Tuesday, February 09, 2010
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Yemen al Qaeda wants Red Sea blocked The Yemen-based wing of al Qaeda called for a regional Muslim holy war and a blockade of the Red Sea, between Arabia and Africa, to cut off US shipments to Israel, a further sign of the group's ambitions to mount new strikes outside its base.
UN confirms NGA ammo order The United Nations has confirmed it has ordered about eight tons of ammunition from a Pretoria munitions maker, adding that all the necessary permits and end-user certificates were in order.

This is in contrast to allegations by the police's Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigation (the DPCI, known as the “Hawks”) that the export permits appeared fraudulent.
SA Navy, Deutsche Marine readying for some Good Hope German Navy ships are already headed for South Africa for the annual Good Hope exercise involving the armed forces of the two allies.

SA Navy spokesman Commander Prince Tshabalala says Good Hope IV commences February 15 and winds up March 15.
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Aerospace

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The SAAF, the Gripen, World Cup ready

The inaugural game of the 2010 Soccer World Cup kicks off in South Africa in about four months time and the South African Air Force is confident it, and the Gripen, is ready.

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Iran tests radar-evading aircraft: commander

Iran has successfully tested a radar-evading aircraft, a commander said, in the country's latest announcement of technological advances as it marks the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

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Hercules damage severe?

It appears the damage to a South African Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130BZ Hercules transport that suffered a nose-gear collapse on the evening of January 25 may be more serious than initially thought.

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Sea

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HMS Chatham begins counter piracy mission

The Royal Navy warship HMS Chatham has arrived in the Gulf of Aden to take part in NATO's counter-piracy mission, Operation OCEAN SHIELD, off the Horn of Africa.

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Danish forces storm seized ship

Danish Special Forces who were taking part in the NATO mission against Somali pirates have stormed a Slovenian cargo ship seized by pirates and rescued 25 crew members, EU naval officials and the Danish navy said.

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Yemen al Qaeda wants Red Sea blocked

The Yemen-based wing of al Qaeda called for a regional Muslim holy war and a blockade of the Red Sea, between Arabia and Africa, to cut off US shipments to Israel, a further sign of the group's ambitions to mount new strikes outside its base.

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Recent ICT contracts

Armscor, the state arms acquisition agency, has placed further information and communications technology contracts with the South African defence industry.  

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US Air Forces Africa senior leaders visit Algeria

Bilateral discussions, a C-130J static display, and media roundtable event comprised the agenda for US Air Forces Africa's latest senior leader engagement visit to Algiers, Algeria January, 2010.

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Chad wants timetable for UN withdrawal: diplomats

Chad has told the United Nations peacekeeping mission to withdraw its soldiers and civilians, and wants a timetable for ending a deployment which the government never fully accepted, diplomats said.

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Industry

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Nigeria growth, spending on track: finance minister

Nigerian government spending has not slowed in the absence of President Umaru Yar'Adua and the economy is on course to grow a minimum of 6 percent this year, Finance Minister Mansur Muhtar told Reuters.

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Four African countries checked for money laundering practices

A US Senate subcommittee has issued a 325-page report highlighting four shocking cases of African countries trying to funnel millions of dollars into the United States via American institutions and persons by corrupt African officials.

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UN confirms NGA ammo order

The United Nations has confirmed it has ordered about eight tons of ammunition from a Pretoria munitions maker, adding that all the necessary permits and end-user certificates were in order. This is in contrast to allegations by the police's Directorate of...

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People

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Charles Taylor's verdict by year's end: prosecutor

A verdict in the long war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor is not now expected until the end of this year, although the defense is cutting back on witnesses, a prosecutor said yesterday.

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Hague dismisses charges against Sudan rebel

The International Criminal Court dismissed charges against a Sudanese rebel leader yesterday, ruling against allegations he helped orchestrate the killing of 12 African Union peacekeepers in Darfur in 2007.

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Talks set on detention of Botswana rangers

The three Botswanan rangers were fined US$100 apiece in a court appearance in Zimbabwe yesterday after being found guilty of unlawful entry into the country, but were acquitted on arms charges

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At least three people have been killed and dozens more wounded in south eastern Guinea, from three days of clashes between Muslims and Christians, witnesses and officials said.

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Ethiopian troops cross into two Somali towns: locals

Ethiopian troops in armoured vehicles crossed into two border towns in south central Somalia and seized the family of a man with links to al Shabaab insurgents, residents said.

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Millions at risk if AIDS focus fades: expert

Global attention is turning away from the AIDS epidemic at just the wrong time and that means a fresh wave of the disease could infect millions of people in high-risk countries, a leading expert said.

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Land

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US Army to overhaul basic combat training

The US Army is getting ready for some major changes to its basic combat training curriculum to reflect the modern battlefield, Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, deputy commanding general for Initial Military Training, says.

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New landwards contracts

Armscor, the state arms acquisition agency, has placed further Army-related contracts with the South African defence industry.  

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Press release: EADS Defence & Security supports the safe transport of wounded persons in danger zones

EADS Defence & Security supports the safe transport of wounded persons in danger zones Delivery of 20 armoured ambulance systems for the Bundeswehr First systems intended for ISAF deployment in Afghanistan

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Darfur rebel infighting drives 10 000 people away

Infighting in one of Darfur's rebel groups has driven at least 10 000 people from their homes in the restive Jabel Marra area, deepening the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's west, officials said.

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5.2 million Ethiopians need food assistance: UN

The number of people in Ethiopia who will need food assistance this year has risen to 5.2 million, an increase of several hundred thousand from estimates released just two months ago by United Nations relief agencies and the Horn of Africa nation’s Government....

