Iran accuses US, Israel of fresh cyber attack

Iran has detected a planned “massive cyber attack” against its nuclear facilities, state television said June 21, after talks with major powers this week failed to resolve a row over Tehran’s disputed nuclear activities.

Iran’s Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi said the country’s arch enemies the United States and Israel, along with Britain, had planned the attack. “Based on obtained information, America and the Zionist regime (Israel) along with the MI6 planned an operation to launch a massive cyber attack against Iran’s facilities following the meeting between Iran and the P5+1 in Moscow,” Iran’s English-language Press TV quoted him as saying.

“They still seek to carry out the plan, but we have taken necessary measures,” he added, without elaborating. Security experts said last month a highly sophisticated computer virus, dubbed “Flame,” had infected computers in Iran and other Middle Eastern countries.

Iranian officials were quick to say the country had defeated the virus, capable of snatching data and eavesdropping on computer users. It was not clear if the cyber attack referred to by Moslehi was “Flame,” or a new virus. Iran’s nuclear program came under attack in 2010 by the Stuxnet computer worm which caused centrifuges to fail at the main Iranian enrichment facility. Tehran accused the United States and Israel of deploying Stuxnet. Iran has been locked in a row for nearly a decade with Western countries over its disputed nuclear program which the West believes is aimed at making nuclear weapons. (TEHRAN - Reuters)

US, Israel made Flame virus to thwart Iran: report

The United States and Israel collaborated to create the Flame computer virus as part of an effort to slow Iran's suspected nuclear weapons drive, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The newspaper, citing "Western officials with knowledge of the effort," said the sophisticated malware was designed to spy on Iran's computer networks and send back intelligence used for an ongoing cyberwarfare campaign.

The Post said the US National Security Agency and CIA worked with Israel's military on the project.

A number of reports had linked Israel and the United States to Flame and another virus called Stuxnet which caused malfunctions in Iran's nuclear enrichment equipment.

US officials have not publicly discussed the matter except to say that they are focused on cyber efforts as part of defense and intelligence.

"This is about preparing the battlefield for another type of covert action," one former high-ranking US intelligence official told the Post.

The Russian security firm Kaspersky, first credited with discovering Flame, said last week the malware had strong links to Stuxnet.

Kaspersky said its research shows the two programs share certain portions of code, suggesting some ties between two separate groups of programmers.

The New York Times reported June 1 that President Barack Obama accelerated cyberattacks on Iran's nuclear program and expanded the assault even after the Stuxnet virus accidentally escaped in 2010.

The cyberattack, aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and keeping Israel from launching a preventive military strike, sowed widespread confusion in Iran's Natanz nuclear plant, the Times said. (WASHINGTON - Agence France-Presse)

Pot-smoking US mom drives off with baby on roof

A woman wearing novelty sunglasses with artificial marijuana leaves smokes a marijuana joint at the Vancouver Art Gallery in this file photo. REUTERS

A marijuana-smoking woman was arrested on Saturday in Phoenix after she accidentally drove away with her five-week-old son in a child safety seat on the roof of her vehicle, police said.

The baby fell off the car in the middle of an intersection and was found unharmed and strapped into the seat, said Phoenix police spokesman James Holmes.

The mother Catalina Clouser, 19, was booked into jail on child abuse and aggravated assault charges, he said. The infant was taken to a local hospital as a precaution and is in the custody of state Child Protective Services.

"It appears the suspect put the baby on the roof of the car and drove off, forgetting he was still on the roof," Holmes said in a written statement.

Police said Clouser and her boyfriend had been smoking marijuana in a park and left with the toddler to buy beer late on Friday night. Officers stopped the car and the boyfriend was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence while driving with the baby in the 2000 Ford Focus.

Police learned that Clouser was so upset about the arrest that she drove to a friend's home and "admittedly smoked one or two additional bowls of marijuana," Holmes said.

She left at about midnight with the baby asleep in the car seat, placing the child on top of the vehicle, he said. Clouser apparently did not realize that the baby was missing until she arrived home.

