Shuttle Endeavor touches down last time

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., June 1 (UPI) -- The space shuttle Endeavor landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the pre-dawn touchdown Wednesday completing its final mission before retirement.

The shuttle landed at 2:35 EDT after 248 orbits around Earth and a journey of 6,510,221 miles in its the 25th and final flight, NASA said.
PHOTOS: Shuttle Endeavor completes its final mission

Endeavor has spent spent a total of 299 days in space, orbited Earth 4,671 times and traveled 122,883,151 miles.

The shuttle undocked from the International Space Station Sunday night, ending a stay of 11 days, 17 hours and 41 minutes at the orbiting laboratory to deliver an install the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.

"What a great ending to this really wonderful mission," Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations said.

Speaking of the spectrometer, Gerstenmaier said, "They're getting great data from their instrument on board the space station. It couldn't have gone any better for this mission."

As Endeavor touched down, technicians were completing the task of rolling the shuttle Atlantis out to launch pad 39A and securing it to its supports there for the last launch of the entire shuttle program, set for no earlier than July 8, NASA said.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/06/01/Shuttle-Endeavour-touches-down-last-time/UPI-97131306910249/.

Atlantis in place as Endeavor returns

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., June 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis was wheeled to the launch pad at Florida's Kennedy Space Center Wednesday as the shuttle Endeavor completed its final mission.

Endeavor, with six astronauts led by Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, touched down on the shuttle landing strip at 2:35 a.m. EDT, right around the time Atlantis was to reach its launch site.

The Endeavor landing was the 25th nighttime landing of a shuttle.

Atlantis, which has circled Earth more than 4,600 times, traveling more than 120 million miles in space, is expected to add 5 million more miles to its record when it makes the 135th and final mission of NASA's 30-year space shuttle program, set to begin July 8, NASA officials said.

That 12-day mission to the International Space Station will include a four-person crew -- the smallest of any shuttle mission since April 1983.

The commander is to be Christopher Ferguson, a retired U.S. Navy captain who piloted Atlantis on his first mission in September 2006, and Endeavor in November 2008. Other crew members include pilot Douglas Hurley, a U.S. Marine Corps colonel who piloted Endeavor in July 2009, mission specialist Sandra Magnus, an engineer who was part of the Discovery crew in March 2009 after spending 134 days in orbit, and mission specialist Rex Walheim, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who flew Atlantis in April 2002 and again in February 2008.

The crew is to bring cargo to the space station in the large, pressurized multipurpose logistics module Raffaello, named by the Italian Space Agency, which built it, after the Renaissance painter and architect Raffaello Sanzio -- better known as Raphael, who with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, formed the traditional trinity of great masters of that period.

All Atlantis crew members have been custom-fitted for a Russian Sokol spacesuit and molded Soyuz seat liner should they have to return to Earth in a Soyuz capsule in case Atlantis can't make the re-entry and land.

Atlantis emerged, brightly lit, from the massive 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building after sunset Tuesday for the 3.4-mile journey to the Launch Complex 39, the rocket launch site originally built for the 1960s Apollo program and later modified to support shuttle operations.

It traveled to the seaside launch site on top of NASA's crawler-transporters, a pair of tracked vehicles used to transport spacecraft since Apollo days along a 100-foot-wide pathway known as the Crawlerway.

The Crawlerway was designed to support the weight of a Saturn V rocket and payload and was used since 1981 to transport the lighter shuttle to its launchpad.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/06/01/Atlantis-in-place-as-Endeavour-returns/UPI-28491306911600/.

Palestinians to march on Israel's borders

BEIRUT, Lebanon, June 1 (UPI) -- Palestinians plan to stage protests along Israel's borders to mark the 44th anniversary of the Six Days War and Israel's occupation, a Fatah official said.

Munir Maqdah, a Fatah official in Lebanon, said plans are under way to stage a peaceful march between Naqoura to the town of Khiam on Sunday, The Daily Star reported Wednesday.

Facebook campaigns call on Palestinians to march to Israel's borders with Lebanon, Syria and Gaza to commemorate the Naksa, the 1967 war, the Lebanese daily said.

In the aftermath of the Six Days War, Israel occupied the Golan Heights, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the Sinai Peninsula.

"Our people are ready. The road to Palestine is covered with thorns," Maqdah told the newspaper.

A Lebanese army source told the newspaper the army may prevent protesters from reaching Israel's borders to prevent what occurred last month on Nakba Day when 11 protesters were killed. "The army has reservations about allowing protesters to reach the border … . We will not allow a repeat of what happened on Nakba Day, in terms of the killings of Palestinians," the source said.

In last month's protests of the 1948 creation of the state of Israel, a total of 14 Palestinians were killed.

Neeraj Singh, the spokesman for the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon, told the newspaper he had yet to receive official confirmation concerning marches in the area. He said it was the responsibility of the Lebanese army to protect the protesters.

Abdullah Abdullah, the Palestinian Authority's ambassador in Lebanon, said the marches planned are to express rejection of Israel's occupation and should not be violent.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/06/01/Palestinians-to-march-on-Israels-borders/UPI-87351306930394/.

Undefeated, Freedom Flotillas Expand

By Eva Bartlett

GAZA CITY, May 31, 2011 (IPS) - A gleaming new memorial towers in the center of Gaza City's battered port. Flanked by flags of various nations whose citizens have sailed to the Gaza Strip to highlight the all-out siege on Gaza, the memorial's inscription bears the names of the Turkish solidarity activists who died one year ago when Israeli commandos firing machine guns air-dropped onto the Freedom Flotilla, killing nine and injuring over 50 of the civilians on board.

On the one-year anniversary of the illegal Israeli attack on and abduction of over 600 civilians on the Freedom Flotilla from international waters, Gaza's harbor bustles with people and energy: they have come to mourn the dead and to herald the coming boats of Freedom Flotilla Two. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya addresses the audience, thanking the Turkish activists and government for their continued solidarity with Palestine.

