Tankers almost certainly damaged by Iranian naval mines, US says - BBC News

US National Security Adviser John Bolton has said "naval mines almost certainly from Iran" were to blame for the damage to oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman earlier this month.

Mr Bolton provided no evidence to support the allegation, which Iran said was "laughable".

The attacks off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates on 12 May left holes in the hulls of four ships.

The incident came amid an escalation in tensions between Iran and the US.

Last Friday, US Vice Admiral Michael Gilday said he believed "with a high degree of confidence that this [attack] stems back to the leadership of Iran at the highest levels".

• Is the United States heading for war with Iran?
• US-Iran tensions explained

Mr Bolton, a long-standing advocate for regime change in Iran, echoed the admiral's words during a visit to the UAE on Wednesday, telling reporters it was "clear that Iran is behind" the attack.

"There's no doubt in anybody's mind in Washington who's responsible for this," he said. "Who else would you think is doing it? Someone from Nepal?"

But Abbas Mousavi, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, rejected Mr Bolton's accusations.

"Raising this ludicrous claim in a meeting of those with a long history of anti-Iran policies is not strange," he told Fars news agency.

"Iran's strategic patience, vigilance and defensive prowess will defuse mischievous plots made by Bolton and other warmongers."

What do we know about the incident?

Few details have been released, but it took place at about 06:00 (02:00 GMT) on Sunday, 12 May, within UAE territorial waters east of the emirate of Fujairah, just outside the Strait of Hormuz.

The UAE authorities said four ships were targeted in a "sabotage attack".

There were no casualties but Saudi Arabia said two of its ships had suffered "significant damage".

Another tanker was Norwegian-registered, while the fourth was UAE-flagged.

The UAE has not publicly blamed anyone for the sabotage of the vessels.

• Iran nuclear crisis in 300 words
• 'Sabotaged' tanker in Gulf of Oman leaked oil

What has this got to do with the US and Iran?

On paper, little. No US-flagged ship was attacked, and no evidence has been provided that Iran was involved.

But the US sees the attack as part of a wider "campaign" against it and its allies approved by Iranian leaders.

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Mr Bolton said Iran-backed forces also carried out drone strikes on two oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia on 14 May and fired a rocket into an area of the Iraqi capital Baghdad that houses the US embassy on 19 May.

He also revealed that there had been "an unsuccessful attack on the Saudi port of Yanbu a couple of days before the attack on tankers".

Iran has denied it was involved in the attacks in Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

What is behind the heightened US-Iran tensions?

The tensions began rising at the start of May, when Washington ended exemptions from sanctions for countries still buying from Iran. The decision was intended to bring Iran's oil exports to zero, denying the government its main source of revenue.

Mr Trump reinstated the sanctions a year ago after abandoning the landmark 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with six nations - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany.

Iran has now announced it it will suspend several commitments under the deal.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-48443454

2019-05-29 09:03:53Z
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Australian helicopters targeted by lasers in South China Sea - CNN

"Some helicopter pilots had lasers pointed at them from passing fishing vessels," Euan Graham of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute wrote on The Strategist blog, who was aboard the warship from which the aircraft were operating.

Graham told CNN he did not witness the incidents, but Australian pilots told him they were targeted multiple times by commercial lasers during South China Sea missions.

Graham was aboard HMAS Canberra, a helicopter landing dock and flagship of the Royal Australian Navy, as it operated in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean on a three-month mission that ended this week.

Australian forces across the region have noticed the increased use of lasers, an Australian Defense Department spokesperson said in a statement.

"The reason for vessels using the lasers is unknown, but it may be to draw attention to their presence in congested waterways," the statement said.

At sea, fishermen are known to use lasers to warn off other vessels that may be getting too close to them.

"That makes sense for collision of vessels, but obviously there is no direct threat from aircraft to vessels in the South China Sea," Graham said. "The maritime militia is, I think, not beyond argument as a tactic which is employed deliberately."

Graham said that the Canberra and other Australian ships operating with it were shadowed almost continuously by Chinese warships while in the South China Sea, even though they did not approach any of the islands and reefs occupied by the Chinese military.

Radio communications between the Australian and Chinese forces were courteous, Graham said.

CNN reached out to the Chinese Ministry of Defense but did not immediately hear back.

Military militia?

