Passion islam June 13 24page.indd

Passion Islam I June 2013 ` WORLD NEWS I 17
US launches terror
drone from warship
by 2020, according to Rear Adm.
Mat Winter, the Navy’s program
executive officer for unmanned
aviation and strike weapons.
Developed by Northrop Grumman
under a 2007 contract at a cost of
$1.4 billion, the X-47B is capable
of carrying weapons and providing
around-the-clock intelligence,
surveillance and targeting, according
to the report, citing Navy officials.
The X-47B can reach an altitude
The US military has conducted a test
flight of an assassination drone as
large as a fighter jet off the deck of
an American aircraft carrier, pointing
to plans to fly the unmanned aircraft
from anywhere in the world.
Test flight of the X-47B drone,
designed to take off and land on
an aircraft carrier, will mean the
American military would no longer
have to seek the permission of
foreign governments to use their air
bases to launch unmanned planes,
AP reported.
The persisting US military’s bid
to expand its capabilities to launch
its assassination and spying drones
comes amid the rising criticism
Mubarak appears in fresh
trial over protesters deaths
Ousted Egyptian dictator Hosni
Mubarak has appeared in court to
face a new trial over his role in the
killing of anti-government protesters
in 2011.
The trial is being held at a police
academy on the outskirts of the
capital, Cairo.
The former ruler was airlifted to
the Cairo court from a nearby prison.
Mubarak appeared in court with
other top aides including his interior
minister, Habib al-Adly last month.
Mubarak and several of his top
officials are accused of complicity
in the deaths of hundreds of
demonstrators during the Egyptian
of the American use of Predator
and Reaper aircrafts to conduct
intelligence missions and launch
terror missile strikes against targets
in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and
Yemen as part of its so-called
targeted killing plans.
This is while a growing number
of critics in the US and abroad have
charged that assassination drone
attacks cause massive civilian
deaths and are carried out with
inadequate oversight.
According to the report, while the
X-47B isn’t intended for operational
use, it will assist Navy authorities to
develop future carrier-based drones.
The drones could begin operating
revolution.
Mubarak and his two sons Gamal
and Alaa are also being retried on
corruption charges.
The defendants have all pleaded
not guilty to the multiple charges.
The former longtime ruler was
sentenced to life in prison last June,
but an appeals court later overturned
the sentence and ordered a retrial.
The government prosecutors told
the judge that they are presenting
new evidence from a fact-finding
committee’s report.
Latest reports say Egypt’s court
has decided to adjourn Mubark’s
retrial to June 6, 2013.
of more than 40,000 feet (12,192
meters) and has a range of more
than 2,100 nautical miles (3,890
kilometers), versus 675 for the
Predator.
Moreover, the US Navy plans to
demonstrate that the assassination
drone can be refueled in flight, which
would give it even greater range.
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Madinah governor
opens educational
complex
Prince Faisal bin Salman bin
Abdulaziz, Governor of Madinah
region and Chairman of Supreme
Committee of Madinah Events as
Capital of Islamic Culture 2013,
opened here yesterday Dar Al-
Qalam Complex and Educational
Museum within the framework of
Madinah events.
The Prince toured Dar Al-Qalam
Complex which contains Institute of
Holy Quran Memorization, Institute
of Arabic Calligraphy, and historical
documents relating to education in
Madinah region for more than 80
years.
The ceremony was attended
by Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin
Mohammed, Minister of Education,
Minister of Transport Dr. Jubarah
bin Eid Al-Suraiseri, President of
Islamic Development Bank Dr.
Mohammed Ahmed Ali, and a
number of officials.