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World News Thread & Breaking News!!
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Equation
Lieutenant General
Is this true? I haven't heard it on the internet as of yet.
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
It did happen. Now details to be sorted.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Seven heavily armed Taliban fighters launched a pre-dawn attack near Afghanistan's main airport Monday, apparently targeting NATO's airport headquarters with rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns and at least one large bomb. Two Afghan civilians were wounded and all the attackers were killed after an hours-long battle.
It was one of three attacks on state facilities in the morning by insurgents around the country, and the third time in a month that insurgents have launched a major attack seeking high-profile targets in and around Kabul. It appears to be part of an effort to rattle public confidence as Afghan security forces take over most responsibility for protecting the country ahead of the withdrawal of foreign troops next year.
In addition to the airport attack, six militants wearing suicide bomb vests tried to storm the provincial council building in the capital of southern Zabul province, while three attempted to attack a district police headquarters near the capital. Elsewhere, a roadside bomb killed a Polish soldier in the NATO force.
Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi said that in Zabul they managed to wound 18 people, including three police officers, when they detonated a car bomb outside the building in the city of Qalat, but security forces shot and killed them before they managed to enter. On the outskirts of Kabul, police killed one attacker and arrested two others who tried to storm the headquarters building in the Surobi district.
The attack against the capital's airport appeared aimed at creating a sense of insecurity among residents of the capital and sow panic in the population. The insurgents did not get close enough to attack aircraft and were not near the runway's flight path. Even if they had managed to damage the airport, it would have affected civilian flights but not had an impact on military operations, which are carried out from a military airfield at Bagram about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the capital.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said his government would not be deterred by the attacks.
"These cowardly terrorist attacks on the Afghan people cannot change the chosen path of the Afghan people toward progress, development, peace and elections," Karzai said, referring to next spring's poll to elect a new head of state.
Karzai was not in Kabul during the attack, but was visiting the Gulf state of Qatar, where he was discussing his country's stalled peace process and the possible opening of a Taliban office in Doha.
Both Afghanistan and the United States support the opening of a Taliban political office in Qatar as part of an effort to rekindle talks with the insurgent group, which has been waging war against the government and U.S.-led military coalition for nearly 12 years. But first, Kabul and Washington say, the Taliban must renounce all ties to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups and accept Afghanistan's constitution.
Sediqi said the attacks are motivated by the upcoming handover of the lead for security from the U.S.-led coalition to the Afghan army and police. Afghan forces are now leading 90 percent of the military operations against the insurgents and have the lead for security in areas where 80 percent of the country's population lives. After the handover sometime later this month, the coalition will assist, train and mentor and only provide military support in emergencies.
"Of course, in the coming days, there will be a transition and security is going to be handed over to Afghan forces," Sediqi said. "They are trying to sabotage that process and trying to bring the ability of the Afghan security forces into question, which they cannot because today's incidents in three different parts of the country were all foiled without significant casualties."
He added that in the Kabul attack there was no need to "call coalition support because, you know, today the Afghan forces, especially police and special units, foiled the attack."
The Kabul airport itself was not damaged and reopened shortly after the fighting was over, said airport chief Yaqub Rassuli.
"There was no damage to the runway. Some shrapnel fell nearby, but we have cleared it away," Rassuli said.
Police said that attackers wearing suicide vests occupied one or two buildings under construction on the west side of the airport and began firing at the NATO facility, which was quite a distance away. It was unclear whether they hit anything inside that facility.
Kabul police chief Ayoub Salangi said a mini-van full of explosives parked outside the building in an effort to kill security forces did not blow up and was later safely detonated.
Two Afghan civilians were wounded, but there were no deaths among either security forces or civilians, Sediqi said.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the insurgents were targeting NATO headquarters.
The international military coalition said it was assessing the situation and had no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The U.S.-led NATO coalition's Joint Command headquarters at the airport runs the day-to-day operations of the nearly 12-year-old war against insurgents. The airport's military side is also used for NATO transport and other aircraft.
The attack began with a loud blast at around 4:30 a.m.
"It started just after dawn prayers and I counted about a dozen explosions, mostly RPG fire, coming from (near) the airport," said Emayatullah, who lives next to the airport. Like many Afghans he uses only one name.
Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said that after the initial blast, at least five insurgents then occupied two buildings, located in a single compound, and started firing rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons.
"Sometimes they are shooting from one building, sometimes from other," he said during the fighting. "It is a residential area and the compound has been surrounded by Afghan security forces. The security forces surrounded the buildings and are being careful because it is a residential area."
Deputy Kabul police chief Dawood Amin says there were seven attackers in total. Two blew themselves up with suicide vests at the start of the assault and five were shot and killed by police during the battle.
The Taliban have launched intense attacks across the country, testing Afghan security forces as foreign combat troops pull back more than a decade after the U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban regime for sheltering al-Qaida's leadership after the Islamic extremist group launched the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.
In one such attack, Poland's Defense Ministry said a Polish soldier died of wounds suffered in the explosion of a roadside bomb Monday in the eastern province of Ghazni. He is the 18th international service member to be killed in Afghanistan this month.
The last big attack in Kabul was May 24, when six suicide bombers attacked a guest house belonging to the United Nations-affiliated International Organization for Migration, killing three people — including a police officer, a guard and a civilian. On May 16, a suicide bomber had rammed a car into a NATO convoy killing 15 people, including two American soldiers and four civilian contractors.
___
Associated Press writer Amir Shah contributed from Kabul.
Follow the link below for photos of the Taliban attack on the airport Kabul Afghanistan.
World Armed Forces Pictures Thread post 2213 & 2214
World Armed Forces Pictures Thread post 2213 & 2214
ISTANBUL — Riot police stormed Istanbul's Taksim Square on Tuesday, using tear gas and water cannons to scatter protesters demonstrating against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasing authoritarian style of rule.
"Now that the theater is over, I don't know what will happen now but we are waiting and we are trying to save the park still," said Nuri Kayserilioglu, 24, an economics student sitting at the edge of the square. He says the show of force was a play for the camera but he and his friends intended to occupy Gezi Park until forcefully removed.
Television cameras captured images of Molotov cocktail-throwing demonstrators confronting armored police vehicles. By mid-afternoon, demonstrators inside Gezi Park tried to distance themselves from the violence, accusing police of using provocateurs to make sensational images of violence.
Tuesday evening, police suddenly moved in on protesters in Taksim Square, the heart of the protests, spraying tear gas and causing a stampede as people tried to flee. Clouds of tear gas wafted through the air and demonstrators buckled in pain, some falling in the surging crowd.
