DTN News: China Puts Profit Ahead Of Her Citizen Security In Unrest Balochistan, Pakistan

DTN News: China Puts Profit Ahead Of Her Citizen Security In Unrest Balochistan, Pakistan *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) QUETTA, Pakistan - September 10, 2009: China, rather than have its workers in Pakistan join the exodus of foreigners who are quitting the strife-torn country because of security concerns, the dismal state of the economy or both, is increasing its involvement there and planning further projects.A Pakistani policeman walks past burning tyres set alight by protesters in Karachi April 9, 2009. The protesters were demonstrating against what they said were the killing of political activists in Balochistan.

The number of Chinese engineers working in Pakistan has surged to 10,000 this year from 3,000 in 2008, working on 120 projects in different sectors of the economy.

China is also involved in a 750-kilometer railway linking the two countries, from Havellian to the 4,730-meter-high Khunjerab Pass in Gilgit-Baltistan, the area until recently known as the Northern Areas.

Havellian is linked with the rest of the rail network in Pakistan, and the Chinese will lay track within its territory up to Khunjerab.

Analysts say that China is increasingly interesting in investing in Gilgit-Baltistan, shifting its focus from insurgency-hit Balochistan in Pakistan's southwest, where China is already involved in large development projects including Gwadar port.

A proposed Pakistan-China energy and trade corridor, involving gas and oil pipelines and a rail link, would start in Gwadar and enter China's Xinjiang region after running through the Gilgit-Baltistan region. Some 767 development projects are to be carried out in Gilgit-Baltistan this year, with a particular focus and the help of China on the power sector to harness the huge hydro-power potential of the region.

China's determination to maintain its interest in Pakistan was underlined recently by Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Lou Zhaohui, who told the media in Islamabad, "A number of foreigners [have] left Pakistan, but we are committed to complete all the projects on which Chinese are working."

China has expressed satisfaction over the security being provided to its nationals in Pakistan, where the Chinese embassy has a joint task force with the interior ministry and has a 24-hour hotline. Beijing has already given US$1 billion in two tranches to boost Pakistan's foreign reserves, which last week reached a two-year high at $14.31 billion.

Marri tribal guerrillas prepare to attack a Pakistani troop outpost near Kahan in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The rebels fired dozens of mortars on Pakistani troops, who returned fire but missed guerrilla positions. Rebels say that the Pakistani government takes their region's gas and mineral reserves but gives little in return to Balochistan, the poorest province in Pakistan.

The reserves have also been strengthened by a $1.2 billion installment from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), part of a larger payment agreed last November. "Pakistan is the only country in the world to which China has given such a huge amount on very low interest rate," Zhaohui said.

The two countries have agreed to cooperate in modernizing and strengthening existing Pakistan Railways tracks and converting them to meet international standards. During a recent visit to China, Pakistan's Railways Minister Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour agreed with his Chinese counterpart Liu Zhijun to establish a consortium for the work.

China is to send its experts to assist in feasibility studies for the railways projects, which would be carried out on a build-own-operate basis. China has also shown interest in early laying a track between the Pakistan border town of Torkham and Jalalabad in Afghanistan, as the Chinese want to use the Pakistan Railways network to transport their goods and equipment for the development of copper mines and various other projects in Afghanistan.

Separately, Pakistan Railways has completed a feasibility study for a rail section between Chaman, in Balochistan, and Kandahar in Afghanistan that is part of a proposed link across Afghanistan to Turkmenistan.

In a further indication of the close involvement of China in Pakistan's railway upgrading, the executive committe of Pakistan's National Economic Council last week approved the import of 202 rail coaches from China at a cost of 15.9 billion Pakistan rupees ($191 million).

DTN News: President Of Central African Republic Francois Bozize Yangouvonda On An Official Visit To China

DTN News: President Of Central African Republic Francois Bozize Yangouvonda On An Official Visit To China *Source: DTN News / Xinhua (NSI News Source Info) BEIJING, China - September 10, 2009: President Francois Bozize Yangouvonda of the Central African Republic will pay a state visi to China on Sept. 9-15 at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao. China's President Hu Jintao and Central African Republic's President Francois Bozize walk past the honour guard during a welcome ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing September 10, 2009. Born in Mouila, Garbon, in 1946, Bozize studied at several military colleges in France. Between 1973 and 1982, he served in succession as head of general office of the Defense Ministry of the Central African Republic, the country's air force commander, deputy chief of the general staff, defense minister, and information and culture minister. In 1996, he was appointed chief of general staff of the country's armed forces. He became president of the Central African Republic in March 2003, and won the presidential election in May 2005. Bozize paid a working visit to China in August 2004.

