Granite Construction Joint Venture Team to Compete for NAVFAC Projects in Guam

Defense News: WATSONVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA - News) announced today that the joint-venture team composed of Granite, Hensel Phelps and Traylor Brothers is among seven teams of contractors awarded a $4 billion multiple award construction contract (MACC) by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), Pacific. All work on this MACC will be performed within the NAVFAC Pacific area of responsibility, which includes Guam, Hawaii, Diego Garcia, and other areas in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Scope of the work includes new construction and rehabilitation of roads, bridges, runways, and additional naval facilities, such as barracks, dormitories and medical buildings. Work will be issued as task orders and will allow each of the seven contractors chosen by the NAVFAC to compete under the terms and conditions of the MACC.

The duration of the MACC is not to exceed 60 months and is estimated to be complete by May 2015.

About Granite

Granite Construction Incorporated is a member of the S&P 400 Midcap Index, the FTSE KLD 400 Social Index and the Russell 2000 Index. Granite Construction Company, a wholly owned subsidiary, is one of the nation’s largest diversified heavy civil contractors and construction materials producers. Granite Construction Company serves public- and private-sector clients through its offices and subsidiaries nationwide. For more information about Granite, please visit its Web site at www.graniteconstruction.com.

Contact:

Granite Construction Incorporated
Jacque Fourchy, 831-761-4741

Related Headlines
Granite Construction Joint Venture Team to Compete for NAVFAC Projects in Guam - Business Wire
Terry Eller Joins Granite Construction as Deputy General Counsel - Business Wire
GRANITE CONSTRUCTION INC Files SEC form 8-K, Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders - EDGAR Online
GRANITE CONSTRUCTION INC Financials - EDGAR Online Financials
Granite Construction Under Repair - at Investopedia

Northstar Aerospace Inc. reports 16% increase in revenue

Defense News: CHICAGO, May 13 /CNW/ - (All amounts within this news release are stated in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.) Northstar Aerospace, Inc. (the "Company") today reported revenue from continuing operations for the three months ended March 31, 2010 of $52.6 million compared to $45.2 million in the same period of 2009.

Defense revenue was $45.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2010, an $11.7 million increase over the same period of 2009. The increase was the result of higher activity across all major programs compared to 2009.

Commercial revenue in the three months ended March 31, 2010 was $10.3 million compared to $14.7 million in the same period of 2009. The year-on-year decrease is primarily due to timing of revenue as the majority of CF34-3 consigned spare inventory was sold to Aviall in the first quarter of 2009 as it entered into a distributor agreement with General Electric Aviation.

Margin increased to 21.9% in the three months ended March 31, 2010, from 21.0% in the same period in 2009. The increase is a result of productivity improvements and cost efficiencies from increased volume.

Defense margin was 22.7% in the three months ended March 31, 2010 compared to 21.2% in the same period of 2009. Commercial margin declined to 19.0% in the three months ended March 31, 2010 compared to 20.8% in 2009, primarily due to the above mentioned sale of the consigned spares inventory in 2009.

Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses were $4.9 million (9.3% of revenue) for the three months ended March 31, 2010. For the same period in 2009, SG&A expenses were $5.1 million (11.3% of revenue). The year-on-year decrease was due to lower employee-related costs during the quarter.

The results for the three month period ended March 31, 2010 include a provision totaling $1.9 million for unusual items. With the Apache Block III Program moving into production, the company is moving forward with plans to align its manufacturing footprint to best utilize company resources. The Company plans on closing its Anderson, Indiana facility in mid-2011 and make certain investments to restructure its Canadian operations. As a result, the Company recorded a $1.4 million expense in the March 2010 for the estimated costs of executing this plan. The majority of this expense will be paid in 2011.

In April 2010, the Company reached a $0.5 million settlement on an outstanding claim related to its Phoenix, Arizona facility. The settlement provides the Company release from the claim with no acknowledgement of the Company's liability and no ability by any party to reassert a claim against the Company related to an environmental concern that initiated at a neighboring facility. The $0.5 million will be paid in three installments over the balance of 2010.

