WikiLeaks Cables: Shell's grip on Nigerian State Revealed

*US embassy cables reveal top executive's 

claims that company 'knows everything' about

 key decisions in government ministries

The oil giant Shell claimed it had inserted staff into all the main 

ministries of the Nigerian government, giving it access to politicians' 

every move in the oil-rich Niger Delta, according to a leaked US

 diplomatic cable.

The company's top executive in Nigeria told US diplomats that
Shell had seconded employees to every relevant department
and so knew "everything that was being done in those ministries".
She boasted that the Nigerian government had "forgotten" about
the extent of Shell's infiltration and was unaware of how much
the company knew about its deliberations.

The cache of secret dispatches from Washington's embassies
in Africa also revealed that the Anglo-Dutch oil firm swapped
intelligence with the US, in one case providing US diplomats
with the names of Nigerian politicians it suspected of supporting
militant activity, and requesting information from the US on
whether the militants had acquired anti-aircraft missiles.
The latest revelations came on a day that saw hackers
sympathetic to WikiLeaks target MasterCard and Visa over
their decision to block payments to the whistleblowers' website.

The website's founder, Julian Assange, spent a sixth night in
jail after a judge refused him bail prior to an extradition hearing
to face questioning over sexual assault charges in Sweden.

Campaigners said the revelation about Shell in Nigeria
demonstrated the tangled links between the oil firm and
politicians in the country where, despite billions of dollars
in oil revenue, 70% of people live below the poverty line.

Cables from Nigeria show how Ann Pickard, then Shell's
vice-president for sub-Saharan Africa, sought to share 
intelligence with the US government on militant activity and
business competition in the contested Niger Delta – and how,
with some prescience, she seemed reluctant to open up because
of a suspicion the US government was "leaky".

But that did not prevent Pickard disclosing the company's reach
 into the Nigerian government when she met US ambassador
Robin Renee Sanders, as recorded in a confidential memo from
the US embassy in Abuja on 20 October 2009.

At the meeting, Pickard related how the company had obtained
 a letter showing that the Nigerian government had invited bids
for oil concessions from China. She said the minister of state for
petroleum resources, Odein Ajumogobia, had denied the letter
had been sent but Shell knew similar correspondence had taken
place with China and Russia.

The ambassador reported: "She said the GON [government of
Nigeria] had forgotten that Shell had seconded people to 
all the relevant ministries and that Shell consequently 
had access to everything that was being done in those 
ministries."

Nigeria is Africa's leading oil producer and the eighth biggest
exporter in the world, accounting for 8% of US oil imports. Although
a recent UN report largely exonerated the company, critics accuse
Shell, the biggest operator in the delta, and other companies, of
causing widespread pollution and environmental damage 
the region. Militant groups engaged in hostage-taking and sabotage
have proliferated.

The WikiLeaks disclosure was seized on by campaigners as
evidence of Shell's vice-like grip on the country's oil wealth.
"Shell and the government of Nigeria are two sides of the same coin,
" said Celestine AkpoBari, of Social Action Nigeria. "Shell is everywhere.
They have an eye and an ear in every ministry of Nigeria. They have
people on the payroll in every community, which is why they get away
with everything. They are more powerful than the Nigerian government."

The criticism was echoed by Ben Amunwa of the London-based oil
watchdog Platform. "Shell claims to have nothing to do with Nigerian
politics," he said. "In reality, Shell works deep inside the system, and
has long exploited political channels in Nigeria to its own advantage."

Levi Ajuonoma, a spokesman for the state-owned Nigerian National 
Petroleum Corporation, said: "Shell does not control the government
of Nigeria and has never controlled the government of Nigeria. This
cable is the mere interpretation of one individual. It is absolutely untrue,
 an absolute falsehood and utterly misleading. It is an attempt to demean the government and we will not stand for that. I don't think anybody will lose
sleep over it."

