UPDATE 3-hot air balloon crash kills 11 in New Zealand

* Balloon starts to fire crashes to the ground

* No survivors in the worst NZ aviation disaster in 33 years

* Investigation underway police notifier members (Dateline adds details and quotes, changes)

By Mark Coote

CARTERTON, New Zealand, Jan 7 (Reuters) - a balloon burst into flames and crashed in New Zealand on Saturday, killing all 11 passengers in the country of the worst air disaster in more than three decades.

Police said the balloon have cut off power lines appeared and caught fire before the crash in farmland near the town of Carterton, about 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Wellington on New Zealand's North Island.

"Unfortunately the pilot and 10 passengers on board not have survived," said Superintendent Mike Rusbatch Wellington District Commander.

The accident occurred just before 07: 30 (1830 GMT) in quiet, clear weather in a region known for hot-air balloon.

"I could not believe what I saw." There were flames licking at the side of the basket, right above the guy ropes, "said David McKinlay State television New Zealand."

When the flames reached the canopy, the balloon to the ground said McKinlay crashed.

"It was a great, long pencil-like flame perhaps 20 m (65 ft) long, towards the floor at a dreadful speed" he said.

Other witnesses reported, succeeding cries to hear and see, smoke and flame from the balloon before it hit the ground.

Rusbatch, said five couples out in the wider Wellington region, as well as the pilot on board were. Two victims had or fallen from the burning balloon, shortly before it crashed, said he jumped.

The names of the victims are police, who have sealed off from the crash site, not released until next of kin have been informed.

Local resident Sean Barnes said the pilot hopping, became known in the media as Lance.

"Everybody knew him, he brought a lot of people in the community to the top in the balloon the" Barnes of told of Reuters.

The accident was worst air disaster since an Antarctic New Zealand Erebus tourist flight crashed in Mt. in 1979, killing all 257 people on board.

"It's a very sad time for all the balloonist," said Martyn Stacey, President of the balloon Aviation Association of New Zealand.

"Total aviation-wise, ballooning is one of the safest forms of flying."

Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee, said that rules for commercial ballooning in New Zealand recently had examined.

"Experts find no lessons from the inquiries are improving safety for others in the future can help..." Brownlee said in a statement. (Writing by Lincoln firmly in Wellington;) Additional reporting by prophesy Kusjanto; (Editing from Andrew sky)

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12:44 AM | 0 comments

Drone crash revealed U.S. espionage effort in the Iran

Editor: Reuters and other foreign media be restricted by Iranian leaving the Office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran. An undated picture received 8 December 2011 shows a member of the Iranian revolutionary guard (S) on the U.S. RQ-170 unmanned spy plane as a Commander speaks with Amirali Hajizadeh, revolutionary guard in an unknown location in Iran. The unmanned drone U.S., the who said on Sunday Iran, who had captured it, was so programmed that automatically return to the base even if your data connection was a big reason that U.S. officials say the drone likely malfunction lost, and was shot down by Iranian electronic warfare.

IMG credit: Reuters/Sepah News.ir / handout

Tabassum Zakaria and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON | Friday, 9 December 2011 6: 55 pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - the crash of a CIA drone in the Iran brought in the public domain, what US intelligence agencies prefer kept secret: intensive efforts in a country where the United States has no official presence, espionage.

Iran on Thursday aired with large polka recorded drone footage that appeared largely intact. Pentagon and CIA spokesman would not comment on, it the missing U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel was unmanned aircraft.

A person familiar the situation has been confirmed that the drone that crashed on a surveillance mission over the Iran.

It is believed due to a failure of and not is shot down or hacked by the Iranians, a U.S. official said crashed on condition of anonymity.

Although there are risks that could try Iran reverse engineering of the technology, or they sell to other countries such as China, believe US officials, that Iran not in the position I will experience the drone computer systems to information about the U.S. monitoring mission.

Monitoring of Iran through various means has years of U.S. and U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the situation say have been going on for.

A private U.S. defense expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that when he 2008 visited the command center at a U.S. military base in the Gulf region, was clear that the installation was given multiple feeds of electronic surveillance information out in the Iran.

Some of the information appeared in high-altitude aircraft and some by electronic sensors that had somehow installed the United States on the ground in the Iran be transferred the expert said.

The United States has no official presence in the Iran, it is difficult to determine exactly what on within its borders. A recent incident is still not fully resolved.

EXPLOSION IN ISFAHAN

On 28 November, it was on conflicting reports of Iran whether an explosion in the city of Isfahan have also home to a large nuclear site.

David Albright, President of the Institute for science and international security, said he has studied of the pictures of this area and no damage was detected nuclear at the location of Isfahan. But he said "it's credible there was an explosion, but not at the site nuclear."

He said, it was confusing that Iranians clearly said one explosion in the local rocket Depot two weeks ago was an accident, but no similar clarity of Isfahan. "We try to find out what really happened," he said.

"Explosions have happened in the Iran, and Iran is not a big deal of them make." They are either called it accident or they say does not happen, and when these things happen, it still secret services could play so there actually now sabotage are, "Said Albright."