The situation calmed later but several fires burned in the square late into the evening. Protesters exploded fireworks, threw stones and waved banners as helmeted officers in gas masks yanked down signs. Istanbul's governor tweeted that police were only there to remove banners hanging on adjoining buildings and had no intention to clear the park, where thousands of people remained.
Several people were placed into ambulances during the clashes, which have become a test of Erdogan's rule. His Islamist government has been assailed by many Turks as too heavy-handed against those who disagree with his policies.
Erdogan sent in riot police late last month to clear a park of peaceful sit-in protesters who wanted to save trees slated for destruction in one of Istanbul's only remaining garden parks. The move sparked nationwide unrest leaving at least four dead — including a policeman — and nearly 5,000 injured.
Erdogan said Tuesday that the occupation of the park would soon end.
"I am sorry but Gezi Park is for taking promenades, not for occupation," he said.
Erdogan also accused the park of harboring violent extremists and has accused foreign nationals of stoking the unrest. Erdogan offered no hard evidence of a foreign plot, though the movement has garnered international sympathy from foreign nationals living in Turkey.
Activists have said they are reacting against Erdogan's authoritarianism and not just increased restrictions on alcohol or plans to raze a park.
"I think it's really important for people to know that it's not just about alcohol prohibitions or Gezi Park," Berny Schneider, a 24-year-old intern from Germany said. "It's about human rights and the way the government treats their own people."
But how far the crackdown will proceed isn't clear. On Tuesday morning, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, Istanbul's governor, posted on Twitter that the police's objectives were limited.
"Our aim is to remove the signs and pictures on Ataturk statue and the Ataturk Cultural Centre. We have no other aim," he wrote. "Gezi Park and Taksim will not be touched."
But in remarks Tuesday afternoon, the prime minister made it clear he expected the sit-ins to end.
"I want everyone there to see the big picture, to understand the game that is being played and I especially invite them to evacuate (Taksim and Gezi Park). I expect that of them as their prime minister," Erdogan said.
Veteran activists say the mixed messages show a lack of meaningful engagement.
"There's a clear contradiction between what the governor says and the prime minister says," said Cengiz Aktar, a prominent member of the Taksim Platform, a group that has opposed redevelopment plans on Taksim Square. "The prime minister really has nothing new to say to Turkey and the world. He keeps repeating his unsubstantiated ideas."
He criticized the banks Tuesday for the drop in the value of the currency, which occurred after he called the protesters "vandals" over the weekend and threatened to oust them by force.
"They are trying to prevent Turkey's rise," Erdogan said. "(The protesters) are being used by some financial institutions, the interest rate lobby and media groups to (harm) Turkey's economy and (scare away) investments."
Aktar, a professor of political science at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, says the prime minister's speeches are an effort to rally his religiously conservative political base in a bid to quell the unrest that's mushroomed across Turkey.
"It's a mix of everything to galvanize his troops in the parliament but it doesn't correspond to the reality of this country anymore," he said.
Police forces have been targeted by heavy criticism over their excessive use of force and practices of brutality amid clashes. Local Turkish press is reporting that six policemen have committed suicide since the protests began.
Police union head Faruk Sezer told the Hurriyet newspaper that the forces have been suffering extensively by being forced to work under severe conditions.
Policemen who have been drafted in from other cities have been sleeping on benches, shields or cardboard due to a lack of accommodations provided to them by state authorities, Sezer added.
The demonstrations follow decisions made by Erdogan's government to introduce tighter restrictions on alcohol, to wade into more social debates like reproductive rights and its boasts over attempts to raise a devout generation of youth.
But despite the anti-government unrest — unprecedented in modern Turkey — with violent clashes in Istanbul and the capital city Ankara, Erdogan remains unrepentant.
By Stephanie Nebehay and Tom Miles
GENEVA (Reuters) - The death toll in Syria reached at least 93,000 at the end of April, but the true number of victims from the violence now in its third year may be much higher, the United Nations human rights office said on Thursday.
Navi Pillay, U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights, voiced fears that the bloodshed in recent battles for the Syrian border town of Qusair would be repeated in the northern city of Aleppo.
"All the reports I'm receiving are of augmentation of resources and forces (for an Aleppo offensive) on the part of the government," Pillay told Reuters Television.
The military balance has shifted in President Bashar al-Assad's favour in the last two months, with Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah fighting openly alongside the Syrian military, helping it to recapture Qusair from rebels on June 5. Rebel forces have held parts of Aleppo, Syria's biggest city, since July.
The new U.N. figure of 93,000 people killed in the Syrian conflict, which began with peaceful protests against Assad in March 2011 and turned into an armed rebellion a few months later, replaces a U.N. estimate of 80,000 issued in mid-May.
The U.N. report said almost 38,000 reported killings had been excluded because records - which require the victim's full name and date and location of death - were incomplete.
"The true number of those killed is potentially much higher," Pillay said.
The death toll has averaged more than 5,000 a month since July, and Pillay said this reflected the "drastically deteriorating pattern of the conflict over the past year".
The Damascus region, Homs and Aleppo have been hardest hit.
The U.N. figures, based on data from the Syrian government and seven human rights monitoring groups, include civilians and combatants, but give no breakdown. They show that at least 6,561 children were among the dead.
"There are also well-documented cases of individual children being tortured and executed, and entire families, including babies, being massacred - which, along with this devastatingly high death toll, is a terrible reminder of just how vicious this conflict has become," Pillay said.
One of the monitoring groups, the British-based, pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said on Thursday it had now confirmed at least 98,000 deaths in the conflict, but that the total figure could exceed 130,000.
It said the confirmed toll included 25,040 Syrian soldiers and security personnel, and 17,107 pro-Assad militiamen.
Other killings are likely to have occurred without being documented, said the U.N. study, carried out by the Human Rights Data Analysis Group, a U.S.-based non-profit organization.
(Here is a link to the full report: )
(Additional reporting by Vincent Fribault in Geneva and Oliver Holmes in Beirut; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
Hasan Rowhani, moderate cleric, pulls off Iranian election win
Iran's reformist-backed candidate has won the election to be that country's next president, the Interior Ministry announced Saturday, triumphing in a race that once appeared solidly in the hands of Tehran's ruling clerics.
Former nuclear negotiator Hasan Rowhani pulled off an outright victory and avoid a two-person runoff by collecting more than 50 percent of the vote, demonstrating the strength of opposition sentiment even in a system that is gamed against it. The ruling clerics barred from the race reform candidates seen as too prominent, allowing a list of hopefuls who were mainly staunch loyalists of the supreme leader.
