DTN News: USAF Organizes Cyberspace Units Under One Command

DTN News: USAF Organizes Cyberspace Units Under One Command

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, USA - August 24, 2009: Air Force Space Command activated a new unit yesterday to better organize space and cyberspace capabilities and to keep pace with the rapid changes in information technology, the Space Command's top military officer said. The 24th Air Force, activated at a ceremony at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, provides the Air Force with one operational command for the entire tactical space and cyberspace community. It will allow space and cyberspace capabilities to be more accessible to military ground commanders and more effectively resourced, Air Force Gen. C. Robert Kehler said yesterday in roundtable interview with military reporters. Kehler called the activation "the beginning of what will be a deliberate and focused effort to develop and evolve cyberspace forces and capabilities." "[Air Force Space Command] is committed to organizing and equipping the 24th Air Force so it can be a premiere organization dedicated to supporting combatant commanders," he added. The new command consolidates already existing units under one command and improves the way capabilities such as satellite-controlled unmanned aerial systems and GPS technology are resourced. Those units also will be able to adapt easier to mission requirements by centralizing their efforts to meet ground commanders' needs, Kehler said. "We already have units that conduct cyberspace operational missions," the general explained. "That's not new. What's new is that we've put them all under one [command]. The mission will continue that we have today to defend and operate the network and conduct our other operations." Space and cyberspace assets are described by three characteristics: access, persistence and awareness. The cyberspace domain links deployed military forces with each other as well as with higher headquarters, giving them immediate access to information and capabilities around the world, he said. Cyberspace and space capabilities also provide commanders with enduring coverage and strategic views of their environment. The capability allows officials to determine where capabilities would be the most effective. Combining and consolidating capabilities brings "game-changing effects" to the military, Kehler said. "[The new command] provides synergy across these various mission areas, and it allows us to begin to look to the future," he said. "We now begin to think differently about requirements, acquisition and resourcing. All of those are very important for us to put in place as good foundations as we try to improve our agility to deal with what we see coming our way." The command's initial concern is to ensure protection of its space and cyber networks, Kehler said. Today's military is well-versed in information technology and relies heavily on dependable cyber and space capabilities. The general declined to specify exact capabilities, but said safeguarding them against potential threats is the command's top priority for now. "Virtually everything we do in the Air Force anymore is related to network activity in some fashion," he said. "It's about mission assurance, so protecting the networks for mission assurance is No. 1." Air Force Maj. Gen. Dick Webber is in charge of the new command. The command is made up of the 688th, 67th and 689th Information Operations Wings. The 689th is also a new command created from realigning the 3rd and 5th Combat Communication Groups. Webber said the new command will have everything it needs to operate and provide support in fixed and deployed environments.

DTN News: Russia Will Reconsider Sale Of S-300 Air Defense Missiles System To Iran

DTN News: Russia Will Reconsider Sale Of S-300 Air Defense Missiles System To Iran

