Monday, May 16, 2011

DTN News - INDIA NEWS: Sonia Gandhi And Mamata Banerjee Togetherness For Secular Nation

DTN News - INDIA NEWS: Sonia Gandhi And Mamata Banerjee Togetherness For Secular Nation
**Mamata looks to cement ties
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 16, 2011: By extending invitations to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to her swearing-in ceremony, Bengal chief minister-in-waiting Mamata Banerjee wants to cement central support for her government.
There is still an element of uncertainty on whether Congress will join Mamata's government. "We are grateful to Mamata Banerjee for her gracious offer to Congress to join her government, but there is still no consensus within Pradesh Congress Committee on it," PCC general secretary Om Prakash Mishra said in Kolkata on Monday. The final decision would be taken by AICC. Congress has, however, already extended its letter of support to the Mamata Banerjee government.
But Mamata would need the whole-hearted support of the Centre in running her government smoothly, observers said. She took care to go to Delhi to meet the PM and Sonia and personally request them to attend her swearing-in ceremony. However, the PM will not be attending the same and Sonia's presence too is uncertain.
Because of the precarious financial position facing the state, Mamata would need the Centre to bail out her nascent government. Besides, there were other issues like the Darjeeling imbroglio and the on-going joint operations against the Maoists in the state. She would like Delhi to be on her side to find an acceptable solution in Darjeeling without conceding a separate state.
Mamata announced after her victory that she would find a solution to the Maoist problem in Jangalmahal within three months. Whether she attempted to start a dialogue with the Maoists or wanted to reduce the scale of joint operations, she would need the green signal from the Centre.
It would suit her most if Congress joined her government so that there was joint responsibility. Immediately after her victory on May 13, Mamata had invited Congress to join the government. During her meetings with the PM and Sonia on Monday, she extended the invitation again.
PCC sources indicated, however, that some Congress leaders in the state had reservations about joining the government as it would have little say in its running. "With 184 seats, Trinamool has a big majority. Although Congress has also done well in the election, its 42 seats are not significantly large," a PCC leader said. The possibility of Mamata offering Congress insignificant portfolios was also hanging heavy in the minds of PCC leaders. During negotiations for seat-sharing before the polls, some Congress leaders in the state had raised the question of alliance with dignity', but finally, at Sonia's intervention, the tie-up took place on Mamata's terms.
Had Congress been given a better deal in seat-sharing, it could also have done well, he indicated. "The success rate of Trinamool in the election is 80% against the success rate of Congress' 70%," he pointed out. "We were given only 65 seats to contest and we won 42."
A Trinamool source pointed out, however, that the success of the alliance was because of a Mamata wave' and Congress benefitted from it.
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DTN News - OSAMA BIN LADEN NEWS: Pakistan Hits Back Over US Mistrust On Osama Bin Laden’s Raid

DTN News - OSAMA BIN LADEN NEWS: Pakistan Hits Back Over US Mistrust On Osama Bin Laden’s Raid
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 16, 2011: The Pakistani government recently issued a statement hitting back over the so-called US mistrust over information about the successful raid on Bin Laden’s compound, which resulted in the death of the No. 1 Most Wanted terrorist in the world.
Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir immediately dismissed the statement of the CIA chief, but said that the mistrust of the US government becomes a very “disquieting” issue on the part of the Pakistani government. He said his government has played a “pivotal role” in dealing with terrorism; and that the CIA chief was entitled to his own views.
Bashir said that his government has been very extensively cooperative with the US anti-terrorism efforts. Sometime ago, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s national intelligence arm, was the one who identified the compound in Abbottabad as “suspicious”, and it was only the extensive use of resources of the CIA that finally determined that it was the hiding place of Bin Laden.
“As far as the target compound is concerned, ISI had been sharing information with the CIA and other friendly intelligence agencies since 2009,” Bashir added.
Earlier, CIA Chief Leon Panetta at a press conference said that Washington did not inform Islamabad about the raid thinking that the Pakistanis could have jeopardized the entire mission by alerting the targets.
Osama Bin Laden, 54 years old, founder and leader of the Al-Qaeda terrorist groups all over the world reportedly ordered the attack at the World Trade Twin Tower in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, which caused the death of more than 3,000 people as well as responsible for the series of bombing incident in the other parts of the globe.
A US Special Forces team member shot and killed Bin Laden during a surprise raid at his compound on Sunday at Abbottabad after he resisted capture.
Reports from the White House disclose that Bin Laden was unarmed when he was shot and killed after he resisted arrest from the raiding team of US Special Forces. A woman believed wife of Bin Laden sustained a wound in the leg when she also tried to rush on one of the members of the raiding team. A 12-year old daughter believed daughter of Bin Laden also survived while two couriers and a woman died during the raid.
The US government buried Bin Laden’s body in the sea after the appropriate conduct of traditional Muslim burial rite on board the US aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson.
Accordingly, the Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad is only a few hundred meters away from the Pakistan Military Academy, the premier military school in the country equivalent to Sandhurst or West Point.
Reports disclose that Bin Laden has been living inside the compound for about five years. Thus, it raised some questions about the Pakistani authorities, an analyst said.
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DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated May 16, 2011

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated May 16, 2011
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - May 16, 2011: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued May 16, 2011 are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS

AIR FORCE

The Boeing Co., Long Beach, Calif., is being awarded a $962,509,138 firm-fixed-price delivery order against the basic C-17 production contract (FA8614-06-D-2006) to procure five C-17 aircraft. At this time, $471,629,477 has been obligated. ASC/WLMK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8614-06-D-2006 DO 0006).

