The United States threatened to impose conditions on arms sales to Finland during the eighties in order to pressure the Finns into joining a high technology trade blockade of the Soviet Union. Hitherto classified documents from 1984 released by the Foreign ministry reveal former U.S. Defence Secretary Richard Perle wanted to deny Finland sales of night optic sensors for the I-TOW anti-armour missile if the country did not join the U.S. ban on sales of high technology to the Soviets. Finland first received details of the U.S. conditions during a visit to Washington for talks on an arms deal by then Permanent Under Secretary at the Defence Ministry, Aimo Pajunen. Defence Secretary Perle expanded the discussions to include exports of high technology. Perle has confirmed the Americans were particularly concerned about the possible export of, for example, digital telephone exchanges developed by Tele Nokia. Finland informed him the country would not approve U.S. demands. However, despite this Finland entered the so-called Cocom(Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls) arrangement in 1987. Prior to this, the U.S. Defence department had threatened to label Finland as permanently being on the wrong side of the iron curtain.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
US Threatened to Block Finnish Arms Deal Over High-Tech Exports
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Lockheed Martin Receives Contracts for Combat-Proven PAC-3 Missile Program
DALLAS: Lockheed Martin has received contracts totaling $774 million from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command for hardware and services associated with the combat-proven Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile program. These contracts include Fiscal Year 2009 missile production for the U.S. Army as well as the first sale of the PAC-3 Missile Segment to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE becomes the first Middle East customer and the fourth international customer for the PAC-3 Missile, joining The Netherlands, Germany and Japan in fielding the system. Lockheed Martin expects in excess of $1.8 billion in PAC-3 Missile-related business over the life of the initial UAE program. The FY09 contracts include production of 172 hit-to-kill PAC-3 Missiles, 42 launcher modification kits, spares and other equipment, as well as program management and engineering services. Production of all equipment will take place at Lockheed Martin manufacturing facilities in Dallas and Lufkin, TX, Chelmsford, MA, Ocala, FL, and the PAC-3 All-Up Round facility in Camden, AR. Deliveries on the contracts will be completed by July 2011. "The PAC-3 Missile's proven hit-to-kill lethality provides an unprecedented level of protection to the warfighter," said Mike Trotsky, vice president - Air & Missile Defense Programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "We continue to see interest in the PAC-3 Missile Segment around the world, and Lockheed Martin remains focused on producing this vital technology for our customers." "The PAC-3 Missile offers the UAE combat-proven hit-to-kill lethality to protect critical capabilities and National assets," said Dennis Cavin, vice president - International Air & Missile Defense Strategic Initiatives at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "PAC-3 Missile Segment performance and lethality are the premier technologies available to provide defense against the threats facing our forces and allies today and well into the future." As part of these contracts, Lockheed Martin will produce and deliver equipment to begin upgrading all U.S. Army Patriot fire units with the capability for firing the PAC-3 Missile. The U.S. Army initiatives, called "Pure Fleet" and "Grow the Army," were launched in 2006 and will provide consistency across the fleet for the user anywhere Patriot is deployed or trained. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor on the PAC-3 Missile Segment upgrade to the Patriot air defense system. The PAC-3 Missile Segment upgrade consists of the PAC-3 Missile, a highly agile hit-to-kill interceptor, the PAC-3 Missile canisters (which each hold four PAC-3 Missiles, with four canisters per launcher), a fire solution computer and an enhanced launcher electronics system. The PAC-3 Missile is the world's most advanced, capable and powerful theater air defense missile, and currently is the only fielded pure kinetic energy air defense missile. It defeats the Patriot Air Defense System threat: tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and fixed and rotary winged aircraft. PAC-3 Missiles significantly increase the Patriot system's firepower, with 16 PAC-3s loading out on a single Patriot launcher. Lockheed Martin achieved the first-ever hit-to-kill intercept in 1984 with the Homing Overlay Experiment, using force of impact alone to destroy a mock warhead outside of the Earth's atmosphere. Further development and testing produced today's PAC-3 Missile, which won a competition in 1993 to become the first hit-to-kill interceptor produced by the U.S. government. The PAC-3 Missile has been the technology pathfinder for today's total conversion to kinetic energy interceptors for all modern missile defense systems. Currently, the Lockheed Martin-developed Aegis Weapon System, PAC-3 Missile, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Weapon System, the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) and the Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV) utilize this proven advanced technology to deliver lethality against today's most dangerous threats. Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2007 sales of $41.9 billion.
