Iraq to delay purchase of F-16s, funds food program instead

Iraq has postponed the planned purchase of 18 F-16 fighter planes from the United States this year and diverted the funds to feeding the poor, an official said on Monday, amid growing protests that have been inspired by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

“The F-16 contract has been postponed this year and the money has been diverted toward improving food rations” for the poor, government spokesman Ali Dabbagh told AFP.

“In the new draft budget for 2011 that was presented to us, $900 million was earmarked for the purchase of F-16s, which will be used to finance rations and social benefits,” confirmed Mohammed Khalil, a Kurdish MP who is a member of parliament’s finance committee.
“We had to make choices because of the budget deficit,” he added.

In an interview with AFP this month Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said that six million Iraqis possessed food ration permits, entitling them to the full quota of subsidized essentials. He said his government would increase the total amount spent on food rations for the needy from $3 billion to $4 billion.

For more than a year, Iraq has been engaged in talks with the United States for F-16 fighters to protect its airspace after the planned departure of US forces at the end of this year which will leave Iraq without air cover.

“The long-term value of the offer for the 18 aircraft was $3 billion, including the aircraft, ammunition, spare parts, training and everything else, including avionics and electronics,” said Brigadier General Jeffrey Buchanan, spokesman for US forces in Iraq.

Protests over irregular deliveries of rations and lack of basic services like electricity have sparked protests around Iraq that have multiplied since uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt toppled entrenched dictatorships in those countries.

- google.com

 

JAL plane hits turbulence; causes broken bones

On Feb. 11, two people suffered broken bones when a Japan Airlines (JAL) plane hit sudden turbulence en route from Tokyo to Hawaii, says an airline spokesman.

According to the official, the JAL Boeing 767-300 was flying with 239 passengers and 11 crew members aboard when it encountered the turbulence at cruising altitude, some 300 kilometres (188 miles) west of Honolulu.

The accident occurred at 3:30 am Japan time (1830 GMT Thursday).

One passenger broke their left thigh bone and a crew member suffered a broken right elbow, the spokesman said without giving further details.

Established in 1951 and became the national airline of Japan in 1953, Japan Airlines is the Flag carrier of Japan and its main hubs are Tokyo’s Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport, as well as Nagoya’s Chūbu Centrair International Airport and Osaka’s Kansai International Airport.

With deliveries for a total 104 with no unfilled orders, the Boeing 767-300 is a 6.43 m stretch of the 767-200, with an overall length of 54.94 m. The 767-300 was first ordered by Japan Airlines in 1983. It first flew on January 30, 1986, and was delivered to JAL later that year on September 25. The 767-300′s direct competitor from Airbus is the A330-200. The 767-300 is expected to be replaced by the 787-8 in Boeing’s lineup.

 

-asdnews.com

-wikipedia.org