But the opposition settled on Rowhani as the least objectionable of the bunch, making him the de facto reform candidate.
While Iran's presidential elections offer a window into the political pecking orders and security grip inside the country — particularly since the chaos from a disputed outcome in 2009 — they lack the drama of truly high stakes as the country's ruling clerics and their military guardians remain the ultimate powers.
Security forces also are in firm control after waves of arrests and relentless pressures since the last presidential election in 2009, which unleashed massive protests over claims the outcome was rigged to keep the combative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power for a second and final term. He is barred from seeking a third consecutive run. However the last-moment surge around Rowhani injected some excitement in the race.
Iran has more than 50 million eligible voters, and turnout in Friday's election was believed to be high.
Election officials began the ballot count after voters waited on line for hours in wilting heat Friday at some polling stations in downtown Tehran and other cities, while others cast ballots across the vast country from desert outposts to Gulf seaports and nomad pastures. Voting was extended by five hours to meet demand, but also as possible political stagecraft to showcase the participation.
The apparent strong turnout — estimated at 75 percent by the hard-line newspaper Kayhan — suggested liberals and others abandoned a planned boycott as the election was transformed into a showdown across the Islamic Republic's political divide.
On one side were hard-liners looking to cement their control behind candidates such as hard-line nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, who said he is "100 percent" against detente with Iran's foes, or Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who was boosted by a reputation as a steady hand for Iran's sanctions-wracked economy.
Opposing them were reformists and others rallying behind the "purple wave" campaign of Rowhani, the lone relative moderate left in the race. Many reform-minded Iranians who have faced years of crackdowns looked to Rowhani's rising fortunes as a chance to claw back a bit of ground.
Iran has no credible political polling to serve as harder metrics for the street buzz around candidates, who need more than 50 percent of the vote to seal victory and avoid a runoff. Journalists face limits on reporting such as requiring permission to travel around the country. Iran does not allow outside election observers.
But the win by Rowhani will likely be more of a limited victory than a deep shake-up. Iran's establishment, a tight alliance of the ruling clerics and the ultra-powerful Revolutionary Guard, still holds all the effective power and sets the agenda on all major decisions such as Iran's nuclear program and its dealings with the West. The greater comfort level by the theocracy and Revolutionary Guard also sets a different tone from 2009. Opposition groups appear too intimidated and fragmented to revive street demonstrations.
Rowhani, the only cleric in the race, led the influential Supreme National Security Council and was given the highly sensitive nuclear envoy role in 2003, a year after Iran's 20-year-old atomic program was revealed.
"Rowhani is not an outsider and any gains by him do not mean the system is weak or that there are serious cracks," said Rasool Nafisi, an Iranian affairs analyst at Strayer University in Virginia. "The ruling system has made sure that no one on the ballot is going to shake things up."
Yet Rowhani's victory is not entirely without significance either. It makes room for more moderate voices in Iranian political dialogue and displays their resilience. It also brings onto the world stage an Iranian president who has publicly endorsed more outreach rather than bombast toward the West.
The last campaign events for Rowhani carried chants that had been bottled up for years.
Some supporters called for the release of political prisoners including opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, both candidates in 2009 and now under house arrest. "Long live reforms," some cried at Rowhani's last rally. The rally was awash in purple banners and scarves — the campaign's signature hue in a nod to the single-color identity of Mousavi's now-crushed Green Movement.
"My mother and I both voted for Rowhani," said Saeed Joorabchi, a university student in geography, after casting ballots at a mosque in west Tehran.
In the Persian Gulf city of Bandar Abbas, local journalist Ali Reza Khorshidzadeh said many polling stations had significant lines and many voters appeared to back Rowhani.
Just a week ago, Rowhani was seen as overshadowed by candidates with far deeper ties to the current power structure: Jalili and Qalibaf.
Then a moderate rival of Rowhani bowed out of the presidential race to consolidate the pro-reform camp. That opened the way for high-profile endorsements including his political mentor, former President Akbar Heshmi Rafsanjani, who won admiration from opposition forces for denouncing the postelection crackdowns in 2009. This, too, may have led to Rafsanjani's being blackballed from the ballot this year by Iran's election overseers, which allowed just eight candidates among more than 680 hopefuls.
Fervor remained strong for Rowhani's rivals as well.
Qalibaf rode on his image as a capable fiscal manager who can deal with the deepening problems of Iran's economy and sinking currency.
Jalili drew support from hard-line factions such as the Revolutionary Guard's paramilitary corps, the Basij. His reputation was further enhanced by a battlefield injury that cost him the lower part of his right leg during Iran's 1980-88 war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, which at the time was backed by the United States.
"We should resist the West," said Tehran taxi driver Hasan Ghasemi, who supported Jalili.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had not publicly endorsed a successor for Ahmadinejad following their falling out over the president's attempts to challenge Khamenei's near-absolute powers.
Ahmadinejad leaves office weakened and outcast by his political battles with Khamenei — yet another sign of where real power rests in Iran. The election overseers also rejected Ahmadinejad's protege Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei in apparent payback. The usually talkative Ahmadinejad gave only a brief statement to reporters as he voted and refused to discuss the election.
Khamenei remained mum on his own choice even as he cast his ballot. He added that his children don't know whom he backs.
Instead, he blasted the U.S. for its repeated criticism of Iran's clampdowns on the opposition and the rejection of Rafsanjani and other moderates from the ballot.
"Recently I have heard that a U.S. security official has said they do not accept this election," Khamenei was quoted by state TV after casting his vote. "OK, the hell with you."
Iran's state media hailed the apparently high turnout as a boost for the Islamic Republic's political system.
"A great political epic has shocked the world," read a front-page headline in Kayhan Saturday. Khamenei had called for a "political epic," saying a high turnout would protect Iran against its enemies.
The economy, too, is under far more pressures than in 2009.
Western sanctions over Iran's nuclear program have shrunk vital oil sales and are leaving the country isolated from international banking systems. New U.S. measures taking effect July 1 further target Iran's currency, the rial, which has lost half its foreign exchange value in the past year, driving prices of food and consumer goods sharply higher.
If you found a sack with $20,000 USD inside what would you do? This woman turned it in.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- An unemployed teacher was driving home after dropping her cat off at a veterinarian when she noticed a bag on the street. She stopped but doubted it contained anything, but soon discovered the bag was holding about $20,000.
