* WikiLeaks documents reveal battle for supremacy above the Earth in 2007
* Both superpowers destroyed their own satellites with missile strikes in show of strength
The U.S. warned China it could take military action in response to Beijing’s use of space missiles, it has emerged.
Leaked diplomatic documents reveal that the U.S. shot down one of its own satellites to demonstrate its ballistic power after China had destroyed its own weather satellite.
And despite being threatened with military action in 2007 by then U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, China carried out another missile test only last year.
The military standoff has been likened to the ‘star wars’ strategic missile plan conceived by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.
According to diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks and published by the Daily Telegraph, China and the U.S. jostled for position behind closed doors over the issue of missile defence.
China shot down a weather satellite stationed 530 miles above the earth in January 2007, sending over 2,000 pieces of space debris into orbit.
The strike was the first anti-satellite test since 1985 but despite widespread international criticism of China’s actions, then-Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jinchao stressed: ‘There’s no need to feel threatened by this.’
Cause for conflict: China and the U.S. engaged in a military standoff over space missile tests
The field of conflict: An artist's impression of a weather satellite, similar to that shot out of the sky by China with a missile
Myanmar, Oct 18 — International poll monitors and foreign journalists will be barred from Myanmar’s first election in 20 years, its military rulers said on Monday, deepening concern that next month’s poll will be a sham.
The United States, Britain and Myanmar’s Southeast Asian neighbours had urged the junta to allow independent election monitors at the Nov. 7 election, which critics say will cement the military’s grip on power under the guise of civilian rule.
Members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party wait for guests in front of posters of national hero Burmese general Aung San, father of Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, at the party headquarters May 27, 2009, before a ceremony to mark the 19th anniversary of the 1990 general election where the NLD won 392 of 485 parliamentary seats.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday considered whether a church has the legal right to stage anti-gay protests at U.S. military funerals to promote its claim that God is angry at America for tolerance toward homosexuals.
In an important test of free-speech versus privacy rights, the court heard arguments on whether a protest message and picketing at the private funeral, although considered offensive by many, were protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.
Albert Snyder, the father of a Marine killed in Iraq in 2006, appealed to the Supreme Court after the family's funeral service at a Roman Catholic church in Westminster, Maryland, drew unwanted protests by members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas.
The protesters carried signs that stated, "God Hates You," and "You Are Going To Hell."
Jocob Phelps holds up a placard as he protests for his side of the Snyder V. Phelps case outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington October 6, 2010
Fred Phelps Jr. protests his side of the Snyder V. Phelps case outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington October 6, 2010.
For more than four decades, airman Richard Etchberger’s heroic efforts to save three of his men were cloaked in secrecy.
His own three sons were even kept in the dark for much of that time over how their father died during the Vietnam War.
Finally this week, the Air Force NCO’s bravery was recognised at the White House, where he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honour by President Obama.
‘This medal reflects the gratitude of an entire nation,’ Mr Obama told Steve, Richard and Cory Etchberger.
'Hero': President Barack Obama presents the Medal of Honor to the sons of Sgt. Richard Etchberger. R-L Richard Etchberger Corey Etchberger, and Steve Wilson, at the White House on Tuesday
In memory: Left, Richard Etchberger looks down at the Medal of Honour awarded to his father. Right, Sgt Richard Etchberger, who died saving comrades in Laos
An attack by Israeli commandos on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May was unlawful and resulted in violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, a panel of international experts said on Wednesday.
The three experts, nominated by the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate the Israeli attack in which nine pro-Palestinian activists - eight Turks and one Turkish-American - were killed, also said that Israel's blockade of Gaza had caused a humanitarian crisis and was unlawful.
The experts - judges from Britain and Trinidad and a Malaysian human rights campaigner - said in a report that the Israeli military's action had used disproportionate force and 'totally unnecessary and incredible violence' in intercepting the flotilla.
'Unacceptable level of brutality': The UN report said the Israeli military's action had used disproportionate force and 'totally unnecessary and incredible violence' in intercepting the flotilla.
The US military rule banning openly gay people from serving in the armed forces violates constitutional rights to free speech and due process, a federal judge in southern California ruled yesterday.