Another cable released today, from the US consulate in Lagos and dated
19 September 2008, claims that Pickard told US diplomats that two
named regional politicians were behind unrest in the Rivers state. She
also asked if the American diplomats had any intelligence on shipments
of surface to air missiles (SAMs) to militants in the Niger Delta.

"She claimed Shell has 'intelligence' that one to three SAMs may have
been shipped to Nigerian militant groups, although she seemed somewhat
skceptical of that information and wondered if such sensitive systems
would last long in the harsh environment of the Niger Delta,"
the cable said.

Pickard also said Shell had learned from the British government details
 of Russian energy company Gazprom's ambitions to enter the Nigerian
 market. In June last year, Gazprom signed a $2.5bn (£1.5bn) deal with
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to build refineries, pipelines
and gas power stations.

Shell put a request to the US consulate for potentially sensitive
intelligence about Gazprom, a possible rival, which she said had secured
 a promise from the Nigerian government of access to 17trn cubic feet
of natural gas – roughly a tenth of Nigeria's entire reserves. "Pickard
said that amount of gas was only available if the GON were to take
concessions currently assigned to other oil companies and give them to
Gazprom. She assumed Shell would be the GON's prime target." Pickard
alleged that a conversation with a Nigerian government minister had
secretly recorded by the Russians. Shortly after the meeting in the
minister's office she received a verbatim transcript of the meeting
"from Russia", according to the memo.

The cable concludes with the observation that the oil executive
had tended to be guarded in discussion with US officials. "Pickard
repeatedly told us she does not like to talk to USG [US government]
officials because the USG is 'leaky'." She may be concerned that ...
bad news about Shell's Nigerian operations will leak out."

Shell declined to comment on the allegations, saying: "You are seeking
our views on a leaked cable allegedly containing information about a
private conversation involving a Shell representative'.

source:guardian.co.uk

AIRPORT POLICE COMMAND ARREST FOUR SUSPECTS IN CONNECTION WITH STOLEN DDC MACHINES

The Airport Police Command, Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja has reportedly arrested four suspects in respect of the 20 Direct Data Capturing(DDC) stolen at the cargo terminal on Monday.
The suspects, who were reportedly arrested at different locations around Ikeja environs by men of the Criminal Investigation Department(CID) of the Command are currently been held at the Beesam Police Station where they have already made confessional statements to the police owning up to committing the crime.
The supposed buyer of the stolen items, according to the Police sources is already on the run.
The suspects are expected to be arraign in court next week while man-hunt had been mounted for the other suspect at- large.
Meanwhile the Independent National Electora Commission( INEC) says in Abuja today that 16 out of 20 missing Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines to be used for voter registration in 2011 had been recovered.

A statement by Mr Kayode Idowu, Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega said the machines were recovered by Thursday afternoon.

It added that security agents were working assiduously to recover the four outstanding machines as well as apprehend the culprits.

According to the statement, INEC reassures Nigerians that the voter registration scheduled for January 15 to 29, 2011, remains firmly on course.

The reassurance became necessary against the backdrop of the theft of some DDC machines at the Lagos airport.

A consignment of 20 machines was stolen on Tuesday, out of a total of 6,000 brought into the country by Zinox Technologies Ltd.

The statement added that there were adequate safety features to forestall any nefarious use of the stolen items, as such, the integrity of the electoral processes would not be compromised.

``Furthermore, INEC has been assured of intensified safeguards against further breaches.

``The Commission uses this opportunity to urge all eligible Nigerians to turn out for the planned voter registration in January and to work with INEC for the attainment of free, fair and credible elections in 2011,’’ it said.

Thirty-Eight Ex-Niger Delta Militants For Vocational Training In South Africa

Thirty-eight ex-combatants of the Niger Delta militants left the shores of Nigeria today(Wednesday) to South Africa to undergo vocational training as stipulated by the program for the rehabilitation of members of the group..

Senior Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Timi Aliabe who disclosed this early todat at the Sheraton Hotel in Lagos said that the ex-combatants will be trained at the Artisan Skills Training Provider (ASTP) in that country.

