Tuesday, May 05, 2009

DTN News: Medical TODAY May 6, 2009 - Sub: Exosome Complex

DTN News: Medical TODAY May 6, 2009 - Sub: Exosome Complex
(NSI News Source Info) May 6, 2009: The exosome complex (or PM/Scl complex, often just called the exosome) is a multi-protein complex capable of degrading various types of RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecules. Exosome complexes can be found in both eukaryotic cells and archaea, while in bacteria a simpler complex called the degradosome carries out similar functions. The core of the complex has a six-membered ring structure, to which other proteins are attached. In eukaryotic cells, the complex is present in the cytoplasm, nucleus and especially the nucleolus, although different proteins interact with the complex in these compartments, in order to regulate the RNA degradation activity of the complex to substrates specific for these cell compartments.
Substrates of the exosome include messenger RNA, ribosomal RNA, and many species of small RNAs. The exosome has an exoribonucleolytic function, meaning it degrades RNA starting at one side (the so-called 3′ end this case), rather than cleaving the RNA at specific sites. Although no causative relation between the complex and any disease is known, several proteins in the complex are the target of autoantibodies in patients with specific autoimmune diseases (especially the PM/Scl overlap syndrome) and some antimetabolitic chemotherapies for cancer function by blocking the activity of the complex.

DTN News: Russia TODAY May 6, 2009

DTN News: Russia TODAY May 6, 2009
(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW - May 6, 2009: A military vehicle drives in front of the Winter Palace, during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, May 5, 2009. Russia celebrates the anniversary of the allied victory over Nazi Germany on May 9.

DTN News: Military TODAY May 6, 2009

DTN News: Military TODAY May 6, 2009
(NSI News Source Info) May 6, 2009: Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili shakes hands with soldiers after they ended their mutiny at the Mukhrovani military base some 10 kms outside Tbilisi May 5, 2009. A military mutiny in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia appears to be "a somewhat isolated incident," a Pentagon spokesman said, playing down an incident that drew Georgian accusations of Russian involvement.
Georgia said the mutiny by a tank battalion on the eve of NATO exercises was backed by Russia, a charge Moscow's envoy to NATO called "insane."

Italian Takes Over Eurofighter Consortium

Italian Takes Over Eurofighter Consortium
(NSI News Source Info) ROME - May 6, 2009: Alenia Aeronautica executive Enzo Casolini has been appointed head of the Eurofighter industrial consortium, it was announced May 5. Casolini, formerly commercial head for military aircraft at consortium partner Alenia, replaces Aloysius Rauen, who stepped down on April 30. The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine canard-delta wing multirole aircraft. It is being designed and built by a consortium of three separate partner companies: Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, and EADS working through a holding company Eurofighter GmbH which was formed in 1986. The project is managed by NETMA (NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency) which acts as the prime customer. The series production of the Eurofighter Typhoon is underway, and the aircraft is being procured under three separate contracts (referred to as "tranches"), each for aircraft with successively greater capabilities. The aircraft has entered service with the UK Royal Air Force, the German Luftwaffe, the Italian Air Force, the Spanish Air Force and the Austrian Air Force. Saudi Arabia has signed a £4.43 billion (approx. 6.4 billion c. 2007) contract for 72 aircraft. Born in 1945, Casolini served as an officer in the Italian Air Force. In 1978, he joined the NATO MRCA Management Agency in Munich to work on aircraft equipment qualification. After leaving the Air Force in 1987, he joined Aeritalia - later renamed Alenia Aeronautica - in 1989, where he was appointed senior vice president and head of commercial for Military Air Systems in 2002. Eurofighter also announced that Bernhard Gerwert had been appointed the new chairman of the Supervisory Board. Gerwert, born in 1953, is presently CEO of Military Air Systems, a business unit of EADS Defence & Security and a member of the board of EADS Defence & Security, Eurofighter said in a statement.

US President Barack Obama's Afghan-Pakistan Challenge / Talks To Mull Pakistan 'Sanctuaries': President Hamid Karzai

