Weapon | SilverScorpio.Com

Navy inducts stealth destroyer INS Kochi

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kochi, Sep 18 (ANI): The Indian Navy today inducted a stealth destroyer of Kolkata class, INS Kochi, to boost its maritime capabilities and safeguard India’s interests.

Madhulika Verma wife of Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Nirmal Verma, named the second of the three Project 15-A stealth destroyers on September 18.

Mazagon Docks Ltd in Mumbai built the 6500-ton ship, named INS Kochi.

The ship has advanced stealth features, which make it less vulnerable to detection by enemy radar and will be fitted with state-of-the-art weapon systems which include the supersonic BrahMos surface-to-surface missile, the LRSAM Long Range Surface-to-Air Missiles and the MFStar multi-function radar system providing accurate data on surface and air targets.

In addition, four AK-630 rapid-fire guns and a medium range gun will boost the ship’s close-range defence capability.

The ships will also be fitted with indigenously developed twin-tube torpedo launchers and anti-submarine rocket launchers.

The NPOL developed Humsa-NG hull-mounted sonar, and two multi-role helicopters adding punch to the ship’s anti-submarine capability. The maximum speed of the ship is above 30 Knots.

The destroyer will be launched using the pontoon-assisted launch technique, to be employed for the first time in the history of indigenous warship building.

This technique helps in overcoming slipway/ draft constraints and permits launching of heavier vessels. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Accurate Data, addition, admiral, air, Air Targets, ak, ANI, brahmos, building, capability, Chief, class, Close Range, defence, defence capability, destroyer, detection, docks, draft, enemy, Enemy Radar, Fire Guns, gun, history, Humsa, India, Indian, Indian Navy, INS, knots, kochi, Kolkata, launch, launching, Long, LRSAM, ltd, Madhulika, maritime, maximum, Mazagon, medium, medium range, MFStar, missile, missiles, Mumbai, naval, naval staff, navy, nirmal, NPOL, project, Punch, radar, Radar System, range, Range Gun, rocket, rocket launchers, Second, Sep, September, ship, slipway, sonar, speed, staff, stealth, Stealth Features, surface, surface to air, surface to air missiles, Surface To Surface Missile, Surface-to, system, technique, time, today, ton, Twin Tube, verma, warship, weapon, Weapon Systems, wife

Navy to induct stealth destroyer INS Kochi on Sep.18

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 16 (ANI): The Indian Navy will induct a stealth destroyer of Delhi class on September 18 to boost its maritime capabilities and safeguard India’s interests.

Madhulika Verma wife of Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Nirmal Verma, will launch the second of the three Project 15-A stealth destroyers on September 18.

The 6500-ton ship, to be named INS Kochi, is being built by Mazagon Docks Ltd in Mumbai. The Directorate of Naval Design has designed the destroyer indigenously. The existing Delhi Class destroyers are INS Delhi, INS Mysore and INS Mumbai.

In addition, four AK-630 rapid-fire guns and a medium range gun will boost the ship’s close-range defence capability.

The ships will also be fitted with indigenously developed twin-tube torpedo launchers and anti-submarine rocket launchers.

The NPOL developed Humsa-NG hull-mounted sonar, and two multi-role helicopters adding punch to the ship’s anti-submarine capability. The maximum speed of the ship is above 30 Knots.

The destroyer will be launched using the pontoon-assisted launch technique, to be employed for the first time in the history of indigenous warship building.

This technique helps in overcoming slipway/ draft constraints and permits launching of heavier vessels. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Accurate Data, addition, admiral, air, Air Targets, ak, ANI, brahmos, building, capability, Chief, class, Class Destroyers, defence, defence capability, Delhi, design, destroyer, detection, directorate, docks, draft, enemy, Enemy Radar, Fire Guns, gun, history, Humsa, India, Indian, Indian Navy, induct, INS, knots, kochi, launch, launching, Long, LRSAM, ltd, Madhulika, maritime, maximum, Mazagon, medium, medium range, MFStar, missile, missiles, Mumbai, mysore, naval, naval staff, navy, New Delhi, nirmal, NPOL, project, Punch, radar, Radar System, range, Range Gun, rocket, rocket launchers, Second, Sep, September, ship, slipway, sonar, speed, staff, stealth, Stealth Features, surface, surface to air, surface to air missiles, Surface To Surface Missile, Surface-to, system, technique, time, ton, Twin Tube, verma, warship, weapon, Weapon Systems, wife

BSF deploys women guards on Pakistan border in Punjab

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Ferozepur (Punjab), Sep 11 (ANI): The Border Security Force (BSF) deployed the first batch of women guards on Pakistan border in Punjab.

The move would make foolproof body frisking at border check posts and farms lying across the border fence, said an official.

“The wives of our farmers cross the fencing at the border to carry out farming activities. We need to frisk them while going and coming back, which our male constables cannot do. So we have appointed women constables so that the security angle can be covered,” said H.S. Garcha, Commandant, 43 Battalion, BSF, Ferozepur.

These personnel have been given training in weapon handling, intelligence gathering, border management, unarmed combat, frisking and guard duties.