According to Aliabe all 38 ex-militants would be trained to either become qualified sea-farers, quartermasters, sea masters, boat drivers or even marine captains.

Aliabe further said that the Federal Government has made arrangements with 35 similar off shore centre providing services in vocation/skill acquisition and education.

He said, “These trainees who have successfully gone through nonviolence transformational training represent the future of the Niger Delta and Nigeria as a whole. The various kinds of training and general life exposure they are set to receive at the offshore training centre will further transform and prepare them as agents of change.”

Aliabe also said that the 38 will in South Africa for six months after which they would actually be given t6he opportunity to put to practise what they have learnt in the program.

“But even more important, President Goodluck Jonathan expects transformed and skilled ex-militants to form the bedrock and bulwark of the new economy of the Niger Delta.”

He charged the delegates to consider the privileges given to them as rare and thus position themselves to effectively maximize the opportunity given as worthy ambassadors.

Speaking to Daily Champion, one of the ex-militants, Taribolou Dick expressed joy at the concept of being a freeman and said that the time of hiding in the shadows and avoiding soldiers was past.

As a professional soldier for nine years before joining the struggle, Dick said that it was a horrendous sight to watch colleagues in the struggle die for the cause.

Another ex-militant, Oyibo Akpos who spoke at the gathering extolled the federal government for the initiative, and further propagated the non-violence creed and the six principles guiding it stating that as a reformed citizen that was now his lot.

He said, “To be able to express my aggravation through dialogue without resulting to violence of any sort because violence would not win the eventual war.”

The amnesty program, it would be recalled was conceived during the era of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua with the offering of amnesty in June 25, 2009 of which 20,193 militants accepted the offer and started the disarmament process which took place on October 4, 2009.

Man taken To Hospital after Motorola Droid Smartphone Exploded

Aron Embry, who was in Cedar Hill, Texas, said he had just finished a call when he said he heard a loud "pop."

He then felt something trickling down his face - it was blood.

His ear was bleeding profusely, and he was immediately taken to the emergency room at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. He received four stitches, but said there was no hearing loss.

The glass on the face of the Motorola Droid smartphone shattered. He said he had bought it just two days earlier.

"Once I got to the mirror and saw it, it was only then I kind of looked at my phone and realised that the screen had appeared to burst outward," he said.

The phone still appeared to be functioning with its battery intact.

Motorola issued the following statement:

"Motorola's priority is, and always has been the safety of our customers, and all Motorola products are designed, manufactured and tested to meet or exceed international and local standards for consumer safety. We will reach out to the consumer and investigate this thoroughly."

An exploding phone is rare, it is not unique.

An Indian man was killed when the Nokia cell phone he was using exploded in his face in August.

Gopal Gujjar, 23, was found dead with burns to his left ear, neck and shoulders, near a farm in Bandha village close to the city of Kota in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan, The Times of India reported.

Mr Gujjar had apparently gone to the forest to graze cattle about noon and was believed to be talking on the phone when it exploded.

Police found pieces of the Nokia 1209 handset, a basic model released in August 2008, scattered nearby.

In January this year, a 27-year-old housewife in Andhra Pradesh, on the southeastern coast of India, was killed while talking to her husband on a charging phone.

TERRORISM:

Watch List Checks Under

    TSA’s Full Control

US Dept. of Homeland Security stated that all passengers on flights "within or bound for the United States are now being checked against government watch lists" under implementation of the Transportation Security Administration's "Secure Flight" program, which entails the agency prescreening a passenger's full name, birth date and gender prior to issuance of a boarding pass.

Previously, airlines were tasked with checking names against watch lists; now, in accordance with a final rule issued by DHS in 2008, airlines are required to collect a passenger's information at the time of reservation and provide it to TSA.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement, "Secure Flight makes air travel safer for everyone by screening every passenger against the latest intelligence before a boarding pass is issued."

