Three soldiers killed in Israeli missile strike on Syria capital
Three soldiers were killed in an Israeli missile strike targeting military sites in Damascus after midnight, Syrian state news agency SANA said early Thursday morning…reports Asian Lite News
The Israeli attack triggered the Syrian air defenses, which intercepted most of the Israeli missiles, said SANA, citing a military source without providing further details.
The attack came only about a day after Israel struck Syrian military sites in the southern province of Quneitra, causing damage, Xinhua news agency reported.
Iran will continue its development of missile power to deter its enemies, Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, has said…reports Asian Lite News
Making the remarks in the unveiling ceremony of a ballistic missile in the capital Tehran, Bagheri on Wednesday said the missile power against aggressors and oppressors of the Islamic republic has become more powerful and “will continue its path of growth, promotion and excellence both in terms of quantity and quality,” official news agency IRNA reported.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran unveiled a ballistic missile named Kheibar Shekan with the range of 1,450 kilometres, as the country is celebrating the 43rd anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Xinhua news agency reported.
It belongs to the third generation of long-range missiles owned by Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, reported Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
The missile uses solid fuel and is capable of maneuverability to pass through the missile shield in the landing phase, according to the report.
The US has long suspected that Iran’s development of ballistic missiles might add to their capability of carrying nuclear heads. Iran, which has repeatedly said that its nuclear program is peaceful, insists that its missile program is for deterrent purposes.
A fresh Israeli missile attack targeted the commercial seaport of Syria’s coastal city of Latakia on Tuesday…reports Asian Lite News
The Israelis fired their missiles from the Mediterranean against the commercial port of Latakia, hitting the container terminal and igniting a fire, Xinhua news agency quoted the state media report as saying.
Israeli missile attack targets Syrian seaport
The attack caused big damage as firefighters are working to put out the fire, it added.
It is the second such attack on the port this month.
Israel usually fires missiles on Syria on the pretext that it targets positions of the Iranian-backed militia, mainly those affiliated with the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
The Houthi militia launched a ballistic missile attack against Yemen’s strategic city of Mocha amid a visit of the UN envoy to the war-ravaged Arab country…reports Asian Lite News
Three explosions occurred as Hans Grundberg made his first visit to Mocha located on Yemen’s western coast, the official told Xinhua news agency.
Houthi militia launched ballistic missile against Yemen
“The Houthi-fired ballistic missiles landed in a desert area and caused a great panic among civilians living in the populated areas nearby, but no casualties were recorded,” he said.
The Iran-backed Houthi militia has made no comments on the incident.
On Monday, Grundberg and his team visited the southwestern province of Taiz, which was besieged by the Houthis, before he headed to Mocha.
In September, the Houthi rebel group launched attacks with missiles and drones against the Red Sea port of Mocha, causing huge explosions in the city, which was captured by the pro-government forces in 2017.
The Houthi rebels seized the northern Yemeni provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in late 2014, forcing President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government into exile in Saudi Arabia.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO and the industry for the successful test…reports Asian Lite News.
India successfully flight-tested its indigenously developed low weight, fire and forget man-portable anti-tank guided missile (MPATGM) on Wednesday.
The step is seen as a major boost to ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ (Self Reliant India) and strengthening the Indian Army.
The missile was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The missile was launched from a man-portable launcher integrated with thermal site and the target was mimicking a tank.
The missile hit the target in direct attack mode and destroyed it with precision. The test has validated the minimum range successfully.
“All the mission objectives were met. The missile has already been successfully flight tested for the maximum range,” DRDO said in a statement.
In a major boost to #AtmaNirbharBharat and strengthening Indian Army, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested indigenously developed low weight, fire and forget Man Portable Antitank Guided Missile (MPATGM) today 21st July 2021. pic.twitter.com/kLEqrsgoOR
The missile is incorporated with state-of-the-art miniaturised infrared imaging seeker along with advanced avionics.
The test brings the development of indigenous third-generation man-portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile close to completion.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO and the industry for the successful test.
On Tuesday, DRDO had indigenously developed a High Strength Metastable Beta Titanium Alloy that can be used in forging aerospace structures. The metal contains Vanadium, Iron and Aluminium.
These alloys are already being used by many developed nations in recent times as a beneficial substitute for the relatively heavier traditional Nickel-Chromium-Molybdenum structural steels, to achieve weight savings.
According to DRDO, the high strength beta titanium alloys are unique due to their higher strength, ductility, fatigue, and fracture toughness making them increasingly attractive for aircraft structural applications.
The country also termed the recently unveiled US policy on the North “just trickery,…reports Asian Lite News
North Korea on Monday slammed the United States for lifting all restrictions on South Korean missiles as a “stark reminder” of Washington’s hostile approach to Pyongyang.
