(from Mutter's)
Taiwan to test-fire cruise missile which could hit Shanghai
TAIPEI (AFP)
Taiwan is to test-fire a cruise missile which could hit the eastern Chinese city of Shanghai, it was reported Sunday, after Taiwanese Premier Yu Shyi-kun threatened to retaliate should China attack the island.
The military-controlled Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology plans to test-fire before year-end the weaponry refitted from the indigenous "Hsiung Feng" anti-ship missile, Taipei's Apple Daily said.
Mass production could begin in 2006, it said.
With a range of 900 km, the missile could hit the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Nanjing.
If budget permits, Taiwan's military plans to produce six such cruise missiles each year at a cost of T$100 million (US$2.94 million) apiece, the daily said.
The defence ministry declined to comment on the report.
The institute twice unsuccessfully test-fired the system last year, the daily said.
"Chungshan's research team found the problem was with the turbofan engine," it said, adding the researchers had tackled the problem.
The institute kicked off the weaponry development programme in 2000, the daily said.
The report came a week after Premier Yu vowed to retaliate should China launch missile attacks against the island.
"You (China) have the capability to destroy me and Taiwan should have the capability to counter.
You strike me with 100 missiles and I should at least strike back with 50," Yu told a gathering of government officials.
"You strike Taipei and Kaohsiung and I shall strike Shanghai. This way Taiwan will be safe," he said.
Yu's remarks angered Beijing, which called it a "belligerent provocation" and a "clamor for war".
www.brunet.bn/news/bb/mon/oct4w21.htm
(from Mutter's)
I sure do not like the sound of this!
Russia poised to close deal on Iran nuke plant
Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Oct. 11, 2004 12:00 AM
TEHRAN, Iran
Russia and Iran are on the verge of closing an $800 million deal to start up Iran's first nuclear power plant, the countries' foreign ministers announced Sunday.
Such a deal would be a major blow to U.S.-led efforts to derail Iran's nuclear program, which many suspect is intended at least in part to make nuclear weapons. Iranian leaders deny any atomic ambitions, although Iranian scientists are developing technology that could be used to make highly enriched uranium for weapons.
At a joint news conference in the Iranian capital, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he and his Iranian counterpart, Kamal Kharrazi, ironed out their differences over providing fuel for Iran's first reactor near the southern port city of Bushehr.
The two also discussed international concerns over Iran's nuclear program and ballistic missile technology. advertisement
"We talked about some kind of commitment that this (missile technology) will not lead to other things," Lavrov said in Russian. He did not elaborate.
The Bush administration has repeatedly pressured Russia to abandon the deal with Iran, which has ties to Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist groups and is believed to be harboring some members of al-Qaida.
www.azcentral.com/arizona...ran11.html