Since Free Gaza boats arrived in 2008 –the first blockade-breaking boats and first boats to dock at Gaza since Israel's 1967 occupation of the Strip – the boat movement has grown exponentially. Free Gaza successfully docked in Gaza five times, with another four voyages violently thwarted by the Israeli navy.

The December 2008 sailing ended when an Israeli warship rammed a Free Gaza vessel carrying medical supplies, non-violent activists, surgeons and journalists. The February 2009 attempt ended with Israeli soldiers forcibly boarding the ship, beating and abducting the passengers from international waters. A June 2009 sailing was likewise forcibly halted by the Israeli navy, the passengers aboard abducted and deported.

The various vessels have carried non-violent activists, international television and newspaper journalists, European parliamentarians, Jews in solidarity with Palestine, including Holocaust survivors and Israeli activists and journalists, and even Palestinians unable to get out of Gaza for studies in universities abroad and those unable to enter Gaza to re-unite with family.

Israel's pretext in blocking boats' passage to and from Gaza is for security reasons, claiming weapons are being smuggled into Gaza. In each instance when a Free Gaza or Flotilla vessel has been forcibly absconded to Israel, only humanitarian supplies were found aboard. Rather than defeating the boat movement, Israel's aggressions have had the opposite effect.

Vessels from Libya, Malaysia, and a boat carrying Jewish activists have all sailed for, and been blocked by Israeli gunboats from, the Gaza Strip. Two weeks ago, Israeli soldiers fired upon a Malaysian aid ship carrying piping for a sanitation project in Gaza, forcing it to dock in Egyptian waters.

In May 2010, Free Gaza, supported by Turkish humanitarian organization IHH, again sent vessels and activists sailing to the besieged Strip, this time accompanied by the massive Turkish ship the Mavi Marmara. As the six vessels with over 600 passengers in the Freedom Flotilla approached Gaza, Israeli commandos unleashed a barrage of machine-gun fire on the boats still sailing in international waters. Equipped with satellite streaming, the Israeli assault was videoed and broadcast to disbelieving viewers in Gaza and worldwide.

Keven Niesh, 53, a Canadian activist on board the Mavi Marmara, described the killings. "There were several guys who had two neat bullet holes side by side on the side of their head - clearly they were executed," Neish told Counter Punch in an interview after the Flotilla massacre last year.

Undaunted by last year's massacre, international activists have organized the Freedom Flotilla 2, due to sail in one month's time with at least 10 boats and over 1,000 activists. Canadian and U.S. boats will join those of Europe, Turkey, and other nations.

Immediately following the massacre one year ago, Egyptian authorities partially opened the Rafah crossing. In an effort to deflect criticism, Israeli authorities subsequently announced they would ease the siege on Gaza. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)'s Mathilde De Riedmatten, in a May 2011 interview, noted that "the entry of goods into Gaza is also still highly restricted, not only in terms of quantity but also in terms of the particular items allowed."

More recently, Egyptian authorities announced the continued opening of the Rafah crossing. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), however, notes that this change will not impact on imports, exports or Gaza's economy. "These procedures will not ease the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population or change the economic situation caused by the strict closure imposed on the Gaza Strip," a PCHR statement reads.

It calls for "lifting the Israeli closure imposed on the Gaza Strip, opening the crossings for commercial transactions and allowing the freedom of movement of persons, including the movement between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, through the outlets that are controlled by the Israeli occupation forces."

The siege on Gaza impacts drinking water (95 percent of Gazan water is below the World Health Organization standards), the sanitation system (untreated sewage is pumped into the sea daily for want of storage capabilities), and the agriculture and fishing sectors (farmers and fishermen are shot at on a daily basis by Israeli soldiers). Unemployment and malnutrition levels soar, power outages occur daily, impacting on hospital machinery, and Palestinians continue to live in what more and more outsiders are describing as an "open-air prison". Renowned classical pianist Anton Kuerti, endorsing the Canadian boat to Gaza, says the siege has rendered Gaza "indistinguishable from a concentration camp."

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon suggested nations prevent their citizens from sailing, saying governments should "use their influence to discourage such flotilla, which carry the potential to escalate into violent conflict."

Free Gaza's attorney Audrey Bomse stated "the flotilla violates no international laws or laws of the sea and so an outright ban on our sailing to Gaza is essentially a statement against the rights of the Palestinian people to control their own ports and lives."

Turkey has demanded an apology and compensation from Israel to the martyred activists' families, with Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on NTV television warning "Turkey will give the necessary response to any repeated act of provocation by Israel on the high seas."

As was Free Gaza's goal, the expanded Flotilla aims to end the illegal siege on Gaza. The Canadian Boat to Gaza (CBG) will "challenge Canadian foreign policy and the uncritical support of Israeli war crimes by the current government."

CBG's David Heap says the Freedom Flotilla participants are not intimidated. "Where our governments have failed the Palestinians oaf Gaza, civil society must act instead."

Source: Inter-Press Service (IPS).
Link: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=55867.

Arab Spring Solidarity Defies National Boundaries

By Jasmin Ramsey

VANCOUVER, May 25, 2011 (IPS) - Ever since the ousting of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, ordinary citizens have been leading uprisings all over North Africa and the Middle East against unwanted rulers. But what is now known as the "Arab Awakening" is not confined to people resisting within their own borders. Some Arabs are helping the fight in neighboring countries too.

Sameh Saeed, a 26-year-old Egyptian orthopedic surgeon, was among the thousands of protestors who braved tear gas and water cannons during the famous battle on Kasr al-Nil Bridge in January. He also helped take Tahrir Square and camped there at night until Hosni Mubarak stepped down.

But even while acknowledging Egypt's long road ahead, on Feb. 24, Saeed and two other Egyptian doctors arrived in Libya on a medical convoy organized by the Arab Medical Union.

"After our revolution we understood the meaning of freedom," he told IPS in a telephone interview from Cairo last weekend. "And when you see people in other countries right next to you fighting for the exact same purpose, you can't just sit back and watch."