US District Court Judge Virginia Phillips said she would issue an injunction barring the government from enforcing the policy, and that the Justice Department would have the opportunity to appeal.
A participant holds up a sign during a gay rights demonstration in Washington October 11, 2009.
Britain and France are getting ready to unveil plans to share aircraft carriers amid pressure on the British military to cut costs, the Times newspaper reported today.
British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicholas Sarkozy were expected to announce the proposal at a November summit, the Times said, quoting an unidentified British naval source for its information.
No immediate comment was available from British officials on the report.
Hell in the sky: The AC-130 Hercules - aka 'Angel of Death' fires its deadly load
This is the ‘Angel of Death’, the world’s biggest flying artillery gun – and the latest weapon being used by British and US Special Forces to defeat Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.
Our exclusive picture shows the AC-130 Hercules aircraft unleashing its awesome firepower on the enemy 2,000ft below.
From a distance the plane – nicknamed the ‘Angel of Death’ because of the shape that its anti-missile flares take when they are fired – looks like a normal troop carrier.
But the aircraft, which is rarely deployed in daylight, carries a powerful Howitzer 105mm field gun which can ‘vaporise’ targets at a range of 1,200 yards.
A bigger splash: The Prince of Wales,(front row centre) is caught in a sudden torrential downpour as he poses for a regimental photo with 3 Regiment Army Air Corps in the Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
Their sleeves neatly rolled up and their matching berets in perfect position, they sat prepared for a formal photograph with the Prince of Wales.
And then the heavens opened.
Prince Charles could be forgiven for grimacing as he was caught in a downpour while posing for a formal photograph with helicopter pilots and ground crew yesterday.
Raid: Israeli soldiers aim a gun on the deck of the Turkish vessel
This video image released by the Turkish Aid group IHH purports to show Israeli soldiers aboard a military vessel in international waters off the Gaza coast
Dramatic images of Israel's deadly commando raid on a humanitarian aid ship were revealed last night, and showed the desperate battle on board the Mavi Marmara.
The shaky infra-red video, released by the Israeli Defence Force, showed soldiers apparently coming under sustained attack by men armed with metal poles and wearing gas masks.
In this Feb. 26, 2009 file photo, Israeli soldiers wearing gas masks carry a dummy on a stretcher as they take part in a home front command army drill simulating a chemical missile attack at an army base near Tel Aviv. Israel launched a dress rehearsal for disaster on Sunday, May 23, 2010, as it began a five-day civil defense drill to test the response of soldiers, emergency crews and civilians to simulated rocket and missile attacks, mega terror attacks and biological and chemical attacks.
Israel held a dress rehearsal for disaster Sunday, beginning a defense drill to test the response of soldiers, emergency crews and civilians to simulated missile barrages, terrorist attacks and chemical strikes.
Former head of counterterrorism security has warned of an impending cyber attack
The U.S. should prepare for a cyber attack that could cause destruction on the scale of 9/11 in less than 15 minutes, a leading anti-terrorism expert has warned.
Richard Clarke, a former adviser to both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, suggests that the lack of security in place against such an attack could lead to an 'electronic Pearl Harbor'.
A South Korean naval ship, the Cheonan, sinks near South Korea's Baeknyeong Island, close to North Korea, in the western waters on Saturday, March 27, 2010.
This undated picture shows South Korea's Cheonan naval ship in South Korea, Friday, March 26, 2010. South Korea's military scrambled Cheonan naval vessels to the western waters near the disputed maritime border with North Korea late Friday after an explosion ripped a hole in the bottom of a military ship, officials and news reports said.
Members of South Korean Navy's Ship Salvage Unit (front) on a rubber boat and a naval patrol ship patrol to rescue possible survivors from sunken naval ship Cheonan off Baengnyeongdo, an island near the border with North Korea, March 27, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
South Korean Navy's Ship Salvage Unit members on a rubber boat patrol to rescue possible survivors from sunken naval ship Cheonan off Baengnyeongdo, an island near the border with North Korea March 27, 2010.
