February 10, 2010

India and Pakistan agree to restart talks New Delhi (UPI) Feb 9, 2009 - Pakistan's senior representative in India has met the foreign secretary as the two countries get ready to restart stalled high-level talks over border issues. The meeting comes only a day after Indian officials acknowledged having asked Pakistan for the two foreign secretaries to meet, a report in The Hindu newspaper said. Pakistan's high commissioner in New Delhi, Shahid Malik, ... more BAE pays hefty fines, but ducks full trial London (UPI) Feb 9, 2009 - BAE Systems, Britain's biggest defense company, has accepted guilt in a scandal concerning bribery of a large scale in an $85 billion arms contract with Saudi Arabia and got itself off the hook after a bruising six-year investigation that threatened it and the Saudi royal family. BAE, after years of denying allegations of corruption and bribery, agreed Friday to pay $400 million in fine ... more US Marines gear up for major Afghan assault Toor Ghar, Afghanistan (AFP) Feb 10, 2010 - US Marines on Tuesday stepped up preparations for a major assault on a key Taliban bastion in southern Afghanistan hailed by officers as the biggest offensive of the eight-year war. Thousands of Afghan, US and NATO forces are expected to launch Operation Mushtarak (Together) in a bid to clear the Taliban out of Marjah, home to some 80,000 people, and expand the control of the Western-backed ... more Blair attacks hunt for 'scandal' over Iraq war decision London (AFP) Feb 9, 2010 - Former British prime minister Tony Blair has lashed out at the hunt for a "scandal" and a "conspiracy" over his controversial decision to back the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Speaking 10 days after he gave evidence at Britain's latest inquiry into the war, Blair told US broadcaster Fox News on Monday that Britons had a "curious habit" which meant they could not accept others might hold ... more Palau willing to take remaining Uighurs at Guantanamo Koror (AFP) Feb 9, 2010 - Palau's President Johnson Toribiong said his country was willing to take the remaining five Uighurs being held at the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay. "We have an outstanding invitation to the remaining Uighurs in Guantanamo," Toribiong told journalists Monday. Last week US lawyer Susan Baker Manning, a lawyer representing one of the five men, said she understood there was no offer ... more China-born aerospace engineer gets 15 years for spying Los Angeles (AFP) Feb 8, 2010 - A Chinese-born aerospace engineer was jailed for more than 15 years Monday after being convicted of selling technology related to the US space shuttle program to China, officials said. Greg Chung Dongfan, 73, was convicted last year of stealing trade secrets from Boeing and Rockwell during a three-decade career where he was also working as a Chinese agent, a justice department statement said ... more Russia toughens line on Iran nuclear ambitions Moscow (AFP) Feb 9, 2010 - Russia toughened its stance on Iran's nuclear project on Tuesday after the Islamic state ramped up uranium enrichment, and US officials said a new UN sanctions resolution could be ready in weeks. The powerful head of Russia's national security council, Nikolai Patrushev, said Tehran's announcement that it has started work to produce 20 percent enriched uranium cast doubt on its claims not to ... more Russia blasts US, NATO policies as security threat Moscow (AFP) Feb 9, 2010 - Russia on Tuesday blasted US security moves in Europe, saying even toned-down missile defence plans were intended to weaken Russia and that the US-led NATO alliance remained a "serious" threat. "The development and deployment of missile defences is aimed against the Russia Federation," General Nikolai Makarov, chief of staff of the Russian armed forces, was quoted as saying by domestic news ... more Europe battles declining influence Brussels (AFP) Feb 9, 2010 - The European Union is hoping that its revamped leadership can reverse a decline in global influence, wary of being marginalised by the United States and emerging Asian powers such as China, experts said. In a speech to the European parliament Tuesday, where he won appproval for a new team of EU commissioners, Jose Manuel Barroso admitted there was a danger of European "insignificance" on the ... more Obama turns up the heat on Iran Washington (AFP) Feb 9, 2010 - US President Barack Obama warned Iran on Tuesday that he would isolate the Islamic republic with a "significant regime of sanctions" if it continued to set its stall on developing nuclear weapons. Stepping up the heat on Iran's leaders at an impromptu appearance in the White House briefing room, Obama said the six key world powers were "moving along fairly quickly" to toughen measures agains ... more

