Zimbabwe....The country is going down the HILL!!!!

Zimbabwe's annual inflation is 2.2 million percent

18 Jul, 08: A Zimbabwean policeman stands guard in Harare a few moments President Mugabe arrives to open a "People's shop", where cheap food is sold, on Wednesday. Annual inflation is now 2.2m%.

Pope urges unity against terror

Pope urges unity against terror July 18, 2008: Pope Benedict XVI calls for all religions to unite against terror. Pope Benedict XVI has called for all religions to unite against terrorism and resolve conflicts peacefully. The Pope was speaking after meeting leaders from other religions, including rabbis and Muslim clerics, in Australia for the Catholic World Youth Day. He has not yet made a public apology, as he is expected to, to victims of sexual abuse by priests. After he spoke, there were recreations around the city of the last days of Christ, including his crucifixion. "In a world threatened by sinister and indiscriminate forms of violence, the unified voice of religious people urges nations and communities to resolve conflict through peaceful means and with full regard for human dignity," the Pope told the inter-religious gathering. He also said the Catholic Church was ready to learn from other religions. "The Church eagerly seeks opportunities to listen to the spiritual experience of other religions." Relations with Muslims took a turn for the worse in 2006 when Pope Benedict quoted a 14th-Century Byzantine emperor in remarks that were taken by some Muslims to imply that Islam was a violent religion.

Abuse scandal The Pope earlier met with leaders of other Christian denominations, where he called on them to fight for unity within the Christian faith. "I think you would agree that the ecumenical movement has reached a critical juncture," he said at the meeting in Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral. "We must guard against the temptation to view doctrine as divisive and hence an impediment to the seemingly more pressing and immediate task of improving the world in which we live." He spoke as bishops from the worldwide Anglican communion gathered in England amid splits between liberal and conservative elements over the role of gays and women in the Church. After the two meetings, there was public spectacle as the last days of Christ, including his crucifixion, were re-enacted in the stations of the cross in various locations around Sydney. But there has not been any public apology - as has been expected - for victims of the paedophile sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the church. In Australia there have been 107 convictions against priests for sexual abuse of children and other members of the Church. The Pope received a rapturous welcome from about 200,000 young Catholic pilgrims on Thursday as he arrived in Sydney for the beginning of the six-day youth festival. Addressing tens of thousands of young Catholics, he attacked popular culture and consumerism. The pontiff also warned that natural resources were being squandered and called for greater protection of the environment for future generations. He will stay in Australia until Sunday, when he is to preside over an open-air Mass at Sydney's Randwick Racecourse before hundreds of thousands of pilgrims.

Family celebrates double degrees

Family celebrates double degrees July 18, 2008 - England: A mother and daughter with strong Indian connections have both graduated with the same degree from the same English university. Amrat Bhogal, 43, and Gurpreet, 21, from the English city of Birmingham, each completed a three-year BSc optometry course at Aston University. Mrs Bhogal told the BBC that she was inspired to take the degree in part because of her Indian heritage. She said she inherited her work ethic from her parents in Punjab state. "I am proud that my family came from India, proud to be a woman and proud to be Asian," Mrs Bhogal said after receiving her degree. "Although my parents came to live in England from Punjab in 1947, they instilled in me the discipline to work hard which they themselves had learnt in India." Mrs Bhogal said that she was also inspired to take the degree by her husband, Jaswant, whose mother still lives in the state of Uttar Pradesh. She said that will now work as an optician with her husband at their shop in Birmingham while her daughter has a job with another optician nearby. Her daughter said that during the course she and her mother sat next to each other in lectures and had lunch together. "My mum and I are like sisters, rather than mother and daughter, so I didn't feel uncomfortable about us taking the same course together," Gupreet said. Mrs Bhogal said that she and Gurpreet did not plan to enrol on the same course together at the same time - "it just happened like that". She said her daughter had been a great friend to her throughout the course in the true Indian and Asian tradition of valuing family members. "We've always had a great relationship and, although I gave her the space I thought she needed, the support we gave each other throughout the three years was invaluable."