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - August 24, 2009: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's reported promise to Israeli President Shimon Peres that Moscow will reconsider the sale of powerful S-300 air-defense missiles to Iran could determine whether Israel - and the United States for that matter - launches pre-emptive strikes against Tehran's nuclear facilities. The S-300PMU [SA-10 land-based, SA-N-6 naval version] surface-to-air missile system is able to engage a number of targets simultaneously, countering intensive aircraft raids at low-to-high altitude. The SA-10 offers significant advantages over older strategic surface-to-air missile systems, including multitarget handling and engagement characteristics, a capability against low altitude targets with small radar cross-sections such as cruise missiles, a capability against tactical ballistic missiles, and possibly a potential to intercept some types of strategic ballistic missiles. The first SA-10 site became operational in 1980. Over 80 sites were operational by 1987, when work was progressing on at least another 20 sites. Nearly half of these sites were located near Moscow. This emphasis on Moscow as well as the deployment patterns noted for the other SA-10 sites suggested a first priority on terminal defense of command-and-control, military, and key industrial complexes. A program to replace all of the older strategic SAM systems with the SA-10, well under way by 1996, has been considered by experts to be one of the most successful reequipment programs of the post-Soviet armed forces. This vertically launched missile uses a single-stage solid propellant rocket motor. It is normally armed with a 100 kg HE-fragmentation warhead with a proximity fuse, though a low yield tactical nuclear type is believed to be an alternative warhead option. The missile's vertical launch trajectory provides fastest available reaction time capability to counter targets approaching from any azimuth. Missile engagement altitude extend from 25 m up to about 30000 m. The maximum engagement range is stated as at least 90000 m, though in practice it is probably greater. "President Medvedev promised to review this issue once again after I explained that it would have an impact on the balance of forces in our region," Peres said Wednesday following his meeting with the Russian leader in Moscow on Tuesday. Israel has been threatening to attack Iran's controversial nuclear program for many months because the Jewish state considers Tehran's acquisition of nuclear weapons to be an existential threat. Any Israeli offensive would undoubtedly involve air and missile strikes. At present, the Israeli air force's prospects of penetrating Iran's air defenses, including Russian-supplied M-1 Tor close-range surface-to-air missiles, are reasonably good. But the Israelis' capabilities would be immeasurably reduced if Tehran got its hands on an advanced air-defense weapon like the S-300. Russia says it has not delivered any the missiles to Iran yet, but it may yet do so to up the ante in its growing confrontation with the United States. Medvedev's pledge may be little more than a tactic to force the Israelis to stop providing arms and intelligence to Georgia, Azerbaijan and other former Soviet republics that are defying Moscow. U.S.-based security consultancy Strategic Forecasting noted in July: "The Americans realize that if they arm Russia's adversary, Moscow will respond by arming U.S. adversaries - particularly Iran. "Russia has deals in place under which it would deliver strategic air-defense systems and other arms to Iran and complete Iran's nuclear facility at Bushehr - all things it has notably declined to do for years now. "Moscow has been holding onto this card to ensure that the United States does not fulfill its own commitments to Georgia." So the Israelis believe that their window of opportunity to attack Iran under optimum conditions may be limited and that it should go after the Islamic republic's nuclear centers before any Russian S-300s are delivered despite pressure from Washington not to act unilaterally and risk triggering a regional war with possibly calamitous consequences. At the very least, the Iranians would be expected to retaliate against an Israeli attack by firing salvoes of Shehab-3 intermediate-range ballistic missiles with conventional high-explosive warheads at the Jewish state. Israel does not have the power to knock out enough of the heavily guarded and widely nuclear facilities, most of them buried deep underground, to permanently cripple Iran's nuclear program. But with the Israelis claiming Iran has accelerated its missile production and that Tehran could fashion a nuclear warhead within a year, Israeli strategists appear to be inclined to strike while they can to set back Iran's nuclear ambitions. "With the rise of Binyamin Netanyahu to power in Israel and his appointment of Avigdor Lieberman as his foreign minister, Israel has been behaving in provocative ways that betray a burning desire to strike Iran as soon as possible," Egypt's Al Ahram weekly said in July. The Israelis have conducted several long-range airstrikes over the years, but never simultaneously against such a plethora of targets spread across a country 900 miles away. The Israeli air force simply does not have the capability of targeting all of Iran's nuclear targets in a single raid. Any attack on Iran would be immensely more complicated than the landmark long-range airstrike that knocked out Saddam Hussein's French-built Osirak reactor near Baghdad - far closer to Israel than Iran - in June 1981. Analyst Reuven Pedatzur wrote in Israeli daily Haaretz in May that the 1981 strike, ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, marked the start of "the Begin Doctrine Â… which holds that Israel will not let any hostile country in the region acquire nuclear weapons." But Pedatzur acknowledged: "The problem is that what could be accomplished in Iraq more than two decades ago is no longer possible today under the present circumstances in Iran." The S-300V system (NATO codename SA-12 Giant) can engage multiple targets simultaneously and shoot down aircraft and missiles at a range of around 100 miles. The system is so sophisticated and tamper-proof that air force planners calculate that 20 percent to 30 percent of the aircraft deployed would be lost. According to the Israeli media, a minimum of 90 aircraft would be required to attack three key nuclear sites - all 25 of the U.S.-built F-15I strike jets in the air force's inventory and at least 65 of its 135 F-16s, about one-quarter of the air force's strength. Israel, which has the most advanced ballistic missile programs in the Middle East, also possesses an arsenal of road-mobile Jericho 1, 2 and 3 missiles capable of hitting Iranian targets. The three-stage Jericho 3 is believed to be able to carry a multi-megaton nuclear warhead, or a conventional warhead of 1,000-1,200 kilograms. However, Pedatzur noted, "It is doubtful the Jerichos' accuracy can be relied on, and that all of them will hit those critical spots with precision."

