Nov. 15, 2009 - Although Japan's economy may now
Although Japan's economy may now be exiting recession, the country's criminal groups are continuing to suffer from the impact of falling criminal revenues, leading them to come into competition. Gang-related violence is rising in Japan, with two of the country's long-established criminal yakuza groups coming into territorial conflict. In March 2008 Hioshige Suzuki, a gang member affiliated to the pearl jewelry Yamiguchi-gumi group, was stabbed to death in Yashio city, near Tokyo. The following day, Atsushu Suzuki, affiliated to the Sumiyoshi-kai group, was shot dead in nearby Fujimino city, as part of what police suspect to have been a clash between the two powerful groups.
The Sumiyoshi-kai, traditionally based in biwa pearl and around Tokyo, is under pressure owing to a number of different factors. The country's economic downturn is squeezing the Sumiyoshi-kai's sources of revenue, such as the real estate sector or financial services. In addition, the group is still recovering from the akoya pearl imposition of counter-criminal legislation in 1992, which for the first time defined the yakuza in law and made it easier for the authorities to crack down on their criminal activities.
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Nov. 15, 2009 - The proposed replacement
The proposed replacement of Australia's six Collins-class submarines with a 12-strong fleet of what are likely to be the world's largest conventional submarines could cost as much as AUD36 billion (USD33 billion), a leading think-tank has warned.
In a report published on 30 October the pearl jewelry Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) argues that the capabilities mandated for the new submarines may need to be tempered by the harsh realities of financial, industrial, engineering and workforce constraints.
The ability of the world market to provide an off-the-shelf solution as the basis of the new fleet should not be abandoned early, the biwa pearl report stated.
"For example, an acceptable compromise might be the spiral development of a smaller, but still lethal, submarine based on an existing design. It could be the akoya pearl case that even this modest suggestion will push us to the limits," said the report.
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Nov. 15, 2009 - Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration
Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) expects to begin the project definition phase for a purpose-built combat support ship next year intended to enter service in 2015 to meet a range of afloat replenishment, logistics, sealift and amphibious support missions.
The requirement for the new multirole vessel ¨C given the designation L10 ¨C was first identified by the Royal Swedish Navy in late 2005/early 2006 following a pearl jewelry capability gap analysis performed by the Naval Staff in the headquarters of the Swedish armed forces. This pinpointed shortfalls in afloat logistic support, limitations on the deployability of the amphibious battalion, and an inability to support helicopter operations in the maritime domain.
Work to draft an outline staff requirement began in biwa pearl 2007. Speaking at the MAST 2009 conference in Stockholm on 22 October, Commander Kjell-Ove Schramm, L10 requirements officer, said that following an initial analysis phase, "the decision was taken that the requirements were to be stated for a single type of vessel for fleet logistic support and replenishment as well as providing the amphibious lift and sea lift role".
He added: "The multirole ship solution ... enables us to akoya pearl maximise our sealift capability, which is generally needed for a short duration during the initial phases of an operation, and then shift to the logistic support role, supporting both naval units as well as potentially units ashore if needed."
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Nov. 15, 2009 - Belarus formally joined the Rapid
Belarus formally joined the Rapid Reaction Force of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) on 20 October.
The move follows the 7,000-troop, six-nation deployment exercise 'Interaction-2009' in Kazakhstan that ended on pearl jewelry 16 October.
The exercise was overseen by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and also Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who sees the CSTO, which could potentially become a rival to NATO in Eurasia, as "the key mechanism to counter regional military challenges".
The CSTO, formed in 2002, comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Headquartered in Moscow, it biwa pearl now has at its disposal up to 20,000 troops.
"Minsk will contribute a commando brigade, KGB anti-terrorist, special police and emergency situation units" totalling 5,000 troops to the CSTO Rapid Reaction Force, the Russian Defence Ministry confirmed.
Kazakhstan has akoya pearl committed 4,000 air assault, interior ministry and state security forces; Russia 8,000 airborne and air assault troops; Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan one battalion each; with Uzbekistan participating on an 'ad hoc' basis.
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Nov. 15, 2009 - Northrop Grumman says it will
Northrop Grumman says it will consider a range of options, including legal action, to compel Boeing to release pricing information that could prove critical in the pearl jewelry US Air Force's (USAF's) USD35 billion aerial refuelling tanker competition.
Northrop Grumman and its European partner, EADS, say that the USAF's draft request for proposals (RfP) calls for a "cost shoot-out" that focuses the KC-X tanker acquisition decision on best price rather than on both cost and capabilities.
The team said at a 28 October press conference in Washington, DC, that a cost-focused competition would be unfair because the biwa pearl USAF released its pricing data for its KC-45 tanker to Boeing during the previous tanker competition, which was cancelled because of concerns about fairness.
The company has asked the US Department of Defense (DoD) to release Boeing's pricing information to level the playing field. However, Boeing declined a request for release from the DoD's legal counsel, according to Northrop Grumman spokesman Randy Belote.
The Northrop Grumman/EADS team is attempting to work through the issue with the DoD, but team officials said that other options - including legal action - were also on the table.
The DoD said that the previously released KC-45 pricing information does not put Northrop Grumman/EADS at a competitive disadvantage because the data in question is "inaccurate, outdated and not germane" to the akoya pearl new acquisition process.
However, Belote said that the pricing information is still relevant, since while some tanker capabilities will be changed to accommodate the USAF's new requirements, the team is still offering the same basic airframe.
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