DTN News: British Commandos Rescue New York Times Reporter In Afghanistan, Afghan Translator Dies

DTN News: British Commandos Rescue New York Times Reporter In Afghanistan, Afghan Translator Dies *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - September 10, 2009: During the first two days of captivity, The New York Times reporter and his Afghan translator were optimistic about being released. Then more Taliban came to the hide-out and taunted the captives about an Italian journalist who was freed while his Afghan interpreter was beheaded. The menace grew - until British commandos launched a rescue raid. The reporter survived; his Afghan colleague died in a volley of gunfire as he shouted "Journalist! Journalist!" Four others, including a British soldier, also were killed. (Image: Stephen Farrell, a reporter for The New York Times, is shown in Iraq on July 16, 2007.) Stephen Farrell, who was not injured in the rescue Wednesday, is one of a half-dozen foreign journalists to be kidnapped in Afghanistan over the last several years. His Times colleague, David Rohde, was abducted by militants south of Kabul last November and eventually escaped his captors while being held in Pakistan. The kidnappings illustrate some of the obstacles for reporters in covering an increasingly lethal war. August saw a record number of U.S. troops die in combat, and bombings wounded three journalists embedded with them: two from The Associated Press and one from CBS Radio News. Farrell, 46, exposed himself to a different danger. He and his 34-year-old translator, Sultan Munadi, ventured without military escort to the site of a NATO airstrike on two hijacked fuel tankers in a Taliban-controlled area of northern Afghanistan to interview villagers about civilian casualties from the attack. It was an important story. The top NATO commander, U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, had made protecting Afghan civilians a top priority, and there were conflicting claims of how many civilians had died in the bombing Friday. Police had warned reporters of the dangers of travelling to the village in Kunduz province, and other Western journalists, including some from the AP, went there in the company of NATO forces. New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller said reporters in the field are allowed a great deal of leeway, and that they are the best ones to judge the level of risk. He added that the newspaper would carry out a security review after the latest abduction. The Times reported that while Farrell and Munadi were interviewing Afghans on Saturday near the site of the airstrike, an old man approached and warned them to leave. Soon after, gunshots rang out and people shouted that Taliban fighters were approaching. Across the Kunduz river, a group of about 10 militants with Kalashnikovs and machine-guns were running toward them. The Taliban captured the journalists. Their driver fled and notified Farrell's colleagues in Kabul. The Times kept the kidnappings quiet out of concern for the men's safety, and other media organizations, including the AP, did not report the abductions. According to Farrell's account in the Times, the captors moved the two men several times and eventually put them in a tiny room. On the third day, some new fighters, apparently more senior Taliban figures from elsewhere in Afghanistan, arrived and discussed moving their hostages out of the Kunduz area. Afghan officials believed the two Times journalists were originally held by a Mullah Qadir, but were handed off to a commander Mullah Salaam and held in the village of Ghor Tepa, said Lt. Gen. Mirza Mohammad Yarmand, an Afghan army investigator sent to Kunduz by President Hamid Karzai to look into the case. The Times reported that the militants taunted Munadi, reminding him of the case in 2007 when kidnappers released Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo but beheaded his translator and another Afghan colleague. Farrell, an experienced reporter who was once held captive in Iraq, thought the atmosphere turned menacing. Before dawn on Wednesday, they could hear helicopters approaching. "We were all in a room, the Talibs all ran, it was obviously a raid," the Times quoted Farrell as saying. The militants scattered, though one returned and tipped his gun toward them and then left again without firing. After a while, Farrell and Munadi went out into a courtyard. With Munadi in front, they ran in the dark along the compound's high mud-brick wall. They heard British and Afghan voices - and a flurry of bullets. After moving along the wall for about 60 feet (18 metres), Munadi raised his hands, walked into the open and shouted, "Journalist! Journalist!" "He was three seconds away from safety," Farrell was quoted as saying. "I thought we were safe. He just walked into a hail of bullets." Farrell, a dual Irish-British citizen, said he then dived into a ditch. For the next couple of minutes, he focused on the British voices. Then he shouted: "British hostage! British hostage!" The British voices told him to come near, and that's when he said he saw Munadi. "He was lying in the same position as he fell," Farrell told the Times. "That's all I know. I saw him go down in front of me. He did not move. He's dead. He was so close; he was just two feet in front of me when he dropped." A British commando also died in the firefight. Also killed were a Taliban commander, the owner of the house in which the captives were held, and an unidentified woman, said Mohammad Sami Yowar, a spokesman for the Kunduz governor. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the operation was carried out after "extensive planning and consideration," and that those involved knew the high risks. Brown called the mission "breathtaking heroism." Keller said he had understood from the military officials that they did not intend to conduct a raid unless the situation turned "particularly menacing and they had actionable intelligence and a high probability of success." Keller said he did not know what triggered the decision to carry out the raid, but that Farrell told him the situation had turned "menacing." Keller said it was possible the militants may have planned to move the hostages, and said he would not second-guess the military's decision to take action. Late Wednesday, Afghan journalists who work for international news outlets gathered at Munadi's house in Kabul for an Islamic prayer. The family buried Munadi without having the body examined to help determine if British bullets or Taliban gunfire killed him. A British defence official said he couldn't rule out the possibility he was killed by British gunfire. Munadi, a married father of two, was first employed by the Times in 2002, according to his colleagues. He left the company a few years later to work for a radio station. Last year he travelled to Germany to study for a master's degree. He returned to Kabul last month to see his family and agreed to accompany Farrell to Kunduz on a freelance basis. In a Times Web blog this month, Munadi wrote that he would never leave Afghanistan permanently and that "being a journalist is not enough; it will not solve the problems of Afghanistan. I want to work for the education of the country, because the majority of people are illiterate." "And if I leave this country, if other people like me leave this country, who will come to Afghanistan?" he wrote. "Will it be the Taliban who come to govern this country? That is why I want to come back, even if it means cleaning the streets of Kabul." Farrell joined the Times in 2007 in Baghdad, and has covered both the Afghan and Iraq conflicts for the newspaper. He was briefly held hostage in Iraq in 2004, when he was working for The Times of London. Militants questioned him and freelance U.S. journalist Orly Halpern for about seven hours before letting them go, he was quoted as saying afterward. At least 16 Afghan and foreign journalists have been kidnapped in Afghanistan since January 2002, according to Reporters Without Borders.

