An Italian court has jailed a Tunisian pilot who paused to pray instead of taking emergency measures before ditching his plane, killing 16 people.

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

NOTE THAT THIS PLANE CAME DOWN ON 'HIRHOSIMA':

The twin-engined Tuninter ATR-72 turboprop aeroplane was flying from the Italian city of Bari to the Tunisian island of Djerba on 6 August 2005, when it ran out of fuel and came down in the sea

Israel: Iran is only months away from building a nuke, has ballistic warhead capability

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

Israel's AMAN military intelligence director, Maj. Amos Yadlin updated the Knesset foreign affairs and security committee on the state of Iran's nuclear progress Wednesday, March 25. He reported that although Iran is only months away from a capacity to make a nuclear bomb and has attained a warhead capability, Tehran has decided not to cross the threshold so as to avoid provoking Western retaliation.

DEBKAfile's military sources report this is not Tehran's true rationale. The Iranians are held back by two more compelling motives:

1. They will not be satisfied with a single nuclear bomb, but would rather build up an arsenal of 10 to 12 bombs and warheads for which they are short of enough enriched uranium at the moment.

2. Tehran is no longer deterred by fear of an American or European attack, Yadlin explained in his briefing Wednesday. Its leaders are standing by to see what rewards are on offer from US president Barack Obama for improving Washington-Tehran and how they may profit in strategic, diplomatic and economic terms. If the American incentives fall short, Tehran can push ahead with its nuclear weapon.

In his briefing, Yadlin avoided pointing out that Obama's projected rewards for Tehran would be at the expense of Israel's strategic standing or even its military might. This awareness has prompted the sharply conflicting US and Israel intelligence evaluations of the point at which Iran's nuclear bomb program stands at present.

While the AMAN chief says the capability is there but not yet fulfilled, the Americans speak of a timeline of 1-5 years or more.

Until now, both Western and Israeli experts maintained Iran has not yet acquired the technology for mounting nuclear warheads on missiles. Yadlin now reveals Tehran is already there, a conclusion reached after the Iranians sent their first earth satellite, Omid, into space on Jan. 3. The launch meant that Iran can deliver nuclear warheads by ballistic missile at at any point on earth.

N. Korea positions 'missile' on launch pad

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- North Korea has positioned what is believed to be a long-range ballistic missile on its launch pad, a U.S. counter-proliferation official said on Wednesday.

The official confirmed a Japanese media report.

The Taepo Dong 2 missile could launch either a warhead or a satellite, the official said.

What the North Koreans would be testing may not be known until an actual launch. The North Koreans have said they intend to launch a communications satellite.

Trial of Taiwanese ex-president begins

(CNN) -- The corruption trial of former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian began Thursday, a case that has gripped the island nation for months and one in which a conviction can bring life imprisonment.

The trial is the first for a former head of state in Taiwan. Chen has denied wrongdoing and has said the charges are politically motivated.

Prosecutors say Chen embezzled 600 million New Taiwan dollars (U.S.$17.7 million), took bribes, laundered money and illegally removed classified documents from the president's office.

Chen has countered that the bribe money was actually political donations. He has also said that a special presidential fund from which he is accused of embezzling does not clearly say what the money can and cannot be used for.

Thirteen others, including Chen's wife, son, daughter-in-law and brother-in-law, have been indicted in the case. Prosecutors said Chen's son has a Swiss bank account with $22 million they believe to be illegal proceeds.

The challenge for prosecutors is to prove that Chen handed out political favors in exchange for money.

The former president has said he is being persecuted politically by his successor.

Chen's party favors independence for Taiwan. His successor, President Ma Ying-jeou, favors closer ties with mainland China.

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

Air Force jet crashes in California; pilot killed

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An Air Force F-22A fighter jet crashed Wednesday near Edwards Air Force Base in California, killing the test pilot, the Air Force said.

The single-seater crashed about 10:30 a.m. (1:30 p.m. ET) for unknown reasons, Air Force officials said.

Lockheed Martin said the test pilot, David Cooley, 49, of Palmdale, California, joined the company in 2003 and was a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

The fighter was on a test mission when it crashed about 35 miles northeast of Edwards AFB, where it was stationed, the Air Force said in a news release.

At $150 million apiece, the F-22A is the most expensive Air Force fighter.

In 2004, an F-22 Raptor crashed on a training mission in the Nevada desert. The pilot ejected and was not hurt, though the jet was destroyed.