Candace Scott said the bag had a Chase bank label, so she promptly delivered it to a nearby branch. She pound on the glass around 8 a.m. Tuesday to get the branch manager to come to the door before the bank opened for business, The Eagle newspaper reported (). The banker thanked Scott for returning the cash.
"She told me I'm the most honest person in the world, and I said 'or the dumbest,'" Scott said.
Scott never knew exactly how much money she returned. Greg Hassell, a Houston-based spokesman for Chase, said Wednesday that the bag contained about $20,000. He declined to release further details citing courier security.
Scott, a former middle school teacher in College Station, at first doubted the bag contained anything worth saving.
If you found a sack with $20,000USD inside and a bank label on it..would you return it to the banks? Shedid!
"It looked like a gallon-size baggie with a blue zipper on top," Scott said. "It just barely caught my eye, and I thought it was money, then was like, 'Nah, it's probably a dirty diaper.'"
Scott circled back in time to see a dump truck run over the bag in the middle of the left turn lane. She then stopped and picked up the bag.
"There were two huge bundles of hundred-dollar bills wrapped in rubber bands," Scott said. "The bag had ripped open because of the dump truck, but other than that it was just laying there."
Then she noticed the Chase label on the bag and headed about a block away to a bank branch, knocking on the glass until the manager walked to the door.
"(The bank manager) thought I had been in an accident or somebody had mugged me," Scott said. "I told her 'I have y'all's money. She said 'What?' and then she thought I was a crazy person. I told her to stay right there while I got it. She saw it and opened that door up as fast as she could."
TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
Asia
Space.... The Final Frontier...
Middle East20 June 2013 Last updated at 12:27 ET
India floods: Race to save Uttarakhand victims
A massive rescue operation is under way to reach survivors in the flood-hit Indian state of Uttarakhand, where at least 150 people have died.
More than 50,000 people are stranded after the floods swept away buildings and triggered landslides.
A large number of them are reported to be trapped around the holy town of Kedarnath, located in a valley.
State Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has described the floods as a "Himalayan tsunami".
Officials say that the number of dead could exceed 1,000 people, although the exact number will be known only after a survey of the entire region is completed.
Bodies are scattered all around the Kedarnath, in Rudraprayag district, some officials have reported.
Flood-related deaths have also been reported in Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh states and neighbouring Nepal.
The monsoon season generally lasts from June to September, bringing rain which is critical to the farming output, but this year the rain in the north of India and parts of Nepal has been heavier than usual.
Media reports say military helicopters and the army are mainly targeting Kedarnath, where portions of a famous Hindu temple have been washed away and the shrine is "submerged in mud and slush".
Many visiting pilgrims and tourists in Kedarnath remain unaccounted for, officials say.
Local police chief Ajay Chadha told the BBC that while no-one was stranded in the town itself, thousands remain marooned in the hills that surround it.
"They are being brought down to Kedarnath and will be evacuated tomorrow [Friday] morning," he said.
Mr Chadha said that troops were assisting the rescue operation and were doing "wonderful work".
He said that in one area they had made a rope-bridge, which had been used to rescue at least 1,200 people.
'Unprecedented'
Kedarnath temple priest Dinesh Bagwari told BBC Hindi that he heard a loud explosion as a lake above the town burst its banks.
"The floods arrived minutes later and everything was gone in 15 minutes," he said.
"We spent 36 hours without water or food. I saw several hundred people trapped in inhuman conditions. Five of my family members are missing and my 17-year-old son is stranded there."
More than 33,100 people have so far been rescued, as the military takes advantage of clearer weather, but another 50,400 are still stranded, the Uttarakhand home ministry said in a statement released late on Thursday.
"Our priority is to take out the children and women first by helicopter," an Indo-Tibetan Border Police spokesman said.
More than 5,500 soldiers and hundreds of paramilitary and disaster management officials are working to rescue and provide emergency supplies to thousands of tourists and pilgrims stranded in towns and temples, officials say, with 20 helicopters being deployed.
Rescue operations were halted on Thursday morning due to rains and bad visibility, but resumed later in the day after the weather improved.
Chief Minister Bahuguna said the death and destruction in the floods was "unprecedented". Officials say the rains in Uttarakhand have been the heaviest in 60 years.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the situation there as "distressing" and announced a 10bn rupee ($170m; £127m) aid package for the state.
Syria20 June 2013 Last updated at 11:14 ET
New Palestinian PM Rami Hamdallah 'offers resignation'
Newly appointed Palestinian PM Rami Hamdallah has offered his resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas, government sources say.
It was not immediately clear whether Mr Abbas had accepted the resignation. Sources say Mr Hamdallah quit in a disagreement over his authority.
An academic and political independent, he was sworn in on 6 June.
He replaced Salam Fayyad who stepped down in April after a long-running dispute with President Abbas.
Mr Hamdallah was given two deputies - one for political affairs and one for economic affairs - but resigned because of a "conflict over authority", reports say.
If Mr Hamdallah's resignation is accepted, it could leave a damaging gap as the Palestinian leadership grapples with a financial crisis and the US leads efforts to revive peace talks with Israel, says the BBC's Yolande Knell in Ramallah.
Mr Hamdallah's cabinet had only met for the first time last week. It consisted mainly of members of the Fatah party, one of the two main Palestinian political factions, led by Mr Abbas.
At the time, commentators observed that the new PM would have little room to manoeuvre in a government dominated by Fatah members, our correspondent says.
The other main faction, Hamas, described the appointment of Mr Hamdallah as "illegal" because it was not a unity government formed as a result of a reconciliation agreement.
'Transition period'
When he was appointed, Mr Hamdallah stated his administration would rule only for "a transitional period" until a unity government was formed.
His appointment filled a political vacuum in the Palestinian Authority, but now it appears it has opened up again - and that will be deeply troubling for President Abbas, our correspondent says.
Before his appointment as PM, Mr Hamdallah had been known for his 15-year tenure as head of the al-Najah National University, and did not have a high profile as a politician.
There has been a deep rift between the two main Palestinian factions since 2007, when Hamas set up a rival government in Gaza after ousting Fatah in clashes.
The two factions are currently engaged in drawn-out reconciliation talks. Last month, officials on both sides announced plans to form a technocratic government by August that would then prepare for new elections.
Europe20 June 2013 Last updated at 05:56 ET
Syria conflict: Unesco adds ancient sites to danger list
Six ancient sites in Syria have been added to a UN list of endangered World Heritage sites because of the threat from the conflict there.
The sites were placed on the list by the UN's cultural organisation, Unesco at its annual meeting in Cambodia.
It is hoped the decision will rally support for safeguarding the sites, Unesco says.
