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North Korea has said it is considering carrying out missile strikes on the US Pacific territory of Guam. The report in state media, quoting an earlier military statement, came hours after President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with "fire and fury". The North's official news agency said it was considering a plan to fire medium-to-long-range rockets at Guam, where US strategic bombers are based. The exchanges marks a sharp rise in rhetoric between the two countries. The UN recently approved further economic sanctions on North Korea, which Pyongyang said were a "violent violation of our sovereignty", warning the US would "pay a price". 'MET WITH FIRE AND FURY' On Wednesday, the official KCNA news agency said North Korea was "carefully examining the operational plan for making an enveloping fire at the areas around Guam" using its domestically made medium-to-long-range Hwasong-12 missiles. The statement reported a military statement issued on Tuesday, which probably came in response to US military drills in Guam. But it is the latest stage in a heating up of rhetoric between the US and North Korea. Pyongyang, which has tested nuclear devices five times, tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) in July, claiming it now had the ability to hit the mainland US. On Tuesday, media reports in the US claimed the North had achieved its goal of making a nuclear warhead small enough to fit inside its missiles. While not confirmed, this was seen as one of the last obstacles to North Korea being a fully nuclear armed state. A report in the Washington Post, citing US intelligence officials, suggested North Korea is developing nuclear weapons capable of hitting the US at a much faster rate than expected. A Japanese government defence white paper also said the weapons programme had "advanced considerably" and that North Korea possibly now had nuclear weapons. In response, President Trump warned North Korea to stop threatening the US, saying they would be "met with fire and fury like the world has never seen". However veteran US Senator John McCain was sceptical about Mr Trump's statement, saying he was "not sure that President Trump is ready to act". ANALYSIS: WORDS WITH CONSEQUENCES? ANTHONY ZURCHER, BBC NEWS, WASHINGTON: Donald Trump said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "has been very threatful, beyond a normal statement". So he responded with language that goes well beyond a normal statement for any US president. Perhaps Mr Trump believes that no hyperbolic threats should go unmatched or that apocalyptic warnings are the only ones the North Korean leadership will understand. Perhaps he - intentionally or not - is pursuing a Nixonian "madman" style foreign policy, where adversaries will tread lightly to avoid triggering the wrath of an unpredictable US commander-in-chief. When the leader of the world's greatest superpower, the only nation ever to have used nuclear weapons on an enemy, talks of unprecedented "fire and fury", however, those words have consequences. During his presidential campaign Mr Trump criticised his predecessor Barack Obama for not enforcing a red line against Syria's use of chemical weapons. Now President Trump has drawn a fiery bright line of his own with North Korea - one that could commit the US to a perilous course of action if his words go unheeded. North Korea had reacted angrily after the fresh sanctions were announced on Saturday by the UN, in an attempt to pressure it into giving up its nuclear ambitions. The sanctions aim to reduce North Korea's export revenues by a third. KCNA said North Korea would retaliate and make "the US pay a price" for drafting the new measures. It called the sanctions a "violent violation of our sovereignty", the news agency said. China, which is Pyongyang's closest ally, has said it is "100 per cent" committed to enforcing the latest round of sanctions. Russia and China have previously differed with others on how to handle Pyongyang, but in recent months have joined calls for North Korea to stop its missile tests - while also urging the US and South Korea to halt military drills, and withdraw an anti-missile system from the South. THE TINY BUT IMPORTANT ISLAND OF GUAM # The 541 sq km (209 sq miles) volcanic and coral island in the Pacific between the Philippines and Hawaii. # It is an "unorganised, unincorporated" US territory, with a population of about 163,000. # US military bases cover about a quarter of the island. About 6,000 personnel are based there and there are plans to move in thousands more. # It is a vital staging post for US operations, giving access to potential flashpoints like the South China Sea, the Koreas and the Taiwan Straits.   ....

