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Nato's Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has told the BBC that European members of the alliance need to spend more on defence. Nike Dunk SB Low Mr Rasmussen said Nato was needed more than ever, but that European countries needed to "step up to the plate". He echoed the comments made last Friday by the outgoing US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, who criticised the Europeans for not doing enough. Mr Gates said Nato faced the risk of collective military irrelevance. He said he was exasperated that only four European countries - France, the UK, Greece and Albania - are spending 2% of GDP on defence. Nike Air Max 2011 "If current trends in the decline of European defence capabilities are not halted and reversed, future US political leaders - those for whom the cold war was not the formative experience that it was for me - may not consider the return on America's investment in Nato worth the cost." Libya had revealed serious shortcomings, he added. Only 11 weeks into the operation against a poorly-armed regime, the allies began to run short of munitions. Supplies had to be brought in from the US. 'Proper investments' In an interview with the BBC's Newsnight programme, Mr Rasmussen said Nato was "more wanted and needed than ever", but that he shared Mr Gates' concerns about declining defence budgets across Europe. Nike outlet "If we are to compete we also need proper investments," he said. It was not just Nato's future that was at stake, Mr Rasmussen argued. "I think that European countries need to step up to the plate." "If Europe is to play a significant role on the world stage in the future and take part in international security management missions then Europe also needs critical military capabilities and that takes defence investments at a certain level." Coach Boots Mr Rasmussen's interview was recorded just before he gave a speech in London on Nato's missile-defence plans. These, he says, could be a prime example of "smart defence" - pooling resources between countries to get better value for limited funds. Mr Rasmussen sees ballistic missile defence as a project that could help cement trans-Atlantic ties within Nato for the future. But there is a danger in this, because Nato's initial missile-defence plans essentially piggy-back on the existing US effort, says BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Marcus. Nike Dunk SB Mid If the European allies do not contribute significantly, there is a possibility that missile defence could become a prime example of the US spending its tax dollars in order to help keep reluctant Europeans safe, he adds.

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The head of the armed forces has said UK operations can continue in Libya as long as necessary - after concerns were raised by the head of the Royal Navy. Cheap Women Nike Dunk SB Low General Sir David Richards told the BBC: "We can sustain this operation as long as we choose to". Nato took over the Libyan mission on 31 March, initially for 90 days but that has been extended by a further 90 days. Navy chief Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope said on Monday priorities must change if the mission exceeds six months. The Nato mission - enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians using "all necessary measures" short of a ground invasion - was prompted by Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's violent response to an uprising against his 41-year rule. 'Absolutely clear' Nike Air Griffey Max Ark Royal He continued: "If we do it longer than six months we will have to reprioritise forces. That is being addressed now. "It could be from around home waters. I will not prejudge what that decision will be." He did not say what might have to be reprioritised and insisted he was not calling for a re-examination of the decision to cut the Ark Royal and its fleet of Harriers. Critics of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) have suggested the Libya mission illustrated the importance to the Navy of an airport carrier. Nike outlet Adm Stanhope admitted Harrier jets could have been deployed in 20 minutes rather than the 90 minutes taken to send Tornado and Typhoon aircraft from the Gioia del Colle air base in Italy. But he conceded they would not have been able to use Brimstone missiles carried by the Typhoons and Tornados. Last week Defence Secretary Liam Fox denied the Libya mission had a six-month deadline. Responding to Adm Stanhope's comments Dr Fox said the Libya operation showed the UK was still "a leading military power with the fourth largest defence budget in the world" and said the spending review would not be reopened. Coach Colette Handbags "We continue to have the resources necessary to carry out the operations we are undertaking and have spare capacity with the Royal Navy Cougar Taskforce which is currently on exercise in the Gulf." Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said Adm Stanhope's comments were "incredible". "The country will be dismayed to hear that the operation in Libya could have been conducted more cheaply and more effectively had the government taken a different approach," Mr Murphy said. "It is vital that ministers tell us now how they intend to equip the mission in Libya should it go beyond the six-month mark." Cheap Women Nike Dunk High On Sunday RAF Tornados and Typhoons conducted strikes against two ammunition depots, destroying nine underground storage bunkers, the Ministry of Defence said. A spokesman said British Army Apache attack helicopters were also asked to intercept two high-speed inflatable boats detected approaching Misrata - amid concerns they were being used by Gaddafi forces to attack the harbour.

