Eager to wield power, Moscow warns against the Serbian province’s independence bid, but seems to be ignored.
The looming independence of Kosovo and promises of quick U.S. and European recognition have undercut and infuriated Russia at a moment when this oil-rich behemoth is eager to show that its global clout has been restored, analysts say.
Russian officials [...]

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Putin was, in fact, mostly speaking to the audience gathered before him in the Kremlin, telling the richest and most powerful people in the land to keep calm. According to his message: the demographic crunch will be solved, the state will be strong, and the economy will grow and “innovate,” making Russia a world leader [...]

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China on Thursday told the United States to drop its “Cold War” attitude and stop accusing Beijing of espionage, after US authorities arrested four people on charges of spying for the Chinese.
“The so-called accusation against China on the issue of espionage is totally groundless,” foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said when asked to comment on [...]

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Pakistani troops fired a short-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile during exercises on Feb. 13 in the third such training launch in as many weeks, the army said.
Soldiers from the country’s strategic force command carried out a “successful” launch of the Hatf III (Ghaznavi) missile, which has a range of 290 kilometers (180 miles), an army statement [...]

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Israel alert for reprisal over Hezbollah chief
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia – 49 minutes ago
His position in Hezbollah was never acknowledged, and he lived a secretive existence between Lebanon, Syria and Iran. Israel blames him for bomb attacks …
Israel embassies on high alert following Mughniyah killing Ha’aretz
End of a Hezbollah militant Los Angeles Times
ANALYSIS: Mughniyah death [...]

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Since the collapse of communism it has been widely assumed by U.S. policymakers that gigantic, full-scale land wars on major continents involving hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops have become inconceivable.
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The only trouble is that a lot of other major powers around the world do not believe it is true — and [...]

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he was ready to target missiles at former Warsaw Pact countries, including neighbouring Ukraine, if they join NATO or host Western military facilities.
Russia “would be forced to aim missiles at those objects which we feel threaten our national security,” Putin told his last major annual press conference before he [...]

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Chinese armed forces are accelerating a “comprehensive transformation” of their military and may soon have enough equipment and trained personnel to take over Taiwan and expand communist China’s domain into the greater Western Pacific, according to the Department of Defense (DOD) and military experts interviewed by Cybercast News Service.
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A police chief in north China shot dead a senior local Communist Party official and a woman before killing himself, fanning speculation of a seamy corruption scandal that has drawn huge interest and is likely to alarm Beijing.
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