US President Barack Obama's Afghan-Pakistan Challenge / Talks To Mull Pakistan 'Sanctuaries': President Hamid Karzai
(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - May 6, 2009: Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai Tuesday said a White House summit with his Pakistani counterpart will discuss closing militant "sanctuaries" in Pakistan. Karzai said that Afghans overwhelmingly opposed Taliban extremists but said that the militants enjoyed bases across the porous border with Pakistan. Local residents sit on the rooftop of a bus to flee from the area in Mingora, the main of town of Pakistan Swat Valley, Tuesday, May 5, 2009. Taliban militants patrolled the streets of a northwestern town Monday and residents were ordered to flee as a peace deal widely criticized as a surrender to the extremists appeared on the verge of collapse, witnesses and officials said. "The return of the Taliban is because we did not address the question of sanctuaries in time. Unfortunately, today, Pakistan is suffering with us massively as a consequence of that," Karzai said. Karzai is set to meet Wednesday with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and US President Barack Obama, who has put a new focus on rooting out extremism from the region. "Tomorrow we will have an occasion between us -- Afghanistan, Pakistan and America -- to address this very question," Karzai said at the Brookings Institution think-tank. "Afghanistan will do all that it can, in immense friendship and brotherhood with Pakistan and alliance and friendship with America, to address it," he said. Pakistan was the main backer of Afghanistan's hardline Taliban regime until the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, which then invaded and paved the way for Karzai to take office in Kabul. Karzai said that Afghans remained deeply grateful to Pakistan for helping fight the Soviet Union and then playing host to millions of Afghan refugees. Pakistani police officials collect evidence at the site following a suicide blast near Bara on May 5, 2009, where the city limits of Peshawar run into the semi-autonomous tribal area of Khyber, which is infested with Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants. A suicide car bomber rammed a Pakistan military vehicle on the edge of the northwest city of Peshawar, killing four civilians and wounding another nine people, police said. But he said Afghanistan had "differences of opinion" with "certain elements of the Pakistani policy," such as the use of religious radicalism. He also dismissed Pakistan's concerns about rival India's influence in Afghanistan, saying his country was free to make its own friends. "We are a very jealous country when it comes to that. We love our independence like hell and our sovereignty," Karzai said. "That's why we have fought everybody."

The Russian Miracle And Magnificent Doctor Is Absolutely Stunning, Who Cures Every Disease With Own Formula: Part # 2 (Topic - Allergy)