The plane was designed in the 1980s to provide a stealthy method to enter Soviet air space and strike Soviet bombers if the USSR attempted a nuclear strike.

Once the Cold War ended, the Air Force found a new mission for the F-22 as a long-range fighter with a sophisticated stealth design and state-of-the-art equipment that no other plane could rival.

However, the rising cost of the plane and numerous design and software problems threatened the program, which was almost eliminated by Congress.

In the end, the aircraft survived, and most of the problems were fixed -- except for the price tag, which forced the Air Force to buy fewer aircraft.

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

Pentagon report: China's military expanding its capabilities

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- China's military is developing longer-range ballistic and anti-ship missiles that are "shifting the balance of power in the region" and could help Beijing secure resources or settle territorial disputes, a report released by the Pentagon said Wednesday.

China also continues to build up short-range missiles and increase its "coercive capabilities" against Taiwan. The report suggests such moves constitute an effort to pressure Taiwan into settling the cross-strait dispute in favor of China, though tensions between the two countries have receded over the past year.

The report, called the "Military Power of the People's Republic of China," is the Pentagon's annual briefing to Congress on the status of the communist country's military might.

While China continues to proclaim that its military buildup is for defense purposes to protect its interests, the report says the country's lack of transparency is worrisome and could lead to an unintended conflict.

"The limited transparency in China's military and security affairs poses risks to stability by creating uncertainty and increasing the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation," according to the report. "Much uncertainty surrounds China's future course, particularly regarding how its expanding military power might be used."

The lack of transparency causes Washington "to speculate to some degree on what their intentions are," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters at a Wednesday briefing.

According to Adm. Timothy Keating, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, some of that uncertainty is due to the cessation of talks between the Chinese and U.S. militaries.

In March of 2008, the United States and China installed a hot line between the two countries' militaries. But there have been no military-to-military talks since November 2008, when Washington announced it was selling weapons to Taiwan.

"We are looking for the resumption of that dialogue so we can engage in discussion with our colleagues in the People's Republic of China and their Army, Navy and Air Force so we can have a sense of their way ahead," Keating told the House Armed Services committee on Tuesday. "We don't have a clear idea of their broad strategic way ahead."

The Pentagon report comes after a recent incident in which Chinese ships, including a Chinese navy vessel, confronted an unarmed U.S. Navy surveillance ship in the South China Sea in international waters. The confrontation prompted the United States to move a destroyer ship to the area to protect the surveillance vessel.

While the report does not discuss the incident, it notes the importance China puts on controlling its waterways and the surrounding territories because "China's economic and political power is contingent upon access to and use of the sea, and that a strong navy is required to safeguard such access."

The analysis also said that while much of China's capability is more for regional disputes, it did send two destroyers and one supply ship off the coast of Africa to protect Chinese vessels from pirate attacks.

That move was a sign of Chinese intent to expand its militaries to protect expanding economic and political interests around the world, according to a China analyst.

"The Chinese military is being told to develop capabilities to deal with Chinese national interests beyond the pure defense of Chinese territory," said David Finklestein, the Director of China Studies for CNA, a nonprofit research group that does analysis for the U.S. military and other clients. "China, with a global economy, now obviously has global political interests and clearly has expanding global security interests."

Though the Pentagon report concludes that "China's ability to sustain military power at a distance remains limited," it does have a growing space program, nuclear weapon system and cyber warfare capabilities, "the only aspects of China's armed forces that, today, have the potential to be truly global," the report explained.

In citing China's cyber warfare, the report notes that U.S. government computers were the target of "intrusions that appear to have originated" from China, although they were not confirmed to be from the military.

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

U.S. analyst warns of N. Korea missile

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- North Korea has positioned what is thought to be a long-range missile on its launch pad, a U.S. counter-proliferation official said on Wednesday.

The official confirmed a Japanese media report.

North Korea recently informed a pair of U.N. agencies that it plans to launch a satellite. The launch is slated for sometime between April 4-8, according to Yonhap, South Korea's state-sponsored news agency.

North Korea is technically capable of launching a rocket in as little as two to four days, according to Kim Taewoo, an expert at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, but who doubts a launch will come that soon.

It would not make sense for Pyongyang to make such a move after going through official channels with its plans, Kim said.

"The North could delay the launch if they experience problems with the weather, or within the leadership, but I don't see any reason why they would fire it ahead of time," Kim said.