Holmes said witnesses who were friends of the mother advised officers that the child belonged to Clouser. The mother then arrived at the scene and "made admissions to what had occurred." (PHOENIX - Reuters)

Article 5 applies if Kürecik attacked: US

This file photo shows NATO’s radar base in Kürecik village of eastern Turkey. Hürriyet photo

A potential Iranian attack against the NATO early warning radar system installed in Turkey will be interpreted as an aggression against the whole of NATO, and requires the application of article five of the alliance, the United States’ top envoy at NATO has said.

“If Turkey were to be attacked, just like if the U.S. or Canada or any other NATO member states were to be attacked, article five applies no matter what the circumstance is, no matter what the reason is,” U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder said at an online press conference Thursday.

Daalder was responding to the Hürriyet Daily News’ question on whether the alliance would defend if Iran targeted NATO’s early warning radar system deployed in Kürecik, a district in Turkey’s eastern province of Malatya. Considering that the system is against Iran, some Iranian officials have not hesitated in threatening Turkey that they could hit the installation.

“Article five of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization says an armed attack against one is an armed attack against all,” Daalder added.

“Deployment of the U.S. radar in Turkey is a fundamental part of the missile defense system that we are collectively deploying in NATO. At Chicago the leaders declared an interim missile defense capability. So that the radar and other assets could operate under the operational control of NATO,” he said.

Ambassador Daalder recalled that President Barack Obama announced during the Chicago Summit that the authority over the control and command of the radar had been transferred from U.S. commanders to NATO commanders. “The radar will operate under NATO rules of engagement under NATO operational control, on a day to day basis,” he said.

No way to intervene Syria
Answering a question about NATO’s possible military intervention to Syria, Ambassador Daalder referred to the U.N. Security Council and to the activities of the Syrian opposition groups.

“For most NATO members, the U.N. Security Council has to mandate military action. That is what happened in Libya. It hasn’t happened with Syria. It isn’t likely to happen with Syria,” he added.

However, he did call on the Syrian government to stop violence against civilians. (Istanbul-Anatolia News Agency)

US starts hacking game with Yemen’s al-Qaeda

This image shows pages from the eighth issue of ‘Inspire’ magazine, al-Qaeda’s English-language magazine which calls for firebombing campaigns in the US. AFP photo

The US starts an online cat-and-mouse game with al-Qaeda in Yemen as part of a larger, multipronged attack on terrorism, Secretary of State Clinton says

The U.S. State Department has launched a different sort of raid against al-Qaeda, engaging in a cat-and-mouse game to replace anti-American al-Qaeda ads on Yemeni tribal websites.

Experts based at the U.S. State Department swapped al-Qaeda ads on Yemeni websites that bragged about killing Americans with ones showing the deadly impact of al-Qaeda tactics on Yemenis themselves, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said May 23. “Our team plastered the same sites with altered versions of the ads that showed the toll al-Qaeda attacks have taken on the Yemeni people,” Clinton said. In response, “Extremists are publicly venting their frustration and asking supporters not to believe everything they read on the Internet,” she said.

‘Parody and poke holes’

Clinton said the cyber maneuver was launched by an interagency group of specialists, including diplomats, special operators and intelligence analysts, housed at the State Department. Called the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, its experts patrol the Internet and social media to counter al-Qaeda’s attempts to recruit new followers. “Together, they will work to pre-empt, discredit and outmaneuver extremist propaganda,” the Associated Press quoted Clinton as saying. Rather than hacking the sites covertly, the State Department specialists challenge the extremists in open forums.

“We parody and poke holes in what they do,” a State Department official explained, in a cyber “cat-and-mouse game.” Last week, Yemen’s al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known as AQAP, launched a new series of banner attack ads focusing on the group’s fight with America, and featuring images of coffins draped with the U.S. flag, the official said.

The State Department team countered the attack by buying space on the same site with new ads, featuring the coffins of Yemeni civilians. Clinton described the cyber effort as part of a larger, multipronged attack on terrorism that goes beyond attacks like the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden to include the propaganda battle, and the longer, slower campaign of diplomats working alongside special operations troops to shore up local governments and economies and train local forces.