Atec, Inc., Stafford, Texas, is being awarded a $49,999,999 firm-fixed-price contract for the relocation of three T-9 Noise suppressors. Work will be performed at Aviano Airbase, Italy; Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.; and Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. Funds in the amount of $9,000,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. OC-ALC/PKEA, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity (FA8100-11-C-0010).

Northrop Grumman Intelligence Systems, Chantilly, Va., is being awarded a $9,771,302 contract modification to extend the Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload (ASIP) baseline contract to support the ASIP post-initial operational test and evaluation flight testing on the Global Hawk platform. Work will be performed in San Jose, Calif. ASC/WINK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-03-C-4318).

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $9,285,819 firm-fixed-price contract modification to provide a quantity of 389 MK-82 SAASM/AJ Joint Direct Attack Munitions under production Lot 15. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. AAC/EBDK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity (FA8681-11-C-0111, PO 0003).

The Boeing Co., Newark, Ohio, is being awarded a $7,136,587 contract modification to provide Minuteman III guidance repair. OO-ALC/AFNWC/PKME, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity (F42610-99-D-0006-0054).

NAVY

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Aerospace Systems Unmanned Systems, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $42,000,000 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-07-C-0041) to convert eight Army Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Navy configuration. Work will be performed in Moss Point, La. (71 percent), and San Diego, Calif. (29 percent), and is expected to be completed in February 2013. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Helber Hastert & Fee, Planners, Inc.*, Honolulu, Hawaii, is being awarded a maximum $10,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineer services contract for environmental planning services for projects and activities at various Navy and Marine Corps activities in the Pacific Basin and Indian Ocean areas. Task order 0001 is being awarded at $92,733 for engineering services required to include preparing an environmental assessment (EA) to address the proposed Wave Energy Technology Buoy Test Sites Project, and a project action statement providing a detailed discussion of the proposed action, alternatives, and issues to be addressed in the EA at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe, Hawaii. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by April 2012. All work will be performed in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific area of responsibility, other NAVFAC components, or other governmental agencies for which NAVFAC Pacific is tasked to provide assistance. The term of the contract is not to exceed five years, with an expected completion date of May 2016. Contract funds in the amount of $92,733 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the NAVFAC e-solicitation website with five proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-11-D-1800).

Navistar Defense, LLC, Warrenville, Ill., is being awarded $18,638,750 delivery order #0018, modification #0001, under previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for the procurement of 250 MaxxPro Dash ambulance engineering change proposals (ECP) and Dash Phase IV ECPs. Ambulance vehicles provide mobile and survivable ambulatory care for injured servicemen in theater. Work will be performed in Afghanistan, and is expected to be completed by the end of September 2011. Contract funds in will not expire by the end of the current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

SYSCO Eastern Maryland, LLC, Pocomoke City, Md., was awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum $22,500,000 for full food service for customers in North Carolina. Other location of performance is the North Carolina region. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Army National Guard. The date of performance completion is Dec. 10, 2011. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SMP300-11-D3443).

*Small business

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DTN News - ISRAEL ~ PALESTINIANS NEWS: Israeli Troops Clash With Protesters Along Borders

DTN News - ISRAEL ~ PALESTINIANS NEWS: Israeli Troops Clash With Protesters Along Borders
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 16, 2011: Israeli troops shot at Palestinian protesters along the border of Syria, Lebanon and Gaza Sunday killing at least 15 people as demonstrators marked the anniversary of Israel's creation.
Witnesses and Lebanese officials say Israeli troops killed 10 Palestinians and wounded more than 50 others when the troops fired on protesters to prevent them from crossing into Israel from Lebanon.
Demonstrators in Syria also tried to break through a border fence in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. A Syrian official and witnesses say Israeli troops opened fire, killing four and wounding at least 45.
Elsewhere, Palestinian medics and officials say clashes at protests along the border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip killed at least one person and wounded at least 60.
While outside Jerusalem, medical sources say more than 100 were injured when soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up a group of demonstrators throwing stones.
Also in Egypt, troops fired tear gas at several hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside of the Israeli embassy.
The Palestinian protests are marking what they call the "Naqba," or the "catastrophe." It describes the uprooting of Palestinian families at the time of Israel's creation in 1948.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address Sunday that Israel is determined to defend its borders.
The country heightened security in anticipation of unrest leading up to Sunday's protests.
U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said he deplored the loss of life. He called the violence one of the most serious incidents on the border between Israel and Lebanon since 2006.
Valerie Amos, who is U.N. Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, visited the West Bank and East Jerusalem Sunday. She met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah, where she reaffirmed the U.N.'s commitment to the Palestinian people's right to statehood and freedom from occupation.
More than 700,000 Palestinians are estimated to have fled or have been forced to leave their homes during the war that followed Israel's declaration of statehood in 1948.
Israel, which uses the Hebrew calendar, celebrated its 63rd anniversary last Tuesday.
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