Outside View: Iranian battle lines London (UPI) Feb 9, 2009 - Ever since Iran's revolution which saw the Shah ousted on Feb. 11, 1979, its anniversary has been celebrated by the Iranian regime by way of a show of force. However, this year promises to be a totally different affair. Only last year Western media was provided direct access to the events of Feb. 11, 2009, in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a rousing speech to the militant core ... more Baltic concerns mount over France-Russia warship plan Riga (AFP) Feb 9, 2010 - Concerns mounted Tuesday in the Baltics over France considering the sale of an assault ship to Russia, as Latvia joined Lithuania and Estonia in upping the pressure on their NATO and EU ally. Latvian Defence Minister Imants Liegis urged France to consider the "broader context". "The potential sale could have security implications for the region," he told AFP. Paris is "in principle" ... more N.Korea's Kim restates nuclear disarmament pledge Seoul (AFP) Feb 9, 2010 - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il reaffirmed his pledge to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons and reportedly sent his nuclear envoy to Beijing, amid a diplomatic drive to revive disarmament talks. In the latest apparent attempt to press the North to restart dialogue, top United Nations official Lynn Pascoe arrived in Pyongyang Tuesday, China's Xinhua news agency reported from the Nor ... more Taiwan insists submarines, jets still on arms agenda Taipei (AFP) Feb 9, 2010 - Taiwan on Tuesday dismissed a report saying the island has dropped a request for US submarines, saying the vessels and fighter jets remained on the island's arms procurement agenda. "It is absolutely untrue," Taiwan's defence ministry spokesman Yu Sy-tue told AFP. "We hope the United States will provide submarines and F-16 C/Ds Taiwan has requested in accordance with the Taiwan Relations ... more Protesters try to storm Italian embassy in Tehran: minister Rome (AFP) Feb 9, 2010 - Around 100 pro-government militia members tried to storm Italy's embassy in Tehran on Tuesday, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told a Senate hearing. They shouted "Death to Italy, death to Berlusconi," Frattini said, adding that police intervened to "prevent a veritable attack on the Italian embassy." A ministry spokeswoman told AFP that some protesters threw stones at the embas ... more New Simulation Capability Aids Cooperative UAV Research Wright-Patterson AFB OH (AFNS) Feb 09, 2010 - Thanks to Air Force Research Laboratory design and development expertise, an important new collaborative simulation capability--one facilitating coopera-tive unmanned air vehicle research--has emerged. The pursuit of a shared simulation capability for independent teams generated the AVTAS (Aerospace Vehicles Technology Assessment and Simulation) UAV toolset. The new technology levels the p ... more Tuning In To Multispectral and Polarimetric Target Detection Wright-Patterson AFB OH (AFNS) Feb 09, 2010 - Having completed Phase I of a Small Business Innovation Research effort ultimately pursuing a full-scale sensor capability available for ready integration into small unmanned aerial systems sensor suites, Applied NanoFemto Technologies has begun SBIR Phase II work on the heretofore highly successful endeavor. Funded by AFRL's Nanotechnology Strategic Technology Team, the company's Phase I ... more Lasers Creates New Forms of Metal and Enhances Aircraft Performance Arlington AFB VA (AFNS) Feb 09, 2010 - Dr. Chunlei Guo and his team of Air Force Research Laboratory-funded researchers from the University of Rochester are using laser light technology that will help the military create new forms of metal that may guide, attract, and repel liquids and cool small electronic devices. The researchers discovered a way to transform a shiny piece of metal into one that is pitch black, not by paint, ... more DARPA Begins Legged Squad Support System Program Arlington VA (AFNS) Feb 09, 2010 - The program is a joint effort between DARPA's Tactical Technology Office (TTO) and the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL). The program goal is to develop a walking quadruped platform that will augment squads by carrying traditional and new equipment autonomously. These platforms will be capable of managing complex terrain where tactical vehicles are not able to go-lightening the load ... more Geodesic Dome Phased-Array Antenna Demonstrates TT and C Capacity Wright-Patterson AFB OH (AFNS) Feb 09, 2010 - An Advanced Technology Demonstration pursuing sophisticated communications support for overtaxed Air Force Satellite Control Network assets took a giant step forward, proving an advanced antenna's capacity to establish multiple, simultaneous, dual-band (L-band and S-band) transmit and receive contacts for satellite telemetry, tracking, and command. Availability of the technology ultimately ... more