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Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea on Tuesday fired artillery into the sea near its tense western sea border with South Korea, injuring at least four South Korean soldiers and two civilians, the Yonhap news agency reported.
At least 200 rounds of artillery hit an inhabited South Korean island after the North started firing about 2:30 p.m. local time, Yonhap said.
South Korea's military responded with 80 rounds of artillery and deployed fighter jets to counter the fire, the report said.
The South Korean army also raised its alert condition, the report said.
Images of plumes of smoke were quickly broadcast on Yonhap television from the island of Yeonpyeong, but it was not immediately clear what the artillery had hit.
The island that was hit has a total of about 1,300 residents, a fisherman who lives on the island told Yonhap.
The South Korean government immediately called an emergency meeting of its security ministers.

President Barack Obama won NATO summit agreement Friday to build a missile shield over Europe, an ambitious commitment to protect against Iranian attack while demonstrating the alliance's continuing relevance ? but at the risk of further aggravating Russia.
On another major issue, Obama and the allies are expected to announce plans on Saturday to begin handing off security responsibility in Afghanistan to local forces next year and to complete the transition by the end of 2014.
That end date is three years beyond the time that Obama has said he will start withdrawing U.S. troops, and the challenge is to avoid a rush to the exits as public opinion turns more sharply against the war and Afghan President Hamid Karzai pushes for greater Afghan control.
While celebrating the missile shield decision, Obama also made a renewed pitch for Senate ratification back in the U.S. of a nuclear arms treaty with Russia, asserting that Europeans believe rejection of the deal would hurt their security and damage relations with the Russians.
Two key unanswered questions about the missile shield ? will it work and can the Europeans afford it? ? were put aside for the present in the interest of celebrating the agreement as a boost for NATO solidarity.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/11/19/afghanistan-handover-issue-hangs-nato-summit-440124980/#ixzz15o3fH9W0

Reports have surfaced in the Middle East claiming Israel and the US are making military preparations for a possible attack on Iran.

It comes after Washington called for tougher measures to be taken against the country over its nuclear ambitions.
The reports first appeared in Iranian media and were later picked up by more mainstream Israeli and Iranian media. According to them, Israeli helicopters have dropped large amounts of military equipment in northern Saudi Arabia, eight kilometers from Tabuk, the closest Saudi city to Israel.
Later, London Times magazine published a report claiming that Saudi Arabia agreed to give Israel a narrow corridor of air space in northern Saudi Arabia. The article went on to say that the Saudis had adjusted defense missile systems to allow Israeli jets to fly overhead.
According to Egyptian sources, an American fleet made its way through the Suez Canal. Eyewitnesses say the fleet had eleven frigates and an air carrier. They add there was also an Israeli frigate among the ships. All commercial traffic was suspended for some time as the fleet made its way from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
There has been no reaction from Washington, but Saudi Arabia has vehemently denied the claims.
Dr. Eldad Pardo of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem says it is not unlikely for Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to cooperate with Israel against Iran.
?Definitely, it is possible,? Pardo stated. ?The question is not whether it is Israel or not. Israel has military capabilities but, all in all, it is a minor player in the Iranian game. The major players are the superpowers and the phenomenon of globalization, free trade and all that is in danger if Iran obtains nuclear weapons.?

?I never thought that we?d be in this paramilitary type of engagement. It's a war on the border," said Captain Stacy Holland with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Holland leads a fleet of 16 state-of-the-art helicopters that make up the aviation assets used by the Texas DPS to fight Mexican drug cartels.
In recent years, the cartels have become bolder and more ruthless.
They cross the border with AK-47s on their backs, wearing military camouflage. They recruit in prisons and schools on the American side. Spotters sit in duck blinds along the Rio Grande and call out the positions of the U.S. Border Patrol.
To combat the cartels, the Texas Department of Public Safety is launching a counterinsurgency.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/18/americas-war-texas-mounts-counterinsurgency-effort/#ixzz15efOqwJr

From page 55.
?434/10(18).
EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
CALIFORNIA.
MISSILES.
1. INTERMITTENT MISSILE FIRING OPERATIONS 0001Z TO 2359Z
DAILY MONDAY THRU SUNDAY IN THE NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER
SEA RANGE. THE MAJORITY OF MISSILE FIRINGS TAKE PLACE
1400Z TO 2359Z AND 0001Z TO 0200Z DAILY MONDAY THRU FRIDAY
IN AREA BOUND BY
?
3. VESSELS INBOUND AND OUTBOUND FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PORTS
WILL CREATE THE LEAST INTERFERENCE TO FIRING OPERATIONS
DURING THE SPECIFIC PERIODS, AS WELL AS ENHANCE THE VESSEL?S SAFETY WHEN PASSING THROUGH THE VICINITY OF THE SEA RANGE
IF THEY WILL TRANSIT VIA THE SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL AND WITHIN
NINE MILES OFFSHORE VICINITY OF POINT MUGU OR CROSS THE AREA
SOUTHWEST OF SAN NICOLAS ISLAND BETWEEN SUNSET AND SUNRISE.