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At least 110 Tomahawk missiles fired at Libya:US
Editor’s Note: Each Tomahawk missile costs $569,000. So $62,590,000 has been spent to kill people without the consent of Congress.
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| Navy Ship launching Tomahawk missile/Wiki Common |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US and British forces have fired at least 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya against Moamer Kadhafi’s air defense sites, a top US military officer said Saturday.
Vice Admiral William Gortney told reporters that “earlier this afternoon over 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from both US and British ships and submarines struck more than 20 integrated air defense systems and other air defense facilities ashore.”
The first missile struck at 1900 GMT following air strikes carried out earlier by French warplanes, said Gortney, director of the US joint staff.
“It’s a first phase of a multi-phase operation,” he said.
One British submarine joined with other US warships in the missile attack, he added.
“Because it is night over there, it will be some time before we have a complete picture of the success of these strikes,” the admiral said
Libya crisis: fighter plane ‘shot down’ as Gaddafi forces attack Benghazi
A Libyan rebel grimaces on the frontline near Sultan, south of Benghazi Photo: AP
News agency reports a fighter plane has been shot down and artillery bombardment of the city.
“The explosions started about 2 a.m. Gaddafi’s forces are advancing, we hear they’re 20 kms (12 miles) from Benghazi,” Faraj Ali, a resident, said.
Gaddafi’s forces advance into Benghazi pre-empted an international meeting hosted by France to discuss military intervention in Libya. The meeting will be attended by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Arab leaders.
“We saw Gaddafi’s tanks, cars and missile trucks less than five km away,” a rebel figher giving his name as Mohammed told Reuters.
Libya had declared a unilateral ceasefire on Friday after the U.N. Security Council authorised a no-fly zone over Libya.
But the United States accused Gaddafi of defying international demands for an immediate ceasefire, and France’s U.N. envoy predicted military action within hours of the Paris meeting on Read more…
Seized Sensitive Cargo Was Bound For Iran, Malaysia Says
Malaysia on Friday revealed that two seized cargo containers filled with technology that could have been employed to build nuclear weapons were bound for Iran, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, March 17).
Under a 2010 law that prohibits the illicit import or export of WMD-related materials, local police moved two weeks ago to confiscate the two containers from a Malaysian-registered ship docked at Port Klang. National police chief Ismail Omar said the vessel was sailing from China to Tehran (see GSN, March 17).
Western governments fear that Iran’s nuclear development program is secretly geared toward producing nuclear weapons. Iran maintains its atomic efforts are entirely peaceful.
A Friday article in the Sun newspaper said the seized components were a stainless steel holding tank and two Read more…
Russia to spend $700 bln on new weapons
(AP)
MOSCOW (AP) — President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday that Russia will spend the equivalent of $700 billion by 2020 to modernize the military’s aging arsenals, but sternly warned arms industries against jacking up prices.
Medvedev said the new plan should re-equip the armed forces, which have mostly relied on Soviet-built weapons, but some analysts say that the ambitious program that envisages procurement of 600 new warplanes, 100 ships and 1,000 helicopters is unfeasible because of a steady decline of the nation’s once-proud arms industry.
Medvedev, speaking at a meeting with the top military brass, harshly criticized domestic arms makers for failing to meet Russia’s weapons orders last year and said that the culprits will be punished.
Medvedev didn’t give details, but deputy prime minister Sergei Ivanov said Read more…
Jails turning to full body scanners
Cook County Jail in Chicago recently installed four full-body scanners to help improve security; officials say that the body scanners have enabled officers to better detect contraband items, hidden away in body cavities, and reduced the need for strip searches; the machines are located in the jail’s two maximum security areas as well as the initial processing area; officials say they plan to begin using body scanners at the Cook County courthouse to scan detainees before they enter the courtroom
Body scanners are no longer just for airports. Cook County Jail in Chicago recently installed four full-body scanners to help improve security.
The machines were first installed last November in the jail’s two maximum security areas Read more…
Saudi King Offers His People Money, Reform
In a rare televised speech, Saudi Arabia’s king said he was enacting a $67 billion package that included raises and loans for Saudis.
The AP called King Abdullah’s offer, “the Arab world’s most expensive attempt to appease residents inspired by the unrest that has swept two leaders from power.”
Reuters reports on the details of the package:
Amongst a wave of new spending, the decrees outlined a boost in welfare benefits, bonuses for public sector workers, including the army, and a massive drive to build new housing.
In addition, the king ordered the creation of 60,000 security jobs within the Read more…
Morgan Tsvangirai says military junta is running Zimbabwe
Morgan Tsvangirai is due to address a Movement for Democratic Change rally in Harare, defying a police order that it be cancelled Photo: REUTERS
Mr Tsvangirai on Friday returned from a trip to urge neighbouring leaders to act to prevent Zimbabwe sliding back to the “dark days” of violence seen in the disputed 2008 elections which saw him form a coalition with his rival Mr Mugabe.
On Saturday, he is due to address a Movement for Democratic Change rally in Harare, defying a police order that it be cancelled.
Diplomatic sources in Harare said they feared the rally, which will take place close to a meeting of Mr Mugabe’s Zanu PF supporters, could end in bloodshed if police intervene.
There are also concerns that Zimbabwe’s Joint Operations Command, made up of the heads of the police, armed forces and state security, could use the opportunity to arrest Read more…
House-Size Asteroid Zooms Close by Earth
This NASA graphic depicts the orbit (blue curve) of asteroid 2011 EB47, which will pass close by Earth within the orbit of the moon on March 16, 2011, one day after it was discovered. The asteroid poses no threat of impacting Earth.
An asteroid the size of a house zoomed by Earth Wednesday, flying within the orbit of the moon just one day after astronomers spotting the space rock in the sky, NASA says.
The small asteroid 2011 EB74 was about 47 feet across and posed no threat of hitting Earth, since it was too small to survive the trip through the planet’s atmosphere.
Instead, the asteroid passed our planet at a comfortable distance of about 203,000 miles when it made its closest approach at 5:49 p.m. EDT, NASA officials said.
For comparison, the average distance between the Earth and the moon is about Read more…
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