DTN News: Yonex-Sunrise BWF World Championships 2009 ~ Chinese Bao Chun Lai Ousted From World Badminton Championships

DTN News: Yonex-Sunrise BWF World Championships 2009 ~ Chinese Bao Chun Lai Ousted From World Badminton Championships

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) HYDERABAD, India - August 10, 2009: Dicky Palyama of the Netherlands pulled off an upset at the World badminton championships Monday, beating 11th-seeded Chinese Bao Chun Lai in the men's singles opening round. "There was no pressure on me and I played freely," Palyama said after posting a 21-18, 21-14 victory in 36 minutes. "I knew Bao is a tough opponent, but my coach told me to keep cool. I knew I had a chance to win the match when I was leading in the second game." Bao conceded he was not at his best. "I didn't play my best game," said the Chinese. "I don't think I was on top of my game today. I could not find my rhythm." (Photo: Dicky Palyama) Third-seeded Peter Gade of Denmark stormed into the second round with an emphatic 21-11, 21-16 victory over Valeriy Atrashchenkov of Ukraine. "I was always in control of the match," said the 32-year-old Gade, looking for his first World title. "Obviously, I am looking for the gold. I know the toughest opponent will be Chinese Lin Dan. It is good that at this age I am able to compete well." Defending champion Lin proved too strong for unseeded Israeli Misha Zilberman, racing to a 21-9, 21-11 win in 23 minutes. "I don't consider myself as a favourite. I think Gade and (Malaysian) Lee Chong Wei are favourites," said Lin, aiming for his third successive title. "Shuttles are coming a bit slow but one has to adapt to the conditions." Lin and Gade are expected to clash in the quarter-finals. Wong Mew Choo of Malaysia needed just 19 minutes to down American Shannon Pohl 21-4, 21-6 in the women's singles opening round. Belgium's Lianne Tan, Susan Egelstaff of Scotland and Japanese Ai Goto also moved into the women's singles second round with straight-game wins.

DTN News: Yonex-Sunrise BWF World Championships 2009 Celebrate The Sport Of Badminton

DTN News: Yonex-Sunrise BWF World Championships 2009 Celebrate The Sport Of Badminton *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) HYDERABAD, India - August 10, 2009: 500 players from over 45 participating countries attended the Welcome Dinner for the Yonex-Sunrise BWF World Championships 2009 at Hyderabad on Sunday, August 9th. Hosted by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, the occasion was graced by Dr. Y.S.Rajashekar Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Government of India. Extending his best wishes to all the teams, the evening was celebrated with great pomp and show. The evening concluded with an oath taking ceremony with Saina Nehwal and V Diju promising to abide by the game and sportsmanship. Also present, were the organizers from Badminton World Federation and Badminton Association of India, together with the title presenters of the tournament, Yonex-Sunrise. Speaking on the occasion, said Mr. V.K. Verma, President BAI, “This is a great moment for us to celebrate and we wish all the teams the very best. Winning and losing is always a part of the game and we are sure to see some fantastic performances in this championship. May the best player win!” Added Dr. D. K. Seth, MD, Sunrise & Co. (PTE) Ltd, “The competition is going to be extremely challenging for teams and players but we believe that the preparations have been equally good. As we strongly believe in nurturing and grooming young talent in badminton, it is a delight to see these budding stars ready to face the competition. The BWF World Championships’09 is indeed a landmark event for India and we wish this becomes a strong platform for promoting other sporting events in our country!” The likes of Saina Nehwal, Lee Chong Wei, Peter Gade, Taufik Hidayat, Lin Dan, Tony Gunawan and many others will be competing against each other for the top honors.

