DTN News: Pakistan To Launch Satellite In 2011

DTN News: Pakistan To Launch Satellite In 2011

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - August 20, 2009: Dr Samar Mubarakmand, a renowned Pakistani nuclear scientist, said that Pakistan would launch its first space satellite in April 2011, local media reported Tuesday. Talking to a private TV channel on Tuesday, Dr Samar said the satellite, likely to be sent into earth orbit, would monitor mineral and agriculture programs and weather conditions. He said this project is funded by the Pakistani Planning Commission and there is no scarcity of funds for nuclear and space projects of the country. Dr Samar said the country's nuclear program was not inferior to any other country in its standard and proficiency. Dr Samar is a nuclear scientist and nuclear physicist, and was the chairman of Pakistan's National Engineering and Scientific Commission in 2001-2007, according to local news agency NNI. He largely contributed to the nuclear program of Pakistan and he was awarded three highest civil awards of the country. He got the national fame in May 1998 when he headed the scientists' team which conducted the six nuclear tests in southwest Pakistan's Balochistan province.

Leading nuclear scientist Samar Mobarakmand who is also a member of the Planning Commission, made the announcement while addressing a conference on aerospace science and engineering. He did not give details about the satellite. "The country has sufficient funds for the atomic and space programmes, and Pakistan's nuclear programme is not lesser than that of other atomic countries," said Mobarakmand, who played a key role in the country's nuclear tests in 1998. Pakistan's progress in space research had enabled it to make accurate analyses in the fields of minerals and agriculture, he said. In October last year, Pakistan said it had signed an agreement with China for launching its first telecommunications satellite, the Paksat-1R, by 2011. The agreement, signed by the China Great Wall Industry Corporation and Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, covers the building and launch of the satellite. CGWIC has said that a Long March 3B rocket will be used to put Paksat-1R into orbit. Pakistan will use the satellite for domestic telecommunications and broadcast services.

DTN News: India Gave Green Light To Boeing To Proceed On Eight P-8I For Its Navy

DTN News: India Gave Green Light To Boeing To Proceed On Eight P-8I For Its Navy *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - August 20, 2009: Boeing Co. appears set to move ahead with its $2.1 billion defense contract with India to supply eight P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance planes to the Indian navy to safeguard the country's vast coastline. India will be the first country to buy Boeing P-8I Poseidon, a variant of the P-8A Poseidon, US Navy's newest maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft showcased by the Boeing Company. The contract comes under the new enhanced Indo-U.S. strategic partnership highlighted by a bilateral defense pact for modernizing India's military signed last month during U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit. The pact's end-use monitoring clause complies with a U.S. law calling for inspection to ensure U.S. technology does not pass on to third parties. The final requirement prior to proceeding with the P-8I contract, the largest India has ever signed, was the technical assistance agreement, which the Times of India reported was made final by the two countries earlier this month. The agreement, requiring the United States to provide support and maintenance for the planes, allowed the Boeing contract signed seven months ago to "become effective," the report said. The contract is also a major boost for the U.S. aircraft maker in these recessionary times. It also comes at a time when Boeing is contending with other global competitors including Lockheed Martin for the far bigger $11 billion to $12 billion Indian air force contract for 126 medium multirole combat aircraft. The P-8I, a military derivative of Boeing's highly successful 737, is a long-range anti-submarine, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, which the company says is capable of broad-area, maritime and littoral operations. The P-8I is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon, which Boeing is developing for the U.S. Navy. The aircraft "combines superior performance and reliability with an advanced mission system that ensures maximum interoperability in the future battle space," the company says. Each of its two CFM56-7 engines is designed to provide 27,300 pounds of thrust, and the plane's maximum takeoff gross weight will be about 187,700 pounds. What is significant is that the Indian navy is the first international customer for the P-8I. The first of the eight planes is expected to be delivered to India sometime in 2013 and the other seven by 2016. The Times of India reported the P-8I will be equipped with torpedoes, depth bombs and Harpoon missiles. They will replace the eight aging Russian Tupolev-142M turboprops. Boeing says in addition to the eight, there are long-term prospects for more Indian orders. The plane will be built in Boeing's production facility in Renton, Wash. The 737 fuselage will be built by Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kan. "This aircraft will provide outstanding capabilities tailored to India's unique maritime-patrol requirements," a January company statement said quoting Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems with headquarters in St. Louis. Other Boeing officials have been quoted as saying the P-8I will be able to meet the Indian navy's requirements for several decades. The signing of the India-U.S. defense pact did not go unnoticed by China, whose growing military might and close ties with Pakistan are a matter of concern for India. The official Xinhua news agency in a long article said U.S. arms sales to India have been increasing steadily with more and more advanced weaponry shipped to New Delhi. The article said for Washington policymakers, a closer military relationship with India will serve multiple purposes, foremost among them being that Washington regards India as a vital balancing force in Asia, where several emerging powers exist. The article said some U.S. officials have also discussed the idea of an Asian version of NATO to include the United States, India, Japan and Australia.

