Iran's expanding alliance with LatAm must be nipped Topic: iran, latin america, bbc news
Larry Haas and Biodun Iginla, BBC News Analysts
| Wed, Nov 24, 8:14 AM
FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2010 file photo, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivers a speech in a public gathering at the city of Bojnord, northeastern Iran. Anti-Americanism is the theme of public statements by Ahmadinejad, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Bolivia's Evo Morales, Ecuador's Rafael Correa and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega after their increasingly frequent visits with one another. Ahmadinejad says the alliance reflects "a large anti-imperialist movement" in the region, while the Latin leaders compare their ascents to power with Iran's revolution.View more photos
WASHINGTON -- Henry Kissinger famously asked whether Iran sees itself as a "nation" with a role in the international system or a "cause" that seeks to overturn the system through a global populist revolution.
Iran's activities not just in its own backyard but also south of our border -- specifically, in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua -- suggests the latter, and that poses a growing threat that the United States should counter quickly.
Those activities include growing cooperation among Iran and its emerging Latin American friends on matters of global concern, expanding state-level trade and financial ties, and increasing relationships among the military forces of these nations and the groups that they support.
Iran's path to growing Latin American influence comes with an ironic twist. When President James Monroe enunciated the "Monroe Doctrine" two centuries ago, warning Europe to keep its hands off the region, it was Simon Bolivar and other revolutionaries who reacted warmly because it supported their efforts to emancipate their Latin American territories from the grips of Europe's colonial powers.
Now, it is Iran and its allies in Venezuela and the other Latin American nations that cite Bolivar as they work to unseat the United States from its perch atop the world's pecking order and create a post-American global order.
For the United States, Tehran's support for Hezbollah and other terrorist groups, its efforts to de-stabilize states in the greater Middle East and its quest for nuclear weaponry raise great concern by themselves. They become ever-more frightening when considered in the context of an intercontinental alliance of revolutionaries with a shared agenda and growing working relationships.
This unlikely alliance is fueled most of all by a fervent anti-Americanism and driven by a desire to undermine U.S. influence across both the Americas and the world. They are the glue that holds the alliance together.
Anti-Americanism is the theme of public statements by Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Bolivia's Evo Morales, Ecuador's Rafael Correa and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega after their increasingly frequent visits with one another. Ahmadinejad says the alliance reflects "a large anti-imperialist movement" in the region, while the Latin leaders compare their ascents to power with Iran's revolution.
Iran has what the Latin capitals want and vice versa, fostering a marriage of convenience that extends from trade, development and banking to the sharing of natural resources, to military cooperation.
Iran has tripled its investment in the region in the past several years, delivering hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to each of its Latin American allies. For Caracas in particular, Tehran has begun manufacturing operations in Venezuela and launched a joint venture to fund development projects in both countries.
Beyond economics, Iran is helping Venezuela build the infrastructure for its own nuclear program, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has trained Venezuela's secret services and police, and Iran-backed Hezbollah has expanded its operations in Venezuela and received financial and other support from Caracas.
In return, the Latin nations have rallied around Iran's quest for nuclear weaponry and sought to undermine efforts by the U.N. Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Commission to pressure Tehran.
Venezuela has gone further, letting Iran use its banking system to evade financial sanctions. In addition, with Iran dependent on imported refined petroleum, oil-rich Venezuela offered to send it up to 20,000 barrels of gasoline a day. And seeking to further enhance its nuclear capability, Iran is working with Venezuela to extract uranium within its borders -- giving Tehran a potentially more important route to key materials to make its nuclear pursuit a success.
Iran's alliance with the Latin nations is helping all sides promote an agenda that is challenging the United States on the world stage and nearer to home. It's time for Washington to respond accordingly.
___
ABOUT THE WRITER
Lawrence J. Haas is senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the American Foreign Policy Council. Readers may write to him at AFPC, 509 C Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002; website: www.afpc.org.
This essay is available to McClatchy-Tribune News Service subscribers. McClatchy-Tribune did not subsidize the writing of this column; the opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of McClatchy-Tribune or its editors.
Breaking News Ireland unveils four-year austerity plan Topic: ireland, bbc news, eu
Ireland will cut welfare expenditure, slash the minimum wage, raise income tax and introduce a levy on land and property owners under a drastic austerity plan intended to put thepublic finances on a stable long-term footing.