DTN News: Brazil’s Mi-35M Attack Helicopter Passes Critical Review

DTN News: Brazil’s Mi-35M Attack Helicopter Passes Critical Review

*Source: DTN News / Defense Media

(NSI News Source Info) BRASILIA, Brazil - August 10, 2009: During the past month, the Critical Design Review of the Mi-35M attack helicopter (Brazilian designation: AH-2 Sabre) and of its flight simulator, both being acquired by the Air Force Command (Comaer) from the Russian companies Rosoboronexport (state firm responsible for the commercialization of defense materials), Rostvertol PLC (manufacturer of the helicopter) and Transas-Kronshtadt (in charge of its simulator). 12 Mi-35M (AH-2 Sabre) ordered in December 2008. Deliveries start in 2009 and finish in 2010. Since 1978, around 2,000 Mi-24s have been manufactured, 600 for export. In October 2007, defense-aerospace.com reported that the Saudi Arabian government had signed a contract for up to 150 Mi-35 and Mi-17 helicopters worth $2.2 billion.

With the objective of complementing the project’s Preliminary Design Review, which was carried out in April of this year at the Afonsos Aeronautical Material Park (Rio de Janeiro), the Critical Design Review was divided in two stages:

--the first, which took place July 8-17 in the city of Rostov-on-Don (Russia), during which questions relative to the helicopter were approached;

--the second, begun on July 20 and concluded four days later, in the city of Saint Petersburg (Russia), concentrated on issues relating to the flight simulator.

In the two phases of the meeting, the Air Force Command was represented by members of the Mi-35M Acquisition and Acceptance Committee, established in Russia, and by a technical team Working Group for the Introduction of the AH-2 in the Brazilian Air Force (GT Sabre), comprising military personnel from the General Command for Aerospace Technology (CTA), the Directorate of Aerospace and Combat Matériel (Dirmab) and the Airspace Control Department (Decea).

The meetings in Russia locked up the cycle of revisions of the project, and marked the beginning of the tasks that the Russian companies will have to complete before the delivery of the helicopters and simulators to the Brazilian authorities.

DTN News: Indian Navy Ordered Another Five Russian Kamov-31 Early Warning Helicopters

DTN News: Indian Navy Ordered Another Five Russian Kamov-31 Early Warning Helicopters

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - August 10, 2009: In a bid to strengthen the Navy's capabilities to detect airborne and surface-based maritime threats, Government has approved the acquisition of five Russian Kamov-31 early warning choppers.

In August 1999, the Indian Navy placed a firm order for four Ka-31 helicopters and a contract for an additional five was signed in February 2001. Total value of all nine helicopters is estimated at US $207 million. The first Ka-31 for the Indian Navy made its debut flight on 16 May 2001 and the first two of nine Ka-31 helicopters completed tests at the Kamov's Chkalovsky airfield near Moscow. The first batch of four aircraft was officially inducted into the Indian Naval Air Arm in April 2003 and the second batch arrived by the end of 2004. In Indian Navy service, these helicopters operate not only from aircraft carriers, destroyers and frigates but also from shore bases as well. Due to its limitations in terms of endurance, the helicopter will be fitted with a helicopter-to-helicopter in-flight refuelling capability. Also known as the Ka-29 RLD, the Ka-31 is a further development of the Ka-27 anti-submarine warfare helicopter. The Ka-31's wider fuselage - when compared to the cramped interior of the Ka-27/28 - offers greater accommodation space. It was reported on 12 September 2008, in Domain-B, that the Indian Navy plans to acquire five additional Ka-31 helicopters.

Defence Ministry officials said the Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS) at a meeting on Tuesday gave its approval for procuring these choppers, which can track 30-40 targets on ground and air simultaneously with its airborne electronic warfare radar, mounted on the underbelly of the chopper.

The deal for the five choppers between India and Russia is expected to be signed in the next couple of months, they said. Navy already has a fleet of nine Ka-31 helicopters, which are deployed on India's only aircraft carrier INS Virat and the Talwar Class Guided Missile frigates of the Navy.

They are also operated from Navy's shore based air stations. To modernise its air arm, the Navy is on a look out for various types of helicopters including the 10 tonne class multirole helicopters for which global tenders were released last year.