DTN News: Technology TODAY September 10, 2009 ~ Upgraded Hubble Telescope Spies Cosmic 'Dragon'

DTN News: Technology TODAY September 10, 2009 ~ Upgraded Hubble Telescope Spies Cosmic 'Dragon'

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, USA - September 10, 2009: The new and improved Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a dragon-shaped cosmic mirage and other celestial wonders, showing it is working better than ever following its latest repairs in May. This undated handout image provided by NASA, released Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, taken by the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope, shows a celestial object that looks like a delicate butterfly. Seven NASA astronauts visited Hubble in May on a space shuttle mission to install a new camera and spectrograph, repair two older instruments, and install new batteries as well as new gyroscopes needed to keep the orbiting observatory properly oriented in space. On Wednesday, scientists released some spectacular new images that demonstrate Hubble is performing well following the upgrades. See a gallery of the new Hubble images One of the pictures shows a galaxy stretched into a dragon shape in a cosmic illusion. It is a normal spiral galaxy, but its light rays get bent on their way to Earth due to the gravity of an intervening galaxy cluster in a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. The galaxy's elongated appearance revealed it to be an example of gravitational lensing more than two decades ago. But the new Hubble image shows the galaxy in "incredible detail", exceeding that of any previous image, says David Leckrone, senior project scientist for Hubble at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. This undated handout image provided by NASA, released Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, taken by the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope, shows stars bursting to life in the chaotic Carina Nebula. "This is really fascinating to me – I've never seen anything quite like this before," he said at a news conference on Wednesday in Washington, DC. The image was taken using Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys, which was repaired during the servicing mission in May following a breakdown in 2007. Also released today were new Hubble images showing a colourful star cluster, a star-forming nebula, and a group of interacting galaxies. "To see these first images is incredibly exciting for me and the whole Hubble team," said astronaut Scott Altman, commander of the May servicing mission. See a gallery of the new Hubble images The repairs done in May were designed to give Hubble at least 5 more years of life, but Ed Weiler, NASA's associate administrator for science says he is betting it will last much longer. If all goes according to NASA's plan, Hubble will be joined in 2014 by the infrared James Webb Space Telescope. "Hopefully both of them will operate for many years beyond 2014," Weiler says. In addition to repairing the Advanced Camera for Surveys, the servicing mission repaired an instrument for measuring light spectra called the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and installed two new instruments: the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Future observations planned for Hubble include: • Studying the atmospheres of alien planets that pass in front of their parent stars as seen from Earth to reveal the planets' chemical composition and other properties; • An extremely long look at a region of the sky to detect faint objects in the early universe. This could reveal infant galaxies seen as they were less than 500 million years after the big bang – improving on a previous 'ultra deep field' portrait that probed back to about 700 million years after the big bang; • A survey for objects in the Kuiper Belt, a ring of icy bodies beyond Neptune, where Pluto resides Scientists are "giddy" to have the capabilities of the new and improved Hubble at their disposal, says Heidi Hammel of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado. "Whether it's our local neighbourhood of planets, nearby stars and their attendant planets, clusters of galaxies out to the edge of the universe – every field has questions that are awaiting the power of Hubble," she says. See a gallery of the new Hubble images

