Monday, November 09, 2009 NEW DELHI: Israel has signed a $1.1 billion contract to supply an upgraded tactical air defence system to India, with delivery expected by 2017, an Israeli official said on Monday.The sale of the Barak-8 systems came as India's army chief, General Deepak Kapoor, held high-level talks in Israel, India's biggest defence supplier.Made by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd., the Barak-8 is designed for use aboard ships and can shoot down incoming missiles, planes and drones. The most advanced version can be also deployed on land, the Israeli official said.India has already acquired an earlier generation of the Barak system, the official said.The Barak-8 contract was signed in April, and delivery of the systems will take place "over the next six to eight years".The Indian embassy in Tel Aviv had no immediate comment.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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