In the first five days of violence in February, an estimated 100-250 people were killed in the northern city of Benghazi. During that same time, Médecins Sans Frontières reported an influx of 1,800 injured taken to medical centers around the city.

While MSF noted that Benghazi's main medical centers were "well- equipped" prior to the conflict, emergency team member Simon Burroughs said the city's healthcare workers were overwhelmed during the heaviest fighting.

A substantial number of foreign health workers who were in the country prior to the conflict - the largest number existing in the nursing sector - fled the violence, leaving Libyans to fill the gaps.

According to Ryan Calder, a PhD Candidate from UC Berkeley in the United States who traveled through eastern Libya in March and April, there are several reasons for the large number of foreign care workers there.

"Some foreign doctors and Libyans I interviewed said healthcare centers hire foreign staff because there is a perception that the quality of medical training in Libya is not as good as it should be," he told IPS.

Calder also says that having a large number of foreign nurses is common among many Arab oil-rich countries. "They are often highly qualified for cheaper," he said.

Libya's healthcare system isn't popular among the population. Calder found "many people blaming Muammar Gaddafi in particular for not providing an adequate medical system."

Libyans also complain about the high cost of good care and often travel to neighboring Tunisia or Egypt for procedures instead.

Both Calder and health NGOs noted a shortage of local specialized health workers during the conflict, an important requirement during critical health situations and a vacuum Saeed helped fill.

After Benghazi, Saeed and his colleagues took their needed expertise to the besieged city of Misrata. In April, 1,000 people were reportedly killed with several thousand injured since March.

Saeed arrived when part of the city was still under the control of pro-Gaddafi troops. "There was hundreds of mercenaries in the streets and snipers everywhere," he told IPS.

The emergency health situation in Misrata was much worse than what he'd seen in Benghazi. "Some days while I was operating they didn't have enough time to sweep blood off the floor," he recalled.

In April, Human Rights Watch reported indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Misrata by Gaddafi's forces. According to emergencies director Peter Bouckaert, "Libyan government forces have repeatedly fired mortars and Grad rockets into residential neighborhoods in Misrata, causing civilian casualties."

Saeed says he operated on civilians in both Benghazi and Misrata, but the injuries sustained by the victims in Misrata were the worst he's ever seen.

One of his patients included a six-year-old girl who ended up losing two younger siblings and a leg. "It was horrible seeing so many injured women and children wounded by Grad rockets and shells in front of you," he said.

While fighting continues in Misrata, rebel fighters have expanded their hold on the city. After the emergency health situation stabilized there in late April, Saeed returned to Cairo, but only to get a visa from Tunisia which will allow him to cross over into the western Zintan city.

Most of Libya's Western mountains have been under rebel control, but Gaddafi's forces have been launching a recent major offensive there. The difficult terrain has made it hard for health workers to reach it and the health situation is still unknown.

All over Libya, foreign members of the press and health workers have been reportedly targeted by Gaddafi's forces. In Misrata, Saeed says doctors were targeted while in ambulances and he described instances where he thought he was going to die too.

"One day I had to perform an operation while a gun battle was happening in the room beside me in Misrata," he said.

But despite worried complaints from his family and university who are urging him to get back to his residency, Saeed is determined to take his medical skills where they're most needed.

"I've been working in Egypt for the past three years, but I've never seen anything like what I saw in Misrata…you feel that you're being useful. That makes it worth all the risk," he said.

While waiting to get back into Libya, Saeed is following developments of the Egyptian revolution, debating next steps with other activists. He also says he's not at all tired despite going days without adequate food and water in Misrata.

"In Libya and in Egypt there is still so much work to do," he said.

Source: Inter-Press Service (IPS).
Link: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=55782.

Water Emerges as a Hidden Weapon

By Simba Russeau

CAIRO, May 27, 2011 (IPS) - Libya’s enormous aquatic reserves could potentially become a new weapon of choice if government forces opt to starve coastal cities that heavily rely on free flowing freshwater.

With only five percent of the country getting at least 100 millimeters of rainfall per year, Libya is one of the driest countries in the world.

Historically, coastal aquifers or desalination plants located in Tripoli were of poor quality due to contamination with salt water, resulting in undrinkable water in many cities including Benghazi.

Oil exploration in the southern Libyan desert in the mid-1950s revealed vast quantities of fresh, clean groundwater - this could meet growing national demand and development goals.

Scientists estimate that nearly 40,000 years ago when the North African climate was temperate, rainwater in Libya seeped underground forming reservoirs of freshwater.

In 1983, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi initiated a huge civil water works project known as the Great Man-Made River (GMMR) - a massive irrigation project that drew upon the underground basin reserves of the Kufra, Sirte, Morzuk, Hamada and the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer - to deliver more than five million cubic meters of water per day to cities along Libya’s coastal belt.

"The Colonel’s GMMR project was discounted when first unveiled as an uneconomic flight of fancy and a wasteful exploitation of un-renewable freshwater reserves," Middle East-based journalist Iason Athanasiadis told IPS. "But subsequently it was hailed as a masterful work of engineering, tapping into underground aquifers so vast that they could keep the 2007 rate of dispersal going for the next 1,000 years."

Lying beneath the four African countries Chad, Egypt, Libya and Sudan, the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) is the world’s largest fossil water aquifer system, covering some two million square kilometers and estimated to contain 150,000 cubic kilometers of groundwater.

Fossil water is groundwater that has been trapped in underground fossil aquifers for thousands or even millions of years. Unlike most aquifers the NSAS is a non-renewable resource, and over extraction or water mining could cause rising sea levels.

"The GMMR provides 70 percent of the population with water for drinking and irrigation, pumping it from Libya’s vast underground aquifers like the NSAS in the south to populated coastal areas 4,000 kilometers to the north," Ivan Ivekovic, professor of political science at the American University of Cairo told IPS.

"The entire project was drawn out over five phases. Phase one took water from eastern pipelines in As- Sarir and Tazerbo to Benghazi and Sirte; phase two supplied water in Tripoli and western pipelines in Jeffara from the Fezzan region; and phase three intended to create an integrated system and increase the total daily capacity to almost four million cubic meters and provide up to 138,000 cubic meters per day to Tobruk."

