World-Horizon

MOSCOW: The defence ministers of Russia and Israel on Monday signed an agreement on military cooperation, hailing the unity between Moscow and the Jewish state.

Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and visiting Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak did not give details on the nature of the deal, which came after disputes over Russian arms contracts in the Middle East.

“I am sure the agreement we are signing today will give a new boost to our bilateral relations,” said Serdyukov, quoted by Russian news agencies.

“Our views on many challenges of today are close or identical,” he said.

“Primarily this concerns issues of terrorism and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”Security ties “help prevent these threats,” he said.

The show of unity came after strains between Russia and Israel over Russian arms sales to the Jewish state's major regional foes, Syria and Iran.

Russian officials said earlier this year that Moscow was selling Syria MiG-29 fighter jets, Pantsir short-range air defence systems and armoured vehicles, provoking anxiety in Israel.

The Israeli press has also reported that Barak's two-day visit is part of an ongoing dialogue to prevent Russia selling P-800 Yakhont cruise missiles to Syria, which Israel fears will be transferred to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Israel is also concerned about Russia's deal with Iran to supply S-300 surface-to-air missile defense systems, a contract signed several years ago which would significantly improve Iranian air defences.

However, Russia has yet to deliver the weapons amid heavy pressure not only from Israel but also the United States.

Barak noted “improving relations” between Russia and Israel, and thanked Russia for its fight against fascism during World War II.

“We know the truth: the state of Israel would not exist if the Red Army had not defeated fascist Germany,” he said. – AFP

WELLINGTON: Nine people, including four foreigners, were killed when a skydiving plane crashed and burst into flames at a popular New Zealand tourist spot Saturday, officials said.

The plane went down near the airstrip at Fox Glacier, a central attraction in the Unesco-designated World Heritage area on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island.

“All nine people on board were killed,” a police spokesman told AFP.

He listed the dead as the pilot, four New Zealand males and tourists from Ireland, England, Australia and Germany without detailing their ages or gender.

Initial details of the tragedy were unclear because of the remoteness of the area but the police spokesman said he understood the plane burst into flames after it crashed.

New Zealand Transport Minister Stephen Joyce said the Skydive New Zealand crash was the country's first aviation accident of this magnitude since an Air Adventures chartered Piper Navajo Chieftain crashed on landing near Christchurch in 2003, killing eight people.

“Details remain sketchy and it is too soon to speculate on exactly what has led to this accident,” he said, adding that the crash was being investigated.

An Australian official said an 18-year-old man from the southeastern state of Victoria was among those who died when the Fletcher FU24 turbine powered plane crashed.

“The skydiving aircraft crashed while trying to take off, killing the pilot, four skydiving instructors and three other foreign tourists,” a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

Skydive New Zealand, the only skydiving company in the area, made no immediate comment on the tragedy.

However, a message on the company's answering machine said: “Unfortunately, we will not be skydiving for the rest of the day.”

Westland District mayor Maureen Pugh told Television New Zealand the tourists were going up with instructors to do a tandem skydive in perfect conditions.

“It's a well-established company down here and has a huge reputation,” she said.

“Nobody is even trying to guess what went wrong but it had tragic consequences. We're just so devastated.”

The five New Zealanders on board were all locals and well-known in the tight-knit Fox community with a population of fewer than 300 people.

A spokesman at the Fox Glacier Inn motel said everyone in the town had been to the airstrip trying to help where they could.

“It's a small town and everyone knows everyone,” he said.

Police said the ill-fated aircraft was a Fletcher fixed-wing, the type operated by Skydive New Zealand which has been involved in the skydiving and aviation industry for more than 25 years.

The disaster was the worst air tragedy in New Zealand in nearly 17 years.

Nine people also died in a plane crash in October 1993 at nearby Franz Josef Glacier.

The following year, seven people were killed when a sightseeing helicopter crashed near Fox Glacier.

The west coast of New Zealand's South Island attracts thousands of tourists annually, brought to the area by the stunning mountain scenery and fjords.

