Iran has sent Syria a sophisticated radar system.. [ 1376 ]

Iran Arms Syria With Radar

Published July 01, 2010

The Wall Street Journal

Getty Images June 28: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures after speaking to the press in Tehran.

JERUSALEM—Iran has sent Syria a sophisticated radar system that could threaten Israel's ability to launch a surprise attack against Iran's nuclear facilities, say Israeli and U.S. officials, extending an alliance aimed at undermining Israel's military dominance in the region.

The radar could bolster Syria's defenses by providing early warning of Israeli air-force sorties. It could also benefit Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group based in Lebanon and widely believed to receive arms from Syria.

Any sharing of radar information by Syria could increase the accuracy of Hezbollah's own missiles and bolster its air defenses. That would boost Hezbollah defenses, which U.S. and Israeli officials say have been substantially upgraded since 2006, the last time Israel fought the southern Lebanon-based group.

The mid-2009 transfer was described in recent months by two Israeli officials, two U.S. officials and a Western intelligence source, and confirmed Wednesday by the Israeli military. Though they didn't name the system's final recipient in Syria, these and other officials described it as part as a dramatic increase in weapons transfers and military coordination among Iran, Syria and Hezbollah.

Iran and Syria both denied that a radar transfer took place.

The increased sophistication of the weapons transfers and military cooperation among the three signal an increased risk of conflict on Israel's northern border. U.S. officials worry any new fighting would be more likely to include Syria, which hasn't directly engaged Israeli in combat since 1974.

The radar transfer could potentially violate a 2007 United Nations Security Council resolution that bans Iran from supplying, selling or transferring "any arms or related material."

Though officials say the transaction took place about a year ago, Israel and the U.S. haven't publicized it, a departure from years past when Israeli officials were often eager to trumpet Iranian arms transfers to Syria and Hezbollah as violations of Security Council resolutions.

NASA image of the Day, July 1st...[ 1375 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

A Rover Gets Its Wheels

Mars rover Curiosity, the centerpiece of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, is coming together for extensive testing prior to its late 2011 launch. 

 

This image taken June 29, 2010, shows the rover with the mobility system -- wheels and suspension -- in place after installation on June 28 and 29. Spacecraft engineers and technicians are assembling and testing the rover in a large cleanroom at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 

 

Curiosity's six-wheel mobility system, with a rocker-bogie suspension system, resembles the systems on earlier, smaller Mars rovers, but for Curiosity, the wheels will also serve as landing gear. Each wheel is half a meter (20 inches) in diameter. 

 

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Πέμπτη, 1 Ιούλιος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

Albanian coza Nostra...[ 1374 ]

Albania's modern-day blood feuds

All over Albania, there are entire generations scared to venture outdoors in case they’re killed − all because of decades-old 'blood feuds’. And not even the law can help them.

The grave of a blood feud victim near Tirana Photo: Bevis Fusha

Shkurte, many of whose relatives have been killed in one of Albania's blood feuds, surrounded by her sons and daughter Photo: Bevis Fusha

Pal Deliaj, whose family has been ostracised, consults professional feud mediator Gjin Marku Photo: Bevis Fusha

Telegraph co. uk.,,By Colin Freeman
Published: 5:35PM BST 01 Jul 2010 

In the best tradition of Balkans quarrels, it all began with a mix of strong brandy, fiery tempers and very long memories. One hot summer's night in 2000, Pëllumb Morevataj, a man with a big thirst and a bigger ego, was out drinking in his village in northern Albania, when a friend made a chance remark about how the Morevataj family had backed down in a feud some half a century before. An argument ensued, and an evening that should have ended with nothing worse than bad hangovers all round saw Pëllumb shoot his drinking companion dead.The blood has not stopped flowing ever since. 
For full article click below :

Albania's modern-day blood feuds

She is not anorexic. ..[1373 ]

The girl who must eat every 15 minutes to stay alive

Lizzie Velasquez weighs just four stone and has almost zero per cent body fat but she is not anorexic.

 

Lizzie Velasquez has a rare and undiagnosed syndrome that prevents her from putting on weightPhoto: BARCROFT

Published: 12:09PM BST 28 Jun 2010
In fact, the 21-year-old from Austin, Texas, must eat every 15 minutes to stay healthy.

Miss Velasquez has a rare condition which prevents her from gaining weight even though she eats up to 60 small meals a day.