With an estimated cost of nearly 30 billion dollars, the GMMR’s network of nearly 5,000 kilometers of pipeline from more than 1,300 wells drilled up to 500 meters deep into the Sahara was also intended to increase the amount of arable land for agricultural production.

"Libya could start an agro-business similar to California’s San Joaquin Valley. Like Libya, California is essentially desert but because of irrigation and water works projects that desert valley became the largest producer of food and cotton in the world, making it the ninth largest economy in the world," Patrick Henningsen, 21st Century Wire editor and founder, told IPS.

"At the moment the only agro-markets in the Mediterranean zone competing to supply citrus and various other popular supermarket products to Europe are Israel and Egypt. In 10 or 20 years, Libya could surpass both of those countries because they now have the water to green the desert."

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) water has created a growing regional crisis and could be an impetus for further unrest. Demand is increasing as populations skyrocket - reserves are rapidly depleting and food inflation has taken its toll on cash-strapped countries dependent on imported food staples.

"There are several elements to the Libyan mess. One of them is certainly water. I would highlight the issue by quoting similar situations in South and Central Asia," News Central Asia Editor Tariq Saeedi told IPS.

"Kashmir is understood to be the cause of rift between India and Pakistan but actually it’s the water of three rivers - Ravi, Sutlej and Beas - that originate from upper Kashmir that is the source of dispute.

"The Amudarya River that starts from Afghanistan and criss-crosses between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan before terminating at Aral Sea is another example. The ability of this river to trigger a conflict in Central Asia will rise proportionately with the ability of Afghanistan to use more water from Amudarya for its own use.

"In a nutshell, whoever controls NSAS, controls the economies, foreign policies and destinies of several countries in the region, not just north-eastern Africa," explains Saeedi.

Last month, Libyan officials warned that NATO airstrikes on the GMMR’s pipelines could cause a humanitarian and environmental disaster. But pro-government forces could also disrupt the GMMR’s flow if they wish, leaving opposition-held regions in the east with only the Ajdabiya reservoir - this holds just a month’s supply of water.

"Pure freshwater from the south must continue being pumped because without it Benghazi would die," says Ivekovic. "The water pipelines run parallel to the oil and gas pipelines and it’s interesting that with most of the fighting happening around the areas of Ajdabiya, Sirte and Benghazi that none of these pipes have yet been damaged.

"In a desertifying region already wracked by water conflict, Libya's enormous aquatic reserves will be a large prize for whoever gets the upper hand in this struggle," says Athanasiadis.

Source: Inter-Press Service (IPS).
Link: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=55817.

Shuttle Endeavor prepares for final glide home

Cape Canaveral, Florida (AFP) May 31, 2011

US space shuttle Endeavor prepared for its final landing early Wednesday, becoming the second American shuttle to enter retirement as the program draws to a close after 30 years.

Endeavor and its crew of six astronauts -- five Americans and one Italian -- were to glide in for a nighttime touchdown at Florida's Kennedy Space Center at 2:35 am (0635 GMT), the US space agency NASA said on Tuesday.

The astronauts are wrapping up STS-134, a 16-day mission to the International Space Station, where they installed a $2 billion physics experiment to probe the origins of the universe, and also conducted four spacewalks.

The final flight by US shuttle Atlantis is set for July 8, and NASA planned to send the shuttle rolling out to the launch pad one last time beginning Tuesday at 8:00 pm (0000 GMT).

The event will mark a major milestone toward the end of a three-decade program of human space flight and exploration, and was expected to draw thousands of employees and media.

Meanwhile NASA interim flight director Tony Ceccacci said landing weather for Endeavor looks "very promising," and crosswinds were expected to be about 10 knots, well below the upper limit of 12 knots for a night landing.

"We are very confident that trend is going to stay the same until tomorrow," he said.

If the shuttle is unable to land at 2:35 am, a second landing opportunity would open at 4:11 am (0811 GMT).

Deorbit preparations are set to begin at 9:26 pm (0126 GMT). If NASA decides to go ahead with the landing, the shuttle commander will fire Endeavor's engines about an hour ahead of landing to allow the shuttle to fall out of orbit.

After the shuttle era, the world's astronauts will rely on Russia's space capsules for transit to the orbiting lab at a cost of $51 million per seat until a new US crew vehicle can be built by private enterprise.

NASA has estimated that a shuttle replacement could be expected sometime between 2015 and 2021.

"There is going to be a period of time when Americans aren't flying on US spacecraft, so that's a challenge," said shuttle commander Mark Kelly in an interview with US media, broadcast from space on the last day of Endeavor's mission.

"People leave, you know, engineers and operations people will move on and do other things, so it is the corporate memory that I think I am most worried about," said Kelly, 47.

"But over time, we will get the right mix of people. NASA has an incredible workforce, it is very talented and you know, from the late 1950s to today we have taken on great challenges and we have never failed."

Endeavor is the youngest of the space flying fleet, which also includes Discovery and Atlantis. Discovery retired after returning from its final mission in March.

Two of the original fleet were destroyed by explosions in flight -- Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003. A total of 14 astronauts were killed in the disasters.

Endeavor was commissioned in the wake of the Challenger explosion, and first flew to space on May 7, 1992. It is now ending its 25th mission, after amassing a total of 122.8 million miles (198 million kilometers), NASA said.

The other shuttle is Enterprise, which was a prototype that never flew in space and has long been on display in a museum outside Washington.

Endeavor's crew includes five Americans and Italian Roberto Vittori of the European Space Agency.

During nearly 11 days at the space station, the crew delivered and installed the Alpha-Magnetic Spectrometer-2, which will be left at the space station to scour the universe for clues about dark matter and antimatter.

They also brought up a logistics carrier with spare parts and performed some maintenance and installation work during four spacewalks, the last to be carried out by an American shuttle crew.

A spacewalk is planned during the Atlantis mission in July but it will be done by space station crew, not astronauts who arrive aboard the US shuttle.