DTN News: IRKUT Corporation Selecting Systems Suppliers For MC-21 Program

DTN News: IRKUT Corporation Selecting Systems Suppliers For MC-21 Program *Source: DTN News / IRKUT Corp (NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - August 24, 2009: IRKUT” Corporation” has selected the main Suppliers for a number of systems of MC-21 Program: - Landing Gear system – Proposals of Gidromash” Company (Russia) are selected; - Auxiliary Power Unit - Proposal of Hamilton Sundstrand’s (USA) is selected; - Environmental Conditioning System - Proposal of “Nauka” Company (Russia), which has been prepared jointly with Hamilton Sundstrand (USA) and “Hamilton Sundstrand - Nauka” Joint Venture is selected; - Electrical System including Power Generation System and Power Distribution Complex - Proposal of ECE Company (France), which is a part of Zodiac Aerospace Corporation (France), and Hamilton Sundstrand (USA) is selected; - Interiors and passenger equipment - Proposal of C&D (USA), which is a part of “Zodiac Aerospace” Corporation (France) is selected; - Fuel System - Proposal of Intertechnique (France), which is a part of “Zodiac Aerospace” Corporation (France), is selected; - Oxygen System - Proposal of Intertechnique (France), which is a part of “Zodiac Aerospace” Corporation (France), is selected; - Neutral gas System - joint Proposal of Intertechnique (France), which is a part of “Zodiac Aerospace” Corporation (France), and Hamilton Sundstrand (USA) is selected; - Fire protection System - joint Proposal of L’Hotellier (France), which is a part of Kidde Technologies (USA), and Hamilton Sundstrand (USA) is selected; - Hydraulic system - Proposal of Eaton Corporation (USA) is selected. Eaton Corporation will place orders for manufacturing of more than 50% of parts and units of the Hydraulic System with Russian enterprises – PMZ “Voshod”, PKO “Teploobmennik”, MIZ “Znamya”, “Tehpribor”; - Wing anti-ice System - Proposal of Hamilton Sundstrand (USA) is selected. We have selected two best Proposals for three main systems. With this respect we decided to continue negotiations: Power Plant System - Proposals of Pratt&Whitney (USA) and Rolls-Royce (Great Britain) are selected; Avionics System - The proposals of Rockwell Collins (USA) and “Avionica” Group (Russia) are selected; Integrated Flight Control system - Proposals of “Aviapribor-Holding” (Russia) jointly with Goodrich AS (France) and Moog (USA), and Liebherr Aerospace (Germany) are selected. The selection procedure with respect to the aforementioned Suppliers of the free main system is to be completed by November 1, 2009. MC-21 Program is intended for the creation of the MC-21 short and medium haul Aircraft Family with high operational capability and destined for Russian and international markets. The “IRKUT” Corporation” is the prime contractor of the program. MC-21 Aircrafts will allow the airlines to achieve a new level of efficiency in operation and will help reduce operational expenditures by 15% as compared with the currently operated aircrafts. The Family of Aircrafts includes three models: MC-21-200, MC-21-300 and MC-21-400 with a passenger capacity of 150, 181, and 212 with one class cockpit arrangement. Some flight range modifications are reviewed for each of the models. The first aircraft of the family is expected to be МС-21-200. The innovative solutions, if implemented, would help achieve performance and comfortable environment for passengers that equal to none. The family aircraft will meet the potential standards minimizing the environmental impact. Currently the MC-21 program is under the preliminary design. Introduction of the MC-21 family aircraft is scheduled for 2016.