China has claimed almost the entire 1.3 million square mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory. In recent years it has aggressively asserted its stake in the face of conflicting claims from several Southeast Asian nations.

As part of that, Beijing operates a maritime militia in this region, a force of fishing vessels essentially deputized to the Chinese navy.

In Hainan, a South China Sea island, local fishermen assisted in more than 250 law enforcement operations at sea over a three-year period ending in 2016, according to a report from China Military Online.

"It's no secret that the broader thrust of China's approach in the South China Sea is to try to make life difficult for foreign aircraft and warships there," Graham said.

US military officials told CNN last year that there were at least 20 suspected Chinese laser incidents in the eastern Pacific from September 2017 to June 2018.

And in May 2018, US military officials said Chinese personnel at the country's military base in Djibouti were using lasers to interfere with US military aircraft at a nearby American base.

Pilots targeted by laser attacks have reported disorienting flashes, pain, spasms and spots in their vision. The dazzle effect can trigger temporary blindness, with "catastrophic" consequences, according to John Marshall, a professor at University College of London's Institute of Ophthalmology.

"The inappropriate use of lasers would pose a potential safety risk to all those operating in the region," the Australian Department of Defense statement said.

No injuries were into Australian Navy pilots were reported from the recent incidents, the statement said.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/28/asia/australia-helicopters-lasers-south-china-sea-intl/index.html

2019-05-29 08:15:00Z
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'Egg Boy' donates $69,000 to Christchurch Foundation - ABC News

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2019-05-29 07:30:00Z
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Bolton says Iran 'almost certainly' sabotaged ships off UAE - Fox News

FILE: National Security Adviser John Bolton arrives to speak at the commencement for the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. (AP)

U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday that ships sabotaged off the United Arab Emirates coast were attacked "almost certainly by Iran."

Bolton made the comments to journalists in Abu Dhabi ahead of planned meetings with to Emirati officials. He did not offer evidence to support his comments.

The U.S. recently deployed an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf over a still-unexplained threat it perceives from Tehran. The U.S. also pulled nonessential diplomats out of Iraq.

Emirati officials also say four ships off their coast were sabotaged. Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have also launched drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.

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Bolton dismissed the idea that there was any difference between his positions and Trump, saying: "I am the national security adviser, not the national security decider."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-05-29 06:30:45Z
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UN staff caught up in Kosovo police anti-smuggling sweep - BBC News

The UN mission in Kosovo (Unmik) has expressed "great concern" after two of its members were held in a police raid on suspected organised crime gangs.

It said "any harm" to its staff would have serious diplomatic consequences.

The two members were detained on Tuesday in northern Kosovo, an area with mainly ethnic Serbian inhabitants.

They were then taken to hospital "for treatment of injuries", Unmik said. One of the staff members, a Russian national, was later released.

More than 20 people were arrested during the police raid, targeting suspected smugglers, media reports say.

Police officers reportedly fired live ammunition over the heads of protesting Serbs.

Unmik said it was working to establish the "precise circumstances" of the detention of its personnel.

In response to the police raid, Serbia put the country's armed forces on high alert.

Russia, a key Serbian ally in the Balkans, condemned the detention of the Russian national.

"We consider this blatant act as yet another manifestation of the provocative line" by the Kosovo authorities, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Kosovo, which has a majority ethnic Albanian population, seceded from Serbia in 2008, and has since been recognised by more than 100 countries.

But Belgrade and Moscow continue to see the region as part of Serbia.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48430449

2019-05-28 14:16:06Z
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UN staff caught up in Kosovo police anti-smuggling sweep - BBC News

The UN mission in Kosovo (Unmik) has expressed "great concern" after two of its members were held in a police raid on suspected organised crime gangs.

It said "any harm" to its staff would have serious diplomatic consequences.

The two members were detained on Tuesday in northern Kosovo, an area with mainly ethnic Serbian inhabitants.

They were then taken to hospital "for treatment of injuries", Unmik said. One of the staff members, a Russian national, was later released.

More than 20 people were arrested during the police raid, targeting suspected smugglers, media reports say.

Police officers reportedly fired live ammunition over the heads of protesting Serbs.

Unmik said it was working to establish the "precise circumstances" of the detention of its personnel.

In response to the police raid, Serbia put the country's armed forces on high alert.

Russia, a key Serbian ally in the Balkans, condemned the detention of the Russian national.