“I was always interested in joining the armed forces, I also had NCC in my college. Since then I had this in mind that if given an opportunity, I would definitely do something like this. I always wanted to wear this uniform,” said Randeep Ranju, a BSF constable.

BSF formed its first women’s battalion when 178 recruits passed out of the BSF’s Subsidiary Training Centre at Kharga near Hoshiarpur on July 25.

BSF plans to induct 35,000 women guards in the paramilitary force in the next four years. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: angle, ANI, batch, battalion, body, border, Border Fence, border management, border security force, bsf, cannot, centre, check, Check Posts, college, combat, Commandant, constable, constables, farmers, farming, farming activities, fence, fencing, ferozepur, first women, foolproof, force, frisk, Garcha, gathering, guard, H.S. Garcha, handling, Hoshiarpur, induct, intelligence, Intelligence Gathering, July, Kharga, management, mind, move, ncc, official, opportunity, Pakistan, pakistan border, paramilitary force, Punjab, Randeep, Ranju, security, Sep, something, subsidiary, training, Unarmed Combat, uniform, weapon

US report reveals Pak enhancing nuke weapon capability to target India

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep.1 (ANI): Top US nuclear scientists have shockingly revealed in a report that Pakistan is enhancing its nuclear weapons and production capabilities.

According to the report, which is yet to enter the public domain, Pakistan is readying a new nuclear capable ballistic missile for deployment and two nuclear capable cruise missiles.

It also says that Pakistan is building two new plutonium production reactors and a second chemical separation facility at Chasma, Khushab and Dera Ghazi Khan in southern Punjab.

Pakistan is also renewing work on a partially built separation plant at Chasma.

It is believed that this secretive and substantial arsenal build-up is targeted at India.

Based on official estimates of Pakistan’s current uranium and plutonium technology, scientists had so far thought the country far short of having a 100 nuclear warheads in its kitty.

The new report, however, suggests that Pakistan has exceeded earlier estimates, and from being able to build 30-40 nuclear weapons it actually could possess as many as 70-90 – a disturbing figure from India’s point of view and that of the US, currently debating financial and military aid to its friend in keeping with the AFPAK agreement.

Moreover, if this report is true Pakistan is clearly going beyond the moratorium existing as an unwritten code of conduct in South Asia to halt the arms race. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: AfPak, agreement, aid, ANI, arsenal, ballistic missile, build-up, capability, Chasma, chemical, Chemical Separation, code, code of conduct, conduct, country, cruise, Cruise Missiles, deployment, dera, dera ghazi khan, domain, facility, figure, friend, Ghazi, India, khan, khushab, kitty, military aid, missile, moratorium, nuclear scientists, nuclear warheads, nuclear weapons, nuke, Pak, Pakistan, plant, plutonium, Plutonium Production Reactors, point, production, Production Capabilities, Public Domain, Punjab Pakistan, Race, report, Sep, separation, separation plant, south-asia, southern Punjab, Technology, top, Unwritten Code, uranium, US, view, Washington, weapon, work

Pak says it is ready to probe US charge of Harpoon missile fraud

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Sep.1 (ANI): Pakistan on Tuesday said that it is ready to conduct any investigation on a charge made by the United States with regard to the alleged modification of Harpoon missiles.

Earlier, a New York Times report had said that the Obama administration had lodged a diplomatic protest with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani over the alleged alterations to the anti-ship missiles Islamabad bought in the 1980s thus making them capable of hitting land based targets and posing a threat to India.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs PJ Crowley said that the Obama Administration has taken up the matter with Pakistan.

“This is something that we take very seriously. We have raised the issue with the Pakistani government. The (Pakistan) government has responded with an agreement in principle for mutually agreed inspections,” Crowley revealed.

“In this particular case, we have some concerns. We shared them with the government of Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan has been responsive,” he said, adding “We would wait and see if those inspections can address the concerns that we have raised.”

The Indian Government too had raised concerns about this development during Admiral Nirmal Verma’s takeover as the new chief of naval staff on Monday. His predecessor Admiral Sureesh Mehta had also raised similar concerns.

Pakistan till now has rejected Washington’s claims and said the accusations were part of a campaign to “malign it” and its armed forces.

A statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said that it “categorically rejected” the article in The New York Times and that there were no modifications made to the missiles under reference.

The US has sold a total of 165 Harpoon missiles to Pakistan. The missiles were provided to Pakistan by the US administration as a defensive weapon in the Cold War era. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: accusations, administration., admiral, agreement, alterations, ANI, Article, assistant, assistant secretary, campaign, case, charge, Chief, cold, crowley, defensive weapon, Development, Diplomatic Protest, era, foreign, foreign ministry, fraud, gilani, Government, government of pakistan, Harpoon, Harpoon Missile, Harpoon Missiles, India, Indian, Indian Government, investigation, Islamabad, issue, land, malign, matter, Mehta, minister, ministry, missile, modification, Monday, naval staff, New, New York Times, nirmal, Obama, Pak, Pakistan, Pakistan government, pakistani government, part, predecessor, prime, principle, protest, Public, raza, reference, regard, report, secretary, Sep, something, staff, state, statement, States With Regard, Sureesh, takeover, threat, times, total, Tuesday, United States, US, verma, war, Washington, weapon, york, yousuf

Modalities of BrahMos-II project to be finalized soon

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Tiruchirapalli, Sep. 1 (ANI): The modalities for developing hypersonic missile BrahMos-II by the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace are in the final phase of finalization.

