Friday, May 13, 2011

DTN News -OSAMA BIN LADEN NEWS / PAKISTAN NEWS: Pakistan Taliban Strikes To Avenge Osama bin Laden Death

DTN News -OSAMA BIN LADEN NEWS / PAKISTAN NEWS: Pakistan Taliban Strikes To Avenge Osama bin Laden Death
**The Pakistani Taliban struck to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden by carrying out a double suicide bombing that killed at least 80 recruits at a military training centre in the north-west of the country. 6:00PM BST 13 May 2011
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / Islamabad, Pakistan - May 13, 2011: Pakistan has been braced for deadly reprisals ever since US Navy Seals shot dead the al-Qaeda leader on May 2.

Relations between Islamabad and its western allies have been strained after it emerged bin Laden managed to live for five years under the noses of the Pakistani military in the garrison town of Abbottabad.

The suicide bombers struck at the gates killing the mostly young recruits.

Witnesses said the recruits were waiting to board buses to begin their leave after completing their training when two bombers on motorbikes detonated their explosives shortly before 6am in Shabqadar.

"We have carried out the attack to take revenge of Osama's death and will continue targeting military personnel as they are defending the US," Ihsanullah Ihsan, a spokesman for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan said.

Another 140 people were wounded, 40 of them seriously, according to police officers, in the attack on the Frontier Constabulary base – the bloodiest this year.

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, condemned the bombing.

"These attacks were cowardly and indiscriminate, killing many innocent bystanders and targeting those who serve to protect Pakistan," he said.

"They prove once again that such extremist groups have no regard for the value of human life." The site of the attack was a scene of devastation. More than a dozen buses were destroyed in the blasts.

Charred remains were left on the ground where the recruits had fallen.

"It was around 5:55am when we saw two persons riding on motorcycles and then massive blasts that shattered the nearby shops," said Haji Ghufran, a tea-maker in the bazaar that runs beside the training centre.

"There was blood and human flesh all around."

The Frontier Constabulary is a paramilitary police force that polices the porous border with Afghanistan.

Its members are drawn largely from the Pashtun community, the same ethnic group who form the bedrock of Taliban support, in the hope that their local knowledge can be turned against the fundamentalist militia.

Hours after the bombing, a US drone aircraft fired missiles at a vehicle in the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border, killing five militants, according to Pakistani security officials.

Yesterday's attack is also a reminder of the high price paid by Pakistan at the hands of extremists. Officials estimate that more than 30,000 people have been killed by terrorists since September 11.

However, one of bin Laden's wives has told interrogators that the al-Qaeda leader lived in Pakistan for the past seven years, deeply embarrassing the Pakistan government.

Pakistan's civilian government said on Thursday it would review counter-terrorism co-operation with the United States as it comes under growing domestic pressure to punish Washington for the apparently unauthorised raid – stoking anti-Western sentiment.

It emerged that a senior military officer cancelled a trip to the US in the latest sign of escalating tensions.

General Khalid Shameem Wynne, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff to the Americans he would withdraw from next week's visit "in view of the prevailing environment", said a senior official.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources

*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated May 11, 2011

DTN News: U.S. Department of Defense Contracts Dated May 11, 2011
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - May 11, 2011: U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Contracts issued May 11, 2011 are undermentioned;

CONTRACTS

MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY

Raytheon Missile Systems Co., Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a cost-plus-award-fee modification under contract HQ0276-10-C-0005, P00011. The total award value of this action is $110,678,886, resulting in a new cumulative contract value of $275,967,245. The modification will extend CLIN 0001 period of performance to continue engineering and development for Standard Missile-3 Block IIA missiles. The work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz. The period of performance is May 1, 2011 through Sept. 30, 2011. Fiscal 2011 research, development, test and evaluation funds will be used for this effort with $20,000,000 provided at time of award. The Missile Defense Agency is the contracting activity.

NAVY

InGenesis Arora Associates, San Antonio, Texas (N62645-11-D-5028); International Healthcare Staffing Alliance, Honolulu, Hawaii (N62645-11-D-5029); The OMO Group, Inc., San Antonio, Texas (N62645-11-D-5030); and Smallwood Prison Dental Services, Inc., Ashburn, Va. (N62645-11-D-5031), are each being awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple task order contracts for multi-disciplinary dental services in support of Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Va., and associated branch medical clinics. Total combined value of the contract if all task orders are issued is $99,562,806 and the companies will have the opportunity to bid on each individual task order. This contract consists of a 60-month ordering period. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Va., and is expected to be complete May 2016. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This requirement was competitively procured via Federal Business Opportunities website, with 24 offers received. The Naval Medical Logistics Command, Fort Detrick, Md., is the contracting activity.