TSA Administrator John Pistole added, "The threats we face in the aviation sector are real and evolving, and we must confront them with strong and dynamic security measures. Secure Flight bolsters our efforts to be more intelligence-driven and risk-based in our approach to aviation security."

Some 197 airlines are participating in the program, for which full implementation was required by Jan. 1.

"We are pleased that [airlines and government] were able to reach this important security milestone ahead of schedule," US Air Transport Assn. President and CEO James May said.

TSA, which noted it "adheres to strict protocols to protect individual privacy" related to the passenger information provided by airlines, pointed out it has been handling the watch list checks for all domestic flights since June 22.

DHS said that "99% of passengers" will be able to receive boarding passes at home, via kiosks or airport counters just as before Secure Flight was in place.

"Individuals found to match watch list parameters will be subject to secondary screening, a law enforcement interview or prohibition from boarding an aircraft, depending on the specific case," it stated.

Pistole commented that a positive offshoot of the program will be making it less likely passengers will be wrongly confused with names on watch lists. "This will reduce, perhaps substantially, the number of people seeking redress," he told reporters.

TUKUR APPOINTED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BY SPANISH CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

By Lateef Lawal

The Assistant Secretary General of Airline Operarors of Nigeria(AON), Alhaji Mohammed Tukur has been appointed the Executive Director/Public Affairs andGovernment Relations by a construction giant, Lopez Torres Engineering &Construction Company Nigeria Limited.

Before his latest appointment, Alhaji Tukur was the former director in the Afrijet after his managerial stints with Chanchangi Airlines.

The appointment, according to competent sources close to the parent body of the Spanish,Madrid based company, the appointment is with immediate effect.

The company, with its Nigeria head office at the Federal Capital, Abuja is reputed for construtions of mega-edifices such as Airports and Airport Terminals.

The company has also executed many projects in various parts of the world including urbanisations, urban sevices and supply of ground surfaces and large structures such as briges, elevated rail lines, industrial and residential structures.

The Chairman of the Nigeria brach of the company is (retired) Major General Abdulmalik Halidu Giwa.

Arik Air congratulates Super Falcons

Arik Air, has joined millions of Nigerians in congratulating the nation’s senior national women soccer team, the Super Falcons on their victory over Equatorial Guinea in last Sunday’s final of the Africa Women’s Championship in South Africa.

Arik Air’s Managing Director/Executive Vice President, Mr. Chris Ndulue echoed the sentiments of many in Nigeria saying “Congratulations to the Super Falcons from all of us at Arik Air, in reclaiming the African title they lost to Equatorial Guinea two years ago and on becoming six times champion of Africa.”

Ndulue stressed that Arik Air is happy to be identified with the Super Falcons having had the singular honour of flying the team to and from South Africa venue of the championship. “Arik Air has become the carrier of choice for Nigeria’s soccer teams and we are proud of this achievement. We feel highly honoured to have played a notable role in the team’s success at the African Womens’ Championship in South Africa”, Ndulue stated.

He noted that this is not the first time Arik Air will be flying the national team to or from a major championship after Arik stepped in to fly the Super Eagles from London to Durban, South Africa for the last World Cup. This was after the prearranged flight for the team could not operate.

“As the nation’s leading commercial airline, we see every opportunity of flying the national team as a call to duty and we will always be available to avail the nation our services. Once again, we congratulate the Super Falcons and wish the nation many more of such victories”, Ndulue said.

The Super Falcons left for Johannesburg, venue of the African Women Championship aboard Arik Air Airbus A330-200 aircraft on October 27 and the team returned with the same flight yesterday before being flown to Abuja in another Arik Air Boeing 737-700 aircraft for the Presidential reception.

 Arik Air is West Africa’s leading commercial airline. It now operates a fleet of 26 state-of-the art regional, medium haul and long haul aircraft. The airline currently serves 22 airports across Nigeria as well as Accra (Ghana), Banjul (Gambia), Cotonou (Benin), Dakar (Senegal), Freetown (Sierra Leone), Monrovia (Liberia), London Heathrow (UK), Johannesburg (South Africa) and New York JFK (USA).