DTN News: European Union Names Airlines That Could Face Europe Ban

DTN News: European Union Names Airlines That Could Face Europe Ban

*Source: DTN News / AFP

(NSI News Source Info) BRUSSELS, Belgium - August 24, 2009: The European Union on Saturday published a list of nearly 4,000 airlines that it says should reduce their impact on the environment from 2012 or face being banned from European airports. Pollution from aircraft emissions currently represent three percent of European emissions. The EU adopted the policy in January despite opposition from the majority of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) member countries and companies belonging to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). A new European law is due to come into force soon. (Pollution from aircraft emissions currently represent three percent of European emissions) Under the new law, from January 1, 2012 all airlines -- both European and non-European -- operating within Europe would have to limit CO2 emissions or face penalties. Airlines will have to start monitoring their emissions from January 2010, in line with plans submitted this year. Carbon dioxide is widely considered a major greenhouse gas which is seen as contributing to climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a scientific body which assesses climate change, says air transport produces two percent of all carbon dioxide emissions from humans and 13 percent of CO2 from transport. The list was published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

DTN News: Philippines ~ Dispute Threatens Talks To End Filipino Rebellion

DTN News: Philippines ~ Dispute Threatens Talks To End Filipino Rebellion *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) MANILA, Philippines - August 24, 2009: A planned resumption this week of talks on ending one of Asia's longest communist rebellions will likely be called off due to a dispute over a rebel demand for the release of jailed comrades, a Philippine official and the rebels said Sunday. A Philippine Air Force gunner mans a machinegun on a Huey military helicopter as it flies over rebel infested Basilan island in southern Philippines August 20, 2009. Peace talks collapsed in 2004 after the communist New People's Army blamed the government for its inclusion on U.S. and European lists of terrorist groups. A Norwegian-brokered meeting in June led to an agreement to resume talks Friday in Oslo. The rural-based rebellion to create a Marxist state has claimed about 120,000 lives and has been blamed by the government for stunting economic growth. Rebel assaults have continued despite efforts to revive the peace talks. Presidential adviser on the peace process Avelino Razon Jr. said the scheduled talks may no longer take place after rebel negotiators insisted on the release of several guerrillas and the dropping of criminal charges against two others demands he said the government could not immediately grant. "It's unlikely the talks will take place as scheduled," Razon said. "We cannot subvert our legal process." Rebel consultant Jose Maria Sison said the Philippine government reneged on an agreement forged in June to either release from detention or drop "trumped-up" criminal charges against about 14 guerrillas who were to serve as consultants in the talks. The government "has rendered extremely difficult or even impossible the resumption of formal talks," Sison, who founded the Communist Party of the Philippines, said in a statement. The Philippine government last month renewed an agreement, suspended in 2005, shielding 87 guerrillas from arrest and criminal prosecution while involved in the talks. However, Razon said the agreement was not a license for the government to free detained rebels or drop criminal charges against others. Sison also condemned the government for agreeing to release a suspected rebel, Randall Echanis, for only six months, "making him a hostaged consultant," he said. Razon said the government could not direct Philippine courts to immediately free detained rebels or summarily drop criminal charges against two suspected guerrillas, who are at large, so they could participate in the talks. Rebel negotiators will seek a meeting with Philippine officials to discuss the issue, Sison said. Government negotiators welcome that proposal, Razon said. The 120,000-strong military has been carrying out sporadic offensives aimed at crushing the insurgency before President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is scheduled to step down next June.

