DTN News: Bill Clinton Greeted Warmly In N. Korea on Mission To Free 2 Journalists

DTN News: Bill Clinton Greeted Warmly In N. Korea on Mission To Free 2 Journalists

*Source: DTN News / AP

(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - August 4, 2009: North Korea welcomed former President Bill Clinton to Pyongyang with flowers and hearty handshakes Tuesday as he arrived in the communist nation on a surprise mission to bring home two jailed American journalists.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton arrives at Sunan airport in Pyongyang August 4, 2009. Clinton made a surprise visit to North Korea on Tuesday to try to win the release of two jailed U.S. journalists, a move some analysts said could mark the isolated state's return to dialogue over nuclear weapons.

Clinton landed in the North Korean capital in an unmarked jet. On arrival he shook hands with Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Kwan and the deputy speaker of parliament.

Footage from television news agency APTN showed Clinton bowing and smiling as a young girl presented him with flowers.

DTN News: Begum Khaleda Zia's Son Arafat Rahman Koko Challenges Trial In Corruption Case

DTN News: Begum Khaleda Zia's Son Arafat Rahman Koko Challenges Trial In Corruption Case *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) BANGKOK, Thailand - August 4, 2009: Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia's younger son Arafat Rahman Koko has challenged his trial for alleged corruption in two deals, one with German telecom major Siemens and the other with a Chinese firm. From his sick bed in Bangkok, Koko filed a writ petition in the high court challenging the legality of the proceedings of the case against him. The Anti-Corruption Commission March 17 filed the case against Koko, charging him with illegally transferring 2,884,603.15 Singaporean dollars and $932,672.81 to three accounts in Singapore banks. His lawyer argued that the alleged offences took place between 2001 and 2006, when Khaleda Zia was in power, but the case was filed against Koko under the Money Laundering Act 2009 that was enacted this year. No one can be tried for offences under a law that was enacted after the alleged offences took place, the petition said. Proceeding against Koko under the money laundering act was illegal as per provision of the constitution, since Koko has not been shown arrested in this case, The Daily Star said. Zia's elder politician son Tarique Rahman has also been charged with corruption. Both brothers were jailed for long and were granted bail on medical grounds. Tarique is currently in London receiving treatment.Zia was also detained in 2007-08. She lost the December 2008 polls badly and is now leader of the opposition.

DTN News: Hacker Training Has Become An Industry In China

DTN News: Hacker Training Has Become An Industry In China

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) BEIJING, China - August 4, 2009: In the last year, China has suffered a loss of a billion dollars because of hackers, and what has left authorities in Beijing very worried is a report that the training of hackers has become an industry, and generated an estimated income of 238 million Yuan in the same period.

According to a China Daily report, hackers have stolen people's bank account numbers and passwords and damaged the Internet users' computers and servers.

The National Computer Network Emergency Response Technique Team/Coordination of China warns that a large numbers of hacker schools have been set up-mostly online-around China. (The exact number remains unknown.)

"Lots of hacker schools only teach students how to hack into unprotected computers and steal personal information. They then make a profit by selling users' information," said Wang Xianbing, a security consultant for hackerbase.com. For investing hundreds of yuan in hacker school, students could obtain the skills to make a fortune, Wang said.

"Hacker school is a bit like driving school - they teach you how to drive but it's up to you if you are going to drive safely or kill someone," said Wang.

"Instructing people on how to hack into other people's computers to make profit is clearly a crime," said Li Xuxi, a lawyer from Beijing Zi Guang law firm.

Such hacker schools should be closed and those responsible, should be punished, said Li.

DTN News: China Cracks Down On Organized Terror Outfits In Xijiang

DTN News: China Cracks Down On Organized Terror Outfits In Xijiang

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) BEIJING, China - August 4, 2009: Police forces and state security agencies had prevented five organized terrorist attacks on civilians in China's far west Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China's anti-terrorism sources said Monday.

Armed Chinese paramilitary policemen in riot gear march out of their barracks before the start of Friday's Muslim prayers near the Dong Kuruk Bridge mosque in the city of Urumqi in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region July 17, 2009. Security remains heavy in ethnic Uighur neighbourhoods of Xinjiang regional capital Urumqi after riots on July 5 between the Muslim Uighur minority and majority Han Chinese wounded more than 1,600. The official Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday that 192 people were killed in the riots, and that around 1,000 people have been detained.

Police forces and state security authorities had successively crushed five organized terrorist plots in Urumqi, Kashgar, Aksu and Ili in Xinjiang.

Separatist "East Turkestan" terrorists both at home and abroad had been plotting attacks gainst civilians since the July 5 riot that left 197 dead and more than 1,600 injured in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang.