Lockheed Martin is a world leader in systems integration and the development of air and missile defense systems and technologies, including the first operational hit-to-kill missile. It also has considerable experience in missile design and production, infrared seekers, command and control/battle management, and communications, precision pointing and tracking optics, as well as radar and signal processing. The company makes significant contributions to all major U.S. missile defense systems and participates in several global missile defense partnerships.
Pakistan closes NATO supply route, operation launched
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Pakistan on Tuesday cut off supplies to NATO and US forces in Afghanistan via the Khyber Pass as security forces launched a major operation against militants there, an official said. The operation comes after a series of spectacular raids by suspected Taliban militants on foreign military supply depots in northwest Pakistan earlier this month in which hundreds of NATO and US-led coalition vehicles were destroyed. Pakistani security forces sent tanks, helicopter gunships and artillery units into the lawless Khyber tribal region on the Afghan border before dawn, the area's administrator Tariq Hayat told reporters in Peshawar. "We have launched an operation against militants and armed groups in Jamrud," the gateway to the Khyber Pass, Hayat said. The main highway linking Peshawar to the border town of Torkham has been shut down until the operation is complete, he said, adding: "Supplies to NATO forces have temporarily been suspended." "This is a giant operation. It will continue until we achieve our objective," Hayat said, adding that the operation could be expanded beyond the area near Jamrud -- located between Peshawar and Torkham -- if necessary. The Khyber tribal area official said the operation was aimed at putting a stop to attacks on NATO supply vehicles, as well as a spate of kidnappings for ransom in the tribal badlands, where Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants are active. "We have 26 targets -- we will eliminate their hideouts," Hayat said, adding that three people had been injured so far, including a security official. The bulk of the supplies and equipment required by NATO and US-led forces battling the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan is shipped to Pakistan's largest port, Karachi, in the south. From there, the containers of food, fuel, vehicles and munitions are taken by truck to depots outside Peshawar before being transported to Afghanistan via the Khyber Pass. But the fabled road passes through the heart of Pakistan's lawless tribal zone, where extremists sought refuge after Afghanistan's hardline Taliban regime was ousted in a US-led invasion at the end of 2001. Two weeks ago, several haulage companies in Pakistan refused to ply the 50-kilometre (30-mile) route, saying the security of their drivers could not be ensured. But the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) downplayed the significance of the move by the Khyber Transport Association, saying it was continuing to receive supplies. "We continue to monitor the impact of that. It is not our only means of (getting) supplies," an ISAF spokesman, British Royal Navy Captain Mark Windsor, told AFP. Senior Pakistani officials said last week that some troops had been redeployed from the tribal areas to the country's eastern border with India, amid simmering tensions with New Delhi over the Mumbai attacks. The move sparked concerns that the fight against extremists in the rugged border region could suffer.
Lord's Resistance Army rebels kill almost 200 in DR Congo: UN
KINSHASA: Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army rebels killed almost 200 people in a campaign in northeast Congo, a UN agency said in a report released Monday. Its report said at least 120 houses have been burned down during the campaign. Troops from Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and southern Sudan have launched a military operation in the stricken region to find LRA leader Joseph Kony, who is wanted by a UN tribunal for war crimes. Kony's rebels are accused of having raped and mutilated civilians, forcibly enlisting child soldiers and of massacring thousands during two decades of conflict.
Since December 25, the rebels have killed 40 people in the Faradje district, 89 around Doruma and 60 in the Gurba area alone, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Researchers unlock secrets of 1918 flu pandemic
Researchers have found out what made the 1918 flu pandemic so deadly -- a group of three genes that lets the virus invade the lungs and cause pneumonia.
