I think the search dogs will be apreciated lots. They will help find people so much faster!

From BBC

Aid teams reach Iran quake zone

The earthquake reduced much of the city to rubble
The first international specialist rescue teams have begun to arrive in Iran, after pleas from the authorities.
Estimates of the death toll range from 10,000 to 25,000 after a major quake hit the historic city of Bam on Friday.

A number of countries have pledged aid or dispatched rescue teams to the area, including the UK, Turkey, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France and Russia.

President Bush said the US was ready to help, and Tehran says it will accept aid from any country except Israel.

Many thousands have been injured in Bam and most of its buildings have been flattened, including two hospitals and the city’s historic citadel.

There is concern about how to rescue those still alive, but buried deep under the rubble.

The exact death toll is still not clear, with local officials quoting figures of between 10,000 and 25,000.

The BBC’s Jim Muir, in Bam, says there are scenes of chaos at the airport with a constant stream of wounded being ferried onto planes out of the city.

Rescue specialist Willie McMartin, of the International Rescue Corps, said about 90% of all casualties were recovered in the first 24 hours.

“We then go in to look for the people who are sub-surface, they’re deeply trapped within the structures… that’s where the specialists come in.”

There is an urgent lack of body bags to take away the corpses.

‘A national tragedy’

The only hospitals still functioning in Bam have been overwhelmed by the numbers of injured and many people are being treated in the rubble-strewn streets or taken to other towns for treatment.

The Iranian Health Minister Ahmed Pezeshkin has appealed for medicine and equipment.

He said more foreign volunteers were not really needed because Iran was having trouble co-ordinating its efforts.

Water, electricity and gas supplies have been cut and people had to light fires in the street to keep warm as temperatures plummeted overnight.

Roads leading to the city have become jammed with emergency vehicles and people travelling to find missing relatives.

President Mohammad Khatami described the quake as a “national tragedy” and said it was too huge for Iran to cope with alone.

Dozens of Iranian military planes have been mobilised to evacuate the wounded from the earthquake-hit zone to hospitals in Tehran and other cities.

‘US ready to help’

The international Red Cross has launched an appeal for $12.3 million aims to provide assistance to Iran.

The European Union has pledged almost a million dollars in aid to Iran.

The United Nations is sending experts to assess the damage and mobilise international assistance.

The first consignment of UN aid will include tents, blankets, cooking equipment, water purification units and food.

Iranians themselves have responded in large numbers to appeals for blood donations and emergency supplies.

The US has offered humanitarian assistance, despite tense relations with Tehran. US President George W Bush said he was “ready to help”.

A number of other countries – including Russia, Britain, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Pakistan and Spain – have offered to send relief teams and supplies.

They have been joined by offers of cash aid by Australia and medical assistance from Japan.

‘I have lost my family’

Bam and the surrounding area is home to more than 200,000 people. About 70% of the houses in Bam have been destroyed, Iranian state television reported.

It is thought many people were crushed as they slept.

There were scenes of intense grief in the city, with people weeping next to corpses shrouded in blankets.

“I have lost all my family. My parents, my grandmother and two sisters are under the rubble,” Maryam, 17, told Reuters.

Friday’s quake had a magnitude of at least 6.3, according to Iranian sources. The US Geological Survey measured it at 6.7.

Bam – about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) south-east of Tehran – was on the Unesco’s list of World Heritage Sites.

An important regional centre in the 16th and 17th centuries, it contained many ancient buildings that were not built to withstand earthquakes.

The country suffers frequent earthquakes, with small tremors happening almost daily. In one earthquake in 1990, around 40,000 people died.

Since 1991, tremors have claimed some 17,600 lives and injured 53,000 people, according to official figures.

the US measured 6.7

Nothing from the UK i think..but there are UK volunteers in Iran already..

What are the neighbouring Arab states doing to help?

I think the US should jump in and help not wait for some official plea from Iran. It would go a long way to better relations between the two.

the antenna was shown on TV its flat, their might be a problem since the signal given by the antena is highly direction if the orbitor is off path a few degs it might have not recieved it..lets see what jodral picks up.

India-Israel for Comprehensive Agreement on Scientific Ties

(Source: India Press Information Bureau; issued Dec. 23, 2003)

India and Israel have agreed to go in for a new comprehensive agreement for cooperation in science and technology. This will spell out the common agenda, methodology, joint technology development and upgradation of technology.

Within six months, the two sides will prepare a Plan of Action, identifying the joint projects to be taken up besides other activities for implementation during the next two years. This is revealed in a joint statement issued at the end of discussions between the two delegations, headed by the Israeli Minister for Science and Technology, Mr. Eliezer Sandberg and the Minister of State for Science and Technology, Shri Bachi Singh Rawat.

The two ministers while reaffirming their firm commitment to promote scientific and technological collaboration, agreed that this constitutes an important element for fostering socio-economic development of the peoples of the two countries. The Israeli Minister was keen on cooperation in Nano-technology, Nano-biotechnology and solar energy. Cooperation in space technology and applications also figured during the talks. Israel is interested in India launching some of its micro-satellites. For this, the Israeli delegation is going to Bangalore tomorrow for talks with ISRO authorities.

Shri Bachi Singh Rawat expressing India’s keenness in expanding the scope of cooperation with Israel said opportunities will be provided to young researchers to upgrade their sills in their areas of interest and short-term fellowships would be made available to them. Both the Ministers also agreed to allocate adequate funds required for undertaking joint research projects etc.

The Space Agencies of the two countries have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding on TAUVEX-GSAT-4, which offers a unique opportunity to put the Indian and Israeli scientists in the front line of space-astrophysics. The TAUVEX is a set of three wide-field telescopes that will image the ultraviolet sky. It was specifically recognized that installing TAUVEX on-board the technology demonstrator satellite GSAT-4 would be ideal for operating TAUVEX as a scientific payload in geo-synchronous orbit. While this will allow the Israeli team to realize its goals, it will bring in UV expertise to the Indian astrophysical community.

1400lbs?

thats about 699Kgs i guess If this I dont see how that would make that much of a difference on the JSF.

whats the load its supposed to carry into combat?

😀 Merry Xmas to all.

Erm yeah sorry i thought the one with the see through seeker cover was the KAB-500.. my bad.

Is the KH-59 the one with the clear front cone?

well i found this KAB-500 pic on the net, i am not sure if its accurate or not and looks very similar to the missile in the picture.

how do i tell the difference ?

Originally posted by h177
So do you think that i am that fool that i didnot read current news reports. NK had in agreement with US since 1994 not to process its fuel rods which they breached. So it means they had the technology before. And they are quite capable of building what ever they want. C-130 can go for many different purposes. One can even use a commercail airline if some thing is to be hide. And on Libya and Iran i don not give any worth to them untill complete system is transferred to them.

Erm sorry to burst ur bubble but, the CIA caught them laoding up the missiles.

As for complete system.. that would depend on what the actual deal was between Pakistan and Libya/Iran.. If the machinary and tooling is their then they only need the blue prints and advice. not complete systems.

your grasping at straws when even your own premier has sold out your scientist and is making them into scape goats.