 

Despite consuming between 5,000 and 8,000 calories daily, the communications student, has never tipped over 4st 3lbs.
"I weigh myself regularly and if I gain even one pound I get really excited," said 5ft 2 ins Miss Velasquez, who wears size triple zero clothes.
"I eat every 15-20 minutes to keep my energy levels up.
"I eat small portions of crisps, sweets, chocolate, pizza, chicken, cake, doughnuts, ice cream, noodles and pop tarts all day long, so I get pretty upset when people accuse me of being anorexic."
She was born four weeks prematurely weighing just 2lb 10oz. Doctors found there was minimal amniotic fluid protecting her in the womb.
"They told us they had no idea how she could have survived," said Miss Velasquez's mother Rita, 45, a church secretary.

Doctors speculated Lizzie might have the genetic disorder De Barsy syndrome but soon ruled it out as it became clear she did not have learning difficulties.
"They kept on trying to figure out what was wrong with her but we treated her like any other child," said Mrs Velasquez, who charted her daughter's health in dozens of notebooks.
She was taken to see genetic experts but they still could not diagnose her.
Miss Velasquez's case has fascinated doctors all over the world and she is part of a genetic study run by Professor Abhimanyu Garg, MD, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Professor Garg and his team now believe Lizzie may have a form of Neonatal Progeroid Syndrome (NPS) which causes accelerated ageing, fat loss from the face and body, and tissue degeneration. People with PRS often have triangular and prematurely aged faces with a pointy nose.
He said: "I am aware of a small number of people that have similar conditions to Lizzie but each case is slightly different.
"We cannot predict what will happen to Lizzie in the future as the medical community are yet to document older people with NPS.
"However Lizzie is lucky to have healthy teeth, organs and bones so the outlook is good. We will continue to study her case and learn from her." Miss Velasquez has helped to write a book about her incredible experiences.
It is due to be released in September.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell to testify..[ 1372 ]

War crimes court orders Naomi Campbell to testify

By Richard Allen Greene, CNN

July 1, 2010 2:33 p.m. EDT

Supermodel Naomi Campbell is being compelled to testify about how she obtained a "blood diamond."

(CNN) -- A war crimes tribunal served a subpoena on supermodel Naomi Campbell Thursday, ordering her to testify in the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor.
The court ordered her to appear July 29 to testify or "show good cause why" she cannot.
If she fails to comply she could face a prison term of up to seven years, a fine of about $500, or both, the subpoena says.

Campbell's lawyer, Gideon Benaim, had no immediate response, his secretary said.
Prosecutors asked the court in May to order the supermodel to testify about allegations she got a "blood diamond" from Taylor, and requested permission to reopen their case against him.
The court granted both requests this week.



Taylor faces war crimes charges over a brutal conflict in Sierra Leone which was fueled by rough diamonds, also known as blood diamonds or conflict diamonds.

The prosecution -- which rested in February of last year -- asked to reopen their case specifically in order to call Campbell, as well as actress Mia Farrow and a witness named Carole Taylor, court papers show.
Farrow and Taylor have indicated they will testify voluntarily, court spokesman Peter Andersen told CNN.
But Campbell and her representatives have refused to answer requests from the prosecution, Andersen said.

Campbell declined through a spokesman to comment on the issue for CNN Wednesday, before the subpoena was served but after it became apparent that it was likely to happen.
The tribunal does not have its own police, so it is not clear what power it has to enforce a subpoena, Andersen said.
"I am hoping that we don't have to find out," he said.
The court notice saying that it will serve the subpoena "respectfully requests the authorities of the state in which Ms. Campbell is residing to assist in the enforcement of this order."
That's the United Kingdom.

The prosecution says Campbell received rough diamonds from Taylor, and claimed her testimony would prove that the former president "used rough diamonds for personal enrichment and arms purchases," according to papers filed with the U.N.-backed court.

Campbell has said she does not want to be involved in the case, prosecutors said, forcing them to ask the court to issue a subpoena ordering her appearance.
"Her anticipated evidence rebuts the accused's testimony that he never possessed rough diamonds," prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said they learned in June 2009 that Taylor had given the supermodel a diamond in South Africa in 1997. The actress Mia Farrow confirmed it, they said.
Taylor, 62, has been on trial for more than three years. He is accused of fueling a bloody civil war in Sierra Leone that led to widespread murder, rape and mutilation.

Rough diamonds were a key component of that war, both funding it and being used as currency in it.

CNN's Brittany Kaplan contributed to this report.