The airline currently operates over 150 flights daily from its hubs in Lagos and Abuja.

GUINEA'S ELECTION

 Alpha Conde Declared Winner In 

    Race for Guinea Presidency

Guinea's veteran opposition politician Alpha Conde has won the country's long-delayed, first democratic presidential election with 52.52 percent of votes, according to official preliminary results released late on Monday.

Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) President Siaka Sangara announced Conde had received 1,474,666 votes in the country's 28 districts, against 1,333,666 votes, or 47.48 percent, for his opponent Cellou Dalein Diallo.

Conde’s victory was greeted with cries of “Long live democracy, long live change!”, according to Pauline Simonet, FRANCE 24’s correspondent in the Guinean capital, Conakry.

But there are widespread fears that despite the breakthrough that this election represents for Guinea, instability could continue. 

"If the two leaders don’t get along and if one of them does not recognise his defeat, there is a risk that the army could return to power,” Antoine Glaser, a French journalist specialised in Africa, told FRANCE 24.

Earlier in the day, Diallo supporters clashed with security forces as rival candidate Alpha Conde claimed victory in the run-off vote. One person was reported dead in the clashes.

On Sunday, former premier Diallo renewed his allegations of mass fraud, almost one week after the results were due to be released.In the Guinean capital soldiers were deployed on most street corners and in force at the electoral commission, where authorities feared that supporters of Diallo’s Union of Democratic Forces in Guinea (UDFG) may start rioting.

At a press conference on Sunday, Diallo said that delegates of his party had not been able to observe voting in certain regions, and urged the electoral commission to delay announcing results until fraud allegations were investigated. 

Diallo also said he wanted the electoral commission to cancel the votes in the disputed regions.Diallo picked up 43.69 percent of ballots cast in the first round of voting in June, while Conde, of the Rally for the People of Guinea (RPG), took 18.25 percent.

The election was intended to end 52 years of dictatorship and military rule in the mineral-rich west African country.“The results of the second round produced a very equal turnout – the most dangerous outcome,” explained Douglas Yates, a professor of political science at the American University of Paris.

Yates said the repeated delays that followed Diallo’s resounding first round victory had stoked animosity towards Diallo’s Peul ethnic group. 

Other candidates and ethnic groups formed an anti-Peul coalition around Conde.“Several thousand Peul people had to flee persecution in districts in the north, and it’s in these districts that Diallo claims he didn’t get a fair chance,” Yates said, warning that for the first time in its history Guinea "appears to be on the verge of inter-communal violence."

A peaceful first round was followed by weeks of rows over results and over the leadership of the election commission, with street clashes erupting between supporters of the rival candidates. 

Violent confrontations in three separate districts of Conakry on Sep. 12 left one person dead and 50 injured, according to officials.

A close finish between two candidates who have been subjected to persecution and who rally support by appealing to traditional ethnic allegiances set up an explosive situation ahead of the final results.

Schools in the capital Conakry have been closed for the past 10 days, and national television has been broadcasting appeals to avoid election-related violence ahead of the Islamic feast of Eid al-Adha on Tuesday.
  

BEYOND OUR BOARDERS:

Internet Crime Complaint Center Reaches 2million Entries

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) of the United Sates of America(USA) has logged its 2 millionth consumer complaint alleging online criminal activity. The milestone entry was submitted on November 9, 2010.

The IC3, a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, became operational in May 2000 and received its 1 millionth complaint seven years later, on June 11, 2007. It took half that time to receive the 2 millionth complaint, which illustrates the IC3’s increased visibility and the continued growth of cyber crime.

The IC3 receives, develops, and refers cyber crime complaints to local, state, federal, and international law enforcement agencies. The IC3 gives cyber crime victims a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of suspected criminal or civil violations.