The discovery, published in Tuesday's issue of theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could also point to mutations that might turn ordinary flu into a dangerous pandemic strain.
Yoshihiro Kawaoka of theUniversity of Wisconsin and colleagues at the Universities of Kobe and Tokyo in Japan used ferrets, which develop flu in ways very similar to humans.
Usually flu causes an upper respiratory infection affecting the nose and throat, as well as so-called systemic illness causing fever, muscle aches and weakness.
But some people become seriously ill and develop pneumonia. Sometimes bacteria cause the pneumonia and sometimes flu does it directly.
During pandemics, such as in 1918, a new and more dangerous flu strain emerges.
"The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most devastating outbreak of infectious disease in human history, accounting for about 50 million deaths worldwide," Kawaoka's team wrote.
It killed 2.5 percent of victims, compared to fewer than 1 percent during most annual flu epidemics. Autopsies showed many of the victims, often otherwise healthy young adults, died of severe pneumonia.
"We wanted to know why the 1918 flu caused severe pneumonia," Kawaoka said in a statement.
They painstakingly substituted single genes from the 1918 virus into modern flu viruses and, one after another, they acted like garden-variety flu, infecting only the upper respiratory tract.
But a complex of three genes helped to make the virus live and reproduce deep in the lungs.
The three genes -- called PA, PB1, and PB2 -- along with a 1918 version of the nucleoprotein or NP gene, made modern seasonal flu kill ferrets in much the same way as the original 1918 flu, Kawaoka's team found.
Most flu experts agree that a pandemic of influenza will almost certainly strike again. No one knows when or what strain it will be but one big suspect now is the H5N1 avian influenza virus.
H5N1 is circulating among poultry in Asia, Europe and parts of Africa. It rarely affects humans but has killed 247 of the 391 people infected since 2003.
A few mutations would make it into a pandemic strain that could kill millions globally within a few months.
Four licensed drugs can fight flu but the viruses regularly mutate into resistant forms -- just as bacteria evolve into forms that evade antibiotics.
Monday, December 29, 2008
NEW F-16 Avionics Updates
Northrop Grumman displayed a model of its Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) AESA radar, unveiled earlier this year in Singapore. This radar will fit into F-16s from Block 50/52 onward, as a drop-in replacement for the company's APG-69 mechanically scanning radar set. Another upgrade option from Raytheon is the replacement of backup flight instruments installed at the center of the cockpit with large, vertically mounted 6x8 inch multi-function color 'Center Pedestal Display' (CPD) unit. This display is optimally suitable to support situational awareness, digital map displays and video imaging which sofar suffered from lack of proper display capability in the cockpit. CPD is designed to operate in daylight and at night (NVIS) color modes. It is linked to the aircraft databus and communications systems, offering two-way situational awareness datalink (SADL) messaging.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
IAF Air Strikes Destroy Palestinian Tunnels Under the Gaza-Rafah Border Line
The Israeli Air Force continues to demonstrate high precision attack, based on superior intelligence collected despite the Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005. In an air raid that lasted only four minutes the IAF attacked today about 40 supply tunnels dug underneath the Gaza-Rafah border with Egypt, which was the only available supply line serving the besieged Gaza economy. Although hundreds of active tunnels are known to be operating in the Rafah area, targeting this essential supply line has a psychological effect on the Palestinians, already hard hit after yesterday's air strikes. The IDF experimented engaging palestinian tunnels with JDAM weapons before the 2005 disengagement. Back then, tunnels were dug deep since the IDF has permanent presence in the area. Therefore, such attacks had marginal effect and posed risk to friendly forces. Apparently, the IAF improved their methods to enable effective destructions of such targets. The Palestinian retaliated on the Israeli attacks launching rockets over distances never before achieved. SOme 20 rockets were fired on Sunday (December 28, 2008). By morning , five Grad type rockets were launched at targets between Ashdod and Ashkelon, at ranges of about 40 km. From preliminary examinations of the long range rockets retrieved from the sites near Ashdod experts assume one is a new Grad type 122mm rocket modified for extended range of up to 40 km. The other is a standard Grad rocket capable of