India to discuss nuclear security

India to discuss nuclear security

18 July, 2008: Indian officials are due to meet members of the world nuclear regulatory body to discuss plans to safeguard India's civilian nuclear facilities. The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) approval of the plan is a key condition for enacting a nuclear deal between India and the US. Left-wing parties in India withdrew support for the governing coalition in protest against the deal. The government says it is needed to meet soaring energy demands. Delhi is under pressure from Washington to sign the accord before the US presidential elections in November. India has to sign a "safeguards agreement" with the IAEA before it can go ahead with the deal. Under the terms of the accord, India would get access to US civilian nuclear technology and fuel. In return, Delhi would open its civilian nuclear facilities to inspection - but its nuclear weapons sites would remain off-limits.

Restrictions If the IAEA signs the agreement, the deal will go to the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, which regulates global civilian nuclear trade, for approval. India's communists oppose a partnership with the US. It must then by okayed by the US Congress before President Bush can sign it into law. Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon will lead a team of officials in Vienna on Friday to brief member countries of the IAEA and Nuclear Suppliers group on the planned safeguards. US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns will also be in Vienna during the weekend for "some consultations at the IAEA relating to the nuclear deal [with India]", according to State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. A special meeting of the 35-nation IAEA board of governors on the safeguards agreement will take place on 1 August. A restricted draft of India's plans for safeguarding nuclear facilities has been already given to IAEA member nations ahead of the meeting. Some critics who have seen the draft have said several points in it appear to restrict international monitoring of India's atomic programme.

The US restricted nuclear co-operation with India - which has not signed the 1972 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) - after it first tested a nuclear weapon in 1974. Critics of the deal fear assistance to India's civil programme could free-up additional radioactive material for bomb-making purposes. Meanwhile, left-wing parties in India have launched a national campaign against the nuclear deal. The governing coalition, which has now been reduced to a minority after its communist allies withdrew support, will seek a vote of confidence on 22 July. If the government loses the vote, India faces early elections and the nuclear deal would probably be scuttled.

NUCLEAR POWER IN INDIA India has 14 reactors in commercial operation and nine under construction Nuclear power supplies about 3% of India's electricity By 2050, nuclear power is expected to provide 25% of the country's electricity India has limited coal and uranium reserves Its huge thorium reserves - about 25% of the world's total - are expected to fuel its nuclear power programme long-term Source: Uranium Information Center