The Russian Miracle And Magnificent Doctor Is Absolutely Stunning, Who Cures Every Disease With Own Formula: Part # 2 (Topic - Allergy)
*DTN News will up-date on weekly basis info on the Russian miracle and magnificent doctor respectively. This is an exclusive story of DTN Defense-Technology News
(NSI News Source Info) SINGAPORE - May 6, 2009: The miracle doctor is Ashot Khachatryan Papikovicha, he is very kind, gentle and humble also known as 'Professor K' or 'Professor DaDa' (In Russian Da means Yes) . The Professor K is very confident on his formula curing every possible human disease and repeats Da....Da!
Founder and President of the Academy-KHACHATRYAN Ashot PAPIKOVICH - Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Honored Inventor of Russia, Laureate of the Prize Goskomizobreteny USSR, academician of the Russian Academy of Medical and Technical Sciences, Academician of European Academy of Natural Sciences, academician of the New York Academy of Sciences, a member of the Union of Journalists of Russia.
ALLERGY-TRUE CAUSE FOUND! According to the developers of the project
«The European Network for Asthma and Allergies» 2015 European countries facing the epidemic of allergic diseases. Scientists from 25 research centers argue that if not the true cause of allergy, by which time half of Europeans will suffer from allergies. To date, three main causes of allergies. First, it is the allergens, ie substances that provoke its appearance. It can be food, smells, animal fur, etc. The second reason is emissions-free pool of histamine, which causes an allergic reaction. The third reason - immunodeficiency. Accordingly, methods for the treatment of allergies are usually to the exclusion of allergens and receive antihistamines and immunostimulatory drugs. Before the so-called treatment is to identify the allergen samples. And I have to say, the list of allergens is so high that all of this so-called treatment is absurd. With current treatment methods is that some people suffering from allergies, it can not be practically nothing is, nothing to breathe - in this case, they rid themselves of allergic manifestations, but not from the allergy. Agree, this is small consolation for those who wish to live a full life with no allergies, and without it. It is evident that the cure for any disease, you need to find its true cause and eliminate it. Indeed, today there is more questions, on which there is no answer. What is the cause of education free of histamine in the body? Why are some allergens act on some and not act on other people? Is there a way out of this vicious circle, or people with allergies and will be doomed for life to swallow handfuls anti-allergic drugs (protivoallergicheskie) means that can alleviate the condition only for the duration of their admission? Out there! According to Professor Khachatrian AP in patients with allergy, from faecal masses colon is almost always provided with pathogenic Escherichia coli gistaminogennym factor. Studies have shown that it blocks the enzyme gistaminazu, which regulates the formation of histamine. Gistaminaza When the enzyme is blocked, there is education and the uncontrolled release of histamine in the body, which is the main cause of allergic reactions. As for the pathogenic Escherichia coli? Where did it appear? The point is that in the process of evolution of man in his large intestine to settle more than 500 species of bacteria, which reaches hundreds of thousands of billions. They are involved in metabolism, synthesis and sharing of vitamins. One of the main functions of intestinal microflora - neutralization of the food allergens that are in principle exist in any food as well as the formation and maintenance of the immune system. Stress, poor ecology, fillers and chemical preservatives in foods, the excessive passion for medicine and others, kill good intestinal microflora. Instead, inhabits a bad microflora. Thus, the root cause of allergy is to reduce the number of a good colon microflora and, consequently, a violation of neutralizing allergens, immune deficiency. The emergence of pathogenic Escherichia coli, which blocks the enzyme gistaminazu that leads to the formation of excess free histamine in the body. Permanent absorption into the blood allergens and toxins on a background of immunodeficiency and increased content of histamine, resulting in allergic reactions and allergies in general. Professor Khachatrian AP developed a new method for treating various forms of allergies both in children and adults, based on addressing the root causes of the disease. Method has been patented in Russia and the United States and allowed to fully heal (and do not learn to live with the disease), many patients with allergies and other diseases, in which it rests.
Founder and President of the Academy-KHACHATRYAN Ashot PAPIKOVICH - Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Honored Inventor of Russia, Laureate of the Prize Goskomizobreteny USSR, academician of the Russian Academy of Medical and Technical Sciences, Academician of European Academy of Natural Sciences, academician of the New York Academy of Sciences, a member of the Union of Journalists of Russia.
Born in 1956 in Yerevan in a family of doctors. In 1980 graduated from the Yerevan Medical Institute and moved to Novosibirsk. In 1989 he defended his Ph.D. thesis. In 1992, he had already awarded a doctorate in medical sciences. He is the author of 6 monographs and more than 300 scientific and popular articles, more than 60 patents, received in the country and abroad, more than two dozen branch rationalization proposals significance of the use of the Ministry of Health of Russia. His inventions were awarded many medals - three gold and two silver and two bronze medals VDNKh USSR medals R. Koch, P. Ehrlich, A. Schweitzer, R. Virhova, diplomas and medals awarded at international exhibitions.
In 1988, he awarded the first prize Goskomizobreteny the USSR for the development of new diagnostic methods, recognized as the best invention of the year in all areas of science and technology.
In 1998, Presidential Decree him the honorary title «Honorary inventor of Russia» for the long and fruitful work on inventions and rationalization of health care. This honorary title was awarded to doctors only, Professor G. Ilizarov and Academician S. Fyodorov.
In 2004, for the high scientific and technological advances in health care, Khachatrian AP was awarded the highest award of the European Academy of Natural Sciences - «Grand Cross», as well as medals Virhova R. and A. Schweitzer.
In 2006, for the great achievements in the health and recovery of the population of Russia, he was awarded the highest medal a sign of Russian Academy of Medical and Technical Sciences «Gold Medal them. A. Chyczewska ».
The name of Ashot Khachatryan Papikovicha known far beyond the boundaries of our country. Widely known of his device and methods for early, rapid - diagnosing various pathological conditions and diseases, including cancer.
He is the author of the original concept of the causes of cancer, as well as many other serious human diseases. They developed and successfully introduced into clinical practice new methods of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the various, currently considered incurable, disease.

UN Rebukes Israel Over Gaza Raids

UN Rebukes Israel Over Gaza Raids
(NSI News Source Info) May 6, 2009: A United Nations inquiry into attacks by Israeli forces on UN property during the Gaza conflict four months ago has heavily criticised Israel's army. It found Israel to blame in six out of nine incidents when death and injuries were caused to people sheltering at UN property and UN buildings were damaged. Palestinian children play with a ball outside their houses that were destroyed during Israel's 22-day offensive, in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on May 5, 2009. Israel blasted a harsh UN report on its three-week war on Gaza in January 2009 that is to be submitted to the Security Council, calling it patently biased, tendentious and misleading. In one case, Palestinian militants were found to have fired at a UN warehouse. The UN recommends further investigation into possible war crimes. Israel has branded the report "highly unbalanced". The investigation rejects Israel's claim that militants were firing from the Fakhura school when at least 40 people outside the school were killed in shellfire. The board of inquiry also criticises Israel's use of white phosphorous shells which caused the incineration of UN's main food warehouse in Gaza. The Israeli foreign ministry said UN investigators had ignored evidence given by Israel and had sided with the Palestinian Hamas movement. "The spirit of the report and its language are tendentious and entirely unbalanced and ignore the facts as they were presented to the commission," it said in a statement. "The commission prefers the positions of Hamas, a murderous terror organization, and by doing so misleads the world public." 'Untrue' The BBC's Laura Trevelyan at the UN says it is a hard-hitting report which includes heavy criticism of the Israeli military's actions and subsequent explanations and justifications. The UN board's first recommendation seeks "formal acknowledgment" by Israel that its public statements that Palestinians fired from a UN school and from within the UN's field office compound "were untrue and are regretted". Another says the UN should take appropriate action to seek accountability and reparation for all deaths and injuries involving its personnel and property. The report says Israel's actions were in breach of the agreement that UN premises and those sheltering within them should be immune from attack, something which cannot be set aside for military action. The board says investigating the deaths of the 40 people killed outside the Fakhura school is outside its remit. It recommends that this and allegations of war crimes committed in Gaza and southern Israel by Palestinian militants and Israel should be investigated by another inquiry. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has stressed this report is not a legal document.