Published at: 2017-08-09 00:00:04

The Trump administration appears to be granting Chinese banks dealing with North Korea a temporary reprieve from threatened US sanctions to give Beijing time to show it is serious about enforcing new UN steps against Pyongyang, US officials said. The White House has also held off on much-anticipated trade action against China after Beijing backed UN Security Council sanctions passed on Saturday, although it is unclear how long President Donald Trump will delay this given domestic pressures to make good on campaign promises to crack down on unfair trade practices. Washington has made clear it is reluctant, for the moment, to take steps that would antagonise China when its cooperation is needed to tighten the screws on its ally and neighbour North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs. US officials and UN diplomats say the threat of unilateral US "secondary sanctions" against Chinese firms with North Korean ties and trade pressure from Washington helped persuade China to drop opposition to the new UN sanctions. "It played an important role to get China on board," one diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The 15 Security Council members voted unanimously on Saturday to impose the toughest UN sanctions yet on North Korea after it tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in July. The measures are designed to choke off a third of North Korea's $3 billion annual export revenue. China, North Korea's main trading partner, has pledged to enforce the new sanctions but some critics are skeptical given what is widely seen as Beijing's lax policing of existing restrictions. Influential Chinese state-run tabloid the Global Times, published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, said in a Wednesday editorial that sanctions would not stop Pyongyang's determination on its weapons' programs. "The US asks China for help when it cannot solve its problems with North Korea. Some US elites even want to urge China to claim full responsibility for the issue or they will threaten to retaliate," it said. "Moreover, those US elites may not have considered the leverage China has over the US. What if China restricts the usage of iPhones and the number of Chinese students to the US, or imports fewer US agricultural products?" Adding to the sense of urgency, Trump warned on Tuesday Pyongyang "will be met with fire and fury" if it threatened the United States. Earlier Pyongyang said it was ready to give Washington a "severe lesson" with its strategic nuclear force in response to any US military action. WATCHING CLOSELY US officials said they would be watching China's enforcement closely. The administration holds in reserve a list of Chinese banks and other firms the Treasury Department has been preparing to sanction for their alleged ties to North Korea’s military programs."Right now, our focus is on carrying out the existing sanctions and ensuring compliance with the new UN Security Council resolution," a senior White House official told Reuters on Tuesday, adding there was "nothing imminent to announce" on secondary sanctions. The Trump administration has also been preparing to launch a high-profile investigation of China for intellectual property violations. An announcement was initially planned for last Friday but was postponed, apparently after China softened its resistance to new UN sanctions, diplomats said. US officials said Washington’s patience with China would be limited, however, and it was important to show some progress on North Korea. "This course of action cannot be sustained indefinitely," one US official said. "With his approval ratings falling even with his base, Trump is trapped between the realities of dealing with China and his campaign promises to get tough on trade." At the same time, US officials acknowledge that even if the sanctions are properly enforced, there is no guarantee they will be any more effective than previous rounds, which have failed to halt steady progress in North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. According to a new US intelligence assessment reported by the Washington Post on Tuesday, North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturised nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles, crossing a key threshold. But US intelligence officials told Reuters there was still no reliable evidence that North Korea had fully mastered the process.   ....

Published at: 2017-08-09 00:00:04

Asian stock markets slipped Wednesday following Wall Street's decline as President Donald Trump and North Korea traded threats over the North's nuclear programme. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 tumbled 1.3 per cent to 19,737.59 points and Seoul's Kospi fell 0.7 per cent to 2,378.56. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2 per cent to 3,273.71. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was off 0.2 per cent at 27,803.55. Benchmarks in Taiwan and New Zealand also declined. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.5 per cent to 5,773.70 while Manila, Malaysia and Jakarta also rose. US stock market slide accelerated slightly in the last half-hour of trading as Trump denounced North Korea's nuclear program. The S&P 500 index fell 0.2 per cent, to 2,474.92.  The Dow slid 0.2 per cent to 22,085.34. Both were coming off record highs. The Nasdaq composite lost 0.2 per cent, to 6,370.46. The dollar declined to 109.79 yen from Tuesday's 110.34 yen. The euro edged down to $1.1726 from $1.1751. Benchmark US crude lost 23 cents to $48.94 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract shed 22 cents on Tuesday to close at $49.17.  Brent crude, used to price international oils, gave up 29 cents to $51.85 in London. It declined 23 cents on Tuesday to $52.14, according to AP.....