AFGHANISTAN Rediscovering treasures of Bamiyan

When the Buddhas of Bamiyan were carved out of the mountainside, the Roman Empire still held sway. July 18, 2008: They towered over a rich valley in what is now central Afghanistan, where caravans of traders would stop and rest on the Silk Road as they transported goods between east and west. For centuries the two huge statues stood guard over Bamiyan. But in 2001, just months before they were forced from power, the Taleban dynamited what they considered un-Islamic representations of the human form. Today all that remains are the recesses where they stood, and the labyrinth of fragile caves surrounding them. Iconic art Today there isn't even a paved road connecting the valley to Kabul, but yet inside the caves are a reminder of Bamiyan's past wealth and glory and a new claim to fame that could put the province back on the map. Inside those caves the steep, narrow steps are crumbling, there are cracks in the mud tunnels carved into the mountainside, and still visible high in the echoing chambers are pieces of Buddhist iconic art which are now thought to be the oldest oil paintings in the world. Only a few fragments of the ancient paintings remain Japanese, European and American scientists restoring the cave murals dating back to around 650AD, discovered oil was used in the paint. Yoko Taniguchi, one of the Japanese experts working on the caves, told reporters this is the earliest known use of this technique in the history of art. She said it was previously thought the technique originated in Europe during the Renaissance, eight centuries later. But wandering through the Buddhist temples carved out of the rock, there is little left of the murals destroyed in the last 30 years of war after surviving for centuries. A tourist guidebook to Afghanistan written in the 1960s and 70s by Nancy Dupree, a famous traveller who dedicated much of her life to the country, gave an account of the artwork as it was then. Fragments "The rest of the hall is elaborately decorated in a varied palette of burnt sienna, green, lapis lazuli blue, and yellow ochre depicting flowers, trees, stylised floral sprays, cornucopias and figures of kneeling worshipers," she wrote. "A series of Buddhas dressed in sombre-hued maroon robes and framed with aureoles against an azure background walk on lotus pads set among flowers." Most paintings have heads and hands missing There's little evidence of this today apart from a few scraps of colour and detail here and there, but there are isolated caves higher up the mountain, impossible to get to without a rope, where some of the best examples still survive. A combination of the vibration from artillery shells, the Taleban chiselling away the depictions of faces and hands, and looting put paid to most of the paintings. But there are enough fragments left to give a hint of what it must have been like. The views from the caves looking out over the valley are stunning and there is another twist to the story of the Buddhas of Bamiyan. A Buddhist pilgrim wrote around the time the paintings were finished in the mid seventh century of the amazing statues - but he described three. According to his account, the third reclining Buddha was a 1,000 feet long and lay on the valley floor. It would be remarkable if it was buried beneath the river sediment and two teams of archaeologists, one from France another from Japan, are in a race to find it. It sounds like an Indiana Jones film, but there have been many interesting archaeological discoveries in Bamiyan and this beautiful valley may not yet have revealed all its secrets.

Brazil Launches Plan to Buy New Jet Fighters

Brazil Launches Plan to Buy New Jet Fighters

17 July 2008: Brazil's air force has launched the process to buy at least 36 fighter jets as part of a broader plan to modernise after most of its neighbours overhauled their fleets, officials said on Thursday. Brazil wants to buy and build equipment to defend offshore oil assets and a porous Amazon border threatened by armed drug-traffickers and foreign guerrillas. In February, Colombia ordered 24 Kfir bomber jets from Israel, while Venezuela acquired 24 Russian Sukhoi jets and said last month it is considering buying more. Chile bought new Boeing F-16s and Peru decided to upgrade its jets. Upon taking office in January 2003, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva scrapped plans to replace aging Mirage jets, saying he would use the money to feed the poor. Now, the air force wants a multi-role fighter to replace its entire fleet of fighter jets over the next 15 years. That could increase the size of the order to more than 100 aircraft. It chose six manufacturers to participate in the procurement process and last month requested information on their aircraft, the air force press department said. The six selected models are Boeing's F-18 Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II, Dassault's Rafale, Sukhoi's SU-35, Saab's Gripen and Eurofighter's Typhoon. Brazil is seeking a generous technology transfer package, possibly including local assembly, to help develop its own aviation industry and perform maintenance of the aircraft. "Technology transfer is not a problem. Eurofighter has a history of partnership with its clients," said Valerio Bonelli, spokesman for Alenia, a partner in the Eurofighter consortium. Boeing and Lockheed said they also were willing to support local industry development. "The F-35 was designed from the outset to be an exportable product and the program has broken a lot of ground in the technology transfer realm," said John Kent, a spokesman for Lockheed Martin. But the US Government, which would buy the aircraft from Boeing or Lockheed and sell it to the Brazilian Government, has the last word on technology transfer. Brazil has been leading an effort to create a South American Defense Council to help coordinate arms purchases. Though many of its neighbours have recently renewed their fleets, some manufactures still see Latin America's largest economy as possible regional defence hub. "Brazil is an emerging market and a potential export base for us," said Damian Hills, spokesman for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. Brazil is already negotiating a strategic defence alliance with France, including the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine in Brazil.