DTN News: U.S. to Hunt Down Afghan Drug Lords Tied to Taliban

DTN News: U.S. to Hunt Down Afghan Drug Lords Tied to Taliban

*Source: DTN News / The New York Times By James Risen

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - August 10, 2009: Fifty Afghans believed to be drug traffickers with ties to the Taliban have been placed on a Pentagon target list to be captured or killed, reflecting a major shift in American counternarcotics strategy in Afghanistan, according to a Congressional study to be released this week.

United States Marines raided a bazaar in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand Province last month to search for drugs and weapons.

United States military commanders have told Congress that they are convinced that the policy is legal under the military’s rules of engagement and international law. They also said the move is an essential part of their new plan to disrupt the flow of drug money that is helping finance the Taliban insurgency. In interviews with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is releasing the report, two American generals serving in Afghanistan said that major traffickers with proven links to the insurgency have been put on the “joint integrated prioritized target list.” That means they have been given the same target status as insurgent leaders, and can be captured or killed at any time. The generals told Senate staff members that two credible sources and substantial additional evidence were required before a trafficker was placed on the list, and only those providing support to the insurgency would be made targets. Currently, they said, there are about 50 major traffickers who contribute money to the Taliban on the list. “We have a list of 367 ‘kill or capture’ targets, including 50 nexus targets who link drugs and the insurgency,” one of the generals told the committee staff. The generals were not identified in the Senate report, which was obtained by The New York Times. The shift in policy comes as the Obama administration, deep into the war in Afghanistan, makes significant changes to its strategy for dealing with that country’s lucrative drug trade, which provides 90 percent of the world’s heroin and has led to substantial government corruption. The Senate report’s disclosure of a hit list for drug traffickers may lead to criticism in the United States over the expansion of the military’s mission, and NATO allies have already raised questions about the strategy of killing individuals who are not traditional military targets. For years the American-led mission in Afghanistan had focused on destroying poppy crops. Pentagon officials have said their new emphasis is on weaning local farmers off the drug trade — including the possibility of paying them to grow nothing — and going after the drug runners and drug lords. But the Senate report is the first account of a policy to actually place drug chieftains aligned with the Taliban on a “kill or capture” list. United States Marines on a recent raid in Helmand Province. Under a new policy, drug traffickers are subject to being killed. Lt. Col. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, would not comment on the Senate report, but said that “there is a positive, well-known connection between the drug trade and financing for the insurgency and terrorism.” Without directly addressing the existence of the target list, he said that it was “important to clarify that we are targeting terrorists with links to the drug trade, rather than targeting drug traffickers with links to terrorism.” Several individuals suspected of ties to drug trafficking have already been apprehended and others have been killed by the United States military since the new policy went into effect earlier this year, a senior military official with direct knowledge of the matter said in an interview. Most of the targets are in southern and eastern Afghanistan, where both the drug trade and the insurgency are the most intense. One American military officer serving in Afghanistan described the purpose of the target list for the Senate committee. “Our long-term approach is to identify the regional drug figures,” the unidentified officer is quoted as saying in the Senate report. The goal, he said, is to “persuade them to choose legitimacy, or remove them from the battlefield.” The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing delicate policy matters. When Donald H. Rumsfeld was defense secretary, the Pentagon fiercely resisted efforts to draw the United States military into supporting counternarcotics efforts. Top military commanders feared that trying to prevent drug trafficking would only antagonize corrupt regional warlords whose support they needed, and might turn more of the populace against American troops. It was only in the last year or two of the Bush administration that the United States began to recognize that the Taliban insurgency was being revived with the help of drug money. The policy of going after drug lords is likely to raise legal concerns from some NATO countries that have troops in Afghanistan. Several NATO countries initially questioned whether the new policy would comply with international law. “This was a hard sell in NATO,” said retired Gen. John Craddock, who was supreme allied commander of NATO forces until he retired in July. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the secretary general of NATO until last month, told the Senate committee staff that to deal with the concerns of other nations with troops in Afghanistan, safeguards had been put in place to make sure the alliance remained within legal bounds while pursuing drug traffickers. Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai, is also informed before a mission takes place, according to a senior military official. General Craddock said that some NATO countries were also concerned that the new policy would draw the drug lords closer to the Taliban, because they would turn to them for more protection. “But the opposite is the case, since it weakens the Taliban, so they can’t provide that protection,” General Craddock said. “If we continue to push on this, we will see progress,” he added. “It’s causing them problems.” In a surprise, the Senate report reveals that the United States intelligence community believes that the Taliban has been getting less money from the drug trade than previous public studies have suggested. The Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency both estimate that the Taliban obtains about $70 million a year from drugs. The Senate report found that American officials did not believe that Afghan drug money was fueling Al Qaeda, which instead relies on contributions from wealthy individuals and charities in Persian Gulf countries, as well as aid organizations working inside Afghanistan. But even with the new, more cautious estimates, the Taliban has plenty of drug money to finance its relatively inexpensive insurgency. Taliban foot soldiers are paid just $10 a day — more if they plant an improvised explosive device. Not all those suspected of drug trafficking will end up on the Pentagon’s list. Intelligence gathered by the United States and Afghanistan will more often be used for prosecutions, although American officials are frustrated that they still have not been able to negotiate an extradition treaty with the Afghan government. A major unresolved problem in the counternarcotics strategy is the fact that the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan remains wide open, and the Pakistanis are doing little to close down drug smuggling routes. A senior American law enforcement official in the region is quoted in the report as saying that cooperation with Pakistan on counternarcotics is so poor that traffickers cross the border with impunity. “We give them leads on targets,” the official said in describing the Pakistani government’s counternarcotics tactics, adding, “We get smiles, a decent cup of tea, occasional reheated sandwiches and assertions of progress, and we all leave with smiles on our faces.”

