THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2012
PAGE 3A
NEWS OF THE WORLD
Associated Press
ASIA
India to buy fighter jets in $11 billion arms deal
NEW DELHI — India is buying 126 French-made combat aircraft in a massive $11 billion deal that will increase the might of the world's fourth largest air force with the first exported Rafale jets, officials said Tuesday.
India has become the world's biggest arms importer as an economic boom has allowed it to push modernization of its military, and major arms manufacturers are wooing the country as it replaces its obsolete Soviet-era weapons and buys new equipment.
Dassault snapped up the 8.4 billion Euro deal with the lower bid in a two-way competition against the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, said an Indian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters about the sensitive defense deal.
"India needs to bolster its fighting capabilities, particularly with long-range strike aircraft," said Rahul Bedi, a defense analyst in New Delhi.
India's air force has around 700 fighter aircraft and is exceeded in size by the United States, Russia and China.
Growing worries about China's fast-expanding military and the decades-old mistrust of Pakistan have fueled India's impetus to add heft to its defense forces.
"India's concern is not just Pakistan, but the longer term threat posed by an aggressive China," Bedi said.
Defense ministry experts were still fine-tuning pricing details, including the cost of on-board weaponry and royalties for producing the aircraft in India. Sarkozy said contract negotiations will begin "very soon."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NORTH AMERICA
In this Jan. 28 image released by Mexico's Attorney General's Office on Jan. 31, an official counts money that was seized at the Mexico state airport in Toluca, Mexico.
Mexican official questioned about $1.9 million seizure
VERACRUZ, Mexico — Industry groups, political parties and analysts in Mexico are questioning the odd circumstances of $1.9 million in cash found stuffed into an official's suitcase and backpack at an airport.
Police found it in the luggage of an official who flew into the home state of leading presidential candidate Enrique Pena Nieto.
Veracruz state Finance Secretary Tomas Ruiz said Tuesday the money was an urgent payment for a company that promotes festivals in the state.
But an industry group says such large cash payments are very unusual.
Pena Nieto's campaign refused to comment on the cash seizure, but rival parties suggest it may have been destined for his campaign. Veracruz is governed by Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party.
Cold snap causing deaths among Ukraine's homeless
EUROPE
KIEV, Ukraine — Dozens of homeless people have died in an Eastern Europe cold snap, and some analysts blame a Soviet-era legacy of viewing the homeless as those who need to be punished instead of helped.
Temperatures have plunged to minus 27 C (minus 17 F) in some areas. At least 58 people have died overall in the past week, while hundreds have sought medical help for hypothermia and frostbite. Snow and ice have disrupted traffic and power in some parts.
Ukraine has been among the hardest hit countries. As many as 30 people have died on its snow-covered streets, in hospitals and in their homes in the past four days. Authorities said most of the victims were homeless, and that some victims had been drinking and unaware of the danger.
In one village in the Cherkasy region in central Ukraine, a 44-year-old alcoholic fell asleep on the porch of her house and froze to death, said Olena Didyuk, spokeswoman for the Emergency Situations Ministry.
Ukrainian authorities have set up hundreds of 'heating centers' across the country large green or beige tents — in which the homeless can get warm and are offered sandwiches, boiled potatoes, pork fat (a traditional Ukrainian dish), hot tea and coffee.
Still, more than 540 people have been hospitalized with hypothermia and frostbite, Ukrainian health officials said. Ukraine's 1+1 channel broadcast footage of a man being treated for frostbite in his toes, which had turned completely black.
MIDDLE EAST
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A new Afghan police officer, right, shakes hand with his commander in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Tuesday.
Nearly 70 percent of Afghans support NATO police presence
KABUL, Afghanistan Less than 25 percent of Afghans say their national police are strong enough to handle security without international forces' help, but three-quarters believe they will be ready by the 2014 NATO handover, according to a U.N. survey released Tuesday.
Support for the NATO military force staying in the country also appeared widespread more than 10 years into the U.S.-led campaign. Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed said foreign troops should stay for the time being, compared to about a quarter who said they should leave immediately.
Strengthening the Afghan army and police to fend off the Taliban insurgency is key to NATO's plans to turn over security responsibility by the end of 2014. The U.S.-led coalition is sponsoring efforts to expand the national police to 157,000 by October.
CAMPUS
Competition to compare energy usage between three campus buildings
An energy-saving competition between Bailey Hall, Green Hall and Summerfield Hall begins today. Lights Out! is an initiative co-sponsored by the University's Center for Sustainability (sustainabilityku.edu) and Energy Solutions Professionals, an energy-service company in a $25-million contract with the University to update campus energy usage.
In a press release issued by Energy Solutions Professionals on Monday, the competition will compare the energy usage of the three buildings for the next 12 weeks to last year's use during the same time period.
The energy company has sponsored training for building personnel to assist with generating ideas to reduce energy usage. Measures to reduce energy consumptions include turning off lights and equipment when not in use, and replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lights, which are six times more efficient.
Concluding April 26, the program intends to have students, faculty and staff sign a personal pledge to save energy, using prizes given out during the competition as an incentive. The building saving the most energy will be treated to a barbecue for all its participants.
Marshall Schmidt
"Although the competition is just 12 weeks, it will help students, faculty, and staff form habits that will help them continue to reduce their impacts," Jeff Severin, director of the Center for Sustainability, said in the press release.
WHAT: Lights Out!
WHO: Energy Solutions Professionals
WHERE: Bailey, Green and Summerfield halls
WHEN: Feb. 2 to April 26
Full Spring Ahead!
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