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Court ordered to rule again on Bashir genocide charge

The International Criminal Court must rule again on whether Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir (here seen inspecting a military parade) must face an additional charge of committing genocide in Darfur, appeals judges at the Hague-based tribunal ruled this...

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Logistics

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Armscor contracts awarded: February 4

Contracts awarded by state arms agency Armscor:

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Nigeria angrily rejects sending troops to Somalia

Nigeria’s minister for foreign affairs has angrily responded to a question asked by his counterparts from Uganda and Ethiopia at the AU summit regarding the deployment of troops in Somalia previously pledged by his country and when that was likely to happen....

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Sisulu to act on Zondi

Defence minister Lindiwe Sisulu is to act on allegations of wrongful conduct against the head of the Department of Defence's Supply Chain Integration Division, Mthobisi Zondi, as soon as she has received a report on an investigation into the claims from the Inspector...

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Horn of Africa unit receives training

Instructors from US Army Europe recently taught courses for 22 soldiers assigned to Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa that will enable them to better mentor African land forces.

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Germany supports European army: foreign minister

Germany supports the creation of a European army in the long term so that the EU can be a "global player," Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

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NATO allies to shuffle Afghan pledges to add training

NATO allies plan to reshuffle rather than expand existing troop commitments to Afghanistan, sending more military trainers in place of combat forces to ready the Afghan army and police to take control, senior US and NATO officials said on Saturday.

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Governance

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Djibouti, Somalia urge sanctions on Eritrea

Djibouti and Somalia have argued the international community to tighten the sanctions imposed on Eritrea over Somali Islamists’ backing.

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Incumbent declared winner in flawed Nigeria poll

The incumbent governor of Nigeria's south eastern Anambra state was yesterday declared the winner of an election which voters, candidates and observers said had been marred by widespread irregularities.

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Angola sets elections for 2012

Angola will hold a general election in 2012, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said while signing into law a new constitution allowing him to extend his three-decade-long rule.

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SANDF

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Sisulu ready to engage Parliament on defence

Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Lindiwe Sisulu says she is ready to engage the National Assembly any time on her department.

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New ammunition contracts awarded

Armscor, the state arms acquisition agency, has placed further ammunition and pyrotechnics contracts with the South African defence industry. The orders follow orders worth about R183 million placed in the last three months of last year in addition...

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Former SG retires

Former Surgeon General (SG) of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and incumbent Chief of Corporate Staff (CCS), Lieutenant General Jurinus Jansen van Rensburg retires at the end of this week.

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NATO should be global security forum: Rasmusse

NATO should develop closer ties with China, India, Pakistan and Russia and become the forum for consultation on global security, the alliance's head said, but a senior Russian politician reacted with scepticism.

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Somali recruits trained for battle in Kenya

Thousands of Somalis have been trained in Kenya and are ready to join a Somali government offensive against rebels in the failed Horn of Africa state who have vowed loyalty to al Qaeda, security sources told Reuters.

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Guinea Bissau army admits drug problem

A senior military official in Guinea Bissau has admitted his country is being used as a base for international drug trafficking. Navy Captain Induta was speaking at the end of a military operation launched by a particular battalion of the Bissau Guinean army,...

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UNAMID refutes Sudanese army accusations

The joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in the war-torn Darfur region strongly rejected “unfounded allegations” levelled by the Sudanese military’s spokesperson that it is collaborating with the rebel group known as the Justice and Equality...

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UN council extends short force renewal in Ivory Coast

The Security Council sought to nudge Ivory Coast into holding much-delayed elections soon by extending the mandate of UN peacekeepers there by four months instead of the usual six.

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EU agrees on mission to train Somali forces

The European Union today agreed to set up a military mission in Uganda to train Somali government forces who are fighting an Islamist insurgency.

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Columns

Firing generals

Thursday, 04 February 2010 | Leon Engelbrecht

article thumbnaiDefence ministers everywhere – in fact all political leaders worldwide – can take a leaf from US Defence Secretary Robert Gates. He this week Monday gave his peers a good example of...
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Book Reviews

  • Book Review: Goodbye Dolly Gray Rayne Kruger's Goodbye Dolly Gray is a remarkably prescient and erudite single-volume account of the South African War, aka the Second Boer War. First published in 1959, the book concludes that the Boer...
  • Book Review: How SA built six atom bombs This rather repetitive and somewhat superficial book is a history of the South African nuclear weapons programme that by late 1989 had yielded six gun-type atom bombs as well as a missile programme that...
  • Book review: Sunday, Bloody Sunday   Jake Harper-Ronald had no quiet life, and as the title of this autobiography suggests, he was indeed present in Derry on Sunday, January 30, 1972, when British paratroopers opened fire...
  • Book review: Those Who Marched Away Those Who Marched Away is an anthology of extracts from some 200 diaries from the 1660s to the present days. Peppered with pathos, hopes, despair and dreams,it recounts the thoughts of nobles,...
  • Book review: A world of trouble I forget who wrote that events in the Middle East were bloody-minded “spite and malice passing as normalcy”, but that would be one part of an executive summary of Patrick Tyler's A world...
  • Book Review: Berlin Battlefield Guide Simply spell-binding! In the words of that mangler of English, George W Bush, “unputdownable”.
  • Book Review: The Rise of US Grant The Rise of US Grant is an education in leadership, the value of incremental experience at various levels of command and the importance of a proper staff system. First published in 1931, it tracks the...
  • Book Review: From Tailhooker to Mudmover From Tailhooker to Mudmover is another excellent title from the pen of retired South African Air Force (SAAF) Brigadier General Dick Lord.
  • Book Review: German Order of Battle Samuel W Mitcham Jr’s German Order of Battle describes itself as the “definitive reference on the German [military] in World War Two, covering the organisation, combat history and commanders of each...
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Polls

Can African leaders tackle the AQIM threat?