South Korean Navy's Ship Salvage Unit members return from their search for possible survivors from sunken naval ship 'Cheonan' as a Marine (front) stands guard at the seashore on Baengnyeongdo March 27, 2010.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak presides over a national security-related ministerial meeting regarding the sinking of a South Korean naval ship at the presidential Blue House in Seoul March 26, 2010. Several South Korean sailors were killed and one of its naval ships with more than 100 aboard was sinking on Friday after possibly being hit by a North Korean torpedo, South Korean media reported.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak (C, seated at table) presides over a national security-related ministerial meeting after receiving news of a sinking naval ship at the presidential Blue House in Seoul March 26, 2010. Several South Korean sailors were killed and one of its naval ships with more than 100 aboard was sinking on Friday after possibly being hit by a North Korean torpedo, South Korean media reported.
A mother of one of the 46 missing navy sailors shouts next to navy military policemen who were trying to stop media attending a briefing by Choi Won-il, captain of the sunken ship Cheonan, in Pyeongtaek south of Seoul March 27, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Military divers plunged into the waters near South Korea's tense maritime border with North Korea on Saturday to search for 46 missing marines from a naval ship that exploded and sank, officials said. Families voiced their anger as hopes faded for the missing crew after the ship sank in one of South Korea's worst naval disasters. Divers tried twice to get to the wreckage, Rear Adm. Lee Ki-sik of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told lawmakers.
Friday's Navy ship sinking might be caused by mine explosion, South Korean media YTN quoted Cheong Wa Dae sources as saying on Saturday.
General of the South Korean Navy Lee Ki-shik said later Friday that the 1,200-ton warship Cheonan went down after the unexplained explosion ripped a hole in the ship's bottom.
But both the government and the military authorities said the exact cause of the incident cannot be pinpointed yet.
South Korean officials are narrowing down the possibilities that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is involved in the incident.
Likelihood of the DPRK's involvement in the incident seems low, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency reported on Saturday, citing multiple officials at the Presidential Office of Cheong Wa Dae.
"It is hard to say for sure now, but chances appear to be slim that North (DPRK) was related," a senior official told Yonhap on the condition of anonymity.
There has been no unusual movements by the DPRK so far, Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said at a press briefing after President Lee Myung-bak convened a second emergency meeting with security officials earlier Saturday.
Meanwhile, the rescue operation has been stepped up on Saturday. Military divers arrived at the scene of the warship sinking to go underwater to search the sunken vessel. But Yonhap said that they had to delay the operation due to inclement weather.
There were a total of 104 sailors onboard when the ship sank. Fifty-eight have been rescued later Friday, and other 46 crew members still remain missing.
President Lee Myung-bak convened a second emergency meeting with security officials earlier Saturday, demanding for a "quick and thorough" investigation, and rescuing the missing by all means.
Lee also ordered to inform related nations engaged in the six- party talks of proper information about the incident, and urged government agencies to take measures to reassure the public.
The rescue operation to search for the 46 missing sailors of a South Korean ship that sank late Friday is still under Saturday, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency reported.
So far, 58 out of the 104 crew members aboard the 1,200-ton ship that sank off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula have been rescued, with two of them hospitalized for minor cerebral hemorrhage, the agency said. Earlier reports said 60 sailors have been rescued.
The cause for the sinking is unknown yet. President Lee Myung- bak demanded at the second emergency meeting with security officials earlier in the day a "quick and thorough" investigation and rescuing the missing by all means.
Lee also ordered related nations engaged in the six-party talks be informed of proper information about the incident while urging the government agencies to take measures to reassure the public, Presidential Office spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said at a press briefing after the meeting.
Kim added that there are no special movements by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) so far.
The ship "Cheonan" went down off the South Korean island of Baekryeongdo off the west coast around 21:45 p.m. Friday local time (12:45 GMT Friday), with an explosion in the back of the ship, and another South Korean naval vessel fired at an unspecified target toward the north in response.
Navy and the National Maritime Police Agency has dispatched nine ships and a helicopter to the waters near the Baehryeongdo, and pledged to mobilize Navy's all rescue force to search the missing.
The military authorities will also send divers into the waters to find out whether the ship-based artillery shells or external attack caused the explosion, but it said the final conclusion cannot be made only after the sunken ship is dragged out of the water.
Yonhap also quoted unnamed official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade as saying that it is too early to tell whether the DPRK played a role in the incident.
Local media reported later Friday that the incident might be caused by a possible torpedo attack from an unidentified DPRK vessel, citing military sources.