DTN News: France Condemns Mauritania Suicide Attack

DTN News: France Condemns Mauritania Suicide Attack *Source: DTN News / Reuters (NSI News Source Info) PARIS/NOUAKCHOTT - August 10, 2009: France Sunday condemned a suicide bombing at the French embassy in Mauritania that injured three people and vowed to fight groups committing such attacks. The bombing Saturday in Nouakchott came three days after Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who overthrew the Islamic state's first freely elected leader last year, was sworn in as president, promising to make the fight against al Qaeda a priority. No group has yet come forward to claim responsibility for the attack outside the embassy walls, which a witness said caused no major damage to the building. The three injured included two embassy guards, France's foreign ministry said in a statement. "France reiterates its determination to fight against terrorism together with the authorities and the people of Mauritania," it said. This summer has seen an upturn in violence in the normally peaceful former French colony. "An attempted suicide bombing is a new event in Mauritania, we have to be wary of this new type of threat," a senior Mauritanian security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "From now on we will have to take extra security measures, but even so, there is no such thing as zero risk," he added. In June, Al Qaeda's North Africa wing claimed responsibility for shooting an American aid worker in Nouakchott, saying it was in retaliation for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. French Secretary of State for Cooperation, Alain Joyandet, who lauded Abdel Aziz's anti-terrorist stance when he attended the president's inauguration, said France would help Mauritania in its fight against terrorism. "We can't not make a connection between this act and the inauguration of the president," he said on television channel France 3 Sunday. "France was delighted at the democratic election of the new president Aziz who made very strong declarations against terrorism," he said. "France is a historic partner of Mauritania and together we want to fight terrorism." (Writing by Daniel Magnowski; Reporting by Vincent Fertey in Nouakchott, Sophie Hardach and Elizabeth Pineau in Paris; Editing by Michael Roddy)

DTN News: Thailand TODAY August 10, 2009 ~ Two Muslim Village Chiefs Killed In Thai South

