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President Biden is preparing for a candid and in depth conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping when the two leaders meet privately on Nov. 14 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, the White House said Thursday. It will be the first face-to-face meeting between Biden and Xi after a handful of phone calls between the two leaders, and the president had earlier said he expects to lay out his “red lines…and to determine whether or not they conflict with one another.”

Power struggle at the head of the ruling regime in Iran Since the Iranian revolution in 1979, understanding the structure of the ruling system in Iran and the decision-making mechanism, at times, has sometimes been challenging and difficult to understand and analyze. Although the "Vali-Faghih or the Supreme Leader" is at the top of the system's pyramid of power, the president holds the executive power. Still, the order of decision-making institutions in Iran is not clear, and this has long led to a dispute over authority between leaders of the regime who are at the center of its influence and...

The U.S. Air Force’s Small Diameter Bomb II program has seen such large cost overruns that the service will force the manufacturer, Raytheon, to absorb some of the increases, amounting to nearly $40 million. Both parties insist that the present production and delivery schedule won’t suffer, which is important given the present plan is for the precision guided munitions to become a core weapon system for a variety of American combat aircraft, especially the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. On Oct. 18, 2017, the Air Force acknowledged that Raytheon had run out of “financial liability” in its deal to develop the...

A day after Israel apologized to Turkey over the Mavi Marmara incident, its Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Saturday that he will visit Gaza. “I may eventually visit Gaza and the West Bank in April. This visit would take place in the context of a general effort to contribute to the resolution process,” Erdogan told reporters, according to a report in the Turkish daily Hurriyet. Hamas’s Prime Minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, had already announced on Friday that Erdogan would visit Gaza in the near future, the report said. Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu had confirmed that "Recep Tayyip...

Saudi Arabia's controversial Islamist and preacher, Sheikh Awad al Qarni, offered a bounty of $100,000 for the kidnapping of any IDF in 'Palestine' who can be used as leverage to force Israel to release more terrorists from its prisons. Qarni said on his Facebook page, "This award is in response to the allocation of funds to settlers who kill Palestinians prisoners released." Qarni claimed his initiative, highly praised by many in Saudi Arabia, was a response to reports in Israel's media that funds had been allocated by 'settlers' to kill terrorist Mustafa Muslimani, who was released under the deal for...

Former British MP George Galloway Vows that Land Convoy Would Reach Gaza and Declares: Palestine is One - From the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea Following are excerpts from an interview with former British MP George Galloway, which aired on Palestine Today TV on May 24, 2011: George Galloway: When President Obama is talking about a smaller and smaller Palestine, we have to insist that Palestine is one, from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea. […] Our next land convoy, which will arrive, God willing, in Gaza on the 27th of December this year, will be called "The...

Chelsea Clinton Wedding Guest List Revealed Posted by Devon Thomas NEW YORK (CBS) It's wedding season and Hillary and Bill Clinton's daughter Chelsea has her guest list all sorted out. The First Daughter, 30, who is getting married on July 31 to Marc Mezvinsky, is throwing a wedding bash that will reportedly have up to 500 guests, including some of the biggest names in politics and entertainment. Just who made the cut? According to the Hudson Valley News, guests include President Obama, singer Barbra Streisand, filmmaker Steven Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw, and media moguls Oprah Winfrey and Ted...

SNIPPET: "A senior Iranian military commander today announced that the Iranian Army is due to test-fire an optimized version of the country's 2,000-pound smart bomb, the Qassed (Messenger), in the near future. Iranian Air Force Commander Brig.-Gen. Hassan Shahsafi told the Fars news agency that early samples of the new version, called Qassed 2, will be tested in the near future." SNIPPET: "He also said that Qassed 1 has already been mass-produced and delivered to the Iranian Air Force."

The Israel Air Force’s F-15 fleet is undergoing an upgrade, with systems that make it better equipped for complex long distance attack scenarios. The systems are being installed in both the F-15 and the F-15I -- a model of the F-15 that was developed by its U.S. manufacturer specifically for the IAF. According to IDF journal BaMachaneh, the F-15I model is currently being fitted with two new systems – one called “Barad Pelada” (“Steel Hail”), and another named Lightning. The Barad Pelada advanced weapons system has been operational in the IAF’s F-16s for almost four years, but had to be...