The fighting and security situation has left Syria's archaeological sites susceptible to damage and looting.
Unesco said its information on the scale of the destruction was "partial" and came from unverified sources including social media and a report from the Syrian authorities which it said "does not necessarily reflect the actual situation", the AFP news agency reports.
Aleppo's old city, in particular, has "witnessed some of the conflict's most brutal destruction," it said, adding that the old citadel had been "caught in the line of fire".
"The immediate, near-term and long-term effect of the crises on the cultural heritage of Aleppo cannot be overstated," it added.
In April, the 11th-Century minaret of the Umayyad Mosque - one of Syria's most famous - was destroyed during clashes in Aleppo.
There are also fears for two castles considered architectural treasures of the 11th-13th Century Crusades - Crac des Chevaliers and Qalat Salah El-Din (Fortress of Saladin).
The two sites have "been exposed to clashing and gunfire", according to a report by the Syrian authorities given to Unesco.
Europe - Latin America20 June 2013 Last updated at 13:19 ET
Gaddafi interpreter says Libya funded Sarkozy campaign
Muammar Gaddafi's interpreter has said Libya helped finance Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign in France - an allegation Mr Sarkozy denies.
Moftah Missouri said Gaddafi had told him personally that $20m (£13m; 15m euros) were donated to the campaign.
The allegations against Mr Sarkozy, first made by one of Gaddafi's sons, are already being investigated.
However Mr Missouri was quoted by a French newspaper last year, saying he had been unaware of any such payments.
Le Figaro, a conservative daily, interviewed the former interpreter when he visited Paris in April 2012.
In the new interview, Mr Missouri said: "Gaddafi himself told me personally, verbally, that Libya had transferred about $20m."
He was speaking in a video clip posted by France's Mediapart news website, with the full interview due to air on French public TV later on Thursday.
Gaddafi died from bullet wounds in 2011, after ruling Libya for more than 40 years.
Denials
It was during Nato-led air strikes on Libya in 2011 that Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi's son, first accused Mr Sarkozy of taking millions of his father's money for campaign funding.
Led by the then President Sarkozy, France spearheaded Nato's military campaign.
A French inquiry which opened this year was due to look at charges of "active and passive corruption", "influence peddling" and other issues, a judicial source told AFP news agency in April.
Mr Sarkozy, who lost the 2012 presidential election to Francois Hollande, is also under formal investigation over claims he received illegal donations for the 2007 race from France's richest woman, 90-year-old L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.
He has denied all the allegations.
He has previously hinted that he may consider another run for the presidency in 2017, but the outcome of these investigations could determine whether he will make a return to politics, observers say.
Africa20 June 2013 Last updated at 08:30 ET
Venezuelan missing plane found five years after crash
A Venezuelan plane which went missing in 2008 with 14 people on board has been found underwater off a Venezuelan island resort, officials say.
Wreckage of the small aircraft was located 9km (5.6 miles) south of Los Roques archipelago at a depth of 900m (3,000ft).
The pilot had reported engine problems shortly before losing contact with air traffic control on 4 January 2008.
Five Venezuelans, eight Italians and a Swiss citizen were on board.
Venezuelan officials said the wreckage had been located by a US search vessel which had been looking for the plane under an agreement between Venezuela and Italy.
The twin-engine Transaven Airlines passenger plane was flying from Simon Bolivar International Airport near Caracas to Los Roques airport when its pilot reported that one of the engines had failed.
'New Bermuda triangle'
The co-pilot's body was found in the sea off Los Roques days later, but neither the wreckage nor the remaining crew and passengers could be located.
The disappearance of the Transaven plane, and that of a small aircraft carrying Vittorio Missoni, director of Italian fashion house Missoni, has given Los Roques a reputation for mysterious vanishings.
More than a dozen aircraft have either crashed, disappeared or declared emergencies while flying through the area, prompting some locals to call it the "new Bermuda triangle".
A search is still under way for Mr Missoni, his wife, and four other passengers and crew who disappeared while flying from Los Roques.
A piece of luggage from the missing plane was found three weeks after the plane's disappearance off the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao.
Latin America20 June 2013 Last updated at 09:20 ET
Somalia's al-Shabab militants in 'deadly feud'
Heavy fighting has taken place between rival factions of Somalia's militant Islamist group al-Shabab near the key coastal town of Brava, witnesses say.
Six militants, including two foreigners, were killed in the gun-battle at dawn, they told the BBC.
Al-Shabab denied there had been any fighting within its ranks.
If confirmed, these would be the first clashes between rival factions of the al-Qaeda linked group since it launched an insurgency in 2006.
On Wednesday, at least 15 people were killed in an attack by al-Shabab on the UN offices in the capital, Mogadishu.
Its fighters detonated a car bomb, before engaging in a fierce battle with security guards in the UN compound.
Residents say Brava is tense following the gun-battle between rival factions on the outskirts of the town, some 220km (140 miles) down the coast from Mogadishu.
Al-Shabab has turned Brava into one of its main bases after losing control of many other towns and cities to African Union (AU) and government troops.
The exact cause of the clashes is not known, but there has been a long-running power struggle within al-Shabab involving its leader Ahmed Abdi Godane and ex-spokesman Muktar Ali Robow, analysts say.
Mr Robow is said to be more moderate than Mr Godane, and opposes links with al-Qaeda, they say.
However, al-Shabab spokesman Ali Dheere dismissed reports of the fighting in Brava as "propaganda" and "lies".
The group was united, he added.
Al-Shabab, which means "The Youth", is fighting to create an Islamic state in Somalia.
It was formed in 2006 as a radical offshoot of the now-defunct Union of Islamic Courts, which at the time controlled Mogadishu and many southern and central areas.
Some 18,000 African Union troops are in Somalia supporting the government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud who was elected by MPs last September.
His administration is the first one in more than two decades to be recognised by the US and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
20 June 2013 Last updated at 12:09 ET
Brazil cities brace for new protests
Security is being increased in Brazil's biggest cities after protesters announced they would go ahead with mass demonstrations planned for Thursday.
Protesters in Sao Paulo said they would take to the streets "to celebrate" the reversal of a public-transport fare increase announced on Wednesday.
The protests, which were originally triggered by the increase, have since grown into a much wider movement.
Demonstrators are angry at corruption and spending on next year's World Cup.
Fenced off
The authorities in the city of Rio de Janeiro have erected barricades around the state legislature building, which was vandalised during protests on Monday.
The state governor's office, Guanabara Palace, has also been secured by a double layer of barricades.
Workers have also fenced off the elevated walkways opposite the mayor's office and at central underground train stations.