Since its inception, the IC3 has referred 757,016 criminal complaints to law enforcement around the globe. The majority of referrals involved fraud in which the complainant incurred a financial loss. The total reported loss from these referrals is approximately $1.7 billion, with a median reported loss of more than $500 per complaint.*

Many complaints involved identity theft, such as loss of personally identifying data, and the unauthorized use of credit cards or bank accounts. The IC3 uses information from the complaints to detect emerging trends and proactively fight consumer victimization through educational efforts with project partners, various publications and the consumer education website,www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com.

Corporate India Finds Greener Pastures—in Africa

*To avoid stiff competition and red tape at home, companies are looking across the Indian Ocean

*Nigeria, Kenya and Mozambique on the Ticket

Indian billionaire Ravi Ruia has flown to Africa at least once a month for the past year and a half. He's invested in coal mines in Mozambique, an oil refinery in Kenya, and a call center in South Africa. Soon, he may also have a power plant in Nigeria. 

"Africa looks remarkably similar to what India was 15 years ago," says Firdhose Coovadia, director of African operations at Essar Group, the $15 billion conglomerate headed by Ruia and his brother, Shashi. "We can't lose this opportunity."

Faced with increasing competition and a welter of bureaucratic obstacles at home, Indian companies are looking to Africa for growth. 

Since 2005 they have spent some $16 billion on the continent, vs. at least $31 billion for the Chinese, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and the Heritage Foundation, respectively. 

Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile-phone provider, in June paid $9 billion for the African cellular operations of Kuwait's Zain. In 2008, India's Videocon Industries paid $330 million for two coal mines in Mozambique, and India's state-run fertilizer maker bought an idled Senegalase phosphorus producer for $721 million.

Beyond those big deals are dozens of smaller acquisitions and investments by Indian companies. "Compared to India, valuations [in Africa] are quite attractive," says Anuj Chande, who heads the South Asia Group at accounting firm Grant Thornton in London. "We're expecting to see a lot of midsize deals across a variety of sectors."

The Indians view Africa as a place where they can replicate the low-cost, high-efficiency business model they have honed at home. Like India, Africa has hundreds of millions of underserved consumers eager to buy products tailored to their needs. 

Consumer spending in Africa may double, to as much as $1.8 trillion, by 2020, McKinsey & Co. predicts, an increase that would be the equivalent of adding a consumer market the size of Brazil. As a pioneer in sales of single-use sachets of soap and shampoo (along with Unilever (UL) and Procter & Gamble) for lower-income Indians, Mumbai-based Godrej Consumer Products understands "low-cost, value-for-money products," Chairman Adi Godrej said in a May interview. 

In June his company acquired Nigerian cosmetics maker Tura, and in 2008 it bought South African hair-care company Kinky. "We want growth. Whether it's from inside or outside India, we are agnostic," Godrej said.

Indian companies also see Africa as a hedge against a possible slowdown at home. "If tomorrow the Indian economy was to take a U-turn, then at least you have other markets which are growing," says Neeraj Kanwar, managing director of Apollo Tyres, India's No. 2 tiremaker. 

His company bought South Africa's Dunlop Tyres for $62 million in 2006, giving Apollo two manufacturing plants on the continent and brand rights in 32 African countries. Apollo aims to triple sales, to $6 billion, by 2015, with 60 percent of revenue from abroad, vs. 38 percent today. "Africa is going to give me growth," says Kanwar.

Essar has endured endless squabbles with Indian landowners who refuse to make way for steel mills. Like other Indian companies tired of regulatory headaches at home, it moved into Africa and now has 2,000 employees there. 

Bangalore-based Karuturi Global, the world's largest rose producer, couldn't get enough land in India to compete with European and African rivals. Many times flowers wilted on the tarmac as cargo flights were delayed or canceled, including a big Valentine's Day shipment. 

So in 2004, Karuturi bought a small plot in Ethiopia, and sales have since grown elevenfold, to $113 million in the year ended Mar. 31. Karuturi now leases 1,200 square miles of land—larger than the state of Rhode Island—in Ethiopia and sells more than half a billion roses a year. 