Loss from continuing operations for the three months ended March 31, 2010 was $0.5 million or $0.02 per share, compared to income of $5.2 million or $0.17 per share in the same period in 2009. In 2010, restructuring costs and the environmental claim settlement contributed a loss of approximately $1.3 million net of taxes. In 2009, the sale of consigned inventory contributed approximately $2.5 million and the gain on sale of the investment in Vector Aerospace contributed $5.3 million. Net income including the impact of discontinued operations for the three months ended March 31, 2009 was $5.4 million or $0.18 per share.

The Company does not recognize the income tax benefit for losses generated in Canada. Additionally, the Company's income tax expense from Canadian operations is offset by the realization of the benefits from its net operating loss carryforward. The expense related to Canada would have been $0.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2010.

The Company's backlog was $391 million at March 31, 2010 compared to $440 million at March 31, 2009. The decrease in the backlog from 2009 is due primarily to increased shipping activity and a delay in anticipated customer orders. The Company previously announced a $53 million order received in May 2010 related to the Apache program.

Glenn Hess, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated:

"Revenues and margins have increased again this quarter as our investments in people, processes and equipment continue to yield improving results. These investments plus our recently announced contract for initiating production of Apache Block III Face Gear transmission components positions us for continued growth."

A more detailed discussion of the Company's financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2010 is contained in Management's Discussion and Analysis, including comments on the comparability of results between the current and prior year and is available on www.sedar.com and on the Company's website atwww.nsaero.com.

Northstar Aerospace, Inc. (www.nsaero.com) is North America's leading independent manufacturer of flight critical gears and transmissions. Northstar Aerospace is a public company (TSX:NAS - News) with operating subsidiaries in the United States and Canada. Its principal products include helicopter gears and transmissions, accessory gearbox assemblies, rotorcraft drive systems and other machined and fabricated parts. It also provides maintenance, repair and overhaul of helicopter engines and transmissions. The Company's executive offices are located in Chicago, Illinois. Its plants are located in Chicago, Illinois; Phoenix, Arizona; Anderson, Indiana; and Milton and Windsor, Ontario.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainty. All statements, other than statements of historical facts included in this press release, including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's financial position, business strategy, projected costs, including estimated environmental remediation costs, and plans, projected revenues, objectives of management for future operations, and certain other items may be or include forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information contained herein is based upon a number of assumptions regarding the Canadian, U.S. and global economic environment, and local and foreign government policies and actions. Actual future results of the Company may differ materially depending on a variety of factors, including production rates, timing of product deliveries, Canadian, U.S. and foreign government activities, volatility of the market for the Company's products and services, worldwide political stability, factors that result in significant and prolonged disruption to commercial air travel worldwide, U.S. military activity, domestic and international economic conditions, and other political and economic risks, including currency risks, and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations ("Cautionary Statements"), are included in the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements for the Years Ended December 31, 2009 and 2008 - Management's Discussion and Analysis - Risks and Uncertainties, and in the Company's Annual Information Form filed on March 31, 2010, under the heading of Risks and Uncertainties. All information contained in this press release and subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on behalf of the Company are expressly qualified in their entirety by the Cautionary Statements. The Company disclaims any intentions or obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements or comments as a result of any new information, future event or otherwise, unless such disclosure is required by law.

     NORTHSTAR AEROSPACE INC.
     FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (UNAUDITED)
     For the three months ended March 31, 2010
     prepared in accordance with Canadian GAAP
     (thousands of U.S. dollars except per share amounts)

     Summary of Quarterly Information

                                     Q1 2010    Q4 2009     Q3 2009   Q2 2009
                                   -------------------------------------------

     Revenues                       $ 52,603   $ 53,717   $ 48,098   $ 46,871

     Unusual items(x)                 (1,943)      (273)         -     (4,135)

     Net income (loss)                  (454)     3,662       (411)    (5,187)

     Income (loss) per share:
      basic & diluted               $  (0.02)  $   0.12      (0.01)     (0.17)


                                     Q1 2009    Q4 2008    Q3 2008    Q2 2008
                                   -------------------------------------------

     Revenues                       $ 45,233   $ 51,626   $ 40,025   $ 43,204

     Unusual items(x)                  5,990     (1,632)         -          -

     Net income (loss)                 5,437    (10,427)       304        629

     Income (loss) per share:
      basic & diluted                   0.18      (0.35)      0.01       0.02



     Summary Balance Sheet Information

                                         March 31, 2010     December 31, 2009

     Working capital, continuing
      operations                             $45,060              $37,408

     Total assets                           $157,638             $153,743

     Total debt                              $58,157              $52,394

     Shareholders' equity                    $28,023              $27,736
     

The Consolidated Financial Statements for the three months ended March
31, 2010 and related MD&A are available on our website at: www.nsaero.com and
on SEDAR.