BrahMos Aerospace CEO and managing director A Sivathanu Pillai told reporters here on Tuesday that a final shape of the project, aimed at developing the aerial version of BrahMos missile that could traverse at speeds between Mach 5 to Mach 7, would emerge shortly.

The design team had already been lined up and discussions would be held shortly between the joint venture partners on investments, sharing of technical responsibilities, administration and sharing of manufacturing facility infrastructure, he added.

Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, which has a capability of carrying 300 kilograms conventional warheads at a speed of around 2.8 Mach, has already been inducted by the Army and the Navy.

Work related to the design and development of this version had been fruitful and the advanced missile, which weighs 0.5 tonne less than that of the three-tonne land version BrahMos, was ready and the company awaited the modified SUKOI-30 MKI aircraft that would carry the weapon.

Pillai said he was hopeful that the target for induction of the air version set for 2012 would be achieved.

After being fitted on an aircraft, BrahMos will be the only cruise missile with the capability of being launched from land, sea and air, he said.

To a query on export potential of BrahMos missile, Pillai said a number countries evinced keen interest in it, but the priority was to meet the high domestic requirement.

For meeting the demand, the company was in the process of upgrading the production infrastructure at multiple locations besides enhancing component suppliers by including new large and medium sized industries.

On BrahMos Aeropsace’s Thiruvananthapuram facility, Pillai said seven acres of land in possession of Indian Air force adjacent to the main campus was expected to be handed over to BrahMos Aerospace shortly. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: A. Sivathanu, administration., Aeropsace, Aerospace, air, aircraft, ANI, army, brahmos, BrahMos-II, campus, capability, ceo, company, component, Component Suppliers, Conventional Warheads, cruise, cruise missile, demand, design, Development, director, export, facility, Facility Infrastructure, final phase, finalization, force, Indian, Indian Air Force, indo-, induction, Infrastructure, interest, Joint Venture Partners, land, Land Sea, mach, mach 5, Mach 7, manufacturing, medium, missile, MKI, modalities, navy, number, phase, pillai, possession, potential, priority, process, production, Production Infrastructure, project, query, requirement, sea, Sep, Seven Acres, shape, sharing, speed, SUKOI, Sukoi 30, supersonic, Supersonic Cruise Missile Brahmos, target, team, Technical Responsibilities, thiruvananthapuram, tiruchirapalli, tonne, traverse, Tuesday, venture, version, weapon, work

Pakistan modified ‘defensive’ American missiles to pose threat to India: NYT

August 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug.30 (ANI): Top US administration and Congressional officials have accused Pakistan of illegally modifying American-made missiles to expand its capability to strike land targets, a potential threat to India.

Officials alleged that Islamabad has customized conventional Harpoon antiship missiles, which were provided to it by the Reagan administration as a defensive weapon in the cold war era.

“There’s a concerted effort to get these guys to slow down.Their energies are misdirected,” said one senior administration official.

The accusations come at a time when the Obama administration is pushing the Congress to approve 7.5 billion dollars in aid to Pakistan over the next five years.

It is also worth mentioning here that Washington, time and again, has asked Islamabad to focus more fighting the Taliban rather than expanding its nuclear and conventional forces against India.

According the New York Times, US officials made these accusations in ‘unpublicized’ diplomatic protest to Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and other top Pakistani officials in June.

The United States has also accused Pakistan of modifying American-made P-3C aircraft for land-attack missions.

“The focus of our concern is that this is a potential unauthorized modification of a maritime antiship defensive capability to an offensive land-attack missile. The potential for proliferation and end-use violations are things we watch very closely,” said another official on conditions of anonymity, adding, “When we have concerns, we act aggressively.”

However, Pakistan has denied the charge, saying it developed the missile itself.

A senior Pakistan said that the missile was developed by Pakistan, just as it had modified North Korean designs to build a range of land-based missiles that could strike India. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: administration official, administration., aid, aircraft, ANI, anonymity, antiship, Antiship Missiles, Aug, capability, charge, concern, concerted effort, Congress, congressional, Congressional Officials, conventional forces, Defensive Capability, defensive weapon, Diplomatic Protest, effort, era, focus, gilani, Harpoon, India, Islamabad, June, land, Land Targets, maritime, minister, Misdirected, missile, modification, New, New York Times, next five years, north, NYT, Obama, official, Pakistan, Pakistani officials, potential, prime, proliferation, protest, range, raza, Reagan, reagan administration, senior administration, Taliban, threat, time, times, top, Unauthorized Modification, United States, US, war, Washington, Washington time, weapon, york, Yusuf

Britney’s ex Adnan Ghalib pleads not guilty in felony assault case

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 25 (ANI): Pop princess Britney Spears’ ex-boyfriend, paparazzo Adnan Ghalib, has pleaded not guilty to assaulting a process server with his car.

