India Successfully Test-fires Prithvi-II Missile
December 22, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under Breaking News
India on Wednesday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed, nuclear-capable, ballistic missile Prithvi-II from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, about 15 km from here off the Orissa coast.
Prithvi-II, with a maximum striking range of 250 km, is capable of carrying a pay-load of 500 kg. The surface-to-surface missile is also capable of taking nuclear warhead.
Prithvi, the first ballistic missile developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), is propelled by liquid propulsion twin engine. With a length of nine metre and one metre diameter, Prithvi-II uses an advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory. In September this year, the missile failed to take off causing a huge embarrassment for India.
2 white Britons ‘killed fighting for Al Qaeda’ in US drone strike
Two British men who were fighting alongside Al Qaeda militants in Pakistan have been killed in a drone attack, it was learnt.
The two men are believed to have been white converts to Al Qaeda who changed their British names to Islamic ones after becoming radicalized. 
They died five days ago when a Hellfire missile was fired from a remote controlled American drone in the town of Datta Khel.The reports are confirmed, the two men would be the first white British converts to have been killed in the area.The militants were aged 48 and 25 and had been using the pseudonyms Abu Bakr and Mansoor Ahmed. It is believed one of the men was originally called Steve. They were in a vehicle with two other fighters when they were hit by the missile. It is not known whether they were crossing the border into Afghanistan. Details of their deaths are slowly emerging following the missile strike on the Pakistan and Afghanistan borders.It was reported that the pair had entered the area last year and had travelled to north Waziristan in the lawless tribal belt bordering Afghanistan to join Al Qaeda.The Americans believe that there are around 2,000 militants in the area. These are the ones that are targeted by drone attacks because they are deemed the most dangerous.A Foreign Office spokesman said: We are aware of media reports of the death of two British nationals in Pakistan.Our High Commission in Pakistan is seeking further information on these reports. In September another British militant called Abdul Jabber, who was from Birmingham and of Asian descent, died in a drone attack in the same area.
Obama Says NATO Agrees on Missile Defence System
US President Barack Obama and his NATO allies agreed Friday to set up a new anti-missile defence shield across Europe and to invite Russia to take part.
The deal means NATO leaders would set up a network of radars and interceptors forming an anti-ballistic missile shield extending over Europe and possibly linking with Russia too. I’m pleased to announce that for the first time, we have agreed to develop a missile defence capability that’s strong enough to cover all NATO European territory and populations, as well as the United States, Obama said after a first session of the two-day NATO summit in Lisbon. Russia had been fiercely critical of a US missile defence plans, seeing it as a direct threat to its nuclear deterrent. But the 28 NATO powers hope President Dmitry Medvedev can be won over in discussions with the alliance on Saturday (today), the first encounter at this level since Moscow waged a war in Georgia in 2008.
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said he expects Russia and the Allies to begin a joint study of Russia’s possible inclusion in the missile defence system, which would be a significant softening of Moscow’s position. In a strategic concept released Friday setting out NATO priorities for the next decade, the leaders agreed to develop the capability to defend our populations and territories against ballistic missile attack as a core element of our collective defence.We will actively seek cooperation on missile defence with Russia and other Euro-Atlantic partners, they said. The broad agreement marks a significant advance for Obama’s scheme, first announced in November 2009 when he ditched plans for a missile shield in Eastern Europe, the cause of a Cold War-style row with Russia. Obama decided to replace the shield, the brainchild of former US president George W. Bush, with a more mobile system targeting Iranian short-range and medium-range missiles, initially using sea-based interceptors. Before leaving Moscow, the Russian party said it was keen to share ideas about common missile defence but played down the chances of a major decision realigning the continent’s security. Rasmussen said Russia would likely be invited to link up with the NATO missile umbrella rather than merging its defences with those of the alliance, set up in 1949 to contain the Soviet Union. In addition to wooing the Russians, NATO allies have tiptoed around Turkey’s concerns about its sensitive relations with neighbour Iran.Diplomats had been discussing publicly identifying Iran as an emerging missile threat but Turkey had refused to countenance this possibility and Tehran did not figure in the document released.
Nawaz Sharif:Opponents Tried Their Level Best To Hang Me
Pakistan Muslim League leader Nawaz Sharif said that his opponents tried to hang him to death. He accused President Zardari of breaking his promises.
Addressing to a rally Nawaz Sharif said “Ali Baba ran away but left his 40 thieves behind”. Nawaz claimed that on February 24 the public of Rawalpindi would force the thieves to run away as well and would not be fooled by anyone. Nawaz also said that the person, with whom he had association, left him during his bad times. Nawaz said that he had shaken hands with PPP in good intentions but President Zardari never kept his promises. He claimed that he had no personal agenda during long march and the sole purpose of the long march was the restoration of judges.
Nawaz Sharif:Opponents Tried Their Level Best To Hang Me was first posted on February 23, 2010 at 10:51 am.
Sheikh Rasheed: Reiterates For landslide Win On Feb 24
Awami Muslim League (AML) Chairman Sheikh Rasheed said that some forces are trying to transform Pakistan into Somalia and Ethiopia. Sheikh Rasheed was addressing from a procession in Liaqat Bagh, where he said that I have come to the gathering after praying at martyrdom spot Benazir Bhutto. He said the country has turned into a sandwich. Pakistan is confronted from multiple threats including NATO and India.