Pentagon Approves up to $4.2bn in Arms Sales

Pentagon Approves up to $4.2bn in Arms Sales 17 July 2008: The US Defense Department said on Tuesday it had approved sales of aviation fuel, missiles and other weapons valued at $4.2bn to seven US allies, including Israel, Australia, Singapore and Germany. The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees major arms sales, said it notified Congress about seven separate deals in recent days. Lawmakers have 30 days to block the sales, although such action is rare since such arms deals with US partners are carefully vetted before the Pentagon ever announces them. The deals unveiled on Tuesday were: ISRAEL The Pentagon said it was prepared to sell Israel unleaded gasoline, JP-8 aviation jet fuel and diesel fuel valued at up $1.3bn, if all options were exercised. AUSTRALIA The DSCA said it had approved the sale to Australia of the Aegis combat system and associated equipment, including launchers, radars and a fire control system, in a deal valued at up to $700m if all options were exercised. Principal contractors for the deal would be Lockheed Martin Corp, Raytheon Co and Northrop Grumman Corp. SINGAPORE The Pentagon said it was ready to sell Singapore up to $962m in advanced missiles, satellite-guided bombs, night vision goggles and other weapons. The deal includes 72 AIM-120C-5 Advanced Medium Range Air- to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), 128 AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM, 50 MK-82 Joint Direct Attack Munitions, 71 night vision goggles, 236 AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles and 50 fighter data link terminals. GERMANY If approved, Germany would get up to $250m in continued base serves for German Air Force Tornado aircraft operations at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. The air base is the only location where the German Air Force trains air crews in Tornado aircraft operations and tactics, a cooperative agreement that began in 1989. MOROCCO The DSCA said it had approved the sale of up to $155m in AMRAAM missiles, Sidewinder missiles and various bombs for Morocco. The main contractors would be Lockheed, Raytheon and Boeing Co. FINLAND Finland had also requested the sale of up to 300 AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM missiles and associated services, a deal valued at up to $435m if all options were exercised, according to the Pentagon agency. The prime contractor for that deal would be Raytheon as well, it said. QATAR Finally, the Pentagon said it had approved the sale to Qatar of logistics support and training for two Boeing C-17 transport planes, in a deal valued at up to $400m. Boeing would be the prime contractor.

BAE Seals Seawolf Air Defence Deal

BAE Seals Seawolf Air Defence Deal 17 July 2008: BAE Systems has won a £141m contract by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to maintain the Seawolf air defence system on board the Royal Navy's Type 22 and Type 23 frigates. The Seawolf system is a fully automatic, all weather, naval point defence missile system designed to protect surface ships from airborne attack. The SWISS (Seawolf In Service Support) Contract for Availability (CfA) awarded to the missile systems company MBDA is expected to sustain the capability of the Seawolf system and ensure its readiness and availability until the end of 2017, said BAE. BAE Systems has been providing in service support for the Seawolf radars and command and control systems since 1979.

Land Rover WOLF

A patrol of WOLFs – there is very little protection from roadside attack.

Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank, Germany

Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank, Germany

The Leopard 2 is a main battle tank developed by Krauss-Maffei AG, now Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), of Munchen, Germany. The Leopard 2 is a successor to the successful Leopard 1. "The Leopard 2 is a main battle tank developed as the sucessor to Leopard 1." LEOPARD 2 PROGRAMME The Leopard 1 was first produced in 1963 by Krauss-Maffei for the German Ministry of Defence and more than 6,000 vehicles have been exported to Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey and Australia. The successor to the Leopard 1, the Leopard 2, was first produced in 1979 and is in service with the armies of Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden and Spain, with over 3,200 produced. The Finnish Army is buying 124 and the Polish Army 128 used Leopard 2A4 tanks from Germany. In August 2005, Greece placed an order for 183 used Leopard 2A4 and 150 Leopard 1A5 tanks from German Army reserves. In November 2005, an agreement was signed for the sale of 298 German army Leopard 2A4 tanks to Turkey. Deliveries are planned from 2006 to 2007. In March 2006, Chile signed a contract for the acquisition of 140 Leopard 2A4 tanks from the German Army. The first was delivered in December 2007. The Leopard 2A6 includes a longer L55 gun, an auxiliary engine, improved mine protection and an air-conditioning system. The German Army is upgrading 225 2A5 tanks to 2A6 configuration, the first of which was delivered in March 2001. The Royal Netherlands Army upgraded 180 of its 2A5 tanks to 2A6 configuration, the first of which entered service in February 2003. In March 2003, the Hellenic Army of Greece ordered 170 Leopard 2 HEL (a version of the 2A6EX). 30 are being assembled by KMW, the remainder by ELBO of Greece. The first locally built tank was delivered in October 2006. Spain has ordered 219 Leopard 2E (a version of the 2A6 with greater armour protection), 16 recovery tanks (CREC) and four training vehicles. The first 30 are being built by KMW and the rest are being license-built in Spain by General Dynamics, Santa Barbara Sistemas (GDSBS). The first tank was handed over to the Spanish Army in June 2004 and deliveries should complete in 2008. Another variant is the Leopard 2(S), which has a new command and control system and new passive armour system. 120 Leopard 2(S) have been delivered to the Swedish Army. Deliveries concluded in March 2002. In December 2006, it was announced that Singapore is to buy 66 refurbished Leopard 2A4 tanks from the German Army, plus 30 additional tanks for spares. The tanks will enter service with the Singapore Army in 2008. In April 2007, Canada purchased up to 100 Leopard 2 tanks from the Dutch Army and leased 20 Leopard 2A6M tanks from the German Army. KMW delivered the first of the leased 2A6M tanks, which has been upgraded with improved mine protection and slat armour, in August 2007. The tank was deployed to Afghanistan later in August 2007. The Dutch army retains a fleet of 110 2A6 tanks. In October 2007, Portugal purchased 37 Leopard 2A6 tanks from the Dutch Army, to be delivered 2008–2009.

MINE PROTECTION KMW has developed a mine protection system for the Leopard 2, following a concept definition by an international working group from Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden and Norway, under the lead of the German procurement agency BWB. An order placed in September 2003 involves the modification of 15 Leopard 2A6 tanks for the German Army and ten Leopard 2A5 (Strv 122) for Sweden. The first mine-protected tank was delivered in July 2004. "KMW has developed a mine protection system for the Leopard 2." The kit consists of add-on armour elements including a new plate under the tank floor, new vision systems and restowage arrangements for ammunition. Trials in February 2004 demonstrated that, with the new armour package, Leopard 2 tank crews could survive the detonation of an anti-tank mine under the tank without suffering any injuries. LEOPARD 2 CONSTRUCTION The hull is in three sections: 1) the driving compartment at the front, 2) the fighting section in the centre, and 3) the engine at the rear of the vehicle. The driver's compartment is equipped with three observation periscopes. Space to the left of the driver is provided for ammunition stowage. A camera with a 65° horizontal and vertical field of view positioned at the rear of the vehicle and a television monitor provide a reversing aid for the driver. The turret is located in the centre of the vehicle. There is an improvement programme which provides third-generation composite armour, and the additional reinforcement to the turret frontal and lateral armour with externally mounted add-on armour modules. In the event of weapon penetration through the armour, the spall liner reduces the number of fragments and narrows the fragment cone. The spall liner also provides noise and thermal insulation. The reinforcement provides protection against multiple strike, kinetic energy rounds and shaped charges. FIRE CONTROL The commander's station has an independent periscope, a PERI-R 17 A2 from Rheinmetall Defence Electronics (formerly STN Atlas Elektronik) and Zeiss Optronik GmbH. The PERI-R 17 A2 is a stabilised panoramic periscope sight for day / night observation and target identification, and it provides an all round view with a traverse of 360°. The thermal image from the commander's periscope is displayed on a monitor. The PERI-R17 A2 can also be used for weapon firing as it is slaved into the tank's fire control system. The image from the gunner's thermal sight can also be transmitted to the commander's PERI-R17 periscope so the commander can switch the gunner's video image to the commander's monitor. This enables the commander and the gunner to have access to the same field of view of the combat range. "The Leopard 2A6 includes a longer L55 gun, an auxiliary engine, improved mine protection and an air-conditioning system." The gunner's station is equipped with an Rheinmetall Defence Electronics EMES 15 dual magnification stabilised primary sight. The primary sight has an integrated laser rangefinder and a Zeiss Optronik thermal sight, model WBG-X, which are both linked to the tank's fire control computer. The thermal sight uses standard US Army common modules, with 120 element cadmium mercury telluride, CdHgTe (also known as CMT) infra-red detector array operating in the 8 to 14 micron waveband. The infra-red detector unit is cooled with a Stirling closed-cycle engine. The sight is fitted with a CE628 laser rangefinder from Zeiss Optronik. The laser is a Neodinium Yttrium Aluminium Garnet, (Nd:YAG) solid state laser. The rangefinder can provide up to three range values in four seconds. The range data is transmitted to the fire control computer and is used to calculate the firing algorithms. Also, because the laser rangefinder is integrated into the gunner's primary sight, the gunner can read the digital range measurement directly. The maximum range of the laser rangefinder is less than 10,000m with accuracy to within 20m. The command and fire control procedure known as first echo selection is used for laser rangefinding for anti-helicopter operations. The principal weapon uses electronic firing to reduce reaction times.