The U.S. has been working to stabilize the fledgling government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who replaced ousted Yemeni strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh. Hadi has faced the twin challenges of Saleh loyalists refusing to relinquish their government and military posts, and of al-Qaeda attacks in the south, where the group has established a large safe haven from which to attack Yemeni troops. On May 21 al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch killed 96 soldiers in one of the deadliest attacks the country’s capital has experienced in years. (Hürriyet Daily News)

Turkey says US looks favorably on sale of armed drones

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (L) welcome Turkish President Abdullah Gul on his arrival to the NATO Summit in Chicago, May 20, 2012. REUTERS/Jim Young

President Barack Obama's administration is inclined to sell armed drones to Turkey but has to convince Congress first, Turkey's president told reporters after a meeting with the U.S. leader.

Washington, which is providing technical and intelligence to Ankara in its fight against autonomy-seeking Kurdish militans, deployed four Predator drones from Iraq to Turkey last year. NATO-ally Turkey is now trying to acquire armed drones, the kind the U.S. has used to target militants in places like Yemen and the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

But analysts say some Congress members may oppose the sale of armed Predator drones to Turkey due to its tense relations with Israel, a close U.S. ally. A botched Turkish military airstrike in December aimed at the militans of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that killed 34 civilians is also likely to further complicate any sale.

"The administration's position (toward the sale) is favorable," Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency quoted President Abdullah Gul as telling Turkish reporters after a meeting with Obama on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Chicago late Monday. "They are trying to convince Congress." "President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and their aides are trying their best," he added.

The Turkish president said he told Obama during their discussions that the armed drones are not as lethal as F-16 fighter jets, which Turkey already has in its fleet, or the F-35 fighter jet whose development Turkey is involved in.

"This must be explained to Congress," Gul said. "They must not act begrudgingly toward an important allied country. They have to trust it." Gul would not say how many armed drones Turkey has requested from the United States.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal said the attack, which struck a group of smugglers and resulted in one of the highest single-day death tolls in the long-standing conflict between Turkey and the rebels, was based on intelligence provided by a U.S. Predator drone.

U.S. officials reportedly told the newspaper that the Turkish military carried out the attack before more information on the men was obtained, raising questions about how Turkey uses intelligence provided by the Predators.

Turkish officials have dismissed the report, saying the first images of the group were captured by the Turkish military.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. (ANKARA - The Associated Press)

Yeşilçam movies head for US

‘Züğürt Ağa,’ a classic of Yeşilçam, will also be shown in the festival.

Istanbul’s Bahçeşehir University is preparing to organize the International Yeşilçam Film Festival on May 27 at the Goethe Institute in Washington, D.C.

According to a written statement made by the university, the films “Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalım” (The Girl with the Red Scarf), “Züğürt Aga” (The Agha) and “Ah Güzel Istanbul” (Oh Beautiful Istanbul) will all be screened during the festival honoring Yeşilçam, Turkey’s cinema industry.

The opening reception will include a speech by Harriet Fulbright, who gave her name to the prestigious college that is also collaborating on the festival. The opening will also draw significant film scholars from George Washington University, Georgetown University and George Mason University.

As part of the event, Professor Ercüment Akman from Georgetown University will also provide information on the values Yeşilçam films are based on. (ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News)

Millions look skyward as eclipse crosses Asia, US

AFP Photo

Millions in Asia and the western United States watched as a rare "ring of fire" eclipse crossed their skies.

The annular eclipse, in which the moon passes in front of the sun leaving only a golden ring around its edges, was visible to wide areas across Asia early Monday. It then moved across the Pacific and was also seen in parts of the western United States Sunday afternoon.

Viewing parties were held in Reno, Nevada, Oakland, California, and elsewhere. In some parts of the U.S., special camera filters for taking photographs have been sold out for weeks in anticipation of the big event.

People from Colorado, Oklahoma and as far away as Canada traveled to Albuquerque to enjoy one of the best vantage points.

Members of the crowd smiled and cheered and children yelled with excitement as the moon crossed the sun and the blazing halo of light began to form. Eventually, the moon centered and covered 96 percent of the sun.

"That's got to be the prettiest thing I've ever seen," said Brent Veltri of Salida, Colorado.

Albuquerque city officials had urged residents to go to organized events or watch one of the many live webcasts to avoid damaging their eyes.

