DTN News: D-Link Unveils Power-Saving 8-Port Switch To Further Green Technology Initiative

DTN News: D-Link Unveils Power-Saving 8-Port Switch To Further Green Technology Initiative

Next-Generation Switch Provides Up to 84% Reduced Power Consumption Without Sacrificing Operational Performance

*Sources: Int'l Media / MARKET WIRE

(NSI News Source Info) FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA - June 16, 2009: D-Link, the end-to-end networking solutions provider for consumer and business, and the first company to introduce green technology to computer networking, today expanded its leadership role in the development of energy-saving products and initiatives. It is introducing the second generation D-Link® 8-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch DGS-2208, which provides up to 84% reduced power consumption* without sacrificing network performance. Shipping now, the DGS-2208 is one of four environmentally friendly small office/home office (SOHO) unmanaged gigabit switches that will ship this year with newly enhanced power-saving features, including a power supply that is ENERGY STAR-compliant. Already available is the next-generation D-Link 5-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch DGS-2205. This second generation release of the D-Link Green(TM) switches is part of an award-winning company-wide D-Link Green technology computing initiative that includes manufacturing environmentally responsible products, eco-friendly packaging, optimizing devices for ENERGY STAR compliance, and providing consumer education and recycling programs. "Our goal is to maintain industry leadership as a pioneer of green networking technology by building in even more energy-saving features into our products without sacrificing performance," said AJ Wang, chief technology officer, D-Link. "We plan to continue the momentum of success we've realized with our first generation green products as we seek new avenues that protect the environment and help our customers save money in the process." About D-Link Green Technology D-Link Green technology conserves energy by recognizing when a port is active or inactive then adjusts its power accordingly, benefiting home/SOHO users who may not need perpetual use of their computers or the use of all the ports on their switches. It is also capable of altering power usage in relation to the length of its cable, conserving energy use for both the user and the environment without any loss of performance. -- Power conserved when links are idle Even when a computer is shut down, switches often remain on and continue to consume considerable amounts of power. Through D-Link Green technology, the new switches can detect when a computer is turned off and will respond accordingly by powering down into standby mode and reduce power used for that port. -- Optimized power usage based on dynamic detection of cable length Normally, switches send full power to cables regardless of the actual length. Through D-Link Green technology, the switches are able to analyze the cable's length and adjust the power accordingly. Since the cable length used by home/SOHO users is usually less than 20m, power consumption can be significantly reduced. The incorporation of D-Link Green technology into these second generation switches re-emphasizes D-Link's strong commitment to protecting the environment, leading the development of eco-friendly products that comply with RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directives. The RoHS directive restricts the use of specific hazardous materials during the manufacture of electrical and electronic goods while WEEE applies standards for proper disposal and recycling of products. D-Link's commitment to making its products more energy efficient is being appreciated by leading industry-watchers, such as PC Magazine and Laptop Magazine, which recently named the D-Link Green initiative the most innovative of 2008. D-Link has also been named a finalist in the 2009 Consumer Electronics Association's (CEA®) annual Mark of Excellence Awards competition for its D-Link Green technology policies. Pricing and Availability Power saving equals cost saving with the new second generation D-Link with MSRP price set at $79.99 for the DGS-2208. The DGS-2205 carries a MSRP of $59.99. All D-Link switches are available through D-Link's vast network of value-added resellers, solution providers and distributors. About D-Link D-Link is the global leader in connectivity for small, medium and large enterprise business networking. The company is an award-winning designer, developer and manufacturer of networking, broadband, digital electronics, voice, data and video communications solutions for the digital home, Small Office/Home Office (SOHO), Small to Medium Business (SMB), and Workgroup to Enterprise environments. With millions of networking and connectivity products manufactured and shipped, D-Link is a dominant market participant and price/performance leader in the networking and communications market. D-Link Systems, Inc. headquarters are located at 17595 Mt. Herrmann Street, Fountain Valley, CA, 92708. Phone (800) 326-1688 or (714) 885-6000; FAX (866) 743-4905; D-Link, D-Link Green and the D-Link logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of D-Link Corporation or its subsidiaries. All other third party marks mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright © 2009. D-Link. All Rights Reserved.

DTN News: Boulder-Built And Operated QuikSCAT Provides 10 Years Of Data On Earth's Climate

DTN News: Boulder-Built And Operated QuikSCAT Provides 10 Years Of Data On Earth's Climate

*Sources: Int'l Media / PRNewswire-FirstCall

(NSI News Source Info) BOULDER, Colo., - June 16, 2009: This month marks a decade of success for NASA's QuikSCAT mission, one that continues to provide a wealth of information about Earth's climate since its launch June 19, 1999. Although QuikSCAT's mission life was designed for two years, the spacecraft continues to operate into its tenth year and its groundbreaking research is being used to help predict severe weather patterns, create wave-prediction models and to observe global climate change. Observations taken by QuikSCAT revealed the most extensive ice melting in the Arctic and Antarctic regions since scientists began taking measurements from space 30 years ago. PR Newswire - Ball Aerospace's QuikSCAT Click Here to Download Image ... QuikSCAT, short for Quick Scatterometer, was built in a record-breaking 12 months at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo., for the Goddard Space Flight Center. The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., with a team of professionals and undergraduate students at the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), Boulder, Colo., performing mission operations. "QuikSCAT has clearly demonstrated its reliability to both government and commercial customers, providing quality forecasting data to scientists and meteorologists - the type of data that could easily be extended with a new scatterometer mission," said David L. Taylor, president and CEO of Ball Aerospace. QuikSCAT orbits the Earth 14 times per day, providing coverage of 90 percent of the planet's surface. The instruments aboard the satellite measure sea-surface winds measuring the brightness of radar returns over the ocean. Over the course of its mission, QuikSCAT has become critical in detecting hurricanes and extra-tropical cyclones; improving ocean forecasts and weather warnings; and identifying changes in polar ice. At LASP, students have played a vital role in the mission operations of the QuikSCAT satellite. LASP is a rare institution in that it offers this type of hands-on, mission training for undergraduate students. Twenty undergraduate students work with mission operations professionals at LASP's facilities in Boulder, Colo., controlling five different spacecraft, including the recently launched Kepler mission. "QuikSCAT continues LASP's long and successful history of having professionals working side-by-side with students to operate spacecraft for NASA and Ball Aerospace," said Darren Osborne, LASP's QuikSCAT flight director. "We're extremely proud to be part of the QuikSCAT team." The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, which began as the Upper Air Laboratory in 1948, is dedicated to making discoveries through the research and technology efforts of its atmospheric, space physics, solar, planetary, engineering and mission operations divisions. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supports critical missions for national agencies such as the Department of Defense, NASA, NOAA and other U.S. government and commercial entities. The company develops and manufactures spacecraft, advanced instruments and sensors, components, data exploitation systems and RF solutions for strategic, tactical and scientific applications. Since 1956, Ball Aerospace has been responsible for numerous technological and scientific 'firsts' and is a technology innovator in aerospace. Ball Corporation is a supplier of high-quality metal and plastic packaging products for beverage, food and household products customers, and of aerospace and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 14,000 people worldwide and reported 2008 sales of approximately $7.6 billion. Forward-Looking Statements This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key risks and uncertainties are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99.2 in our Form 10-K. Factors that might affect our packaging segments include fluctuation in product demand and preferences; availability and cost of raw materials; competitive packaging availability, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; crop yields; competitive activity; failure to achieve anticipated productivity improvements or production cost reductions, including our beverage can end project; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; and changes in foreign exchange rates, tax rates and activities of foreign subsidiaries. Factors that might affect our aerospace segment include: funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts. Factors that might affect the company as a whole include those listed plus: accounting changes; changes in senior management; the current global credit squeeze and its effects on liquidity, credit risk, asset values and the economy; successful or unsuccessful acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures; integration of recently acquired businesses; regulatory action or laws including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including in respect of chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; governmental investigations; technological developments and innovations; goodwill impairment; antitrust, patent and other litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results due to statutory audits or other effects.