DTN News: Thailand TODAY August 10, 2009 ~ Two Muslim Village Chiefs Killed In Thai South *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) YALA, Thailand - August 10, 2009: Two Muslim village leaders were killed in drive-by shootings in Thailand's restive southernmost provinces, police said Sunday. A soldier stands guard over the body of an assistant village headman in southern Thailand's Yala province August 9, 2009. The assistant village headman was shot dead by Muslim militants while riding to town on a motorcycle with his wife, police said. The wife sustained injuries during the incident. The attacks took place at the weekend in Yala and Pattani, two of the three mainly Muslim provinces in predominantly Buddhist Thailand, which have been plagued by five years of separatist violence. Gunmen on a motorcycle killed an assistant village chief in the Muang district of Yala early Sunday, police said. Late Saturday, a village headman was shot dead in front of his home in Yaring, Pattani by unknown assailants riding in a pickup truck armed with M-16 assault rifles. The attacks came during a two-day visit to the region by Bangkok-based diplomats from member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Conference , the world's largest Muslim body, which has criticised Thai security forces for their handling of the conflict. The OIC demanded an end to attacks on Muslims after 11 were shot dead while praying in a mosque in southern Thailand in June. Close to 3,500 people have been killed since 2004 in Thailand's deep south. The 30,000 troops deployed to the region, which was once an independent Malay-Muslim sultanate, have made little progress towards quelling the unrest.

DTN News: Israeli Warplanes Strike Gaza Strip

DTN News: Israeli Warplanes Strike Gaza Strip *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) ANKARA, Turkey - August 10, 2009: Israeli warplanes have bombed a tunnel near Rafah City along the Gaza Strip border with Egypt, Palestinian security officials say. The air strike, the first since June 14, happened in the early hours of Monday morning. This is while on Sunday, apparent Palestinian mortar attacks targeted the Karni and Erez border crossings between the Gaza Strip and Israel without causing any casualties or damage. Israel claims that more than 200 rockets and shells have been fired from Gaza since Israel's 23-day invasion of the Gaza Strip in December and January. Operation 'Cast Lead', which led to more than 1,400 Palestinian deaths, most of them civilians, and which devastated swathes of the coastal strip, was allegedly aimed at ending the firing of rockets from Gaza.

DTN News: Indonesia Awaits DNA Test To Confirm Terror Leader's Death

DTN News: Indonesia Awaits DNA Test To Confirm Terror Leader's Death

*Source: DTN News / AFP

(NSI News Source Info) JAKARTA, Indonesia - August 10, 2009: Indonesian police said Sunday it could take two weeks to confirm the death of Asian terror mastermind Noordin Mohammed Top, who was reported killed in a dramatic standoff with police special forces. Indonesia awaits DNA test to confirm terror leader's death. Police chief Danuri said they had rigged a small truck as a bomb and were planning to launch a suicide attack against Yudhoyono's main residence, which is a 12-minute drive away. The Islamist was killed Saturday morning in a hail of gunfire and explosions from US-trained counter-terrorism forces who had surrounded his suspected hideout in remote Beji village, Central Java, according to local media. The 17-hour siege of the farmhouse was the culmination of a series of raids and arrests of his accomplices which uncovered a plot to attack President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's home outside Jakarta, police said. Police called on people to remain vigilant and stressed their counter-terrorist operations were ongoing, as the military stepped up security for the president. "We have optimised and increased security for him and his family," military spokesman Sagom Tamboen said. "Based on the police information that there is a cell group that wanted to attack RI-1 (Yudhoyono), then we act according to the situation." National police spokesman Nanan Soekarna said it could take two weeks to confirm whether Noordin was killed as heavily armed police riddled the squat farmhouse with bullets and explosions on Saturday morning. "The whole process of DNA testing will take two weeks. It's a standard procedure," he said. "The test is being conducted at the Kramat Jati police hospital," he added, referring to a hospital in Jakarta where the body of the militant found in the farmhouse was taken after the siege. National police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri said late Saturday that the identification process would take less than a week. Noordin, 40, a Malaysian Islamist, has been blamed for multiple terror attacks against "iconic" Western targets in Indonesia which have killed around 50 people and injured hundreds since 2003. The latest were believed to have been the July 17 twin suicide bombings on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in the capital, which killed seven people including six foreigners, plus the two bombers. A member of the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror group responsible for the 2002 Bali attacks which killed more than 200 people, he split to form his own even more violent network to "defend Islam" from perceived injustice. The self-proclaimed leader of "Al-Qaeda in the Malay Archipelago" was one of Asia's most wanted men and had a 100,000-dollar bounty on his head from the Indonesian government, who saw him as public enemy number one. The police raid on his suspected hideout overshadowed other operations including the arrest of five of Noordin's alleged accomplices and the uncovering of a major bomb factory in Bekasi, outside Jakarta. Two would-be suicide bombers were shot dead by police early Saturday at their rented house in Bekasi as they tried to resist arrest, police said. Police chief Danuri said they had rigged a small truck as a bomb and were planning to launch a suicide attack against Yudhoyono's main residence, which is a 12-minute drive away. The attack had been planned to take place around Indonesia's Independence Day on August 17, and had been ordered by Noordin during a meeting on April 30 as revenge for the execution of the Bali bombers late last year, Danuri said. Yudhoyono opened an international conference on AIDS/HIV in Asia and the Pacific on the resort island of Bali late Sunday. "In the last few days, our security forces were able to raid some of the (terrorists') hiding places, kill them in shootouts and seize explosives. We will keep hunting them and we will remain vigilant," he said in a speech. Police have come close to arresting Noordin several times in the past and have captured or killed some of his closest associates during a six-year manhunt. Analysts said his death would be a blow to his network, estimated to number as few as 30 hardcore cadres, but would not end the terror threat in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country. "Every time there was an attack, there were new accomplices," Institute for International Peacebuilding researcher Taufik Andrie said. "There are several people who have the potential to replace Noordin." He said he doubted the reports that Noordin had been killed. "The dead guy doesn't seem to be Noordin. He has impeccable instincts for evading police raids," he said.

