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Saturday, March 17, 2012

Indian war madness


To give a further push to its rapid military modernization, India Friday hiked its military spending by over 17 percent to more than $42 billion. In real terms, this increase amounts to $6.5 billion in the total outlay for defence for 2012-13 compared to $36 billion for the previous year (2011-12). Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, presenting the general budget for the next fiscal in the Lok Sabha, said this allocation was based on the present needs projected by the defence ministry and that further needs for national security would be met. He also announced a raise in the capital expenditure of the armed forces to $17.5 billion, a 15.7 percent hike from last year s capital allocation of $15 billion. The capital expenditure will go towards new procurement of weapons and systems, and towards committed liability in the form of payments for contracts already signed in the previous years. India is on the verge of signing a whopping $20 billion contract for 126 Rafale medium multirole combat aircraft, apart from a $600 million deal for 75 Pilatus PC-7 basic trainer for its air force. It has already signed contracts for 10 C-17s transport planes and upgrade of 51 Mirage-2000 combat jets in 2011. It also has 49 warships on order with several shipyards, of which 40 are with Indian shipyards. Several artillery purchases for its army are also due. In particular, the proposal to buy 145 ultralight howitzers from the US under a government-to-government sale is also progressing.

English Premier League: Quarter-finals Barcelona to face AC Milan


Title holders Barcelona were given a tough draw against Italian champions AC Milan in the Champions League quarter-finals on Friday. Rank outsiders APOEL Nicosia were drawn against Real Madrid and Chelsea, the English Premier League’s only survivors, were pitted with twice former winners Benfica. Bayern Munich, whose stadium hosts the final on May 19, will take on Olympique Marseille in the two legs this month and next.Barca and Milan have already met in the group stage this season with a 2-2 draw at Nou Camp followed by a 3-2 win for Barca at San Siro when both teams had already qualified for the knockout stages. In the semi-finals, Milan or Barcelona will take on the winners of the Benfica v Chelsea tie. The winners of Bayern v Marseille will have to get past either Real or APOEL. A Real v Barca final is therefore possible. Quarter-final first legs will be played March 27/28 with second legs April 3/4. Semi-final first legs will be played April 17/18 with second legs April 24/25.

12 Turkish soldiers killed in Kabul


12 Turkish soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Friday, Turkey s military announced. The Sikorsky helicopter belonged to the Turkish armed forces and was serving under the Kabul regional command as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the military said in a brief statement posted on its website.  The crash occurred at 10:25 am local time, according to the military.  The death toll is believed to be the heaviest thus far encountered by the Turkish army in war-torn Afghanistan.  Turkey, NATO s sole Muslim member, currently has 1,800 soldiers serving in the ISAF in Afghanistan.  In October, Turkey extended by another year its Kabul regional command of the ISAF. Unlike other European members of ISAF, Turkey s mission is limited to patrols and its troops do not take part in combat operations.