Decorated: Captain Wayne Owers with his medals - the Queen's Gallantry Medal is on the left.Brave: Captain Owers, who has spent 20 years in the Army, at his base today
Painstaking: Captain Wayne Owers uncovers an IED during his tour in Afghanistan
Badlands: British troops face constant attacks in Helmand Province (file image)
A lonely job: Captain Owers makes safe a live bomb in Afghanistan
When two-year-old Poppy Owers asks her father what he did in Afghanistan, his answer will make her very proud.
Despite seeing colleagues suffer dreadful injuries, Captain Wayne Owers risked his life 93 times to defuse Taliban bombs, saving countless lives in a remarkable six-month tour.
Relying on his wits and courage, rather than protective gear and specialist equipment, Capt Owers's bravery in Afghanistan makes him the most prolific bomb destroyer in the history of the Army.
His average of one improvised explosive device (IED) defused every two days between March and August last year is the highest strike rate recorded by the Ministry of Defence.
Now Capt Owers, 39, who lives in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, with his wife Sukie, 37, and their daughter Poppy, will receive the Queen's Gallantry Medal later this year for his bravery.
Capt Owers, who has served in the Army for 20 years, including tours in Iraq, Bosnia, Oman, Kosovo and Northern Ireland, said his job had pushed him 'to the limit', both mentally and physically.
He said: 'Everything is down to luck and to me numbers aren't significant.
'The best bomb disposal officer in the world could stand on an undetected bomb and it would be game over.
'The only way numbers are relevant is in the feeling that the more bombs you defuse, the more likely it seems that something could go horribly wrong.
But you have to be confident, and not let yourself think about what could happen.
'People ask me how I managed to get up every day and do that job, but it's different when you're actually out in Afghanistan and in that situation.
'You just have to get on with it and be as confident as possible. We all just had to knuckle down.
I used to enjoy the job when I first went out. But when that first bomb went off, I started to get a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.
'It really hit me when I saw my comrades get injured.'
During his tour of duty with the Royal Logistic Corps, Capt Owers saw comrades suffer horrendous
injuries. An explosion in May led to a colleague losing two legs and an arm. Two months later, Capt Owers was standing next to Corporal Jonny Wallace as he had his leg ripped open after stepping on a device.
Capt Owers said: 'He was handing me a piece of equipment - that's how close I was. It just went bang and I flew backwards. I didn't break a fingernail - I was very lucky.'
Lance Corporal Davie Timmins, Capt Owers's bodyguard, lost his right eye and hearing in his right ear in the explosion, in which he swallowed his own tongue.
L/Cpl Timmins, himself a Queen's Gallantry Medal recipient, said: 'I was losing a lot of blood but Capt Owers pulled my tongue out of my mouth, sat me up and whacked me on the back several times, saying, "don't die on me".'
Only 600 Queen's Gallantry Medals have been awarded since 1974.
An MoD spokesman said: 'This officer often took greater risks than normally permitted - relying on his wits and courage instead of a protective suit and specialist equipment.'
He added that Capt Owers's 'inspirational actions' had 'enabled countless missions to succeed and directly saved innumerable lives. His courage and gallantry is worthy of the very highest level of formal recognition.'
Capt Owers is now based in Britain and teaches others how to become bomb disposal experts.
Brown talks with Afghan village elders at the Shawaz operating base, which until three weeks ago was a Taliban stronghold
Gordon Brown met some of the 4,000 British troops who took part in last month's Operation Moshtarak
The Prime Minister also met Afghan police trainees
The heavily-criticised Snatch Land Rover is to be replaced with 200 new patrol vehicles in Afghanistan to protect troops from booby-traps, it was revealed as Gordon Brown paid a surprise visit to the war-torn country.
News of a £118 million investment in new vehicles and equipment for came after former commanders accused the Prime Minister of deliberately misleading the Iraq inquiry over equipment shortages.
The Prime Minister flew to Afghanistan immediately after giving evidence at the Chilcot Inquiry yesterday, where he was challenged over the failings of the Snatch Land Rover in Iraq.
He denied claims that he starved the military of funds as Chancellor and instead blamed the military for failing properly to equip the Armed Forces for war.