For further information

Greg Schindler, Chief Financial Officer, (708) 728-2099

Related Headlines

• Northstar Aerospace Inc. reports 16% increase in revenue - CNW Group
• Q1 2010 NORTHSTAR AEROSPACE INC Earnings Release - Time Not Supplied - CCBN
• Northstar Aerospace Inc. notice of conference call to announce first quarter 2010 results - CNW Group
• Northstar Aerospace, Inc. receives $53 million first production contract for AH-64D Apache Modernization - CNW Group
• Northstar Aerospace Inc. restores profitability, increases revenue and margin - CNW Group

DTN News: Pakistan FEATURE ~ Tribal Terror By Australia Network News

Defense News: DTN News: Pakistan FEATURE ~ Tribal Terror By Australia Network News

Source: DTN News / Australia Network News
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 13, 2010: The wild tribal badlands along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan are often called the most dangerous place on earth, the most likely hiding place of the world's most wanted terrorists.
Pakistan has long been accused by the United States of providing shelter to the Taliban groups that are attacking Afghanistan from the tribal areas.
But Pakistan now claims that the reverse is true - that because NATO has pulled its troops out of remote areas and into Afghanistan's cities, the militant groups attacking Pakistan have free reign on the Afghan side of the border.
The Federated Tribal Areas of Pakistan, known as FATA, lie along the western border with Afghanistan.
They're one of the most wild, ungovernable areas on the planet. For over 200 years the British tried and failed to establish control, and settled instead for a series of treaties with the tribes who live in the region.
It's an arrangement that's largely still in place today, with the Pakistan government virtually invisible.
The result is a safe haven for all kinds of criminals, and all persuasions of militants.
Despite repeated attempts to dislodge groups such as the Taliban from their strongholds, the Pakistan Army has found that attempts to crack down on the militants, has been like chasing smoke.