The eclipse cannot be viewed with the naked eye or even sunglasses. And solar glasses, which make the sun look like a huge orange disc, are a rare commodity in communities along the eclipse's path.

In Japan, "eclipse tours" were arranged at schools and parks, on pleasure boats and even private airplanes. Similar events were held in China and Taiwan as well, with skywatchers warned to protect their eyes.

The eclipse was broadcast live on TV in Tokyo, where such an eclipse hasn't been visible since 1839.

Japanese TV crews watched from the top of Mount Fuji and even staked out a zoo south of Tokyo to capture the reaction of the chimpanzees who didn't seem to notice.

A light rain fell on Tokyo as the eclipse began, but the clouds thinned as it reached its peak, providing near perfect conditions.

"It was a very mysterious sight," said Kaori Sasaki, who joined a crowd in downtown Tokyo to watch event. "I've never seen anything like it." At the Taipei Astronomical Museum in Taiwan, the spectacle emerged from dark clouds for only about 30 seconds. But the view was nearly perfect against Manila's orange skies.

"It's amazing. We do this for the awe (and) it has not disappointed. I am awed, literally floored," said astronomical hobbyist Garry Andreassen, whose long camera lenses were lined up with those of about 10 other gazers in a downtown Manila park.

Hong Kong skywatchers weren't so lucky.

Several hundred people gathered along the Kowloon waterfront on Hong Kong's famed Victoria Harbor, most of them students or commuters on their way to work. The eclipse was already underway as the sun began to rise, but heavy clouds obstructed the view.

The eclipse followed a narrow 13,679-kilometer path for 3 1/2 hours. The ring phenomenon lasted about five minutes, depending on location. People outside the narrow band for prime viewing saw a partial eclipse.

"Ring of Fire" eclipses are not as dramatic as a total eclipse, when the disk of the sun is entirely blocked by the moon. The moon is too far from Earth and appears too small in the sky to blot out the sun completely.

Doctors and education officials have warned of eye injuries from improper viewing. Before the event started, Japan's Education Minister Hirofumi Hirano demonstrated how to use eclipse glasses in a televised news conference.

Police also cautioned against traffic accidents, warning drivers to keep their eyes on the road.
(ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico - The Associated Press)

WSJ report cannot harm Turkey-US relations, Pentagon says

AP photo

A report published in the Wall Street Journal regarding intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Turkey will not harm the relations between the two allies, Pentagon spokesperson George Little said.

The Wall Street Journal reported on May 16 that the intelligence leading to a botched air raid by the Turkish air force that killed 34 civilians on Dec. 28 was gathered by a U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle.

The Turkish army denied the report the next day.

Little said he did not know the source of the Wall Street Journal's report. "I will not comment on the intelligence [mentioned in the report]. Leaks happen, unfortunately," he said.

Turkey and the United States have a long-lasting and powerful alliance, Little said, adding that the story published in the Wall Street Journal was "just" a story. "[This report] does not have the power to harm a rooted, strong relationship," he said. (Hürriyet)

US army suspends class that suggests nuclear destruction of Islamic sites

AA photo

A course for U.S. military officers has been teaching that America's enemy is Islam in general, not just terrorists, and suggesting that the country might ultimately have to obliterate the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina without regard for civilian deaths, following World War II precedents of the nuclear attack on Hiroshima or the allied firebombing of Dresden.

The Pentagon suspended the course in late April when a student objected to the material. The FBI also changed some agent training last year after discovering that it, too, was critical of Islam.

The teaching in the military course was counter to repeated assertions by U.S. officials over the past decade that the U.S. is at war against Islamic extremists, not the religion itself.

"They hate everything you stand for and will never coexist with you, unless you submit," the instructor, Army Lt. Col. Matthew Dooley, said in a presentation last July for the course at Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. The college, for professional military members, teaches midlevel officers and government civilians on subjects related to planning and executing war.

Dooley also presumed, for the purposes of his theoretical war plan, that the Geneva Conventions that set standards of armed conflict, are "no longer relevant." He adds: "This would leave open the option once again of taking war to a civilian population wherever necessary (the historical precedents of Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki being applicable...)."