Protesters told the BBC's Julia Carneiro in Rio they would not march to the city's Maracana stadium, which will be hosting a Confederations Cup match between Spain and Tahiti at the time.
Previous matches have drawn protests, with demonstrators expressing their anger at steep ticket prices and the money spent on the Confederations Cup, the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics.
In the city of Fortaleza, which was hosting the Brazil v Mexico match on Wednesday, demonstrators carried banners reading: "A teacher is worth more than Neymar", in a reference to Brazil's star footballer.
'Significant benefits'
On Thursday, the International Olympic Committee said it was confident the 2016 Olympics would bring major benefits to Rio de Janeiro and the country.
In a statement to the Associated Press news agency, the IOC said the Olympics would "bring significant benefits to the whole population of Rio, improving the city in terms of transport, infrastructure and social housing, as well as bringing a considerable sporting legacy for Brazil".
"We are always fully supportive of peaceful protest and remain confident in the ability of the games as a powerful catalyst for improving the world through sport," the statement continued.
In Sao Paulo, members of the Free Access Movement (Movimento Passe Livre) - which has been campaigning for better public transport - said they would march through the city on Thursday to celebrate the mayor's decision to reverse a 2 June fare increase.
Mayor Fernando Haddad said the reversal was a "big sacrifice", which meant other investments would have to be cut.
'Disgusted'
Sao Paulo and Rio are the latest two cities to reverse the fare increases after similar moves by the authorities in Cuiaba, Recife and Joao Pessoa.
The fare rollback while welcomed by many has so far failed to quell the protests, with crowds blocking main roads in Sao Paulo and Brasilia, and protesters confronting police in Rio de Janeiro state shortly after the U-turn was announced.
"This means that our politicians have begun to hear our voices. This is something that has never happened before - in a non-election year, at least," Daniel Acosta from Sao Paulo told the BBC.
"It's a start. What happens now, nobody knows yet, but it gives us hope," he added.
But 18-year-old student Camila Sena said the protests had become much wider and the concession on fare prices would not change much.
"It's not really about the price [of transport] any more," she said while taking part in a protest in the city of Niteroi, near Rio de Janeiro, on Wednesday.
"People are so disgusted with the system, so fed up that now we're demanding change."
The current unrest is the biggest since 1992, when people took to the streets to demand the impeachment of then-President Fernando Collor de Mello.
President Dilma Rousseff has said she is proud that so many people are fighting for a better country.
North America - Latin AmericaAncient Mayan City Discovered In Southeast Mexico
Published June 20, 2013
| EFE
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Mexico City – Archaeologists have discovered a previously unknown Mayan city in the southeastern state of Campeche.
Its vast size led archaeologists to conclude it was a likely seat of government some 1,400 years ago, according to Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History, or INAH.
A team of experts headed by Slovenian archaeologist Ivan Sprajc christened the site Chactun.
"It is one of the largest sites in the Central Lowlands, comparable in its extent and the magnitude of its buildings with Becan, Nadzcaan and El Palmar in Campeche," Sprajc said in a statement released by INAH.
The complex covers more than 54 acres.
Based on the number of monuments, at least ten of them with inscriptions, the city is believed to have been the seat of government for a extensive area during the period of 600-900 A.D., the researcher said.
The INAH-backed exploration is financed by the National Geographic Society and two private companies: Austria's Villas and Slovenia's Ars Longa.
Down through the centuries, Chactun remained hidden in the jungle on the north of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. According to Sprajc, it forms part of an area covering more than 1,150 square miles that has remained a "total blank" on the Mayan archaeological map.
The millennial metropolis is one of the nearly 80 sites detected by the Southeast Campeche Archaeological Recognition Project, launched in 1996.
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North America19 June 2013 Last updated at 10:52 ET
Mexico arrests US man on FBI's 10 Most Wanted list
Mexican officials have arrested a former US university professor who is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.
Walter Lee Williams, 64, is facing charges of sexual exploitation of children and travelling to the Philippines to engage in sexual activity with minors.
He was arrested in the beach resort of Playa del Carmen, on Mexico's Caribbean coast.
He taught gender studies at the University of Southern California.
Local prosecutor Armando Garcia said police had detained Walter Lee Williams in a cafe in Playa del Carmen, 70km (43 miles) south of the town of Cancun.
On Monday, Walter Lee Williams had become the 500th fugitive to be named to the FBI's 10 most wanted list.
According to the FBI, the list has been key in galvanising public support to catch many of the people it deems "the nation's worst offenders".
The Bureau says that of the 500 fugitives who have been named to the list since it was first created 63 years ago, 469 have been apprehended or located.
"This has been a tremendously successful program, but one that is dependent on the willingness of concerned citizens with information to come forward and offer us their assistance," Ron Hosko of the FBI's criminal investigative division said.
The FBI had offered a reward of up to $100,000 (£64,000) for information leading directly to the arrest of Walter Lee Williams.
The Mexican authorities did not say how they had located Walter Lee Williams or if the reward would be paid out.
USA20 June 2013 Last updated at 15:15 ET
Two killed in Quebec fireworks plant explosion
Two people have been found dead after an explosion destroyed a Quebec fireworks plant, police have said.
A massive blast rocked BEM Fireworks in Coteau-du-Lac shortly before 09:00 EST (13:00 GMT) and was followed by a fire and further explosions.
Images from the scene showed a plume of black smoke and exploding fireworks that could be seen from miles away.
Police evacuated about 40 homes in the town and temporarily closed a nearby highway in both directions.
One building at the plant was reduced to rubble.
'Lifted into the air'
Police have not identified the two people found in the wreckage but earlier said two of the factory's employees were unaccounted for.
Witnesses said the initial explosion rattled the entire area, about 50km (31 miles) west of Montreal.
"We got really, really, really scared," Ginette Liboiron, who runs a convenience store near the site, told the Associated Press.
"I thought my store was falling to the ground. It shook like you can't imagine. We all went outside to see and saw the big, incredible smoke. It went high up in the air, then it became black, black, black."
Another witness, Olivier Roy, told the Montreal Gazette he saw a smaller building at the plant "lifted into the air".
Fireworks could be heard detonating within the fire for at least two hours after the initial explosion. More than 150 firefighters battled the blaze on Thursday morning.
Quebec's police force said only that the investigation was "ongoing".
Environmental officials said low traces of metal were detected in the air nearby.
Obama administration pledged transparency, but slowed document requests, memos show
By Judson Berger
Published June 20, 2013
| FoxNews.com
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Even as the freshly minted Obama administration was pledging a "new era of open government" in 2009, officials were quietly adding new rules that had the potential to slow down public requests for documents.