DTN News: AIRSHOW ~ U.S. Chasing Up To 200 Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighter Jets Sales

DTN News: AIRSHOW ~ U.S. Chasing Up To 200 Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighter Jets Sales *Sources: Int'l Media / Reuters (NSI News Source Info) PARIS, France - June 16, 2009: The United States is chasing opportunities to sell up to 200 F-16 fighter jets on top of an Indian tender for 126 aircraft for which the plane is among the contenders, a Lockheed Martin executive said. F-16 models are denoted by sequential block numbers to denote significant upgrades. The blocks cover both single- and two-seat versions. A variety of software, hardware, systems, weapons carriage, and structural enhancements have been instituted over the years to gradually upgrade the F-16 and retroactively implement the upgrades in previously delivered aircraft. While many F-16s were produced according to these block designs, there have been many other variants with significant changes, usually due to modification programs. Other changes have resulted in role-specialization, such as the close air support and reconnaissance variants. Several models were also developed to test new technology. The F-16 design also inspired the design of other aircraft, which are considered derivatives.* "There are something between 100 and 200 aircraft that are very near-term opportunities that we are chasing, mainly in the Middle East and Far East, excluding India," F-16 programme manager Bill McHenry said at the Paris Air Show on Tuesday. Lockheed Martin has a backlog of 95 F-16 orders, with production assured through 2012, executives told a news briefing. The F-16 has a unit price of around $40-50 million.

DTN News: Avialeasing Firms Up Order For 24 Superjets

DTN News: Avialeasing Firms Up Order For 24 Superjets

*Sources: Int'l Media / Reuters

(NSI News Source Info) PARIS, France - June 16, 2009: Russian planemaker Sukhoi on Tuesday said lessor Avialeasing had firmed up an order for 24 of its Superjet 100 aircraft in a deal worth $715 million. Visitors walk in front of the Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 on June 15, 2009 during the week long 48th international Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport. Russian-controlled Hungarian airline Malev announced Monday it planned to buy 30 Sukhoi Superjet 100 planes, as the Russian aircraft maker said it would have 150 orders by the end of 2009. That took the total number of firm orders for the Superjet to 122, moving it closer to its forecasted tally of 150 by the end of the year, Sukhoi said at the Paris Air Show. Avialeasing said it was in the final stages of talks with three top Russian carriers to use the Superjet aircraft, which are being developed with Italy's Finmeccanica. Sukhoi Civil Aircraft President Victor Soubbotin said he was optimistic that Western clients would follow suit in ordering Superjets once the aircraft was established in Russian fleets. Deliveries will start in 2011, by which time the air transport market would have stabilized, Avialeasing said. The Superjet is Russia's first civilian passenger plane since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Sukhoi unveiled a $1 billion deal at the show with Hungary's Malev MALV.UL and forecast further orders in spite of the industry downturn.

DTN News: French AF Chief To Head NATO Transformation Command

DTN News: French AF Chief To Head NATO Transformation Command

*Sources: Int'l Media / By Pierre Tran Published: 12 Jun 2009 17:20 (NSI News Source Info) PARIS, France - June 16, 2009: The French government has nominated Gen. Stéphane Abrial, chief of the French Air Force, to head NATO's Allied Transformation Command, Norfolk Va., and Gen. Philippe Stoltz to Joint Command Lisbon, which is responsible for the NATO Response Force, a statement from the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy said June 10. Gen. Stephane Abrial is chief of the French Air Force. The Chief of Staff of the Armies (CEMA) in regard to the use of forces and the control of military operations. The Chief of Staff-Air Force (CEMAA) determines the air force doctrines and advises the CEMA how to deploy French aerial assets. The nominations will go through the NATO ratification procedure, Ministry of Defense spokesman Laurent Teisseire said June 11. The two posts are senior command positions previously held by American officers and their attribution to French nationals follows on from France's reintegration into NATO's integrated military structure earlier this year. "By transferring these two very important posts, the United States has permitted a new balance of responsibilities between Americans and European in the military structure," the statement said. "Henceforth, one out of two strategic commands and two out of three operational commands are held by Europeans. This shows a concrete strengthening of Europe's role in the Alliance, which is at the heart of our action." Sarkozy thanked President Barack Obama at a June 6 meeting in Caen, northern France, the statement said. Besides these two nominations, 17 other French staff officers have also been slated for NATO military command positions as part of a regular rotation of posts.

DTN News: AIRSHOW ~ Sukhoi Says Malev Orders 30 Superjet 100 Planes

DTN News: AIRSHOW ~ Sukhoi Says Malev Orders 30 Superjet 100 Planes

*Sources: Int'l Media / Reuters

*DTN News: Avialeasing Firms Up Order For 24 Superjets (Click link)

(NSI News Source Info) PARIS, France - June 16, 2009: Russian planemaker Sukhoi said Hungarian national carrier Malev had signed a letter of intent for 30 Superjet 100 aircraft in a deal worth up to $1 billion.

An Sukhoi Superjet 100 takes off for a flying display during the 48th Paris Air Show at the Le Bourget airport near Paris June 15, 2009.

The first aircraft will join Malev's fleet starting from 2011, with the delivery of six aircraft expected per year, the planemaker said at the Paris Air Show on Monday.