After the final shuttle missions, the three spacecraft in the flying fleet and the prototype Enterprise will be sent to different museums across the country.

Source: Space-Travel.
Link: http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Shuttle_Endeavour_prepares_for_final_glide_home_999.html.

Navy Helicopters Exercise With USA Newest Aircraft Carrier

Cornwall, UK (SPX) Jun 01, 2011

Helicopters from 849 Naval Air Squadron have been taking part in a major maritime exercise this week with the United States aircraft carrier USS George H W Bush off the west coast of Cornwall.

The exercise, codenamed Saxon Warrior, is an important part of the co-operation between the UK and the US militaries, and has been taking place while President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have met to discuss ongoing military ties between the two countries.

The sophisticated radar on board the Royal Navy's Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC) helicopters is being used to help control the jets from the USS George H W Bush, and is proving invaluable as the primary role of the helicopter crews is, and always has been, the detection and control of aircraft over the sea.

The ASaC's radar is equally effective over land, and is being used to great effect in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Some 60 per cent of Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Culdrose's aircraft (where 849 Naval Air Squadron is based) are currently deployed on various operations, including anti-piracy patrols off Somalia.

The US Navy's newest aircraft carrier, USS George H W Bush departed Norfolk, Virginia, in the USA in the early morning of Wednesday 11 May, leading her Carrier Strike Group (CSG) on its first overseas deployment.

In the initial stages of the deployment, the CSG has been conducting an integrated maritime exercise with some of its NATO partners off the south west coast of the UK.

The CSG Commander, Rear Admiral Nora Tyson, said: "These crucial training opportunities greatly enhance our interoperability and information-sharing, which help ensure our national and international security. It's all about building partnerships, establishing trust, and leveraging the unique capabilities and strengths of each member of the combined force."

The deployment of the strike group is part of an ongoing rotation of US forces supporting maritime security operations in international waters around the globe.

Commander Erich Roetz, US Navy, said: "Saxon Warrior will test every aspect of our war-fighting capabilities - from air wing strikes to the self-defense of the carrier.

"The beauty of operating with coalition partners is that we practice with them, learn their strengths, and then blend those strengths together to make the most potent coalition force possible."

The George H W Bush Carrier Strike Group (GHWB CSG) consists of Carrier Strike Group 2 staff, Carrier Air Wing 8, Destroyer Squadron 22 staff, the USS George H W Bush, guided-missile cruisers USS Gettysburg and USS Anzio, guided-missile destroyers USS Truxtun and USS Mitscher, and Spanish frigate ESPS Almirante Juan de Borbon.

The GHWB CSG, which includes over 6,000 sailors, has spent the last year conducting intensive training and certification exercises to establish a safe, cohesive organization capable of performing a wide variety of missions across the globe, ranging from anti-piracy and ground support operations to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

As a maritime nation, the UK is heavily dependent on sea-borne trade, with 90 per cent of our goods being transported by sea, and, whilst the Fleet Air Arm squadrons from RNAS Culdrose and elsewhere are making their presence felt in places like Afghanistan, it is the maritime projection of power and protection that remains the number one imperative.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Navy_Helicopters_Exercise_With_USAs_Newest_Aircraft_Carrier_999.html.

Dutch Tank History Ends With a Bang

Bergen-Hohne, Netherlands (SPX) Jun 01, 2011

With four shots fired on Range 6 at the Bergen-Hohne firing range, the Defense organization said farewell to the Leopard 2A6 main battle tank on the 19th of may. The Dutch tank history ended on the same German firing range where the Dutch Leopard fired its first shots.

The farewell ceremony was tough for the many tank personnel present. Commander of the headquarters and headquarters company, Captain Johnny Romein said: "This feels like a funeral. The tank is part of our lives." In his speech, the Senior Officer of the Cavalry, Major General (ret'd) Harm de Jonge, praised the deployment of the tank during the peace operation in the former Yugoslavia and the deployment of the personnel during the recent missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The fact that no tanks were deployed during the latter two missions mainly had to do with the image projected towards the civilian population. After all, the Leopard 2A6 main battle tank is still considered to be a highly modern weapon system with unequaled armor and fire power.

Dependent
Although the personnel understand the need for cutbacks, there was no sympathy for this measure among those present. The commander of Bravo company of 11 Tank Battalion, Captain Chiel Nieuwenhuis, pointed out that as a result the army can no longer implement its current doctrine. "Without the tank, maneuvers such as a breach or a turning movement are no longer possible."

Now that the battle tanks are being disposed of completely, some 90 years of Dutch tanks history have come to an end. The first tank was introduced shortly after the First World War. At the height of the Cold War, the Netherlands had almost 1,000 battle tanks at its disposal. They formed the backbone of the Netherlands armed forces.

Cold War
In the event of an attack by the Communist Warsaw Pact, the Dutch tanks were to engage the enemy on the North German Plain. The objective was to slow the enemy advance in order to allow Allies, the US in particular, to mount a counterattack. After the end of the Cold War, the number of tanks was quickly reduced to the most recent number of 60.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Dutch_Tank_History_Ends_With_a_Bang_999.html.

Production Begins on second UK Aircraft Carrier

Glasgow, UK (SPX) Jun 01, 2011

Construction of HMS Prince of Wales, the second of the two new Queen Elizabeth (QE) Class aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, started at BAE Systems' Govan shipyard on the Clyde.

Employees and guests gathered at the shipyard as Secretary of State for Defense, Dr Liam Fox, was invited to press the button on the company's plasma machine to cut the first steel for the vessel, marking a pivotal stage in the program to deliver the nation's flagships.

Dr Fox said: "We are committed to delivering this next generation of powerful British aircraft carriers that will mark a step change in our carrier strike capability and form the cornerstone of the Royal Navy's Future Force 2020. This major construction project is creating and sustaining thousands of jobs in shipyards around the country."

Mick Ord, Managing Director of BAE Systems' Surface Ships business, said: "This is a proud day for our workforce, our Aircraft Carrier Alliance partners and the thousands of people throughout the supply chain who are contributing to the delivery of the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers.