Miss America 2009 Katie Stam To Visit America's Troops In Germany

Miss America 2009 Katie Stam To Visit America's Troops In Germany
(NSI News Source Info) LINWOOD, N.J. - May 5, 2009: Miss America 2009, Katie Stam, will travel abroad to visit America's heroes in Germany from May 7-11. This trip will mark the first time a current Miss America has visited Germany in nearly 30 years! Miss America 2009 Katie Stam, left, poses for a snapshot with driver Tony Stewart during qualifying for Sunday's Aarons 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala. , on Saturday, April 25, 2009. During this patriotic trip, Katie, whose family is of German ancestry, will be participating in special events that show our support of these brave men and women and their families serving abroad. Katie will participate in an Equal Employment Opportunity Conference May 7 in Stuttgart, as a part of Women's History Month, on the subject of "Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling." On May 8, she will be speaking to students at the Patch Elementary School and High School at Patch Barracks, in Stuttgart, about her personal platform, "Promoting Community Service and Involvement." She will also sing the National Anthem during a military ceremony. Miss America will continue her trip as she visits troops at Storck Barracks May 9, in Illesheim Germany. Illesheim, is located 45 minutes from Nuernberg. At the base, she will participate in a charity 5K Run, a plaque dedication ceremony, and she will help military families make "Welcome Home" banners for redeployed troops. Later that day, she will participate in a family day and a barbecue with military personnel who will soon be deployed to Iraq. A special celebration and tribute for Mother's Day is planned for Miss America, who will visit wounded troops at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, The Fisher House and the USO Wounded Warrior program. On the last day of her visit, Miss America will appear at the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) Commander's Interagency Engagement Group Speaker's Series to discuss her visit to the White House where she met President Obama. In addition, she will speak on her platform of promoting community service. Before departing Germany, Katie will meet with the Lord Mayor of Stuttgart, visit with students at a German elementary school, visit historical sites and join Vice Adm. Richard Gallagher, USEUCOM Deputy Commander, for the opening of a German-American Art Exhibit. About Miss America The Miss America Organization is one of the nation's leading achievement programs and the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local affiliates made available more than $45 million in scholarship assistance.

China To Hold Large-Scale Military Drills In Second Half Of 2009

China To Hold Large-Scale Military Drills In Second Half Of 2009
(NSI News Source Info) BEIJING - May 5, 2009: China will conduct large-scale military exercises involving 50,000 troops in the second half of this year, the Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday, citing military sources. Four divisions supported by air force units will take part in the Kuayue-2009 drills, which will be conducted on the territory of the Shenyang, Lanzhou, Jinan and Guangzhou military districts. The exercises will test the People Liberation Army's (PLA) command and decision-making capabilities and the interoperability of ground troops and air units in intense electronic warfare conditions.
The drills will also involve airborne assault operations and special forces missions. The 2008 China Military Power Report, released by the U.S. Congress, said that Beijing spent as much as $139 billion last year on modernizing its military forces. The sum is more than three times China's officially announced defense budget, According to official Chinese data, the PLA currently numbers 2.3 million active personnel deployed in seven military districts, with over 800,000 reserves.

DTN News: India TODAY May 5, 2009

DTN News: India TODAY May 5, 2009
(NSI News Source Info) SILIGURI, India - May 5, 2009: Indian female paramilitary soldiers stand guard near the border with Nepal ahead of third phase polls, at Panitanki village, about 40 km (25 miles) north of the eastern Indian city of Siliguri April 28, 2009. The India-Nepal and India-Bangladesh border will remain sealed from 28 April evening to 30 April, Siliguri's sub-divisional officer said on Tuesday.