reaching 35km. The Israelis are preparing for a long battle, which could also be expanded to ground operations. On Sunday the Israeli government approved mobilization of 6,500 reservists to duty and the home-front command is preparing for emergency conditions, under emergency law declared by the government today. Saturday December 27 was one of the bloodiest days of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak indicated that the battle will be long and difficult, "but the time has come to act and to fight back" Barak said. Overnight, the IAF continued its attacks against weapons caches and suspected rocket firing tems. Other targets attacked overnight included the Hamas television station, but apparently the broadcast continued from a mobile unit. Israel hammered Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the firstday of operation "Cast Lead", as some 60 Israel Air Force aircraft andhelicopters pounded over 50 Hamas military targets in Gaza over the spanof just a few minutes, killing at least 280 people and wounding over 600 sins the campaign started by Saturday noon, in retaliation for unprovoked massive rocket attacks by Palestinians, fired against Israeli civilians over the past weeks. Israeli military spokesman Avi Benayahu said some 250 attacks were carried out since the offensive began. The Palestinians replied with sporadic rocket attacks, totaling over 60 rockets launched at Israeli cities and villages around the Gaza strip, killing a single Israeli man and wounding several others. According to theAssociated Press report, one rocket struck close to the largest city in southern Israel, Ashdod, some 23 miles (38 km) from Gaza. It reached almost twice as deep into Israeli territory as ever before and confirmed security officials' concerns that militants are capable of putting major cities within rocket range. According to official military sources in Israel, since the campaign began, more than 110 rockets and mortars have bombarded southern Israel.Hamas said the strikes destroyed its security structures across Gaza and killed three senior officials - the Gaza police chief, the police commander for central Gaza and the head of the group's bodyguard unit. Israel is expected to continue and pursue top military targets, while political leaders could also be among Israel's hit list. The Israelis are expected to continue their pursuit of Hamas' infrastructure, especially rocket production and storage sites, while hunting down rocket launching teams preparing to launch rockets at Israeli targets. One such team was spotted and terminated before launching its rockets on the evening of the first day of the attack. Although the Israeli attack was prepared for weeks, careful operational security and a well planned psychological deception campaign left the Palestinians completely surprised, despite their expectance of the incoming attack. Deception tactics employed known tactical limitations, such as weather operational limitations, and extensive and prolonged political deliberation and indecision among the Israeli interim caretaker government, which kept the enemy, and the Israeli public, unsuspicious about the imminent strike. Today's confrontation came after the final collapse of the Egyptian brokered six-month Israeli-Hamas truce that expired a week ago, on December 19, 2008. The Israeli attacks caught Hamas unprepared, causing severe casualties especially in areas where militants gathered after days of preparations for the Israeli action. Nevertheless, Hamas swiftly responded by firing several almost 60 rockets into the Jewish state, killing one Israeli and wounding several civilians. However, the Israelis are not alluding themselves about their opponent's capabilities, and are preparing themselves to absorb more and heavier hits in the coming days, as operation "Lead Cast" continues. Emergency Martial Law has already been declared by the Home Defense Command covering almost 30 kilometers range of possible rocket strikes. 
Friday, December 26, 2008
Unsafe for Indians to travel to Pak, says MEA advisory
It is for the first time in 30 years that such an advisory has been issued against Pakistan.
Responding to a question about arrest of alleged Indian national Satish Anand in Pakistan on suspicion of being involved in the Lahore blast, the official spokesperson said:
"There have been reports in the Pakistani media that several Indian nationals have been arrested over the last two days in Lahore and Multan, and are being accused of being terrorists.
Since it was also reported in the Pakistani media yesterday that the senior police officer in Lahore was unaware of the arrest in his city, it seems that this is the work of other agencies in Pakistan that operate outside the law and civilian control.
Indian citizens are therefore advised that it would be unsafe for them to travel or be in Pakistan."