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Seven contenders for the Republican presidential nomination have begun facing off in the first major debate of the 2012 campaign cycle. Nike outlet Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is the front-runner in the field bidding to challenge Barack Obama. At the forum in New Hampshire, his six opponents are expected to position themselves as his primary rival. The first primary elections to choose party candidates in the 2012 race do not take place until February. The president's handling of the economy, health care reform and wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya are expected to draw fire from the Republican field at the debate Air Max Shoes Outlet Online "The country has had enough of soaring rhetoric and fluffy speeches that don't deliver," former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who will be participating in the debate, said ahead of the debate in an attack on Mr Obama's reputation as an orator. "People are worried about jobs and the economy and they want a leader who is seasoned and tested." Mr Romney - a strong fund raiser and seasoned campaigner - is seen as the man for others to beat. But analysts say he is yet to convince conservatives he really is one of them, and the media that he has the panache needed to maintain interest and momentum. Nike sb shoes Some analysts say the biggest competition at the debate could be among candidates seeking to establish themselves as the prime alternative to Mitt Romney. Mr Gingrich's nascent campaign was hit last week by the resignation of most of his senior campaign staff, who cited strategic differences with the presidential hopeful. Ms Bachmann, and former US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, are expected to formally declare their candidacies soon. There is still much speculation about whether former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who has possibly the best name recognition of any of the field, will run for president. Nike Air Max Despite high unemployment in the US, President Barack Obama heads most polls against the Republican hopefuls - although a recent ABC-Washington Post poll showed him in a surprise dead heat with Mr Romney. Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs is appearing on TV interviews hoping to counter criticism of Mr Obama. He told CNN that the declared candidates so far did not have a track record of creating jobs, and said that economic pain in the US began under the Republican presidency of George W Bush before Mr Obama took office. nike dunk shoes The state of New Hampshire is an important early-voting state and is expected to hold its primary election to pick a candidate in February 2012.

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Near-complete results from Turkey's election show the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won a third term. Nike outlet With 99% of ballots counted the AKP had 50% of the vote, which local media said translated to 326 seats in parliament. But that would be 41 seats short of the two-thirds majority needed to amend the country's constitution unilaterally. In his victory speech, Mr Erdogan said the AKP would "discuss the new constitution with opposition parties". "The people gave us a message to build the new constitution through consensus and negotiation," he told supporters in Ankara. coach outlet "We will be humble. We have never displayed pride or boasted." The secular Republican People's Party (CHP) had 26% of vote and the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) 13%. New constitution More than 50 million people, about two-thirds of Turkey's population of 73 million, were eligible to vote in Sunday's election. NTV television said turnout was 84.5%. The BBC's Jonathan Head in Istanbul says Turkey faces another four years with Mr Erdogan the dominant figure, and his AK party pretty much able to do what it likes in parliament. Nike sb shoes Because the MHP passed the 10% threshold for a party to enter parliament, the AKP was denied the two-thirds "super majority" and will not be able to push through a new constitution without putting it to a referendum, our correspondent adds. And the AKP's failure to win at least 330 seats means it will not even be able to put amendments to the public without consulting the opposition. The party won 341 seats in 2007. The CHP meanwhile won 135 seats, 23 seats more than last time, and the MHP 54, 17 seats fewer. Under its new leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the CHP ditched its image as a supporter of military intervention in politics, fielded young candidates, and presented itself as a champion of European social democratic values. Turkey is a member of Nato and a candidate for European Union membership. coach factory outlet CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said it was the best showing by the party of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish republic, since a military coup in 1980. "We wish all success to the AKP, but they must remember there's a stronger main opposition party now," he told supporters. Independent candidates fielded by the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) also did well in the south-east, winning 5.8% of the vote and 35 seats. nike dunk shoes Our correspondent says this will increase pressure on the government to address its long standing demands for greater autonomy and official recognition of Kurdish identity. "Our people want the Kurdish issue to be solved through peaceful and democratic methods. We will work for it and will struggle to meet the demands of Kurdish people with the new constitution," Serafettin Elci, a prospective MP for the city of Diyarbakir, told the Reuters news agency. 'Turkey is proud of you' The AKP, which has Islamist roots, has presided over strong economic growth and a more assertive foreign policy since taking power in 2003. cheap coach handbags outlet It has also seen unemployment fall - down to 11.5% in March from 14.4% in the same period last year. The country is a member of Nato as well as a candidate for membership of the European Union. The AKP put its economic record at the centre of its campaign, promising an ambitious programme of new construction if elected. Projects included a canal from the Black Sea to the Aegean, a new city outside Istanbul and new bridges, airports and hospitals. Casting his vote in Istanbul, Mr Erdogan said he hoped the election would "contribute to strengthening of peace, rights and freedoms". cheap nike shoes store Earlier, he shook hands with supporters outside the polling station, who burst into applause and chanted: "Turkey is proud of you."

