DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: Dramatic Rescue From Flooded Athens

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: Dramatic Rescue From Flooded Athens

Source: DTN News 
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 23, 2013: Several hours of heavy rain and a thunderstorm in the Greek capital Athens have flooded roads and homes, caused traffic jams and disrupted the train and tram network, officials say.

The deluge inundated basements and forced authorities to close underpasses and a central subway station. The fire department said it had received at least 600 calls to drain water from houses and businesses.

Many of the city's streets remain ankle-deep in water.

"It was one of the worst thunderstorms we have ever had in the greater Athens area [since 1961]," fire department chief Sotiris Georgakopoulos told NET state television.

At one point the rainfall was so intense that parked cars were swept away by racing waters.

A young female driver died in a major flooding in Athens during heavy torrential rain on Friday morning, police authorities announced, as the weather conditions were gradually improving.

The 24-year-old victim had been stranded in her car in the flooded main street of a northern suburb of Athens and suffered a heart attack, according to police and hospital sources, local media reported.

The heavy rainfall, which had started in the early hours of Friday and was receding by afternoon, caused major floods in several parts of Greece's capital, material damages in cars and buildings, short power cuts, traffic jams and disrupted sea transports.

The Fire Brigade received approximately 1,000 telephone calls to evacuate motorists or pump out flooded basements of homes, office buildings and metro stations.

In a central Athens district, a derelict building collapsed without injuries. A female member of a technical team which was fixing a leak on the Greek parliament building's roof was slightly injured, when a metal part collapsed and she found herself hanging through a glass panel, local media reported.

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DTN News - FINANCIAL NEWS: Global Markets Jump After Greek Vote Eases Fears

DTN News - FINANCIAL NEWS: Global Markets Jump After Greek Vote Eases Fears
*Global markets jump as Angela Merkel tells election victor Antonis Samaras she is confident Greece will abide by bailout pledges, and world leaders gather in Mexico for the G20.
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources The Globe & Mail
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 18, 2012: Asian stock markets were up sharply Monday after elections in Greece eased fears of global financial turmoil, but analysts warned that the economic crisis shaking the 17 nations that use the euro was far from over. Stock markets rejoiced at the narrow victory by Greek conservatives who favour upholding an austerity program that their recession-mired country entered into in exchange for a financial bailout from international lenders.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.9 per cent at 8,731.57. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.6 per cent to 19,548.83. Australia’s S&P/ASX200 added 1.8 per cent to 4,129.20 and South Korea’s Kospi rose 2.1 per cent at 1,897.62.

On Wall Street, Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 62 points on Sunday night, suggesting the market could open higher Monday. The euro rose to $1.2700 (U.S.) from $1.2637 late Friday in New York. The U.S. dollar rose to 79.22 yen from 78.71 yen.

The New Zealand and Australian dollars were also higher. Both currencies typically rise when investors have more appetite for risk. The Australian dollar was trading above $1.01 and the New Zealand dollar was trading above 79 cents.

Masahiro Yamaguchi, a manager at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo, said the perk in Tokyo stocks came from a sense of relief that the worst had been avoided in Greece.

“There’s is a rebound simply because the risks are now reduced,” he said. “There’s a sense that, at least, things are okay for now. The solution is far from basic.”

On Sunday, pro-bailout parties in Greece won enough seats to form a coalition government.

Greece has been dependent on rescue loans to operate since May 2010, after it was shut out of international markets following years of profligate spending and falsifying financial data.

The country is mired in a fifth year of recession, with unemployment spiralling above 22 per cent and tens of thousands of businesses shutting down.

Greece had to agree to austerity measures to get its bailout. Measures included deep spending cuts on everything from health care to education and infrastructure as well as tax hikes and cuts in salaries and pensions. Anger at the measures has sent Greeks into the streets in frequent strikes and protests, some of them violent.

Some analysts said the election results could overstate the willingness of Greeks to embrace austerity.

“Overall, the Greek election result, while welcome, does not imply that the Greek people are embracing the tough reforms tied to the bailout package. It merely meant that fear overruled anger,” analysts at DBS Bank Ltd. in Singapore wrote in a market commentary.

No one is sure how bad a Greek exit from the euro would have been. Greece would almost have certainly defaulted on its debt, triggering losses for European banks that own its government bonds. The outcome of the election, however tenuous, gives Greece a chance to breathe life into its moribund economy.

“It will be tough, but Greece will survive because I think the tourist industry and the agriculture sector will help it recover from its dire straits right now,” said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong.