DTN News: British Lawmakers Urge Review Of Lanka Arms Exports

DTN News: British Lawmakers Urge Review Of Lanka Arms Exports

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) LONDON, UK - August 20, 2009: The government should review all arms export licences to Sri Lanka in the wake of the recently-ended war with Tamil Tiger rebels, MPs said on Wednesday. Ministers should also provide full details of what British arms were used by Sri Lankan forces during the conflict, the Committees on Arms Export Controls said in its annual report. "We recommend that the government should review all existing licences to Sri Lanka," the report said. It also called on ministers to provide "an assessment of what UK-supplied weapons, ammunition, parts and components were used by the Sri Lankan armed forces in the recent military actions against the Tamil Tigers." But the MPs said it was "impossible" to be sure how many such weapons had been used against civilians since hostilities flared up again in 2006. Sri Lankan security forces ended the LTTE's bloody, four-decade struggle for an independent Tamil homeland in May, as long-time Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed. "Sri Lanka highlights the need for the UK government to monitor closely the situation in countries recently engaged in armed conflict," the committees' chairman, lawmaker Roger Berry, said. "It must assess more carefully the risk that UK arms exports might be used by those countries in the future in a way that breaches our licensing criteria." The report also said it was "regrettable" that components supplied by Britain were "almost certainly" used by Israeli forces in the three-week Gaza war from December in which over 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died. "The government should continue to do everything possible to ensure that this does not happen in future," the committee said. It welcomed a government review of current licenses to Israel -- which has reportedly led to the cancellation of five out of 182 of them -- and the possibility that some could be revoked. The government has already refused to supply replacement parts for navy gunships used in the Gaza war, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported last month. The Committees on Arms Export Controls are four parliamentary committees -- on business and enterprise, defence, foreign affairs and international development -- which work together to consider arms exports.

DTN News: Lockerbie Bomber Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi Freed From Jail

DTN News: Lockerbie Bomber Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi Freed From Jail