In the previous November 12 incident said Iran that a massive explosion at a military base West of Tehran has killed 17 members of the elite Islamic revolutionary waking Corps, including the head of its missile program in an accident have been moved during weapons.

When unexplained events are apparently directed against nuclear program of Iran occur, questions were experts often whether American and Israeli intelligence agencies at work.

Iran has come also alleged covert operations against the West to light. The United States before recently a man accused of involvement in a plot of Iranian agents, arrested to kill Saudi of Arabia's Ambassador to Washington.

The US Government throws responsible Iraqi militias for the attacks on American troops in the Iraq also Iran of the arming and financing.

US officials seem to not be disturbed at least bits of mishaps to Iran's nuclear and missile programs computer virus containing the Stuxnet, attacked at the site of Natanz nuclear centrifuges.

An official U.S. said "whether because of technical difficulties, incompetence or for other reasons, some setbacks to Iran's activities are welcome,", on condition of anonymity.

(Additional reporting by Mark trousers ball;) Writing by Tabassum Zakaria. (Editing by Warren Strobel)

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2:48 AM | 0 comments

Mexican interior minister killed in helicopter crash

AppId is over the quota AppId is over the quota 
1 of 2. People stand outside Mexico's Interior Ministry which bears a black ribbon in a sign of mourning in Mexico City November 11, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Claudia Daut
By Cyntia Barrera and Manuel Rueda
MEXICO CITY | Fri Nov 11, 2011 10:32pm EST
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican Interior Minister Francisco Blake was killed in a helicopter crash on Friday, a blow to the government as it fights powerful drug cartels.
Television images showed the scattered wreckage of the helicopter on a green hillside south of the capital where Blake and the seven others on board were killed.
President Felipe Calderon said conditions were cloudy when the helicopter came down so that an accident looked probable.
But in a televised address, he said no explanations for the crash could be ruled out as he paid tribute to Blake, calling him "a great Mexican".
"The investigations will be exhaustive and will consider all the possible hypotheses," Calderon said.
Mexico is locked in a brutal conflict against drug cartels that has killed 45,000 people in the last five years and Blake was a key member of Calderon's security team.
Locals near the crash site, a remote area only accessible by dirt roads, said the weather was poor when Blake's helicopter fell from the sky on Friday morning.
"We could hear the motor, which didn't sound good," said farmer Humberto Ramirez from the village of Caserio de Cortez, about 1.5 km (1 mile) away. "We couldn't see where it came down."
Blake is the second interior minister under Calderon to be killed in an air crash. The previous one three years earlier was declared an accident. Ironically, Blake lauded that very predecessor in the last tweet from his Twitter account.
Another top security official died in a helicopter crash in 2005, prompting one analyst to question security protocols for government aircraft and say the string of deaths could be down to more than just bad luck.
As interior minister, Blake was responsible for helping Calderon implement his strategy against drug gangs, as well as negotiating with opposition parties in Congress. Lawmakers held a minute's silence as a mark of respect for Blake.
LAST TWEET
Mexico's peso and its IPC stock index lost ground after Blake's death, although the peso firmed again after Calderon said an accident looked likely.
Calderon's presidency has been dominated by his decision to send in the army against drug gangs shortly after he took office in December 2006.
He canceled his appointments for the day and called off a planned trip to Hawaii where he was due to take part in an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
U.S. President Barack Obama, himself on the way to Honolulu for APEC, called Calderon from Air Force One to express his shock and sorrow at Blake's death.
The soaring death toll has battered support for the ruling National Action Party (PAN) ahead of a presidential election next July, and this year dragged down Calderon's approval ratings to their lowest levels of his term.
Born in Tijuana on Mexico's border with the United States, Blake trained as a lawyer and served as a deputy for his home state of Baja California. He became interior minister in 2010.
"There is great sadness, firstly for the loss of a great friend, but also because this is a very severe blow in the midst of a war against criminals inside Mexico," said Socrates Bastida, a leader of the PAN in Baja California.
On November 4 2008, then interior minister Juan Camilo Mourino and several others died when their small plane crashed near a major Mexico City boulevard. Investigators concluded the plane was flying too close to a much bigger jet plane ahead of it.
In his last tweet on November 4, Blake said: "Today we remember Juan Camilo Mourino three years after his passing, a human being who worked toward the creation of a better Mexico."
In 2005, Ramon Martin Huerta, public security minister in the previous PAN administration, was killed in a helicopter crash just outside the city. It was declared an accident too.
"Statistically, it is starting to become very difficult to blame these accidents on human error," said Armand Peschard-Sverdrup, a Mexico expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"The Mexican government has to review its security protocols for all aircraft and vehicles ... and you have to be open to the idea that this was not a random accident."
The government's website lists a fleet of eight planes and nine helicopters, which are used frequently by officials.
(Additional reporting by Lizbeth Diaz, Michael O'Boyle, Veronica Gomez and Rachel Uranga, writing by Dave Graham, Editing by Kieran Murray and Sandra Maler)

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