Officials travelling with Brown during his swift tour of Helmand Province, said that Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth will announce within weeks a £100 million investment in the new British-built vehicles, which should arrive in Afghanistan by late 2011.
They will replace the lightly-defended Land Rovers, which have been blamed for the deaths of troops in roadside bomb blasts during the conflict.
The new vehicles are smaller and lighter than the Mastiff and Ridgeback armoured personnel carriers which are already taking over some of the tasks of the more vulnerable Snatch.
A further £18 million will provide equipment and training for Afghan forces to deal with the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used by the Taliban against British and allied forces and 150 new instructors from the UK police and Army will be deployed to train Afghan police.
As part of his visit Brown met and thanked some of the 4,000 British forces who took part in last month’s assault on insurgent strongholds in the opening phase of Operation Moshtarak, which he said had “brought results which are better than anticipated”.
He visited the Shawaz operating base, which until three weeks ago was a Taliban stronghold, and met Afghan elders who are distributing tomato, onion and watermelon seeds to farmers to convince them to give up cultivating opium poppies.
He also toured a police training centre which is part of an effort to increase the Afghan domestic force to 134,000 officers by next year.
Brown said training Afghan forces was the "right approach" and would mean "our troops can come home.”
“My visit is an opportunity to say thank you to the thousands of British, Afghan and international troops involved and to the dozens of civilian experts working on stabilisation," he said.
“Their bravery, sacrifice and professionalism are an example of how the international community can and should intervene to make us all safer.
“The Afghan Army is already rapidly expanding. Around 7,000 Afghan troops are being trained each month. But we also need a strong Afghan police force to create enduring security. That is a key challenge for the next phase.”
Standing in front of a plaque commemorating the Britons who have died in Afghanistan, Brown told troops: "We will do everything we can to support you with the equipment necessary and the resources you need.”
But Brown has been criticised, following his appearance at the Iraq inquiry, for his role in equipping the armed forces, while Chancellor, when war broke out.
Brown said that every request for money for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and occupation of Iraq was swiftly approved by the Treasury. He shifted the blame on to generals when confronted with complaints from the relatives of soldiers killed in attacks on Snatch Land Rovers.
Admiral Lord Boyce, the Chief of the Defence Staff up to the start of the invasion in 2003, said: “He’s dissembling, he’s being disingenuous. It’s just not the case that the Ministry of Defence was given everything it needed.
“There may have been a 1.5 per cent increase in the defence budget but the MoD was starved of funds.”
Year on year when Brown was Chancellor it failed to get the money it needed to meet the level of activity demanded by the Government, he said.
Colonel Stuart Tootal, former commander of 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, said: “I am quite staggered by the lack of any sense of responsibility. He was the man with the purse strings.”
The Prime Minister repeatedly expressed sorrow for the British and Iraqi deaths. He told the inquiry: “I think this is the gravest decision to go to war. It was the right decision and it was for the right reasons.”
A No10 spokesman said: "The Prime Minister could not have been clearer in responses to repeated questions about military funding. Every request that the military commanders made to us for equipment was answered. No request was ever turned down."
It is believed President Tandja is being held at a military barracks in Niamey
The United States on Friday called for a "speedy return to democracy" in Niger, including transparent elections after a coup in the western African nation.
"The United States continues to call (for) Niger's speedy return to democracy and the rule of law, as well as prompt, fair and transparent elections," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.
Crowley said that the United States was "gratified" by the strong international reaction to the coup, including a "strong statement" by the European Union.
"We will obviously work closely with our international partners and do everything we can to see democracy returned to Niger as rapidly as possible," he said.
However, Crowley said that the United States was still assessing the situation and would not yet formally declare that Niger had undergone a coup.
Such a determination would trigger an immediate cut off in US assistance, but the United States already suspended millions of dollars in aid in December on concerns that President Mamadou Tandja was consolidating power.
The army on Thursday stormed a cabinet meeting, seizing Tandja who had forced through a new constitution last year.
"We have, on the one hand, expressed our concern about the suspension of the constitution," Crowley said.
"On the other hand, no one should resort to political violence to resolve political tension," he said.
The African Union has suspended Niger following Thursday's military coup, in which President Mamadou Tandja was deposed and the government dissolved.