Under the four-year programme, announced on Wednesday, the government intends to save €15bn ($20bn) between 2011 and 2014 – or about 4 per cent of annual economic output – with €10bn in public spending cuts and €5bn in new taxes and revenues. http://link.ft.com/r/XYEWFF/XTYZYF/BAFPV/ZBEDIK/A7R4LK/ZH/h?a1=2010&a2=11&a3=24
MediaBistro News Feed by Biodun Iginla, BBC News and MediaBistro Topic: media, mediabistro, bbc news
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The US has vowed to act with China and other world powers to seek a "measured and unified" response to Tuesday's military clashes between North and South Korea. Pyongyang shelled an island near a disputed area, killing two South Korean soldiers.
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The new French cabinet, the third under the direction of PM Francois Fillon, held its first meeting on Wednesday, a day after President Sarkozy revealed to television audiences the challenges awaiting his new team.
Unions hope to bring Portugal to a halt with a general strike on Wednesday to protest against the government's budget plans for 2011, which include proposals to cut civil servant wages by five percent and introduce a freeze on pensions.
A Greek anarchist group claimed responsibility Tuesday for a spate of package bombs sent to European leaders and foreign embassies earlier this month, disrupting mail services but causing no injuries. Two members of the group were arrested on Nov. 1.
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen (left) fought for his political life on Tuesday as members of his own party launched a bid to oust him and the opposition pushed for elections before Christmas, a move that could delay an anticipated EU-IMF bailout.
Prince William of Britain will marry his fiancée, Kate Middleton, on April 29 next year at London's Westminster Abbey, the church in which Queen Elizabeth was married in 1947 and where the funeral for Princess Diana was held in 1997.
Police have detained ten suspected Islamist extremists thought to be plotting a terrorist attack in Belgium. The detainees were arrested in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany on Tuesday.
Israel's security cabinet has agreed to withdraw troops from part of a disputed village on the Lebanese border and hand over control to a UN peacekeeping force, resolving a key issue between the two countries.
Lebanon is a multi-faith country home to 17 Muslim and Christian groups, as well as a tiny Jewish community older than the country itself. The latter has not had a place of worship for the past 30 years.
Two people were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on Wednesday during the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. Israeli security claims that the targets were Islamic militants.
In an interview with FRANCE 24 Wednesday, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said he will not sign off on the execution of former foreign minister Tariq Aziz, who was condemned to death on October 26th.
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Police say none of the 29 miners trapped below ground since Friday could have survived a second deadly explosion that ripped through the pit Wednesday morning. Poisonous gases had prevented rescuers from entering the mine after the initial explosion.
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All 29 men missing in a New Zealand coal mine since Friday are believed to be dead after a second explosion.
Police Supt Gary Knowles said there was no hope that anyone could have survived the "massive" underground blast at the Pike River mine on South Island.
Prime Minister John Key said the deadliest mine accident in New Zealand for 96 years was a "national tragedy".
Rescuers never made contact with the 24 New Zealanders, two Australians, two Britons and a South African.
The Britons were Peter Rodger, 40, and Malcolm Campbell, 25, who were both originally from Scotland.
"Many British citizens have made their home in New Zealand and the loss of Mr Rodger, Mr Campbell and their colleagues will have touched the hearts of many in the UK," said UK Foreign Secretary William Hague.
People shouted out in anger, they are sickened by the whole thing. A lot of them felt misled. This is the West Coast's darkest hour”
End QuoteTony KokshoornGrey District mayor
Supt Knowles, who led the rescue operation, said there had been another explosion at 1437 (0137 GMT) on Wednesday inside the mine.
"It is our belief that no-one has survived and everyone will have perished," he told reporters.
"I was at the mine myself when this actually occurred and the blast was horrific, just as severe as the first blast and we're currently now moving into recovery phase.
"This is one of the most tragic things I have had to do as a police officer."
Rescuers had been preparing to go into the mine on Wednesday, but information suggested the levels of methane gas were too high.
Shortly afterwards, the second explosion happened. It was larger and stronger than Friday's blast, and lasted about 30 seconds, officials said.
The chief executive of Pike River Coal, Peter Whittall, said it would make every effort to retrieve the bodies of the men, aged between 17 and 62.
Some relatives are angry, saying rescuers should have been sent in soon after the first blast
"We want our boys back and we want to get them out," he told reporters.