His war plan suggests possible outcomes such as "Saudi Arabia threatened with starvation ... Islam reduced to cult status," and the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia "destroyed." A copy of the presentation was obtained and posted online by Wired.com's Danger Room blog. The college did not respond to The Associated Press' requests for copies of the documents, but a Pentagon spokesman authenticated the documents. Dooley still works for the college, but is no longer teaching, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said.

Dooley refused to comment to the AP, saying "Can't talk to you, sir," and hanging up when reached by telephone at his office Thursday.

A summary of Dooley's military service record provided by Army Human Resources Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky, shows that he was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in May 1994. He has served overseas tours in Germany, Bosnia, Kuwait and Iraq. He has numerous awards including a Bronze Star Medal, the fourth-highest military award for bravery, heroism or meritorious service.

In what he termed a model for a campaign to force a transformation of Islam, Dooley called for "a direct ideological and philosophical confrontation with Islam," with the presumption that Islam is an ideology rather than just a religion. He further asserted that Islam has already declared war on the West, and the U.S. specifically.

"It is therefore illogical" to continue with the current U.S. strategy, which Dooley said presumes there is a way of finding common ground with Islamic religious leaders, without "waging near 'total war,'" he wrote.

The course on Islam was an elective taught since 2004 and not part of the required core curriculum. It was offered five times a year, with about 20 students each time, meaning roughly 800 students have taken the course over the years.

Though Dooley has been teaching at the college since August 2010, it was unclear when he took on that particular class, called "Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism." The joint staff suspended the course after it had received a student complaint, and within days Dempsey ordered all service branches to review their training to ensure other courses do not use anti-Islamic material.

On Thursday, Dempsey said the material in the Norfolk course was counter to American "appreciation for religious freedom and cultural awareness." "It was just totally objectionable, against our values, and it wasn't academically sound," Dempsey said when asked about the matter at a Pentagon news conference. "This wasn't about ... pushing back on liberal thought; this was objectionable, academically irresponsible." In his July 2011 presentation on a "counterjihad," Dooley asserted that the rise of what he called a "military Islam/Islamist resurgence" compels the United States to consider extreme measures, "unconstrained by fears of political incorrectness." He described his purpose as generating "dynamic discussion and thought," while noting that his ideas and proposals are not official U.S. government policy and cannot be found in any current official Defense Department documents.

A Pentagon inquiry is seeking to determine whether someone above the professor's level is supposed to approve course materials and whether that approval process was followed in this case, said Col. Dave Lapan, spokesman for Dempsey.

The problem of negative portrayals of Islam in federal government is not new. A six-month review the FBI launched into agent training material uncovered 876 offensive or inaccurate pages that had been used in 392 presentations, including a PowerPoint slide that said the bureau can sometimes bend or suspend the law in counterterror investigations.

That is significant because ever since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the FBI has stressed the importance of working with leaders in the Muslim community as an important part of the battle against terror. The FBI review began last September after Wired.com reported that the FBI had discontinued a lecture in which the instructor told agent trainees in Virginia that the more devout a Muslim is, the more likely he is to be violent. (WASHINGTON - The Associated Press)

US drivers see texting risks but still do it: survey

AFP photo

Most young US drivers believe that texting and phone use at the wheel is dangerous, but many do it anyway, a survey showed Tuesday.

The Consumer Reports survey of 16- to 21-year-olds found eight of 10 believed the use of smartphones at the wheel is a risk, 29 percent admitted doing it in the past month.

And 47 percent reported that they had made a phone call without a headset while behind the wheel, even though nearly two-thirds acknowledged that the behavior was perilous.

Some in the survey said they had reduced or stopped the activities linked to distracted driving, after learning of the dangers or because of laws banning phone use or texting in cars. Nearly 20 percent knew someone who had been in a crash caused by distracted driving.

The survey also showed that peer pressure may be curbing distracted driving -- almost half who have driven with friends said they were less likely to talk on a handheld cell phone or text when friends were passengers.

"Our survey showed that while far too many young people are driving while distracted, they are less likely to do so when their parents, friends, or siblings set a good example," said Rik Paul, Consumer Reports auto editor.