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Pilots not trained to land in Delhi's fog
Winter is here and so is the fog situation that adds to every traveller's worries year after year. Delhi is the worst-hit, despite crores of rupees spent on installing state-of-the-art CAT 3 system. Ironically Delhi is the only city in India with CAT 3 compliant systems that allow pilots to land in near zero visibility.
But it's not the fog alone that is to be blamed. Airlines facing a severe cash crunch can't afford to spend lakhs on pilots training on the new CAT 3 system.
Flights are being delayed, connections missed and airlines are even cancelling their destinations.
"This is completely wrong. The airlines should at least inform us," said Madhur, a passenger.
So, why is the same story repeated year after year?
It costs between Rs 8 to 10 lakhs to train each pilot on CAT 3. It's no surprise then that despite directives from the civil aviation ministry, airlines are resisting the move. With only 1,163 trained pilots in the country the numbers are simply not enough.
"The aviation sector has collapsed. Private airlines are in a catch-22 situation. They are in deep trouble and training of pilots means more money. They are already in loss," said Rajiv Pratap Rudy, former civil aviation minister.
But not all airlines are willing to take responsibility.
"We have 58 crews which are equipped for landing in CAT 3 conditions. Unfortunately everything slows up because of the weather," said
Captain Jack Eckle, operations head, SpiceJet.
The government has now decided to put its foot down. All airlines have been ordered to have pilots trained on CAT 3 during low hours in Delhi. It's something that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will personally oversee.
"What is needed is that all the players should act more cohesively. Airlines have to keep their passengers informed and everyone should coordinate more," said K Gohain, former Director General, Ministry of Civil Aviation.
But will it be enough? And will change finally come through?
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Purchase of Spyder Quick-Reaction Anti-Aircraft Missile SystemIndian Government
Transfer of Technology for series upgrade of MiG-29 aircraft and their Repair and Overhaul (ROH) is part of the upgrade contract. However, transfer of technology was not considered viable in case of Low Level Quick Reaction Missile system.
An expenditure of 964.082 million USD (approx Rs. 3875.61 crores) would be towards upgrade of MiG-29 aircraft, and USD 260,050,000 (approx Rs. 1137.71875 crores) for purchase of Low Level Quick Reaction Missile Systems.
This information was given by the Defence Minister Shri A K Antony in a written reply to Shri Vijay Jawaharlal Darda in Rajya Sabha today.
Full Reservations at Taj and Trident
Agra: Almost a month since they were attacked by the terrorists, Taj Mahal Palace and Tower and Trident, which plan to reopen on 21st December, say that they are flooded with requests for reservations at theirrestaurants.On 21st December, at 7:30 in the evening, Taj Tower wing will open The Zodiac Grill, Souk, Masala Kraft, Aquarius, Shamiana, Starboard and La Patisserie. On the other hand, Trident and Oberoi hotels will openFrangipani, India Jones, Opium Den and Verandah.For added customer comfort, Taj hotel is making excellent transport arrangements for the guests to arrive and depart from the hotel with the addition of two Jaguars to its fleet for guest transfers.
Second ground-test F-35 Lightning II rolls out on schedule
The new F-35, called AG-1, is the full-scale static test article for the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant, which will be flown by the US Air Force and eight of the nine F-35 partner countries.
The static test aircraft for the short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant was delivered earlier this year and has successfully completed a third of its planned test programme in Fort Worth, Texas.
'AG-1 will be placed in a state-of-the-art test rig where twisting, bending and pulling forces are applied to validate that the CTOL variant's structure can sustain the tremendous forces and loads exerted during flight,' said Dan Crowley, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and F-35 programme general manager.
'This test article enables F-35 to retire technical risk as quickly as possible so flight testing can progress toward the CTOL's full nine-G performance envelope on schedule,' he added.
In late March, AG-1 will depart Fort Worth by truck and will be transferred to a cargo ship for the final voyage to the BAE Systems Structures Laboratory in Brough, England. Arrival is expected in late April.
Prior to shipping, AG-1 will undergo pressure testing of the canopy and fuel tanks, and will be outfitted with final instrumentation and load-application pads and fittings.