DTN News: Taliban Threaten Arizona And Nevada

DTN News: Taliban Threaten Arizona And Nevada

*Source: DTN News / Strategy Page

(NSI News Source Info) PESHAWAR, Pakistan - September 10, 2009: The U.S. Air Force fears that the Taliban may attempt a terror attack against the U.S. bases (in Nevada and Arizona), where the operators control (via satellite link) Predator and Reaper UAVs flying over Pakistan. These UAVs have killed dozens of Taliban and al Qaeda leaders in the past year.

The terrorists have fired mortars at the Pakistani Air Force bases that the UAVs operate from, but these attacks have been too limited to do much damage, much less interfere with flight operations. The Taliban are getting desperate. It's unlikely that the Taliban could carry out an attack on the well-guarded bases, in the United States, containing the UAV operators. But the terrorist chatter (electronic, and on the ground) is getting increasingly nasty and strident. Dozens of civilians in Taliban controlled tribal territory have been accused of being spies (providing location data for the UAV attacks), and executed.

Most of these victims are believed to be innocent, as the Taliban have been unable to produce any concrete evidence that the U.S. is relying that heavily, on informants, to provide target locations.

Meanwhile, no matter what the Taliban and al Qaeda do, the Hellfire missiles continue to find their targets.

Thus carrying out an attack on the UAV operators, in the United States, has become a popular subject of conversation.

At least enough for air force security officials to take notice.

DTN News: US Studying Iran's New Package 'Carefully'

DTN News: US Studying Iran's New Package 'Carefully'

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, USA - September 10, 2009: The US has received Iran's latest package of proposals and is studying it "carefully", hoping that Tehran would resume talks over its nuclear program, a US official says.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki gives documents to (from L) Swiss diplomat Livia Leu Agosti, representing the United States, Russian envoy Alexander Sadovikov and French ambassador to Iran Bernard Poletti at the foreign ministry in Tehran on September 9, 2009. Mottaki handed over Iran's new package of proposals relating to its controversial nuclear programme to the envoys of six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany. The contents of the package were not immediately made public.

On Wednesday, Iran submitted the latest package of proposals on its nuclear issue to ambassadors from China, France, Germany, Russia and Switzerland - on behalf of the US - and the British charge d'affaires in Tehran.

"We're now reviewing it seriously and ... carefully," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.

"We plan to confer with our ... partners in the P5-plus-one group, and I expect that we'll have more to say about it in the ... coming days," he noted.

Kelly said that the US hoped Iran would take up President Barack Obama's offer of diplomatic engagement with major world powers.

"We've made it clear to Iran that ... the choice really is theirs to make. They have a stark choice. They can continue down this path ... of isolation from the international community or they can choose to reintegrate with the ... international community," Kelly said.

Tehran has repeatedly declared that while it is willing to talk with the West, it will not give up the Iranian nation's legitimate rights under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).