"We encourage everyone to stop the car in a safe place if they need to use a cell phone. And if they're riding with a driver using a handheld phone, ask him or her to put it down and stop gambling with their safety." The report was based on a survey of 1,049 persons between 16 and 21.

The top US transportation safety body has recommended that all 50 US states impose a strict ban on the use of cellphones -- both hand-held and hands-free -- while driving.
(WASHINGTON - Agence France-Presse)

The Avengers powers to US box office record

Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Chris Evans as Captain America in The Avengers, which has broken US box office records. Photograph: Zade Rosenthal/AP

Hollywood adaptation of superhero comic overtakes Harry Potter finale with $200m takings

Hollywood's latest adaptation from the world of comics, The Avengers, has smashed the box office record for the biggest US opening weekend by a margin befitting a film trading heavily on cacophonous superhero-style walloping.

The $200.3m (£124m) debut is by far the biggest American opening to date, shooting past the previous record of $169.2m for the debut of last year's Harry Potter finale.

A $200m total for every movie in release is considered a great weekend for the business as a whole, so The Avengers has effectively redefined the standards for a blockbuster debut.

"If The Avengers is any indication, we're going to see a leap rather than a gentle little nudge into new territory, and the lineup is there to justify it going forward," said Greg Foster, chairman and president of the Imax cinema chain.

The film – renamed Avengers Assemble for the UK and Irish market, to avoid confusion with the vintage TV series – opened in 39 countries, excluding the US, last week.

Crowds in the US were so anxious to see the film on giant Imax screens that Foster said the company had only one problem: it ran out of seats to sell.

The record weekend was the culmination of years of careful planning by Marvel Studios, which has included teasers for an Avengers dream team collaboration in its solo superhero adventures.

Directed by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), The Avengers features Robert Downey Jnr as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury.

The Avengers added $151.5m outside the US over the weekend to bring its total to $441.5m since it began opening internationally a week ago.

That figure raised the film's worldwide haul to $641.8m in barely a week and a half, more than its Marvel superhero forerunners Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America took during their entire runs.

When the final US weekend count is released on Monday, The Avengers will be the first movie to haul in $200m in a single weekend in the US if the estimates currently being put out by distributor Disney hold up.

The Avengers is the first of three superhero blockbusters coming this summer: The Amazing Spider-Man is released on 3 July and The Dark Knight Rises wraps up the current Batman series on 20 July.

Until the Harry Potter finale, 2008's The Dark Knight had held the revenue record with a $158.4m debut. Before that, the record-holder was 2007's Spider-Man 3 with $151.1m.

As admission prices rise, Hollywood's record-breakers often take in more money but sell fewer tickets than previous blockbusters. But The Avengers took in so much money that it has become the undisputed champion among debuts. (Source: guardian)

US, Turkey to build 600 Blackhawks

Sikorsky has agreed with the Turkish authorities to produce 100 Blackhawk helicopters in Turkey. The parties are also planning to export Blackhawks to third parties. REUTERS photo

Turkey and the U.S. are seeking to sell some 500 “made in Turkey” Blackhawk helicopters to third countries, according to Francis J. Ricciardone, the U.S. ambassador to Ankara. “We will see over 600 Blackhawk helicopters, very high technology helicopters, produced here in Turkey. The great majority of these helicopters will go to third markets, third countries,” said Ricciardone during a Turkish-American business council lunch in Istanbul on May 4.

Around one hundred of these helicopters will be used by the Turkish Armed Forces, the ambassador confirmed. U.S. firm Sikorsky Aircraft won a $3.5 billion competition in April 2011 to lead the production of more than 100 large utility helicopters for Turkey over Italy’s AgustaWestland. The defense firm is mainly set to cooperate with local Alp Aviation in production. Along with Alp, Ricciardone said some other important firms would also contribute to the making of the utility helicopters.

Sikorsky also became the first major international company to formally announce it would also seek to win the light utility helicopter contest in May last year. However, no exact date had been decided for the production of Blackhawks, said an Alp Aviation spokesperson.

Possible buyers were also not clear yet, public relations representative Melek Akdoğan told the Hürriyet Daily News during a phone interview on May 4.

