary will be added to the current three such secretaries, according to the presidential Blue House.

The number of posts for the vice ministerial-level secretaries will be reduced from the current 10 to 8, but posts for two aides will be introduced.

Under the re-organized system, the ministerial-level presidential chief of staff will have five senior secretaries on political affairs, civil affairs, social reform, people communications and personnel affairs under his wing.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: ‘Deteriorating Security’ In North Has (Afghan) MPs Worried

By Massoud Qiyam

A number of lawmakers in the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) on Wednesday said they are concerned about the ‘deteriorating security situation’ in northern and north-eastern parts of the country.

The MPs criticized President Ashraf Ghani for his recent remarks on corruption and said he should roll up his sleeves and do something to overcome security challenges instead of complaining about corruption in government offices.

“We had contact with our people. They had a message to the president. They said they are tired of their lives and the incumbent situation. They said they want relief from this situation,” said Fatima Aziz, an MP from Kunduz.

“There is another problem – the poor management among security forces. Meanwhile, the hiring and employment in security agencies has posed another challenge for security forces,” said Mirdad Nijrabi, head of the internal security commission of the Wolesi Jirga.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: MoD Draws Up New Plan To Oust Taliban From Kunduz

Kunduz city (Click Image to Enlarge)

By Tamim Hamid

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) on Sunday said it has drawn up a new military plan to get the Taliban out of Qala-e-Zal district in Kunduz and to retake the fallen district.  

“Operations will be launched, a big military plan has been defined for Kunduz. InshaAllah (God willing) , in the next few weeks, you will see the results,” said new army chief of staff Gen. Sharif Yaftali.

Meanwhile there are reports that heavy fighting is ongoing in parts of Kunduz province including the Charkhab area of the city.

On Saturday, Taliban insurgents infiltrated Qala-e-Zal after two days of heavy clashes with government forces, taking over the district, in another major setback for government which had pledged to secure Kunduz.

The district collapsed after the insurgents carried out a group attack on Aqtepa in Qala-e-Zal, according to officials.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: Australia's federal police to receive 240 mln USD boost to fight terror, gang crime

CANBERRA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Federal Police (AFP) will receive a 321 million-Australian dollar (240 million U.S. dollars) boost from the government to expand the force and ramp up the fight against terrorism and gang crime, Justice Minister Michael Keenan said on Monday.

The funding will be given to the AFP in Tuesday's federal budget. In a statement on Monday, Keenan said the money would be used to hire 100 intelligence experts, 100 forensics experts and about 100 covert surveillance and tactical response officers.

"The additional experts will fast-track investigations and lock-up criminals sooner, targeting areas of priority including terrorism, criminal gangs, drugs, organized crime, cybercrime, fraud and anti-corruption," Keenan said.

Later, he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that the 240 million U.S. dollar-boost was the biggest in a decade.

"This is a very significant investment, the largest single investment in the past decade and it goes over and above what we have already done to ensure the AFP has the resources that it needs to do its job," Keenan said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Aussie jihadists captured in Middle East could be stripped of citizenship - gov't

CANBERRA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Three dual-national Australians, alleged to have been Islamic State (IS) jihadists captured by army forces in Lebanon, could have their Australian citizenships stripped, according to Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne on Friday.

The men, believed to be Lebanese-Australians, were arrested at gunpoint during army raids after a Syrian-born colleague, who was captured last year, admitted to living with the three dual nationals while working with IS.

Pyne told the Nine Network Friday that the men could have their Australian passports cancelled if they are found guilty, thanks to laws introduced by the government last year.

It has been reported, however, that the three men do not wish to return to Australia despite their dual citizenship.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: DPRK vows to continue developing nuclear weapons for self-defense

PYONGYANG, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Monday it will continue developing nuclear weapons for self-defense against military threat from the United States.

The Korean Workers' Party's official daily Rodong Sinmum said in a commentary that the U.S. move to dispatch a nuclear carrier strike group to the Korean Peninsula is dangerous.

"This is an undisguised military blackmail against the DPRK and a dangerous action that plunges the peninsula into the touch-and-go situation," it said.

"Steadfast are the Korean army and people's will and resolve to annihilate the invaders to the last one and totally round off the showdown with the U.S. by bolstering up their nuclear deterrent for self-defense in every way," it added.

Read the full story at Xinhua