The construction of these 65,000 tonne ships is a huge feat of engineering and the rapid progress we have made, with work starting now on the second carrier, clearly shows the skills and expertise we have across British industry."

Second Sea Lord, Vice-Admiral Charles Montgomery, who also attended the steel cutting ceremony, said: "The Queen Elizabeth Class will provide Britain with the means to deliver air power from the sea, wherever and whenever required, and in a stronger and more decisive form than ever before.

In addition they will be able to undertake a wide range of tasks including support to peace keeping operations and delivery of humanitarian aid in time of crisis. They will undoubtedly prove a tremendous asset both to the Royal Navy and to the UK as a whole."

BAE Systems is a member of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, working in partnership with Babcock, Thales and the Ministry of Defense to deliver the biggest and most powerful surface warships ever constructed in the UK.

Sustaining thousands of skilled jobs throughout industry, work is well advanced with construction on the first of class HMS Queen Elizabeth underway at six shipyards across the country, including BAE Systems in Glasgow and Portsmouth, as well as Alliance partners at Appledore, Merseyside, Newcastle and Rosyth, where final assembly will take place.

The company provides overall leadership and program management to the QE Class program. It also plays a central role in the design and build of the ships. Construction of the mid and stern sections of HMS Queen Elizabeth are underway at the company's Govan yard while the forward and lower stern sections are in build at its Portsmouth facility.

BAE Systems is also set to begin work on the two island structures for the first ship, which house the bridge and air traffic control facilities in the coming months. Additionally, BAE Systems is responsible for the design, manufacture and integration of the complex mission systems for the aircraft carriers.

Each 65,000 tonne aircraft carrier will provide the armed forces with a four acre military operating base which can be deployed worldwide. The vessels will be versatile enough to be used for operations ranging from supporting war efforts to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

The QE Class will be the center piece of Britain's military capability and will operate at least 12 of the carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter jets, allowing for unparalleled interoperability with allied forces.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Production_Begins_on_second_Aircraft_Carrier_999.html.

Arms sales to Arabs states under fire

Beirut, Lebanon (UPI) May 31, 2011

The disclosure that the United Kingdom trained Saudi Arabian forces used to crush protests in Bahrain and has sold to 15 Middle Eastern states military equipment that could be used against civilians is raising questions about the morality of providing arms to repressive regimes.

Since pro-democracy uprisings erupted across the Middle East and North Africa in January, several thousand people have been killed, mainly by the security forces of regimes under attack.

The British government has withdrawn 160 export licenses -- mainly involving Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia and Libya -- since January, according to a report by a parliamentary panel drawn from four House of Commons committees on defense, business, foreign affairs and international development.

It described London's action as "vigorous back-pedaling" and declared the withdrawals reflected the extent "of policy misjudgment that has occurred."

The report, issued in April, "will be uncomfortable reading for the (British) government, which put trade at the heart of its diplomatic mission," the Financial Times observed.

The newspaper reported that British export license approvals since January 2009 have covered "components for military helicopters in Algeria, submachine guns and tear gas to Bahrain, machine guns to Egypt and hand grenades to Jordan."

British defense contractors have also sold "small arms ammunition to Syria, hand grenades, sniper rifles and tear gas to Saudi Arabia and shotguns to Morocco."

John Stanley, chairman of the investigating committee, suggested that Bahrain may have used British-made equipment, including sniper rifles sold to the tiny Persian Gulf monarchy and armored personnel carriers sold to Saudi Arabia.

The APCs were Tactica vehicles sold to the Saudi Arabian national guard, a tribal-based force loyal to the ruling family, and used in the March 14 intervention in Bahrain by a Saudi-led column from the Gulf Cooperation Council, an alliance of six Arab monarchies in the Persian Gulf.

BAE Systems, Britain's largest defense conglomerate and which builds the Tacticas, insisted that it only exports military equipment when the government issues a license.

Arguably the most controversial of the U.K. arms sales were those to the Libyan regime of Moammar Gadhafi, for decades accused by the West of supporting terrorism.

However, when Libya's outlaw status was lifted in 2004 after Gadhafi abandoned his nuclear program and renounced terrorism, Western arms companies, as well as East bloc suppliers led by Russia, fell over themselves to sell him weapons systems.

Gadhafi is now fighting for the survival of his regime against a rebellion triggered by the political upheaval that is sweeping the Arab world. U.S. and NATO forces are aiding the rebels seeking to topple the regime.

The British reports covers arms sales in 2009 and early 2010, when Britain's Labor Party was in power.

But the committee also accuses the successor Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition for failing to anticipate how the weapons sold to authoritarian Arab regimes with dismal human rights records might be used.

Gadhafi, President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen and President Bashar al-Assad of Syria have unleashed the might of their armed forces, including tanks, against largely unarmed domestic opponents.

Britain isn't the only Western state to fall under scrutiny since the Middle East bloodletting began as authoritarian regimes, long tolerated by the West, came under threat from their own people.

Human rights campaigners and others have long assailed Western governments for arming unsavory rulers in the region and elsewhere in a global trade that was worth an estimated $1.6 trillion in 2010.

But the increasing violence by regimes in Syria, Yemen and Libya has intensified international efforts to curtail such arms sales.

Under an Arms Trade Treaty, a multilateral agreement being developed under a 2006 mandate by the U.N. General Assembly, questionable arms sales would be considerably curbed.

But, observed Laicie Olson, senior analyst with the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington, there would still be problems if the ATT is adopted.

"Under the ATT, the U.S. and UK would be able to arm Moammar Gadhafi but not Libya's rebels since Gadhafi is still the head of an internationally recognized government and rebels… are not," Olson said.

The irony of the fighting in Libya is that the NATO members that are bombarding Gadhafi's forces under a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone, are using the conflict to showcase their combat jets and weapons systems to potential buyers.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Arms_sales_to_Arabs_states_under_fire_999.html.