WATCH VIDEO....CLICK ON LINK BELOW

Created: Fri, 07 May 2010 09:32:32 GMT-0400

VIDEO from Australia Network News

Newsline's Thom Cookes reports from Pakistan's Federated Tribal Areas

Imtiaz Gul from the Center For Research and Security Studies, says the porous nature of the region has hindered the Pakistan army's efforts.
"We have to keep in mind...that it's very very porous, very poorly governed, you don't have enough of human resources to deploy."
"So at the moment you apply pressure, these people simply move out to other locations and then try to reorganise themselves."
For the last seven years there's been an increasingly bloody civil war between the army and Islamic militants who want to overthrow the government, and impose sharia law across all of Pakistan.
Major General Athar Abbas, spokesman for the Pakistan Army says 2009 has been the bloodiest year so far for his troops.
"Virtually every day there were about 10 soldiers casualties. It was a very deadly, one can say."
"But this is because the space has been denied to these organisation in their traditional bases so they are on the run."
"They are in a desperate situation and they want to strike hard at soft targets."
Despite General Abbas' confidence that the army is making progress against the militants, there's already been one failed peace deal between the two groups.
Pakistani commanders are also complaining that when they put pressure on the militants, they slip across the border into Afghanistan.
Army frustration
Brigadier Zafar Iqbal, from the Pakistan Army says now that the NATO forces have withdrawn to Afghanistan's population centres, the militants have free reign in FATA.
"On the [Afghan] side, they have sanctuaries...they have their camps where they can go, where they rest, where they even reorganise and come back...that's what's disturbing us."
Brigadier Zafar says the lack of co-ordination between the Pakistan Army and NATO forces in Afghanistan is frustrating.
"Our operations are linked to the situation on the other side. So these operations could be very effective if the [Coalition forces] conduct operations which are complementary. Then we can handle this very easily and effectively. But that's not what is happening."
NATO commanders in Afghanistan have long complained of exactly the opposite problem. They claim the Pakistan Army is sheltering the Taliban militants who are attacking Afghanistan.
But Imtiaz Gul from the Center For Research and Security Studies says demands by NATO and the US pose a challenge for Pakistani authorities.
"Here's a dilemma for the Pakistani military, [that is] whether to go after those people who do not pose a direct threat to Pakistani interests at all."
"The predominate consideration within the Pakistan government is do you really want to antagonise those people who are permenant residents of this region, where as the Americans would be gone, the foreign troops would pull out after some time from Afghanistan."
According to General Abbas, despite the pressure from the United States, it's all a matter of priorities.
"Some organisations, or a group which is not directly attacking the state, which is not directly threatening your own military or your own police. Therefore one would like to give it a low priority," he said.
"It would not be wise to move against a threat which is not bothering you directly."
But even where the Army is fighting with those militants trying to overthrow the Pakistani government itself, there is a strong sense that it is going round in circles.
Peace deals
At tribal meetings, or jirgas, it's the ancient tribal laws of Pashtunwali that apply - not the laws made in the Pakistan parliament, or administered by the courts.
Sometimes the militants and the army directly agree not to attack each other. Sometimes the tribal elders claim they can raise a militia to control the militants, and that the army isn't needed any more but the deals almost always break down.
Samina Ahmed, from the International Crisis group says every peace deal cedes territory and political space to militants.
"What does happen is when you cede political space to them, the stronger they become and they attack the military again and the military goes and attacks strongholds."
And so despite the thousands killed, and millions displaced from their homes, the civil war in the tribal areas is deadlocked.
Samina Ahmed says in order for the deadlock to be broken, the FATA must be changed.
"Any counter-insurgency will be unsuccessful if the politics isn't right and the politics will basically require a change fundamentally change in FATA itself."
And that change means dragging FATA into the 21st century, and under full control of the Pakistani state.
Despite the Pakistan Army's active role in the region, General Abbas says it's up to the politicians to come up with a solution.
"It needs political reconciliation, a revisit of intergration, but I leave that to the politicians, it's not a military problem."
But with a young and weak civilian government, caught up in its own struggle for survival, the chances of that change seem remote.
*To read this article in original form, please click here .....Australia Network News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

DTN News: Pakistan TODAY May 13, 2010 ~ Taliban Kill 2 Alleged US Spies In NW Pakistan

Defense News: DTN News: Pakistan TODAY May 13, 2010 ~ Taliban Kill 2 Alleged US Spies In NW Pakistan

Source: DTN News / By Rasool Dawar AP Writer & KansasCity.com
(NSI News Source Info) PESHAWAR, Pakistan - May 13, 2010: Pakistani Taliban shot and killed two men Wednesday whom they accused of spying for the United States, while a bomb ripped through a NATO oil tanker near the Afghan border and killed a passer-by, officials and residents said.
The slain men were from Miran Shah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region which is effectively under militant control. The bodies were dumped in an open area in the town.
Local resident Ahsan Ullah said notes attached to the bodies warned others to learn from the fate of the so-called American spies.
Two Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed the deaths and the content of the notes. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to release information to the media.
The Pakistani Taliban have killed dozens of people in recent years in similar fashion.
The latest deaths come less than two weeks after militants killed a former pro-Taliban Pakistani intelligence officer after abducting him along with another ex-intelligence official and a filmmaker.
Also Wednesday, a bomb ripped through an oil tanker carrying supplies for NATO forces based in Afghanistan, killing a passer-by, Pakistani border guard Fazal Bari said.
The attack took place in Chaman, the main border town in impoverished southwestern Baluchistan province, Bari said. The tanker caught fire after the blast and police were trying checking whether anyone aboard the tanker was hurt.
No one claimed responsibility, but militants often launch such attacks.
Also Wednesday, four people died in two separate attacks in and near the northwestern city of Peshawar.
A grenade hurled into a home in a congested residential area of the city killed two young girls and wounded two others, police official Razi Khan said. It was not clear whether militants were behind the attack and authorities were investigating.
Meanwhile, a bomb explosion near a camp for Afghan refugees on the outskirts of Peshawar killed three teenage boys and injured two others, regional police chief Laical Ali Khan said. The victims were students at a religious school in Shamshatu camp.
Khan said police and explosive experts were investigating the blast.
Associated Press writer Matiullah Achakzai in Chaman contributed to this report.
Related News

