lgar provocation," the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
The Russian ambassador to NATO said Moscow's reaction to NATO's cancelation of accreditation for the two officials from Russia's NATO delegation and their possible expulsion from Belgium would be firm.
"The response will be clear and tough," Dmitry Rogozin said.
The Foreign Ministry said NATO was attempting to expel the diplomats on "an absolutely far-fetched pretext," and urged all NATO member states to think over the consequences of the action.
"The scandalous move runs counter to NATO leaders' statements on their readiness to improve relations with Russia," it added. "Naturally, we will draw our own conclusions about this provocation."
Rogozin confirmed that one of the two diplomats facing expulsion is the son of Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's ambassador to the EU.
The Financial Times reported Thursday that NATO had acted in response to the spy scandal involving Estonian official Herman Simm, who was convicted in February for passing NATO secrets to Russia. 
Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
The agreements were signed in the Kremlin by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh, and South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity.
Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states after the five-day war with Georgia, which attacked South Ossetia in an attempt to bring it back under central control. Most residents of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia had held Russian citizenship for several years.
Under the agreements, Russia will guard the Abkhaz and South Ossetian borders, including maritime frontiers, until both republics form their own border guard services. The agreements, for an initial five years, can be renewed upon their expiration.
The sides also signed interdepartmental agreements on cooperation between the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the Abkhaz State Security Service and the South Ossetian Committee of State Security.
NATO considers the agreements signed by Russia and the two republics to be a breach in earlier reached agreements, Reuters reported on Thursday.
"This [signing of the pacts] is in clear contravention of the 12th August and 8th September agreements negotiated by the European Union and is not in the interests of long-term peace and security in the South Caucasus region," Reuters quoted a NATO spokesman as saying. 
wds watching a Dutch royal parade, killing five people, in an attempted attack on the royal family, officials say.
The car careered into a monument metres from an open-topped bus carrying Queen Beatrix and members of her family.
The royals, who were unharmed, watched in horror as the car ploughed into bystanders in Apeldoorn, about 90km (56 miles) east of Amsterdam.
Officials said the 38-year-old driver had suffered life-threatening injuries.
We're speechless that something so terrible could have happened
Queen Beatrix
Prosecutor Ludo Goossens said the man, who is a Dutch national, would be charged with attempting an attack on the royal family and murder - if he survives.
"The man indicated that his action was aimed against the royal family," Mr Goossens told journalists in Apeldoorn.
After searching the car and his home, investigators ruled out terrorism as a motive and said it appeared he had acted alone.
'Bewilderment and disbelief'
Members of the royal family were shown looking on in horror as the battered car rammed spectators before crashing into the stone monument.
In a televised address, Queen Beatrix called the incident shocking, and said everyone would empathise with the victims and their families and friends.
"What began as a great day has ended in a terrible tragedy that has shocked us all deeply," she said.
"People who were standing close by, people who saw it happen on television, all those who lived through it, must have looked on with bewilderment and disbelief.
"We're speechless that something so terrible could have happened."
Cynthia Boll, a photographer at the scene, told the BBC the car was already badly damaged before it slammed into the crowds at high speed.
"There were people everywhere, you could definitely see that it was serious because everywhere was blood and shoes ripped off and all the people giving CPR," she said.
Other witnesses described people being flung into the air as the car crashed through the throngs who had turned out to see the queen.
Officials said two men and two women died at the scene of the incident, while another person died later in hospital.
Taken by surprise
The crowds were celebrating Queen's Day - a national holiday in the Netherlands when thousands of people take to the streets to mark the queen's official birthday.
Hundreds of police officers were on duty in a huge security operation that took months to plan.
But the authorities said they were taken completely by surprise when the small black car smashed through a security fence and into the crowd of people.
Following the incident, flags were lowered to half mast on government buildings across the country and all planned celebrations were called off.
Witnesses said the streets of Apeldoorn were now deserted. 
d Thursday the three polling phases of the 2009 general elections in India have ended in a peaceful manner.
Deputy Election Commissioner R. Balakrishnan said from New Delhi the third phase of the elections had a nearly 50 percent turnout following 60 percent turnout in the first phase and 55 percent in the second, the Indo-Asian News Service said.
"The polling process was absolutely peaceful and extremely satisfactory," Balakrishnan said.
The news service said 144 million voters across India were eligible to participate in Thursday's round of polling.
The third polling round was for residents of Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Dadar and Nagar Havel, and Daman and Diu. 
A Pakistani motorcyclist rides past a burning passenger mini bus on a street in Karachi and vehicle burns after clashes in the southern city of Karachi April 29, 2009.
Police and rescue sources said that over a dozen police and security personnel were also injured in the crossfire between two groups in various areas.
Pakistani police have arrested 21 suspected gunmen during a search operation and started investigation into the violence. 
The memorial service takes place at the Basra Contingency Operating Base as the UK mission in Iraq comes to a close [Picture: Corporal James Williams RLC]
With British combat operations in southern Iraq drawing to a close and UK Service personnel preparing to draw down from Basra, this was the last service to be held at the wall in Basra which stands outside the UK Headquarters building on the Basra Contingency Operating Base.
The service, which was held this morning, Thursday 30 April 2009, was attended by personnel from all three Services, senior coalition officers and the Defence Secretary John Hutton.
The Basra Memorial Wall commemorates the 178 UK Service personnel and one civil servant who have died on Operation TELIC, as well as 46 coalition forces personnel and nine contractors (including two British citizens) killed in Multi-National Division South East's area of operations.