Upon the completion of the full-scale static testing programme, AG-1 will be shipped back to the United States.
Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 with its principal industrial partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. Two separate, interchangeable F-35 engines are under development: the Pratt & Whitney F135 and the GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team F136.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2007 sales of $41.9 billion.
Ceat again slashes truck tyre prices
Tyre maker Ceat Ltd Saturday said it would slash prices of its truck tyres by 3-4 percent.
The latest price revision is the second in 10 days, and will come into immediate effect.
Earlier, the company had announced a price reduction on its tyres by about 3.6 percent. The fresh revision in prices will see these reduced by 6.6-7.6 percent.
"Ceat's decision to further reduce the cost of its tyres is part of the company's belief of giving optimum benefit to its consumers. The cost-effectiveness gained by the best practices adopted by Ceat in cost cutting and the benefits we have gained by the reduction in raw prices have been passed on to our customers," Ceat vice president of sales and marketing Arnab Banerjee said.
"This is the second round of price cuts we have announced in less than two weeks. With this price cut our customers stand to gain 6.6 per cent-7.6 per cent,"
Gaza militant killed in Israeli air strike
An Israeli air strike has killed a Palestinian militant in the Gaza Strip, a day after the end of a six-month-old ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas rulers of the enclave, the army and Palestinians said.
An Israeli military official said the air strike targeted a group of militants firing rockets towards Israel.
Palestinian medics said one militant was killed and another was wounded when a missile exploded in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.
The attack came hours after two rockets fired from Gaza landed in Israel, causing no damage or injuries, the army said.
Hamas declared the end of the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with the Jewish state in the Gaza Strip on Thursday (local time), raising the prospect of an escalation in cross-border fighting.
Armed Islamist factions in Gaza went on alert on Friday (local time) and warned Israel not to attack the coastal enclave.
Under the truce, brokered by Egypt in June, Palestinian militants would halt rocket fire in return for Israel gradually easing its blockade of the Gaza Strip to allow in more aid.
But the ceasefire has been eroded almost daily since early November after a deadly Israeli army raid into Gaza prompted showers of largely ineffective rockets into Israel.
Egypt said on Friday it had not been asked to repair the truce.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Pakistan to get Chinese airborne surveillance system
Under the $278-million deal, the unmanned surveillance aircraft will be delivered to Pakistan during the next four years on a deferred payment basis, The News reported.
Pakistani Minister for Defence Production Abdul Qayyum Khan Jatoi presented the details of the agreement to the country's lower house of parliament Wednesday.
The report came as tensions between Pakistan and India are intensifying following last month's Mumbai terrorist attacks, which New Delhi believes were carried out by Pakistan-based Islamic terrorists.
Islamabad has claimed that two Indian jet fighters violated its airspace last week. The Foreign Office Thursday summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner to convey concerns over the "technical and air space violations by Indian aircraft" on December 12 and 13.
India has denied any violation of Pakistan's airspace.
India tests Brahmos cruise missile, says no link to 26/11
The launch comes at a time of heightened tension between India and Pakistan over last month's Mumbai attacks.
Indian defence officials said the launch had been planned well before the Mumbai attacks.
The Brahmos missile, named after India's Brahmaputra river and Russia's Moscow river, can travel at up to 2.8 times the speed of sound and has a range of 290 kmhan, according to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
"The launch from a moving frontline naval platform in the Bay of Bengal was very successful and we are thrilled as this is very significant," DRDO official Suranjan Pal told Reuters, adding that the launch took months of planning.
India, which has the world's fourth-largest military, plans to fit the missile in several ships, the DRDO said in a statement.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
No cheer in Orissa this Christmas?