Japanese vehicle makers soared on hopes that Europe, a huge export market, would avoid deepening economic turbulence. Mazda Motor Corp. jumped 4 per cent and Yamaha Motor Co. gained 4.5 per cent.

Steelmakers and shipyards also gained ground. South Korea’s top shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries, rose 3.1 per cent. Japan’s JFE Holdings Inc. added 4 per cent and Kobe Steel rose 3.3 per cent.

Samsonite International SA rebounded 5.8 per cent after it issued a statement saying its luggage is safe, following a Hong Kong Consumer Council report last week that found carcinogens in the handles of some models, which caused its shares to dive 16 per cent.

But stock market operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. fell 2.8 per cent as investors worried a $2.2-billion bid announced last week for the London Metal Exchange was too high.

Benchmark oil for July delivery was up 91 cents to $84.94 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 12 cents to end at $84.03 a barrel in New York on Friday.

  DTN STOCK MARKET


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources The Globe & Mail
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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. DoD Awarded Contract $31,073,677 To General Dynamics Land Systems Related To U.S. Army For The Procurement Of 46 Abrams M1A2 System Enhancement Package V2 Vehicles

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS:  U.S. DoD Awarded Contract $31,073,677 To General Dynamics Land Systems Related To U.S. Army For The Procurement Of 46 Abrams M1A2 System Enhancement Package V2 Vehicles

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources DTN News / U.S. DoD issued No. 307-12 April 25, 2012
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 26, 2012: General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Mich., was awarded a $31,073,677 firm-fixed-price contract.  The award will provide for the procurement of 46 Abrams M1A2 system enhancement package V2 vehicles. 

Work will be performed in Lima, Ohio, Scranton, Pa., Anniston, Ala., and Tallahassee, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2014. 

One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-12-C-0198).

The M1 Abrams entered U.S. service in 1980, replacing the M60 tank. It served for over a decade alongside the improved M60A3, which had entered service in 1978. The M1 remains the principal main battle tank of the United States Army and Marine Corps, and the armies of Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Iraq in 2010.

Three main versions of the M1 Abrams have been deployed, the M1, M1A1, and M1A2, incorporating improved armament, protection and electronics. These improvements, as well as periodic upgrades to older tanks, have allowed this long-serving vehicle to remain in front-line service. The M1A3 is currently under development.

The M1A2 was a further improvement of the M1A1 with a commander's independent thermal viewer, weapon station, position navigation equipment, and a full set of controls and displays linked by a digital data bus. These upgrades also provided the M1A2 with an improved fire control system. The M1A2 System Enhancement Package (SEP) added digital maps, FBCB2 capabilities, and an improved cooling system to compensate for heat generated by the additional computer systems. The M1A2 SEP also serves as the basis for the M104 Wolverine heavy assault bridge.

Further upgrades included depleted uranium armor for all variants, a system overhaul that returns all A1s to like-new condition (M1A1 AIM), a digital enhancement package for the A1 (M1A1D), and a commonality program to standardize parts between the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps (M1A1HC).

The M1A2 SEP TUSK Abrams and a modernized M1 Abrams were included in the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) Analysis of Alternatives (AOA). Vehicles included in the AOA were determined to be inferior to the planned GCV. The U.S. Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli commended the M1 Abrams program and recommended a similar approach for the GCV program. The Ground Combat Vehicle family of vehicles is the planned successor to the M1 as well as many other U.S. Army vehicles. However, the Army anticipates that the M1A1 will remain in U.S. service until at least 2021, and the M1A2 to beyond 2050.

M1 Abrams ~ Operators (Source - Wikipedia)

•  Australia – Australian Army: 59 M1A1SAs (hybrids with a mix of equipment used by US Army and Marine Corps tanks, without depleted uranium layers in armor) tanks were bought from the United States in 2006, to replace the Leopard AS1 in 2007.

•  Egypt – Egyptian Army: 1,005 M1A1s. Tanks co-produced by the US and Egypt for the Egyptian army. Another 125 Tanks have been ordered.

•  Greece - Hellenic Army: 400 ex-U.S. Army M1 tanks offered to Greece.

•  Iraq – Iraqi Army: 140 M1A1Ms (downgraded, without depleted uranium layers in armor) on order, to be delivered by 2011. Iraq was leasing 22 US Army M1A1s for training in 2008. The first 11 tanks were delivered to the Iraqi Army in August 2010.

•  Kuwait – Kuwaiti Army: 218 M1A2s (downgraded, without depleted uranium layers in armor)

•  Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabian Army: 373 To be upgraded to M1A2S configuration in Saudi Arabia.