Ghalib was accused of running over Ram Moskowitz as the latter tried to hand him legal papers, which were a part of the singer’s conservatorship case in 2008, reports Contactmusic.

The photographer is facing felony assault with a deadly weapon, battery and hit and run charges.

He is due back in court in Van Nuys, California, on September 29, and he faces seven years behind bars if he’s found guilty. (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: adnan, ANI, assault, Assault Case, assault with a deadly weapon, Aug, battery, Britney, Britney Spears, California, car, case, conservatorship, contactmusic, Court, felony, felony assault, ghalib, latter, moskowitz, paparazzo, part, photographer, pop, Pop Princess, princess, princess britney, process, process server, ram, September, september 29, server, seven years, singer, Van Nuys, Van Nuys California, Washington, weapon

Pak raises lands drying up issue due to Indian conspiracy with Holbrooke

August 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Aug.21 (ANI): The Pakistan Government is reported to have raised the issue of its agrarian lands drying up due to India’s water conspiracy with visiting US Special Representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke.

Though Holbrooke told officials in Islamabad that American experts will soon be in town to help the country resolve its energy crisis, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will make a further announcement on energy needs during her scheduled visit in October, the latter highlighted the fact that India has reduced the country”s agro-based economy to tatters by building the Wullar Barrage/Tulbul Navigation Project on the Jhelum River.

The News quotes Indus Water Commissioners Ishrat Ali Khan and Jamaat Ali Shah, as saying that Pakistan has handed over credible evidence in June of this year to India, which establishes 14 agenda items; including the contentious Wullar barrage project.

Both officials says that while the talks were essentially a failure, the fact remains that India is taking steps to stop the flow of water through a 22-KM long tunnel into the Wullar Lake.

India, on the other hand, claims that the project, which includes buidling a dam, will help maintain better water levels in a nearby lake and regulate the flow of flood waters.

Islamabad fears the proposed dam on the Jhelum river, a tributary of the Indus, will affect water levels further downstream in the plains of its Punjab province threatening irrigation and power projects.

In the wake of inconclusive talks on water flow of Jhelum, it says that the Indian attempt to use water as a geo-strategic tool, is unfair and in contravention to the Indus Water Ttreaty, 1960.

According to Indus Water Treaty of 1960, India has been allotted exclusive control/right over the waters of the eastern rivers, namely; the Ravi, the Beas and the Sutlej. Pakistan controls the waters of three western rivers; the Indus, the Jhelum and the Chenab.

It is interesting to note that the base-source of water of all the rivers flows from the Indian side of Kashmir.

According to Pakistan, the treaty bars India from storing any water or constructing any storage works on the western rivers that would result in a reduced flow of water to Pakistan and destruction of the country”s Rabi crop.

Pakistan maintains that India, under the treaty, can store water but it cannot divert it to any other side. Thus, any diversion would violate the provisions of the treaty.

The Indian side is of the view that Pakistan is not developing its hydel resources anyway and should not get so serious about its objections. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Afghanistan, agenda, agrarian, Agriculture, Ali Khan, Ali Shah, American Experts, ANI, announcement, attempt, Aug, barrage, Beas, canal, cannot, Chenab, clinton, Commissioners Ishrat, conspiracy, contravention, control, country, crisis, crop, Dam, destruction, diversion, eastern rivers, economy, energy, evidence, fact, failure, flood, Flood Waters, flow, Government, hand, Hillary Clinton, holbrooke, hydel, Inconclusive Talks, India, Indus, irrigation, Islamabad, issue, jamaat, Jamaat Ali Shah, Jehlum, jhelum river, June, Kashmir, lake, Lake India, navigation, navigation project, nearby lake, Neelum, NEWS, October, Pak, Pakistan, Pakistan government, power, power projects, project, province, Punjab, punjab province, rabi, ravi, representative, resolve, richard, Richard Holbrooke, right, river, Secretary of State Hillary, side, storage, Sutlej, tool, town, treaty, Ttreaty, Tulbul, tunnel, US, view, visit, wake, water, water commissioners, Water Treaty, weapon, western rivers, Wullar, year

Brit weapons may have been used against Lanka Tamils, says report

August 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug.19 (ANI): A report prepared by the Commons Committee on Arms Export Controls has revealed that British weapons may have been used against Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, and now, this is prompting calls for a review of the arms trade.

According to The Times, the committee has argued that all existing licenses to Sri Lanka should be investigated.

Members of Parliament on the committee specifically want to know which British arms the Sri Lankan forces used in this year’s final offensive against the Tamil Tigers, in which an estimated 20,000 civilians died.

Concerns about arms exports were heightened by the Government’s admission this year that British components were “almost certainly” used by Israeli forces during the Gaza offensive, in which up to 1,400 Palestinians died, many of them civilians.

The committee says that while the situation in Sri Lanka made it “impossible” to know how British weapons were deployed, there were legitimate concerns that they may have been used against civilians.

Britain approved the sale of over 13.6 million pounds of weapons and military equipment to Sri Lanka during the last three years of its civil war, including armoured vehicles, machinegun components, semiautomatic pistols and ammunition.

In the last quarter of 2008 Britain approved 21 licenses for more than 1.3 million pounds of supplies and declined two that were deemed to violate EU rules on such sales.

Britain is legally bound by the European Union code of conduct on arms transfers, which restricts the arms trade to countries facing internal conflicts or with poor human rights records and a history of violating international law. The code focuses not on the lethal potential of the weapon but on its end use.

The MPs have rejected the Gordon Brown Government’s claim that it could not have anticipated the civilian toll in Sri Lanka, noting the dramatic increase of hostilities after the collapse of the ceasefire in 2006. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: admission, ammunition, ANI, armoured vehicles, Arms Export, arms exports, arms transfers, Aug, brit, Britain, british weapons, ceasefire, claim, code, collapse, committee, commons, Commons Committee, conduct, controls, Dramatic Increase, end, equipment, European, export, Export Controls, Gaza, Gordon Brown, Gordon Brown Government, history, increase, Internal Conflicts, israeli forces, lankan, law, Legitimate Concerns, London, Machinegun, members of parliament, Military Equipment, mps, offensive, parliament, potential, quarter, report, review, sale, Semiautomatic Pistols, situation, Sri Lanka, tamil, tamil civilians, tamil tigers, Tamils, tigers, times, toll, union, use, war, weapon, year

London police stopped five under-10s a day in 2008, says Scotland Yard report

August 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug.19 (ANI): Nearly 2,000 children aged under 10 were stopped by members of Britain’s largest police force last year, according to figures from Scotland Yard.

According to a report by The Independent, that means that at least five children aged ten or less were stopped for questioning.

Of the 1,954 stopped, 1,715 were boys and 239 girls.

Children under 10 are under the age of criminal responsibility in Britain.

The new statistics came to light after a mother, Sandra Shepherd, 40, complained that her nine-year-old son Jadan was stopped and searched by officers in Camberwell, south London, while out with his older brother and friends. A senior officer confirmed police are investigating a formal complaint about the incident.

Officers searched Jadan under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act (1994).

This allows police to search anyone they believe is carrying a weapon or anyone in the area of a violent attack.

A detailed breakdown of figures for 2008 revealed 115 under-10s were stopped and searched by officers using section 60 powers. Officers also used section 44 of the Terrorism act 2000 to stop 58 under-10s.

Jenny Jones, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said police must tackle crime without alienating the public but questioned whether searching children as young as nine was an appropriate or effective use of police resources.

Lambeth Police Superintendent David Musker said: “I confirm this matter has been reported to the Directorate of Professional Standards and will be investigated.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 10s, act, age, Age Of Criminal Responsibility, ANI, anyone, area, attack, Aug, authority, breakdown, Britain, brother, Camberwell, Camberwell South, children, complaint, Crime, criminal, Criminal Justice And Public Order Act 1994, day, directorate, force, Formal Complaint, incident, independent, Jadan, Jenny Jones, justice, lambeth, London, london police, matter, member, metropolitan, metropolitan police authority, mother, Musker, officer, order, police, Police Resources, Police Superintendent, professional, Professional Standards, Public, report, responsibility, Sandra Shepherd, Scotland, scotland yard, section, Section 44, son, south london, standards, Superintendent David Musker, terrorism, Terrorism Act 2000, Under, use, violent attack, weapon, yard, year

Pak accuses India of reducing its agro-based economy to tatters

August 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Aug.19 (ANI): Authorities in Pakistan have once again charged India with reducing the country’s agro-based economy to tatters by building the Wullar Barrage/Tulbul Navigation Project on the Jhelum River.

The News quotes Indus Water Commissioners Ishrat Ali Khan and Jamaat Ali Shah, as saying that Pakistan has handed over credible evidence in JUne of this year to India, which establishes 14 agenda items; including the contentious Wullar barrage project.

Both officials says that while the talks were essentially a failure, the fact remains that India is taking steps to stop the flow of water through a 22-KM long tunnel into the Wullar Lake.

India, on the other hand, claims that the project, which includes buidling a dam, will help maintain better water levels in a nearby lake and regulate the flow of flood waters.

In the wake of inconclusive talks on water flow of Jhelum, it says that the Indian attempt to use water as a geo-strategic tool, is unfair and in contravention to the Indus Water Ttreaty, 1960.

It is interesting to note that the base-source of water of all the rivers flows from the Indian side of Kashmir.

Pakistan maintains that India, under the treaty, can store water but it cannot divert it to any other side. Thus, any diversion would violate the provisions of the treaty.

Pakistan believes Wullar barrage can be used as: (1) a geo-strategic weapon, (2) potential to disrupt the triple canal project of Pakistan, (3) badly affecting the Neelum-Jehlum hydro-power project, (4) agriculture in Pakistan Kashmir (5) drying the lands of Punjab province.
The Indian side is of the view that Pakistan is not developing its hydel resources anyway and should not get so serious about its objections. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: agenda, Agriculture, Ali Khan, Ali Shah, ANI, attempt, Aug, barrage, Base Source, Beas, canal, cannot, Chenab, Commissioners Ishrat, contravention, control, country, credible evidence, crop, Dam, destruction, diversion, eastern rivers, economy, evidence, fact, failure, flood, Flood Waters, flow, hand, hydel, Inconclusive Talks, India, Indus, irrigation, Islamabad, jamaat, Jamaat Ali Shah, Jehlum, jhelum river, June, Kashmir, lake, Lake India, navigation, navigation project, nearby lake, Neelum, NEWS, Pak, Pakistan, power, power projects, project, province, Punjab, punjab province, rabi, Rabi Crop, ravi, right, river, side, storage, Sutlej, tool, treaty, Ttreaty, Tulbul, tunnel, view, wake, water, water commissioners, Water Treaty, weapon, western rivers, Wullar, year

It happens only in the US: Armed riflemen attend Obama’s speech

August 18, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug.18 (ANI): A dozen people carrying guns, including at least two with assault rifles, were spotted mingling among protesters outside a convention centre in Arizona where President Barack Obama was speaking. he Telegraph quoted Phoenix police as saying that the men who were carrying guns at Monday’s event did not need permits, as the state of Arizona has an “open carry” law.

One of the men carrying a rifle declined to be identified but told The Arizona Republic that he was carrying the assault weapon because he could. “In Arizona, I still have some freedoms,” he said.

The presence of armed men among protesters has raised fears that the heated debate over Obama’s reform agenda could lead to deadly violence.

Obama was speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars about improving benefits for veterans, and thanking the armed services for their sacrifice.

It was the latest incident where gun-carriers have been spotted outside events where the president has appeared, usually to tout his health care reform plans on an increasingly dubious public.

Last week, during a town hall meeting on health care in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a man carrying a sign reading “It is time to water the tree of liberty” stood outside with a pistol strapped to his leg. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: agenda, ANI, Arizona, Arizona Republic, armed, armed men, Armed Services, assault, Assault Rifles, Assault Weapon, Aug, barack, Barack Obama, care, carry, centre, convention, deadly violence, debate, dozen, event, foreign, freedoms, hall, Health, health care reform, incident, law, leg, liberty, man, meeting, Monday, New Hampshire, Obama, phoenix, phoenix police, pistol, Portsmouth, Portsmouth New Hampshire, presence, president, protesters, Public, reading, reform, Reform Agenda, republic, rifle, riflemen, sacrifice, sign, speech, state, State Of Arizona, Telegraph, time, town, town hall, tree, Tree Of Liberty, US, veterans, veterans of foreign wars, Violence, Washington, weapon, week

Mel Gibson provides guest vocals for girlfriend’s new album

August 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 15 (ANI): Mel Gibson has swapped the big screen for a recording studio, as he has provided guest vocals for his girlfriend Russian singer Oksana Grigorieva’s new album.

The ‘Lethal Weapon’ star has provided guest vocals for two songs for Grigorieva’s latest LP, ‘Beautiful Heartache’, and directed videos to accompany four of the tracks.

“Mel is an incredible artist. He has a great voice. He is a visionary. He enabled me to produce this… for my music to live,” Contactmusic quoted Oksana as saying.

“The videos are like dramatic miniature films – a whirlpool of different, exciting, bright images,” she added. (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: album, ANI, artist, Aug, beautiful, Beautiful Heartache, Bright Images, contactmusic, films, girlfriend, guest, Guest Vocals, heartache, Lethal, Lethal Weapon, mel, mel gibson, music, new album, Oksana, oksana grigorieva, recording, recording studio, russian singer, screen, singer, star, studio, the, two songs, Visionary, voice, Washington, weapon, Whirlpool

Scary metaphors can affect public health

August 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 8 (ANI): Using scary metaphors for any kind of natural disaster or health scare can not only make people notice it, but it can also spread panic or cynicism among populations, according to a study.

“Such terms can make people sit up and listen, but they can also lead to panic or cynicism,” said Professor Brigitte Nerlich, who led the research.

She added: “Recent advice on swine flu has centred on basic hygiene, which makes people feel they can do something practical, instead of being mere victims of so-called “superbugs” or “killer viruses”. But obviously this is easier to do when a disease is relatively benign.”

She pointed out that easier Internet access might also help people to feel in control-an issue that emerged from a previous ESRC project on foot and mouth disease carried out in Nottingham.

These days, especially in the context of swine flu, “email, Twitter, and public health sites all give information and advice which can be useful to worried individuals and may dampen down panic. ‘But more research needs to be done in this area,” she said.

The research focused on MRSA along with avian flu and was conducted by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in nursing, the social study of health and illness, environmental studies and linguistics.

The study compared the language of biosecurity, hygiene and cleanliness used in policy documents and media coverage with the language used by hospital matrons and poultry farmers dealing with the realities of MRSA and avian flu.

“We found that the way people communicate about a threat largely determines how they understand it and behave towards it. Additional findings established that media coverage of hygiene and cleanliness in hospitals tended to portray doctors and nurses engaged in a heroic “battle” against “intelligent super bugs.This was personified by the modern matron wielding the weapon of “cleanliness,” said Nerlich.

After conducting interviews with hospital matrons, the researchers found that a gap between the media portrayal and the reality on the wards.

Matrons said that the limitations in their authority over contractors, and time constraints made it impossible for them to spend even half their time as a “visible presence” on the wards.

