Russian security forces have clashed in Chechnya with a dozen militants after Moscow formally ended a military crackdown in place for the last decade, reports said on Friday.
The Russian security forces clashed with the group outside the settlement of Dai in Chechnya and used artillery fire, the Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies quoted security sources as saying.
There were no casualties amongst the security forces, it said. The clash took place at 10:50 am (0650 GMT) on Thursday but these were the first reports to have emerged.

Private military companies (PMCs) have become rather popular nowadays in terms of providing specialized expertise or services of a military nature. These units can compete with special services and regular armies. There are such companies in Russia, although they are not so widely spread in the country in comparison with their prototypes in the West. As experience shows, the PMCs will prevail in the future.
The history of private military companies started on June 24, 1997, when experts of the US Intelligence Department proclaimed the PMCs as a major tool in …

One day before U.S. President Barack Obama’s Canadian visit last week, Canadian fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers near Canadian air space, the defense minister said Friday.
“At no time did Russian planes enter Canadian air space, but within 24 hours of the president’s visit here … we did scramble F-18 fighter planes from NORAD in Canada command,” Peter MacKay said in a news conference in Ottawa.
The Russian planes were in international waters, about 118 miles (190 kilometers) northeast of Tuktoyuktuk, in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

Iranian and Russian engineers carried out a test-run of Iran’s first nuclear power plant Wednesday, a major step toward starting up a facility that the U.S. once hoped to prevent because of fears over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Washington worried Iran would turn spent fuel from the plant’s reactor into plutonium, which could then be used to build a nuclear warhead, and U.S. officials pressured Moscow for years to stop helping Iran build the electricity-generating facility.

Binyamin Netanyahu described Iran as the greatest threat that Israel has ever faced and failed to mention stalled talks with the Palestinians after he was asked to be the country’s new Prime Minister today.
In a speech made outside the residence of President Shimon Peres, the Likud leader said that protecting Israel would be his greatest responsibility as leader, and condemned “formidable” challenges posed by the Islamic Republic.
However, he did not once mention the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process or a two-state solution throughout his address, omissions that will cause concern within …

MOSCOW (AFP) — Russia and Ukraine were set for a new round of talks Saturday in a bid to resolve their gas dispute that has Europe struggling through winter without crucial gas supplies from the ex-Soviet giants.
Russia pushed Friday for greater international involvement in resolving its dispute with Ukraine as Kiev sought to retake some of the diplomatic initiative, hosting officials from three of its European neighbors for talks on the gas crisis.
It was unclear exactly what was to take place in Moscow on Saturday, although the Kremlin accredited …

Ukraine signed an accord with Russia and the European Union on monitoring transit gas through its territory, setting the stage for the resumption of supplies to Europe after four days of disruption amid freezing temperatures.
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, who represents the EU, secured the agreement of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko in Kiev, after talks with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin yesterday at his residence outside Moscow.

Talks to resolve a gas supply row between Ukraine and Russia have failed, raising fears of possible energy shortages across Europe.
Gazprom said gas supplies to Ukraine would be cut on Thursday but that Russia would do its best to guarantee supplies to Europe.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin earlier said that Ukraine would block supplies to Europe if no deal was done.
Ukraine denies owing money to Gazprom, and says it has guaranteed gas transit.

LI-ON, Israel: Many Israelis feel that the walls – and history – are closing in on their 60-year-old state, much as they felt in early June 1967, just before Israel launched the Six-Day War and destroyed the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian armies in Sinai, the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
More than 40 years ago, the Egyptians had driven a UN peacekeeping force from the Sinai-Israel border, had closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping and air traffic and had deployed the equivalent of seven armored and infantry divisions …

Moscow hosted the Interpolitech-2008 international arms exhibition featuring the most advanced Russian and foreign-made military and specialized equipment for police and secret services.
Equipment purchases for national security agencies and secret services were also announced.
UAZ Patriot scout vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles for the Russian Federal Security Service’s border troops and state-of-the-art liquid-crystal displays from Belarus and many other systems were displayed.