LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“These Islamists, they have not been defeated. Hardly any of them have been killed.They have run into the desert and the mountains to hide.”
Moustapha Ben Essayouti, a resident of Timbuktu, Mali, as he lined up to greet visiting French President Francois Hollande Article, this page
Iran: New combat jet can evade radar
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran on Saturday unveiled its newest combat jet, a domestically manufactured fighter-bomber that military officials claim can evade radar.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a ceremony broadcast on state TV that building the Qaher F-313, or Dominant F-313, shows Iran’s will to “conquer scientific peaks.”
Tehran has repeatedly claimed to have developed advanced military technologies in recent years, but its claims cannot be independently verified because the country does not release technical details of its arsenals.
“Qaher is a fully indigenous aircraft designed and built by our aerospace experts. This is a radar-evading plane that can fly at low altitude, carry weapons, engage enemy aircrafts and land at short airstrips,” Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said.
Vahidi said advanced materials were used to manufacture the body of the aircraft, making it Iran’s best stealth plane.
However, some reports suggest that Iran’s program relies on equipment supplied by major international defense contractors and that it incorporates parts made abroad or uses outside engineered technologies in its domestic designs.
5 plead innocent in India gang rape
NEW DELHI - Five men pleaded innocent Saturday after being formally indicted in a special court on 13 charges, including rape and murder, in the fatal gang rape of a woman in a New Delhi bus, a lawyer said.
The men signed statements in the fast-track court saying they were innocent of all charges, said one of the men’s lawyers. The lawyer cannot be identified under a gag order imposed by the court.
The men were indicted on 13 counts, including rape, murder, destroying evidence and kidnapping.
The court will begin hearing the evidence of witnesses Tuesday. If convicted, the five men, who are in their 20s and 30s, could face the death penalty.
A sixth suspect, who is 17, will be tried in a juvenile court and could face a maximum sentence of three years in a reform facility if convicted.
NATO plan a go, despite Russian concern
MUNICH - NATO’s secretary-general said Saturday that the alliance has no intention of backing down on its plans for a European missile-defense system, despite ongoing criticism from Russia.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a small group of reporters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that in dealings with Moscow “this question of missile defense remains ... the big elephant in the room.” But he said NATO’s decision has been made and he hopes Russia will work together with the alliance on the issue.
His comments came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the gathering of top diplomats and defense officials that NATO’s missile-defense program and eastward expansion have caused undue friction reminiscent of the Cold War.
“Officially we have abandoned the mindset of the Cold War - Russia and NATO countries say that they do not see each other as adversaries ... but we should admit that we should still come a long way to match our words with deeds,” Lavrov said.
Iran nuke talks still possible, Biden says
MUNICH - The United States is prepared to hold direct talks with Iran in the standoff over its nuclear ambitions, Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday - but he insisted that Tehran must show it is serious and Washington won’t engage in such talks merely “for the exercise.”
Washington has indicated in the past that it’s prepared to talk directly with Iran, and talks involving all five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia - plus Germany have made little headway while several rounds of international sanctions have cut into Iran’s oil sales and financial transactions.
Last month Iran, in a defiant move ahead of new talks expected soon with the six powers, announced plans to vastly increase its pace of uranium enrichment. That can be used to make both reactor fuel and the fissile core of warheads.
Biden told an international security conference that “there is still time, there is still space for diplomacy backed by pressure to succeed.” He did not specify any time frame.
Front Section, Pages 10 on 02/03/2013