Those rules, detailed in memos reviewed by FoxNews.com, could even trip up present-day efforts to dig into the IRS' practice of targeting conservative groups. The rules detailed in the memos largely emanated from the Treasury Department and, specifically, the IRS.
"It would seem to repudiate this notion that this is going to be the most transparent government in history," said Dan Epstein, executive director of Cause of Action, the group that first obtained the memos.
The memos follow reports about the administration's use of private email accounts, and coincide with ongoing debate about government transparency -- particularly with recent disclosures about widespread surveillance programs.
Epstein said the document request procedures are "troubling" since the media are "really concerned about the limits of government power."
According to the documents, the Treasury Department in 2009 set up an additional review for requests involving "sensitive information," which covered a broad range of items. The White House sometimes got involved, slowing down the process. The IRS also acknowledged having another review process for requests from "major media," but not for requests from private individuals.
Members of the media often try to obtain documents not readily available by citing a law known as the Freedom of Information Act. The Treasury Department, though, in late 2009 erected speed bumps for some so-called FOIA requests.
The rules were detailed in a November 2010 memo and report sent from the Treasury inspector general to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.
The documents showed the Treasury Department set up an additional "formal level of review" for requests for "sensitive information." This category would cover everything from emails to memos to calendars to travel logs for top department officials, legal advisers, senior advisers and others.
Once a request was deemed "sensitive," it would then go before a "review committee," made up of officials from several Treasury offices.
Further, the document said a special report would be prepared for IRS requests from "major media." This covers requests from traditional news media as well as bloggers, and according to the report covered information that "was likely to attract news media or congressional interest, involved large dollar amounts, or involved unique or novel issues."
This report would then be sent to a higher-up in the division who decided whether the material should be disclosed.
The report repeatedly said that, in most cases, political appointees were not involved in these decisions, and that the agencies have no procedures to allow that.
But Epstein said these rules could cause problems as Congress and the media dig deeper into the origin of the IRS practice of singling out conservative groups for additional scrutiny.
He pointed to another memo, dated April 15, 2009, from then-White House Counsel Greg Craig that urged "executive agencies" to consult with his office "on all document requests that may involve documents with White House equities." Craig said this pertains to everything from FOIA requests to congressional requests to subpoenas.
This practice apparently dates back to 1993. The Treasury IG memo cited this, and described the White House involvement as "minimal and limited." However, the report also said the White House involvement "was responsible in several cases for adding a significant processing delay," which in Treasury's case slowed them down.
"It actually is heavily ironic in the realm of transparency," Epstein said.
He pointed to edicts and memos early on in the first term of the administration stressing transparency. Obama issued a January 2009 directive calling for an "unprecedented level of openness."
Attorney General Eric Holder in March 2009 directed all Executive Branch departments to use a "presumption of openness" when dealing with FOIA requests.
To that end, the administration has instituted several other transparency initiatives. It has followed through on requiring Cabinet secretaries to hold Internet town hall discussions, set up a comprehensive website to track stimulus spending, and set up a national declassification center.
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Space.... The Final Frontier...
20 June 2013 Last updated at 05:18 ET
Europe's IXV 'space wedge' performs drop test
By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News, Paris
A successful "drop test" has been conducted on Europe's experimental re-entry vehicle, the IXV.
A 1:1 scale model was released from an altitude of 3km by a helicopter, and then descended to a splashdown in the Mediterranean on a parachute.
The IXV is a project of the European Space Agency that aims to develop an autonomous atmospheric re-entry system.
A flight model will be launched on a Vega rocket next year and will have to descend from an altitude of 420km.
The ultimate goal is to develop a vehicle not dissimilar to the American mini spy shuttle called the X-37B, which operates robotically in orbit for a period of time before making an automated return to a runway.
Europe's version will be developed under the name of Pride.
"X-37B is big vehicle launched on an Atlas rocket, while Pride will be launched on a smaller rocket. It should be a much cheaper mission," explained Roberto Provera from Thales Alenia Space (Tas), the French-Italian company that will lead the project industrially.
"The idea of the two vehicles is very similar, but the size and the costs of the projects are very different," he told reporters here at the Paris Air Show.
IXV (Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle) is the initial step towards Pride. This car-sized, two-tonne spacecraft will launch from French Guiana in South America in August 2014. It will fly an arc reaching 420km above the Earth before coming down to a splashdown zone in the Pacific.
IXV is a lifting body; it has far more manoeuvrability than a standard cone-shaped, re-entry capsule. It has flaps and thrusters to control its descent trajectory. A ceramic heatshield on its underside will prevent the vehicle from burning up.
Its suite of sensors should give European engineers new insights into how objects fall back through the atmosphere and provide them with the data they need to design the next generation of space vehicles.
"We are one year away from launch and Wednesday's drop test at the Salto di Quirra Inter-force Test Range in Sardinia was important to validate this part of the chain," said Mr Provera.
The flight model should be delivered to the European Space Agency (Esa) in May of next year.
Esa member states approved Pride (Programme for Reusable In-orbit Demonstrator in Europe) at their recent ministerial council in Naples, and the agency has just sent Thales Alenia Space a request for quotation (RFQ).
The company will have to detail its initial design thoughts and the likely cost for the project, which has an envelope of about 400m euros.
The Pride vehicle will have to be compatible with the small Vega rocket, also. This means Pride must stay within 5m in length and have a maximum mass no greater than about 1,900kg.
"Pride represents the next step after IXV. You see the shape - it has wings. The mission envisages several orbits, not just an arc over the globe. And it will land on an airstrip," said Mr Provera.
Pride would fly no earlier than 2018.
20 June 2013 Last updated at 00:23 ET
Shenzhou-10: Chinese astronaut gives lecture from space
China's second female astronaut, Wang Yaping, has delivered the country's first-ever video lecture from space.
Speaking to students via live video, Ms Wang used spinning tops, a ball, water and a fellow astronaut to explain physics in zero-gravity.
She was speaking from the Tiangong-1 space laboratory, where the Shenzhou spacecraft is currently docked,
China's fifth manned space mission, Shenzhou-10, is scheduled to end around 25 or 26 June.
The crew is also expected to attempt a manual docking later on Thursday.
This will involve getting back inside their Shenzhou capsule, unhooking from Tiangong and then flying around the lab to re-attach the capsule to the laboratory.
'Sixteen sunrises'
Ms Yang used different experiments to demonstrate the concepts of weight and mass in space.