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) EDINBURGH, Scotland - August 20, 2009: Despite strenuous American opposition, the Scottish government on Thursday ordered the release on compassionate grounds of the only person convicted in the Lockerbie bombing, permitting Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, a 57-year-old former Libyan intelligence agent, to return home after serving 8 years of a 27-year minimum sentence on charges of murdering 270 people in Britain’s worst terrorist episode. He qualified for compassionate release after medical evidence showed he would die within months of prostate cancer, the Scottish authorities said. Less than two hours of the announcement, Mr. Megrahi was on his way in a prison van escorted by police cars and motorcycle outriders from Greenock prison to an airport near Glasgow where a Libyan airplane marked Afriqiyah had landed to fly him home. The announcement at a news conference by Scotland’s Justice Minister, Kenny MacAskill, came almost 21 years after a bomb smuggled onto Pan Am Flight 103 exploded at 31,000 feet over the Scottish town of Lockerbie on Dec. 21, 1988, killing 259 people on board and 11 on the ground. Of the dead, 189 were Americans. The Scottish decision was certain to provoke anguished protest from American families of the victims who had demanded that he serve his full sentence. The White House said in a news release that it “deeply regrets” the Scottish decision. “We continue to believe that Megrahi should serve out his sentence in Scotland.” Mr. MacAskill said it was his decision and his alone that Mr. Megrahi “be released on compassionate grounds and allowed to return to Libya to die.” “I have followed due process,” he said. Mr. MacAskill acknowledged that Mr. Megrahi “did not show his victims any comfort or compassion” and that they were not allowed to go home to their families. “No compassion was shown by him to them,” he said. “But that alone is not a reason for us to deny compassion to him.” He called the Lockerbie bombing a “heinous crime” in which the victims were “cruelly murdered.” Mr. MacAskill said he had been asked to rule on two applications for Mr. Megrahi’s release — one relating to an agreement between Libya and Britain on the transfer of prisoners and one on compassionate grounds. He said he rejected an application by the Libyan government for a prisoner transfer after United States officials insisted that, when Mr. Megrahi was tried, they had been assured that he would serve his full term in Scotland. He also criticized the British government for saying it had given no such assurance to the United States. “I find that highly regrettable,” he said. He said Scottish law provided for release on compassionate grounds of prisoners with terminal illnesses whose life expectancy was less than three months. After receiving medical reports from prison doctors and others, he said it was clear that “he has a terminal illness and recently there has been a significant deterioration in his health.” “The three-month prognosis is a reasonable estimate. He may die sooner. He may live longer,” he said. While he acknowledged that “the pain and suffering will remain forever” for the families of the victims, “our belief dictates that justice be served and mercy be shown.” Mr. MacAskill said Mr. Megrahi could be leaving within an hour from Scotland’s Greenock prison, and transferred to Glasgow airport to be flown home. Television footage showed an Airbus with the marking “Afriqiyah” landing at Glasgow airport while a convoy of police cars and motorcycle outriders escorted an armored prison van carrying Mr. Megrahi. “I am conscious there are deeply held feelings and that many will disagree whatever my decision,” Mr. MacAskill said. “However, a decision has to be made.” “Scotland will forever remember the crime that has been perpetrated against our people and those from many other lands,” he said. “Some hurt can never heal, some scars can never fade. Those who have been bereaved cannot be expected to forget, let alone forgive. Their pain runs deep and the wounds remain,” he said. News reports said that plans had been made for Mr. Megrahi to fly on a jet sent by the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, as soon as his release had been formally announced. Scottish authorities were braced for a hostile reaction from the Obama administration, which has vigorously opposed Mr. Megrahi’s release. On Wednesday Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, said it would be “absolutely wrong” to release Mr. Megrahi.

Abdel Basset al-Megrahi (L) walks up the stairs to a waiting jet at Glasgow airport August 20, 2009. The Scottish government decided on Thursday to free Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi from prison on compassionate grounds as he is suffering from advanced prostate cancer and he will return home to Libya. Megrahi was sentenced to 27 years in prison in 2001 for his part in blowing up New York-bound Pan Am flight 103 in December 1988, killing 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland. A Scottish official who discussed the case said that Mr. MacAskill’s decision was bound to provoke anger either way. “Whatever decision you make, it’s going to upset some people,” he said, speaking anonymously on the grounds that he was not authorized to comment officially. He added, “There are a lot of representatives of U.K. families who lost relatives in the bombing who feel quite strongly that Megrahi should be released.”