The country also termed the recently unveiled US policy on the North “just trickery,” Yonhap News Agency reported.
The first reaction of North Korea comes after South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden agreed at their May 21 summit to use diplomacy to resolve the North’s nuclear standoff and to terminate all “missile guideline” restrictions on the flight range and warhead weight of South Korean missiles.
As per the news agency, North’s criticism appeared to be restrained as it was couched in a Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) article under the name of an international affairs critic, rather than official government statements.
“The US, doggedly branding the measures taken by the DPRK for self-defence as violation of UN ‘resolutions,’ grants its allies unlimited right to missile development. It is engrossed in confrontation despite its lip-service to dialogue,” the article stated.
“The termination step is a stark reminder of the US hostile policy toward the DPRK and its shameful double-dealing,” it said. “Lots of countries now view the US key DPRK policy, namely ‘pragmatic approach’ and ‘maximum flexibility’ produced by the Biden administration with much effort as just trickery.”
DPRK is the acronym of the North’s official name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
In the summit, the two countries reaffirmed the belief that diplomacy and dialogue are essential for achieving the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. But North Korea has yet to respond to the call for dialogue, as per NHK World. (ANI)
Moscow, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin (Sputnik via Xinhua/IANS)
Russia will continue to carefully monitor the actions of the US and its allies to create a ground-based INF arsenal in Europe and Asia-Pacific…reports Asian Lite News
Russia has expressed concerns about plans by the US and the UK to deploy ground-based intermediate and shorter-range missiles.
In a statement on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Pentagon officials in the US have recently made statements about the practical steps required to deploy in various regions of the world ground-based intermediate and shorter-range missiles, previously banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Xinhua news agency reported.
The British military has joined in on the “openly hostile, destabilizing” statements and actions in this regard, it noted.
The plans will narrow the space for a diplomatic solution to post-INF Treaty problems, it warned.
Russia will continue to carefully monitor the actions of the US and its allies to create a ground-based INF arsenal in Europe and Asia-Pacific, said the statement.
“We are by no means shutting the door to dialogue, but in the current conditions we do not rule out that Russia will be forced” to respond to the growing missile threats, the statement read.
In August 2019, Russia and the US formally withdrew from the INF Treaty after accusing each other of violating the landmark arms control deal signed in Washington in December 1987.
It was the first missile launch since Biden took oath as US president. Biden said defence officials called it “business as usual”…reports Asian Lite News
US President Joe Biden has said he does not consider North Korea’s launch of short-range missiles as a provocation.
The launch is the first since Biden took office. Biden said defence officials called it “business as usual”, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
North Korea is said to have fired non-ballistic cruise missiles, which do not flout UN Security Council resolutions, over the weekend.
The incident happened after Pyongyang criticised the US and South Korea for conducting joint military exercises.
It also comes as Biden’s administration continues to attempt to establish diplomatic relations with North Korea.
The launch, originally reported by US media, has since been confirmed by US officials and the South Korean defence ministry.
South Korea said two cruise missiles were fired into the Yellow Sea early on Sunday from Onchon in North Korea.
Responding to reporters’ questions on Tuesday night, Biden said: “We have learned that nothing has changed.”
When asked if he considered the test as a provocation, he said: “No, according to the Defence Department, it’s business as usual. There’s no new wrinkle in what they did.”
UN Security Council resolutions, which have resulted in strict sanctions on North Korea, have only banned Pyongyang from firing threatening weapons such as ballistic missiles.
It’s true that every test of a missile by Pyongyang helps improve its military capabilities and that is always a concern to the international community.
But cruise missile tests are not a breach of UN Security Council sanctions and North Korea has bigger weapons in its arsenal if it really wanted to challenge the Biden administration.
The current focus of the new White House team and its allies is the impending review on North Korea policy.
Decades of sanctions and three summits between former US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have failed to prevent Pyongyang from developing a larger and more deadly nuclear arsenal.
So President Biden is most likely shrugging off this latest missile test for good reason – there’s a much bigger challenge ahead.
Senior US officials have separately said they considered the action as “most normal military activity by the North”.
They added they were in the “final stages” of their North Korea policy review and planned to host Japan and South Korea’s national security advisers for a discussion soon.
The US government had previously said it had been trying for weeks to make diplomatic contact with North Korea.
Pyongyang has yet to acknowledge that President Biden is now in office, and the two countries remain at loggerheads over the North’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
During Biden’s election campaign, he called Kim “a thug” and said North Korean nuclear disarmament had to happen before US and UN economic sanctions could be relaxed.