The organisation said it had imposed sanctions on the country and demanded a return to constitutional rule.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the coup, and appealed for calm and respect for human rights.
Earlier, the new military council announced it was lifting a curfew and re-opening borders.
Col Abdul Karimou said the situation was "under control" and that there was "no single voice of dissension" in the West African state.
Thousands of people took to the streets on Friday in support of the takeover.
Ten people are said to have died when the junta seized power.
Tandja 'safe'
Troops stormed the palace during a cabinet meeting on Thursday afternoon, seizing Mr Tandja and his ministers before announcing that they were suspending the constitution and dissolving all state institutions.
Calling themselves the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD), the coup leaders promised to turn Niger into an example of "democracy and good governance" and save its people from "poverty, deception and corruption".
A senior army officer, Col Salou Djibo, was named head of a military government.
The US said it believed the coup had been triggered by Mr Tandja's actions last August, when he held a controversial referendum to abolish limits on presidential terms of office.
The opposition Co-ordination of Democratic Forces for the Republic (CFDR) - a coalition of political parties, trade unions and human rights groups formed last year to protest against the constitutional changes - welcomed it.
In a statement, the group condemned "President Tanja's stubbornness in power", and called on the junta to respect its pledge to restore democracy.
Mr Tandja, a 71-year-old former army officer, was first elected in 1999 and was returned to power in an election in 2004.
His second term in office expired in December, but was extended to allow him to complete major investment projects.
A junta spokesman, Col Goukoye Abdul Karimou, told the BBC on Friday that the president was "safe and well".
"We are taking care of him - remember he is one of our elder soldiers," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa.
The colonel said most of the cabinet ministers captured along with the president had been released and had gone home.
The three still being held would be free in a couple of days, he added.
It is believed they are being held at a military barracks in Niamey.
'Zero tolerance'
The international community has been quick to condemn the coup.
The European Union followed former colonial power France in calling for all those involved to "engage immediately in a democratic process allowing for rapid establishment of the constitutional order".
The chairman of the African Union Commission, Jean Ping, said there should be "zero tolerance" of those taking power by force.
The regional organisation later announced that it had suspended Niger and called for its citizens to be allowed to elect the leader they wanted.
"Niger is suspended from all activities of the AU. Meanwhile, we will continue with the process of helping them return to constitutional order," said Mull Sebujja Katende, the chairman of the AU Peace and Security Council.
International deals
In New York, the UN's secretary general reiterated "his disapproval of unconstitutional changes of government as well as attempts to remain in power through unconstitutional means".
Mr Ban noted the CSRD had said it intended to restore constitutional rule and called on it "to proceed swiftly with these efforts through a process that is consensual and that includes all segments of Nigerien society".
Niger has experienced long periods of military rule since independence from France in 1960.
It is one of the world's poorest countries, but Mr Tandja's supporters argue that his decade in power has brought a measure of economic stability.
Under his tenure, the French energy firm Areva has begun work on the world's second-biggest uranium mine - ploughing an estimated $1.5bn (£970m) into the project.
China National Petroleum Corporation signed a $5bn deal in 2008 to pump oil within three years.
Preparation: British and Afghan soldiers practice their operation drills at Military Operating Base Shorabak in Helmand today
U.S. soldiers on top of their armoured vehicles load their 50-calibre machine guns as they train in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, today
Some 4,000 UK troops will take part in bloody fighting this week alongside the biggest air assault since the first Gulf War of 1991 is launched
Gen McChrystal, right, today spoke alongside NATO's new civilian chief, former British Ambassador Mark Sedwill, 2nd right, who started his new job with a briefing at NATO headquarters in Kabul
Afghan families flee their homes today ahead of the largest offensive in the eight-year Afghanistan war
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth warned the public to be braced for casualties last night as troops prepared to launch the biggest offensive in the eight-year Afghanistan war.
A strike force of 15,000 British, U.S. and Afghan troops will mount airborne raids in the most dangerous areas of central Helmand province.
Some 4,000 UK troops will be involved in Operation Moshtarak - which means 'together' in the local Dari language.
It aims to reassure ordinary Afghans by driving the Taliban out of their strongholds and destroying their bomb factories.