General Electric Aircraft Engines, Lynn, Mass., is being awarded an $18,394,537 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088) for engineering and integrated logistics services in support of the F/A-18E/F F414-GE-400 engine. Work will be performed in Lynn, Mass. (97 percent), and Evendale, Ohio (3 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $366,819 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Huntington Ingalls Inc., formerly Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Inc., Newport News, Va., is being awarded a $8,779,436 modification under previously awarded contract (N00024-10-C-2102) for engineering, technical, design, configuration management, integrated logistics support, database management support of new construction and conversion/special mission submersibles, and submarine support facilities. Work will be performed in Newport News, Va., and is expected to be completed by September 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $6,636,080 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for logistic services in support of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, and applicable foreign military sales customers. Services to be provided include maintenance, engineering and technical support of AN-USM-702 Reconfigurable Transportable Consolidated Automated Support System and self-maintenance automated test and calibration operational test program set repairable assets. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo., and is expected to be completed in May 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $151,512 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy ($6,253,837; 94.3 percent); the U.S. Air Force ($293,707; 4.4 percent); and the government of Finland ($88,536; 1.3 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J., is the contracting activity (N68335-11-C-0338).

AIR FORCE

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems, Marietta, Ga., is being awarded a $19,586,819 firm-fixed-price contract modification for square window paratroop door kits applicable to C-130 aircraft. At this point, $7,445,909 has been obligated. Work will be performed in Marietta, Ga. Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Tactical Airlift Division Contracting Branch, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity (FA8504-11-D-0004).

*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

©

COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DTN News - INDIA NEWS: Rahul Gandhi Arrested By UP Police And Released

DTN News - INDIA NEWS: Rahul Gandhi Arrested By UP Police And Released
**Bigwigs among the Indians having their accounts in Swiss banks: WikiLeaks
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / GREATER NOIDA, India - May 11, 2011: Rahul Gandhi was arrested tonight by the UP police after he joined the land war here, pledging full support to farmers fighting against acquisition while lambasting Chief Minister Mayawati. "Rahul Gandhi has been arrested unde Sec 151 CrPC and will be presented before a Sub-Divisional Magistrate tomorrow," Inspector General of Police (Meerut Range) Rajnikant Mishra said.

Gandhi was taken away from the dharna site in Bhatta Parsaul Village in a grey Tata Safari to an undisclosed location.

The Amethi MP smiled to the large battery of media before getting into the vehicle along with AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh and Firozabad MP Raj Babbar.

"We will continue to support the farmers agitation," Singh said as he was pushed into the vehicle.

Congress promptly attacked Mayawati for Gandhi's arrest with AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi saying UP has witnessed "the cruellest rule of several imperialistic regimes".

"UP government's action in arresting Rahul Gandhi proves that Mayawati is digging her own grave," Dwivedi said.

"If any sense of justice is left in the government, judicial inquiry is the minimum that the state government should order immediately," he said.

Sneaking into Batta Parsaul village, the epicentre of the agitation in Western Uttar Pradesh, in the wee hours riding pillion on a motorcyle, Gandhi sat with the agitating farmers throughout the day in scorching heat to emphathise with their cause and women who lost their men.

"I feel ashamed to call myself Indian after seeing what has happened here. The (state) government here has unleashed atrocities on its own people," he told the farmers.

Even as he sat on a dharna, a war of words erupted, with BJP terming it as a "drama" and wanting to know why the UPA government was still not acting on his earlier promise of bringing Land Acquisition Bill in Parliament.

The Congress, on its part, said it was keen to get on early passage of the bill in Parliament.

Gandhi said he associated with them as they were demanding their "right" and there was "nothing wrong" in it.

"I want to tell you that I am with you till your demands are met. Till your work is not done, the Congress party will not desert you," he said to a thunderous applause from the gathering which shouted slogans hailing him.

He said an official had told him that the agitation was like "naxalism" but he had found that the farmers were peacefully making their demands.

Gandhi demanded a judicial inquiry into the exchange of fire on Saturday last between farmers and police in which two farmers and two policemen were killed.

Earlier, after reaching the village at 4 AM along with party colleague Digvijay Singh, he heard the farmers and had tea with them.

*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

©

COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS

DTN News - CHINA NEWS: Hillary Clinton Calls Chinese Crackdown A 'Fool's Errand'

DTN News - CHINA NEWS: Hillary Clinton Calls Chinese Crackdown A 'Fool's Errand'
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 11, 2011:
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says China's effort to hold off the kind of democratic changes that are sweeping the Middle East is a "fool's errand" that is doomed to failure.
The remark came in an interview with The Atlantic magazine that was posted on the Internet Tuesday as she and other U.S. officials met senior Chinese officials in Washington.
In the interview, Clinton was asked whether Chinese officials are frightened by the popular uprisings in the Middle East.
Clinton replied that the Chinese "are worried, and they are trying to stop history," which she said "is a fool's errand (hopeless cause)." Clinton added that the Chinese cannot stop democratic reform, "but they are going to hold it off as long as possible." She also said the United States would not walk away from dealing with China because it has what she called "a deplorable human rights record."
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

©

COPYRIGHT (C) DTN NEWS DEFENSE-TECHNOLOGY NEWS