Mr Whittall said the families were ''absolutely devastated by the news".
''They had all held out hope that their son, their brother would be the lucky one,'' he said, before adding with tears welling up in his eyes: "I'm unlikely to see my workmates again."
Family members wept, shouted and fell to the floor after hearing the news, Grey District mayor Tony Kokshoorn said.
"People shouted out in anger, they are sickened by the whole thing. A lot of them felt misled," he added. "It's unbelievable. This is the West Coast's darkest hour. It doesn't get worse than this."
Lawrie Drew, the father of 21-year-old miner Zen Drew, later told reporters: "I am still hoping that somebody can be found that is still alive."
The BBC's Phil Mercer in Greymouth says a church service was held on Wednesday evening to remember the dead and to comfort those left behind.
'Agonising blow'
The prime minister said he would travel to the area on Thursday to meet the miners' families and thank the rescue crews.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key: ''We are a nation in mourning''
"New Zealand is a small country, a country where we are our brother's keeper, so to lose this many brothers at once strikes an agonising blow," Mr Key told a news conference in Wellington.
"The 29 men whose names and faces we have all come to know will never walk amongst us again. We are a nation in mourning."
He also offered his condolences to Australia, South Africa and the UK.
Mr Key praised all those involved in the rescue attempt, and said there would now be a full inquiry into how the tragedy had happened, with the aim of making sure it was not repeated.
Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand said the disaster would be felt at many levels, and was a great personal loss for the individual families and friends of those who died.
1879: Probable gas explosion kills 34 men and boys at Kaitangata mine
1896: Suspected gas explosion kills 65 men at Brunner mine, near Greymouth
1914: Gas explosion kills 43 men at Ralph's mine in Huntly
1926: Explosion kills nine men at Dobson mine, near Greymouth
1939: Carbon monoxide asphyxiates 11 men at Glen Afton mine in Huntly
1967: Gas explosion kills 19 miners at Strongman mine, near Greymouth
2010: Explosions at Pike River mine, near Greymouth, are believed to have killed 29 miners
It was not immediately clear what triggered the second blast. However, Mr Whittall said it was not thought that any rescue work caused it.
"To the best of my knowledge, absolutely nothing that was being done up there has caused this," he added. "This has come from somewhere up in the mine. We weren't doing anything in the mine other than in the fresh air and that wouldn't have caused any explosion."
Air samples taken from inside the mine through a 162m (530ft) bore-hole completed on Wednesday had shown dangerous levels of methane and carbon monoxide, preventing rescuers from entering the mine.
Two robots had been sent into tunnels of the mine and a third was on its way in the hope of gaining a clearer picture of the conditions.
Mr Drew said the miners' families were angry that rescuers had not immediately entered the mine after the first blast, before there was a build-up of gas.
"They had their window of opportunity that Friday night, and now the truth can't come out because no-one alive will be able to come out and tell the truth about what went on down there," he added.
But Mr Whittall defended the decision to keep rescue workers out of the mine. "It's dangerous and it's hazardous and the rescue teams would be putting their lives gravely at risk," he said.
"While we were there and making that assessment, exactly what we said could happen, happened."
Mining expert David Feickert told TVNZ it was likely the men became unconscious from carbon monoxide prior to the second explosion and so would not have felt the blast.
The head of the New Zealand Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union said rescuers would now begin a process called "gagging" the mine.
"They are going to flood it with carbon dioxide to kill any remaining burning and then there will be the exercise to recover the bodies from the mine," Andrew Little told Radio New Zealand.
He said equipment had to first be brought over from Australia, and that the operation might take one or two days.
Meanwhile, Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee said he did not believe the mine had been operating with excessive methane levels.
Pike River is not far from the Strongman Mine, where an underground explosion killed 19 men in January 1967.
New Zealand's worst mining disaster was in 1896, when a gas explosion at the Brunner mine, also near Greymouth, left 65 miners dead. It accessed the same coal seam as the Pike River mine.
New Zealand's largest coal mine
Employs some 150 people
Operational since 2008
Accesses Brunner and Paparoa coal seams via 2.3km tunnel under Paparoa Ranges
5.5m-wide, 4.5m-high tunnel bisects Hawera fault, through which methane gas is known to leak
First blast is believed to have happened at 1530 (0230 GMT) on Friday
Two injured miners emerged from the tunnel entrance on Friday evening
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China Xiniya Fashion Ltd. sold its $88 million U.S. initial public offering at the top of the price range, while Zogenix Inc., a developer of treatments for central nervous system disorders, raised $56 million.
