PUTIN PLEDGES TO REDUCE RUSSIA MILITARY SPENDING

Sourced: Agence France-Presse President Vladimir Putin has said on that Russia would cut its military spending, a day after he won a presidential election with a landslide. ‘We have plans to decrease our defence spending both this year and next. But this will not lead to any decline in the country’s defence capacity,’ he said… Continue reading PUTIN PLEDGES TO REDUCE RUSSIA MILITARY SPENDING

GOVERNMENT SOURCE: CANADA TO SEND TROOPS AND HELICOPRTERS TO MALI

Sourced: Reuters By David Ljunggren Canada will send helicopters and support troops, including medical staff, to join a United Nations peace-keeping mission in Mali later this year, a senior Canadian government source said late on Friday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government will announce on Monday that Canada plans to send troops and aircraft to Mali… Continue reading GOVERNMENT SOURCE: CANADA TO SEND TROOPS AND HELICOPRTERS TO MALI

EGYPT FRANCE CONCLUDE JOINT NAVAL EXERRCISE IN RED SEA

Sourced: Masrad Egypt and France on Saturday finalized a joint naval exercises in the Red Sea, as part of the Egyptian armed forces plan for training with allied countries. Official Spokesperson of the Armed Forces Tamer al-Refaei said that the Egyptian-French naval exercises that lasted for several days at the Red Sea and included many… Continue reading EGYPT FRANCE CONCLUDE JOINT NAVAL EXERRCISE IN RED SEA

TRUMP CALLS FOR A SPACE FORCE, A CONCEPT HIS PENTAGON OPPOSES

Sourced: Defense One By Caroline Houck U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday raised the prospect of creating a “Space Force,” a new branch of the military service — and a concept that his leaders at the Pentagon oppose. Air Force leaders, who oversee the bulk of the military’s satellites and launches, spent the last year… Continue reading TRUMP CALLS FOR A SPACE FORCE, A CONCEPT HIS PENTAGON OPPOSES

US URGES CYPRUS AND TURKEY TO RESOLVE EEZ DISPUTE

epa03010742 epa03010733 An aerial view from a helicopter of the Homer Ferrington rig operated by Noble Energy in the east Mediterranean, drilling in an offshore block on concession from the Cypriot government, 21 November 2011. Houston-based Noble started drilling for gas off Cyprus in September, in the island's first attempt to tap speculated offshore hydrocarbons deposits. Cypriot President Demetris Christofias visited the rig, which started drilling for gas on 21 November. EPA/STR EPA/STR

Sourced: Cyprus Mail US ambassador to Nicosia Kathleen Doherty said on Thursday that while the US recognises the Republic’s right to develop its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) it does not take positions on who has the right over maritime boundaries. At a press conference on Thursday, Doherty said that in terms of the hydrocarbons issue,… Continue reading US URGES CYPRUS AND TURKEY TO RESOLVE EEZ DISPUTE

SAAB SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED FIRST FLIGHT OF THE GLOBALEYE AEW&C AIRCRAFT

Sourced: Defence Blog Saab successfully completed the first flight of the GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft in Linköping, Sweden. GlobalEye took off on its maiden flight at 12.52  local time on 14 March 2018, from Saab’s airfield in Linköping, Sweden. The aircraft, a modified Bombardier Global 6000 jet platform, undertook a 1 hour… Continue reading SAAB SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED FIRST FLIGHT OF THE GLOBALEYE AEW&C AIRCRAFT

EU TO GIVE TURKEY MORE FUNDING TO EXTEND MIGRANT DEAL

Sourced: EKathimerini Notwithstanding a rise in tensions between Brussels and Ankara – recently exacerbated by Turkey’s increasingly aggressive stance toward Greece and Cyprus – the European Commission will be approving an additional 3 billion euros in funding for Syrian refugees living in Turkey, EU officials said on Wednesday. The fresh injection of funds will extend… Continue reading EU TO GIVE TURKEY MORE FUNDING TO EXTEND MIGRANT DEAL

MERKEL: TURKEY PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN LACK OF CYPRUS SOLUTION

Sourced: Cyprus Mail By Elias Hazou German chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday said Turkey has played an important role in the failure to reach a negotiated settlement on Cyprus. “We have a very large problem when it comes to Cyprus. For years we’ve been striving to find a solution but until today it has not… Continue reading MERKEL: TURKEY PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN LACK OF CYPRUS SOLUTION

TRUMP RISKS TRADING AWAY THE US-SOUTH KOREAN ALLIANCE

File - In this file photo taken on Dec. 10, 2015, U.S. and South Korean army soldiers pose on a floating bridge on the Hantan river during a joint military exercise against a possible attack from North Korea, in Yeoncheon, South Korea. Pyongyang will cast a decidedly dark shadow over U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' first trip overseas. Mattis is to make his debut with a visit to staunch U.S. allies South Korea and Japan, both of which host tens of thousands of American troops and, for good reason, see North Korea as their biggest national security threat. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

Sourced: Defense One By Thomas Wright In August of last year, days before he was forced out of the White House, Steve Bannon gave an unusual interview to Robert Kuttner, a journalist at The American Prospect. The article made headlines because Bannon tore into his rivals, especially Gary Cohn, and in a progressive magazine no… Continue reading TRUMP RISKS TRADING AWAY THE US-SOUTH KOREAN ALLIANCE

KURDS ASK HIGHER AUTHORITY TO END CRISIS WITH BAGHDAD

ISOF soldiers captured in Mosul, Northern Iraq, Western Asia. 16 November, 2016.

Sourced: Al Monitor By Mustafa Saadoun With seemingly nowhere else to turn, beleaguered Iraqi Kurds are seeking salvation through Shiite religious authorities. The crisis between Iraq’s central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish headquarters in Erbil appears to have laid waste to all other internal and external attempts to resolve the repercussions of the Sept.… Continue reading KURDS ASK HIGHER AUTHORITY TO END CRISIS WITH BAGHDAD