The recent attempted attacks would have "damaged social stability and ethnic unity", the Xinhua news agency quoted the sources, as saying.

Anti-terrorism agencies had captured "a group of suspects involved in the terrorist activities" but the number of people arrested was not given.

Also confiscated were "guns, controlled knifes, explosives and materials advocating violence and terrorism." Further details were kept under wraps.

DTN News: European Nations Save Eurofighter Program

DTN News: European Nations Save Eurofighter Program *Source: DTN News / UPI

(NSI News Source Info) MUNICH, Germany - August 4, 2009: European nations have signed a $13 billion contract for some 112 Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets. Ministers from Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain and representatives from a consortium of defense companies signed the deal on Friday. It represents a much-needed financial shot in the arm for a program troubled by rising construction costs and the economic crisis, which has tightened European defense budgets. The contract is good news for the planes' manufacturers, the German-Spanish European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Finmeccanica. It also includes a $2 billion jet engine order from a consortium made up of Britain's Rolls-Royce and MTU Aero Engines from Germany. Britain had reportedly threatened to bail out of the Eurofighter program but was ultimately convinced by the European partners to stay on board. Politicians across Europe hailed the deal. The German Defense Ministry said in a statement that the order secures thousands of highly qualified jobs in the European aviation industry until at least 2015 and improves export chances for the combat jet. "This is excellent news for both our armed forces and UK industry," Quentin Davies, British minister for defense equipment, was quoted by the BBC as saying. Because of its tight budget and a revision of its military planned for 2010, it's unlikely, however, that Britain will buy additional Eurofighters anytime soon. With the latest deal, the number of Eurofighter Typhoons in service and on order rises to 559. While critics argue the plane has been designed for Cold War-like conflicts and is now obsolete, major countries in Asia and the Middle East are still stocking up on fighter jets: Recently, Saudi Arabia bought 72 Eurofighters from Britain. And EADS, the driving force behind the program, is hoping that India will choose the Eurofighter for its planned $11 billion acquisition of 126 combat jets. Other planes placed in the bidding race are Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin's F-16 Fighting Falcon, the French-made Dassault Rafale, SAAB Gripen from Sweden and the Russian-produced Mikoyan MiG-35. The Business Standard reports that EADS will try to convince India to join a manufacturing partnership in the Eurofighter program, a rare expertise and job-sharing offer. "If India becomes the fifth Eurofighter partner, it will manufacture complete assemblies -- say, as a random example, the front fuselage and tail fins -- for every new Eurofighter across the world," the Business Standard writes. The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine canard-delta wing multirole aircraft, designed and built by a consortium formed in 1986. The maiden flight of the Eurofighter prototype took place in March 1994.

DTN News: Uzbekistan Condemns Russian Plans To Boost Troops In Kyrgyzstan, Where US Also Has Base

DTN News: Uzbekistan Condemns Russian Plans To Boost Troops In Kyrgyzstan, Where US Also Has Base

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) ALMATY, Kazakhstan - August 4, 2009: Uzbekistan has sharply criticized Russia's plan to boost its military presence in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, signaling a growing rift within a Moscow-dominated security alliance of ex-Soviet nations. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, left, and his Kyrgyz counterpart Kurmanbek Bakiyev, sign the copies of a joint memorandum on Russia's troops deployment in Kyrgyzstan during their meeting the resort town of Cholpon-Ata on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009. Russia clinched a tentative deal Saturday allowing it to establish a second military base in Kyrgyzstan, where the United States also has an important air base. Under the terms of a joint memorandum, Russia could significantly boost the number of troops it has deployed in the Central Asian nation for a period of up to 49 years. The Uzbek Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Monday that an increase in Russian troop numbers across its border could foment instability across Central Asia, a vast region located north of war-torn Afghanistan. Uzbekistan, which views itself as Central Asia's main military power broker, has traditionally been wary of Russia's efforts to dominate security in the region. Russia clinched a tentative agreement Saturday allowing it to open a second base and significantly boost the number of troops it has deployed in Kyrgyzstan, where the United States also has an important air base helping support operations in nearby Afghanistan. No specifics on the location of the base or the size of the deployment have been given, but it is expected that most of the troops will be stationed in Kyrgyzstan's south. That is on the fringe of the Ferghana Valley region that spreads across Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and served as an incubator of Muslim militancy over the past decade. The Uzbek Foreign Ministry said the deployment of Russian troops in the area "may lead to the strengthening of militarization and provoke various kinds of nationalist struggles." "It could also cause the appearance of radical extremist forces, which could lead to serious destabilization across this vast region," it said. All three countries in the region have seen a reported resurgence in militant activity in recent months. Uzbekistan has also resisted Russian efforts to form a NATO-style rapid-reaction force under the auspices of the Collective Security Treaty Organization — which also includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

