BEIJING, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - North Korea is fully cooperating with US weapons experts supervising the disabling of the communist country's principal nuclear site, New Zealand's foreign minister Winston Peters said Saturday.

'They receive full cooperation at this point of time,' said Peters, who is in China following a two-day visit to Pyongyang.

JERUSALEM, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni charged on Sunday that weapons were still being smuggled from Syria to the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah, undermining the UN mission in Lebanon.

'Continued smuggling of weapons and ammunition from Syria damages UNIFIL's ability to dismantle Hezbollah's armaments and will do so in the future as well if the smuggling continues,' she told Claudio Graziano, the UN force commander.

BEIJING, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - China said Thursday it was playing a 'constructive role' in its relations with Myanmar, but did not respond to calls by a rights group to impose an arms embargo on the Southeast Asian nation.

In a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao, Human Rights Watch also urged China to impose targeted sanctions on Myanmar and pressure it to begin a dialogue with opposition groups seeking democracy.

BANGKOK, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Human Rights Watch on Thursday sent a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao urging him to slap an arms embargo on Myanmar to help prevent abuses by its military rulers.

China is a major supplier of weapons to the military regime in Myanmar, which last month violently suppressed anti-government protests led by Buddhist monks across the country formerly known as Burma.

BEIRUT, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has asked for UN and Arab League help in halting what he said was the flow of illegal arms into the country from Syria, according to a letter seen by AFP.

In a plea to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa, Siniora also accused the Shiite Muslim party Hezbollah, which is supported by both Syria and Iran, of arming opposition groups.

BANGKOK, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Nations such as China, Russia and India are helping prop up Myanmar's military junta by supplying them with weapons, Human Rights Watch said Thursday as it appealed for an arms embargo.

The New York-based watchdog called on the UN Security Council -- currently meeting in New York -- to impose and enforce a ban on the sale of arms to Myanmar, which it said used the weapons to commit abuses against its people.

DAKAR, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Civil wars and conflicts cost Africa some 300 billion dollars in the 15 years until 2005, the equivalent of funds poured into the continent in international aid over the same period, a new study has shown.

'The cost of conflict on African development was approximately 300 billion dollars between 1990 and 2005,' according to the research published Thursday by a group of non-governmental organisations.

'This is equal to the amount of money received in international aid during the same period,' it said.

DAKAR, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Civil wars and conflicts cost Africa some 300 billion dollars in the 15 years until 2005, the equivalent of funds poured into the continent in international aid over the same period, a new study has shown.

'The cost of conflict on African development was approximately 300 billion dollars between 1990 and 2005,' according to the research published Thursday by a group of non-governmental organisations.

'This is equal to the amount of money received in international aid during the same period,' it said.

MAPUTO, Oct 6, 2007 (AFP) - Dozens of families were evacuated Saturday after an arms depot exploded at Inhamizua, near Mozambique's second city Beira, damaging houses but not causing any casualties, the military said.

The blast was caused by farmers burning stubble around the depot, defence ministry spokesman Joaquim Mataruca said.

'There were no injured or dead. But there was quite a lot of damage to homes nearby,' he said.

LONDON, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - British defence group BAE Systems said Friday it has been chosen as the preferred bidder to supply trucks to the Australian army in a deal expected to be worth up to 653 million pounds (1.33 billion US dollars, 941 million euros).

The company beat off DaimlerChrysler and MAN to win the contract to supply more than 3,000 medium and heavy trucks to the Australian Defence Force over a six year period, commencing in 2009.

WASHINGTON, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - Iraq is buying 100 million dollars of light military equipment for its police from China because the US cannot provide the materiel, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told the Washington Post's Thursday edition.

'The capacity of the factories here are not enough to provide us quickly with all that we need, even for the army. One of our demands is to accelerate the delivery of the arms to the Iraqi army,' Talabani said.

OLSO, Norway, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Wednesday he was optimistic for the outcome of behind-closed-doors negotiations on the denuclearisation of neighbouring North Korea.

Speaking on a visit to Oslo, Han said: 'The prospect of progress and result at the six-party talks is, I think, bright.'

Under the outline of an agreement six states -- North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States -- reached on February 13th, North Korea was to begin a programme of denuclearisation.

RIYADH, Sept 17, 2007 (AFP) - Saudi Arabia announced on Monday it has signed a 4.43 billion pound (8.86 billion dollar) deal to buy 72 Eurofighter planes, after tortuous negotiations on one of the largest ever British export orders.

'The two governments on Tuesday (September 11) signed the contract for the acquisition of (72) planes for a cost of 4.43 billion pounds,' a defence ministry spokesman told the state news agency SPA.

RIYADH, Sept 17, 2007 (AFP) - The Saudi defence ministry announced on Monday that it has signed a 4.43 billion pound (8.86 billion dollar) deal to buy 72 Eurofighter planes, in one of the largest ever British export orders.

'The two governments on Tuesday (September 11) signed the contract for the acquisition of (72) planes for a cost of 4.43 billion pounds,' a ministry spokesman told the state news agency SPA.

WASHINGTON, Aug 30, 2007 (AFP) - A top Pentagon official is heading to Iraq to investigate claims that US arms supplied to Iraqi security forces have ended up in Turkey, which is fuming over cross-border attacks by Kurdish rebels.

The Defense Department's inspector general Claude Kicklighter, a retired Army general, is due in Iraq next week with an 18-member assessment team to probe the allegations.

QUSSAYA, Lebanon, Aug 12, 2007 (AFP) - On the road out of Qussaya village in east Lebanon, a barrier and a bunker signal the entrance to the military training camp of a Palestinian militant group.