•  United States – United States Army and United States Marine Corps have approximately 8,725 M1, M1A1 and M1A2 variants combined in inventory.

US Army 1,547 M1A2 and M1A2SEP variants 4,393 M1A1 variants 2,385 M1 (reserve storage)

US Marine Corps 403 M1A1

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources DTN News / U.S. DoD issued No. 307-12 April 25, 2012
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DTN News - ISRAELI DEFENSE NEWS: The Israeli Red Flag

DTN News - ISRAELI DEFENSE NEWS: The Israeli Red Flag
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Strategy Page
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 24, 2012: For the third time in the last six months the Israeli Air Force has hosted foreign fighter pilots for tactical training. Israeli fighter pilots are considered the best trained in the world, and Israel maintains a special training program, complete with pilots trained and equipped to operate as likely foes would, to train their own pilots. The latest nation to send fighters and pilots for training is Poland, flying F-16s in for that purpose. Previously, Italy had sent Typhoons and Tornados and Greece F-16s.

The Israeli training center is based on the one pioneered by the U.S. Air Force Red Flag program and the U.S. Navy's Top Gun training. Using American aircraft for "aggressor (or dissimilar) training" began in the 1960s. The original "Top Gun" fighter pilot school was established in 1969, by the U.S. Navy, in response to the poor performance of its pilots against North Vietnamese pilots flying Russian fighters. What made the Top Gun operation different was that the training emphasized how the enemy aircraft and pilots operated. This was called "dissimilar training". In the past, American pilots practiced against American pilots, with everyone flying American aircraft and using American tactics. It worked in World War II because the enemy pilots were not getting a lot of practice and were using similar aircraft and tactics anyway. Most importantly, there was a lot of aerial combat going on, providing ample opportunity for on-the-job training. Not so in Vietnam, where the quite different Russian-trained North Vietnamese were giving U.S. aviators an awful time. The four week Top Gun program solved the problem. The air force followed shortly with its Red Flag school.

Over the last 40 years the two training programs have developed differently, and the entire concept of "dissimilar training" has changed. The navy kept Top Gun as a program to hone a fighter pilot's combat skills. The air force made their Red Flag program more elaborate, bringing in the many different types of aircraft involved in combat missions (especially electronic warfare). But after the Cold War ended it became increasingly obvious that none of America's potential enemies was providing their fighter pilots with much training at all.

In other words, the dissimilar training for U.S. fighter pilots was not as crucial as it had been during the Cold War. Actually, it had been noted that flying skills of Soviet pilots was declining in the 1980s, as economic problems in the USSR caused cuts in flying time. During that period American pilots were actually increasing their flying time. Moreover, U.S. flight simulators were getting better. American pilots were finding that even the game oriented combat flight simulators had some training value.

So in the late 1990s, Top Gun and Red Flag found their budgets cut. But the programs remain, as does the memory of why they were set up in the first place. If we find that, say, China is continuing to improve its combat aviation, and gives its fighter pilots more flying time and their politicians maintain a bellicose attitude towards the U.S., there will be a need to increase American Top Gun training. Because of the new Chinese "dissimilar training" effort, the U.S. Top Gun and Red Flag schools are being restored to their former prominence, and Israel has become one of the best Red Flag operations outside the United States. The Chinese move is certainly a very meaningful one, as it shows that they are serious about preparing their pilots to fight and defeat Taiwanese and American pilots. Dissimilar training is how that is done and for most nations Israel is the nearest place to get it.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Strategy Page
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DTN News - GREECE FINANCIAL CRISIS: Greece Set To Defy Protesters And Accept Eurozone Bailout Deal

DTN News - GREECE FINANCIAL CRISIS: Greece Set To Defy Protesters And Accept Eurozone Bailout Deal
*Violence erupts in Athens as MPs debate package of austerity cuts worth €3.3bn as country seeks to avoid defaulting on debt
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Ian Traynor, Europe editor, and Helena Smith in Athens - guardian.co.uk, Sunday 12 February 2012 
 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 12, 2012: Greece's parliament was expected to defy angry protesters on the streets of Athens and endorse a deeply unpopular package of savage austerity measures in order to try to avoid a sovereign default and retain the euro as its currency.

With eurozone leaders declaring it was time for Greece to put up or shut up and that Athens' promises could no longer be believed, Greece's two main political parties and the caretaker prime minister invoked apocalyptic scenarios for the country if the €3.3bn (£2.76bn) of cuts ordained by the eurozone were not supported.

