The first of a new class of multipurpose Russian nuclear attack submarines currently in construction will be operational by 2010, a Russian news agency reported Wednesday.

The Severodvinsk `will be operational in 2010,` Ria Novosti said citing naval official Nicolas Kalisstratov.

Iraq, Turkey and the United States agreed Wednesday to form a joint committee to combat the Kurdistan Workers` Party (PKK), a guerilla movement based along the mountainous Iraq-Turkey border.

Iraq, Turkey and the United States agreed Wednesday to form a joint committee to combat the Kurdistan Workers` Party (PKK), a guerilla movement based along the mountainous Iraq-Turkey border.

SINGAPORE, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - Singapore's foreign minister has countered concerns over the country's ties to Myanmar, saying Monday that there have been no recent defence sales and that economic links are limited.

George Yeo, responding to questions in parliament, also said the country has strict rules against money laundering.

KIEV, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates held talks here Sunday with his Turkish counterpart as tension mounted between the two nations over Ankara's plans for possible attacks on Kurdish rebels in Iraq.

Gates urged Turkey to obtain precise information on the location of the separatist rebels before launching any military incursion into northern Iraq.

'The key is to develop intelligence to enable us to find these people... that has to precede any action by anybody,' he told reporters after meeting here with Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul.

KIEV, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates arrived in Ukraine Sunday on the first stop of a European tour that will see him discuss Turkey's threat to attack Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq and US plans for an anti-missile shield.

Gates arrived at 1:30 pm (1030 GMT) and was due to meet Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul later Sunday before holding talks with the defence ministers of Ukraine, Albania, Croatia and Macedonia.

MOSCOW, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - The United States is beginning to take into account Russian concerns over the deployment of a US missile defence system in Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

'Our latest contacts with our American colleagues show that... they are looking for solutions to the problem to remove our concerns,' Putin said during a televised question-and-answer session in the Kremlin.

MOSCOW, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday that Russia would defend its vast natural resources in Siberia, saying Russia was 'not Iraq' and would not allow outsiders to gain control of its resources.

'Thank God Russia is not Iraq. Russia has the strength and the means to defend itself,' Putin said during a live television question-and-answer session with Russians from around the country.

MOSCOW, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - India and Russia signed an agreement in Moscow Thursday for the joint production of a new multi-purpose fighter jet, Interfax news agency reported.

Representatives of both countries' governments signed the deal, which will see India and Russia equally sharing both costs and engineering input, Interfax said.

The deal followed talks here between Indian Defence Minister Arackaparambil Kurian Antony and Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.

sms/dt/National League

SEOUL, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Eurocopter, part of European aircraft giant EADS, said Thursday it had signed a deal to create a joint venture company to sell South Korea's new military helicopter.

The deal was signed during an air show at a military base in southern Seoul, Eurocopter said in a statement.

Eurocopter said it would own 49 percent of the venture, with the remaining 51 percent to be controlled by its partner, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).

MOSCOW, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Iran does not have the ability to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles anytime soon, Russia's army chief said Wednesday.

'We continue to say this without equivocation and it is our deep conviction, founded on real knowledge of the situation in Iran concerning its capacity to create intercontinental ballistic missiles,' General Yuri Baluyevsky said.

'We do not see that it would be possible to do this in the near future or in the medium term, or that it is simply possible at all' for Iran, he added.

MOSCOW, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Russia and India will collaborate on building a new fifth generation fighter plane, the Indian defence minister confirmed here Wednesday.

'We are collaborating on the BrahMos missiles, on a new fifth generation combat plane and on a multi-purpose transport plane... demonstrating the strategic nature of Russo-Indian cooperation,' Arackaparambil Kurian Antony said at a high-level meeting in Moscow.

JERUSALEM, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has held Washington talks with his US counterpart Robert Gates on the joint development of a missile interception system, his office said on Wednesday.

On his first trip since taking office in June, Barak and Gates also discussed regional issues on Tuesday, including Iran's controversial nuclear programme, which Israel and the United States say is cover for the development an atomic weapon, something Iran strongly denies.

THE HAGUE, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - The appeals chamber of the UN war crimes court on Tuesday confirmed the acquittal of Sefer Halilovic, the former chief of staff of the Muslim-dominated Bosnian army, for murder.

"The appeals chamber dismisses the prosecution's grounds of appeal and affirms Sefer Halilovic's acquittal," Turkish judge Mehmet Guney said.