DTN News: Suspected Muslim Attackers Kill 2 Soldiers In Southern Thailand

DTN News: Suspected Muslim Attackers Kill 2 Soldiers In Southern Thailand *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) PATTANI, Thailand - August 24, 2009: Suspected Muslim rebels killed two soldiers Sunday in an attack on a government checkpoint in Thailand's insurgency-plagued south. Police officers survey the site of a bomb attack in Yala province, south of Bangkok August 22, 2009. Three civil servants were killed in a gun and bomb attack and a Muslim rubber tapper shot dead by suspected insurgents in Thailand's deep south on Saturday, police said. At least 10 men opened fire in the pre-dawn assault in Narathiwat province, police Lt. Thongchai Pookapan said. Three others a soldier, a policeman and a security volunteer were wounded. The attackers fled in pickup trucks after a 10-minute gunfight, he said. More than 3,700 people have been killed in Thailand's three southernmost provinces since an Islamic insurgency flared in January 2004. The provinces are the only Muslim-majority areas in the Buddhist-dominated country, and their residents have long complained of discrimination by the central government. A massive security presence has failed to stop the violence, which has killed more Muslims than Buddhists. The militants target people working with the government, including soldiers, police and informants. They also stage attacks on civilians that are believed to be intended to scare the Buddhist community into fleeing. The insurgents have made no public pronouncements but are thought to be fighting for an independent Muslim state. The area used to be an Islamic sultanate until it was annexed by Thailand in the early 20th century.

DTN News: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chairman Says Airline Owes Rs 142 Billion In Loans

DTN News: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chairman Says Airline Owes Rs 142 Billion In Loans *Source: DTN News / The News (NSI News Source Info) ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - August 24, 2009: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Chairman Captain Ijaz Haroon on Saturday blamed the previous management of the national flag carrier for the organisation’s poor financial health, saying that the airlines currently owed Rs 142 billion in loans. Briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence, which met under the chairpersonship of MNA Faryal Talpur, he denied the PIA was on the verge of bankruptcy or that there were any plans to privatise it. Haroon informed the committee that PIA had to pay back Rs 142 billion in loans including Rs 25 billion to local banks. He said the organisation had suffered a loss of Rs 35.9 billion last year, adding that the depreciation of the rupee had also contributed to PIA’s financial woes. He told the committee the previous management had neglected revenue generation and relied on loans to run the organisation. Defence Secretary Syed Athar Ali, also present at the briefing, also endorsed what the PIA chairman said and added that there had been substantial lapses under the previous management. Haroon said the current management was focusing on revenue generation, which was evident from the Rs 1.81 billion profits that the organisation had earned this year. The standing committee expressed its concern over the huge losses accumulated by the PIA during the last few years. At the PIA management’s request, the committee agreed to ask Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen to reschedule the national flag carrier’s loans and award new loans at low interest rates. The committee also recommended the PIA revised its pricing formula for haj and umrah fares, saying the PIA charged high fares. Talking to reporters, Haroon said it was not true that the organisation was on the verge of bankruptcy, adding the PIA was meeting all its obligations.

DTN News: Israeli President Shimon Peres High Profile Meeting In Azerbaijan

DTN News: Israeli President Shimon Peres High Profile Meeting In Azerbaijan *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) JERUSALEM, Israel - August 24, 2009: As Azerbaijan's neighbors, Georgia and Russia, commemorated the anniversary of the military conflict which erupted in August 2008, Azerbaijan showcased its foreign policy as both balanced and independent. In this handout photo released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO), Israeli President Shimon Peres and Azeri President Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev take part in the official welcoming ceremony at the presidential palace June 28, 2009 in Baku, Azerbaijan. President Peres will visit both Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on a four-day trip to advance Israel's ties with those countries.

Several high level presidential visits to Baku this summer indicate that the Azerbaijani capital is becoming the focus of regional geopolitical developments.

While Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev visited Baku for purely economic reasons, more precisely to discuss energy issues, the visits of Israeli President Shimon Peres and the Syrian President Bashar al-Asad drew most of the attention. The visit by Peres was the highlight of the recent strengthening of Israeli-Azerbaijani relations. Both countries enjoy growing trade, with Israel buying almost 25 percent of its domestic oil consumption from Azerbaijan.

Baku is expressing increasing interest in Israel's defense, agriculture, tourism, and information technology sectors. Indeed, the visit was symbolic not only in terms of bilateral relations, but also within the framework of the dialogue of civilizations, as he continued his trip by going to Kazakhstan, another moderate and secular Muslim-majority country, in an effort to strengthen Israel's links with the Muslim world.

