Saturday, March 31, 2012

DTN News - AZERBAIJAN DEFENSE NEWS: Azerbaijan Spent $1.6 Bln On Israeli Arms In 2011

DTN News - AZERBAIJAN DEFENSE NEWS: Azerbaijan Spent $1.6 Bln On Israeli Arms In 2011
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Ria Novosti 
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 31, 2012: Azerbaijan purchased a variety of weaponry, including aerial drones and an advanced anti-missile capable radar, from Israel under a $1.6 bln contract signed in 2011, the APA news agency said on Tuesday, citing data provided by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

According to the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database, Baku bought an unknown number of Gabriel anti-ship missiles, five Heron and five Searcher UAV’s, a Barak-8 air defense system with 75 missiles, and an EL/M-2080 Green Pine radar. Israel uses Green Pine for its national missile defense system.
Analitika.az website speculated that the purchases could be linked to a cooling in relations with Iran, after ties between Baku and Tehran deteriorated recently.
Last month, police in Azerbaijan said they had arrested an unspecified number of people linked to Iran and to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on suspicion of planning attacks in the country.
Tehran later accused Azerbaijan, which borders Iran and has friendly relations with the United States and Israel, of colluding with Israeli intelligence services in the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist in January.
At the end of February, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Tehran Javanshir Akhundov to explain the arms deal with Israel and to provide assurances that the Israeli weaponry would not be used against Iran.
Akhundov reportedly said the weapons were bought “to liberate occupied Azerbaijani land,” most likely hinting at the ongoing conflict with Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh which was seized from Azerbaijan by Armenian forces during a war in the 1990s.
Baku and Tehran attempted to soothe building tensions during a visit by Azerbaijan Defense Minister Safar Abiyev to Iran earlier in March when both sides made public assurances of good neighborly relations.
Israel has persistently denied any connection between current tensions in the Persian Gulf and military supplies to Azerbaijan. Israeli experts point out that such transactions take months, or even yearsto complete.

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*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Ria Novosti
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News - THAILAND NEWS: Bombs In Southern Thailand kill 14, Wound 341

DTN News - THAILAND NEWS: Bombs In Southern Thailand kill 14, Wound 341
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources  By Sumeth Panpetch, Associated Press
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 31, 2012:  Suspected Muslim insurgents staged the most deadly coordinated attacks in years in Thailand's restive south, killing 14 people and wounding 340 with car bombs that targeted Saturday shoppers and a high-rise hotel frequented by foreign tourists.

A first batch of explosives planted inside a parked pickup truck ripped through an area of restaurants and shops in a busy area of Yala city, a main commercial hub of Thailand's restive southern provinces, said district police chief Col. Kritsada Kaewchandee.
About 20 minutes later, just as onlookers gathered at the blast site, a second car bomb exploded, causing the majority of casualties. Eleven people were killed and 110 wounded by the blasts.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in Thailand's three southernmost provinces — Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala — since an Islamist insurgency flared in January 2004.
"This is the worst attack in the past few years," said Col. Pramote Promin, deputy spokesman of a regional security agency. "The suspected insurgents were targeting people's lives. They (chose) a bustling commercial area, so they wanted to harm people."
Most attacks are small-scale bombings or drive-by shootings that target soldiers, police and symbols of authority, but suspected insurgents have also staged large attacks in commercial areas.
Separately, a blast occurred at a high-rise hotel in the city of Hat Yai, in the nearby province of Songkhla, that officials initially attributed to a gas leak and said was unrelated to the attacks blamed on insurgents.
The midday explosion at the 405-room Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel, where throngs of Malaysian and Singaporean tourists spend their weekends, killed three people and caused about 230 injuries, mostly from smoke inhalation, said police Lt. Puwadon Wiriyawarangkun.
After inspecting the hotel's underground parking lot, authorities found a severely damaged sedan and a hole created by the explosion's impact.
Regional police chief Lt. Gen. Jakthip Chaijinda said the Hat Yai incident "is likely related to what happened in Yala and might have been plotted by the same group of insurgents."
Police said the blast that occurred at the underground level of the hotel had ripped the building's cooking gas pipeline, causing a fire that sent smoke spiraling into the upper floors and trapping many people in their rooms until rescuers came. One of the fatalities was identified as a Malaysian tourist.
A McDonald's restaurant on the hotel's ground floor appeared to have suffered heavy damage from the blast.
The hotel was also targeted in 2006, when four people including a Canadian man were killed by six bombs that had been planted on Hat Yai's main street. Hat Yai and the rest of Songkhla province have generally been spared the violence that has wracked Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.
In Saturday's third incident, suspected Muslim militants detonated a motorcycle bomb 50 meters (55 yards) away from a local police station in Pattani province's Mae Lan district, wounding one police officer, according to police Col. Tharet Kaewla-eiad.
The Yala bombings occurred on a road that was previously heavily guarded by checkpoints and closed to traffic to ensure safety. But the security was lifted in 2011 after local vendors said the measures harmed their businesses.
Initial accounts of the Yala attack cited three blasts with explosives planted in cars and motorcycles but officials later corrected themselves.
In October last year, suspected militants staged coordinated attacks at more than 30 spots across Yala city, killing three people and injuring more than 50. A month earlier, a trio of bombs hidden in vehicles hit a busy section of Sungai Kolok in Narathiwat province, killing four people and leaving more than 60 wounded.
Thai authorities have imposed a state of emergency since 2005 that gives security forces special powers to arrest and detain suspects in the three provinces. But the decree and a massive security presence have failed to curb the violence and little is known about the militants or their goals.
The insurgents have made no public pronouncements but are thought to be fighting for an independent Muslim state. The area used to be an Islamic sultanate until it was annexed by Thailand in the early 20th century.
Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani are the only Muslim-dominated provinces in the predominantly Buddhist country. Muslims in the area have long complained of discrimination by the central government.
Associated Press Writers Jocelyn Gecker and Thanyarat Doksone in Bangkok contributed to this report.

 
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*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Sumeth Panpetch, Associated Press
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
©COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DTN News - CANADA TODAY: Toronto Weather Report - March 31, 2012 By K. V. Seth

DTN News - CANADA TODAY: Toronto Weather Report - March 31, 2012 By K. V. Seth
Source: DTN News - - K. V. Seth
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 31, 2012: The whole month of March, 2012 - we had almost spring type weather even though a bit earlier that than expected also confusing the beautiful red Canadian Cardinal bird - I have seen singing on a tree in our garden. Believe or not, last night we had some snow, the white layer of snow looks so calm and serene with a fairy of sweet coolness in the environment.

On the other hand keeping in view with global climate changes, any thing is possible.

This winter we saw heavy snow in Europe and Japan, Romania had snow upto 15 feet covering entire villages and dwellings, the inhabitants had hard time digging themselves out from the white wintery snow for a fresh breath of  air or to see the blue sky. On the other side of the world, Aussieland ~ Australia was underwater with floods. The abnormal global climate changes are man made, we should implement and respect the resources of this planet and mother nature., else the cycle of unpredictment  will continue to drive changes in climate with heavy losses to human and materials.

In conclusion with a brighter day a ahead, we wish all our near and dear, friends on FB and acquaintances a HAPPY SPRING with lots of JOY and HAPPINESS.

Best wishes to all from Karam, Carina Seth & Family.


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*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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