Military & Security

Russia and China will for the first time hold joint naval drills in the Mediterranean Sea next month, according to a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense. Chinese National Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said that Moscow and Beijing will for the first time hold joint naval …

By Finian Cunningham The claims that Merkel’s government knew about German state intelligence spying on behalf of the Americans against the country’s own industrial interests raise disturbing questions about the integrity of German government leaders. The apparent betrayal of German national interests by Chancellor Angela Merkel is not only evident over the …

The Pentagon said Wednesday that the U.S. would “be able to respond” if necessary to help a Marshall Islands-flagged ship that was diverted, and boarded, a day earlier by Iran — though it remains unclear how far the U.S. Navy might be willing to go if the tense …

By Yerevan Saeed Kurd Post The US House Armed Services Committee passed a watered down defense bill on Thursday, removing a clause asking for recognition of Kurdish Peshmergas and Sunni tribal forces as “country,” but maintaining that some of the military aid should go directly to the two …

By Yerevan Saeed RUDAW The Obama administration is opposing a US defense bill that authorizes “direct military assistance” for Kurdish forces and Sunni tribal forces and recognizes them as “country,” the State Department said on Wednesday. The House Armed Services Committee on Monday released the National Defense Authorization …

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press France has announced a 6.3-billion-euro ($7 billion) deal to sell 24 Rafale fighter jets to Qatar. The deal is to be signed next Monday in Qatar’s capital, Doha, in the presence of the French president, Francois Hollande, presidency services announced Thursday. With this …

Vietnam Times: Vietnam marks 40 years since the end of Vietnam War on Thursday as thousands of Vietnamese, including war veterans in uniform, lined up to watch soldiers and traditional performers parade through the streets of what is now Ho Chi Minh City. In front of Independence Palace …

DPA: German intelligence services spied on top French officials and the European Commission on behalf of the American spy agency NSA, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency helped the National Security Agency (NSA) carry out “political espionage” by surveilling “top officials at the French …

 Egor Popov, Yelizaveta Kuznetsova, Kommersant Russia’s civil aviation industry, whose main project is the regional aircraft Sukhoi Superjet-100 (SSJ-100), is to receive record state support, with the government promising anti-crisis funding of more than 127 billion rubles ($2.5 billion). According to observers, the financing will help to support …