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New Zealand’s leader voiced concern Monday over a draft security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands that, if approved, could see Beijing establish a military base in the South Pacific. In addition, Australia’s prime minister reiterated his nation’s concern about the planned agreement that was leaked online last week. The security pact would allow Beijing to set up military bases and deploy troops in the Pacific island nation, “marking the start of a much sharper military competition than anything we’ve seen in the region for decades,” said David Capie, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the Victoria...

Iran is allegedly mulling over an attempt to assassinate the United States’ ambassador to South Africa as retaliation for the American drone attack earlier this year that killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force. The news of Tehran’s purported plans was first reported by Politico, who spoke with one official familiar with the issue and another official who has seen the intelligence. If Iran does attempt to carry out the assassination, it would severely ratchet up the already tense relations between Washington and Tehran, along with giving the Trump administration impetus to retaliate.

President Donald Trump on Thursday told reporters, "you'll soon find out" whether the US will strike Iran as tensions between the two countries ratcheted up. This is breaking news please check back for updates.

President Donald Trump and his aides were confronting dramatically increased tensions with Iran on Thursday after the downing of a US drone near the Persian Gulf. "Iran made a very big mistake!" the President tweeted mid-morning as he and his national security officials huddled to weigh possible responses. The ominous — if vague — message came after Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it had shot down an "intruding American spy drone" after it entered into the country's territory Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on responsible treatment of animals, which outlaws all forms of cruelty to animals and establishes rules of pet ownership, according to documents uploaded to the official online database of Russian legislative information on Thursday. The law was introduced to the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, in 2010 and took eight years to be passed. The law contains the basic principles of pet ownership, based on responsible, ethical and humane treatment of animals.....

..."Saudi Arabia and the UAE have sent military forces to areas controlled by the Kurdish YPG group in north-east Syria, Turkey’s Yenisafak newspaper reported. The paper said the forces will be stationed with US-led coalition troops and will support its tasks with huge military enforcements as well as heavy and light weapons. Quoting the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the newspaper reported that a convoy of troops belonging to an Arab Gulf state recently arrived in the contact area between the Kurdish PKK/YPG and Daesh in the Deir Ez-Zor countryside. This comes at a time when Ankara is preparing to...

The General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joseph Dunford, said that Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), consisting of all components of the Syrian people, are "the only ones capable of defeating the largest terrorist organization in the Middle East." He said they had a long way to stay in Syria, and we have no specific time how long we will stay in Syria. 09 Dec 2018, Sun - 10:42 NEWS DESKThe Washington Post conducted a lengthy interview with General and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford on several issues including US military excellence and fierce competition with...

A delegation from Saudi Arabia has arrived in Turkey... Prince Khaled al-Faisal, the governor of Mecca, made his brief visit in his capacity as special adviser to King Salman, indicating that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is treating the issue as a priority. Later the same day Turkey said the two countries had agreed to form a joint working (effort) to investigate the situation…

The U.S. military Tuesday said it supported a plan to establish a demilitarized zone in northern Syria that would separate rebels in their last stronghold from advancing government forces. The agreement to create a buffer zone was worked out Monday in a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held in Sochi, Russia. Russia’s defense minister said that under the agreement, Syria would refrain from launching an offensive on Idlib Province, the last major rebel stronghold.

Putin’s dialing down of the rhetoric is an effort to mask his intentions. He — Russia — still has the same foreign policy interests in Syria as he did before the plane was shot down, and those aren’t going to change anytime soon. When journalists asked him about the much more hostile statement of his Defense Ministry, which also vowed a retaliatory response, Putin stated clearly that it was “fully coordinated” with him (of course it was). He defined what ‘retaliatory’ meant. “The retaliatory measures will be directed above all to boosting the security of military men and installations in...

A Syrian military official told the Syrian Arab News Agency that missiles were fired from the Mediterranean sea towards the port city, but were intercepted and downed by air defense. Syrian media reported several explosions were heard over the city of Latakia on Monday night, Israeli media reported. A Syrian military official told the Syrian Arab News Agency that missiles were fired from the Mediterranean sea towards the port city, but were intercepted and downed by air defense.

A report on Monday claimed that U.S. intelligence has determined that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has already made a decision to use chemical weapons against enemy positions in Idlib as his forces, combined with Russian airpower, attack the last rebel stronghold following seven years of civil war. The Wall Street Journal [source], citing unnamed intelligence sources, even noted the type of gas Assad has allegedly chosen: Chlorine gas, which was first used in World War I and has the effect of an asphyxiation compound. In addition, according to sources who spoke to the WSJ, President Donald Trump has also reportedly...

The Pentagon ordered a company-sized element of U.S. Marines to conduct an aerial assault drill near a small U.S. base in southeastern Syria called the At Tanf garrison amid new concerns of Russian operations nearby. Reports said that the Russian military has utilized a deconfliction hotline a number of times over the past week to warn the U.S. military of upcoming Russian and Syrian military operations aimed at destroying the last pocket of rebels from the Idlib region.

The hidden battle in Syria – the one that rarely appears on our television screens – has been raging for years between Israel and a coalition comprising the Syrian government, Iran and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Watching over the proceedings without directly intervening has been Russia, although that might be about to change. The prize is control over Syrian territory but the battlefield is Syria’s skies.

As we seem to be inching ever closer to World War 3, heated rhetoric and threats between nations are becoming everyday occurrences. Israel has threatened to strike Russian systems in Syria after it was threatened with “catastrophic consequences” if it does. Russia will send advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Bashar al-Assad, officials said Monday, warning Israel not to attack the new air defense systems or suffer “catastrophic consequences.” But Israel, in turn, threatened to strike those very systems anyway. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday that Israel may strike the Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft defense systems in Syria if they are...