Mr Ainsworth said: 'We shouldn't deny or pretend to people that casualties are not a very real risk on these kind of operations and people have to be prepared for that.
'This is not a safe environment and it doesn't matter how much kit and equipment we provide for them, we cannot entirely make these operations risk-free.
The Defence Secretary also revealed that British forces were engaged in direct talks with some Taliban fighters.
He said: 'There's no need for us to wait until some end point before we start talking to those elements of the Taliban who don't share all of the ideological aims of some of their leaders. Those talks have already been going on for some time.'
His casualty warning was echoed by General Sir David Richards, chief of the general staff, who said: 'There are inevitably risks but the gains are considerable.
'Offensive operations like Moshtarak are a key part of any counter-insurgency campaign.'
Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded forces in Afghanistan in 2006, warned: 'There will be heavy fighting.
'The Taliban know the area very well and will have prepared escape routes through tunnels, alleyways or buildings. They will fire on our troops and then run.
There will be a lot of IEDs (improvised explosive devices), a lot of snipers and a lot of hit and run. We will probably have to brace ourselves for a large number of casualties.'
He said the Taliban were already using children to lay IEDs and throw grenades.
The scale of the offensive, whose start date is being kept secret, will dwarf Operation Panther's Claw, in which ten British soldiers died last summer.
British commanders are worried that troops being flown to the battlefield by helicopter could come under heavy fire from Taliban fighters.
One senior officer said: 'Our real concern is that we could lose one or more Chinooks filled with soldiers - that would come close to being catastrophic.
'The British public needs to steel itself for these casualties. We need the people in the UK to show a great deal of resilience. This is about delivering what could amount to a decisive blow to the Taliban in Helmand province.'
One of the soldiers preparing for the attacks, Lance Corporal Nick Richards, 22, from Llanelli, said: 'People are saying that this is the biggest assault of this kind since Vietnam, so everyone wants to be a part of it.
'We are proud to be part of the big picture of change in Afghanistan. It's definitely going to have a big impact on Helmand in getting rid of the Taliban and bringing stability to the area. The locals are under a lot of stress and we will try and help them out to relieve that pressure.'
The offensive comes a month before the start of the usual 'fighting season' in Afghanistan and is expected to continue throughout the summer.
British military spokesman Major General Gordon Messenger-said there had been a 'conscious decision' to reveal it in advance, despite losing the element of surprise.
He said: 'The purpose is to give the Taliban a choice - either to put down their weapons and become part of legitimate society or to fight.
'If they choose to fight, they will be subjected to overwhelming force and will be defeated.'
But villagers fleeing the target areas said the Taliban were ignoring the coalition warning.
'They are bringing in people and weapons and planting mines,' said one man. 'We know there is going to be a big fight.'
* Taliban fighters are stealing ammonium nitrate fertiliser sent by aid organisations to help farmers and using it for roadside bombs, it was revealed yesterday. The aim is to foil coalition metal detectors.
Romania has backed a US plan that would see interceptor missiles deployed in the country as part of a missile shield to protect Europe, its president has said.
Traian Basescu said on Thursday that the country's top defence body had agreed to be part of a system against "potential attacks with
ballistic missiles or medium-range rockets".
The US military facilities, which would become operational by 2015, still require parliamentary approval before they can go ahead.
Basescu sought to assure Russia, which had previously condemned plans for a missile shield, that the proposed move was not a threat.
"The new system is not against Russia. I want to categorically stress this, Romania [will] not host a system against Russia, but against other threats," he said.
Russian reaction
Russia is adamant that nuclear arms should be deployed only in the territory of the states possessing such weapons.
US tactical nuclear arms should be withdrawn from Europe, Andrei Nesterenko, the Russian foreign ministry spokesman, said on Thursday.
"Issues of further nuclear disarmament, including tactical nuclear arms, should not be addressed as such, but only in close relation with other types of weapons, including conventional armed forces in Europe and the ballistic missile defence systems.
"In this context, withdrawal of American tactical weapons from Europe back to the United States would be welcome. It should be accompanied by complete and irreversible demolition of the entire infrastructures supporting the deployment of such weapons in Europe," he said.
The announcement of a planned missile defence in Romania comes months after Washington shelved a plan to place missile defence facilities in the Czech Republic and Poland - a move welcomed by Moscow.