Qatari weapons reaching rebels in Libyan mountains

* Mortar set seen in rebel cache bears "Qatar" stamp
* Rebels say weapons, ammo supplied via Tunisia
* Tunisia denies weapons delivered via its territory

By Matt Robinson

ZINTAN, Libya, May 31 (Reuters) - Rebel fighters in Libya's Western Mountains say they are smuggling in arms and ammunition from the rebel coastal stronghold in Benghazi, via Tunisia, and at least some of the weapons appear to originate in Qatar.

Officially, rebels fighting on the western front of Libya's three-month-old war say the only way they replenish ammunition is by taking it from enemy soldiers they capture or kill in battles with forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

Some are poorly-equipped, and heavy weaponry does appear to be in short supply. But there is evidence of new weapons and ammunition reaching the mountains through the only supply route, the rebel-held Wazin-Dehiba border crossing with Tunisia.

In the rebel-controlled town of Zintan, 150 km (95 miles) southwest of the Libyan capital Tripoli, Reuters journalists saw a complete, brand new mortar base plate, mortar tube and 42 mortar shells still vacuum-packed.

The set included new scopes and rucksacks to transport the equipment. The packaging had the word "Qatar," in English, stenciled onto it.

The cache included new military fatigues, radios and boxes of German-made Steiner binoculars that cost around $1,000 per pair, though some of the equipment did appear to be Libyan army issue.

At another location, Reuters saw new Milan anti-tank guided missiles.

ARMS "FROM OUTSIDE"

A senior rebel fighter in the region said the rebellion in the mountains was running low on ammunition, but that the insurgents expected more supplies to arrive "from outside".

"It's coming from Benghazi," he said. "From Benghazi through Tunisia. They're saying it's just milk and food. It's easy to bring the stuff in. This is the only way." He said some of the goods originated in France, but offered no evidence.

He said the supplies included ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades and other "heavy weapons".

Qatar has been the Arab country most staunchly supportive of the Libyan rebels and the NATO-led effort to stop Gaddafi's forces from attacking civilians.

Qatar, an OPEC member in the Gulf region, has sold 1 million barrels of crude on behalf of the rebels and said in April it had shipped four tankers full of gasoline, diesel and other refined fuels to Benghazi.

Government officials in Qatar were not immediately available to comment on whether they were supplying weapons to the rebels.

A diplomatic source based in Doha said Qatari authorities had been flying a C-17 military cargo plane loaded with weapons to Benghazi "almost on a daily basis."

"We imagine this is filled with the kind of thing you're referring to (mortars). We understand they've also got some trainers floating around as well," said the source.

Tunisia, cradle of the uprisings that have swept the Arab world, has joined international sanctions against Gaddafi's administration and many ordinary people are sympathetic to the rebel cause in Libya.

Tunisia's army has reinforced the border with Libya after fighting between pro-Gaddafi forces and rebels spilled over onto Tunisian territory.

Tunisian security officials check some vehicles entering Libya at the Dehiba-Wazin crossing, but not all of them.

Asked if weapons were reaching the rebels via Tunisia, a source in the Tunisian foreign ministry told Reuters: "We categorically deny this information."

Tunisia's role in the Libya conflict "consists solely of urgent humanitarian aid and receiving refugees and the injured", the source said.

In Libya's west, the rebels hold a chain of towns stretching more than 200 km across a bleak mountain plateau from the Tunisian border.

Pro-Gaddafi forces hold the desert plains below, and at their closest point sit level with Zintan some 10-15 km from the town center, shelling the desert and the outskirts of Zintan.

The rebels have the advantage of holding the high ground. But their isolation could work against them in the long run since supplies of food and fuel coming through the single border crossing they hold are barely meeting demand.

The insurgents have cleared a landing strip along a stretch of the main mountaintop road they control, saying they hope NATO will give clearance for Benghazi to send food, fuel and weapons to continue the fight. (Additional reporting by Regan Doherty in Doha and Tarek Amara in Tunis; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE74U0IV20110531?sp=true.

Israeli court extends detention of Hamas lawmaker

RAMALLAH, May 31 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli court extended the detention of a Hamas lawmaker for another six months, the Hamas parliamentary bloc said Tuesday.

Nayef al-Rejoub, a West Bank-based Hamas official, was detained in December and has not been indicted or charged, the bloc said in a statement.

Al-Rejoub is one of dozens of Hamas lawmakers who were detained for the first time in 2006. Israel chased down Hamas West Bank- based officials after the Islamic movement kidnapped an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip.

Israel released most of the lawmakers, including Al-Rejoub, but arrested them again last year. By Tuesday, Israel still holds 10 Hamas legislators.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, demands Israel to release at least 1,000 Palestinian and Arab prisoners in exchange for the captive soldier Gilad Shalit.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army arrested 12 Palestinians in the cities of Qalqilya and Jenin in the West Bank, Palestinian security sources said.

In Jenin, the Israeli forces also shut down a charity close to the Islamic Jihad movement, witnesses said.

Israel says most of the arrested are wanted activists.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/31/c_13903777.htm.

Algerian Islamist urge 'reconciliation'

ALGIERS, Algeria, May 31 (UPI) -- Two Algerian Islamist leaders have written to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, arguing for "historic reconciliation."

El Hachemi Sahnouni and Abdelfattah Zeraoui Hamadach have argued for "historic reconciliation" in Algeria in order to "block the way to acts of foreign interference" in the wake of the "Arab spring" and NATO intervention in neighboring Libya, Tout sur l'Algerie news agency reported Tuesday.

According to a draft of the letter obtained by the news agency, the pair wrote: "We must emerge from this bloodied tunnel and move toward a stage of historic reconciliation on all fronts: military, political, judicial, and social, as well as that of preaching."

They also wrote that "all learned men, preachers, politicians, the upholders of decision-making and influence, (military) command, knowledge, thinkers, elites and all those who have weight, for a successful solution."