DTN News: Australia Foils Terror Plot For Suicide Attack On Army Base, Arrests 4 Somali-Linked Suspects

DTN News: Australia Foils Terror Plot For Suicide Attack On Army Base, Arrests 4 Somali-Linked Suspects *Source: DTN News / Int'l News (NSI News Source Info) MELBOURNE, Australia - August 4, 2009: Police in Australia foiled a terrorist plot for commando-style suicide attacks on at least one army base, arresting four men Tuesday with suspected links to a Somali Islamist group, senior officers said. Australian police officers are seen at a house in the suburb of Glenroy in Melbourne, which was raided in connection to planned terror attacks August 4, 2009. Australian police have arrested several people in the southern city of Melbourne on suspicion of planning to carry out a terror attack, police said in a statement on Tuesday. "Police believe members of a Melbourne-based group have been undertaking planning to carry out a terrorist attack in Australia and allegedly involved in hostilities in Somalia," the statement said. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the plot was a "sober reminder" that Australia is still under threat from extremist groups enraged that the country sent troops to join the U.S.-led military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some 400 officers from state and national security services took part in 19 pre-dawn raids on properties in Melbourne, Australia's second largest city, police said. Four men, all Australian citizens of Somali or Lebanese descent and aged between 22 and 26, were arrested, and several others were being questioned Tuesday, police said. Australian Federal Police Acting Commissioner Tony Negus said the raids followed a seven-month surveillance operation of a group of people with alleged ties to al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida-linked Somali extremist organization that has been fighting to overthrow Somalia's transitional government. "Police will allege that the men were planning to carry out a suicide terrorist attack on a defense establishment within Australia involving an armed assault with automatic weapons," Negus told reporters. "Details of the planning indicated the alleged offenders were prepared to inflict a sustained attack on military personnel until they themselves were killed." Holsworthy Barracks on the outskirts of Sydney was one of the group's potential targets, and surveillance had been carried out at other bases, he said, declining to identify them. Negus said the investigation also found that some Australian citizens had traveled to Somalia "to participate in hostilities" there, and that the group was seeking a fatwa, or Islamic religious ruling, approving their plans for the Australian attack. Negus did not say whose approval was being sought.

DTN News: Cracks In Iranian Leadership Showing

DTN News: Cracks In Iranian Leadership Showing *Reform Movement Aims to Weaken an Already Nervous and Divided Regime in Wake of Disputed Election

*Source: DTN News / CBS By Elizabeth Palmer (NSI News Source Info) NEW YORK, USA - August 4, 2009: (CBS) Hoping to lift the curtain on a new political chapter, Iran's supreme leader today endorsed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's second presidential term - but cracks in the leadership are showing, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad kisses Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after receiving a certificate declaring him as president of the Islamic Republic of Iran from Khamenei in Tehran August 3, 2009. Iran's supreme leader formally approved the second term presidency of Ahmadinejad on Monday after a disputed election that leading reformists say was rigged to ensure the incumbent's victory.

Several prominent clergy boycotted the ceremony and the supreme leader avoided Ahmadinejad's move to kiss his hand, as is customary - leading to an awkward peck on the shoulder instead.

Over the weekend the regime staged another unconvincing show - a mass trial of about 100 prominent reformists, arrested after the disputed election in June - including Mohammed Ali Abtahi, a cleric and former vice president whom CBS News first spoke to in 2005 about his liberal blogging.

On Saturday, Abtahi appeared gaunt and agitated after six weeks in jail. He's just one of thousands arrested during post-election riots and protests - including students, lawyers and peaceful demonstrators.

Human rights groups agree more than 300 remain in detention. At least 30 are dead - like 19-year-old student protestor Sohrab Aarabi. The fate of an American scholar Kian Tajbaksh - and many others - remains unknown. "My heart goes out to everybody," said Princeton academic Haleh Esfandiari.

Esfandiari - who spent three months in a Tehran jail in 2007 - knows what those detained are facing. "I was alone in the cell 24 hours a day by myself - lights on all the time," Esfandiari said. "I was allowed out one or two hours a day."

But all the repression and arrests haven't crushed Iran's reform movement, which is planning more protests in the days to come - aiming to weaken an already nervous and divided regime.