There won't be any Christmas cheer in Orissa this year. A pall of gloom has descended on the Christian community as Hindutva groups have called for a bandh on December 25.The stage is set for a confrontation with Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik saying the bandh will not be allowed and Hindutva groups determined to go ahead.The mood in the Christian community in Orissa is gloomy, not only because of what happened in Kandhmal during Christmas in 2007 and between August and October 2008, but also because of a statewide bandh called by Hindutva groups to protest the state government's failure in catching the killers of Swami Laxmananand Saraswati."There's a great fear in the minds of the people that anything may happen on that day. The people feel they are not safe to celebrate the feat of the birth of Christ. Besides, people have been coming from outside of Kandhmal and they are going around with arms and ammunition. We don't know who they are," said Raphael Cheenath, Archbishop, Bhubaneshwar-Cuttack.The Union Home Ministry has sent an advisory to the state government to ensure a peaceful Christmas and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has also assured the state assembly that no bandh will be allowed on the Christmas day."No bandh will be permitted on December 25, the Christmas day. We should not let violence mar the day," said Patnaik.However, the sangh parivaar is defiant."We don't need anybody's permission for the bandh. Is it enough to arrest five to seven people? Why has the government not been able to apprehend the conspirators behind Swami ji's killing?" said Gouri Prasad Rath, secretary, VHP, Orissa.However, the bandh call has little support from the ordinary man."We Hindus celebrate our festivals. Likewise Christmas is the biggest festival for them. So what's the point behind such a move?" said a local resident.This Christmas will be a testing time for the Orissa government because it has to live up to the promises made by the chief minister to the Christian community and also because the Bharatiya Janata Party, a partner in the government, is unwilling to oppose the bandh.
Drillers looking for geothermal energy in Hawaii have inadvertently put a well right into a magma chamber.
Molten rock pushed back up the borehole several metres before solidifying, making it perfectly safe to study.
Magma specialist Bruce Marsh says it will allow scientists to observe directly how granites are made.
"This is unprecedented; this is the first time a magma has been found in its natural habitat," the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, professor told BBC News.
"Before, all we had to deal with were lava flows; but they are the end of a magma's life. They're lying there on the surface, they've de-gassed. It's not the natural habitat.
"It's the difference between looking at dinosaur bones in a museum and seeing a real, living dinosaur roaming out in the field."
Professor Marsh has been discussing the discovery here at the American Geophysical Union's Fall Meeting 2008.
In control
This is not the first time drillers have encountered magma; the depth of the hit and the setting are, however, thought to be unique.
The exploratory well was being put down in the east of Hawaii's Big Island, through the basalt lava fields formed by Kilauea Volcano
But the drillers were shocked - not only to hit magma but to also hit such a big heat source at the relatively shallow depth of 2.5km.
"It's hotter than hell; it's over a thousand degrees centigrade," said Professor Marsh.
Bill Teplow, a consulting geologist with US Geothermal Inc, who oversaw the drilling, stressed there was no risk of an explosion or of a volcanic eruption at the site.
"It was easily controlled in the well bore because of the magma's highly viscous nature. It flowed up the well bore 5-10m but then the cool drilling fluid caused it to solidify and stop flowing," said Mr Teplow.
"At no time were we in danger of losing control of the well."
They are not sure how large the magma chamber is, but some initial testing suggests it may have been put in place by activity from Kilauea in the 1950s, perhaps even the 1920s.
Professor Marsh said the chamber was docile and slowly cooling. The consistency of the magma was like chilled pancake syrup, he said.
It is hoped the site can now become a laboratory, with a series of cores drilled around the chamber to better characterise the crystallisation changes occurring in the rock as it loses temperature.
The magma is a dacite, making it chemically distinct from the basalt which forms nearly the entire mass of the Hawaiian Islands and the surrounding oceanic crust. It has a much higher silica content
"Granites are about 75% SiO2 and basalts are about 50%. Average continental material is probably in between, at about 60%," explained Professor Marsh.
"Here's one that turns out to be 67% silica. It's up there; it's a very respectable silicic magma. And it's in the middle of the ocean, and it could be this is how continents could have been started to be built on the planet."
Geothermal experts are also fascinated by the event. The Kilauea encounter is by far the shallowest and the hottest encounter of rock in a commercial operation, and it will be studied to see if there are lessons that can be applied to electrical generation project elsewhere in the world.
"We were at about 2.5km which is pretty routine drilling depth," explained Mr Teplow.