North Korea's announcement has triggered international consternation. U.S. and South Korean officials have long said the North is actually preparing to test-fire a long-range missile under the guise of a satellite launch.
Japan said this month that it could shoot down the satellite that North Korean officials said they plan to launch. What the North Koreans would be testing may not be known until an actual launch.

A U.N. Security Council resolution in 2006 banned North Korea from conducting ballistic missile activity. Japanese officials said they could shoot down the object whether it is a missile or a satellite.

"As the U.N. resolutions prohibit (North Korea) from engaging in ballistic missile activities, we still consider it to be a violation of a technical aspect, even if (the North) claims it is a satellite. We will discuss the matter with related countries based on this view," Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said this month.

The United States has no plans to shoot down the North Korean rocket, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday, but will raise the issue with the U.N. Security Council if Pyongyang carries out a launch.

"We are doing our best to dissuade the North Koreans from going forward, because it is provocative action," Clinton said. "It raises questions about their compliance with the Security Council Resolution 1718. And if they persist and go forward, we will take it up in appropriate channels."

South Korea echoed Clinton's statements.

"The South Korean government believes that if the North conducts its launch despite continuous warnings of the South Korean government and the international community, it is a provocative action that constitutes a serious threat to the security of northeast Asia and the Korean peninsula," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-Young.

"The launching of the long-range rocket is a clear violation of the U.N. Security Council Resolution No. 1718, and we strongly urge North Korea to immediately stop such measures."

The North Korean Taepodong-2 missile is thought to have an intended range of about 4,200 miles (6,700 kilometers) that -- if true -- could strike Alaska or Hawaii.

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

N. Korea defends right to 'explore space' amid missile claim

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

China: Pentagon military report distorted

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

Soyuz rocket launches new crew to space station.

updated March 27/28

the window is open, March 26 ( with flight 522 crash in mind, on autopilot frozen to death):

Chopper crash survivor: 'I'm starting to freeze'

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

Search continues for Turkish ultra-nationalist in chopper crash

Story Highlights
BBP head Muhsin Yazicioglu missing after helicopter crash in eastern Turkey

Helicopter crashed in mountainous region, five other passengers on board

Turkish TV stations broadcasting harrowing emergency call from chopper

Emergency call: "Miss, haven't you located us yet? We will freeze here"


ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- Turkish officials continued searching Thursday for the leader of an ultra-nationalist political party whose helicopter crashed a day earlier in the mountains of eastern Turkey.

Muhsin Yazicioglu, the head of the fringe Great Union Party (BBP), was on board with five other passengers.

Turkish TV stations have been broadcasting a harrowing emergency call made by one of the passengers, reporter Ismail Gunes, after the crash Wednesday.

"I'm starting to freeze. I feel cold," Gunes says in the call. "It is snowing. I am inside the helicopter. I guess the people here died. Erhan, brother. Erhan, brother. Nothing. No sound from anyone. So bad."

Erhan is apparently the name of a fellow male passenger. After the female emergency dispatcher tells Gunes that the police are trying to locate him, he calls again to his friend.

"Erhan, brother. Brother, try to (open your eyes). He is lying, moaning," Gunes says.

"Is there any other sound from anyone?" the dispatcher asks.

"No, no," Gunes says. "My foot is broken badly. Miss, haven't you located us yet? We will freeze here. I guess the other people are dead. I can't move my foot. It is broken really badly. When will you determine our location, miss?"

The crash happened in a mountainous region of eastern Turkey amid rough terrain and adverse weather conditions, officials and media reports said.

It is not clear whether Yazicioglu survived.

The crash occurred just days before municipal elections are scheduled to be held across the country.

The BBP is one of the smallest of at least 10 political parties expected to take part in the March 29 elections. Larger political parties across the political spectrum canceled campaign rallies Thursday in the wake of the accident.

State news agency Anatolian said about 250 soldiers, a helicopter and a plane were involved in the search.

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

UN-backed tribunal for Lebanon killings swears in officials, adopts rules

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

25 March 2009 – The United Nations-backed tribunal to try the perpetrators of a massive car bomb blast that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri has appointed its main officials and adopted rules of procedures and evidence, the court announced today.
“The Special Tribunal for Lebanon now has the necessary tools to deal promptly and efficiently with the first files concerning the Hariri case, which the Lebanese authorities are expected to transfer in the next few weeks,” its President, Antonio Cassese of Italy, said in a statement.