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Iraq will ask the US to keep a troop presence in the country beyond an end-of-2011 pullout deadline, the probable next US defence secretary has said. Nike Dunk SB Low Outgoing CIA director Leon Panetta said he had "every confidence that a request like that will be forthcoming". Mr Panetta was speaking at a US Senate committee considering his nomination. The US currently has about 47,000 troops in Iraq, none in a combat role. Under a 2008 deal, they are expected to leave by 31 December 2011. Inducements? "It's clear to me that Iraq is considering the possibility of making a request for some kind of (troop) presence to remain there (in Iraq)," Mr Panetta told the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on Thursday. Coach Boots He added that when Baghdad does make such a request, Washington should say "Yes". Mr Panetta did not say how many troops would be involved or what they would do. He said there were still some 1,000 al-Qaeda members in Iraq, and the situation continues to be "fragile" "I believe that we should take whatever steps are necessary to make sure that we protect whatever progress we've made there," Mr Panetta said. The current US contingent is deployed in a training and advisory role. Nike outlet In April, outgoing Defence Secretary Robert Gates also said that American troops could, if required by Iraq, stay in the country beyond the withdrawal date. The BBC's Andrew North in Washington says that it seems likely that the US has offered Iraq some inducements to maintain its troop presence. But any suggestion that President Barack Obama will allow some American forces to remain behind is bound to be seen as backpeddling by both his opponents and supporters on his commitment to pull out entirely from Iraq by this year, our correspondent says. He adds that it will be controversial in Iraq as well, where there has been an increase in attacks on US bases apparently aimed at derailing any moves to keep American troops on. Coach Jewelrys US fatalities in Iraq have been rare since Washington officially ended combat operations in the country last August. But earlier this week, five American soldiers were killed in central Iraq, in what is believed to be the US military's single most serious incident in the country in more than two years.

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A drug that makes hearts repair themselves has been used in research on mice. Cheap Women Nike Dunk Low The damage caused by a heart attack had previously been considered permanent. But a study in the journal Nature showed the drug, thymosin beta 4, if used in advance of a heart attack, was able to "prime" the heart for repair. The British Heart Foundation described repair as the "holy grail of heart research", but said any treatment in humans was years away. Due to advances in health care the number of people dying from coronary heart disease is falling. But those living with heart failure are on the rise - more than 750,000 people have the condition in the UK alone. Wake up Coach Jewelrys The researchers at University College London looked at a group of cells which are able to transform into different types of heart tissue in an embryo. In adults epicardium-derived progenitor cells line the heart, but have become dormant. Scientists used a chemical, thymosin beta 4, to "wake them up". Professor Paul Riley, from the University College London, said: "The adult epicardial cells which line the muscle of the heart can be activated, move inward and give rise to new heart muscle." "We saw an improvement in the ejection fraction, in the ability of the heart to pump out blood, of 25%." Nike outlet As well as pumping more blood, the scar tissue was reduced and the walls of the heart became thicker. Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, said he was "very excited" about the research but warned the scale of improvement seen in animals was rarely seen in humans. However, he argued that even a small improvement would have a dramatic impact on people's quality of life. "A normal heart has lots of spare capacity. In patients with heart failure it is working flat out just to sit down [and] it's like running a marathon," he said. "You could turn a patient from somebody who's gasping while sitting in a chair to somebody who can sit comfortably in a chair." Coach Necklaces Advance therapy The mice needed to take the drug in advance of a heart attack in order for it to be effective. As the researchers put it, "the priming effect is key". If a similar drug could be found to be effective in humans, then the researchers believe it would need to be prescribed in a similar way to statins. Professor Riley said "I could envisage a patient known to be at risk of a heart attack - either because of family history or warning signs spotted by their GP - taking an oral tablet, which would prime their heart so that if they had a heart attack the damage could be repaired." He said this could be available in 10 years. Cheap Women Nike Dunk SB High The British Heart Foundation, which funded the study, said repairing a damaged heart was the "holy grail" of heart research. The results strengthened the evidence that drugs could be used to prevent the onset of heart failure, it said.

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