China Xiniya, a designer of men’s business clothes in China’s Fujian province, sold 8 million American depositary receipts at $11 apiece, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and data compiled by Bloomberg. San Diego-based Zogenix priced 14 million shares at $4 apiece after originally offering 6 million at $12 to $14.
The deals followed the biggest week for U.S. initial sales since March 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The IPO market has stabilized after 61 offerings were postponed or withdrawn this year, with companies from General Motors Co. to LPL Investment Holdings Inc. raising more than $17 billion combined last week as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Indextraded near a two-year high.
“You’re seeing a continuation of that confidence in the equity markets,” said Sean Kraus, who oversees about $2.2 billion as chief investment officer at Citizens Business Bank in Pasadena, California. Investors are “a little bit more comfortable with IPOs, even those that may not have been able to get done a few months ago,” he said.
Today’s Trading
China Xiniya slid 9.6 percent to $9.95 in New York Stock Exchange trading today. Zogenix lost 0.5 percent to $3.98 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading after earlier surging as much as 34 percent to $5.35.
The shares retreated as the S&P 500 slumped 1.4 percent today, after fighting broke out between North and South Korea and concern grew that Europe’s debt crisis and China’s efforts to tame inflation will slow the global economic rebound.
“It’s a sentiment-driven market right now,” said Josef Schuster, the Chicago-based founder of IPOX Capital Management LLC, which oversees $3 billion. “Investors are getting a little worried about what’s happening in domestic China.”
China’s government in the past month stepped up a campaign to limit credit expansion after inflation quickened and property prices surged. The country’s biggest banks are poised to hit government-set caps on lending and plan to stop expanding their loan books to avoid exceeding the annual quotas, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.
China’s Economy
Chinese companies have posted five of this year’s twelve best performances among IPOs on New York exchanges this year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The nation’s economy will grow 9 percent next year, more than three times as fast as the U.S., according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
ChinaCache International Holdings Ltd., the Beijing-based provider of content for business websites, had the biggest first-day rally on New York exchanges in three years, jumping 95 percent on Oct. 1, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
SouFun Holdings Ltd., the Beijing-based operator of China’s largest property website, surged 73 percent on Sept. 17 after selling its $125 million IPO at the top of the forecast range.
Cowen & Co. led China Xiniya’s offering. The designer and manufacturer of men’s business apparel and accessories will use proceeds from the IPO to build new manufacturing facilities, open stores and develop new products, the prospectus said.
Syswin Inc., a Beijing-based real estate agency, delayed its U.S. IPO scheduled for yesterday, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The company will now sell 9.6 million shares at $7 to $8 apiece after originally offering 12 million shares at $9.25 to $11.25, according to an SEC filing. New York-based Morgan Stanley is leading the offering, the prospectus said.
Clinical Trials
Wells Fargo & Co. of San Francisco and Boston-based Leerink Swann & Co. arranged Zogenix’s sale. The company will use proceeds to fund clinical trials and the commercialization of its treatment for migraines, according to the SEC filing.
Zogenix, which had no revenue until this year, posted sales of $14.6 million in the first nine months of 2010, the filing said. The company’s net loss widened to $71.4 million from $39.7 million a year earlier.
GM of Detroit sold $15.8 billion of common shares last week in the second-largest U.S. IPO on record, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Boston-based LPL, the brokerage and investment advisory firm owned by TPG Capital and Hellman & Friedman LLC, raised $517 million including its overallotment option.
The Gambia has said it is cutting all ties with Iran and ordered all Iranian government representatives to leave within 48 hours.
Officials from the small West African nation gave no reason for the move.
But last month Nigeria said it had intercepted an illegal arms shipment in Lagos from Iran, destined for The Gambia.
Senior Iranian official Alaeddin Borujerdi has said the move was taken under US pressure.
The Nigerian authorities said they had discovered the weapons, including rocket launchers and grenades, in containers labelled as building materials.
The France-based shipping company CMA CGM which transported the shipment said attempts were made to send it to The Gambia before the Nigerian police seized it.
