An Cosantóir

12 | World Strategic Picture asia Over 5,000 people were killed after Typhoon Haiyan swept through the central Philippines. With winds up to 315kmph it left a trail of destruction that affected as many as 11 million people. Aid from around the world is being pledged and Ireland has deployed members of the Dept. of Foreign Affairs Rapid Reaction Force. Pakistan's security forces claim that an American drone strike killed the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud on 1st November. One of the most senior leaders of a militant Pakistani network with links to the Taliban, Nasiruddin Haqqani, was shot dead near Islamabad. Although he was on America's list of global terrorists it is not known who killed him. AFRICA two huge, UN-administered camps to return home over the next three years. At present, most of the 500,000 Somalis living there are reluctant to leave because of the dangers they would still face at home. Somalia and Kenya signed an agreement with the UN's refugee agency to encourage Somalis in Kenya's Congolese government forces supported by UN troops scored a victory in the eastern province of North Kivu, capturing the main base of the M23 rebel group. Their leaders have reportedly fled into THE MIDDLE EAST Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, arrived in Washington to ask for more military assistance after scores were killed in a spate of bombings by insurgents. Many of these bombings have been linked to al-Qaeda, which has driven Iraq's army out of parts of the Sunni-populated territory to the north and west of Baghdad. On 17th November a bomb attack against military offices in a suburb of Damascus killed at least 31 Syrian troops, including four high-ranking officers. Sources claim rebel groups planted the explosives in Harasta. EUROPE Talks with Iran in Geneva by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany narrowly failed to pass an interim agreement. They had hoped to pave the way for a comprehensive plan to curtail the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme. France demanded stronger safeguards while Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, protested vigorously against what he dubbed "the deal of the century" in Iran's favour. They will meet again before the end of the month. After masked men attacked polling stations local elections in Kosovo were suspended in ethnically divided northern Mitrovica, a Serbian-dominated part of the country. A partial re-vote will be held later. The tensions underline the challenges facing the EU, Serbia and Kosovo in implementing the deal brokered in April to integrate the Serbian population in the north of Kosovo with the rest of the country. In Germany the British ambassador was summoned to Germany's foreign ministry for his reaction to the latest spying allegations, printed in the British media. He said that the roof of his embassy in Berlin may have been used by the Americans for eavesdropping. The head of the German parliament's intelligence committee has called for inquiries into the statement. German officials revealed that 1,400 artworks looted by the Nazis in WWII and missing for 70 years had been discovered at a flat in Munich during a tax raid in 2012. The collection is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion and includes masterpieces by Matisse, Chagall, Picasso and Renoir. THE AMERICAS Admiral William McRaven, the head of US Special Operations Command, said the United States will train 5,000 to 7,000 Libyan troops as well as counterterrorism forces. Another US official said the training is likely to take place in Europe. An Cosantóir Dec 2013/Jan 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 243 US Marines landed in Tacloban City on Leyte Island after the US ordered urgent emergency efforts in response to typhoon Haiyan, which has destroyed entire coastal communities. General Paul Kennedy, head of the contingent, said, that the US military presence will likely expand to about 1,500 to 2,000 troops in the coming days.

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