"We must expect an intervention from the American military forces, from NATO, from an alliance of crusaders or a flood of armies of armed Islamists coming from all countries to settle scores on Algerian land, the country of millions of martyrs," Sahnouni and Hamadach wrote.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/05/31/Algerian-Islamist-urge-reconciliation/UPI-74871306886801/.

Turkmenistan 'setting up space agency'

May 31, 2011

ASHGABAT — The isolated ex-Soviet state of Turkmenistan has set up its own space agency with a presidential decree, local media said on Tuesday.

The agency aims "to ensure the implementation of scientific achievements in the national economy and to supervise future space exploration," said a decree signed by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov.

The decree published in the state-run newspaper Neitralny Turkmenistan, or Neutral Turkmenistan, did not specify who would head the new agency in the gas- and oil-rich Central Asian state.

Turkmenistan, a largely desert state with a population of five million, has reportedly been in talks with potential partners to launch its first telecommunications satellite to boost its television and Internet network.

Under the eccentric late president Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan sent a container into space in 2004 from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome. Inside was a national flag and the Ruhnama, a book written by the leader.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Iraqi Shiite vice president resigns

BAGHDAD, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi submitted his resignation in protest of creating " unnecessary" top government positions after two weeks of his appointment, a Shiite religious leader said on Monday.

"The resignation of Adel Abul-Mahdi from his position as a Vice President came in response to popular will and in line with the reservations of the (Shiite) religious leadership over the creation of unnecessary government positions," Ammar al-Hakim, head of the Shiite religious party of Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), told reporters in Baghdad.

Hakim hoped that the resignation of Mahdi, an SIIC leading member, would be a message for other political blocs not to fight on positions and to demand slimming Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki' s cabinet.

Mahdi submitted his resignation letter on Friday to President Jalal Talabani, but the president did not accept it yet, a source from the SIIC said on condition of anonymity.

Early in the year, the Iraqi parliament voted by majority on assigning three vice presidents for President Jalal Talabani. But divisions among the Iraqi political blocs, which fiercely fought to gain power by seizing as much positions as they can, delayed the appointment for months.

On May 12, the Iraqi parliament eventually voted for two Shiite politician Adel Abdul Mahdi and Khudair al-Khuzaie from the National Alliance, and Sunni Arab Tariq al-Hashimi from the cross sectarian bloc of Iraqia, to fill the vacancy of the three vice presidents.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/30/c_13901964.htm.

Mistrust abounds as Bahrain to lift emergency law

By Ali Khalil (AFP) – May 31, 2011

MANAMA — Tanks have begun withdrawing from Manama's streets ahead of the planned lifting Wednesday of a state of emergency enacted amid a crackdown on demonstrators but mistrust still abounds in Bahrain.

Bahrain's King Hamad, meanwhile, called for a national dialogue to begin on July 1, the BNA news agency reported.

Backed by Saudi-led Gulf troops, Bahraini forces in mid-March crushed the Shiite-led pro-democracy demonstrations that had paralyzed central Manama, the capital of Sunni-ruled Bahrain, for a month.

Authorities continued with a crackdown on Shiites, who make up the majority of the kingdom's population, storming their villages and arresting hundreds of men and women, mostly for the mere accusation of supporting the peaceful protests.

But with the apparent gradual return to normality, stories are told behind closed doors of continued persecution of Shiites and mass dismissals from public-sector jobs for people accused of participating in the protests.

Sunnis, on the other hand, have been radicalized, with many of them welcoming the government's heavy-handed approach as a measure that saved the tiny kingdom from an Iranian-backed Shiite plot to overthrow the regime.

Many do not trust the Shiites.

Abdullah Hashim, a leading figure in the Sunni National Unity Assembly group spoke of "high tension" and accused the country's majority community of raising fears among Sunnis, who enjoy protection under the current rulers.

"The call to topple the regime has opened a deep rift in Bahraini society that will take tens of years to heal," he told AFP, referring to a slogan chanted by Shiite demonstrators during a month of protests.

Nabil Rajab, a Shiite rights and opposition activist, lamented what he described as the government's success in driving a wedge between the two communities.

"Authorities have been successful in separating Sunnis from Shiites, and they have played the Iran card very well," he said.

Tension between the Gulf Arab monarchies and Shiite-dominated Iran heightened after Tehran repeatedly criticized the crackdown on its Bahraini co-religionists.

But although Shiites and the Al-Khalifa ruling family have had a history of conflict, especially in the 1990s before some partial reforms, this year's crackdown on peaceful mass protests is regarded by many as a step too far.

"They have gone too far. People are still in a state of shock," said Rajab, pointing out that Shiite families that have traditionally been known to be apolitical or pro-regime, have also been targeted.

An opposition figure who requested anonymity described the backlash by the authorities against Shiites as "bedouin revenge", adding that the collective punishment inflicted on the majority community, including the detention of women, reflects a nomadic mentality.

He added, however, that those who had decided to resort to brutal force had not thought of an exit policy.

"As this was tribal revenge, they did not think of tomorrow," he said, adding that the government is already "in trouble" over finding a partner for dialogue in the future.

"If no political solution is presented, I think we are heading towards a big crisis," said Rajab.

In February, in response to the protests, Crown Prince Sheikh Salman had proposed a broad national dialogue, as opposition groups demanded the establishment of a "real" constitutional monarchy.

And on Tuesday, King Hamad called for a national dialogue to begin on July 1.

The BNA news agency quoted the king as calling for "all necessary steps to prepare for a serious dialogue, comprehensive and without preconditions", adding that it should "start from July 1."

The opposition had also called earlier for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman, an uncle of King Hamad who has been in office since independence from Britain in 1971 and is widely despised by Shiites.

"Everybody wants reform, but not stupidly," said Hashim, adding that his Sunni group considers itself an opposition movement although it does not believe Bahrain is ready for a real constitutional monarchy.

"We are for a gradual reform process," he said.

Meanwhile, the economy is still suffering from the fallout from the crackdown.

Moody's Investors Service last week downgraded Bahrain's government bond ratings by one notch to Baa1 from A3, citing a "significant deterioration in Bahrain's political environment since February."

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.