DTN News: Google Woos IT Managers With Old-Tech Billboards

DTN News: Google Woos IT Managers With Old-Tech Billboards

*Source: DTN News / AFP (NSI News Source Info) SAN FRANCISCO, USA - August 4, 2009: Google on Monday resorted to old-time outdoor billboards in its quest to convince business IT managers to use software applications that the Internet titan offers as services online. Messages that will change each work day for four weeks debuted on billboards along major commute routes in Boston, Chicago, New York City and San Francisco, according to Google Creative Lab managing director Andy Berndt. "The billboards tell the story of an anonymous IT manager who gets so fed up with the typical IT status quo that his company eventually, you guessed it, goes Google," Berndt wrote in a message on the California firm's website. Motorola and Genentech are reportedly among more than 1.75 million businesses, schools and organizations that use Google Apps programs online instead of installing and maintaining software on their networks. The Google Apps suite includes calendar, document and email programs that compete with packaged offerings at the heart of Microsoft's software empire. Google charges businesses 50 dollars per worker per year to use programs it offers online, referred to as "in the cloud." Google Apps are offered free to individuals for personal use. The Internet giant recently declared its Apps suite out of test, or beta, status in a bid to assure businesses that they can rely on the services.

DTN News: EADS Defence & Security (DS) Wins The Contract To Expand Asia's Largest TETRA Network

DTN News: EADS Defence & Security (DS) Wins The Contract To Expand Asia's Largest TETRA Network *Beijing Government Shared TETRA Network to be further extended *Proven network helped to secure Beijing Games in 2008 *Helps to secure the 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China on October 1st, 2009

*Source: DTN News / EADS (NSI News Source Info) BEIJING, China - August 4, 2009: EADS Defence & Security and Beijing JustTop Communication Co., Ltd have signed the contract on the Phase-4 JustTop project for the Beijing Government Shared TETRA Network. Mr Su Zhenze, President of JustTop, and François Begaud, Head of Secure Networks APAC, were present at the signing ceremony.

According to the contract, EADS Defence & Security will deliver one TETRA DXTip, several TETRA third-generation base stations (TB3), and network upgrade services. Deliveries began in July 2009, and the system will be put into operation by August 2009. The expanded system will enhance network capacity and coverage ability. It is fully equipped to provide safe and reliable communications for the Beijing Government and Municipal Committee, the Public Security Bureau, traffic police, armed police, urban management, and other important organisations in Beijing during the People’s Republic of China 60th Anniversary Celebration on October 1st.

JustTop, Beijing Government Shared TETRA Network is the largest TETRA network in Asia and the largest city wide TETRA network in the world. It provides seamless and secured radio communications for the city of Beijing and environs. Presently, the network is used exclusively by the Beijing Urban Management and the Public Emergency Command and Dispatch Centre. The network has improved the efficiency of command and communications for government organisations and has repeatedly ensured city-wide communication of important events in the city, playing a critical role in major events in Beijing.

During the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing, the Beijing Government Shared TETRA Network experienced a high volume of users, high user density, high traffic load, high network tolerance, and trouble-free operation – unprecedented in the history of the Olympics. The system was also able to handle a very high volume of calls. The network received exceptional praise from the Beijing Government and Municipal Committee, BOCOG, and the Public Security Bureau, for providing secure and excellent communications during the high profile 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

The Phase-4 project expansion plan for the network will further enhance the network capacity and coverage in the city and improve the coverage for the suburbs, flatlands, counties, main roads leading out from Beijing, key tourist resorts, and other important regions. The plan will also provide superior network services for Beijing government users to serve the network needs for important large scale events, such as the upcoming 60th Anniversary Celebration of the People’s Republic of China.Beijing Government Shared TETRA Network is supervised and planned by Beijing Economic and Information Technology Commission, built and operated by Beijing JustTop Communication Co., Ltd, while EADS Defence & Security provides the network and radio terminals, network deployment, and support services. Beijing JustTop Communication Co., Ltd Beijing JustTop Communication Co., Ltd is a telecom service operator, specializes in digital trunking wireless communication services, and focuses on Beijing Government Shared TETRA Network. For additional information, please visit www.justtop.com. Beijing JustTop Communication Co., Ltd http://www.justtop.com/ About EADS Defence & Security EADS Defence & Security is a world leading provider of mission-critical communication and Command & Control solutions through its line of business Security and Communication Solutions. DS is a systems solutions provider for armed forces and civil security worldwide. Its portfolio ranges from sensors and secure networks through missiles to aircraft and UAVs as well as global security, service and support solutions. In 2008, DS – with around 23,000 employees – achieved revenues of € 5.7 billion. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2008, EADS generated revenues of € 43.3 billion and employed a workforce of about 118,000. For additional information, please visit www.eads.com