In consultation with President Cassese, who was the first president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed François Roux of France as the head of the defence office.

The Tribunal, an independent body located in The Hague, is designed to try those accused of recent political murders in Lebanon, particularly the February 2005 assassination of Mr. Hariri and 22 others in downtown Beirut.

Daniel Bellemare, a Canadian prosecutor and former head of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) into the murders, assumed his office as Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal when it began operations earlier this month.

The judges and registrar of the court have already been sworn in as well, and rules governing detention and the directive on assignment of defence counsel have been adopted, the court said.

According to the Tribunal, President Cassese and Daniel Fransen of Belgium, the Pre-Trial Judge, will soon take up their duties on a full-time basis.

The other judges, for the Trial and Appeals Chambers, will take office on a date to be determined by the Secretary-General, in consultation with the President, and their names will be announced once all security measures are in place, the Tribunal said.

The investigation continues under the guidance of Prosecutor Bellemare, and a trial will take place when he has sufficient evidence is in place, according to the court.

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

in relation to April 15, see timeline Q2:
Upcoming ruling could seal Titanic’s fate
Judge’s decision expected to protect wreck and keep artifacts accessible

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

March 24, 2009
NORFOLK, Va. - Nearly a century after the Titanic struck ice in the North Atlantic, a federal judge in Virginia is poised to preserve the largest collection of artifacts from the opulent oceanliner and protect the ship’s resting place.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, a maritime jurist who considers the wreck an “international treasure,” is expected to rule within weeks that the salvaged items must remain together and accessible to the public. That would ensure that the 5,900 pieces of china, ship fittings and personal belongings won’t end up in a collector’s hands or in a London auction house, where some Titanic artifacts have landed.

The judgment could also end the legal tussle that began when a team of deep-sea explorers found the world’s most famous shipwreck in 1985.

The salvage company, RMS Titanic Inc., wants the court to grant it limited ownership of the artifacts.

At the same time, a cadre of government lawyers is helping Smith shape covenants to strictly monitor future activity at the Titanic wreck 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) beneath the surface of the Atlantic. Amid evidence of the ship’s deterioration, experts and government lawyers say the sanctity of the Titanic must be properly protected as a memorial to the 1,522 people who died when it went down.

“For the most part, the value of Titanic is its history — and not from some pile of gold, silver and jewels,” said Ole Varmer, an attorney in the international law office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, whose office has developed guidelines for the Titanic.

Competing legal claims
Because the Titanic sank in international waters on April 15, 1912, and the ship’s owners are long gone, the wreck site and its artifacts have been subject to competing legal claims since an international team led by oceanographer Robert Ballard found it 24 years ago.

The courtroom survivor is RMS Titanic Inc., also known as RMST, which gathered the artifacts during six dives. Courts have declared it salvor-in-possession — meaning it has exclusive rights to salvage the Titanic — but have explicitly stated it does not own the 5,900 artifacts or the wreck itself.

RMST is a subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions Inc., an Atlanta company that bills itself as “a major provider of museum-quality touring exhibitions.” Its offerings include sports memorabilia, a traveling “Star Trek” homage and “Bodies,” an anatomy exhibit featuring preserved human cadavers.

RMST conducts traveling displays of the Titanic artifacts, which the company says have been viewed by 33 million people worldwide.

Last month, RMST underwent a shakeup of its board and saw its director resign over the company’s poor financial performance, according to Premier Exhibitions filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and statements by dissident shareholders.

Smith had expressed concerns before the board shakeup about RMST’s ability to continue properly managing the collection, considering the company’s financial situation.

No one familiar with the case or the artifacts has questioned RMST’s handling of them.

Worth $110.9 million?
RMST is seeking limited ownership of the artifacts as compensation for its salvage efforts. In its court filing for a salvage award, the company put the fair market value of the collection at $110.9 million. The same filing states that RMST’s costs associated with the recovery and conservation of the artifacts have exceeded revenues from their display.

If the court agrees to RMST’s request, the company could sell the entire collection to a museum with court approval.

Robert W. McFarland, an attorney for RMST, declined to comment before Smith rules.

Smith is drawing upon the State Department and NOAA to help craft the covenants to keep the artifacts preserved, intact as a collection and available to the public, and to guide future salvage operations at the Titanic wreck by RMST. At a hearing in November, the no-nonsense judge made clear the stakes.