Sheikh Rasheed urged the government to advance the Missile Technology program. He also said that it is only due to Allaha’s help that he stands here. He said that general public is confronting many challenges including electricity, sui gas and security challenges. He repeated that AML would have a land slide win on February 24.
Sheikh Rasheed: Reiterates For landslide Win On Feb 24 was first posted on February 23, 2010 at 10:57 am.
US Missile Strikein NWaziristan, kills Seven
MIRANSHAH, Pakistan News: Missiles fired from a US drone aircraft killed seven suspected militants at a training compound in North Waziristan region on Sunday.
The missiles slammed into a building near the town of Mir Ali about 25 kilometres (15 miles) east of Miranshah, chief town of the insurgency-plagued tribal region, which borders Afghanistan.
“Two missiles landed on a militant compound in Zor Babar Aidak village near Mirali town.”
A local government official confirmed the strike, and said the targeted compound was used for training insurgents.
US Missile Strikein NWaziristan, kills Seven was first posted on February 14, 2010 at 5:49 pm.
Oil Tanker Explodes in Peshawar
February 1, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under Breaking News
PESHAWAR, Pakistan News: An oil tanker carrying NATO supply on the Ring Road, Peshawar, caught fire after an explosion occurred. Police suspects this incident as an act of terrorism.
According to the local people, at around 5.45 am, a NAtO supply oil tanker caught fire after an explosion occurred at Jamil Chowk, Ring Road. The fire then also engulfed a neighbouring hotel and a shop which were completely destroyed. Fire brigade managed to extinguish the fire after using a special chemical. The ring road was closed down for the normal traffic due to this incident. NATO supply oil tankers have been attacked on the ring road earlier as well. Due to which police officials suspect this incident as an act of terrorism.
Oil Tanker Explodes in Peshawar was first posted on February 1, 2010 at 10:39 am.
US Test Missile Misses its Pacific Target
February 1, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under Breaking News
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE: The Air Force says a missile-intercept test failed when a long-range missile launched from California missed a target missile launched from a Pacific island because of radar problems.
A statement posted on the Vandenberg Air Force Base Web site says the target missile was launched from the Kwajale in Atoll in the Marshall Islands on Sunday at about 3:40 p.m. local time (2340 GMT) and the long-range interceptor missile was launched from California’s central coast shortly after.
The statement says both missiles launched and flew without trouble but the system’s sea-based X-band radar did not perform as expected and the interceptor missed its target. The statement says officials from the Missile Defense Agency that conducted the test will conduct an extensive investigation to determine the cause of the failure.
US Test Missile Misses its Pacific Target was first posted on February 1, 2010 at 11:31 am.
US Missile Strike kills 3 Militants in N Waziristan
MIRANSHAH, Pakistan News: A suspected US missile struck a car in a northwest tribal region Friday, killing three men in the second such attack in less than a day.
Both missile strikes occurred in North Waziristan, a tribal region along the Afghan border that is supposed to be a home to several militant groups that tend to focus on attacking U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
The one Friday happened near Mir Ali, a major town in the region, said two intelligence officials who spoke to a US news agency on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.
Shortly after Friday’s attack, Taliban arrived at scene of the attack in the village of Ghundi and moved the bodies to an undisclosed location, the officials said.
The United States has fired scores of missiles from unmanned drones into Pakistan’s tribal regions since 2008 in a campaign primarily targeting al-Qaida. U.S. officials rarely discuss the strikes, and Pakistan publicly condemns them though it is widely believed to aid them secretly.
US Missile Strike kills 3 Militants in N Waziristan was first posted on January 1, 2010 at 2:22 pm.
Iran to Mass Produce Heat-seeking Missiles
November 14, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
TEHRAN: Iran to Mass Produce Heat-seeking Missiles, Iran is going to mass produce a new generation of domestically built air-to-air heat-seeking missiles which can track targets via their infrared emission.
Air Force commander Brigadier General Hassan Shah-Safi told IRNA on Saturday that having been successfully test-fired in different situations, the heat-seeking missiles are now going to be mass produced at the Defense Ministry.
This missile is fired towards the target by a plane and can track the object until it hits it, Shah-Safi said. It has a range of up to 100 kilometers, he added.
According to the top commander, the missile has been tested with a range of more than 40 kilometers, but its range could be modified to increase at higher altitudes.
Shah-Safi said Iran has also produced different kinds of air-to-air missiles, adding that radar-evading planes are being sample produced on a small scale as well.
To advance its defensive capabilities against any possible attack, Iran has so far launched different kinds of missiles.
In June, Iran inaugurated the production line of a domestically-made, supersonic ground-to-air missile system called ‘Shahin’.
The system, which has a range of more than 40 kilometers, is capable of targeting fighter jets and helicopters.
Earlier in May, Iran also successfully tested its new solid-fuel Sejjil 2 missile, which is designed to be more accurate and swift than previous Iranian-made models. It has a major deterrence power.
Iran to Mass Produce Heat-seeking Missiles was first posted on November 14, 2009 at 10:50 pm.