In 2001 a special Scottish court that heard the case in the Netherlands found Mr. Megrahi guilty of murder and other offenses related to the bombing, but acquitted another Libyan tried with him. Mr. Megrahi has never admitted his guilt, and was engaged in a second appeal this year when doctors in Scotland diagnosed a terminal case of prostate cancer. With his health weighing as a potentially decisive factor in the case, the Libyan government arranged for one of Britain’s top cancer specialists, Dr. Karol Sikora, to examine him in late July, together with a Libyan cancer specialist. On Wednesday, Dr. Sikora called for an urgent decision in the case, saying that Mr. Megrahi “has only a very short period of time to live.” The decision Thursday followed days of legal and political maneuvering. Earlier this week, Mr. Megrahi’s lawyers petitioned successfully in a Scottish court to abandon his appeal of his 2001 conviction, which was due to resume in September. The appeal has hinged on the claim of Mr. Megrahi’s lawyers that he was wrongly identified at trial as the man who bought clothes in a shop in Malta that were used to wrap the bomb on board Pan Am 103. A BBC report from Tripoli said authorities there were preparing a warm homecoming for Mr. Megrahi, who belongs to a powerful tribe that has been a political ally of Colonel Qaddafi. But many American families that lost relatives in the bombing remained adamant in their opposition to the Libyan’s release. “If this was bin Laden or one of bin Laden’s deputies sitting in jail, would we even be having this discussion? I don’t think so,” said Stephanie Bernstein, whose husband, Michael, was killed. “I think this has to do with oil. I think this has to do with politics. And I don’t think this has anything to do with justice,” she said Wednesday. Helen Engelhardt, whose husband, Tony Hawkins, was killed on the plane, said she wanted to hear more from Mr. Megrahi. “I would like this fellow, before he breathes his last breath to tell us the story,” Ms. Engelhardt said Wednesday. “We need the truth. We need to know what really happened.”

DTN News: Russia, Ukraine Revive Plan To Build An-70

DTN News: Russia, Ukraine Revive Plan To Build An-70 *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - August 20, 2009: Russia and Ukraine have agreed to revive long-standing plans to produce the An-70 military transport plane, the head of the design bureau at Ukrainian aerospace company Antonov said Aug. 19. The An-70 is a tactical STOL aircraft capable of carrying the entire range of armament and combat materiel with a total weight of up to 47 t, or up to 300 armed troops, or up to 206 wounded and sick, as well as paradropping paratroopers and combat equipment, including cargo items weighing up to 20 t from high and low altitudes. An integrated onboard digital system ensures automated flight control and navigation in all latitudes, at any time of the day, in all weather conditions, and also flights over unmarked terrain, combat formation flights, takeoff from and landing on unequipped airfields, opposition to enemy's air defense assets.A multifunctional color diplay-based data presentation system and a flight control system using mini control wheels provide comfort conditions for the crew. "I am sure that we will manage this with Russia until its completion and this aircraft will be part of the Russian and Ukrainian air forces," Dmytro Kiva said at the Maks-2009 air show outside Moscow, news agencies reported. Kiva said the project could be completed as early as 2010. In a statement, the Russian defence ministry confirmed the report and said the agreement was signed by Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and Ukrainian Defence Minister Valery Ivashchenko during the air show. Russia and Ukraine signed agreements on the An-70 in 1993 and 1999 but Moscow warned in 2003 that the aircraft was not safe and in 2006 it formally pulled out of the project as relations with Ukraine deteriorated. Ukraine has taken an increasingly pro-Western stance since the coming to power of President Viktor Yushchenko following the Orange Revolution protests of 2004. Its bid for NATO membership has particularly angered Russia.

DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY August 20, 2009 ~ Violence Forces Polls To Shut Amid Low Afghan Turnout

DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY August 20, 2009 ~ Violence Forces Polls To Shut Amid Low Afghan Turnout *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - August 20, 2009: A Taliban assault forced the closure of polling stations in one northern town today but nervous Afghans continued to vote across most of the country in a presidential election that pits their faith in democracy against their fears of militant violence. Afghan women line up to vote at a local mosque used as a polling station August 20, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghans voted Thursday to elect a president for the second time in history with election officials stating that turnout was healthy despite sporadic violence by the Taliban. The incumbent President Karzai is considered to be the frontrunner despite claims of corruption and what many consider an ineffectual government. As electoral officials prepared to close the voting booths, reports of violence remained sporadic but there appeared to be a low turn out, with many saying they were too disillusioned or too frightened - especially by a Taliban threat to cut off voters' index fingers, which are marked with indelible ink. Kabul, the capital, was quiet but tense with shops and businesses closed and thousands of extra police manning checkpoints around the city, and searching the few cars and pedestrians moving around. President Hamid Karzai – who is favourite to win the election but may be forced into a second round run-off - cast his vote in a boys' high school near his heavily fortified palace. "I request my dear countrymen to come out and cast their vote to decide their future," he said, adding that he was not worried about violence. The most significant attack came in northern Baghlan province where militants stormed the town, killing the Baghlan police chief and sparking heavy clashes with security forces. Reports indicated that between six and 22 Taliban insurgents were killed but it is not clear whether polling had restarted before the scheduled end of voting. The head of the country’s Independent Election Commission said officials had been told to find cover but they would reopen the ballot as soon as possible. “We had to tell our people to save your [ballot] boxes and save yourselves,” Azizullah Lodin said. In the southern city of Kandahar, a mortar attack hit the house of the Provincial Governor, Tooryalai Wesa, at around 3.30am and two rockets hit the city at about 6.30 am, according to local security monitors. “Yes, rockets have landed," Mr Wesa told reporters after casting his vote. Witnesses reported hearing two blasts, and local security sources said four people were injured. Skirmishes were also reported across Kandahar, where streets were largely deserted, and several improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were found and destroyed outside polling stations, the security monitors said. More explosions were heard later, and one Taliban commander told Afghan media by telephone: "The situation will get worse. We are trying our best." The Taliban also fired rockets and attacked one polling station in the northern city of Kunduz, the local police chief, Abdul Razaq told reporters. He said no civilians were hurt, but police killed one militant and arrested two others. U.S. Marine Sgt. Raymond Shinahra, right, of Guam, and Navy Corpsman Michael Cannova, both attached to Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Regiment, 2nd MEB, 3rd MEF, carry a box full of presidential ballots delivered by Marine helicopters from election headquarters in Lashkar Gah to election officials in Dahaneh Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009, in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Officials in the village had discovered early in the morning that they were lacking any presidential ballots and could not open the voting process without them. The Taleban warned yesterday that 20 of its suicide bombers had infiltrated Kabul, and other militants were blocking roads across the country to stop people from voting.

There were no signs of such activity today, but many of the country's 15 million registered voters appeared to be staying away from the roughly 6,500 polling stations during early voting. Tim Fairbank, an election observer with US-based Democracy International, said he had visited four polling stations in the eastern city of Jalalabad, but only a few hundred people had voted there. "The polls opened a bit late, but voter turnout seems to be quite low," he said. "A lot of people have told us they were afraid to vote, and afraid to have their fingers dipped in ink because of the Taliban's threats." He said local turnout was expected to be no more than 20-30 per cent, but the government was expected to claim it was more like 60 per cent in the area, which voted overwhelmingly for Mr Karzai at the last presidential election in 2004. Mr Karzai, who came to power after US-led forces toppled the Taliban government in 2001, is widely expected to win the second presidential election in Afghanistan’s history despite international disillusion with his government. But he faces an unexpectedly strong challenge from Dr Abdullah Abdullah, his former Foreign Minister, and is expected to fall short of the outright majority needed to secure a victory in the first round. Analysts say Mr Karzai’s support could be depressed by low voter turnout in the unstable south, which is dominated by the ethnic Pashtun majority that rallied behind him in 2004. Turn-out appeared higher in northern areas where Mr Abdullah is expected to do well. Many expect Mr Karzai’s own allies to try to compensate for that by stuffing ballot boxes in areas where there are few voters and no election monitors. US and British officials say there may be some violence and electoral fraud, but not enough to invalidate the vote and undermine their efforts to defeat the Taliban. About 300,000 Afghan and foreign troops are being deployed for today’s vote, although international forces are keeping away from polling stations to avoid becoming a magnet for Taliban attacks. The Ministry of Defence announced today that a Chinook helicopter had been forced into an emergency landing in Helmand province last night after a possible Taliban attack. The British crew survived unharmed. The Afghan government has been trying to negotiate truces with local Taliban commanders who may be reluctant to cause civilian casualties in their own neighbourhoods.