Street battles between police firing rounds of tear gas and demonstrators hurling firebombs and marble slabs left Syntagma Square, the plaza in front of the parliament building, resembling a war zone. Rubbish bins burned as plumes of smoke and asphyxiating clouds of toxic chemicals filled the air.

Bangs could be heard inside parliament and the tear gas drifting across square reached the debating chamber. Last night several buildings has been set on fire, including a cinema, bank and a number of shops, and Greek television reported that dozens of citizens and at least 40 police officers had been injured.

Under a sea of banners denouncing further wage, pension and job cuts, tens of thousands of protesters chanted against "the occupation" of the country by foreign lenders keeping Greece afloat.

"The rebellion has begun," the veteran leftist Manolis Glezos told TV reporters. "These measures will never pass. They are a breach of our democracy," he spluttered, holding a surgical mask to his face against the fumes.

The prime minister, Lukas Papademos, warned ahead of the vote that wages and pensions would go unpaid, hospitals and schools would be devoid of funding, banks would collapse and people's savings would be lost if the 300 MPs rejected the terms set by the eurozone for receipt of a €130bn bailout.

Without the bailout – the second in two years – bankrupt Greece will be insolvent and have to default on its debt next month when it needs to redeem €14.5bn of loans.

"A disorderly default would throw the country into a disastrous adventure. It would create conditions of uncontrollable economic chaos and social eruption," Papademos said in a television address.

Despite six government resignations in recent days and the departure of the small extremist Laos party from the caretaker coalition, the two main parties – the Pasok socialists and the centre-right New Democracy – can muster a comfortable majority, although analysts predicted dozens of defections to the rejectionist camp. But in fiery exchanges in the chamber, finance minister Evangelos Venizelos warned: "If the law is not passed, the country will go bankrupt."

George Papandreou, the former socialist prime minister felled by the crisis last year, declared that Greece was at war and that it had to win. Antonis Samaras, the centre-right leader tipped to be prime minister after elections expected in April, also sought to rally his MPs behind accepting the deal after rejecting key details of the cuts for weeks.

With trust between Athens and its eurozone creditors, led by Germany, at an all-time low, the Greek government was told the time for pledges had run out.

"Greece's promises are no longer enough for us," said Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany's finance minister, who also spoke of the possibility of Greece leaving the euro.

"The Greeks have not quite managed to form a government supported properly by all the parties and therefore have not been able to tackle the necessary reforms as decisively as we would all like," said Schäuble.

While eurozone finance ministers are expected to agree to the €130bn bailout on Wednesday provided Greece meets its end of the bargain, Berlin is insisting that most of the money does not actually go to Greece but is held in a separate account and is used purely to service the country's debt.

EU ministerial sources said that account could hold up to 70% of the bailout funds. Such a move would be unprecedented and is likely to be contested. But the German proposal is also supported by France. By guaranteeing that Greece's creditors are repaid, there would be no default.

As part of the €3.3bn in savings ordered by the eurozone, the Greeks have to specify how a €325m overspend will be resolved. While the parliament was due to vote through the measures, it remained unclear where these extra savings were coming from.

A particularly neuralgic point in the savings has been the requirement to slash the minimum wage by 22%. "It's a big problem in Greece that the minimum wage is so high," said Schauble. "That's why there are so many black [illegal] workers. That wouldn't happen if they had a functioning administration."

As Greece's MPs prepared to vote on the austerity package, thousands of protesters remained on the streets of Athens denouncing the Germans and the EU. The demonstrations against austerity also spread to Portugal, the second of three eurozone countries trading hairshirt economics for a eurozone bailout, where tens of thousands came out in protest against collapsing living standards.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Ian Traynor, Europe editor, and Helena Smith in Athens - guardian.co.uk, Sunday 12 February 2012 
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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Israel Steps Up Greek Training Activities

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Israel Steps Up Greek Training Activities

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Arie Egozi - Flight International / FlightGlobal.com

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 6, 2010: Greece is the new foreign training zone for the Israeli air force, following the severance of the defence ties between Israel and Turkey.

The air force had over the recent years conducted training deployments in Turkey, up to sending full squadrons to Turkish air force bases.

But in the aftermath of the "peace flotilla" that sailed from Turkey to the Gaza strip and was intercepted by Israel's defence forces, all military ties between the countries have been cut.

At least four joint exercises combining Greek and Israeli combat aircraft have been performed in recent months, according to sources. The Israeli service is satisfied with the activity performed so far and is planning other deployments in the coming months, they add.

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