“I am concerned that the Titanic is not only a national treasure, but in its own way an international treasure, and it needs protection and it needs to be monitored,” the judge told lawyers in the case.

Memorial considered
Congress has expressed its interest in preserving the Titanic as a memorial. U.S. lawmakers have not, however, implemented an agreement with the United Kingdom, which has already embraced a ban on unregulated salvage of the wreck.

J. Ashley Roach, a retired State Department lawyer who worked on the Titanic case, said the Titanic is the first major shipwreck in international waters to receive such close scrutiny.

“You have a domestic court and now the branches of government working together to make sure the wreck itself continues to be available in the future for the public good,” he said.

International protections have been sought for the Titanic almost since the wreck was discovered. Ballard, who led the team that found the ship, told a congressional hearing in October 1985:

“Titanic is like a great pyramid which has been found and mankind is about to enter it for the first time since it was sealed. Has he come to plunder or appreciate? The people of the world clearly want the latter.”

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

updated March 31

'Orange Revolution Ukraine'

updated March 28

U.S., Japan mobilize for N. Korean launch

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

TOKYO, (CNN) -- Japan is mobilizing its missile defense system, and U.S. Navy ships are deploying to the Sea of Japan, as North Korea prepares to launch a rocket that is expected next month, officials said.

Japan's move, aimed at shooting down debris from the launch that might fall into its territory, is notable for a country with a pacifist constitution.

The U.S. ships are capable of shooting down ballistic missiles, a Navy spokesman said.

North Korea says it will launch a commercial satellite on top of a rocket sometime between April 4 and April 8. But other governments fear the North Koreans will actually put a long-range missile on top of the rocket.

The United States and Japan have been stepping up pressure on North Korea, hoping to head off the launch.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin on Friday also urged North Korea to not launch the rocket, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

Japan's military has two-pronged orders: to move destroyers carrying air-to-sea missiles to the Sea of Japan, which separates Japan and North Korea, and to send land-to-air missiles to northern Japan.

However, the probability of a missile successfully hitting a moving target without a known trajectory -- as in the case of debris -- is very low, Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshitada Konoike said earlier this week.

If North Korea launches, the United States may have as little as five minutes to decide whether it is a threat and, if necessary, try to shoot it down.

The U.S. ships that are being moved to the Sea of Japan are "prepared to track a launch or more, if afforded," according to a U.S. Navy official who could not be named because of the sensitivity of the information.

The United States generally has a number of Aegis-capable ships in the Sea of Japan because of the threat posed by North Korea to launch missiles. The ships monitor the region and are designed to track and, if need be, shoot down ballistic missiles. See a satellite image of a North Korean launch site

The USS Hopper, a destroyer with the Aegis radar system aboard, was scheduled for a port call in Japan in coming days. But the port call was canceled and the ship will remain in the Sea of Japan ahead of the launch, the official said.

Two other U.S. Navy Aegis-capable destroyers, the USS Chaffee and USS McCain, were leaving the port in Sasebo, Japan, and were heading to South Korea for a ceremony in coming days, according to the U.S. Navy official with direct knowledge of the operations.

The U.S. Navy just wrapped up military exercises with the South Korean military, bringing a number of its ships into the region.

updated March 28

Dozens dead in Pakistan mosque attack

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- A devastating suicide blast struck a mosque in the strife-torn tribal region of Pakistan Friday, killing at least 48 people and wounded 80 to 90 others, local officials said.


The casualty toll was expected to rise in the blast, which occurred near the Afghanistan border in the Bigiari area of Jamrod sub-division in Khyber Agency.

Tariq Hayat Khan, a local political official, said the two-story mosque was destroyed and that teams dispatched to the scene were expected to find more victims under the rubble.

The incident took place while worshippers offered Friday prayers.

NATO supplies are carried from Pakistan into Afghanistan in the region. Officials say this is a mosque frequented by Pakistani security officials who work at checkpoints along the supply route.

The assault comes hours before President Barack Obama explains his new urgent strategy for fighting Islamic militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The blast follows other violence and fighting.

A day before, a suicide blast killed 11 people at a restaurant in the tribal region.

That attack was most likely part of the ongoing fighting between militants loyal to Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and members of the Turkistan tribe, police said.

And on Wednesday, a suspected U.S. missile strike killed seven people in a South Waziristan village thought to be a Mehsud stronghold