The service was conducted by The Reverend Paschal Hanrahan who is padre to the British military Medical Group in Basra.
British personnel attend a memorial service at the Basra Contingency Operating Base as the UK mission in Iraq comes to a close [Picture: Corporal James Williams RLC]
A bagpiper played a lament followed by a bugler who played the Last Post and Reveille. The end of the service was marked by an RAF Tornado flypast.
The Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary made a commitment in December 2008 to bring the Memorial Wall home to a fitting resting place in Britain. The Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth is writing to the families to update them on our plans.
The plan is to replicate the memorial wall in Basra as closely as possible at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The MOD is working with the Arboretum to finalise the design.
The proposed design will incorporate the marble centre-stone of the Basra Memorial Wall, which is engraved with a quotation from the Book of Wisdom.
Work on the foundations of the wall is likely to start at the Arboretum later this year. We hope the memorial wall itself will be completed by July next year. There will be a dedication service next year to unveil the completed memorial.
down a ballistic missile target April 7 in a test of Israel's national missile defense system.
The operationally realistic test, conducted in Israel by the Israel Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, used an interceptor co-produced by Boeing and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and equipped with new capability enhancements.
"This successful test underscores the effectiveness of the cooperative relationship we have forged with IAI on the Arrow program and other international missile defense initiatives," said Greg Hyslop, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems. "Boeing is proud to co-produce Arrow II interceptors, which provide the state of Israel with a proven defense capability against ballistic missile threats."
The event marked the co-produced Arrow II's second intercept in two attempts, as well as its third successful flight test. The Arrow II is part of the Arrow Weapon System, which Israel and the United States have jointly developed to defend Israel against the growing threat of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.
Under an agreement with IAI, the prime contractor for the Arrow Weapon System, Boeing provides several Arrow II interceptor components, including the Section II electronics assembly (part of the avionics and guidance subsystem); the nose cone; the canister assembly that houses the interceptor; electrical subsystems; and motor cases. IAI is responsible for system integration and final interceptor assembly in Israel.
Boeing's major suppliers on Arrow II are Alliant-Techsystems (ATK) of Iuka, Miss., and Clearfield, Utah; Manes Machine, of Fort Collins, Colo.; Patterson Machine, of Union Grove, Ala.; and Sanmina-SCI, of Huntsville, Ala. 
ARAVIS®, the most protected multi-mission vehicle of its category. Protection is one of the major asset of this new 12 tonne class 4 X 4, an essential requirement of the armed forces, highlighted by the experience acquired in Iraq and in Afghanistan. ARAVIS®’s protection level outclasses that of all existing 4x4 vehicles, with the following combined protection levels : level 4 ballistic protection (defeats 14,5 mm threats), level 4 mine protection (defeats 10kg mines under the belly and wheels) , level 4 artillery splinters protection (defeats 155mm artillery threats) and IED protection. With its easily sustainable Unimog châssis, ARAVIS® offers as well a very high tactical mobility on road and in cross-country. It is transportable by air in C130, A400M and C17. This vehicule offers a large internal volume of 9.5 m3 and can carry 2 permanent crew plus up to 6 infantry men with their equipment. ARAVIS®, can be fitted with remote cotrolled weapon station. This vehicle is ideal to achieve piece keeping and law enforcement operation, especially in urban aera.
That section of the economy stimulation plan amounts to 2.4 billion euros and will be used, among other things, towards a 10% increase in funds dedicated to equipment purchase in 2009.
The Delegation Generale pour l`Armement (DGA – French Procurement Agency) advised NEXTER Systems of the contract on April 16, 2009. The purchase will provide the French Army with highly protected vehicles for reconnaissance assignments on potentially mined routes. The ARAVIS®s will go to the Engineers unit, which escorts BUFFALO and SOUVIM vehicles specialised in improvised explosive device prevention (IED) tasks in Afghanistan.
The ARAVIS® is a 12.5-ton, air-transportable 4WD vehicle with a high level of combined protection against mines and improvised explosive devices (IED). It can carry as many as 7 Engineers unit personnel. Since it may have to counter-attack in unsafe area, it has a remote-controlled weapon station with a 12.7 mm machine gun similar to the VAB TOPs used in Afghanistan since the beginning of the year. For its reconnaissance tasks, the ARAVIS® has, in addition to the turret cameras, peripheral cameras showing the nearby environment around the vehicle.
The first vehicles will be delivered by NEXTER Systems to the DGA at the end of 2009. Users and personnel in charge of maintaining the ARAVIS®s will be trained upon the delivery of the first vehicles.
The F-16 is the largest Western jet fighter program with over 4,400 aircraft built since production was approved in 1976. Though no longer being bought by the U.S. Air Force, advanced versions are still being built for export customers. In 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corporation, which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta.
Although the $278 million contract has not yet been signed by the two countries, Vidal insisted the deal was ready to go.
"The deal is closed, only the signatures are missing," Vidal said Wednesday, following an earlier denial from the Netherlands that a deal had been reached.
The F-16 fighters will replace the Chile's aging F-5 jets, which have been in use since 1976.
"Chile has acquired a new fleet of F-16 planes," Vidal announced late Tuesday after leaving a Defense Commission hearing in the Congress. The jets will join the Chilean Air Force in December, he added.
The purchase is the second military deal between Chile and the Netherlands, after Santiago's 2006 acquisition of 18 used F-16 jets at a cost of $185 million.
In 2003, Chile bought 10 new F-16 jets from U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) at a cost of $660 million. 
Pakistani Muslims walk past army vehicles with cannons heading for the military operation against the Taliban. 
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