Radioactive yellowcake found in Libya

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- A military site containing what appears to be radioactive material has been uncovered by revolutionary forces near the southern Libyan city of Sabha.

The site, not far from Sabha in the Sahara desert, has two warehouses containing thousands of blue barrels marked with tape saying "radioactive," and plastic bags of yellow powder sealed with the same tape.

The material has not been confirmed as being radioactive, but in 2004 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that the Libyan government had yellowcake stored in Sabha.

Yellowcake is processed uranium ore that can be used to produce enriched uranium for nuclear purposes.

Fighters entered Sabha, long regarded as a pro-Gadhafi stronghold, on Wednesday afternoon and initially met no resistance, officials said.
About a dozen lightly armed revolutionary fighters are now guarding the military site outside the city.

Elsewhere, revolutionaries have taken control of the southwestern town of Ubari, chasing Moammar Gadhafi loyalists from the area as Libya's new leaders continued to gain momentum, National Transitional Council field commander Al-Amin Shtawi said Thursday.

Amazingly awesome video of the Earth from the ISS.

NASA Space Shuttle Trainer Retires In Amarillo

Click to enlarge:


Last few seconds of flight - NASA 946 on final for runway 4 at Rick Husband/Amarillo International Airport.



NASA pilots Dick Clark and Ken Cockrell pose after the last flight of NASA 946 Space Shuttle trainer on delivery to Texas Air & Space Museum here in Amarillo. Wonderful gift in honor of Rick Husband - our hometown astronaut who gave his life on Columbia -STS-107.

The Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) is a NASA training vehicle that duplicates the Space Shuttle's approach profile and handling qualities, allowing Space Shuttle pilots to simulate Shuttle landings under controlled conditions before attempting the task on board the orbiter.



Because NASA has discontinued the shuttle program, the training aircraft is no longer needed.

The donated craft was delivered to the Texas Air & Space Museum shortly before noon today.

Museum Board President Ron Fernuik told the Amarillo Globe-News that the aircraft is a significant gift to the city because it is "bringing one of our own home."

The training aircraft was upgraded from its original production
version - a Grumman Gulfstream II - to simulate the space shuttle.

To keep the aircraft in good shape and provide a permanent viewing site the Texas Air & Space Museum needs to raise $35,000. They extend an invitation to all who feel they can give to assist them in their efforts to keep NASA 946 here at the airport that bears its' fallen astronaut's name.

You can contact the museum at 806-662-5823 or just give them a visit from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday - just NE of the Bell Helicopter-Textron V-22 Osprey plant.

US building secret bases for drones in the Horn of Africa and Arabian Peninsula to attack al-Qaeda

By Craig Whitlock and Greg Miller
Washington Post

The Obama administration is assembling a constellation of secret drone bases for counterterrorism operations in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as part of a newly aggressive campaign to attack al-Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen, U.S. officials said.

One of the installations is being established in Ethi­o­pia, a U.S. ally in the fight against al-Shabab, the Somali militant group that controls much of that country. Another base is in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, where a small fleet of “hunter-killer” drones resumed operations this month after an experimental mission demonstrated that the unmanned aircraft could effectively patrol Somalia from there.

The rapid expansion of the undeclared drone wars is a reflection of the growing alarm with which U.S. officials view the activities of al-Qaeda affiliates in Yemen and Somalia, even as al-Qaeda’s core leadership in Pakistan has been weakened by U.S. counterterrorism operations.

The U.S. government is known to have used drones to carry out lethal attacks in at least six countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. The negotiations that preceded the establishment of the base in the Republic of Seychelles illustrate the efforts the United States is making to broaden the range of its drone weapons.

The island nation of 85,000 people has hosted a small fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones operated by the U.S. Navy and Air Force since September 2009. U.S. and Seychellois officials have previously acknowledged the drones’ presence but have said that their primary mission was to track pirates in regional waters. But classified U.S. diplomatic cables show that the unmanned aircraft have also conducted counterterrorism missions over Somalia, about 800 miles to the northwest.

The cables, obtained by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, reveal that U.S. officials asked leaders in the Seychelles to keep the counterterrorism missions secret. The Reapers are described by the military as “hunter-killer” drones because they can be equipped with Hellfire missiles and satellite-guided bombs.

To allay concerns among islanders, U.S. officials said they had no plans to arm the Reapers when the mission was announced two years ago. The cables show, however, that U.S. officials were thinking about weaponizing the drones.

The U.S. military also has flown drones over Somalia and Yemen from bases in Djibouti, a tiny African nation at the junction of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. In addition, the CIA is building a secret airstrip in the Arabian Peninsula so it can deploy armed drones over Yemen.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Afghan peace leader killed in bomb attack ...

The chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council, Burhanuddin Rabbani, has been killed in a bomb attack at his home in Kabul, officials told the BBC.

He was meeting two members of the Taliban at his home at the time of the blast, officials said. It is unclear if they were involved in the attack.

The High Peace Council leads Afghan efforts to negotiate with the Taliban.

BBC:

Mr Rabbani is a former president of Afghanistan and also led the main political opposition in the country.

Unconfirmed reports say he may have been killed by a suicide attacker.

When the peace council was set up, Afghan President Hamid Karzai described it as the greatest hope for the Afghan people and called on the Taliban to seize the opportunity and help bring peace.

But many members of the council are former warlords who spent years fighting the Taliban and their inclusion led to doubts as to whether it could succeed in its mission.

Mr Rabbani recently spoke at a religious conference in Iran and called on Muslim scholars to speak out against suicide attacks.