LEOPARD 2 MAIN ARMAMENT A new smoothbore gun, the 120mm L55 Gun, has been developed by Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH of Ratingen, Germany to replace the shorter 120mm L44 smoothbore tankgun on the Leopard 2. The extension of the barrel length from calibre length 44 to calibre length 55 results in a greater portion of the available energy in the barrel being converted into projectile velocity increasing the range and armour penetration. The L55 smoothbore gun, equipped with a thermal sleeve, a fume extractor and a muzzle reference system, is compatible with current 120mm ammunition and new high penetration ammunition. As a result of tactical requirements Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH developed the improved kinetic energy ammunition known as LKE 2 DM53. With the DM53 round the L55 gun can fire to a range of 5,000m. The effect of the kinetic energy projectile on an enemy target is achieved by 1) the penetrator length and projectile mass and the impact velocity and 2) the interaction between the projectile and the target. "The Leopard 2 is equipped with a land navigation system from LITEF of Bonn." The penetrator material is heavy tungsten powder in a monoblock structure. The improved kinetic energy ammunition has higher muzzle energy and recoil forces. Especially when using the new DM 53 KE round, the L55 enables an approx. 30% increase in performance compared with conventional systems. For example a muzzle velocity can be achieved in excess of 1,750m/s. NAVIGATION SYSTEMS The Leopard 2 is equipped with a land navigation system from the company LITEF of Bonn, Germany which is a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman (formerly Litton) of USA. The hybrid navigation system consists of a Global Positioning System (GPS) and an inertial navigation system. LEOPARD 2 SUPPORT SYSTEMS A programme has been put in place to replace the H-WNA improved hydraulic system with E-WNA which is an electrical weapon follow-up system. The replacement with the E-WNA provides the following advantages: 1) the turret has no pressurised hydraulic fluid, 2) lower noise level and lower power consumption and heat generation, 3) improved reliability and lower maintenance and service requirements, 4) saving in operating costs and 5) good long term storage properties. The crew compartment is equipped with a fire and explosion detection and suppression system which has been licensed by the company Deugra Ges. fur Brandschutzsysteme of Ratingen, Germany from the UK company Kidde-Graviner of Slough, Berkshire. A fireproof bulkhead separates the fighting compartment from the engine compartment at the rear of the vehicle. MAIN BATTLE TANK ENGINE The engine is the MTU MB 873 diesel engine, providing 1,100kW (1,500shp), with a Renk HSWL 354 gear and break system. An enhanced version of the EuroPowerPack, with a 1,210kW (1,650shp) MTU MT883 engine, has been trialled on the Leopard 2.