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran vowed Sunday to use a new 2,000-pound "smart" bomb against its enemies and unveiled mass production of the new weapon, state television reported. The government first announced development of the long-range guided bomb Thursday, saying it could be deployed by the country's aging U.S.-made F-4 and F-5 fighter jets. "We will use these (bombs) against our enemies when the time comes," Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said on state television Sunday. Iran often announces new weapons for its arsenal, but the United States maintains that while the Islamic Republic has made some strides, many of these...

Iran develops 900-kg ‘smart bomb’ - official media Guided bomb developed by specialists within Islamic Republic’s Defense Ministry and is now operational, IRNA news agency reports, adding it could be dropped from F-4 and F-5 jets Reuters Published: 08.22.07, 23:57 / Israel News Iran has developed a 2,000-pound (900 kg) “smart bomb”, official media quoted a Defense Ministry statement as saying on Wednesday, in the latest announcement from Tehran about progress regarding military hardware. Revolutionary Guards Guards chief: Iran missiles can hit warships in Gulf / Reuters Commander of Revolutionary Guards says his ground forces have missiles that could penetrate...

'Ghased' bomb to be operational in Gov't Week Tehran, Aug 22, IRNA Iran-Defense-Bomb Iran's guided intelligent bomb named `Ghased' (Messenger) will be operational during Government Week (August 24-30). Defense Ministry's Defense Propagation Department said the bomb, developed by the Ministry's technicians and experts, is one of the most powerful, modern and intelligent bombs of the world, whose construction has thus far been under monopoly of a few states. The bomb can be fired from F4 and F5 planes.

THE Taliban commander in charge of attacks on British and Nato forces in southern Afghanistan was reported yesterday to have been killed in a US airstrike after an RAF aircraft intercepted his satellite telephone. Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani, the Taliban treasurer, was the most senior member of the group’s leadership to die in the war on terror, according to US officials. A Taliban spokesman, however, said he was still alive. Osmani, an associate of Osama Bin Laden, is said to have been part of a triumvirate with Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban military commander, and Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader. Osmani...

Wed Nov 24, 7:37 AM ET Basijis, or volunteers shout slogans 'death to America' during a rally by 100,000 paramilitary forces in a show of might in the southern suburbs of the capital Tehran on Wednesday Nov. 24, 2004. Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards commander warned the U.S. against any possible attack against Iran, saying America's interests and security will be endangered if Washington takes any military action against Iran.(AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian)

Taiwan authorities have arrested a missile researcher suspected of selling military technology to China. Huang Cheng-an, who worked at the military-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, was arrested Saturday on espionage charges. Mr. Huang, 55, is said to have set up a private business to build a smart bomb after being transferred to a non-technical position a the institute about 10 years ago. The business failed when he was unable to acquire technology needed to develop satellite-guided missiles. Investigators say he had close associations with arms dealers both in Taiwan and the Middle East and used them to sell...

Published on TaipeiTimes http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2003/11/30/2003077793 CSIST official held for giving smart bomb info to China By Jewel Huang STAFF REPORTER Sunday, Nov 30, 2003,Page 1 The Ministry of National Defense yesterday evening wound up its investigation of an alleged spy case by detaining an employee at the Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology on suspicion of passing information on the production of a smart bomb to China. According to a press release from the ministry, Huang Cheng-an (üSÕý°²) went to Egypt twice on vacation. During those visits he reportedly met with people to discuss setting up a company to sell...

After the Gulf War, land prices in Iraq were, understandably, low. Residents packed up and left, both because of the war and Saddam Hussein's crackdown against anti-government rebellions that followed, and there were hundreds of pieces of real estate available dirt cheap. Some of these properties, bought by speculative citizens, have recently been fetching monstrous prices, relatively speaking. One seller, reports US News, sold a house he bought years ago for 12 million dinars - only $5000, but still 36 times his original purchase price. The Iraqi stock market is also booming, and private construction is continuing apace. What gives?...