Bangladesh: Nabbed Official Tried To Send Arms To Militants In India / Ex-Bangladesh Intelligence Chief Arrested For Links With ULFA

Bangladesh: Nabbed Official Tried To Send Arms To Militants In India / Ex-Bangladesh Intelligence Chief Arrested For Links With ULFA
(NSI News Source Info) DHAKA - May 5, 2009: Bangladesh authorities have nabbed a former senior official of the National Security Intelligence (NSI) agency and charged him with providing transport and equipment for an illegal arms consignment meant for militants in India’s northeastern region. Sahab Uddin’s arrest Sunday followed a confessional statement by NSI’s field officer Akbar Hossain Khan who is being questioned for his role in the off-loading of a large arms cache that arrived in Chittagong April 2, 2004. Members of Bangladesh's security force stand guard in front of a picture of Awami League president and prime minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka. Bangladesh deployed some 6,000 elite soldiers who fanned out across the country as intelligence reports warned that the main contenders may be targeted by Islamic militants. The consignment was stored at the warehouse of a state sector firm, allegedly for transporting it across the Bangladesh-India border. The aborted attempt to smuggle arms had hit media headlines and caused concern in Dhaka and New Delhi. Then government of prime minister Khaleda Zia denied any role. India has for long complained that militants from its northeastern region operate from Bangladeshi soil to carry out their attacks. Dhaka denies the charge. Sahab Uddin, a wing commander of Bangladesh Air Force who joined the NSI on deputation, took voluntary retirement soon after the arms haul, The Daily star newspaper said Monday. Sahab Uddin was taken to Chittagong, the port town in southern Bangladesh, Sunday to be presented before a court. Khan, in a confessional statement before a magistrate Saturday, said he hired seven trucks and a crane from Greenways, a transport agency, for carrying the arms and ammunition on orders of Sahab Uddin. In the seven-page confessional statement to Metropolitan Magistrate Mahbubur Rahman, Khan said the trucks were supposed to carry the consignment up to Moulvibazar border while the crane was required for offloading those at Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Company Ltd (CUFL) jetty. Khan said he sensed that the trucks and crane were needed to offload and carry something illegal but he could not imagine that it might be a huge consignment of illegal firearms and ammunition, the newspaper said quoting unnamed CID sources who cited the confessional statement. Media reports have said the source of the arms and ammunition was not known. But they were transported in a vessel belonging to a private shipping company owned by Salahuddin Qader Choudhury, a confidante of Zia and a senior lawmaker belonging to her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). NSI is one of the five top organisations engaged in intelligence work in Bangladesh and is known to be concerned with domestic intelligence.

Russia To Start Building World's First Offshore Nuclear Plant

Russia To Start Building World's First Offshore Nuclear Plant
(NSI News Source Info) ST. PETERSBURG - May 5, 2009: A St. Petersburg-based shipyard will start building the world's first offshore nuclear power plant on May 18, the city's governor said on Tuesday. "There is no analogue to the plant, which is being built at the Baltiysky Zavod, in the world. If all goes well, we will have an excellent chance of entering the international market," Valentina Matviyenko said. Baltiysky Zavod has so far finished assembling eight steam generators for the offshore NPP. The contract to build the facility worth 9.9 billion rubles ($303 million) for the Rosatom state-run nuclear power corporation was signed in late February 2009. Demand for offshore nuclear power plants is expected to be high in regions experiencing power shortages and requiring stable energy supplies. A number of countries, including developing economies have already shown an interest in the project on condition that Russia develops a sample model first. The Baltiysky Zavod shipyard is expected to complete the offshore NPP in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Armenia May Pull Out Of NATO-Led Drills In Georgia

Armenia May Pull Out Of NATO-Led Drills In Georgia
(NSI News Source Info) YEREVAN - May 5, 2009: Armenia will not take part in the upcoming NATO-led Cooperative Longbow /Cooperative Lancer 2009 military exercises in Georgia, an Armenian newspaper said on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources. The Aravot newspaper said the decision was made after a meeting last Wednesday in Brussels between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at which the NATO chief supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Relations have been tense for more than two decades between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population. The region declared its independence in a 1991 after a referendum boycotted by local Azerbaijanis. The ensuing conflict claimed some 35,000 lives before a ceasefire was signed in 1994. The area technically remains part of Azerbaijan, but has its own de facto government. However, Armenian authorities have not yet officially confirmed the country's withdrawal from the NATO exercises. Armenian Foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti on Tuesday that the situation "was still unclear." The Cooperative Longbow/Cooperative Lancer 2009 command-and-staff exercise, which Russia has criticized as unhelpful in the wake of last summer's armed conflict between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia, is scheduled for May 6-June 1. According to NATO, the drills are aimed at improving interoperability between NATO and partner countries, within the framework of Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative programs, and will not involve any light or heavy weaponry. Over 1,300 troops from 19 NATO member or ally states were originally scheduled to participate, but Kazakhstan, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova and Serbia have already withdrawn. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan confirmed on May 1 its participation in the NATO-led exercises, and stressed the country's commitment to relations with NATO and its active participation in the Individual Partnership Action Plan.