DTN News: Iran Elections: Recount Announced In Disputed Areas As Uprising Grows

DTN News: Iran Elections: Recount Announced In Disputed Areas As Uprising Grows Huge rallies in Tehran see tens of thousands of people defy ban and take to streets to protest at result

*Sources: Int'l Media / Guardian.co.uk

(NSI News Source Info) TEHRAN, Iran - June 16, 2009: Iranian hardliners' attempts to resist the country's biggest uprising for decades appeared to be crumbling today as popular pressure forced officials to announce a recount of disputed votes from Friday's presidential elections. Huge rallies in Tehran yesterday saw tens of thousands of people defy a ban and take to the streets to protest at the declaration that the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had won Friday's poll over the more moderate Mir Hossein Mousavi. An Iranian university exchange student protests election results outside Iran's embassy to Italy in Rome June 15, 2009. The Iranian regime today seemed to be reversing its position – which had seen Ahmadinejad declared the winner by a landslide – as the embattled president arrived in Russia for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The country's powerful guardian council said it was ready to hold a recount in areas disputed by opposition candidates. No details of the scope of the recount and who would carry it out were available. The council was reported to have said that a recount could lead to changes in the votes recorded for the candidates, but some analysts said it would not necessarily see a change in the final result. Yesterday's rallies, said to be the biggest since the Iranian revolution in 1979, were reported to have resulted in seven deaths. Map locates the Azadi Square in Tehran, Iran, where at least seven people were killed in clashes. Further mass demonstrations were expected to take place as the challenge to the Iranian regime intensified. Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a leading Iranian reformist and former vice-president who had backed the pro-reform candidate Mehdi Karoubi, was arrested early yesterday, his office said. Another prominent reformer and Mousavi ally, Saeed Hajjarian, was reported to have been arrested yesterday . This morning, state radio said the deaths of seven people happened when shooting erupted after a group at the protest "tried to attack a military location" in western Tehran. The first fatality came as shots were fired at supporters of Mousavi who had marched in their thousands through the city centre to Azadi (Freedom) Square, demanding that the election result be annulled. Basij militiamen linked to Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard were said to have been responsible for the shooting. Precise figures for the scale of the demonstration were not available, but some estimates suggested that more than 500,000 people were involved in the protest against the election "theft". "Mousavi, we support you! We will die but regain our votes," supporters, many wearing the green of the moderate's election campaign, shouted. Many carried signs that read: "Where is my vote?" Several vehicles were set alight in Tehran's streets, and there were reports that protesters had taken to city rooftops at nightfall yesterday, shouting "death to the dictator". The presence of huge crowds on the streets, and reports of other fatalities, appeared to dash earlier predictions that the unrest of the past three days would fade away. There was a further twist yesterday when it was announced that Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had ordered the guardian council to investigate claims of election fraud. Diplomatic sources said this was not a major shift, suggesting Khamenei had merely warned Mousavi that he should proceed with his fraud complaints carefully, using only "legal" means available to him. Khamenei endorsed the election result on Saturday, dashing opposition hopes that he might be persuaded to order a recount or even annul the outcome. The council, which consists of 12 senior clerics, said yesterday it would rule within 10 days on two official complaints it had received from Mousavi and another candidate, Mohsen Rezaie. The council vets candidates and must formally approve results for the outcome to stand. The interior ministry, which announced the election result on Saturday, and the president, have rejected charges of fraud. Ahmadinejad compared protesters to football fans angry that their team had lost. However, questions were asked about how 40m Iranian votes had been counted and the results announced so soon after the polls closed. There was no sign of the anger diminishing. "Many of my friends are in prison," Saman Imani, a student who was beaten by police, said. Iranian university exchange students protest election results outside Iran's embassy to Italy in Rome June 15, 2009. "Iran is becoming a dictatorship. Ahmadinejad is denying the Holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was." Ebrahim Yazdi, the leader of the banned opposition Freedom Movement and a veteran of the revolution, warned that Ahmadinejad's attacks on his opponents had opened a "Pandora's box" which had led to a deep crisis within the regime. "The result of such a crisis now is that the rift among the ... personalities of the revolution is getting deeper," he said. "It is also between people and their government ... a rift between state and the nation. It is the biggest crisis since the revolution." Further reports told of people in Isfahan, Ahwaz, Zahedan, Yazd and Mashhad shouting "Allahu Akbar [God is great]" in support of the Tehran demonstrations. Governments around the world were watching the situation closely. "The implications are not yet clear," David Miliband, the foreign secretary, said. The US president, Barack Obama, said he was "deeply troubled" by the post-election violence. "It is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran's leaders will be," he said. "We respect Iranian sovereignty and want to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran."

DTN News: Russia Challenges Dollar, China Offers Loans

DTN News: Russia Challenges Dollar, China Offers Loans

*Sources: Int'l Media / AP (NSI News Source Info) YEKATERINBURG, Russia - June 16, 2009: China and Russia sought greater international clout at a summit Tuesday, with China promising a $10 billion loan to Central Asian countries, while Russia challenged the dominance of the U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmon, seen posing for a family photo during a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, Russia, Tuesday, June 16, 2009. Russia also gave a prominent platform to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad amid massive protests in Iran over his bitterly disputed re-election and questions in the West about the vote. Chinese leader Hu Jintao said China will extend a $10 billion loan to a regional group that also includes Russia and four Central Asian states. The move adds muscle to China's role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a six-nation group Russia and China use to counter the Western influence in resource-rich, strategically placed Central Asia. The other members of the organization Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The leaders of Afghanistan, Iran, India and Pakistan were also at the table, underscoring Russia and China's reach for regional clout and global influence. Hu said the loan is intended to shore up the struggling economies of its members amid the global financial crisis. Meanwhile, President Dmitry Medvedev pushed his call for new global reserve currencies to complement the dollar at the summit. "No currency system can be successful if we have financial instruments denominated in just one currency," Medvedev said. "We must strengthen the international financial system not only by making the dollar strong, but also by creating other reserve currencies." After wrapping up the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization meetings, Medvedev was to host later Tuesday the first full-fledged summit of emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India and China, collectively called BRIC. Medvedev's economic adviser Arkady Dvorkovich said Russia may put part of its currency reserves in bonds issued by Brazil, China and India. He told a briefing that Russia could make the move if the other three BRIC members reciprocate as part of efforts to diversify financial instruments. Dvorkovich also proposed revising the way the International Monetary Fund's obligations are valued. He said the ruble, the yuan and gold should be part of a revised basket of currencies to form the valuation of the IMF's special drawing rights, or SDRs. Dvorkovich denied any rift on the global currency issue with Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, who this week helped the dollar rebound in global markets by saying over the weekend that the dollar's status as the world's main reserve currency wasn't likely to change soon. Dvorkovich said that the emergence of new reserve currencies would be a gradual process reflecting shifts in the global economy. "It can't happen fast, new reserve currencies emerge as economies of the countries issuing them gain strength," he said. "Least of all now we need shocks at the currency markets," he said. "Any additional shocks are bad during the crisis. No one wants to bring the dollar down." He added, however, that the creation of new reserve currencies should help distribute global wealth more fairly and also encourage economic leaders to pursue a more balanced economic policy. The talk about the new global currency has been prompted by concerns in China and Russia that soaring U.S. budget deficits could spur inflation and weaken the dollar, debasing the value of their holdings. "If we have more reserve currencies, we will be able to insist and even demand a more responsible approach by countries which issued the global currencies," Dvorkovich said. "Those who issue reserve currencies today don't always take the interests of the global economy into account." Officials from Russia, China and Brazil have said in recent weeks that they would invest in bonds issued by the International Monetary Fund to diversify their dollar-heavy currency reserves. China is Washington's biggest foreign creditor, holding an estimated $1 trillion in U.S. government debt. The Treasury Department on Monday said that foreigners, including China and Japan, the two biggest buyers of U.S. government debt, cut their Treasury holdings in April. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the BRIC summit was "not an attempt to compete with anyone." While BRIC members share a desire to play a bigger role in creating a new global financial order and counterbalancing the West and Japan, their often contradictory interests would make forging a common policy a difficult task. China and India have sizable labor resources, while Russia and Brazil are rich in natural resources. China is a major consumer of natural resources, unlike Russia and Brazil, which are top producers. While China wants lower oil prices, Russia and Brazil would seek higher oil prices. Chinese leader Hu Jintao says China will extend a $10 billion loan to a regional group that also includes Russia and four Central Asian states. The move adds muscle to China's role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which it dominates along with Russia. Hu spoke at a summit of the grouping in Russia. He said the loan is intended to shore up the struggling economies of its members amid the global financial crisis. The Shanghai group includes impoverished Tajikistan. Kyrgyzstan, which borders China, also is poor and has few lucrative resources.