Semyon Ikhiilov, the head of the Community of Mountain Jews in Azerbaijan said that: "President Peres is coming to Baku to promote peace" (Trend News, June 23). Yet, his visit to Baku drew much criticism from Iranian political circles. The Iranian leadership recalled its ambassador from Baku for "the clarification of some issues," and some Iranian politicians and the military establishment made threatening statements towards Azerbaijan (Trend News, June 30).

This was characterized by the Iranian side as "a sign of disrespect towards the Islamic world," and a demand was made to close the Israeli embassy in Baku (http://www.day.az/, June 30). The response from Baku was rapid, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov stated that the "Iranian reaction is very surprising to us.

Iranian officials regularly meet with senior Armenian politicians, and Azerbaijan does not comment on these meetings" (Trend News, June 30). Senior officials from the presidential office in Baku went even further in their response. The head of the presidential administration's political department Ali Hasanov said "Azerbaijan has never interfered in the domestic affairs of any state, and it will not tolerate other countries interfering in its own domestic affairs.

We have said to the Iranian side many times that cooperation with Armenia, which has occupied Azerbaijani territories, contradicts the solidarity of the Islamic world" (Aztv, June 4). His colleague Novruz Mammadov, the head of the international relations department in the presidential administration added that "Azerbaijan is not pursuing any measures against the interests of Iran" (APA News, June 8).

Similarly, some members of the Azerbaijani parliament expressed dissatisfaction with the severity of Iranian rhetoric. Despite this rather antagonistic exchange between Tehran and Baku, the visit of the Israeli president took place and was very successful.

The Israeli Ambassador to Baku Artur Lenk, speaking at the Center for Strategic Studies in Baku said that "relations between Israel and Azerbaijan can be an example for Israel's relations with the Muslim world." Eventually, the Iranian ambassador returned to Baku. The head of the presidential administration's department for political analysis Elnur Aslanov urged all sides to refrain from "political speculation regarding Iranian-Azerbaijan relations" (Novosti-Azerbaijan, June 30). Furthermore, Azerbaijan received another opportunity to strengthen its relations with the Muslim world by hosting the Syrian President Bashar al-Asad.

This was the first visit by the Syrian President to Baku, and it was portrayed in the media as being significant for Azerbaijan, since Syria is one of the major players in the region and it also hosts a large Armenian diaspora.

Azerbaijani diplomacy, aiming at securing more support from the Islamic world over Karabakh, welcomed al-Asad to Baku, despite reservations in some Western capitals. 18 documents on bilateral cooperation were signed between the two countries and Asad expressed interest in buying 1 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Azerbaijan (Azertaj News, July 10). The high profile visits by Peres and Asad highlight Baku's increasingly independent course in its foreign policy, and its growing geostrategic importance in the region.

The fact that Baku can host any world leader, despite pressure from powerful regional and other powers, points to the pragmatic, confident, and interest-based foreign policy of the Azerbaijani leadership.

Richard Giragosian, a reputable Armenian political analyst and the Director of the Armenian Center for Strategic and National Studies in Erevan, said that "the recent visits of the Israeli and Syrian presidents confirm the strengthening of the strategic importance of Azerbaijan, and this worries Armenia very much"

DTN News: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ~ US Putting South America Under Siege

DTN News: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ~ US Putting South America Under Siege *Source: DTN News / Tripoli Post (NSI News Source Info) BRUSSELS, Belgium - August 24, 2009: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday said the United States is seeking to put South America under a military siege, and warned Venezuela will strengthen defense. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez shows a copy of the new education law in Caracas August 15, 2009. Washington's aim is to be in control of Venezuela's oil and other strategic targets like the Amazonia forest, the giant South American mining system in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, Chavez stressed. In his Sunday column "Las lineas de Chavez," the statesman particularly slammed the Colombian government for allowing the United States to use its military bases. According to Chavez, Colombia has become a replica of Israel in South America. In the Americas Summit held in Trinidad and Tobago in April, President Barack Obama talked forgetting the past, and the Colombian representant to a recent UNASUR meeting added the missing part when she spoke of stripping dialogue of any ideological meaning, Chavez noted. The head of State recalled Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa's words when he referred to an international double standard: rebel governments should be blamed for everything, while obedient government must be supported at all costs. "Military bases, according to the Empire's vision, are a problem of the Colombian sovereignty, but the development of a nuclear program by a country Washington considers a member of the Axis of Evil is not a problem of sovereignty, but a global threat," the Venezuelan president said. To face that situation, Chavez ratified his proposal of creating "peace bases," stating that if Venezuela is attacked, the country will defend with all resources available.

