Russia's Foreign Ministry voiced concerns on Sunday over the entry of a U.S. guided missile cruiser into the Black Sea for naval exercises with Ukraine.
The Monterrey cruiser equipped with the AEGIS air defense system is taking part in the joint Ukrainian-U.S. naval exercises, Sea Breeze 2011.
"While leaving aside the unsettled issue of a possible European missile shield architecture, Russia would like to know, in compliance with the Russia-NATO Lisbon summit decisions, what 'aggravation' the U.S. command meant by moving the basic strike unit of the regional missile defense grouping being formed by NATO in the region, from the Mediterranean to the east," the ministry said in a statement.
According to the ministry's statement, Monterrey was sent to European waters as part of the U.S. administration's phased adaptive approach to building the European segment of the global missile shield. The program's first stage envisages the deployment of a group of U.S. warships in the Adriatic, Aegean and Mediterranean Seas to protect South Europe from possible missile strikes.
The U.S. says the warships can move to the Black Sea only in case of aggravation of the situation in the region.
"If this is an ordinary visit, then it is unclear why a warship with this type of armament was chosen to move to this quite sensitive region," the statement said.
The role of the U.S. warship's missiles in the Sea Breeze 2011 anti-piracy exercises is also unclear, the statement said.
Russia has said on many occasions that it will perceive the appearance of U.S. strategic infrastructure elements close to its borders as a threat to its security.
"We have to state that our concerns continue to be ignored and under the guise of talks on European missile shield cooperation, efforts are under way to build the missile shield configuration whose consequences are dangerous and about which we have numerously informed our U.S. and NATO partners," the statement said.
RIA NOVOSTI
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BRUSSELS / EUOBSERVER - Under pressure to cut its military spending, the US is losing patience with Europe's unwillingness to pay for its own defence, outgoing US defence minister Robert Gates said Friday (10 June) in an unusually 'blunt' speech in Brussels, casting doubt over the very survival of Nato.
On his last trip to Europe before retiring on 30 June, Gates - who has served as defence minister both in the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations - allowed himself "to speak bluntly" during a conference organised by the Security and Defence Agenda, a Brussels-based think tank.
Looking first at Afghanistan, he noted that the operation got bogged down in national caveats which hampered the range of actions European soldiers were allowed to do - a hint at Germany's restrictions on its troops to use lethal force, which meant that they could not be deployed in combat against the Taliban.
As for troop withdrawal, with the Netherlands suddenly pulling out after a government was forced to resign last year over the Afghan war, Gates said: "We cannot afford to have some troop-contributing nations to pull out their forces on their own timeline in a way that undermines the mission and increases risks to other allies. The way ahead in Afghanistan is 'in together, out together'."
Nato's flagship mission in Afghanistan has also "exposed significant shortcomings" in the military alliance - both concerning capabilities and "political will."
"Despite more than 2 million troops in uniform – not counting the US military – Nato has struggled, at times desperately, to sustain a deployment of 25,000 to 40,000 troops, not just in boots on the ground, but in crucial support assets such as helicopters, transport aircraft, maintenance, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and much more," Gates said.
When it comes to the more recent mission in Libya, similar shortcomings made it "painfully clear" that they can undermine the success of a campaign that has broad political support, no troops on the ground and is "a mission in Europe's neighbourhood deemed to be in Europe's vital interest."
"While every alliance member voted for the Libya mission, less than half have participated at all, and fewer than a third have been willing to participate in the strike mission. Frankly, many of those allies sitting on the sidelines do so not because they do not want to participate, but simply because they can't. The military capabilities simply aren't there."
Two people are in Christchurch Hospital with serious injuries, while another 44 were treated at the emergency department and discharged, a spokesperson for the Canterbury District Health Board said.
Power has been cut to thousands of households and some are without water, roads and bridges have been damaged, and there is flooding and more liquefaction.
The strongest quake, measuring 6.0 at 2.20pm, was felt widely in the region and occurred 10km southeast of Christchurch at a depth of 9km.
The tremors began at 7.37am and continued throughout the day, including a short, sharp 5.5-magnitude jolt at 1pm, which was felt in other parts of the South Island from Hokitika to Dunedin.