Mr Borujerdi, chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran's parliament, confirmed that a private Iranian company had sent the arms to The Gambia but said this was "in line with international laws", reports the official Islamic Republic News Agency (Irna).
Rana Rahimpour from the BBC's Persian Service says the breaking of ties does seem to have taken Iran by surprise and officials appear to be playing it down.
She says Mr Borujerdi's comments are the first from an Iranian official to confirm that the arms were destined for The Gambia.
Nigeria has reported the seizure to the UN Security Council.
Iran is under UN sanctions because of its nuclear programme and is banned from supplying, selling or transferring arms.
'Embarrassed'
"All government of The Gambia projects and programmes, which were [being] implemented in co-operation with the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, have been cancelled," the Gambian foreign ministry said in a statement.
The weapons seized by Nigerian security officials in Lagos included rocket launchers and grenades
Correspondents say ties between Tehran and Banjul - which have both faced criticism over their human rights records - became closer after Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh came to power in 1994.
When The Gambia hosted the African Union summit in 2006, Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a guest of honour.
The Gambia has been among those developing nations who have defended Iran's right to nuclear power.
Charlie Zrom, who has published a paper on Iranian foreign policy for the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank in Washington, says the move will be an embarrassment for Iran.
"Iran has sought partners around the world especially as sanctions have come on the table in the last few years," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"West Africa has been a key priority for them and we've seen a number of visits both from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and from the defence minister.
"It's a tool by which Iran tries to prevent measures harmful to it, or it believes harmful to it, being passed at the United Nations."
Correspondents say the decision to expel all Iranian diplomats will bring an end to several projects funded by Iran, such as the $2bn (£1.2bn) agreement to supply The Gambia with heavy and commercial vehicles.
Ebuka Amaefuna '12: This Is My Carleton Topic: carleton college, bbc news, biod
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Ebuka Amaefuna '12 loves being a biology major, but some of his favorite experiments at Carleton happen outside the laboratory. Trying rugby for the first time. Auditioning for the Singing Knights. Helping his friends make a movie in their dorm.
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S Korea warns North after clash Topic: north korea, bbc news, nuclear p
23 November 2010 Last updated at 11:56 ET
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by Xian Wan, BBC News Southeast Asia Desk, for the BBC's Biodun Iginla
* Latest
* Analysis
* Q&A: Korean crisis
* In pictures
* Nuclear row
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The BBC's John Sudworth explains how the cross-border clash developed
Continue reading the main story
North Korea: A Secretive State
* Hard choices for South Korea
* Q&A: Inter-Korean crisis
* North Korea firing: Why now?
* As it happened: Artillery clash
South Korea says it will retaliate with missile strikes against the North if faced with "further provocations", after an exchange of fire in which two South Korean marines were killed.
President Lee Myung-bak was responding to the shelling of an inhabited island close to a disputed maritime border.
The South returned fire in one of the worst clashes since the Korean War.
US President Barack Obama called the incident an "outrageous, provocative act" by Pyongyang.
He was speaking ahead of an expected telephone call to President Lee.
The South Korean military had been carrying out an exercise near Yeonpyeong island, and the North accused the South of opening the hostilities - something Seoul denies.
The South says North Korean shells started falling in the waters off the island at 1434 local time (0534 GMT) on Tuesday.
Continue reading the main story
Yeonpyeong island
* Lies 3km (2 miles) from disputed Yellow Sea border and 12km from North Korean coast
* Houses military installations, a permanent Marine detachment and a small civilian population
* Rich fishing grounds in surrounding waters
* Scene of inter-Korean naval clashes in 1999 and 2002
* In the 2002 exchange of fire, 13 Northern sailors and five Southern sailors were killed
* In pictures: Korean shelling
* Possible triggers for attack
At least 50 landed directly on the island, most of them hitting a South Korean military base there. In addition to the two deaths, 16 South Korean marines and three civilians were injured.
The South fired back some 80 shells. Casualties on the northern side are unknown.
President Lee held a meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul.
Afterwards he said he had ordered the military to punish North Korea for its artillery attacks "through action", not just words, saying it is important to stop the communist regime from contemplating additional provocation.
"The provocation this time can be regarded as an invasion of South Korean territory. In particular, indiscriminate attacks on civilians are a grave matter," he said.
