Trend: The regulatory authorities in TAP’s host countries – Greece, Italy and Albania – have released a joint opinion, prolonging the validity period of TAP’s exemption from certain provisions of the EU Gas Directive. TAP’s exemption has been updated in line with the planned commencement date of Shah Deniz …

Azer News: Though the world powers and Iran have reached a framework accord on Tehran’s decade-old nuclear dispute, experts and analysts are skeptical on the success of the nuclear negotiations. They don’t believe that the P5+1 and Iran could achieve a final nuclear deal by the July 1 …

By Sara Rajabova Azer News Iran has set some conditions in view of allowing U.S. car manufacturers to access into the Iranian market should sanctions be lifted this summer. Assadollah Asgaroladi, the head of Iran-China Chamber of Commerce, said American car manufacturers should not be given “easy” access …

Representatives of the far-right Ukrainian nationalist political movement Right Sector are due to picket the administrative building of President Poroshenko in central Kiev later on Wednesday. The far-right Ukrainian nationalist political movement Right Sector will be picketing near the building of President Petro Poroshenko’s administration in central Kiev later in the day, …

Gareth Jennings, Linköping IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly Saab is touting its Gripen combat aircraft to Austria as a possible replacement for that country’s early model Eurofighter Typhoons, a senior company official disclosed on 27 April. Speaking at the Linköping production facility in Sweden, the head of Saab’s Aeronautics …

Victor Barreira, Lisbon  IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly The Brazilian Army could soon award Iveco Veículos de Defesa a contract to deliver additional VBTP-MR Guarani 6×6 amphibious armoured vehicles, a military source close to the programme told IHS Jane’s . The service is currently considering buying about 1,700 serial …

By Christopher Kozak Institute For The Study Of War The following is an excerpt of the upcoming report from the Institute for the Study of War titled “An Army in All Corners — Assad’s Campaign Strategy in Syria.” Written by ISW Syria Analyst Christopher Kozak, this study examines Syrian …

By JO BIDDLE AND DAN DE LUCE AFP The United States and Japan unveiled new rules for defense cooperation in a historic move that will give Japanese forces a wider global role amid concerns over China’s rising sway. Under the revised guidelines, Japan could come to the aid …

By Amanda Macias Business Insider America’s most expensive weapons system ever built is on track for “initial combat use” by September 2016. Business Insider recently toured Lockheed Martin’s massive production facility in Fort Worth, Texas, where the three F-35 Lightning II variant aircrafts are designed and manufactured. The $400 …