"We consider this blatant act as yet another manifestation of the provocative line" by the Kosovo authorities, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Kosovo, which has a majority ethnic Albanian population, seceded from Serbia in 2008, and has since been recognised by more than 100 countries.

But Belgrade and Moscow continue to see the region as part of Serbia.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48430449

2019-05-28 14:14:36Z
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Netanyahu political crisis centers on requiring ultra-Orthodox to serve in the military - NBC News

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May 28, 2019, 12:37 PM UTC

By Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Israel was in an unprecedented political impasse Tuesday as parliament pressed forward with legislation to dissolve itself in a high-stakes showdown that could lead to another snap election.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had appeared to have secured a fresh mandate to rule after last month's election, with a clear path to build a coalition government with his traditional political partners.

But a shocking crisis with his longtime ally and erstwhile rival Avigdor Lieberman has thrust the country into unchartered territory.

Netanyahu has until late Wednesday to present his new coalition or else Israel's largely ceremonial president can task someone else with the job. But the prime minister seems to have no intention of letting that happen and is threatening another election instead.

Backed by Netanyahu, the first of three motions required to dissolve parliament passed early Tuesday with a 66-44 majority, and a tentative election date was set for Sept. 17.

Negotiations are expected to continue right up till the final deadline. But if no compromise is found, Israel will likely go to elections for the second time this year — something that has never happened before.

Though Netanyahu's Likud party increased its power to 35 seats in parliament in the Apr. 9 vote, it cannot muster a 61-seat majority without Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party.

The Likud has assailed Lieberman in recent days for undermining the people's will of a right-wing government and accused him of acting out of personal spite for Netanyahu. The prime minister himself said Lieberman would be fully responsible for dragging the country to an "expensive, wasteful" election and his people have vowed to aggressively go after Lieberman's core supporters in response.

But the mercurial Lieberman seems to be holding his ground.

"The only motivation of Yisrael Beiteinu is to stand by our principles and our commitments," he said in a Facebook post. "We are not looking to topple Netanyahu and are not looking for an alternative candidate, but we will not compromise."

The crisis ostensibly revolves around Lieberman's insistence that current legislation mandating that young ultra-Orthodox men be drafted into the military, like most other Jewish males, run its course.

Ultra-Orthodox parties consider conscription a taboo, fearing that military service will lead to immersion in secularism. They insist that years of exemptions that have generated widespread resentment among the rest of Jewish Israelis remain in place.

A stalemate on the issue was one of the factors that shortened the term of the previous coalition government, but the assumption was that a creative compromise would be found this time around. Instead, Netanyahu finds himself on the precipice of having to call new elections that could once again put his lengthy rule in peril.

The crisis shines a spotlight on the 60-year-old Lieberman, one of the most influential and unpredictable politicians in Israel. The tough-talking, Moldovan-born Lieberman started out as a top aide to Netanyahu during his first term in office in the 1990s before embarking on a political career of his own. Since then, he has known his ups and downs with his former boss in stints in various ministries, including as foreign minister and defense minister.

A staunch nationalist, he has faced long-standing accusations of racism for branding Arab lawmakers as enemies of the state and advocating for population swaps in a future peace deal that would leave many Arab citizens outside Israel's borders.

But Lieberman, who still speaks in a thick, monotonous Russian accent, also champions a secular agenda aimed toward his political base of immigrants from the former Soviet Union and has pledged to confront efforts of ultra-Orthodox parties to coerce religion on a secular majority.

And despite his fiery rhetoric and strongman persona, he has shown signs of pragmatism such as once suggesting he'd be willing to dismantle his own West Bank settlement if Israel's final borders were redrawn. Mostly he has emerged as an iconoclast in a right-wing bloc that has largely blindly bent to the will of Netanyahu in recent years. It's made him an unlikely savior in the eyes of some anti-Netanyahu forces.

"He is insisting on a matter of principle. True, we look at the spectacle and can scarcely believe it," said Ben-Dror Yemini, a columnist for the Yediot Ahronot daily, which is highly critical of Netanyahu.

"Lieberman's very act of abiding by the principles with which he is identified is a refreshing change in the political scene," Yemini added.

Associated Press

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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/netanyahu-political-crisis-centers-requiring-ultra-orthodox-serve-military-n1010686

2019-05-28 12:37:00Z
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