Riccardione also said that the U.S. supported Turkey’s ambitious 2023 target to become one of the world’s largest 10 economies.

“Yesterday I met with the representatives of Turkey’s Economy Ministry and we had talks with more than 70 firms,” he said during his speech.

“The ministry found a chance to show them all the opportunities in Turkey,” he said.

The envoy also said that Turkey and the U.S. should cooperate more in the fields of defense, technology, information and aerospace, adding that the dynamism in the Turkish economy could be seen by the newly built roads, airports, residences and malls across the country. (hurriyetdailynews)

US, France in Meds Yeghern remembrance

U.S. President Barack Obama avoided using the term “genocide” yesterday in his annual message marking the events of 1915, dubbing the mass killings a “great disaster” (Meds Yeghern), while French President Nicolas Sarkozy was set to attend commemorations in Paris.

April 24, the day Armenians mark the beginning of the mass killings of their kin during the Ottoman Empire, was marked around the world, including Turkey.

Thousands of Armenians staged a procession to a hilltop memorial in Yerevan yesterday to mark the anniversary.

“Today we, just as many, many others all over the world, bow to the memory of the innocent victims of the Armenian genocide,” Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who led top officials laying wreaths at the monument, said in a statement.

Sarkozy’s challenger for the French presidency, François Hollande, was also expected to participate in ceremonies in Paris.

But Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu played down the memorial day, saying, “There is no difference between April 23 and April 24.”

“Giving such importance to this day is not right,” Davutoğlu said. “Enjoy April 25.”

Commemoration in Istanbul
Turkish activists staged a series of commemoration events in Istanbul to mark the day and sent a letter to prominent Armenian religious authorities to express their sentiments.

“We are penning this letter to your Catholicos office, which represents the spiritual leadership of all the world’s Armenians, to express our shame and respect before the memory of Ottoman-Armenians who were massacred in the process of the genocide, whose properties and wealth were seized and even whose past traces [authorities] have expended considerable efforts in wiping out,” they said.

The activists sent the letter to Etchmiadzin, the religious center of all Armenians in Armenia, and the Catholicos of Cilicia in Lebanon, which was exiled from Anatolia.

“We are penning this letter to you to express our belief that the denial of a genocide, which represents a crime against humanity, amounts to a human rights violation that paves the way for other violations and which fosters enmity and hatred,” the letter said.

The Committee Against Racism and Discrimination of the Human Rights Association (İHD) staged yesterday’s first rally before the Turkish and Islamic Artifacts Museum in Sultanahmet Square. The museum was once used as a prison where around 250 Armenian intellectuals were briefly held in 1915 before being deported.

US Americans accuse Obama of betrayal for 1915
Ümit Enginsoy - ANKARA

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Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has said Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s visit to Baku is focused only on “bilateral relations and is not directed against” Iran or any other country, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on its website. Lieberman’s visit on April 23-24 came amid reports that Israel and Azerbaijan have been strengthening their ties ahead of a possible Israeli military action against Azerbaijan’s neighbor Iran. Lieberman also denied on April 23 that Israel had gained access to air bases in Azerbaijan. “Such reports are from the sphere of science fiction and do not correspond with the truth,” Lieberman told reporters in the Azeri capital Baku.

(hurriyetdailynews)

Iran says copying US drone, reveals 'codes

An Iranian military commander today said the Islamic republic is building a copy of a US spy drone captured in December 2011 and revealed what he said were "codes" gleaned from unmanned aircraft.

"I am giving you four codes so the Americans understand just how far we have gone in penetrating the drone's secrets," General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' aerospatial division, told state television.

"In October 2010, the aircraft was sent to California for some technical issues, where it was repaired and after flight tests, it was taken to Kandahar (in Afghanistan) in November 2010, when a series of technical problems still prevailed," he said.

"In December 2010, it was sent to an airport near Los Angeles for repair of its equipment and sensors, and flight tests. The drone was then sent back to Kandahar," he said.

Hajizadeh did not give further details, saying: "This aircraft is a national treasure for us, and I cannot divulge information about it." But he added Iran has "started producing a copy of the RQ-170 drone," stressing it used the same US technology in stealth fighters and bombers.