DTN News: Greece ~ Thousands Of Residents Flee Northern Athens As Foreign Help Arrives

DTN News: Greece ~ Thousands Of Residents Flee Northern Athens As Foreign Help Arrives *Raging wildfires have forced a mass evacuation of Athens' northern suburb of Aghios Stefanos, though some residents are trying to put out flames with garden hoses. Two Italian aircraft have joined fire fighters as more help from EU countries arrives. *Source: DTN News / Reuters (NSI News Source Info) ATHENS, Greece - August 24, 2009: Strong winds on Sunday fanned a huge wildfire that tore through scores of homes and thousands of acres of forest near Athens, forcing thousands of residents to flee, authorities said. A firefighting helicopter drops water over a forest fire in the Athens suburb of Dionissii on August 23, 2009 in Athens, Greece. Authorities have declared a state of emergency as the large wildfire has raged since Friday, destroying homes and forcing thousands to flee the inferno. The blaze is the worst suffered by mainland Greece since 2007. Thick plumes of smoke hung over the Acropolis as the flames, raging unchecked for a second day, reached the Greek capital’s northern suburbs, testing state resources and the conservative government, which is facing a snap election by March. “The winds are stronger and change direction all the time, spreading the fire even further,” said fire brigade spokesman Giannis Kapakis. Local authorities used loudspeakers to advise residents of Aghios Stefanos to leave the suburb of 20,000, as flames licked its first homes. Many abandoned their homes around Athens overnight and some were frantically trying to stop the flames from reaching houses with garden hoses and tree branches. “We are facing a great ordeal,” Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said. “The fire department is making a superhuman effort.” The handling of the fire, the biggest since Greece’s worst wildfires in living memory killed 65 people in a 10-day inferno in 2007, will be crucial for his political fate as snap polls loom. His government, which is clinging to a one-seat majority in parliament, trails the socialist opposition in opinion polls. Greek authorities declared a state of emergency in eastern Attica on Saturday where the flames seared about 30,000 acres (12,140 hectares) of forest, farming fields and olive groves. “More than 120,000 stremmas (30,000 acres) have been burnt. It is an ecological disaster,” Athens prefect Yiannis Sgouros told Greek television. Help from Greece’s EU allies started to arrive. Two Italian aircraft joined fire fighting efforts and more were expected from France and Cyprus on Sunday, fire officials said. Emergency meeting Karamanlis made a helicopter tour of the area on Sunday and chaired a emergency government meeting as the Greek weather service warned winds were not expected to abate before Monday night, hindering fire fighting efforts. “The situation is extremely difficult due to the weather conditions,” Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos told reporters after the meeting. Greek officials and eyewitnesses said the fire had also reached the suburbs of Anthoussa, Pallini, Pikermi and Dionyssos and that there were people refusing to leave their property as flames approached. The fire broke out late on Friday in the village of Grammatiko about 40 km (25 miles) northeast of the Greek capital and quickly spread to neighbouring villages and Athens suburbs. A children’s hospital and a home for the elderly were evacuated. Police and witnesses said scores of homes were heavily damaged but the fire brigade declined to give official data until the blaze was put out. “The destruction is enormous,” Aghios Stefanos deputy mayor Panagiotis Bitakos told Greek television. “They allowed one fire to destroy all of Attica.” Twelve aircraft, seven helicopters, 136 fire engines and about 644 firefighters were battling the blaze, fire officials said. Some 340 soldiers were also dispatched to the fires. Gale-force winds have fanned more than 100 blazes across Greece in the last three days. Fires also raged on the islands of Zakynthos, Evia, Skyros, and the central Greek Viotia area. Summer fires are frequent in Greece, often caused by high temperatures and winds, drought or arson. Hundreds of fires raged across southern Europe in July, destroying thousands of hectares of forest and gutting dozens of homes.