Travellers, many of them from abroad, support a burgeoning tourism industry catering for a range of interests, including high-adrenaline sports and trekking.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand: A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake damaged buildings, cut power and knocked fleeing residents off their feet on New Zealand's South Island early Saturday, but there were so far no deaths and only two injuries reported.

Panicked residents in their pajamas ran into the streets of the southern city of Christchurch after the pre-dawn quake, residents said. There were reports of some people trapped in damaged buildings _ though none appeared to be crushed by rubble _ and a few looters broke into some of the damaged shops in the city of 400,000, authorities said.

A state of emergency was declared and army troops were on standby to assist after the quake, which hit 19 miles (30 kilometers) west of Christchurch, according to the state geological agency GNS Science. No tsunami alert was issued.

Roads had been blocked by rubble, power and traffic lights were out, and gas and water supplies disrupted, while chimneys and walls had fallen from older buildings, Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said. He warned that continuing aftershocks could cause masonry to fall from damaged buildings.

Suburban dweller Mark O'Connell said his house was full of smashed glass, food tossed from shelves, with sets of drawers, TVs and computers tipped over.

''We were thrown from wall to wall as we tried to escape down the stairs to get to safety,'' he told The Associated Press.

GNS Science initially reported the quake as magnitude 7.4, but later downgraded it after re-examining quake records. The US Geological Survey, in America, measured the quake at 7.0.

Minister of Civil Defense John Carter stressed the low number of casualties.

''I think we've been extremely lucky as a nation that there's been no fatalities,'' Carter told reporters.

Still, infrastructure damage was major, with ''a lot of damage to our key infrastructure ... water, waste water (sewerage) systems.'' Earthquake and insurance specialists would give an initial damage assessment within 48 hours, he said.

Experts said the low levels of injury reflect the strict building codes that apply in New Zealand, which records more than 14,000 earthquakes a year.

''New Zealand has very good building codes ... (that) mean the buildings are strong compared with, say, Haiti,'' which suffered widespread death and devastation in a magnitude 7.0 quake this year, earth sciences professor Martha Savage said.

''It's about the same size (quake) as Haiti, but the damage is so much less. Though chimneys and some older facades came down, the structures are well built,'' said Savage, a professor from the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences at Victoria University in the capital, Wellington.

Christchurch fire service spokesman Mike Bowden said a number of people had been trapped in buildings by fallen chimneys and blocked entrances, but there were no reports of people pinned under rubble. Rescue teams were out checking premises.

Christchurch Hospital said it had treated two men with serious injuries and a number of people with minor injuries.

One man was hit by a falling chimney and was in serious condition in intensive care, while a second was badly cut by glass, hospital spokeswoman Michele Hider said.

Christchurch police reported road damage in parts of the city, with a series of sharp aftershocks rocking the area. Police officers cordoned off some streets where rubble was strewn about. Video showed parked cars crushed by heaps of fallen bricks, and buckled roads.

''There is considerable damage in the central city and we've also had reports of looting, just shop windows broken and easy picking of displays,'' Police Inspector Mike Coleman told New Zealand's National Radio.

Police Inspector Al Stewart told the radio that some people had been arrested for looting.

The quake hit at 4:35 a.m. (1635 GMT) shaking thousands of residents awake, New Zealand's National Radio reported. Some 12 aftershocks have rocked the region since, ranging from 5.3 to 3.9 in magnitude, GNS Science reported on its web site.

Prime Minister John Key, Carter and Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee were to fly to Christchurch to inspect damage and review the situation, officials said.

Key said his sister, who lives in Christchurch, messaged him that ''they had had an enormous earthquake and it had been terrifying ... that it went on for so long and was so violent they were getting knocked off their feet.''

Civil defense agency spokesman David Millar said at least six bridges in the region had been badly damaged, while the historic Empire hotel in the port town of Lyttelton was ''very unstable'' and in danger of collapse. Several wharves at the port had been damaged.

People in the city's low-lying eastern suburbs had been advised to be ready to evacuate after power, gas, sewerage and water systems were cut by the quake, Inspector Coleman said. – AP