9.7.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

United States Removes Nuclear Weapons From German Base, Documents Indicate

The United States appears to have quietly removed nuclear weapons from Ramstein Air Base. Here a B61 nuclear bomb is loaded unto a C-17 cargo aircraft.

By Hans M. KristensenThe U.S. Air Force has removed its main base at Ramstein in Germany from a list of installations that receive periodic nuclear weapons inspections, indicating that nuclear weapons previously stored at the base may have been removed and withdrawn to the United States.

If correct, the withdrawal reduces the number of U.S. nuclear weapons deployed in Europe to an estimated 350 B61 bombs, or roughly equivalent to the size of the entire French nuclear weapons inventory.

New Nuclear Inspection List

The new nuclear inspection list is contained in the unclassified instruction Nuclear Surety Staff Assistance Visit (NSSAV) and Functional Expert Visit (FEV) Program Management published by the U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) on January 29, 2007. The instruction supersedes an earlier version from March 29, 2005, which did include Ramstein Air Base.

The NSSAV team includes 14-31 inspectors with expertise in the different areas of nuclear weapons mission management. The NSSAV normally takes place six months prior to the a Nuclear Surety Inspection (NSI), and the visit is intended to help prepare the unit for the much more rigid NSI, which units with nuclear weapons mission responsibilities must pass at least every 18 months to remain certified to handle and store nuclear weapons. During the visit, which normally lasts a week, the NSSAV team observes and evaluates how the unit conducts day-to-day operations and administers nuclear surety program management. A typical visit includes uploading and downloading of training nuclear weapons on strike aircraft.

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http://www.fas.org/blog/ssp/2007/07/united_states_removes_nuclear.php 

SPIEGEL ONLINE - 09. Juli 2007, 21:25
URL: http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,493451,00.html

ATOMWAFFEN IN DEUTSCHLAND

USA haben Nuklear-Arsenal in Ramstein geräumt

Von Matthias Gebauer und John Goetz

Der US-Stützpunkt Ramstein galt jahrelang als Atomwaffen-Lager mitten in Deutschland - jetzt befinden sich dort nach Erkenntnissen von Experten keine Nuklearsprengköpfe mehr. Eine Kontrollliste belegt, dass sie außer Landes gebracht wurden.

Berlin - Ohne großes Aufsehen hat die US-Armee offenbar ihren gesamten Bestand an Atomwaffen aus der Air Force-Base in Ramstein abgezogen. In der Anlage lagerten 130 der rund 480 nuklearen Sprengköpfe, welche die US-Armee in Europa bereithält.

AP

US-Basis Ramstein: “Die Armee kann die Waffen nicht ohne regelmäßige Inspektionen lagern”

Nun scheint das nukleare Potential komplett geleert worden zu sein. Das jedenfalls geht aus einer aktuellen Studie der renommierten Organisation Federation of American Scientists hervor. “Ich denke, es ist fast sicher, dass die Bomben nicht mehr in Ramstein sind”, sagte der Autor Hans M. Kristensen im Gespräch mit SPIEGEL ONLINE. “Es gibt jedenfalls viele Indizien, dass sie nicht mehr da sind.”

Der Wissenschaftler, der seit Jahren nukleare Arsenale erforscht und beobachtet, stützt sich bei seinen Behauptungen vor allem auf einen öffentlich zugänglichen Bericht aus dem Januar 2007, in dem die Armee Auskunft über Routine-Kontrollen an Standorten für nukleare Technik gibt. Neben Deutschland zählten dazu auch Basen in Großbritannien, Belgien, der Türkei und den Niederlanden.

Keine Nuklear-Experten mehr für Ramstein

http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,druck-493451,00.html 

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9.7.2007 by Lupo.

Durch einen Staudamm und eine Umverteilung des Zeltovia Flusses, werden 100.000 Menschen sauberes Wasser in Ost Mazedonien zum trinken erhalten und weiterhin ca. 56 Millionen KW Strom gewonnen werden.

Hydro-system will provide water for east Macedonian region

09/07/2007

An artificial lake on the Zletovica River will provide drinking, irrigation and power producing water for many communities in eastern Macedonia.

By Zoran Nikolovski for Southeast European Times in Skopje – 09/07/07

The dam will be created on the Zletovica River. [hszletovica.com]

More than 100,000 people in eastern Macedonia will see clean water for drinking, bathing and irrigation in 2010. In three years, when the construction of the Zletovica Hydro-System is complete, the water problems of populations in Stip, Probistip, Kratovo, Sveti Nikole, Lozovo and Karbinci will be solved, according to the government.

