China's first aircraft carrier starts sea trials

Beijing : China's first aircraft carrier swept through fog-shrouded waters Wednesday to open sea trials that underscore concerns about the country's growing military strength and its increasingly assertive claims over disputed territory.

The mission by the refurbished former Soviet carrier marks a first step in readying the craft for full deployment. China says the ship is intended for research and training, pointing to longer-term plans to build up to three additional clones of the carrier in China's own shipyards.

Five Nato Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan making August fatalist month ever

KABUL : A roadside bomb killed five soldiers from the U.S.-led NATO force in Afghanistan on Thursday, officials said, bringing the August toll for the coalition to at least 50, an unusually deadly month.

NATO refused to specify the location of the blast in southern Afghanistan or identify the fatalities. On Wednesday, another NATO soldier also was killed by an explosion in the southern part of the country. Roadside bombs are the favorite and most deadly weapon for Taliban insurgents in their campaign against foreign and Afghan forces.

Pentagon releases official list of dead seals from Helicopter crash in Afghanistan

Washington:  Pentagon on Thursday released the names of the dead five days after a Chinook helicopter crashed in Afghanistan. 

Officials from the U.S. Special Operations Command had asked Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta to not publicly identify some of the troops, citing security concerns. Panetta considered the request but decided to order the disclosure of the troops’ names, rank, age, unit and home town, in keeping with past practice.

Hunt for Osama Bin Laden, Is Hollywood given inside scoop on story?

Los Angles : In a town that runs on access, Hollywood filmmakers get it, too — and that apparently has the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security concerned about what kind of access the Obama administration has provided to big-time filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow, who is making a movie about the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

In a statement Wednesday, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) called on the Pentagon and the CIA to investigate the matter, saying he was worried about the possibility that classified information was leaked to Bigelow and representatives of Sony Pictures, which has acquired distribution rights to the movie.