Algeria Strengthens Military Ties With Mali

Algeria Strengthens Military Ties With Mali
(NSI News Source Info) BAMAKO, Algeria - May 5, 2009: Algeria has begun delivering military equipment to Mali as part of strengthened military cooperation between the neighboring countries, military sources said here May 4. The move follows a recent visit to Algeria by Mali's defense minister, during which he had talks with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. "This aid is rich and varied. I can tell you, for example, that it includes fuel for our troops, sleeping bags for special operations forces and even weapons," a source close to the army chiefs of staff said. A second military source said the army was expecting a total of five planeloads of military equipment from Algeria. Algeria has in recent months helped broker a settlement between Tuareg rebels active in northern Mail and the government in Bamako. The Tuaregs are a nomadic desert people. Malian troops last month arrested four suspected Islamist militants after an exchange of fire in the desert region of northern Mali, near the Algerian border. The men are suspected of links to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, the north African wing of Osama Bin Laden's terrorist group active in Algeria, who are holding two European tourists hostage.

South Korea, U.S. Sign Pact On Joint Cyber-Defense

South Korea, U.S. Sign Pact On Joint Cyber-Defense
(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL - May 5, 2009: South Korean and U.S. military authorities have agreed to work together on information assurance and computer network defense by creating a mechanism to assure freer sharing of information and technologies. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed April 30 by Woo Joo-ha, who runs the planning and coordination office of the Ministry of National Defense, and John Grimes, U.S. assistant defense secretary for networks and information integration, said the May 4 MND release. "The MoU, in particular, will help South Korea improve its cyber-defense capability and increase the interoperability on joint cyber-defense operations and information-sharing after Seoul takes over wartime operational control of its troops from the U.S. military in 2012," a ministry spokesman told reporters. The pact can be abrogated within 15 years based on mutual consent, he said. By 2012, the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command is to be disbanded and two separate theater commands will be set up on the Korean Peninsula under a 2007 agreement on command rearrangements. Concerns have been raised that South Korea, unlike under the combined force mechanism, would not acquire the same level of classified information and intelligence on North Korea after the wartime control transition. South Korea and the U.S. have held a military information sharing conference annually since 2005, but the level of information sharing has remained at a low level, said the spokesman. Under the agreement, both sides will be able to share up to "second-level" classified information if required, he said. The two sides will hold a new conference on information-sharing assurance and joint defense for computer network systems at least once a year under the latest agreement, he added. South Korea plans to expand its participation in international cyber-defense exercises to test and evaluate its accrued skills against cyber attacks, he noted. The Pentagon holds an international cyber-defense exercise annually that draws about 15 nations, ministry officials said. The South Korean military first took part in the exercise last year and is preparing to join the upcoming exercises in June and October, they said. South Korean authorities have seen no cyber attacks from North Korea, but have been bracing for a possible salvo in case of an emergency. The communist North is known to have established a cyber warfare unit, codenamed 121, in 1998. Report said the 10,000-personel unit has the technical capability to construct and deploy an array of cyber weapons. It has moderately advanced denial of service capabilities with moderate virus and malicious code capabilities.

Georgia 'Uncovers Military Coup'

Georgia 'Uncovers Military Coup'
(NSI News Source Info) May 5, 2009: Georgia has uncovered an attempted military coup, the country's defence minister says. David Sikharulidze said the rebellion was centred around the Mukhrovani military base. It was not immediately clear whether the supposed coup had already been launched, or whether the government had just disrupted an alleged plot. The announcement was made just a day before controversial Nato military exercises are due to begin in Georgia. The interior ministry told the BBC that the plotters wanted to destabilise Georgia and assassinate President Mikhail Saakashvili. A spokesman said there had been one arrest, but that the leader of the plot - a former chief of special forces - was still at large. The spokesman said the government had been aware of the plot for two months. "It was aimed at disrupting the Nato military exercises and an attempt at a military coup," Defence Minister Sikharulidze told Georgian TV. An interior ministry spokesman said the rebellion appeared to be "co-ordinated with Russia". Georgia and Russia have poisonous relations, and fought a war over Georgia's breakaway territory of South Ossetia last August. Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev has condemned Nato for planning military exercises in a country "where there was just a war".