DTN News: Indian Air Force IAF Chooses Boeing’s Latest C-17 For Heavy-Lift Transport Aircraft

DTN News: Indian Air Force IAF Chooses Boeing’s Latest C-17 For Heavy-Lift Transport Aircraft *Source: Defense Media / IANS (News upgraded to June 16, 2009) (NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - June 14, 2009: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has shortlisted the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III as its new Very Heavy Lift Transport Aircraft (VHTAC). Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik is quoted by the India Strategic defence magazine as saying that the aircraft had been chosen after a thorough study because of its capability to take off and land on short runways with heavy loads, long range, and ease of operation. IAF was looking at acquiring ten C-17s initially through the US government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route, and a proposal in this regard was being considered by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), he said adding that the aircraft should come in about three years after a contract is signed.The India selected C-17 as their primary heavy lift aircraft to replace aging Il-76. The new Indian Air Force chief Naik states that 10 C-17s are to be ordered; negotiations are underway. The air chief, who spoke to India Strategic on the eve of the Paris Air Show beginning Monday, is also quoted as saying in its report that flight trials for the six Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCAs) would begin in July and end around March 2010. The chosen MMRCA should start coming to India by 2014. Outlining the trial procedure, Air Chief Marshal Naik said that initially, test pilots from IAF's elite Bangalore-based Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) would visit the manufacturing facilities of the six contenders; in the second round, they would test the aircraft's performance in humid, hot and cold weather in Bangalore, Jaisalmer and Leh; and in the third and final round, they would test live precision weapon firings from the aircraft in the country of their manufacturer or another country designated by them. 'There would be one team leader but two or three sub-teams, and the template would be common for all,' he was quoted as saying. The six aircraft in the fray are European EADS Eurofighter, US Lockheed Martin F-16 Viper and Boeing F-18 Super Hornet, French Rafale, Swedish Gripen and Russian Mig 35. One of them would be chosen to supply 126 aircraft worth about $10 billion, but the order could go up by another 50 per cent to 189 aircraft, a clause for which is built in the tender (Request for Proposal or RfP) issued last year. The interview report has been published in the June edition of India Strategic, being released at the Paris Air Show. Notably, except for the Su30-MKI, all the combat and transport aircraft of the IAF were acquired in the 1980s, and IAF needs new, and newer generation, aircraft to replace and augment that capacity. India has about 100-plus medium An-32 and less than 20 heavy lift IL-76 aircraft. It is difficult to get their spares as the Soviet Union where they were made has disintegrated into Russia and other states. IAF has acquired old, refurbished IL-76 platforms for its AWACS and Midair Refueler requirements. An agreement was being signed with Ukraine to upgrade and modernize the An-32s, the Air Chief said. An IL-76 can carry a cargo of around 45 tonnes and has a crew of six while a C-17 can carry 70 tonnes, and is much easier to operate with a small crew of two pilots and one loadmaster (total three), thanks to its various power-assisted systems. Two observers though can also be seated. Despite its massive size - 174 ft length, 55 ft height and about 170 ft wingspan - a pilot can fly the C-17 with a simple joystick, much like a fighter aircraft, which can be lifesaving in a battlezone as the aircraft can take off quickly and at steep angles. It is powered by four Pratt & Whitney F-117-PW-100 turbofan engines. Air Chief Marshal Naik said that IAF required contemporary and futuristic aircraft and systems, and that there was an urgency to acquire modern aircraft. The government shared the concern of the armed forces, and the pace to renew IAF's assets was on schedule. By 2020-25, IAF would achieve its optimum level (of 45 squadrons). At present, it is down from its sanctioned strength of 39.5 squadron to around 30-32, but this trend has been arrested, particularly with the induction of more Su30-MKIs and Jaguars. India has given a repeat order of 40 Su30-MKIs to Russia to take their total number to 230. The requirement today is for technologically better, easier to maintain, and a larger number of combat and other aircraft, including helicopters, due to the strategic scenario around India and the need to ferry troops, men and material even within India in times of contingency and natural disasters. He observed: 'The IAF of the future, post-2025, would consist of FGFA (Fith Generation Fighter Aircraft), Su30-MKIs, MRCAs and Tejas/MCA (indigenous Medium Combat Aircraft) with multi-role as well as significant swing role capability.' 'They would employ advanced technologies, sensors and precision weapons. The larger aircraft, i.e. FGFA and Su30 would focus on Air Dominance and specialise in similar roles in long ranges over land and sea, while the MRCAs would don a variety of medium-range and tactical roles. These assets would be capable of all weather, day and night attack with adequate self-protection capability... these assets would be immensely capable and are not going to be confined to the strictly stereotyped roles. They would carry out a number of roles in the same mission.' Air Chief Marshal Naik, who assumed charge May 31 from Air Chief Marshal F.H. Major, would be visiting the Paris Air Show along with top IAF officers to witness what new technologies are being introduced and displayed there by various aircraft manufacturers. The Air Chief said that IAF was also looking at more AWACS but after studying how the first lot of three Phalcon AWACS functions. The first of these aircraft was delivered last month, and the remaining two would be delivered by Israel in 2010. He indicated that IAF had short-listed the Airbus A330 MRTT to augment its Midair Refueller requirement, and that the proposal was being processed by the Ministry of Defence. IAF already has six IL-76-based aerial refuellers, designated as IL-78. As for the C-17, Boeing has brought the aircraft several times to India for its literal catwalk on IAF tarmacs, including at the Aero India 2007 and 2009 in Bangalore. Indian military officials and journalists have been invited for the aircraft's flight displays during the Paris Air Show. The C-17 is the mainstay of the US forces for worldwide deployment, and can be refuelled midair. It is in fact the lifeline of US and NATO troops deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to the Boeing company, the high-wing, 4-engine, multi-service T-tailed military-transport C-17 can carry large equipment including tanks, supplies and troops directly to small airfields in harsh terrain anywhere in the world day or night. The massive, sturdy, long-haul aircraft tackles distance, destination and heavy, oversized payloads in unpredictable conditions. It has delivered cargo in every worldwide operation since the 1990s. It can take off from a 7,600-ft airfield, carry a payload of 160,000 pounds, fly 2,400 nautical miles, refuel while in flight for longer range, and land in 3,000 ft or less on a small unpaved or paved airfield day or night. The aircraft can also be used as an aerial ambulance. (Gulshan Luthra is a defence analyst. He can be reached at gulshan.luthra@indiastrategic.in) SPECIAL NOTE: Related Info on Boeing C-17s by our viewer "Taxpayer" commented: A taxpayer said... In real life, Boeing C-17s never actually land on runways shorter than 5000 feet. If one read the last paragraph, it does not say that the C-17 can land on 3000 foot unpaved runways, but can "land in under 3000 feet" which is not the same thing.If the runways are wet, they need even more runway.Furthermore, that aircraft very heavy footprint, or Aircraft Classification Number (ACN) prevents it from being used on the majority of unpaved runways of the world, because the aircraft creates huge ruts in the runway when it lands.When PCN, runway length and condition of runway (water, snow etc) is taken into account, the C-17 is more restricted into the runways it can use than the Il-76 it is meant to replace.

