Sunday, January 10, 2010

DTN News: Singapore TODAY January 11, 2010 ~ SAF Soldier Injured In Taiwan’s Hit—And—Run Accident Airlifted Back To Singapore

DTN News: Singapore TODAY January 11, 2010 ~ SAF Soldier Injured In Taiwan’s Hit—And—Run Accident Airlifted Back To Singapore *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) SINGAPORE - January 11, 2010: The Singaporean soldier who was injured in a hit—and—run incident in Taiwan has been airlifted back to Singapore. Master Sergeant Lim Chin Hou arrived at the Changi airport at around 6.30pm on Sunday. He was then rushed by ambulance to the Intensive Care Unit at the National Neuroscience Institute. (SAF soldier injured in Taiwan’s hit—and—run accident airlifted back to Singapore) Sergeant Lim is suffering from serious head injuries and leg fractures after being run over by a van and a tourist bus. The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) serviceman was in Hengchun in south Taiwan to support military training at the time of the incident.

DTN News: Financial News TODAY January 11, 2010 ~ Government Hopes To Cash In On Devaluation In Venezuela

DTN News: Financial News TODAY January 11, 2010 ~ Government Hopes To Cash In On Devaluation In Venezuela *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) CARACAS, Venezuela - January 11, 2010: Venezuela's first devaluation of its currency since 2005 should come as a boon to the massive public sector, while adding pressure to an already soaring inflation rate, experts said Saturday.Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speaks in Caracas on January 8. Venezuela's first devaluation of its currency since 2005 should come as a boon to the massive public sector, while adding pressure to an already soaring inflation rate, experts said Saturday. And Venezuela's inflation rate, which topped 25 percent in 2009, is Latin America's highest. President Hugo Chavez devalued the bolivar Friday for the first time since 2005, creating a dual exchange rate system. The move aims to favor some sectors of the economy the government considers priorities, with the bolivar pegged at 2.6 per dollar, down from 2.15 per dollar. The leftist leader said that the health, food imports, machinery, books and technology sectors, as well as public sector imports and remittances would benefit from the preferential rate. Meanwhile non-essential imports were to be subject to a rate of 4.3 bolivars per dollar. The higher exchange rate would apply to items such as automobiles, telecommunications, tobacco, beverages, chemicals, petrochemicals and electronics. The government allowed that inflation would remain a concern. "It would be foolish on my part to deny that this measure will have an impact on prices," said Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez. Economist Orlando Ochoa said that was the understatement of the year, and that Venezuelan consumers would pay big for the dual rate move. The measures really are "throwing gasoline on a fire" as far as inflation is concerned, Ochoa said. "Prices are going to go up, but the government needs more income and it will be getting more for its exports," he said. Indeed "it is very rare to see anywhere in the world an exchange system that so greatly favors the public sector; the State imports at 2.6 bolivars to the dollar but is going to receive 4.3 bolivars for every dollar in exports" mainly in oil, he noted. Former central bank chief Jose Guerra summed it up as: "more money for the government, and less for the people." "Devaluation in the absence of fiscal and monetary steps just means inflation," he stressed, noting that an imported car in theory would see its price doubled, at least. The largest oil producer in South America, Venezuela slipped into a recession in 2009 for the first time in six years due to a drop in oil prices and production. Caracas had repeatedly ruled out devaluating its currency fueling black market trading.

DTN News: Russia To Produce T-95 Tanks, Mig-35 Fighter Jets

DTN News: Russia To Produce T-95 Tanks, Mig-35 Fighter Jets *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - January 11, 2010: Russia will begin the serial production of its new state-of-the-art weapons which include a new Main Battle Tank T-95 and a multi-role fighter jet Mig-35, as the country braces to compete for a share in the global arms market, with India being a potential buyer. "The specifications of new main battle tank T-95, to be serially produced from 2010, are being tightly kept under the warps of secrecy," defence expert Igor Korotchenko told state-run Vesti FM radio. "However, judging from the reports it would provide better survivability for the tank crew in the battle field, which will sit in an armoured capsule inside the T-95 MBT," Korotchenko said. Russia's RAC MiG - part of the United Aircraft Corporation is also beginning the serial production of four-plus generation MiG-35 MMRCA, which is also bidding for the Indian Air Force's global tender for the acquisition of 126 fighters, according to Vesti FM radio.
In January-February Russia is also beginning flight tests of the prototype of new fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) T-50 developed by Sukhoi Corporation under the secret PAK-FA project, in which India is also a partner.
In December at the KNAAPO aircraft plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the far eastern part of Russia the taxiing trials of the prototype were successfully carried out. "A satellite cluster of American CIA and Google, which is also a cover for CIA is constantly monitoring the airfield of KNAAPO, to get the glimpse of T-50, developed to counter US F-22 Raptor," a defence analyst Ruslan Pukhov told Vesti FM radio.
He also said in 2010 Russia's global satellite navigational system (GLONASS) would be fully operational. Under an agreement signed in 2005, Russia has agreed to provide India with the access to military segment of GLONASS.
IAF's Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter fleet is equipped with dual band GPS/GLONASS receivers to avoid a Balkan like situation, when Pentagon had switched off GPS before striking at Serbia. Despite repeated failures in 2010 Russia will continue the development of multiple warhead submarine launched (SLBM-MIRV) 'Bulava' nuclear missiles, which would be able to pierce present and future American missile shields, the Vesti FM radio said.