DTN News: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu 'Made Secret Visit' To Russia Over Iran

DTN News: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu 'Made Secret Visit' To Russia Over Iran

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) JERUSALEM , Israel - September 10, 2009: Israel's prime minister stole away to Moscow this week to discuss Russian arms sales to arch-foes Iran and Syria, a report said on Wednesday amid speculation over the premier's mysterious disappearance. Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Moscow on Monday, the respected mass-selling Yediot Aharonot daily said, citing anonymous sources. The S-300PMU [SA-10 land-based, SA-N-6 naval version] surface-to-air missile system is able to engage a number of targets simultaneously, countering intensive aircraft raids at low-to-high altitude. The SA-10 offers significant advantages over older strategic surface-to-air missile systems, including multitarget handling and engagement characteristics, a capability against low altitude targets with small radar cross-sections such as cruise missiles, a capability against tactical ballistic missiles, and possibly a potential to intercept some types of strategic ballistic missiles. Asked to comment on the report, Netanyahu's office reiterated that the premier had spent Monday at the headquarters of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency. Spokesmen for Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the two leaders did not meet Netanyahu on Monday, but did not explicitly deny that the visit took place. Netanyahu's hours-long absence from public view on Monday has sparked furious rumours in the Israeli media as to where he spent the day, with a secret visit to an Arab country topping the speculation. Israel has for years tried to convince Russia not to sell S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Iran, which the Jewish state fears Tehran could deploy around its controversial nuclear sites. Russia reportedly agreed to sell the systems to Tehran several years ago. Following an August 18 visit, Israeli President Shimon Peres said that he had secured a promise from his counterpart Dmitry Medvedev that Russia would review its decision. Widely considered to be the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, Israel suspects Iran of trying to develop an atomic bomb under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme, a charge Tehran denies. Israel considers Iran to be its arch-enemy following repeated statements by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Jewish state is doomed to be "wiped off the map."

DTN News: Indian Army's One In Three Indian Grenades A Dud ~ Report

DTN News: Indian Army's One In Three Indian Grenades A Dud ~ Report

*Analysis: It is a shame for DRDO, Indian ordinance factory, Defense Ministry and relating sectors to povide dud grenades to Indian soldiers on the frontline protecting international borders and fighting insurgency. It is imperative that dud grenades aspect should be thoroughly investigated and concerned entities should be brought to justice.

Internationally, a project for one year takes ten fold longer in India. Decisions are taken at a snail pace and time is wasted on unneccessary red tape bureaucracy. Defense procurement system is politically corrupt, as an example urgently needed Hawk Mk132 advanced jet trainers for Indian Air Force, which took 30 odd years to acquire at the cost of hundreds of young Indian Air Force pilots life.India is the largest democratically governed country in the world as is an examplery system for other nations to follow suit, but at the same time the system is a curse with too many voices and noises, NO ACTION. India should have for some period a system of administration similar to China, which is straightfoward with no two way decision making that would benefit for the betterment of the country at large. (DTN Defense-Technology News)

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) MUMBAI, India - September 10, 2009: One in three hand grenades used by Indian soldiers is a dud, while their rifles are no match for those of extremists, a newspaper report said Monday. The Times of India said 30 percent of grenades fail to blow up after being thrown by troops in combat situations, while those that do work take four seconds to explode -- 1.5 seconds longer than those used by militants. Indian soldiers normally carry four grenades in counter-insurgency operations, Colonel R.S.N. Singh, from the Indian Defence Review, was quoted as saying. "Even a single dud can prove disastrous as it would leave the soldier vulnerable," he added. (Image: Indian army soldiers head towards the encounter spot during a gunfight with militants near Srinagar) The criticism comes after deadly attacks in Mumbai last year left 166 people dead, an incident that highlighted the out-of-date and ineffective weaponry used by police in the country's financial capital. Officers initially tried to take on heavily-armed Islamist militants using bamboo sticks, revolvers and British colonial-era bolt-action rifles until commandos arrived. Retired army colonel U.S. Rathore said Indian soldiers still used hand grenades dating back to World War II and suggested their malfunction could be due to chemical degradation. The newspaper, which based its report on unnamed military and defence sources, said soldiers had also complained about the Indian Army's standard issue Insas assault rifle. "The barrel overheats with continuous firing," one source told The Times. "Oil spillage while firing is also a major trouble." The rifle's lack of a rapid-fire feature also fails to match up to the extremists' weapon of choice, the Russian-made AK-47, the report said.

