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A massive fire raged at a former headquarters of the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow on Sunday before it was brought under control several hours later. Hundreds of firefighters and several cranes were seen battling the blaze Sunday afternoon after the fire broke out hours earlier. […] The Defense Ministry moved to a new headquarters on the Moskva River in 2014, but still kept the old building near the Kremlin. …

A fire ripped through a Russian Defense Ministry building in central Moscow on Sunday, sending plumes of smoke over the Russian capital as fire fighters battled to extinguish the blaze. Around 50 people were reported to have been evacuated from the administrative building, which dates from the end of the eighteenth century. Nobody was reported to have been hurt. Photographs from the scene showed fire fighters scaling ladders to access the building’s upper floors with fire engines pumping water through hoses placed on the ground floor. Traffic through central Moscow was diverted. Major-General Igor Konashenkov, on the scene, told the...

Hamas is about to establish its own “Defense Ministry” in the Gaza Strip as part of lessons drawn from Operation Pillar of Defense, Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hammad announced on Wednesday. Hammad, who is in charge of the Hamas security apparatus in the Gaza Strip, made the announcement during a ceremony to honor policemen and security officers for their role during last month’s IDF air offensive. Hammad did not say when the new ministry would be established. This would be the first time that the Palestinians set up a Defense Ministry. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank does not...

Defense Ministry Says No North Korean Submarine Detected large flock of birds or a North Korean midget submarine? That is one of the questions surrounding the inexplicable sinking of the ROK Navy's patrol ship, the 1,200-ton Cheonan, off Baengnyeong Island in the West Sea (Yellow Sea) last Friday night. As things stand now, just an hour after an explosion on the Cheonan broke it into two before it sank, its sister frigate Sokcho fired 130 rounds from its 76mm main canon. This took place at 10:57 p.m. The Navy and the Defense Ministry maintained that the shooting took place as...

Peretz 'will have to learn quickly' Peretz. 'It doesn't matter who stands at the head of the security system.' Photo: Eli Elgarat Members of the defense establishment are not afraid of expressing themselves over the probable new incoming boss, Amir Peretz. His future conduct is regarded as a 'mystery,' and he is being given a chance, but under the carpet, a lack of faith is hiding Hanan Greenberg If Labor Chairman Amir Peretz becomes minister of defense, as is looking increasingly likely, he will have a lot to learn in his new position, senior security figures told Ynet. "I don't...