Pakistani security officials carry a dead body of a man near a burning oil tanker in Chaman near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Wednesday, May 12, 2010, in Pakistan. A bomb ripped through the oil tanker carrying supplies for NATO forces based in Afghanistan, killing a passer-by, Pakistani border guard Fazal Bari said.

DTN News: Russia Says May Lift Veil On Nuclear Arsenal

Defense News: DTN News: Russia Says May Lift Veil On Nuclear Arsenal

Source: DTN News / Reuters
(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - May 13, 2010: Russia said on Wednesday it may lift the veil of secrecy over its nuclear arsenal after a new strategic arms reduction treaty with the United States comes into force.
In an attempt to bolster U.S. President Barack Obama's non-proliferation efforts, the United States on May 3 dispensed with decades of Cold War secrecy and published the size of its U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko praised the U.S. step and said Russia would consider doing the same after the ratification of the nuclear arms deal signed by Obama and Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev last month.
Russia and the United States hold more than 95 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, enough to destroy the planet many times over, after first developing the weapons in top secret programs in the 1940s.
"After the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which was signed by the Russian and U.S. presidents in Prague on April 8, comes into force, we will likewise be able to consider disclosing the total number of Russia's deployed strategic delivery vehicles and the warheads they can carry," he said.
If Russia follows suit, the world's two biggest nuclear powers would come a step closer to much deeper cuts of thousands of non-deployed atomic weapons.
It could also raise the pressure on other nuclear powers -- such as China, Pakistan, India and Israel -- to disclose their nuclear capabilities, analysts said.
"This figure is one of the crown jewels of the Cold War when it comes to state secrets," said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists in New York.
Nuclear weapons numbers were some of the most closely guarded secrets of the Cold War and spies on both sides expended vast amounts of energy trying to steal the figures or at least estimate the true strength of each others' arsenal.
NUCLEAR POWERS
Obama has put nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation at the heart of his effort to "reset" ties with Russia, signing the landmark arms reduction deal last month with Medvedev and reviving a major civilian nuclear agreement.
Medvedev has praised Obama's vision of a nuclear-free world as "beautiful and right," though he has also said Russia will continue to develop new nuclear weapons and has called on other nuclear powers -- and those seeking to become nuclear powers -- to commit to cutting arsenals.
The Pentagon on May 3 said the United States had a total of 5,113 warheads in its nuclear stockpile at the end of September, down 84 percent from a peak of 31,225 in 1967.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists estimates Russia has a total inventory of about 12,000 nuclear warheads, including 4,600 deployed nuclear weapons and another 7,300 nuclear weapons in reserve or awaiting dismantlement.
Kristensen, who helped come up with the estimate for Russian weapons numbers, said that a Russian disclosure would put "serious pressure on the other smaller nuclear weapons states."
"China has given some very vague references to their size but nothing with numbers yet. India and Pakistan have been absolutely quiet and so has Israel," he said.
(Additional reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Louise Ireland)

DTN News: UN Resolutions Against Iran “Not Worth A Penny” Says Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Defense News: DTN News: UN Resolutions Against Iran “Not Worth A Penny” Says Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Source: DTN News / AP
(NSI News Source Info) TEHRAN, Iran - May 12, 2010: New resolutions by the UN Security Council against Iran over its nuclear programme would be “not worth a penny,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday.

REUTERS PICTURES 3 DAYS AGO

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) walks as he attends the opening ceremony of the Iranian Saipa automaker factory in Kashan, 258 km (161 miles) south of Tehran, May 9, 2010.