DTN News: Thank you Taxpayer for sharing your views with us.

DTN News: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev At Shanghai Cooperation Organization

DTN News: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Meeting Other Leaders At Shanghai Cooperation Organization

*Sources: Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - June 16, 2009: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev invites Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari for talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit outside Yekaterinburg June 15, 2009.

The SCO groups Russia, China and the ex-Soviet Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. But leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, whose states have observer status are also attending the summit.

DTN News: Pakistan ~ Janikhel Area Of FR Bannu Cleared

DTN News: Pakistan ~ Janikhel Area Of FR Bannu Cleared *Sources: Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) BANNU, Pakistan - June 16, 2009: Security forces cleared FR Bannu’s Janikhel tehsil, set up checkpoints and started action against the Gorbaz tribe on the Miramshah Road on Monday morning. Militants had used the area to cross into Waziristan after kidnapping students of the Razmak Cadet College early this month. Security forces set up checkpoints on Miramshah Road to stop militants from using the area to cross into Waziristan. - AP/File photo The forces, it is learnt, are planning to take over the Rocha fort from where militants had once kidnapped 22 FC personnel. District Coordination Officer Kamran Zeb and police chief Iqbal Marwat visited the Frontier Region to assess the security situation in Janikhel. Security personnel have not yet moved into the Hindikhel tehsil and Bakakhel area. Militants fired six rockets on a police station and an airport on Monday morning. Five rockets landed in a field and one damaged a seminary in Kotka Khan Zaman in Norar area, injuring a youth. At least seven militants were injured in an exchange of fire with security personnel. During a curfew break, police arrested 19 people under the FCR and took them to the Bannu central jail. Upper Dir Villagers killed four militants and destroyed three houses owned by them in Shatkas area of Doog Darra. They also attacked militant positions in Ghazigay village. The villagers have killed at least 19 militants over the past 10 days. The militants have been pushed towards Kandao which is believed to be their last bastion in the area. Security forces have deployed artillery, but people of Doog Darra have urged district officials to stop possible shelling of their area. Lower Dir Two security men were killed and four others injured in a clash which followed an attack by militants on troops near Galgot village in Maidan. The Dir media centre of the armed forces claimed that nine militants had been killed in the clash but said their bodies had been taken away. A military spokesman in Timergara said one security man had been killed and five others injured. After the clash, security forces intensified shelling from Timergara and pounded militants’ hideouts in Galgot, Chinargay and surrounding villages. Mohmand Agency Three militants were killed and three security personnel injured in a clash in Mattai area. Troops continued the hunt of militants in Ghanam Shah, Chamarakabd, Suran Darra, Sheikh Baba and Mattai. The road up to Ghanam Shah has been cleared and forces have advanced 1km from Dag to Mulla Kalley. Three security men were injured when militants fired shells in Mattai and the three militants were killed when troops fired back. The forces seized five rockets, 250 mortar shells, 200 rounds and explosive devices from a house in Ghanam Shah. At least 22 houses of suspected militants were destroyed. An official said in Islamabad that five terrorists were killed and six others injured and three houses were destroyed when a lashkar launched a counter-attack in Dir. In Bannu, police destroyed a car believed to be on a suicide mission when it did not stop for checking in Zandi Janikhel village between Bakakhel and Janikhel. The suicide bomber driving the car was killed. Security Forces consolidated their positions at Janikhel Fort and Sara Bangal.

DTN News: US Resettles Four Uighur Guantanamo Detainees In Bermuda

DTN News: US Resettles Four Uighur Guantanamo Detainees In Bermuda

*Sources: Int'l Media / AFP

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - June 16, 2009: The United States has sent to Bermuda four Uighur men who had been held at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba despite having been declared no threat to US national security, the Department of Justice announced Thursday. Former Guantanamo detainees, left to right, Abdulla Abdulqadir, Ablakim Turahun, and Salahidin Abdulahat pray in the courtyard of the the cottage where they are staying, in a suburb of Hamilton, on the island of Bermuda, Monday, June 15, 2009. The three are among four Chinese ethnic Uighurs who have just been released from U.S. military custody after nearly seven years in Guantanamo, and are being resettled in Bermuda. "These detainees, who were subject to release as a result of court orders, had been cleared for release by the prior administration, which determined they would no longer treat them as enemy combatants," the department said. "The detainees left Guantanamo Bay today pursuant to an arrangement between the United States and the government of Bermuda." They are the first Uighur detainees cleared of wrongdoing to be resettled since 2006, when five others were sent to Albania. "By helping accomplish the president's objective of closing Guantanamo, the transfer of these detainees will make America safer," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "We are extremely grateful to the government of Bermuda for its assistance in the successful resettlement of these four detainees, and we commend the leadership they have demonstrated on this important issue." The move came the same day China again demanded all 17 Uighurs being held in Guantanamo Bay, who it calls terror suspects, be returned to China. The United States should "stop handing over terrorist suspects to any third country," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters, adding the Uighurs should be sent back to China "at an early date." "China urges the US to implement the UN Security Council's relevant resolutions and its international obligations on counter-terrorism," he said. The men were living in a self-contained camp in Afghanistan when the US-led invasion of the country began in October 2001, in the wake of the September 11 attacks. They said they had fled to Afghanistan to escape persecution in their home region of Xinjiang in western China. The United States cleared the men of wrongdoing four years ago but they remained at the controversial US-run prison camp in Cuba due to fears they would be persecuted if handed to China. The United States had tried in vain to get Canada, Australia and Germany to take in some of the remaining 17 Uighurs. On Wednesday, the tiny archipelago of Palau announced it had agreed to take them. Qin said the Uighur detainees were "members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement" -- a group listed by the United Nations and the United States as a terrorist organization. "East Turkestan" is what many Muslims call Xinjiang, which borders Central Asia and is home to about 8.3 million Uighurs. Many members of the mainly Muslim community say they have suffered under Chinese political and religious persecution for decades. In October 2008, a federal judge had ordered the Uighurs released in the United States, but that ruling was overturned on appeal in February. Obama has promised to close down the detention center by January 2010, and hopes to convince other countries to take in some of the 50 detainees cleared for release.