Romania 'well-suited'
Pavel Felgenhauer, a military analyst, said Russia had feared that missiles placed in Poland could be used to attack Moscow with nuclear warheads.
"That was a bit far-fetched but that was believed in Moscow, he told Al Jazeera from the Russian capital.
"The missiles that apparently will, maybe, some day, be put into Romania will be smaller missiles and Romania is further from Moscow than Poland is.
"Russia's official position is that only that missile defence is good which is missile defence together with Russia, a joint control.
"But at least this will be seen as not as dangerous, most likely, as one with Poland, so I don't think that right now there will be that much fuss about it."
The US embassy in Bucharest said that Washington had "determined that Romania is well-suited for the location of this system to provide protection for European Nato allies".
'Iranian threat'
A plan unveiled last September by Barack Obama, the US president, includes land-and sea-based missile systems in and around the Gulf to defend against what it says is a growing Iranian missile threat.
The US offer was brought to Bucharest by Ellen Taucher, under-secretary of state for arms control who leads a team of American experts in Romania, Basescu said.
Teodor Baconschi, Romania's foreign minister, said the plan was first presented to Basescu during a visit by Joe Biden, the US vice-president, to Bucharest in October but was not made public.
"This became official today," Baconschi said.
In past years, Romania's parliament has solidly backed participation in US and Nato-led military ventures, including Romanian troop deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Romania's top defense body approved a plan by Washington on Thursday to deploy interceptor missiles in the Black Sea state as part of a missile shield to protect Europe, President Traian Basescu said.
The announcement came unexpectedly and Basescu gave few details on the project. But it appeared to be part of the revamped approach taken by U.S. President Barack Obama since he scrapped a Bush-era plan for a radar site and interceptor rockets in the Czech Republic and Poland.
The missile shield has angered eastern Europe's former Cold War master Russia, who sees it as a threat to its own nuclear arsenal and has bristled at what it says is Washington's meddling in its sphere of influence.
A Kremlin spokesman declined to comment and said the foreign ministry would issue a statement on the matter on Friday.
Basescu said the Supreme Defense Council -- Romania's top military and security authority -- had approved a U.S. proposal to include Romania in a system against "potential attacks with ballistic missiles or medium-range rockets."
The U.S. offer was brought to Bucharest by Ellen Taucher, Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control who leads a team of American experts in Romania, Basescu said.
"Terrestrial interceptors will be located inside the national territory," he said.
He said the U.S. facilities were expected to become operational in 2015 but the plan's specifics, now under discussion with U.S. partners, would need parliamentary approval in order to come into force.
In past years, parliament has solidly backed participation in U.S. and NATO-led military ventures, including Romanian troop deployments to hotspots like Iraq and Afghanistan.
The leu currency was unchanged after the announcement, trading at about 4.1240 per euro.
NO THREAT TO RUSSIA
Obama's decision to scrap the Bush plan disappointed both Prague and Warsaw.
Poland has expressed a readiness to take part in the new project and could potentially host some of the SM-3 interceptors that target short and medium-range missiles. But officials have made no further public comment on the issue in recent months.
"The U.S. has determined that Romania is well-suited for the location of this system to provide protection for European NATO Allies," the U.S. embassy in Bucharest said in a statement.
Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi said the plan was first presented to Basescu during a visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to Bucharest in October but was not made public.
"This became official today," Baconschi said.
Unlike some other EU states, popular support for U.S. military policy is very high in Romania. It hosts a small base at the Black Sea and training facilities, part of a Pentagon shift from large Cold War-era centres in western Europe toward smaller installations nearer hot spots such as the Middle East.
Basescu said participation of Romania, a European Union and NATO member of 22 million perched in the southeast corner of the continent, was not meant to threaten Moscow.
"The new system is not against Russia. I want to categorically stress this, Romania (will) not host a system against Russia, but against other threats," he said.
Obama's revamped plan, unveiled last September, includes land-and sea-based missile systems in and around the Gulf to defend against what it says is a growing Iranian missile threat.
His administration argues the plan addresses those threats more effectively than the Bush plan, although it has drawn ire from Tehran, which accuses Washington of stirring up anti-Iranian sentiment.