Around the camp housing the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -General Command (PFLP-GC) are Lebanese troops who bar access to what has become a 'forbidden zone' since the departure of Syrian soldiers and intelligence agents in 2005.

IZHEVSK, Russia, Aug 9, 2007 (AFP) - Mikhail Kalashnikov, designer of the world's most famous assault rifle, is angry with what he calls 'counterfeit' production of his gun and the rifle's producer has the culprits in its sights.

'They just use the brand, the fame. It's not fair,' Kalashnikov, 87, said at a press conference in the industrial city of Izhevsk, 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) east of Moscow.

IZHEVSK, Russia, Aug 9, 2007 (AFP) - Light, silent and regulation black: the AK-9 is the latest model of the famous Kalashnikov assault rifle to come off production lines at the Izhmash factory in Russia.

'It shoots virtually without a sound and it can go through a bullet-proof vest,' said Alexei Dragunov, 52, one of the designers of the weapon, as he assembled the gun at a firing range in a Russian forest.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 3, 2007 (AFP) - The UN Security Council expressed strong concern Friday over violations of the arms embargo on Lebanon's border with Syria.

'The Security Council ... expresses grave concern at persistent reports of breaches of the arms embargo along the Lebanon-Syria border,' the council said in a non-binding presidential statement.

MOSCOW, Aug 1, 2007 (AFP) - Russia is set to breach a contract to refurbish a Soviet-era aircraft carrier for the Indian navy, Russian news agencies reported Wednesday, citing officials at the firm upgrading the ship.

'The contract is off target by three years,' Interfax news agency cited a senior official at the Sevmash shipyard in northwest Russia as saying. The total value of the contract is 1.5 billion dollars.

'Due to the breach of contract with India, the general director of the factory, Vladimir Pastukhov, has been fired,' the official said.

LOS ANGELES, July 30, 2007 (AFP) - A California man was charged Monday with illegally exporting to an Indian aeronautics company sensitive technology that can be used in civilian and military aircraft, US authorities said.

Samuel Shangteh Peng, 56, of Yorba Linda, California, has agreed to plead guilty to five counts of unlawful exports to a prohibited entity, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, the Justice Department said.

TEHRAN, July 30, 2007 (AFP) - Iran on Monday lashed out at the United States over a proposed arms package for Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies that seeks to counter Iranian influence, saying the deal was aimed at 'spreading fear.'

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is expected to discuss the package -- reportedly worth 20 billion dollars -- in a visit with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the kingdom and other Arab states this week.

TEHRAN, July 30, 2007 (AFP) - Iran on Monday condemned a major US arms package for Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies that is reportedly aimed at countering the growing regional influence of the Islamic republic.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is expected to discuss the package -- reportedly worth 20 billion dollars -- in a visit with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the kingdom and other Arab states this week.

JERUSALEM, July 29, 2007 (AFP) - Israel adopted a cautious stance on Sunday over a reported 20-billion-dollar US arms package to Saudi Arabia and other regional American allies intended to counter the perceived threat from Iran.

'We have no doubt that the United States would not do anything that could endanger the security of Israel,' Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokeswoman Miri Eisin told AFP on Sunday.

WASHINGTON, July 28, 2007 (AFP) - The United States is readying a major arms package for Saudi Arabia with an eye to countering a changing threat from Iran, a senior US defense official said.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to discuss the US recommendations with the Saudis next week in a visit to the kingdom with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the official said Friday.

UNITED NATIONS, July 27, 2007 (AFP) - Eritrea on Friday rejected fresh UN allegations that it is the main arms supplier to Islamist insurgents in Somalia in violation of a 15-year UN embargo and demanded to see the evidence.

In a report to the Security Council, a UN panel of independent experts described Eritrea as 'the principal clandestine source and conduit for arms supplies' to the Somali Islamist insurgents engaged in guerrilla warfare with Ethiopian-backed government troops.

UNITED NATIONS, July 27, 2007 (AFP) - A UN report detailed Friday fresh allegations that Eritrea is the main arms supplier to Islamist insurgents in Somalia in violation of a 15-year UN embargo but Asmara rejected the charges and demanded to see the evidence.

In a report to the Security Council, a UN panel of independent experts described Eritrea as 'the principal clandestine source and conduit for arms supplies' to the Somali Islamist insurgents engaged in guerrilla warfare with Ethiopian-backed government troops.

ASMARA, July 27, 2007 (AFP) - Eritrea on Friday rejected UN claims that it is arming Somali insurgents and asked the world body to provide evidence, the latest in a string of accusations between the feuding sides.

Althought most Somali Islamist leaders are exiled in Eritrea, Asmara said the claims were designed at masking the UN failure to halt the war and the United States' active involvement that critics blame for fanning bloodletting.

UNITED NATIONS, July 27, 2007 (AFP) - Eritrea is the main supplier of arms to Islamist insurgents in Somalia in violation of a 15-year-old UN embargo, and has made 'deliberate attempts' to hide its activities, according to a UN report obtained here Friday.

'Eritrea was the principal clandestine source and conduit for arms supplies' to the Somali insurgents battling Ethiopian-backed government troops, said the report by a panel of independent experts tasked with looking into ways of improving compliance with the arms enbargo.

WASHINGTON, July 27, 2007 (AFP) - The United States is readying a major arms package for Saudi Arabia with an eye to countering a changing threat from Iran, a senior US defense official said Friday.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to discuss the US recommendations with the Saudis next week in a visit to the kingdom with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the official said.