DTN News: Haaretz Poll ~ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Approval Rating Leaps After Policy Speech

DTN News: Haaretz Poll ~ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Approval Rating Leaps After Policy Speech

*Sources: Int'l Media / Haaretz.com (NSI News Source Info) JERUSALEM - June 16, 2009: U.S. President Barack Obama has reservations, the Arabs are protesting and the Europeans are doubtful, but for the Israeli public, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech on Sunday evening was a big success. Right and left, Kadima and Likud, new immigrants and old-timers all found something they liked in the address at Bar-Ilan University.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at his office at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Monday, June 15, 2009. In a speech Sunday laying out his peacemaking policy, the hardline Netanyahu backed down on decades of opposition to Palestinian statehood and invited the Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world to resume peace talks.

For example, in only a month, Netanyahu's approval rating has jumped 16 percentage points from a low of 28 percent the day after the cabinet debate over the budget on May 14. The 44 percent achieved yesterday comes a day after the speech.

Public support for Netanyahu's speech is sky-high, even though Israelis do not have illusions about the prime minister's motives, which they generally attribute to American pressure. But it turns out that Israelis prefer a prime minister who does the right thing even if he does it for the wrong reasons. And most of the public thinks the right thing is the combination found in Netanyahu's address: right-wing rhetoric mixed with the desire for peace, an undivided Jerusalem, opposition to the return of Palestinian refugees, a demand for defensible borders, and the words that made the big headline - a demilitarized Palestinian state.

Netanyahu hit a bull's-eye in the Israeli public consensus with his speech. This is reflected in the results of a Haaretz-Dialog survey conducted yesterday under the auspices of Prof. Camil Fuchs of Tel Aviv University. The numbers show that when Netanyahu deals with leadership on defense and policy matters without scare tactics, the public supports him.

But when he is judged on his actions, such as after the budget debacle, the public is not supportive. The conclusion: Netanyahu needs to operate less and lead more. Another conclusion is that maybe he should speak to the public more often, on condition that he says what the public wants to hear.

The Israeli public overwhelmingly supports Netanyahu's speech - 71 percent. According to the poll, the prime minister said the right things and the television event Sunday night will help Israel in the international arena.

Israeli soldiers walk in the street in the West Bank city of Hebron, Monday, June 15, 2009. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday on the issue of further Jewish settlements in territory the Palestinians wish to claim as their own in a new state, "I think I made it also clear that I would not build new settlements." He said that he and President Barack Obama are trying to resolve that issue.

However, these positive views do not blind Israelis; they do not believe there will be any real change in the region as a result of the speech. A large majority of Israelis surveyed say the peace process will not see any breakthrough in the wake of the address, and an even larger majority says a demilitarized Palestinian state will not be established in the next few years, as Netanyahu himself now supports.

Netanyahu built a broad consensus in his speech, the survey shows. He will use this support to maneuver his policies with the Americans. In terms of internal Israeli politics, Netanyahu put himself in the center of the political map.

Most Kadima voters, 49 percent, say Tzipi Livni should join the coalition as a result of the speech, while 37 percent of Kadima voters disagreed. Likud and Labor voters also now broadly support Kadima joining Netanyahu's government, even though his coalition seems more stable than ever.

Another political achievement is how Netanyahu managed to keep onside his own political base, Likud, even as he added supporters from other parties, mostly Labor and Kadima. The survey shows that 90 percent of Likud voters, an incredible figure, agreed with what Netanyahu said in his speech. Maybe they are aware that a Palestinian state will not emerge as a result, so they are not worried.

In addition, 73 percent of Likud voters say Netanyahu said the right things. The public liked the speech not just because it was based on the Israeli consensus, but also because of its tone: moderate with a desire for peace and casting the blame for a lack of peace on the Arabs.

DTN News: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi In Sober Mood For White House Meeting With President Barack Obama

DTN News: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi In Sober Mood For White House Meeting With President Barack Obama

*Sources: Int'l Media / The Times

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - June 16, 2009: A defiant Silvio Berlusconi held White House talks with President Obama yesterday, seeking to restore some of his international lustre as scandals and talk of a coup to overthrow him continued to swirl at home. US President Barack Obama listens to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi during a meeting in the Oval office at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 15, 2009. President Barack Obama said Monday Italy had agreed to accept three specific detainees from the Guantanamo Bay "war on terror" camp, after talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. With world media attention riveted by lurid details of his private life, the Italian Prime Minister did his best to present himself in sober and statesmanlike pose at the meeting with Mr Obama. They discussed the crisis in Iran, the Middle East peace process, troop commitments in Afghanistan and next month’s G8 summit, which Italy will host in the earthquake-ravaged town of L’Aquila. Mr Berlusconi said that Italy would take three detainees from Guantánamo Bay, which the US wants to close by January next year. It was all a long way from the furore over allegations about Mr Berlusconi’s relationship with Noemi Letizia — an 18-year-old aspiring model — and photographs of scantily clad individuals at his villa in Sardinia. The mystery of the relationship between Silvio Berlusconi and an 18-year-old aspiring model deepened yesterday when photographs were published showing them attending a Christmas party given by AC Milan, the football club that he owns. La Repubblica, the newspaper, published photographs and a video clip on its website showing Noemi Letizia seated at a table with Fedele Confalonieri, the head of Mr Berlusconi's holding company Fininvest. One of his longest-serving friends and business partners, Carlo Ancelotti, the AC Milan manager, can be seen standing behind them. Letizia, who is at the centre of Mr Berlusconi’s divorce row, attended the party with her mother, Anna Palumbo. Veronica Lario, the second wife of Mr Berlusconi, 72, requested a divorce after he attended the 18th birthday party of Ms Letizia last month and gave her a €6,000 (£5,200) diamond pendant. Mr Berlusconi was quoted in Italy by La Repubblica yesterday as vowing to step down and call an early election if his opponents continued with an alleged plot to bring him down. “My Government will go ahead calmly, but if it does not then we shall have to return to the polls,” he was reported to have said. However, the Prime Minister’s spokesman dismissed the remark last night as fantasy. Rumours of a conspiracy against Mr Berlusconi were first raised in a speech he made at the weekend. He did not specify who might be behind it but several names were mentioned by allies and political commentators speculating that he would be replaced by either a caretaker government headed by a non-partisan figure or a cross-party government of national unity. The meeting with Mr Obama yesterday represented an important opportunity for him to restore his international reputation alongside one of the world’s most popular leaders. Il Giornale, Mr Berlusconi’s newspaper, said that he had cancelled a dinner at the Italian Embassy in Washington, as well as visits to the National Gallery and Arlington National Cemetery, to concentrate on his meeting with the US President. Mr Berlusconi promised that he would arrive in Washington “handsome and suntanned” — a reference to his controversial description of Mr Obama soon after the US elections, when he described America’s first black president as “handsome, young and suntanned”. The Prime Minister’s aides denied reports that relations with the new Administration were cool. “If that were the case it would not explain why Berlusconi is the second European leader after Gordon Brown to be received at the White House,” one said. They also denied that there was American “irritation” over Mr Berlusconi’s close relations with Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, who, on a visit to Rome last week, made a comparison between America and al-Qaeda.