DTN News: German Chancellor Angela Merkel Still World's Most Powerful Woman: Forbes

DTN News: German Chancellor Angela Merkel Still World's Most Powerful Woman: Forbes

*Source: DTN News / AFP

(NSI News Source Info) NEW YORK, USA - August 20, 2009: German leader Angela Merkel and businesswomen dominate Forbes magazine's new list of powerful women, while First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton didn't break the top 30. German Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party waves during a CDU pre-election party on German's North Sea island Norderney on August 17, 2009. Merkel and businesswomen dominate Forbes magazine's new list of powerful women, while First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton didn't break the top 30. Merkel headed the list, published Wednesday, for the fourth year running, with the magazine highlighting her role as leader of the huge German economy and her likely re-election in September. Reflecting the world's focus on recession and the struggle to keep the financial markets afloat, Merkel was followed almost exclusively by businesswomen. In second place came Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, which insures US banks. Third was Indra Nooyi, chief executive at PepsiCo, then Cynthia Carroll, the chief executive of mining giant Anglo American, and Ho Ching, chief executive at Singapore's government investment company Temasek Holdings. Hillary Clinton slipped from 28 last year, when she was close to winning the Democratic presidential nomination to 36, despite heading the powerful US State Department. Michelle Obama came into the list for the first time. Although she has the ear of the US president around the clock, she ranked only 40. Below her, at 42, came Britain' Queen Elizabeth II. Herewith the full top 10 in the list on www.forbes.com/women : 1: Angela Merkel, chancellor. Germany 2: Sheila Bair, chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. US. 3: Indra Nooyi, chief executive, PepsiCo. US. 4: Cynthia Carroll, chief executive, Anglo American. UK. 5: Ho Ching, chief executive, Temasek Holdings. Singapore 6: Irene Rosenfeld, chief executive, Kraft Foods. US. 7: Ellen Kullman, chief executive, DuPont. US. 8: Angela Braly, chief executive, WellPoint. US. 9: Anne Lauvergeon, chief executive, Areva. France 10: Lynn Elsenhans, chief executive, Sunoco. US.

DTN News: Boeing Completes RNP Milestone In Panama

DTN News: Boeing Completes RNP Milestone In Panama *Source: DTN News / Boeing (NSI News Source Info) SEATTLE, USA - August 20, 2009: Boeing (NYSE: BA) recently completed a critical design review for Required Navigation Performance procedures (RNP) in work at Panama's Tocumen International Airport and Howard Airport. The critical design review, which took place at the Copa Airlines training center in Panama City, assesses the "fly-ability" of the procedures and ensures compatibility with airline crew procedures. RNP uses global-positioning satellites and onboard flight-management systems to guide airplanes accurately along precise flight paths. Boeing, along with its wholly owned subsidiary, Jeppesen, will provide RNP procedures under contract with the Autoridad Aeronautica Civil (AAC), Panama's Civil Aviation Authority. Boeing and Jeppesen worked very closely with the AAC of Panama and Copa Airlines to incorporate their requirements into the final RNP procedures that Jeppesen will use in creating the final navigation charts and corresponding navigational database. These procedures will support flights into the Panamanian airports for any airline, with Panama's Copa Airlines taking the lead in testing the RNP procedures. More precise routing can help aircraft operators reduce fuel consumption and lessen greenhouse gas emissions. "Panama is constantly working to make our aviation infrastructure more secure and efficient," said Capt. Rafael Barcenas, Panama's Civil Aviation Authority director. "As a Panamanian I am proud to be part of this legacy of innovation. Together we are maximizing the use of new technology for the benefit of our airspace." "As Panama implements advanced arrival procedures using RNP, Copa Airlines will be able to achieve even greater safety, reliability and efficiency in its operations at Tocumen airport," said David Lindskoog, Copa's vice president of Flight Operations. "RNP procedures will enable significant savings in flight time and fuel consumption by providing the most direct arrival routes to the runways." In May, Boeing signed an agreement with the AAC to provide Required Navigation Performance procedures to the country as part of Panama's effort to set new standards for safe and efficient airline operations in Latin America. "Boeing is proud to partner with the AAC of Panama and our friends at Copa Airlines to help with the first operational implementation of RNP in Panama," said Per Noren, director of Boeing Aviation Infrastructure for Commercial Airplanes. "This will provide an important benefit to Panama and help the AAC promote further expansion of RNP implementation in Latin America."