DTN News: A400M Airlifter To Undergo Outdoor Ground Tests

DTN News: A400M Airlifter To Undergo Outdoor Ground Tests

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) PARIS, France - September 10, 2009: The A400M military transport plane has completed indoor ground testing on the final assembly and moved outdoors for a series of outdoor ground tests. In its latest update on the A400M, Airbus Military is saying the airlifter will fly “around the turn of the year.” That is a bit softer than the stated goal of flying before year-end, although, in fairness, EADS CEO Louis Gallois has indicated for some time the event could slip into early 2010. The A400M airlifter will be used for UN Nato ATOP missions in inter-theatre warfighting, peace-keeping and humanitarian interventions. Outdoor trials will include fuel tests, pressurisation tests, as well as navigation and communication checks and will last about two weeks. The aircraft will then receive its engines and the auxiliary power unit (APU). Presently, all four engines have been assembled and fitted with their propellers. The engines will be mounted onto the aircraft after installation of the final FADEC engine software. Before the engines are integrated into the aircraft, it will be fitted with dummy engines to simulate the weight in the wings and to allow for proper fuel calibration tests.

DTN News: Russia Denies Arctic Sea Carried Missiles To Iran

DTN News: Russia Denies Arctic Sea Carried Missiles To Iran

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - September 10, 2009: Russia on Tuesday strongly denied that a cargo ship whose supposed seizure by pirates sparked an international mystery was secretly carrying sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles bound for Iran. Arctic Sea Russian-crewed freighter is seen in Kotka, Finland. Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009, rejected speculation that the hijacked Arctic Sea was carrying S-300 missiles possibly destined for Iran. The freighter Arctic Sea was allegedly seized by pirates in the Baltic Sea in late July after leaving a Finnish port. Russian naval vessels intercepted the ship weeks later off Cape Verde, thousands of kilometers from the Algerian port where it was purportedly supposed to deliver a load of timber. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed reports that the Arctic Sea was carrying a batch of the Russian-made S-300 missiles when it was hijacked. "Regarding the S-300s on board the Arctic Sea, this is absolutely untrue," Lavrov told reporters when asked about the report. Separately, Russian investigators announced they had inspected the ship and found only its official cargo of timber. "The cargo aboard the ship, wood and sawn timber, is being thoroughly inspected by investigators, as well as the ship itself," a spokesman for the investigative committee of Russian prosecutors told AFP. "Nothing besides the stated cargo has yet been found by investigators and forensic experts," he said, adding the ship was still at sea and the investigation would continue several more days. The Arctic Sea, a Maltese-flagged vessel with a Russian crew, was hijacked near Sweden in late July before being recovered by the Russian navy in the Atlantic Ocean several weeks later. The hijacking in a busy European shipping lane, the huge international effort to recover the ship, and the detention of its crewmen after they returned to Russia have all fuelled speculation about a secret cargo. Officially the ship was carrying a load of timber worth 1.7 million dollars (1.16 million euros) from Finland to Algeria, but speculation has raged that it was carrying weapons or even nuclear materials. The ship is due to arrive within days at Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk. Lavrov said representatives of Malta, the flag government of the Arctic Sea, would be invited to take part in the investigation. "Everything will be done transparently. I hope everyone will be convinced that the rumours you are referring to are absolutely groundless," Lavrov said in response to a reporter's question. Meanwhile a Kremlin spokeswoman, Natalya Timakova, told reporters that any theories about what the Arctic Sea was carrying before the investigation was complete were "speculation." This weekend the Sunday Times of London, citing Russian and Israeli sources, reported that Israel's Mossad intelligence service had learned the ship was carrying S-300s to Iran and worked with Moscow to stop the shipment. According to the Sunday Times report, Israel learned that the ship had been loaded with weapons in Russia's Baltic Sea port of Kaliningrad by former military officers with links to criminal groups. The newspaper said that Mossad, acting with the Moscow government's backing, may have set up the hijacking in a bid to stop the shipment without causing Russia embarrassment. Independent Russian defence analyst Pavel Felgenhauer dismissed the report, noting that S-300 batteries were large, heavy and complex systems that would be impossible to conceal in a cargo hold. "Hypothetically, such a cargo ship could transport grenade launchers for Hezbollah or Hamas, Igla portable anti-aircraft missiles, something more compact than the S-300," Felgenhauer told AFP. "At least this would not violate the laws of physics," added Felgenhauer, the defence columnist for Novaya Gazeta newspaper. Time magazine has also quoted experts suggesting the vessel was carrying missiles destined for the Middle East. Israeli President Shimon Peres visited Russia and held talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on August 18, the day after Russia announced it had recaptured the Arctic Sea from pirates. Following the talks, Peres said he had secured a promise from Medvedev that Russia would review its decision to sell S-300s to Iran. Russia reportedly agreed to sell Iran the missiles several years ago, but Western countries and Israel fiercely opposed the deal as S-300s would greatly enhance Tehran's ability to protect against an air strike. Eight suspects -- including Russians, Estonians and Latvians -- have been accused of hijacking the Arctic Sea and are now awaiting trial in Moscow on piracy and kidnapping charges.