DTN News: NATO Agrees To Restructuring Of Military Command In Afghanistan

DTN News: NATO Agrees To Restructuring Of Military Command In Afghanistan

*Sources: Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) BRUSSELS - June 16, 2009: NATO ministers meeting in the Belgian capital have thrown their weight behind a U.S. plan to reorganize the military command in Afghanistan, to better handle an influx of new troops.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, right, shares a word with U.S. Secretary for Defense Robert Gates, center, and the new top commander for Afghanistan American General Stanley McCrystal during a round table meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Friday June 12, 2009. NATO defense ministers say they have decided to continue the alliance's anti-piracy patrols off the Horn of Africa when the current mission ends later this month.

Over the past year, NATO has nearly doubled its force in Afghanistan to about 60,000 troops. That force will increase still more during the coming months as some 21,000 more American soldiers arrive. NATO officials also said the alliance will send up to 10,000 extra troops for security during the presidential elections in Afghanistan on August 20. NATO plans to increase the training of Afghanistan security forces so they can work with the alliance in stemming a rising Taliban insurgency that is aided by the al-Qaida terrorist group.

The new commander for the international troops in Afghanistan, U.S. general Stanley McChrystal, speaks during a ceremony in Kabul June 15, 2009. McChrystal, a veteran commander of top-secret special operations, takes charge of the nearly 90,000 U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan on Monday, promising to limit the civilian deaths that have cost Western troops Afghan support.

Separately, NATO ministers also agreed to maintain the anti-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa - one of the world's busiest shipping routes. The mission includes international patrols to try and stop pirate attacks in one of the world's busiest sea lanes. Overall, British Defense Minister Bob Ainsworth described the NATO talks as a productive follow-up to the April NATO summit in Strasbourg, France. Military personnel of different countries that make up part of the International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, salute during the assumption of command ceremony of U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal as the head of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, in Kabul, Monday June 15, 2009. "We've moved quickly to put some flesh on the decisions taken at Strasbourg to establish a NATO training mission in Afghanistan, serving both the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police," he said. "And we've also decided to make the NATO maritime standing group available for counter-piracy work to complement the many other assets that are doing this job off the Horn of Africa. So, some decisions, good meetings and I'm enormously pleased to be here," he said.

Earlier, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Afghanistan faced major challenges, including the insurgency, reconstruction and development and the presidential elections, in August.

DTN News: Pakistan Steels For Army Assault On Waziristan

DTN News: Pakistan Steels For Army Assault On Waziristan *Sources: Int'l Media / Reuters

(NSI News Source Info) ISLAMABAD - June 16, 2009: Pakistan braced for militant reprisals on Monday as the army conducted softening-up operations ahead of an assault on the stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, one of al Qaeda's main allies. Pakistani policemen stand guard on the streets during a curfew in the town of Bannu, near the border with Afghanistan and about 240 km. Military experts see the showdown in remote South Waziristan as a possible Waterloo for al Qaeda and its allies as the government has demonstrated a fighting spirit hitherto lacking in Pakistan. "We continue to fight until the last Taliban, militant, enemy of Pakistan is flushed out of Pakistan," Interior Minister Rehman Malik told police in Islamabad on Monday. Extra police roadblocks caused unusually long traffic tailbacks in the capital on Monday morning as Rehman feared more bomb attacks like those that killed eight people in Dera Ismail Khan on Sunday and nine in a Peshawar hotel last week. U.S. officials say they believe the Pakistan army has started a big push into Mehsud's mountainous redoubt, and on Sunday Awais Ahmed Ghani, governor of North West Frontier Province, confirmed an operation had been ordered. The United States heaved a sigh of relief when the army went on the offensive in late April to clear the Swat valley and neighbouring districts northwest of the capital, Islamabad. The start of a campaign against Mehsud will doubly reassure Western allies, who fear the nuclear-armed Muslim state could plunge into chaos unless the Taliban's creeping advances are stopped. Waziristan has long been regarded as a militant sanctuary, and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden passed through the area before disappearing after fleeing Afghanistan in late 2001. Military and intelligence officials told Reuters the main operation has not yet started, though a countdown has begun. There have been a series of actions in recent days, including the bombing of a Mehsud village on Saturday, and an army assault on militant tribesmen in the nearby Bannu district, while two forts in Waziristan came under heavy attack from Mehsud fighters. A Reuters journalist saw military columns moving towards the Mehsud lands, and families fleeing the area. "There are hardly any civilian families left there, just Taliban and their families," said Abdul Rahim Mehsud, a villager who had abandoned his home to stay with relatives in Tank, the last town on the road into South Waziristan. FEW PLACES LEFT TO RUN The Pakistan army, for all its firepower, faces a difficult campaign given the terrain, the presence of women and children, and the desperation of their foes. "It's going to be a tough battle initially because this is going to be their final battle," retired brigadier Asad Munir, a former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer, told Reuters. "It is for their survival so all of them are going to join together, the jihadis, sectarian groups, foreigners, al-Qaeda. "If they take over South Waziristan there'll be no place for al Qaeda leaders to hide." Missile attacks by U.S. drone aircraft have largely targeted North and South Waziristan, the two most militant prone of Pakistan's seven semi-autonomous tribal lands bordering Afghanistan. CIA Director Leon Panetta said last week he believed bin Laden was still in Pakistan, but U.S. officials have told journalists that some al Qaeda fighters have begun moving to Yemen and Somalia as Pakistan had become too risky. While the main focus remains Swat and Waziristan, the military has also been hitting militant positions across the northwest, with airstrikes and helicopter gunship raids in Bajaur and Mohmand on Sunday, and in Orakzai last week. The Swat operation is in its last stages, but over 2 million people have fled the combat zone since fighting broke out in late April, and the prospect of more abandoning their homes in Waziristan will add to worries over a humanitarian crisis. The United States and United Nations are leading efforts to raise funds to help Pakistan cope. The insecurity weighed on sentiment in the share market and the main index lost 1.51 percent on Monday, as investors found little solace in an annual budget that underlined a dependence on financial aid from friendly governments worried about Pakistan's future.