“The world powers should further know that we do retreat even one millimetre from our [nuclear] path and legitimate rights,” Ahmadinejad said in the speech given in Yasouj in southern Iran.
Western countries, led by the United States, are planning to impose a new resolution and sanctions against Iran if the Islamic state did not cooperate with the international community and suspend its disputed uranium—enrichment programme.
Iran rejects Western charges that it has been working on a secret programme to make an atomic bomb and insists it has the right to pursue peaceful nuclear development.
“The world powers should know that threats such as new UN resolutions are for Iran not worth a penny,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said in his speech, carried live by the news network Khabar.

DTN News: Somali Pirates Seize Greek-Owned Ship In Gulf Of Aden

Defense News: DTN News: Somali Pirates Seize Greek-Owned Ship In Gulf Of Aden

Source: DTN News / Reuters
(NSI News Source Info) ATHENS, Greece/Greek - May 12, 2010: Pirates have seized a Greek-owned ship with 23 people on board in the Gulf of Aden, the ship's managers say.
The Eleni P, which is managed by Eurobulk, was carrying a cargo of iron ore from the Black Sea to China.
Eurobulk's Marcos Vassilikos told the BBC that pirates fired shots when they took the ship, but that the crew were not thought to have been injured.
Somali pirates have hijacked dozens of ships this year, despite the presence of international naval forces.
The Eleni P's crew included 19 Filipinos as well as two Greeks, one Ukrainian and one Romanian, Mr Vassilikos said.
He said the ship was seized at about 0600 GMT, off the coast of Somalia.
War and weak government in Somalia have allowed piracy to flourish along its coast, with frequent attacks on the busy shipping lanes that link Europe and Asia.
On Tuesday, Somali pirates released an 11,000-tonne refrigerated cargo ship that had been held for two months, after a ransom was paid.
Somali pirates have seized a Liberia-flagged and Greek-owned ship with up to 24 people aboard in the Gulf of Aden, a Greek coast guard official said on Wednesday.
"We have been informed that the Greek-owned ship Eleni P was seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden," the official said, declining to be named.
The ship, managed by Eurobulk Ltd, was carrying iron and sailing from Ukraine to China via Singapore. It had 23 or 24 people on board, two of whom were Greek and the rest Filipinos, the official said.
(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Writing by Noah Barkin; Editing by Charles Dick)

DTN News: Russian-Turkish Trade May Hit Pre-Crisis Level This Year - Medvedev

Defense News: DTN News: Russian-Turkish Trade May Hit Pre-Crisis Level This Year - Medvedev

Source: DTN News / RIA Novosti
(NSI News Source Info) ANKARA, Turkey - May 12, 2010: Trade between Russia and Turkey may recover from last year's 40% decline in 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday after talks with his Turkish counterpart.
Russian-Turkish trade stood at $19.6 billion in 2009, down almost 40% from 2008. In January and February however trade grew about 30% year-on-year, and is still on the rise.
"Despite last year's crisis, our trade turnover has recovered quite quickly... If the growth continues, then at the end of this year we are likely to get the same figures as in 2008," he said.
Medvedev also said he saw $100 billion in trade turnover with Turkey as realistic.
"The ambitious goal to triple trade turnover mentioned by my counterpart President [Abdullah] Gul, is quite achievable," the Russian president said.

RELATED NEWS

• 
  
• Russian President to sign strategic, long-term agreements in Ankara
• Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Ankara and the future of Russia-Turkey relations
• Strategic partners: Russian president’s visit to Turkey marks a new stage of relations between the two powers
• Russia, Turkey becoming strategic partners - Medvedev

DTN News: Israel TODAY May 12, 2010 ~ Israel Celebrates Jerusalem Day For 'Unified' City