The hydro-system will be constructed in three phases. The first will entail the construction of a 75m-high “Knezevo” dam on the Zletovica River, and a water supply system — consisting of a water supply pipeline and purification stations — for several municipalities. The artificial lake in the Osogovski Mountains, created by the dam, will contain 23.5 million cubic meters of water.

An irrigation system for 3,100 hectares of arable land in Probistip will be constructed in the second phase. Experts say this is an important part of the investment project because higher agricultural yields will be produced.

The third part of the system includes the construction of hydropower plants that are expected to produce 56 million kilowatts of electricity annually. Zletovica General Director Stojan Milanov said he expects construction to be completed on schedule.
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http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2007/07/09/feature-01

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9.7.2007 by Lupo.

New international envoy in BiH to be the last … again

09/07/2007

Had all gone as planned, the Office of the High Representative would have wrapped up its work during the mandate of Germany’s Christian Schwarz-Schilling. Instead, BiH is getting a new envoy: Miroslav Lajcak, the 44-year-old Slovak diplomat who oversaw the Montenegrin independence referendum.

By Antonio Prlenda for Southeast European Times in Sarajevo – 09/07/07

“The reforms are the key for this country’s future and its politicians have to realise that,” new High Representative Miroslav Lajcak said. [OHR]

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has a new top international envoy. Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak took over the post of high representative and EU special representative (EUSR) on July 1st, succeeding Germany’s Christian Schwarz-Schilling.

Lajcak, 44, is a career diplomat with extensive experience in Southeastern Europe. He is best known for his role in overseeing the 2006 independence referendum in Montenegro, while serving as EU security and foreign policy chief Javier Solana’s personal representative. His appointment as the new high representative won support from a broad group of countries that make up the Peace Implementation Council for BiH (PIC). They hope he will help turn around the recent deterioration in BiH’s political climate, and set the country back on track towards integration

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http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/articles/2007/07/09/reportage-01

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9.7.2007 by Lupo.

No more rubber bullets for UNMIK

09/07/2007

UNMIK bans the use of rubber bullets by its troops in response to two deaths in riots earlier this year.

By Blerta Foniqi-Kabashi for Southeast European Times in Pristina – 09/07/07

UNMIK officers will refrain from using rubber bullets in peacekeeping duties. [Getty Images]

UNMIK Police Commissioner Richard Monk said last week that rubber bullets would no longer be used by the UN mission’s police officers. The ban follows an incident on February 10th, when two Albanians from the Vetendosje group were killed by UN peacekeepers firing rubber bullets.

“Police should avoid using force as much as possible when [they] face danger,” Monk said on July 3rd, while announcing the new protocol.

The Romanian officers involved in the February incident will not face charges, and were withdrawn from the mission by their government, sparking criticism from the province’s government. “The government shares the concern of Kosovo’s citizens regarding the departure of Romanian police from UNMIK, but it feels powerless to do anything,” Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Çeku’s spokesperson said.

According to Monk, the Romanian government must decide what action to take. “But I still believe it will take some time for the Romanian police unit to gain the credibility it had before this event.”

A UN probe into the fatalities concluded that Romanian police serving with the UN mission were responsible for the “unnecessary and avoidable” deaths when they fired the Italian-made rubber bullets at close range. The bullets were manufactured in 1991 and had a shelf life of three years. A police report said they had “probably hardened” with age.

The fatalities prompted the resignations of Kosovo’s interior minister and the UN police commissioner in the province. Monk took over the position in early March.

Despite the investigation findings, the ban could put UNMIK police in a tricky situation. UN efforts to curb violence and lawlessness through voluntary gun collection programmes have not been successful. In one such programme last year, only 1,200 weapons were turned in, most old or unserviceable. The paradox will now exist that the international police force meant to be safeguarding the police is unarmed, while fanatical and paramilitary elements are holding onto their weapons.

During the riots in March 2004, “5,000-6,000 rioters were lined up with rows of Molotov cocktails prepared beforehand. [They had] AK-47’s, heavy machine guns, hand grenades, pistols, hunting rifles, farm tools, knives, rocks, you name it. We were ordered not to fire,” one UNMIK soldier told the local press. “The ground commander thought that we could deter the mob with our presence alone.”

Questioned on what will happen if the countries that have contingents in Kosovo will not remove the rubber bullets from their police armament, Monk said that “It may be an issue for their country, whether they remove them, but I have the authority to ban their use or their carriage. These weapons will not be used in Kosovo.”

Monk said that he is sure that the EU will back his stance on the issue. “Many of the recommendations I made [are] standardised within the EU.”
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com

http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2007/07/09/feature-02

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