After showing how normal scales did not work in space, she used a special scale to measure the mass of crew commander Nie Haisheng, using Newton's second law of motion - measuring the mass of an object through force and acceleration.
At another point, to show how objects move in the microgravity environment of space, she asked her colleague to help her rotate 90 degrees, and then 180 degrees, from the floor of the laboratory.
Spinning tops were used to create gyroscopic motion in space, and a ball attached to a string to demonstrate pendulum motion.
Towards the end of the class, Ms Yang made a film of water using a metal ring, explained by the increased surface tension of water in space. She then turned the film of water into a water ball by pouring more water onto it, to wide applause from students watching in China.
Around 330 primary and secondary school students watched the lecture from a special classroom in Beijing, where they could also ask Ms Wang questions through a live video feed, state media said.
In response to a student's question, Ms Yang described what she could see in space.
"The stars we see are much brighter, but they do not twinkle," she said, explaining this was due to the lack of Earth's obstructing atmosphere.
"The sky we see isn't blue, but black. And every day, we can see the sun rise 16 times because we circle the Earth every 90 minutes."
An estimated 60 million students and teachers around China were also expected to watch the lecture live, the Ministry of Education said.
Europe’s Rocket Designers Crafting a SpaceX Defense
By Peter B. de Selding | Jun. 19, 2013
LE BOURGET, France – Designers of Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket are crafting a defense against U.S. startup rocket builder Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) even before the next-generation Ariane 6 rocket – itself spurred in part by SpaceX – has been approved for production.
The first line of defense is the Ariane 5 Midlife Evolution vehicle, whose new upper stage is halfway completed and awaits final approval, in late 2014, of European governments.
Ariane 5 ME will increase the current Ariane 5 ECA’s payload-carrying power by about 20 percent, meaning it will carry two satellites weighing a combined 11,000 kilograms.
Alain Charmeau, president of Ariane 5 prime contractor Astrium Space Transportation, outlined Ariane 5 ME’s two-pronged defense – one aimed at Russia’s heavy-lift Proton rocket, Ariane 5’s biggest competitor, the second aimed at SpaceX’s Falcon 9 vehicle – during a June 18 briefing here at the Paris Air Show.
The upper position under the Ariane 5 ME fairing is occupied by a satellite weighing around 6,500 kilograms, which is what the current Proton vehicle carries solo into orbit on its commercial flights. Because most commercial satellite fleet operators tailor their satellites to be compatible with at least two launch vehicles, there is little incentive for rocket builders to get too far ahead of the competition in terms of satellite mass.
With the upper position in the Ariane 5 ME competing with Proton, marketed by International Launch Services of Reston, Va., it is up to the lower position to compete with Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX and the upgraded Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket scheduled to make its debut this year.
The upgraded Falcon 9 is capable of carrying a 4,500-kilogram satellite into geostationary transfer orbit.
One of the Falcon 9’s most potent arguments is that it is capable of carrying two all-electric-propulsion satellites at a time into geostationary transfer orbit. But according to the first customer of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems’ all-electric 702SP platform, Satmex of Mexico, it will take the Satmex satellite about eight months to reach its final orbital position and begin generating revenue.
Charmeau said Ariane 5 ME will use its re-ignitable upper stage to place an all-electric satellite into a higher orbit than what is offered by the Falcon 9, reducing the time to arrival by around two months.
Jacques Breton, commercial director of the Arianespace launch consortium of Evry, France, which operates the Ariane 5, said it is too soon to say how much closer to its final operating slot Ariane 5 ME can place a satellite compared to Falcon 9. But the idea, he said, is to take maximum use of Ariane 5 ME’s extra power to minimize the amount of time needed for operators to start earning a return on their investment.
AIRSHOW-Europe braces for competition from low-cost US satellite launcher
Wed, Jun 19 2013
* California-based SpaceX winning back launch business
* Europe's Arianespace aiming to cut launch costs
* New low-cost Ariane rocket under development
By Irene Klotz
PARIS, June 19 (Reuters) - Space Exploration Technologies is not among the 2,200 companies exhibiting at the Paris Airshow, but its cut-rate Falcon rocket, which has already shaken up the U.S. satellite launch industry, is raising eyebrows in Europe.
The privately owned, California-based firm, known as SpaceX, is preparing for the first of about 30 satellite launches, aiming to reverse a long decline in the U.S. commercial launch business.
U.S. companies had a monopoly in the field 30 years ago, but no longer. The low point came in 2011, when not a single satellite operator besides the U.S. government chose a U.S. company for a ride to space.
The business has largely been going to France-based Arianespace, a public-private European partnership that last year reported revenue of 1.3 billion euros. The company is projected to bring in nearly that much again this year, its newly appointed chief executive, Stephane Israel, told reporters at the biennial air show.
SpaceX is not Arianespace's only competition. Russia markets a variety of rockets for space launches, and to some extent so do India and China, although U.S. export restrictions have severely impacted China's ability to sell its services.
But it is SpaceX's impeding entry into the commercial launch business that is triggering a makeover in how Arianespace builds rockets and conducts its business.
For starters, Arianespace next year plans to debut a series of modifications to its flagship Ariane 5 rocket to boost lift capacity, put multiple satellites into orbit with a single launch, increase flexibility and cut costs.
By around 2020, the company wants to be flying an entirely new Ariane 6 rocket with the goal of cutting launch costs to about 75 million euros - a 40 to 50 percent decrease over current costs, said Alain Charmeau, chairman of the EADS subsidiary Astrium, Arianespace's prime contractor.
"The key question for Ariane 6 is not really the design of the booster. The key question is how to organize the industry and the relationship between agencies and industries in order to deliver a launcher to a given target price. And we have never done that before in Europe," said Israel, speaking through a translator.
While SpaceX may be the public face of change in the U.S. launch business, Israel credits a shift at the U.S. space agency NASA with triggering the transition.
Following the retirement of its space shuttles in 2011, NASA decided to forego development of spaceships to transport astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station. Instead, it opted to procure the necessary flight services on a commercial basis.
NASA provided seed money and technical advice for SpaceX and other firms to develop rockets and capsules, but left design decisions up to the companies. SpaceX already is flying its Falcon rockets and Dragon cargo capsules to the space station, a $100 billion research outpost about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.
A cargo ship is also being built by Orbital Sciences Corp and is scheduled for a test flight to the station in September.
"The disadvantage of Europe is always the same - we have a very, very limited institutional market compared to Russia, China, the U.S., and even India in the future. We can only exist if we are competitive on the commercial market," Israel said.
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