Elite Indian Troops Practice Strategic Operations

Elite Indian Troops Practice Strategic Operations
(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI - May 5, 2009: Even as Pakistan's Army battles Taliban fighters near the capital Islamabad, India's elite land forces, capable of hitting deep inside enemy territory, have begun exercises in Punjab along the Pakistani border. The Ambala-based Kharga Corps, a rapid-action force of 15,000, is equipped to operate behind enemy lines and to carry out a proactive strategic role. "The exercise is being conducted as a two-sided exercise to practice the elite Kharga Corps in their operational tasks," the Defence Ministry said in a May 4 statement. "The Army aims to validate its doctrine of proactive strategy through the exercises." A senior Defence Ministry official said the weeklong exercise began May 3 at Barnala along the Indo-Pakistan border. "A large number of tanks, infantry combat vehicles, artillery guns and specialist vehicles continued these maneuvers by day and night under near warlike conditions," according to the ministry's statement. "A parachute drop by airborne troops and other heliborne operations was also undertaken to supplement the offensive by the mechanized forces." Indian defense forces have been preparing for operations behind enemy lines and incorporated a new military doctrine to this effect in 2004. The Army has 5,000 elite soldiers, trained at unknown locations by Israeli troops, who can swiftly enter enemy territory and even operate behind enemy lines, Indian Army sources said. New Delhi has complained several times at international forums that Muslim terrorists from various groups are being trained deep inside Pakistan. Immediately after the Nov. 26 Mumbai terror attacks, it was debated in the media whether India should attack terrorist bases operating inside Pakistan.

US Navy Orders Trimaran LCS Frigate / General Dynamics Awarded Contract For Additional Trimaran Littoral Combat Ship

US Navy Orders Trimaran LCS Frigate / General Dynamics Awarded Contract For Additional Trimaran Littoral Combat Ship
(NSI News Source Info) General Dynamics – May 5, 2009: Bath Iron Works (BIW), Bath, Maine, is being awarded contract N00024-09-C-2302 for Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) FY09 Flight 0+ ship construction, class design services, configuration management services, additional crew and shore support, special studies and post delivery support.
On May 1, 2009, the Navy renewed the contract with Austal/GD to build its second Trimaran LCS, the USS Coronado (LCS-4), with delivery scheduled for May 2012.
As this award represents Phase I of a competitive two-phased acquisition approach to procure FY09/FY10 LCS, with Phase II including potential award of up to three additional LCS Flight 0+ Class ships, the award amount is considered source selection information (see FAR 2.101 and 3.104) and will not be made public at this time.
Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala., (50 percent); Bath, Maine, (17 percent); Pittsfield, Mass., (14 percent); Ottowa, Ontario, (2 percent); California, Md., (1 percent); Baltimore, Md., (1 percent); Leesburg, Va., (1 percent); Burlington, Vt., (1 percent); and various locations of less than 1 percent each totaling 13 percent, and work is expected to be completed by June 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C. is the contracting activity (N00024-09-C-2302).