Published at: 2017-08-09 00:00:04

An Awami League (AL) senior leader said on Monday if the Election Commission (EC) wants to cancel the registration of BNP; it can do it in line with the High Court verdict on the 5th constitutional amendment, reports BSS. AL publicity and publication secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud made the comments while speaking at a discussion organised by Awami Muktijoddha Projonmo League at Dhaka Reporters Unity in the city on Monday, marking the 87th birth anniversary of Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib. "In 2005, the High Court gave a judgment on the constitution's 5th amendment declaring all activities of military government illegal. The Appellate Davison also upheld the verdict," he said. Hasan, also AL spokesperson, said BNP is an illegal party too as it was established under direct patronage  of military government. "So, if the Election Commission wants, it can cancel the registration of BNP," he added. About the 16th constitutional amendment, Hasan said BNP is showing ecstasy over the court verdict on the 16th amendment. "Don't try to make the water trouble by showing ecstasy in the court verdict on the 16th constitutional amendment as you (BNP) can get trapped in it," he said. Referring to the incident of urine test of leaders BNP's students wing Jatiyatabadi Chattra Dal, Hasan said BNP leaders should give such test before Chattra Dal leaders. If BNP leaders give urine test, maximum of them will lose the ability of doing politics," he added. Former State Minister for Home Advocate Shamsul Haque Tuku, Sagufta Yasmin Emily, MP and Dhaka City South Awami League leader Minhaj Uddin Mintu, among others, addressed the function.....

Published at: 2017-08-08 00:00:04

A BNP senior leader alleged on Monday Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda has been staging a mockery with the nation in the name of dialogue with different stakeholders ahead of the 11th parliamentary elections, reports UNB. BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi came up with the remarks while speaking at a mild-mahfil and memorial meeting organised by Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal at the party's Nayapaltan central office in the city, marking the fourth death anniversary of its ex-office secretary Munshi Jamaluddin Ahmed. The BNP leader urged the Election Commission (EC) to work for the restoration of people's voting rights to gain public confidence instead of making any mockery. "People will consider it as a mockery what're you (CEC) doing now in the name of dialogue. Stop it, and work for restoring people's voting rights which will help you gain public trust," he said. The BNP leader further said, "The CEC said they'll only consider the suggestions of civil society members which are made in the light of the existing law and the constitution. If this is the case, why did you make a mockery in the name of talks? You shouldn't have staged such a drama." As part of the roadmap prepared by EC, the commission sat with civil society members on July 31, commencing its around two-month-long talks with different stakeholders about the next general election. Most of the participants suggested the commission earn people's trust through making their activities visible as an independent body. They also recommended defining army as law enforcers so that they can be engaged in the next polls for holding it in a free and fair manner. Rizvi asked the CEC whether they invited the intellectuals to insult them by ignoring their 90 per cent suggestions. "The election won't be free and fair, if it his held under the current law and constitution. In fact, you (CEC) don't have any commitment to holding a fair and impartial election." He came down hard on the CEC saying Huda is not sincere about holding a credible election as he is a pro-ruling party man. "Your activities give us an impression that you're plotting to hold a lopsided election to prolong one-party Baksal rule." The BNP leader alleged that his party has not been allowed to hold any programme in the current month as the ruling party is set to observe the National Mourning Day on August 15 commemorating the brutal killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members on that day in 1975. "Did you make one of the 12 months disappear from calendar that no other political party can arrange any programme in the month?" he questioned Awami League. Rizvi said ruling party men and law enforcers are obstructing his party's member collection programme and attacking his party leaders and activists at different parts of the country. Describing August 15 as a tragic incident, he said, "We also say a trembling incident took place in the month of August, and this is also justified that Awami League should observe a Mourning Day. But obstructing others from holding any programme in the month is an exposure of the party's Baksal attitude."....

Published at: 2017-08-08 00:00:04