Canterbury has been hit by strong earthquakes since 4 September last year when a magnitude 7 quake occurred, followed by the 6.3 quake on 22 February which killed 181 people and caused severe damage to central Christchurch.
Some buildings already damaged in the February quake and due for demolition collapsed on Monday.
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority demolition manager Warwick Isaacs estimates that up to 50 city centre buildings were damaged or have collapsed.
Christchurch Cathedral suffered further damage, while the tower of the historic Timeball Station in Lyttelton has collapsed.
The quake caused extensive damage in the hill suburbs of Sumner and Redcliffs, bringing down large boulders and forcing people to leave their homes.
An extra 140 police remain in Christchurch from throughout the country following the February quake and will patrol the city and provide information to welfare services.
Police have warned people not to try and take advantage of the quakes to commit crime in the central city, as judges are taking these matters very seriously.
The Fire Service has stood down Urban Search and Rescue Teams but expected a number of callouts for assistance with liquefaction, flooding, burst pipes and possible gas leaks.
Schools and early childhood centres have been strongly advised by the Ministry of Education to stay closed on Tuesday.
Christchurch mayor Bob Parker concedes the latest tremors may be enough for more residents to join those who have already relocated to other cities in New Zealand and Australia.
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They should have been downgraded years ago. The rating agencies have gotten it wrong for 10-15 years now. America is bankrupt. What are they talking about? - in Economic Times
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Monitors sent to various countries uncover and document unauthorized activity by Iranian officials.
A report by a panel of experts convened by the United Nations reveals that over the past year Iran has stepped up the pace of its efforts to develop long-range missiles.
The report by the panel, which was convened a year ago after the UN Security Council imposed stiffer sanctions against Iran in an effort to halt the Iranian nuclear program, has not been officially released. In a campaign led by the United States, the United Nations has shown concern over Iran's development of medium- and long-range missiles in addition to the nuclear program itself. Iran's efforts to develop missiles have therefore been monitored along with Iranian weapons-smuggling operations.In developing its findings, the UN panel of experts relied on information provided by member nations of the Security Council as well as monitors sent to various countries where unauthorized Iranian activity has been uncovered, plus additional input from outside experts.
Youths hurl stones at Moroccans' Gate adjacent to Western Wall as Friday prayers draw to a close. Officers disperse rioters, arrest three
Police and Border Guard forces broke into the Temple Mount compound on Friday after stones were hurled at the end of Friday prayers. Officers dispersed the rioters using crowd dispersal means and isolated them. No injuries have been reported. Three worshippers were arrested.
Dozens of youths began to hurl stones at the Moroccans' Gate adjacent to the Western Wall as Friday prayers in the Old City drew to a close. Security forces were forced to enter the compound to put a stop to the violence.
Police arrested three worshippers, one of whom is suspected of hurling stones. The other two are suspected of inciting the violence. They were taken into questioning as the rest of the worshippers left the area. Jerusalem Police said that more arrests are expected over the weekend.
Ynet News
After reports on Iranian submarines entering Red Sea, deputy navy commander says Tehran to hold test runs for new submarine models in near future
Iran is expanding submarine fleet: Iranian Navy Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Seyed Mahmoud Moussavi said that the Islamic Republic will soon conduct test runs to examine new Iranian-made submarine models, Fars Iranian network reported on Thursday.
"The new submarines, built by the committed Iranian experts, will join the naval combat fleet," after being tested during upcoming military exercises, Moussavi said on Wednesday.
The deputy commander did not provide further detail on the new models to be tested, their size, weights or when the exercises are scheduled to take place.
Iran often boasts technological achievements in an effort to deter other regional countries and the West from launching an offensive against it, due to its controversial nuclear program.
On Thursday, China and Russia joined the Western powers and expressed concern over the Iranian nuclear program, after the Islamic Republic announced that it will increase uranium enrichment and move the production from Natanz to its nuclear facilities in Qum.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Iranian submarines were dispatched to the Red Sea in order to gather intelligence and keep surveillance over the movement of foreign fleets' submarines and vessels.
Ynet News
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