'Belligerent'
There have been occasional cross-border incidents since the conflict ended without a peace treaty in 1953, but the latest comes at a time of rising regional tension.
Map showing Yeonpyeong and the disputed border between North and South Korea
North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il is thought to be ill and trying to ensure the succession of his youngest son.
On Saturday, it emerged that North Korea had also shown off what it claimed was a new uranium enrichment facility to an American scientist.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
Jonathan Marcus BBC diplomatic correspondent
Nobody needed any reminder of the volatility of the relations between North and South Korea, nor of the sensitivity of their disputed maritime border. In March, a South Korean warship was sunk by an explosion and an investigation indicated strongly that the North was responsible.
The shelling of Yeonpyeong fits into the same pattern. From the North Korean viewpoint, this is about establishing deterrence over the South and defending its interests. But it is also a wider demonstration to the world of the North's power and an indication of some kind of political transition.
* N Korea seeks attention through force
The move prompted the US to rule out the resumption of six-party talks on nuclear disarmament that Pyongyang abandoned two years ago.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called on North Korea to "halt its belligerent action", adding that the US was "firmly committed" to South Korea's defence.
But North Korea's supreme military command blamed South Korea for the incident.
"The South Korean enemy, despite our repeated warnings, committed reckless military provocations of firing artillery shells into our maritime territory near Yeonpyeong island beginning 1300 (0400 GMT)," the state-run KCNA news agency quoted it as saying.
The North will strike back if South Korea "dares to invade our sea territory by 0.001mm", it warned.
There was more condemnation of North Korea from Russia, EU and the UK, although China - the North's main ally - refused to apportion blame.
Continue reading the main story
North Korea: Timeline 2010
26 March: South Korean warship, Cheonan, sinks, killing 46 sailors
20 May: Panel says a North Korean torpedo sank the ship; Pyongyang denies involvement
July-September: South Korea and US hold military exercises; US places more sanctions on Pyongyang
29 September: North holds rare party congress seen as part of father-to-son succession move
29 October: Troops from North and South Korea exchange fire across the land border
12 November: North Korea shows US scientist new - undeclared - uranium enrichment facility
* Koreans angry and worried
* Brief history of the Korean War
A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry said that both countries should "do more to contribute to peace".
"What's imperative now is to restart six-party talks as soon as possible," Hong Lei told reporters in Beijing.
Japan's Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said he had ordered ministers to prepare for any eventuality.
"I ordered them to make preparations so that we can react firmly, should any unexpected event occur," he said.
Russia's foreign minister warned of a "colossal danger", and said those behind the attack carried a huge responsibility.
This western maritime border, also known as the Northern Limit Line, has been the scene of numerous clashes in the past.
In March, a South Korean warship went down near the border with the loss of 46 lives. International investigators say a North Korean torpedo sank the ship, although Pyongyang has denied any role in the incident.
Graphic
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Israel's parliament has passed a bill setting stringent new conditions before any withdrawal from the Golan Heights or East Jerusalem.
The bill requires a two-thirds majority in the Knesset before any withdrawal could be approved.
Failing that, the proposal would be subject to a national referendum.
Analysts say the move could complicate peace efforts by making it more difficult for any Israeli government to make territorial withdrawals.
The bill - passed by a 65-33 majority - was backed of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said it would prevent "irresponsible agreements".
Likud Party MP Yariv Levin, who proposed the bill, said it was of "the utmost national importance for retaining the unity of the people".
Unlike the occupied West Bank, which Israel has never formally annexed, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem are considered by the Israeli government to be under its sovereignty.
The international community considers both the Golan and East Jerusalem to be occupied territory.
Syria requires the return of all of the Golan Heights as the primary condition for an peace treaty with Israel.
Palestinians aim to establish their capital in East Jerusalem.
'A mockery'
The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank condemned the move.
"With the passage of this bill, the Israeli leadership, yet again, is making a mockery of international law," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
"Ending the occupation of our land is not and cannot be dependent on any sort of referendum."
Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.
There was no immediate comment from Syria, which lost the Golan Heights to Israel in the 1967 war.
Damascus wants the land back in return for peace but many Israelis regard the heights - which overlook northern Israel - as a strategic asset.
Israel has occupied the West Bank - including East Jerusalem - since 1967, settling nearly 500,000 Jews in more than 100 settlements. They are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
Are you in the area? Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? You can contact the BBC using the form below: