NATO forces today called in an airstrike that killed at least four Afghan troops in the second lethal “friendly fire” incident in less than three months. Officials suggested that in the darkness, the Afghan soldiers manning a nearby base might have mistaken the patrol for insurgents and fired the shots.Karzai has long been a harsh critic of accidental killings of Afghan civilians by foreign forces. The strike in Wardak province came one day after Western forces shot and killed two Afghan civilians as their taxi approached a patrol in Ghazni province, and two days after American troops killed an Afghan motorist — an imam, or mosque preacher — as he was driving near their convoy in Kabul.
The full-body garments are a security issue in places like banks and subways where people need to be identifiable. A parliamentary committee said, Muslim women should not be allowed to wear burkas in public institutions, including banks, post offices, schools and even on public transportation. The committee reduced its recommendation to a nonbinding resolution condemning the burka as “contrary to the values of the Republic.” The burka controversy has become part of a debate over French identity and anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment. The government estimates that nearly 2,000 women wear the burka in France, home to about 5 million Muslims.
The Russian military conducted the first successful flight of its new fifth-generation stealth fighter jet on Friday. The Sukhoi T-50 or PAK FA flew a 47-minute test run. It is expected to replace MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-27. The jet is made to compete American F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. It can develop speed as fast as 2100km/h and it can fly approximately 5500 kilometers up above the sky. It can take off from short runways like 300-400 meters long.
The T-50 is the domestic name of Russia’s fifth-generation fighter plane which has been developed as the Advanced Front-Line Aviation Complex (PAK FA) for Russia’s Air Force. The project started its development by the Sukhoi design bureau since it won the tender in April 2002. The Tikhomirov Institute of Instrument Design, which developed the Irbis radar for the Su-35BM Flanker, has been working on the T-50 radar. The fighter’s radar and fire-control system will be designed on the basis of the Su-35BM’s systems. The fighter’s exterior design was approved on December 10, 2004. Last summer, the fighter’s design was approved, and the prototype blueprints were delivered to the KNAAPO aircraft building company based in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where three experimental fighters will be built for testing. In February 2009, the first prototype was constructed. Although T-50 specifications remain classified, fragmentary data on its engines imply that this heavy-duty fighter will have a take-off weight of more than 30 metric tons and will be close in dimension to the well-known Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker. The exterior was designed using Stealth technology, also known as LO technology (low observable technology). The aircraft is fitted with 117S (upgraded AL-31) turbofan engines from the Russian aircraft engine manufacturer Saturn. The PAK FA can carry either eight next-generation air-to-air R-77 missiles, or two large controllable anti-ship bombs weighing 1,500 kg each. The jet can also carry two long-range missiles developed by the Novator Bureau which can hit targets within a 400 kilometer range. The fighter is equipped with advanced avionics to combine an automatic flight control system and a radar locator with a phased array antenna. The aircraft plans are to be mass produced in Komsomolsk-on-Amur from 2015.
Former President George H.W. Bush and his son, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush visited President Barack Obama in the Oval Office. Two weeks ago former President George W. Bush, was at the White House talking about Haiti relief with Obama and former President Bill Clinton. The Bushes were at the White House for just over a half-hour. The White House described it as a social call.
The Obama administration announced the sale of $6 billion worth of Patriot anti-missile systems, helicopters, mine-sweeping ships and communications equipment to Taiwan. The Obama administration says weapons sales to Taiwan help to maintain stability in East Asia by making it more difficult for Beijing to bully Taiwan. China strongly urges the U.S. side to fully recognize the gravity of the issue and revoke the decision on arms sales to Taiwan and stop selling any weapons to Taiwan. China views Taiwan as part of its territory and contends that U.S. arms sales to the island as gross intervention into China’s internal affairs. Taiwan is facing about 1,400 short-range ballistic missiles from China and plans to deploy the new PAC-3s in the central and southern regions of Taiwan. Taiwan has been awaiting the release of congressional notifications since the Bush administration approved the sale of eight diesel submarines in 2001. Taiwan has an urgent need for new utility helicopters to replace ageing UH-1H “Huey” helicopters procured during the 1980s. Over the past month, at least six senior Chinese officials have warned the Obama administration not to sell the weapons to Taiwan, and some have raised the possibility that China might sanction the companies involved.
The United States is legally obligated to provide weapons for Taiwan’s defense, under the Taiwan Relations Act. The U.S. Congress has 30 days to comment on the newest arms sales before the plan goes forward. The United States is Taiwan’s most important ally and largest arms supplier. The last US arms package for Taiwan, announced under previous president George W. Bush in October 2008, also led China to cut off military relations with the United States temporarily. The Chinese government has reacted badly. Vice-Foreign Minister He Yafai delivered a protest to the U.S. ambassador in Beijing, Jon Huntsman. China said it was suspending military exchanges with the United States protesting the arms sells. It is not clear if the People’s Liberation Army will begin moving missile launchers to appropriate positions and make other moves to threaten an attack if Washington does not cancel the deal.