Halilovic, 55, is one of the highest-ranking Bosnian Muslim officials to have appeared before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - A soldier was killed Tuesday in southeastern Turkey in a landmine explosion blamed on Kurdish rebels, security sources said.

The incident occurred while a group of soldiers were conducting a search operation in a mountainous area in Bingol province, where the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is active.

Remote-controlled landmine attacks have recently become a hallmark of PKK violence.

ANKARA, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Turkey on Tuesday told Iraq to crack down on Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq or face the consequences, as Baghdad called for urgent talks over Ankara's threat of a military incursion.

With Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi in Turkey for a visit and the Turkish parliament preparing to vote on a motion allowing for cross-border raids, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it clear that Ankara's patience with Baghdad had run out.

NABLUS, West Bank, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Israeli soldiers shot dead an elderly Palestinian and an armed fighter during an operation on Tuesday in the flashpoint West Bank city of Nablus, a local security official said.

Abed Shaker el-Wazir, in his 70s, was apparently killed by a stray Israeli bullet while in his house during a military operation, the official said.

Three fighters from the armed Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades faction, which is loosely affiliated to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party, were wounded during an exchange of fire with Israeli troops.

MOSUL, Iraq, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - The kidnappers of two Roman Catholic priests in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul have withdrawn an agreement for their release, a Christian group said on Tuesday.

Father Pius Affas and Father Mazen Ishoa, both Iraqis, were kidnapped in Mosul on Saturday by an unknown group, and Pope Benedict XVI subsequently made an appeal for their release.

COLOMBO, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Tamil Tiger rebels have overrun a military post inside Sri Lanka's most popular wildlife sanctuary, officials said Tuesday amid a surge in fighting ahead of the economically crucial tourist season.

The defence ministry said the latest round of fighting over a 24-hour period -- both in the wildlife park in the southeast and in separate clashes in the island's north -- had left 38 rebel fighters and government soldiers dead.

SYDNEY, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - The top US nuclear negotiator said Tuesday that North Korea would have to hand over the plutonium it created with its atomic weapons programme to make further progress on an aid-for-disarmament deal.

Christopher Hill, a US assistant secretary of state, said that the isolated Communist country possessed 50 kilogrammes (110 pounds) of plutonium that would be the focus of international talks in the new year.

TEHRAN, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday backed Iran's right to nuclear energy and argued against military action, during the first visit to the country by a Kremlin chief since World War II.

Putin, attending a summit meeting of Caspian Sea states, arrived in the Iranian capital amid heavy security and secrecy over his travel plans after reports a squad of suicide bombers planned to kill him.

WASHINGTON, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Twelve former US army captains Tuesday urged Washington to either abandon Iraq or dramatically increase its military presence there by reinstating mandatory military service.

The article, published in the Washington Post, also criticized higher-ranking officers for believing they can still hold Iraq together with the force available.

"There is one way we might be able to succeed in Iraq," wrote the ex-captains, all of whom saw service in Iraq between 2003 and 2006.

DOHA, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - A Patriot missile was launched accidentally from a US military base in the Gulf state of Qatar, landing in a farm but causing no casualties, Al-Jazeera television reported on Tuesday.

"A Patriot missile landed on a farm belonging to a Qatari national after being fired by accident from the As-Sailiyah camp," the Doha-based satellite channel said.

The US military said it was looking into the apparent misfire, but declined to give any further details.

BUJUMBURA, 16 oct 2007 (AFP) - Burundi's last active rebel group Tuesday said it will shun a weekend meeting to put the central African nation's derailed peace process back on track as the South African mediator was biased.

"The FNL will not respond to the invitation of South African Minister Charles Nqakula who has disqualified himself as a mediator," said Pasteur Habimana, spokesman for the National Liberation Forces (FNL) rebel group.

COLOMBO, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - At least six government troops were killed when Tamil Tiger rebels attacked a military position inside Sri Lanka's main wildlife sanctuary, military officials said Tuesday.

The bodies of the six men were found at first light Tuesday following an overnight attack on an army detachment inside the Yala National Park in the southeast of the country, military officials said.

CHERBOURG, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - A huge mission to clear the waters off Normandy of mines from the last two World Wars began Tuesday, French authorities said.

The mission to clear the seabed of the Seine Bay off Normandy of unexploded naval mines involves seven vessels from Nato and two French minesweepers.

Around 450 sailors from seven countries are involved in the operation which is scheduled to last until October 29.