DTN News: Iran Protester Slain After Huge Pro-Reform Rally

DTN News: Iran Protester Slain After Huge Pro-Reform Rally

*Sources: Int'l Media / AP

(NSI News Source Info) TEHRAN, Iran - June 16, 2009: Gunfire from a pro-government militia killed one man and wounded several others Monday after hundreds of thousands of chanting opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad marched in central Tehran to support their pro-reform leader in his first public appearance since disputed elections. A man lies the back of a truck after being seriously injured by gunfire in an area where militia were firing shots at a rally supporting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's top opponent on Monday, June 15, 2009. Hundreds of thousands gathered in central Tehran to support Mir Hossein Mousavi, who claims there was voting fraud in Friday's election. The gunfire came from a compound for volunteer militia linked to Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard.(AP Photo) The outpouring in Azadi, or Freedom, Square for reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi followed a decision by Iran's most powerful figure for an investigation into the vote-rigging allegations. Security forces watched quietly, with shields and batons at their sides. A group of demonstrators with fuel canisters set a small fire at a compound of a volunteer militia linked to Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard as the crowd dispersed from the square. As some tried to storm the building, people on the roof could be seen firing directly at the demonstrators at the northern edge of the square, away from the heart of the rally. An Associated Press photographer saw one person fatally shot and at least two others who appeared to be seriously wounded. The United States was "deeply troubled" by reports of violence and arrests in Iran, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said, but he added that the U.S. knows too little about the conduct of the election to say for sure whether there was fraud. The chanting demonstrators had defied an Interior Ministry ban and streamed into central Tehran — an outpouring for Mousavi that swelled as more poured from buildings and side streets. The crowd — many wearing the trademark green color of Mousavi's campaign — was more than five miles (nine kilometers) long, and based on previous demonstrations in the square and surrounding streets, its size was estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. Mousavi, in a gray striped shirt, had paused on the edge of the square — where Ahmadinejad made his first postelection speech — to address the throng through a portable loudspeaker. They roared back: "Long live Mousavi." "This is not election. This is selection," read one English-language placard. Other marchers held signs proclaiming "We want our vote!" and raised their fingers in a V-for-victory salute. "We want our president, not the one who was forced on us," said 28-year-old Sara, who gave only her first name because she feared reprisal from authorities. As darkness fell, cries of "Allahu akbar!" — "God is great!" — were heard across central Tehran as people gathered on rooftops for a second straight night. On Sunday night, Ahmadinejad opponents shouted "Death to the dictator!" The protest bore deep historic resonance — it was how the leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini asked Iran to unite against the Western-backed shah 30 years earlier. Earlier Monday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei directed one of Iran's most influential bodies, the Guardian Council, to examine the election claims. But the move by Khamenei — who had earlier welcomed the election results — had no guarantee it would satisfy those challenging Ahmadinejad's re-election or quell days of rioting after Friday's election that left parts of Tehran scarred by flames and shattered store fronts. The 12-member Guardian Council, made up of clerics and experts in Islamic law and closely allied to Khamenei, must certify election results and has the apparent authority to nullify an election. But it would be an unprecedented step. Claims of voting irregularities went before the council after Ahmadinejad's upset victory in 2005, but there was no official word on the outcome of the investigation and the vote stood. More likely, the dramatic intervention by Khamenei could buy time in hopes of reducing the anti-Ahmadinejad anger. The prospect of spiraling protests and clashes is the ultimate nightmare for the Islamic establishment, which could be forced into back-and-forth confrontations and risks having the dissidents move past the elected officials and directly target the ruling theocracy. Government shootings of protesters in the runup to the Islamic Revolution set up a cycle of violence in which the shah's forces opened fire on demonstrators massing to mourn "martyrs" at the end of the 40-day Muslim mourning period. Forty days later, demonstrators gathered again, there were new shootings, and the cycle continued. Monday's massive display of opposition unity suggested a possible shift in tactics by authorities after cracking down hard during days of rioting. Although any rallies were outlawed earlier, security forces were not ordered to move against the protesters — allowing them to vent their frustration. State TV quoted Khamenei as ordering the Guardian Council to "carefully probe" the allegations of fraud, which were contained in a letter Mousavi submitted Sunday. On Saturday, however, Khamenei urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad and called the result a "divine assessment." The results touched off three days of clashes — the worst unrest in Tehran in a decade. Protesters set fires and battled riot police, including a clash overnight at Tehran University after about 3,000 students gathered to oppose the election results. Security forces have struck back with targeted arrests of pro-reform activists and blocking text messaging and pro-Mousavi Web sites used to rally his supporters. One of Mousavi's Web sites said a student protester was killed early Monday in clashes with plainclothes hard-liners in Shiraz, southern Iran. But there was no independent confirmation of the report. There also have been unconfirmed reports of unrest in other cities. Most media are not allowed to travel beyond Tehran and thus can not independently confirm protests in other cities. The unrest also risked bringing splits among Iran's clerical elite, including some influential Shiite scholars raising concern about possible election irregularities and at least one member of the ruling theocracy, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, openly critical of Ahmadinejad in the campaign. According to a pro-Mousavi Web site, he sent a letter to senior clerics in Qom, Iran's main center of Islamic learning, to spell out his claims. The accusations also have brought growing international concern. On Sunday, Vice President Joe Biden raised questions about whether the vote reflected the wishes of the Iranian people. Britain and Germany joined the calls of alarm over the rising confrontations in Iran. In Paris, the Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador to discuss the allegations of vote tampering and the violence. Overnight, police and hard-line militia stormed the campus at Tehran University, ransacking dormitories and arresting dozens of students angry over what they say was mass election fraud. The overnight gathering at the university started with students chanting "Death to the dictator." But it quickly erupted into clashes as students threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at police, who fired tear gas and plastic bullets, a 25-year-old student who witnessed the fighting told the AP. He would only give one name, Akbar, out of fear for his safety. The students set vehicles afire and hurled stones and bricks at the police, he said. Hard-line militia volunteers loyal to the Revolutionary Guard stormed the dormitories, ransacking student rooms and smashing computers and furniture, Akbar said. Before leaving around 4 a.m., the police took away memory cards and computer software material, Akbar said, adding that dozens of students were arrested. He said many students suffered bruises, cuts and broken bones in the scuffling and that there was still smoldering garbage on the campus by midmorning but that the situation had calmed down. "Many students are now leaving to go home to their families, they are scared," he said. "But others are staying. The police and militia say they will be back and arrest any students they see." "I want to stay because they beat us and we won't retreat," he added. The university was the site of serious clashes against student-led protests in 1999 and is one of the nerve centers of the pro-reform movement. In Moscow, the Iranian Embassy said Ahmadinejad postponed his visit to Russia until Tuesday. Ahmadinejad had been expected to travel to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg and meet on Monday with President Dmitry Medvedev on the sidelines of a regional summit.

DTN News: Chinese Submarine Smashes US Destroyer's Sonar: Report

DTN News: Chinese Submarine Smashes US Destroyer's Sonar: Report

*Sources: Int'l Media / AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 13 Jun 2009 11:12 (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - June 16, 2009: A Chinese submarine collided with an underwater sonar array towed by the destroyer USS John S. McCain off the coast of the Philippines, CNN television said, quoting a US official who said it was an "inadvertent encounter." A Chinese submarine collided with an underwater sonar array towed by the destroyer USS John S. McCain off the coast of the Philippines, CNN television said, quoting a US official who said it was an "inadvertent encounter"(AFP/Pool/File/Guang Niu) The array, used to locate underwater sounds, was damaged in the incident, but the military official said the sub and ship did not collide. The US Navy did not consider the event a case of deliberate harassment, CNN reported. In March this year two tense standoffs between US and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea triggered accusations by the United States that China was behaving in an "aggressive" manner. China later said a US naval vessel involved in the incident with Chinese fishing boats in the Yellow Sea had violated maritime law, and urged the United States to take steps to avoid a repetition. Philippine Navy officer-in-command Vice Admiral Ferdinand Golez said they have no information on the alleged incident. He also said that the USS John S. McCain was not in the Philippines and that Chinese submarines should not be passing through Philippine waters. However he admitted that the Philippine military has no equipment to detect such submarines.