DTN News: Singapore TODAY August 10, 2009 ~ Singapore Celebrates 44th Birthday With Party By The Bay

DTN News: Singapore TODAY August 10, 2009 ~ Singapore Celebrates 44th Birthday With Party By The Bay

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) SINGAPORE - August 10, 2009: Singapore celebrated its 44th birthday with a massive party by the bay — the National Day Parade (NDP) at the Marina Bay Floating Platform. Over 27,000 people watched the NDP from the parade stands while thousands more caught the show around the bay area, on television and online. It was a sea of red and white at the parade ground as the nation gathered for its biggest party of the year. In the early part of the show, three F—16s swooped across the bay in what is known as the salute to the nation, wowing the crowd. There was also a thrilling police boat chase on the Singapore River just metres away from the crowd, and some spills too — literally — with a Chinook flying low over the water. Then it was all eyes on the skies as the audience caught the freefallers parachuting down to the parade ground. Pomp and ceremony came in the more formal part of the show, with the guard—of—honour inspection by President SR Nathan as well as the 21—gun salute. There was also a march past that for the first time saw contingents marching along a 3.2km stretch of road and past famous city landmarks just outside the bayfront area. In addition, a staple at these annual shows — cultural performances to underscore the country’s multi—ethnic mix, but with enough twists to keep the crowd entertained. And what’s a party without music? Local rock band Electrico performed their special composition for the occasion "What Do You See?". Then in a special moment for a country which has been through some turbulent times this year, the bayfront turned silent at exactly 8.22pm for the participants to recite the national pledge. It was the exact moment when organisers hoped, for the first time, all Singaporeans — even those outside the parade ground — would stop what they were doing to put their hand on their heart and recite the pledge. Following that was an explosive finale to the parade as the brilliant fireworks display lit up the skies and dazzled the audience. Singaporeans weren’t the only ones celebrating the country’s 44th birthday. Tourists and expatriates were also at the NDP party, and they were impressed. "This is on a very big scale compared to local carnivals....." said a British woman. "I like how everyone’s here for one cause.....there are so many different races," said an American man. The parade may be over but the party has only just begun for many others. In fact, hundreds of performers were dancing the night away, and they’ve got every reason to celebrate, having put on such a great show — full of colour, music and action.