BRIOUDE, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - One of only two surviving French veterans of World War I celebrated his 110th birthday Tuesday at his home in Brioude in central France.

Louis de Cazenave signed up for service in 1916 and served with the fifth Senegalese battalion.

He saw active service from December 1916 to September 1917 and took part in the notorious "Ladies' Way" battle as the French attacked the German lines.

On returning to civilian life in 1919 he became a railwayman.

TOKYO, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Nearly two-thirds of Japanese voters want the opposition to compromise on its campaign to cut off support for US-led troops in Afghanistan and force early elections, a newspaper said Tuesday.

But the survey by the Asahi Shimbun also showed only lukewarm support for the naval mission itself and a slight fall in support for recently installed Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's government.

WASHINGTON, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - A US Patriot missile was accidentally launched in Qatar and self-destructed over an unpopulated farm area, causing no injuries, Pentagon officials said Tuesday.

Lieutenant General Carter Ham, director of operations of the Joint Staff, said a Patriot missile unit at Camp As-Saliyah in Qatar was conducting a training exercise when the missile accidentally went off.

"Don't know why or how the missile advertently launched, but it did," he told reporters here.

MOSCOW, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Russia's military announced that up to 10 of its strategic bombers would carry out patrols Tuesday over the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific Oceans and the Black Sea.

"Up to 10 long-range aircraft, Tupolev 160s amd 22M3 are taking part in these exercises, with in-flight refuelling," Air Force spokesman Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky told Russian news agencies.

WIESBADEN, Germany, Oct 15, 2003 (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin signalled here Monday that his country would not allow its economic and military prowess to be reined in, adding there was no reason to fear Russia's progress.

'Maybe there are people who do not like Russia's progress. To those people I want to say that there is no reason to worry about Russia getting back on its feet,' Putin said after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the western city of Wiesbaden.

MOSCOW, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - A Russian radar near Iran could be used in a US missile defense system but would not be a substitute for sites planned in NATO members Poland and the Czech republic, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said here Friday.

'The radar is of primary use as an early warning radar and would not be useful in terms of terminal guidance' of interceptor missiles, Gates said at a news conference after talks with top Russian officials.

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Kuwait is to buy an unspecified number of Patriot missiles from the United States, Defence Minister Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah told the state news agency KUNA on Friday.

Sheikh Jaber, responding to questions about Washington's sale of arms to Gulf allies, said 'Kuwait has signed deals, not for airplanes, but for materiel such as ships and Patriot missiles.'

He did not give any further details.

MOSCOW, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - The United States on Friday rejected a Russian call to freeze a planned anti-missile defence system in central Europe, despite a warning from Moscow that it would move to 'neutralise' the threat from such a system.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said after talks in Moscow that 'negotiations with our allies... will continue' on deployment of the tracking radar and missile interceptors in the Czech Republic and Poland.

MOSCOW, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday after talks here with his US counterpart that they had failed to reach agreement on US plans for a missile shield in central Europe and that Moscow wants the project 'frozen.'

'There is no agreement on this,' Lavrov told journalists after talks with Rice and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in Moscow. He said that for negotiations to work the US project for an anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic 'should be frozen.'

NOVO OGARYEVO, Russia, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Friday that the United States should not 'force' its plans to deploy new missile defences in eastern Europe while it is still discussing the issue with Moscow.

'We are counting on you not to force your previous agreements with eastern European countries during our complex negotiations' on the topic, Putin told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

NOVO OGARYEVO, Russia, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin warned a US delegation Friday that Russia could withdraw from the Cold War-era INF treaty limiting medium and shorter-range missiles in Europe.

Putin said 'it will be difficult for us to remain within the framework of the treaty', which requires destruction of Russian and US intermediate range missiles, unless it is expanded to include other countries.

DUBLIN, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Recent immigrants to Ireland should be allowed to serve in the country's armed forces, Defence Minister Willie O'Dea said Wednesday, announcing he had ordered a review of recruitment procedures.

'I believe the defence forces should reflect the significant broadening of cultural and ethnic diversity that has occurred in Ireland in recent years,' O'Dea said, addressing a defence conference in Tralee, south-west Ireland.

JERUSALEM, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Israel announced on Wednesday that it would install a new system to protect its airspace from terror attack and upgrade existing civilian aircraft missile defences.

At a meeting devoted to aviation security, ministers in the security cabinet were briefed about a soon-to-be installed system that will recognise planes flying in Israeli airspace, the prime minister's office said.