"But that is half the depth of experimental projects in Europe and Australia where they are drilling very deep into hot granite - some 5-5.5km down - and getting 260C rock; and here we're getting 1,050C rock."
Chrysler plants close for a month
Chrysler needs to save money as it waits for the US government to find a way to help the car industry.
A $14bn (£9.4bn) bail-out deal for the industry failed in the Senate last week, raising fears of job cuts and a possible industry collapse.
Chrysler also needs to reduce production to reflect falling demand as the economy stumbles.
Dealers have been unable to sell cars even to people with the confidence to buy them, because they have been unable to take out car-loans.
"As a result of the financial crisis, the automotive market remains depressed due to the continued lack of consumer credit for potential buyers," Chrysler said in a statement.
Job losses
It left open the possibility that the plants would be closed for more than a month.
"Impacted employees will not return to work any sooner than Monday 19 January," it said.
Also on Wednesday, Ford announced it was to extend the normal two-week Christmas shut-down at 10 of its North American plants for an extra week.
Last week, General Motors announced it was shutting down 30% of its North American production.
Chrysler, Ford and General Motors have warned that millions of jobs could be lost if the government does not agree to a package of loans to support the industry.
While 46,000 Chrysler employees will be directly affected by the plants closure, many more Americans whose jobs depend on the big car makers will be watching with great concern, says the BBC's North America editor, Justin Webb.
The Bush administration has said it will act to prevent a disorderly collapse of the car industry, and loans to keep the big three companies in business could be arranged within days, our correspondent adds.
The White House warned on Tuesday that the carmakers would have to make "concessions" to secure the bail-out.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Asian giants agree economic plan
Japan and China's prime ministers and the South Korean president - meeting in Japan - agreed to boost trade and greatly increase currency swaps.
China's Wen Jiabao called the summit, the first of its kind, a "milestone".
He said such co-operation would "have real significance" as the crisis impacted on economies around the world.
The North Asian nations, former enemies, have held talks on the sidelines of international meetings, but this is their first independent trilateral summit.
"It is quite a milestone to hold a stand-alone China-Japan-South Korea summit," Mr Wen said as he opened talks with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in the southern city of Fukuoka.
Swap facilities
The BBC's Duncan Bartlett in Tokyo says China, Japan and South Korea are closely intertwined economically and their leaders regard co-operation with their neighbours as a vital means of lifting the East Asian region out of its current financial malaise.
In a joint statement, the leaders said that Asia was "expected to play a role as the centre of world economic growth in order to reverse the downward trend of the world economy".
Our correspondent says the nations believe the swaps will prevent a repeat of the situation 11 years ago when sudden slides in currency values triggered a major financial crisis in Asia.
The three men also called for an urgent injection of capital into the Asian Development Bank.
Ahead of the talks, the South Korean central bank announced in a statement that it had increased its bilateral swap facility with the Bank of Japan to $20bn (£13bn), and a similar facility with the People's Bank of China to $26bn.
Japan is also trying to put aside its past differences with China, partly because it was trade between them that helped pull Japan out of its last prolonged recession during the 1990s, our correspondent says.
On Friday, the Japanese government increased by 23 trillion yen ($255bn) its stimulus plan, more than half of which will be used to bring stability to the financial markets. It follows a 27 trillion-yen package in October.
"This is a great global recession which comes once in a hundred years," Mr Aso said. "But by taking appropriate measures without any delay, we can minimise the impact."
Earlier this week, China revealed that its exports had fallen for the first time in seven years. However, it still reported a record monthly trade surplus.
Beijing launched a four trillion yuan ($586bn) stimulus plan last month, and on Wednesday pledged to boost public spending and cut taxes.
South Korea, the hardest hit by the financial crisis, meanwhile offered $130bn of guarantees on foreign-currency borrowing and liquidity to its banks.
At a separate meeting on Saturday, the South Korean and Japanese leaders condemned North Korea for showing an "unco-operative attitude" in the latest round of six-party talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear disarmament programme in Beijing this week.
