A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Saturday, January 3, 2015
Barack Obama targets North Korea with fresh sanctions over Sony cyber-attack
US president confirms Pyongyang still held responsible for devastating hack of Sony Pictures by targeting North Korea with new sanctions
US president Barack Obama last night imposed fresh sanctions on North Korea in response to the hacking of a Hollywood studio.
In doing so Mr Obama confirmed that he still believes the hermit state
was behind the recent devastating cyber-attack on Sony Pictures, a
conclusion that has been questioned by some internet security experts.
The hacking forced Sony to temporarily pull from cinemas the comedy film
The Interview, which centred on a plot to assassinate Kim Jong-un, and
is believed to have triggered the Pyongyang-backed attack.
Mr Obama said he had ordered the measures in response to the
"provocative, destabilising, and repressive actions and policies of the
Government of North Korea, including its destructive, coercive
cyber-related actions during November and December 2014."
Previous US sanctions have been imposed on North Korea over its nuclear
programme, but these were the first in relation to the hacking episode.
Under the sanctions those singled out will be barred from using the US
financial system, and Americans will be prohibited from doing business
with them.
Those affected by the sanctions include North Korea's intelligence
agency, the country's state-owned arms dealer, and the Korea Tangun
Trading Corporation, which is involved in defence research.
Previous
US sanctions have been imposed on North Korea over its nuclear
programme, but these were the first in relation to the hacking episode.
Photo: AFP/Reuters
The US also sanctioned 10 individuals who work for those organisations
or the North Korean government. It was not suggested by the US that they
had been directly involved in the hacking of Sony.
The officials included individuals working in Iran, Syria, China, Russia
and Namibia. They were not part of the country's top leadership.
Mr Obama signed an executive order authorising the sanctions while on holiday in Hawaii.
He said North Korea's actions constituted a "continuing threat to the
national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States."
Mr Obama added: "The order is not targeted at the people of North Korea
but rather is aimed at the government of North Korea and its activities
that threaten the United States and others."
US officials said it was only "the first aspect" of the US response.
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said: "The actions taken today will further
isolate key North Korean entities and disrupt the activities of close
to a dozen critical North Korean operatives."
John Park, a Northeast Asia specialist at Harvard Kennedy School, said
the sanctions were largely symbolic. He told CNBC: "How do you sanction
the world's most heavily sanctioned country?"