This morning's key headlines from
GenerationalDynamics.com
- Obama administration imposes new sanctions on Hizbollah over Syria
- Japan recalls S. Korean ambassador in dispute over islands
Obama administration imposes new sanctions on Hizbollah over Syria
Hizbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah speaks to enthusiastic supporters (EPA)
Under intense political pressure to do more to stanch the flow of
blood in Syria, especially from the use of tanks, artillery and
bombers against unarmed civilian neighborhoods by the Bashar al-Assad
regime, the Obama administration has announced new sanctions on the
Hizbollah terrorist group. Readers may recall that in 2006 Israel
fought a war against Hizbollah in Lebanon, and that Hizbollah receives
weapons and funding from Iran. The reason given for the new sanctions
is that Hizbollah has been providing operational and logistical
support to the al-Assad regime. However, the sanctions simply add
Hizbollah to a U.S. blacklist, so they're purely symbolic and will not
satisfy those who are asking the U.S. to supply weapons to the Syrian
opposition.
CNN
Japan recalls S. Korean ambassador in dispute over islands
Japanese nationalism has surged following the visit by South Korea's
president Lee Myung Bak to a group of disputed islands (Takeshima
islands in Japan, Dokdo islands in South Korea) in the Sea of Japan.
The islands have been in dispute since Korea broke free of Japanese
colonial rule at the end of World War II. However, both sides have
been relatively careful about inflaming the issue until now. Japan
has formally protested the visit, and has temporarily recalled its
South Korean ambassador for consultations, and to discuss appropriate
measures in response. Japan also has island disputes with Russia and
China. And this is all in the context of China's island disputes with
just about everyone.
Japan Times and
Hankyoreh Media (Korea)
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