Australia Reveals Naval Expansion Plans

Australia Reveals Naval Expansion Plans
(NSI News Source Info) SYDNEY - May 5, 2009: Australia's defense budget will continue to grow beyond 2030 to sustain a significant increase in the size of the Royal Australian Navy as well as an overhaul of the rest of Australia's combat equipment. Three Hobart-class Air Warfare Destroyers are under construction for the Australian Defence Force. (PH2 MATTHEW BASH / U.S. NAVY) This was one of the key messages from Australia's long-awaited defense white paper, which was released by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd here May 2. The paper revealed plans to double the Navy's submarine fleet from six boats to 12 over the next 30 years. These new submarines, along with the planned replacement for the eight Anzac-class frigates and the three Hobart-class Air Warfare Destroyers, which are already under construction, will be armed with sea-launched, land-attack cruise missiles. And the Australian Defence Force (ADF) will acquire what the white paper terms "a satellite with a remote sensing capability, most likely to be based on a high-resolution ... synthetic aperture radar." The paper also confirms the Air Force's commitment to purchase "around 100" F-35A Joint Strike Fighters. Underpinning these and other planned purchases, the government has promised to continue increasing the defense budget by an average of 3 percent per year in real terms, out to the 2017-18 fiscal year. This is on top of the annual inflation index of 2.5 percent, which will be maintained to 2030, and amounts to 107 billion Australian dollars ($78.23 billion) in defense spending over the next four fiscal years alone. The 2008-09 defense budget is 22 billion Australian dollars. Details of the defense budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year, which begins July 1, won't be revealed until the government's annual budget announcement May 12. But Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon announced that his department will launch a strategic reform program designed to harvest cost savings of up to 20 billion Australian dollars over the next 10 years; the savings will be reinvested in the defense portfolio to pay for personnel and equipment. "The truth is we are seeing a period of significant military and naval expansion in the wider Asia-Pacific region, and it's important, therefore, that Australia makes proper provision for that in our own planning horizon," Rudd told reporters here at a press conference May 2. The 140-page white paper, "Defending Australia in the Asia-Pacific Century: Force 2030," highlights the importance of Australia's alliance with the U.S., as well as the growth of China and India. "Within the Asia-Pacific region, economic growth should help foster stability and security," Rudd said at the paper's release. "But there are likely to be tensions between the major powers where the interests of the United States, China, Japan, India and Russia intersect. While the chance of direct confrontation between any of these major powers is small, there is always the possibility of miscalculation." But he predicted the U.S. will remain the most powerful and influential global and regional power out to at least 2030. "No other power will have the military, economic or strategic capacity to challenge U.S. primacy over the period covered by this white paper," Rudd said. "Furthermore, our alliance with the United States will remain the bedrock on which Australia's national security is built. This alliance is enduring and remains vital to Australia's future defense." While the white paper doesn't point to a more powerful China as a military threat to Australia or the wider region, it states, "The pace, scope and structure of China's military modernization have the potential to give its neighbours cause for concern if not carefully explained, and if China doesn't reach out to others to build confidence regarding its military plans." However, the paper also notes that Australia is one of the most secure countries in the world by virtue of its geography. To keep it that way, the country's strategic priorities are to help maintain a secure immediate neighborhood; help contribute to strategic stability in the Asia-Pacific region; and help promote and contribute to a stable, rules-based global security order. To address these priorities, the ADF will remain structured to meet a hierarchy of tasks, Rudd said. "This means we need to have the capacity to act independently where we have unique interests at stake and do not wish to be reliant on the combat forces of others, lead military coalitions where we have shared strategic interests at stake with others, and make tailored contributions to military coalitions where we share wider strategic interests with others." Improving the ADF's readiness will be a priority, Rudd pledged. "Over the next decade, we will be devoting approximately 30 billion [Australian dollars] to fixing the existing force. This includes approximately 6 billion for more than 50 new projects to fill the crucial gaps that have been left in equipment and protection for our women and men in uniform, approximately 18 billion to top-up existing projects that have been underfunded in the past, and approximately 6 billion to fix systems and infrastructure that support our women and men in uniform."

Navistar Defense To Deliver Next Three Test Vehicles For M-ATV Program

Navistar Defense To Deliver Next Three Test Vehicles For M-ATV Program
(NSI News Source Info) WARRENVILLE, Ill. -- May 5, 2009: Navistar Defense, LLC today received a contract to deliver three test units for the next round in the U.S. Army’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) program.
TACOM has indicated that if an M-ATV vehicle submission can meet all of the inspection requirements, survivability threshold and mobility tests that the vehicle will be given a “fair opportunity” for selection for a production delivery order.
It is anticipated that production awards for the program could total volumes between 2,080 and 10,000 units. Navistar remains dedicated to the rapid delivery of these vehicles and stands ready to immediately begin producing large quantities of M-ATV units upon the Government’s direction. “Navistar’s participation in the M-ATV program is a privilege,” said Archie Massicotte, president, Navistar Defense.
“We are dedicated to the warfighters and we will work with the military to ensure those in Afghanistan receive the very best vehicles as quickly as possible.” With more than 100 years of manufacturing and engineering experience, Navistar is able to rapidly start up new vehicle production to support those serving in harm’s way. Since 2007, Navistar has delivered more than 6,000 MRAP vehicles and has also responded to evolving in-theater threats by modifying its design to produce six MRAP variants, each with significant armoring design changes, during the first 18 months of the program. In February, the military celebrated the fielding of its 10,000th MRAP unit. “Navistar has long been designing its commercial work trucks, in mass quantities, on a per-customer basis as its core business,” said Massicotte. “Designing products for the military is no different.” Navistar International Corporation is a holding company whose wholly-owned subsidiaries produce International® brand commercial and military trucks, MaxxForce® brand diesel engines, IC Bus brand school and commercial buses, and Workhorse® brand chassis for motor homes and step vans. It also is a private-label designer and manufacturer of diesel engines for the pickup truck, van and SUV markets. The company also provides truck and diesel engine parts and service. Another affiliate offers financing services.

DTN News: Russia TODAY May 5, 2009

DTN News: Russia TODAY May 5, 2009
(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW - May 5, 2009: A Russian military vehicle moves along a central street during a rehearsal for a military parade in Moscow, May 4, 2009. Russians traditionally celebrate their victory over Nazi Germany in World War II on May 9.