The unmanned, bat-winged RQ-170 went down in Iran four months ago, and Iran's gleeful military proudly displayed it on state television apparently intact, though with what appeared to be damage to one of its wings.

Iran claimed one of its cyberwarfare team hacked its controls by confusing its GPS guidance system, and said it would reverse-engineer the drone to make its own.

US officials admitted they lost the drone on a CIA mission over Iran, but asserted the stealth aircraft came down because of a technical problem, not Iranian intervention.

While US President Barack Obama made a vain request for Iran to return the drone, his defence secretary, Leon Panetta, voiced scepticism over how much technological knowledge Tehran could gain from the aircraft (Source: Agence France-Presse-hurriyetdailynews)

Gülen charter schools in US lawmakers' crosshairs

The U.S. state of Tennessee has passed a new law limiting the number of foreign teachers at charter schools in an apparent reaction to educational institutions owned by Turkish religious leader Fethullah Gülen, daily Milliyet reported today.

A nongovernmental organization called for the law after one of its members, Phyllis Schlafly, wrote an article drawing attention to the "increasing influence of powerful Islamist Turkish schools with hidden agendas in the U.S."

The law decreases the percentage of foreign teachers that can be employed in a charter school from 10 percent to 3.5 percent. Turkish teachers working in Gülen schools had previously attracted the attention of the American press due to problems with their visas.

The activities at “Harmony Schools” in Texas had raised questions about whether the schools were using U.S. taxpayer dollars for the benefit of the Fethullah Gülen religious movement, the New York Times reported in June 2011.

The report highlighted a particularly suspicious case in which TDM Contracting, a one-month-old company, won its first job to build the Harmony School of Innovation, a publicly financed charter school that opened last fall in San Antonio, for $8.2 million. (hurriyetdailynews)

Iran rejects US request for meeting

Iran turned down a request by the United States for a rare bilateral meeting on the sidelines of nuclear talks between the Islamic republic and six world powers in Istanbul on Saturday, the official IRNA news agency said.

There was no comment from U.S. diplomats, whose country has not had direct ties with Tehran for more than three decades.

IRNA's report followed contradictory accounts from two other Iranian news agencies on prospects for a meeting between Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and the head of the U.S. delegation, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman.

The United States and Iran broke off diplomatic ties after the 1979 Islamic revolution which toppled the U.S.-backed shah and both sides view each other with deep mistrust.

"The Iranian delegation rejected the request of Wendy Sherman, the representative of the American delegation, for a bilateral meeting," IRNA said.

The semi-official Fars news agency had earlier quoted an "informed source" as denying a report by a third agency, ISNA, that Jalili accepted a request for a meeting with a U.S. envoy.

Non-Iranian diplomats attending the talks in Istanbul had questioned the ISNA report but still said Saturday's meeting between Iran and the six powers - the United States, Russia, France, China, Germany and Britain - had started well.

IRNA said Iranian diplomats in Istanbul did hold bilateral meetings on Saturday with Russian delegates and with EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, the main representative of the negotiating group of international powers, as well with the Turkish hosts, who are not party to the negotiations.

The West accuses Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability. Iran says its programme is peaceful.

Tehran agreed to resume talks with the six - the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany - after more than a year of escalating rhetoric and tensions. (internethaber)

US ready for bilateral meeting with Iran in Istanbul: EU

The U.S. delegation at crunch talks here Saturday between Iran and six world powers on Tehran's nuclear program is open to a bilateral meeting with Iranian counterparts, two European sources said.

"The Americans are open to the idea of meeting the Iranians," one Western diplomat from a European country participating in the talks in Istanbul said. "All countries have expressed interest for bilaterals," said E.U. spokesman Michael Mann. (hurriyetdailynews)

US sees no Syria pullback, considers 'next steps'

The White House said today it had seen no evidence so far of a Syrian army pullback and would work with international partners on "next steps" against Damascus if it failed to meet its commitments under a U.N.-brokered ceasefire deal.

"We have seen much evidence of further brutality and oppression against innocent civilians," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One headed for Florida.

He said the U.S. government was awaiting international envoy Kofi Annan's assessment of actions by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces. (hurriyetdailynews)