VIENNA, Aug. 30 — Iran is expanding its nuclear program in defiance of United Nations’ resolutions, even as it has promised to answer questions about an array of suspicious nuclear activities in the past, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday.
The assessment by the nuclear agency states that Iran is now simultaneously operating nearly 2,000 [...]

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August 31, 2007: Taking into account all of the high tech weapons China is developing, or producing, you can make a case that their actual defense budget is about $100 billion a year. It’s long been common practice in communist countries to hide defense spending in other areas of government activity.
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During the past seven to 10 years China’s rapid buildup of military power has tipped the balance in the Taiwan Strait strongly in its favor.
Since 1999, when former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui announced his “two states” theory — daring to say that the People’s Republic of China and the Republic [...]

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The central question this study raises and that Americans must answer is what costs and benefits come with having a much larger population and a more densely settled country. Some foresee a deteriorating quality of life with a larger population, including its impact on such things as pollution, congestion, loss of open spaces, and sprawl. [...]

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (UPI) — The diesel submarine may be the leading “Cinderella weapon” of the 21st century. It gets no respect in the United States or Russia. But China, India, France, Germany and Israel are all betting on it big time.
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But the biggest enthusiast for diesel subs is China, which is building its own: [...]

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The European Union is looking at measures to prevent foreign investors from snatching up European energy companies. Gazprom has accused Europe of “economic nationalism” and the Kremlin warns it will fight any discrimination against Russian companies. more…

An Offer You Can’t Refuse: Russia’s Very Hostile Takeovers
Brussels Takes On the Big Boys: EU Wants to Break Up [...]

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With the end of the summer recess, a new political season begins on Saturday. It will probably be the last season for President Vladimir Putin, and it promises to be stormy.
A curious pattern emerges when examining Russia’s politics over the last quarter century. Fundamental changes come in eight-year cycles, and the transitions from the end [...]

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However, the Syrian ballistic missile threat to Israel, while non-nuclear, adds an ominous level of complexity to the threat that defense planners in Tel Aviv must deal with.
The Syrians do not have nuclear weapons, and there appears to be no likelihood that either Russia or Iran will trust them with such devastating weapons in the [...]

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Russia is also planning a massive upgrade of its Rybachiy submarine base on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
However, the most ambitious program announced this year aims at restoring the Russian Pacific Fleet’s fallen power. Russia has indicated that its rebuilt Pacific fleet would have three nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, Dr Muraviev said.
He said there was growing concern in [...]

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Russia is expanding its military presence in Syria, developing an advanced naval port at Tartus and providing Syria with sophisticated missile technology.
The story of Russia’s return to Tartus, Syria’s second most important port after Latakia, broke a year ago. It is Moscow’s only foreign naval outpost situated outside the former Soviet Union.
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