“This was another example of the control issue. Modern matrons have limited powers to limit the spread of infection or improve hygiene. For instance, they can’t hire extra nursing staff for barrier nursing or deal with problems with cleaning contractors. Our findings highlight the need for policy messages to be translated more accurately into practice,” said Nerlich. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: access, advice, ANI, area, Aug, authority, avian, avian flu, barrier, battle, biosecurity, Brigitte Nerlich, cleanliness, Cleanliness In Hospitals, Conducting Interviews, context, control, coverage, cynicism, deal, disaster, disease, doctors and nurses, email, Esrc, Esrc Project, example, expertise, Flu, foot, Foot And Mouth Disease, gap, Health, Health And Illness, health scare, Heroic Battle, hospital, Hospital Matrons, hygiene, illness, infection, information, instance, internet, issue, killer, Killer Viruses, kind, language, matron, Matrons, modern, Modern Matron, mouth, mrsa, Natural Disaster, need, nottingham, nursing, panic, policy, portrayal, poultry, Poultry Farmers, practice, presence, Professor Brigitte Nerlich, project, Public Health Sites, reality, Research, researche, scare, scary, something, spread, staff, study, superbugs, Swine Flu, team, threat, time, twitter, Washington, way, weapon

Mullen acknowledges possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons

July 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 8(ANI): Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), has acknowledged the possibility of Iran succeeding in acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Admiral Mullen acknowledged this while addressing the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Tuesday.

“I believe Iran is very focused on developing this capability, and I think when they get it, or should they get it, it will be very destabilizing,” The Jerusalem Post quoted Admiral Mullen, as saying.

Admiral Mullen also highlighted that an attack on Iran would be similarly destabilizing.

“There are unintended consequences that are very difficult to predict in a very volatile, highly volatile part of the world,” he added.

He specifically warned about the consequences of any step taken by both countries, indicating retaliatory violence spreading throughout the region and potentially to other parts of the world.

He backed the President Obama’s approach of holding talks with Iran, but refused to rule out the use of military strikes despite potential negative effects.

“There is a great deal that certainly depends on the dialogue and the engagement, and I think we need to do that with all options remaining on the table, including, certainly, military options,” Admiral Mullen said.

Estimating that Iran would take one to three years to develop a nuclear weapon, he warned that the time window is closing and that the clock is ticking. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: (Iran, admiral michael mullen, admiral mullen, ANI, approach, attack, capability, center, chairman, CJCS, clock, deal, dialogue, engagement, international, Jerusalem, joint, July, part, possibility, post, President Obama, region, retaliatory, staff, step, strategic, table, time, Tuesday, US, use, Violence, Washington, weapon, while, window, world

Three Pak Interior Ministry officials nabbed for issuing illegal arms licenses

July 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, July 8 (ANI): Security officials have arrested three officials of the Pakistan Interior Ministry on charges of issuing illegal arms licenses.

According to The Dawn, all the three officials have been charged of issuing weapon licenses to at least 161 persons despite a ban on the sale of arms and ammunition.

The officials have reportedly made huge amounts of money from the scam.

The Interior Ministry Secretary, Syed Kamal Shah, informed a Senate sub-committee, that the trio earned a whopping 7.5 million rupees by issuing illegal arms licenses.

The committee was also told that terrorists could target Islamabad in days to come.

According to sources, a top security official warned that Islamabad could be targeted within the next 48 hours. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ammunition, ANI, ban, committee, dawn, interior, Islamabad, July, ministry, MONEY, official, Pak, Pakistan, sale, scam, secretary, security, senate, Syed Kamal Shah, trio, weapon

Parents cry foul over police gunning of their MBA son

July 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Dehradun (Uttaranchal), July 4 (ANI): Parents of an MBA student who was allegedly shot dead by police in an encounter, are crying foul.

Twenty-two year-old Ranbir Singh’s parents said on Saturday that there son had no criminal background and his killing was a clear case of mistaken identity.

Singh was shot dead on Friday in the Ladpur jungles.

The state’s Principal Secretary (Home), Subhash Kumar, said that a magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Dehradun) said Singh was riding a motor cycle along with two others and snatched the revolver of a constable when their two-wheeler was stopped during a checking of vehicles in view of president Pratibha Patil’s visit.

His inconsolable parents maintained his innocence and demanded that his criminal record be shown to them.

The police just killed him to get (gallantry) medals. And the police are threatening me now,” his father said.

Uttarakhand Inspector General of Police N A Ganapati said the three boys were asked to stop by G D Bhatt, a sub-inspector at Dalanwala area. When the police searched their bag, a weapon was found in it, he said, adding that the boys overpowered Bhatt, snatched his revolver and fled.

When the SI flashed a message over the wireless, the boys were intercepted at another place and there was an encounter in which Ranbir was killed, Ganapati said.(ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, area, background, bag, case, Case Of Mistaken Identity, checking, Clear Case, constable, criminal background, criminal record, cycle, Dalanwala, dehradun, encounter, father, Friday, G D Bhatt, gallantry, gallantry medals, Ganapati, home, identity, incident, innocence, inquiry, Inspector General, July, jungles, kumar, Ladpur, magisterial, magisterial inquiry, mba, mba student, message, motor, motor cycle, N A Ganapati, place, police, Pratibha Patil, president, President Pratibha Patil, principal, principal secretary, Ranbir, record, revolver, Saturday, secretary, Senior, shot, Singh, son, state, student, Subhash, superintendent, Twenty-two, two-wheeler, Uttarakhand, uttaranchal, view, visit, weapon

Sree nominates Noirin for eviction from Big Brother House

July 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Jul 1 (ANI): As contenders in reality television show ‘Big Brother’ fight to stay on and not get evicted, Sree went into the Diary Room and nominated Irish beauty Noirin to be evicted.

Sree had been sucking up to Noirin at every opportunity, and even praised about her to Big Brother.

“I lover her, I do fancy her, I want to be with her,” the Sun quoted him as saying.

“More than anyone in this BB house she is the lady who attracts me through her internal beauty.

“But she’s the first woman shouted at me in my whole life,” he said.

The sneaky student was himself nominated by Noirin for eviction.

“I think he did fancy me at the start, but now I think he’s using me as a weapon,” she told BB.

“I’ve had friends like that before – they’re like fr-enemies,” she added.

With five nominations, Sree is up for eviction, along with Freddie – the bookies’ favourite to win the entire show – who was nominated seven times. (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: ANI, anyone, beauty, Big, big brother, big house, bookies, brother, contenders, diary, diary room, enemies, Entire Show, eviction, favourite, fight, first woman, freddie, house, House London, Internal Beauty, Irish Beauty, Jul, lady, life, London, lover, noirin, opportunity, reality, reality show, reality television show, room, seven times, show, sree, start, student, Sucking, Sun, television, weapon, whole life, woman

Cleaning agent may help in superbug battle

June 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, June 27 (ANI): A cleaning agent, developed to stop mould growth in bakeries and fish factories, has been found effective in killing hospital superbugs, say researchers.

The research team from Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) have found that agent Byotrol has cut levels of MRSA on wards by one third.

Byotrol, an antimicrobial technology developed by a Manchester-based paint firm, has a polymer-based structure, which enables it to kill bacteria, like MSRA, days after being first applied.

The polymer is said to create a surface tension effect, which operates like a flytrap that literally tears apart the bacteria when they come into contact.

“These are very impressive results. Our study has shown a reduction of one third in levels of MRSA in the ward when the new disinfectant was compared with the gold-standard NHS bleach-based cleaning agent,” the Telegraph quoted Dr Andy Dodgson, consultant microbiologist at the MRI who led the trial as saying.

“The new disinfectant has a clear role to play in helping hospitals in the battle to control HCASIs. Cutting the level of pathogens on the wards rescues the risk to patients of picking up an infection.

“The demonstration of a residual antibacterial effect is a major new discovery which will be an additional weapon for the NHS in the fight against superbugs,” he added.

Stephen Falder, the scientist who invented Byotrol, said: “I suppose you could say this is a prevention for superbugs that almost never happened. I began developing it as a protection to stop mould on paints. It grew from there.”

The study will be published in British Journal of Infection Control. (ANI)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Agent, ANI, antibacterial, Antibacterial Effect, Antimicrobial, Antimicrobial Technology, Bakeries, battle, British, Byotrol, cleaning, consultant, contact, control, demonstration, discovery, disinfectant, Dodgson, dr andy, Dr Andy Dodgson, effect, fight, firm, fish, Fish Factories, flytrap, growth, HCASIs, hospital, hospital superbugs, impressive results, infection, infection control, Infirmary, journal, June, level, London, manchester, manchester royal infirmary, Manchester-based, microbiologist, mould, mri, mrsa, MSRA, new discovery, NHS, paint, pathogens, Polymer, prevention, protection, reduction, Research, risk, role, royal, scientist, Stephen Falder, structure, study, superbug, surface, Surface Tension, team, Technology, Telegraph, tension, trial, ward, wards, weapon

Navy inducts stealth destroyer INS Kochi

Navy to induct stealth destroyer INS Kochi on Sep.18

BSF deploys women guards on Pakistan border in Punjab

US report reveals Pak enhancing nuke weapon capability to target India

Pak says it is ready to probe US charge of Harpoon missile fraud

Pakistan modified ‘defensive’ American missiles to pose threat to India: NYT

Britney’s ex Adnan Ghalib pleads not guilty in felony assault case

Pak raises lands drying up issue due to Indian conspiracy with Holbrooke

Brit weapons may have been used against Lanka Tamils, says report

London police stopped five under-10s a day in 2008, says Scotland Yard report

Pak accuses India of reducing its agro-based economy to tatters

It happens only in the US: Armed riflemen attend Obama’s speech

Mel Gibson provides guest vocals for girlfriend’s new album

Scary metaphors can affect public health

Mullen acknowledges possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons

Three Pak Interior Ministry officials nabbed for issuing illegal arms licenses

Parents cry foul over police gunning of their MBA son

Sree nominates Noirin for eviction from Big Brother House

Cleaning agent may help in superbug battle

Search More News

Technology News

Ads