"Africa offered us a scale we could never reach in India," says Managing Director Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi. "I'd love to do more in India, but getting even 1,000 acres near Bangalore took years."

BloombergBusiness

DEFENCE

Boeing GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs for Israel

The Israeli Air Force has received its first consignment of Boeing Small Diameter Bombs, thereby becoming the weapon’s first overseas customer.

The US and Israel signed a $77m contract for 1,000 GBU-39 SDBs just over two years ago and, in Israeli military service, the weapon will enhance the IAF’s ability to carry out precision strikes.

Boeing started work on the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb after being awarded a development contract in late 2001.

Operational testing and evaluation took place in September 2005 and, one year later, the initial examples entered USAF service. They are primarily carried by Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft and an upgraded version, the GBU-53, is now under development. Boeing, however, is not involved in the new Small Diameter Bomb, since in the end the USAF opted for Raytheon instead.

GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb

The GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb has seen operational use in several areas of conflict, including Iraq.

Like the USAF, the IAF will also use Strike Eagles as SDB launch platforms. Israel operates modified Strike Eagles known as F-15I Ra’ams (Thunders), while the official IAF designation for the SDB is the ‘Sharp Hail’.

For the future, the IAF may team the SDBs up with its F-16 Fighting Falcon combat jets, too.

The Israeli Air Force is a major Middle Eastern military power, with a fleet of 750 aircraft. Established in 1948, it has been involved in numerous combat engagements over the past six decades including Yom Kippur and the 1982 Lebanon War.

Boeing GBU-39 SDB

The Boeing GBU-39 SDB figures among the most precise and accurate weapons in current military service.

Although only weighing 250 pounds, its ability to strike is comparable to much heavier bombs, and its small size (180 centimetres long and 19 centimetres wide) means a large number can be deployed during a single sortie: Israeli Air Force F-15Is will typically carry up to 20 at a time.

GPS technologies direct the SDB to its target and it can cover a range exceeding 100 kilometres. This range is partly achieved through the use of small, retractable wings which extend while the weapon is in flight.

Armed Forces International

MILITANTS RAID OIL RIG, HOLDS 7 HOSTAGE

• Two crew members are in stable condition after being shot
• The rig is off the southern coast of Nigeria
• No one has claimed responsibility for the attack
• Nigerian officials offer no comment

 Seven people have been kidnapped by armed militants who raided an oil rig off the Niger-Delta coast in Nigeria. The hostages are from America, France, Candada and Indonesia.

According to the London-based Afren PLC today (Tuesday), two Indonesians, two Americans, two French and one Canadian were kidnapped. The Indonesians were not included in an earlier list released by the company.

Two crew members are in stable condition at a shore-based clinic, where they were airlifted after being wounded in the leg.

The rig, located off the southern coast of Nigeria at Okoro field, is run by Transocean.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the U.S. is in contact with Nigerian officials.

"We [are], of course, concerned about their safety and hope for their immediate release," he said. "We are working with Nigerian authorities ... to pursue their prompt release, and there's an investigation already under way."

Drilling operations in the Okoro field off Nigeria have been temporarily suspended, both companies involved said.

In a news release, Afren said a "security breach" occurred soon after its "High Island VII jackup rig" arrived, but before drilling had commenced.

"The situation has not been resolved. Afren is doing everything it can to resolve the situation as quickly as possible, and it is working with relevant agencies in the Nigerian government," Afren spokesman James Henderson told CNN.

Transocean operates six offshore rigs in Nigeria -- two deepwater rigs, two ultra-deepwater rigs and two shallow-water rigs, including the one involved in the incident -- according to Cantwell.

The company has "taken additional safety precautions" on its other assets in the west African nation, said Guy Cantwell, a spokesman for the Houston, Texas-based company.

There were no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, and Nigerian officials would not comment about the incident.

Several militant groups in the oil-rich Niger Delta have been battling the government for years over the distribution of the country's oil wealth. One of the largest such groups -- the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta -- is known for its kidnappings of oil workers.

CNN