Turkish military plane disappears near Syria. Reuters - 'Lebanon's Hezbollah-owned Al-Manar television station said on Friday that Syrian air defenses shot down a Turkish military aircraft, quoting Syrian security sources. ...' BBC: 'urkey's military says it has lost contact with one of its aircraft over the sea close to the border with Syria. Turkish media said the plane, an F-4 jet, crashed in Syria or Syrian territorial waters. The two crew-members were found alive, CNN Turk and the Hurriyet daily said. ...'
Pakistan: Raja Pervez Ashraf elected PM. Hindustan Times: 'Raja Pervez Ashraf was elected Pakistan's new Prime Minister on Friday after the Supreme Court dismissed Yousuf Raza Gilani for contempt, the speaker of the lower house of parliament announced. ...'
X-47B moves forward. Via Rantburg, Space Daily:
The first major phase of flight testing the X-47 B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator aircraft came to a successful conclusion on May 15 when Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy wrapped up testing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
The airworthiness test phase, which comprised 23 flights by two air vehicles, proved that the X-47B will perform properly at all speeds, weights and altitudes associated with the Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. ...
No, not the mystery space plane - that's the X-37B you're thinking of.
Paraguay's president faces impeachment trial. Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo faces a trial by his country's senate. He's charged with incompetence that resulted in police and civilian deaths in a June 15 clash over land. The Stratfor analysis discusses the role of possible regional pressure from the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in the affairs of landlocked Paraguay, which relies heavily upon good relations with its neighbors.
Meanwhile, in Russia ... First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov says protests are the new norm as Russia joins the developed countries with an active, vocal middle class, while some observers wonder: Who does Putin want to be?