Defense News: DTN News: Israel TODAY May 12, 2010 ~ Israel Celebrates Jerusalem Day For 'Unified' City
Source: DTN News / AFP
(NSI News Source Info) JERUSALEM, Israel - May 12, 2010: Israel was on Wednesday celebrating the anniversary of the "unification" of Jerusalem, marking 43 years since it captured mainly Arab east Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war.
The Jerusalem Day festivities kicked off at sundown on Tuesday with an open-air concert by US funk band "Kool and the Gang" and continued through the night with prayers and gatherings to mark the anniversary.
Security was tight with thousands of police and security forces deployed across the city to ensure the festivities went off without a hitch.
"Several thousands of police and border police have been mobilised, with the deployment of forces particularly high in the Old City," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.
Thousands of people, mostly nationalist-religious Jews, were expected to take part in an annual march through Jerusalem later Wednesday that culminates in the Old City at the Wailing Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and other top officials were to attend an evening ceremony at Ammunition Hill where Israeli troops fought a fierce battle with Jordanian forces.
Tensions in and around Jerusalem have soared in past months over the deeply-controversial issue of Jewish construction in annexed east Jerusalem in a move which poses a constant threat to peace efforts.
Despite US assurances to the Palestinians that Israel would freeze certain settlement activity in the eastern sector for the next two years, top Israeli officials have denied the existence of any such commitment.
"There is no agreement about freezing building in east Jerusalem and normal life in Jerusalem will continue as in every other city in Israel," Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told journalists during a visit to Tokyo.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat also insisted that there would be no halt to construction in the "united and undivided" Holy City.
"The municipal borders of Jerusalem are not negotiable and building will continue across all of the city under Israeli sovereignty," Barkat told army radio.
Construction in the eastern sector infuriates the Palestinians who want east Jerusalem, which includes the walled Old City and its holy sites, to be the capital of their promised state.
Israel marks Jerusalem Day in accordance with the Hebrew calendar.
It captured east Jerusalem on June 7, 1967, the third day of the 1967 Six-Day War, and unilaterally annexed the sector in a move not recognised by the international community.
In 1980, Israel passed a law declaring Jerusalem its "eternal and indivisible" capital.
Israeli human rights groups say the Holy City is sharply divided and that Palestinian residents suffer from discrimination.
The status of Jerusalem, along with ongoing Israeli settlement activity on occupied Palestinian land, are among the thorniest issues in Middle East peace efforts.

DTN News: Golden Age To Begin In 2012 ~ Mayan Calendar or Sunstone

Defense News: DTN News: Golden Age To Begin In 2012 ~ Mayan Calendar or Sunstone

*Mayan Calendar Corroborates Hindu Prophecy

Source: DTN News / By David Hedges(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 12, 2010: In the “Brahma-Vaivarta Purana”, Lord Krishna tells Ganga Devi that a Golden Age will come in the Kali Yuga - one of the four stages of development that the world goes through as part of the cycle of eras, as described in Hindu scriptures. Lord Krishna predicted that this Golden Age will start 5,000 years after the beginning of the Kali Yuga, and will last for 10,000 years.
Mayan Calendar Matches Hindu Calendar
It is interesting that this prediction of the emergence of a new world is prophesied to appear about the same time that the Mayans predicted it to come! The Mayan calendar began with the Fifth Great Cycle in 3114 BC and will end on 21 December 2012 AD. The Hindu Kali Yuga calendar began on 18 February 3102 B.C. There is only a difference of 12 years between the Hindu's beginning of the Kali Yuga and the Mayan's beginning of the Fifth Great Cycle.
Golden Age Could Begin in 2012
The ancient Hindus mainly used lunar calendars but also used solar calendars. If an average lunar year equals 354.36 days, then this would be about 5270 lunar years from the time when the Kali Yuga started until 21 Dec 2012. This is the same year that the Mayans predict rebirth of our planet. It is also about 5113 solar years of 365.24 days per year, and is day number 1,867,817 into the Kali Yuga. By either solar or lunar years, we are over 5,000 years into the Kali Yuga and it is time for Lord Krishna's prophecy to happen according to the ancient Hindu scriptures. Lord Krishna's Golden Age could easily begin in 2012!
Mayan Prophecy Matches Hindu Prophecy
It is amazing that both calendars began at about the same time over 5,000 years ago and both calendars predict a totally new world and/or golden age after about 5,000 years into their calendars! We are definitely on to something with these Mayan and Hindu 2012 predictions. Historically, this is an amazing fact since these two ancient cultures did not have any contact.
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

Related Articles

• A Mayan Elder Speaks - About the Mayan Calendar and 2012
• The 4 Yugas or Epochs - About Hinduism's Four Yugas
• Ancient Calendar - About the Ancient Calendar
• Ancient Calendar - About the Ancient Calendar
• December 21, 2012 - The 2012 End Of the World Doomsday Scenario