DTN News: U.S. May 'Redeploy BDM In Israel'

DTN News: U.S. May 'Redeploy BDM In Israel' *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) TEL AVIV, Israel - September 10, 2009: Israeli officials say there is a "strong possibility" that the United States will leave missile defense systems in the Jewish state after a joint missile defense exercise planned for October is concluded, according to The Jerusalem Post. The THAAD weapon system consists of launchers, missiles, battle management / command, control, communications and intelligence (BMC3I) units and THAAD radars. The U.S. missiles, part of the Ballistic Defense Program, would almost certainly remain under U.S. control, but it was not clear whether they would participate in defending Israel against Iranian missiles. The report indicated that the Americans may deploy the missiles in Israel rather than in the Czech Republic and Poland as planned, in deference to Russia's vehement objections to having U.S. missile systems so close to its border. The Israeli report published Monday followed an Aug. 27 report in the Warsaw newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza that Washington planned to scrap its plans to base 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and an advanced radar in the Czech Republic to counter hostile missiles aimed at the United States, with Iran seen as the most likely threat. U.S. President Barack Obama's administration is seeking to find an accommodation with a resurgent Russia on a host of issues, including having Moscow stop aiding Iran's nuclear program and providing it with advanced weapons systems that could impede any potential pre-emptive military strike. By removing the planned anti-missile shield from Central Europe and relocating it is elsewhere -- Israel and Turkey have been seen as the most likely candidates -- Washington could expect a quid pro quo from Moscow. In this case, that would likely be blocking the sale of advanced Russian S-300 air-defense missiles to Iran or supporting U.S. efforts to impose harsh new economic sanctions on Iran to force it to abandon its alleged quest for nuclear arms. However, by redeploying the missiles in Israel, the Americans would be seen to be bolstering the Jewish state's anti-missile defenses against a possible Iranian strike with its Shehab-3 ballistic missiles. The Shehabs -- Iran is believed to have 80-100 operational -- are expected to be bolstered by more powerful Sajjil-2 missiles now being developed. By adding U.S. weight to Israel's own anti-ballistic defenses, namely the high-altitude, long-range Arrow-2 interceptor, Washington would be involving itself directly in the defense of Israel. That would thus raise the stakes to an unprecedented degree in the event of an Iranian attack, either a first strike initiated by Tehran or one retaliating for a pre-emptive Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic. Israel, which considers Iran's nuclear and missile development as an existential threat, is widely perceived to be considering a unilateral pre-emptive strike against Iran. The Americans already have a long-range X-Band radar unit operating in Israel. The radar, a key element in the U.S. missile defense array, is intended to give Israel early warning of an Iranian missile launch. The unit was set up at Nevatim Air Base in the Negev Desert a year ago at the request of the Israeli government and is operated by 100 U.S. personnel. It would be linked to the U.S. missile systems if they are deployed in Israel. The Jerusalem Post reported that "while the United States has yet to announce it will leave the systems in place here, the possibility is strong, one official said, particularly in light of reports that the Pentagon was conducting a review of its European missile shield." The daily noted that a "senior Israeli defense official" said that "while the United States has not made an official request to deploy the systems here, the topic was being discussed in unofficial channels." The upcoming exercises, codenamed Juniper Cobra, will involve the Arrow-2 system along with the U.S. Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system and the ship-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. Meantime, Iran claimed Sunday that it has developed a missile defense system that can shoot down radar-evading cruise missiles. But Western analysts were skeptical. They questioned why Iran was so anxious to acquire Russian S-300s to defend its strategic installations if it was capable of producing its own defense systems.