India-bound Russian nuke sub repaired, resumes sea trials

October 4th, 2009 LONDON - Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has handed over a list and evidence to Moscow, showing that some Russian scientists have been helping Iran to develop a nuclear bomb. Netanyahu's revelation came during his secret Moscow visit where he held urgent talks with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev.

September 4th, 2009 VLADIVOSTOK - A crew of Indian submariners will take part in sea trials in mid-September of the Russian nuclear submarine which is to be leased to the Indian Navy by the end of 2009, a source said Friday. Russia's Nerpa nuclear attack submarine, damaged in a fatal accident during tests last November, resumed sea trials July 10 in the Sea of Japan after extensive repairs that cost an estimated 1.9 billion roubles ($60 million).

September 4th, 2009 MOSCOW - Indian President Pratibha Patil will meet Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin here later Friday for talks focusing on bilateral trade and energy. Patil held talks Thursday with her Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

July 27th, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan's Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar on Monday said that the country was under no threatfrom a security point of view despite India announcing the launch of its first indigenously built nuclear submarine. Mukhtar said that Pakistan is fully capable of defending itself from all sides.

July 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Ahmedabad-based Veeda Clinical Research organization is entering Malaysia's medical sector by setting up its advanced research unit at the Ampang Hospital in Kuala Lumpur by the year-end. India's fastest-growing clinical research organisation has selected the Ampang Hospital to conduct first phase clinical trials on humans under a quasi-commercial agreement with the Malaysian Health Ministry, The Star Online reports.

July 27th, 2009 KHABAROVSK - The first stage of sea trials of Russia's Nerpa nuclear attack submarine, which was damaged in a fatal accident during previous tests, has been successfully completed, the Amur shipyard said Monday. The vessel, which will be leased to the Indian Navy by the end of 2009, resumed sea trials July 10 in the Sea of Japan following extensive repairs.

July 27th, 2009 KARACHI - The Pakistan Navy on Monday expressed concern over India announcing the launch of its first indigenously built nuclear submarine - the INS Arihant (Destroyer of Enemies) -- saying it could trigger off an arms race in South Asia. The Dawn quoted Pakistan Navy spokesman Captain Asif Majeed Butt as saying that the nuclear-powered submarine would destabilise and jeopardise the security paradigm of the entire Indian Ocean region.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The production of the indigenously built main battle tank (MBT) Arjun will continue, with an additional 77 tanks to be supplied to the Indian Army by March 2010, an official said Monday amid concerns about the project. There was apprehension among Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists that the production would have to halt as the army had put its foot down and declined to buy more than 124 tanks as contracted earlier.

July 7th, 2009 Obama: US, Russia share burden of reducing nukesMOSCOW — President Barack Obama says the United States and Russia must be united in resisting North Korea's attempt to become a nuclear power and Iran's effort to get a nuclear weapon. He declared in a speech to Russian college students that both Washington and Moscow have an obligation to put an end to nuclear proliferation and to seek a nuclear-free world.

June 22nd, 2009 MOSCOW - A Russian official Monday dismissed media reports that Russia planned to lease several nuclear submarines to India, saying the contract envisioned only the transfer of Nerpa nuclear submarine. "We will lease only one submarine.

June 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor Friday said the comparative trials of the indigenously built Arjun main battle tank (MBT) with the Russian T-90 equivalent have been delayed as the army will first conduct field training with the tanks. "The Arjun tank has just been delivered to us.

May 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With one regiment of the indigenously built Arjun main battle tank (MBT) delivered to the Indian Army, the combat vehicle is now headed for comparative trials with its Russian T-90 equivalent. This could deliver the final verdict on a platform that has been 36 years in the making and which has cost the exchequer Rs.3.5 billion ($71.7 million).

April 23rd, 2009 MOSCOW - The Russian government has allocated an initial $64 million to part finance a joint project with India to develop a new military transport plane, a defence industry official said Thursday. Russia and India signed an intergovernmental agreement on the joint development of a multi-role transport aircraft (MTA) in 2007.

April 21st, 2009 MOSCOW - India will remain the main purchaser of Russian-made combat aircraft for the next 15 years under existing and prospective contracts, a Russian think tank has said. In its report titled 'The Forecast for Combat Aircraft Deliveries to India', the Center for Analysis and Technologies outlined the prospects for Russian-Indian cooperation.

January 3rd, 2009 MOSCOW - Ukraine illegally tapped 50 million cubic metres of Russian natural gas bound for European consumers, a spokesman for Russian energy giant Gazprom said Sunday. 'Over the past 24 hours (since Saturday), we fed 295 million cubic metres of gas into the Ukrainian gas transportation system that was more than requested by European consumers, but we had only 270 million on the output (data),' Sergei Kupriyanov said.