In the stand-off over the crucial oil lane in the Persian Gulf, Iran’s navy drill is to culminate with the launch of long-range missiles. The US says its warships, which crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, are heading to the Arabian Sea. Iran’s long-range missile systems, including the Shabab-3, cover a distance of over 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) and thus... 

In this edition of News Analysis we will examine the possibility of another war on the Gaza strip by Israel and whether this latest threat underlies deeper worries by Israel due to changes in the regional landscape from the Arab Spring in which parliamentary results from different Arab countries show a break from the past with Israel. VN:F [1.9.13_1145]please wait...Rating:... 

On December 29, nationally syndicated talk radio show host Michael Weiner “Savage” trashed Ron Paul. He characterized him as a “lunatic” who supports Hamas and Hezbollah after Paul said the Gaza Strip is a concentration camp. Savage joins the rest of the “conservative” punditry in the act of viciously trashing Ron Paul as the Iowa caucus approaches. His audience... 

Chinese submarines on patrol in Pacific Ocean Speaking on the presence of US missile defense systems in the Pacific region, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Vladimir Dvorkin says this shield is more of a threat to the nuclear forces in China than it is to Russia’s.­ Major Gen. Dvorkin, a senior fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International... 

The Japanese electronics company, Sony has introduced a paper-powered battery that generates electricity by turning paper into sugar, using it as fuel. The company has announced that the bio-battery is environmentally friendly, as no harmful chemicals have been used in the product. The power generating process uses the enzyme cellulose to decompose paper into glucose... 

Thousands leave GoDaddy over registrar's support for SOPA Thousands of website domains were transferred on Thursday from the Internet’s top registrar Go Daddy as part of a colossal campaign against the service for its support of the Stop Online Piracy Act. With managing close to 50 million domain names, Go Daddy is the largest registrar on the web and has customers... 

Although Germany and Russia have developed into modern democracies with free-market systems, NATO still fears the revival of the former Nazi and Soviet states, says Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. Rogozin, Russia’s former Permanent Representative to NATO, told officers of the Aerospace Forces in the restricted area of Krasnoznamensk that no matter what type of... 

Fox Latin America is being forced to apologize after Rupert Murdoch’s Spanish-language outlet added a questionable poll to its Facebook page as part of a failed promotion. In an outlandish effort to promote a Christmas special this year on the National Geographic Channel, a Fox Latin America staffer asked fans on the group’s Facebook page, “Who do you think... 

Iran's Navy is currently conducting 10-day Velayat 90 naval drills in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman says his country hopes that stability will continue in the strategic Strait of Hormuz and no action will be taken to destabilize this international waterway. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Hung Lei said Chinese public... 

2011 will be remembered as the year the US, Britain, France and Israel went into Imperial Overdrive in North Africa and the Middle East. Will 2012 be remembered as the year those same Western Allies unleashed World War III? ­It is not news anymore to say that the West will soon attack Iran, maybe Syria. They have been threatening to do that for years now, certainly... 

Particles from a recent solar storm are expected to induce temporary radio blackouts in some areas and create Northern Lights, or auroras. Following a massive eruption of solar plasma known as a coronal mass ejection (CME) on December 26, experts predict the fast-moving charged particles strike the Earth’s magnetic field on Wednesday, December 28, for about seven... 

Egyptian demonstrators burn an Israeli flag as others try to demolish a wall recently built outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo to protect the building. The Israeli military is gearing up to counter future threats from Egypt as an almost certain Muslim Brotherhood election victory could potentially set the two countries on a collision course. ­While the Israeli Defense... 

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and will undergo surgery in January, her spokesman says. Government spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro broke the news on Tuesday, adding that the cancerous cells had not spread to other parts of her body. Scoccimarro said the president will... 

The Government of Japan on December 27 made a significant step toward the abolition of voluntary restrictions on arms exports that had been in effect since 1967. The Japanese news agency Kyodo reported that the decision was taken by the government’s Security Council, based on national needs in developing their own military-industrial complex and intent to ensure... 

An “urgent” follow-up report from General Director Vladimir Popovkin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) to Prime Minister Putin on the failed Phobos-Grunt Mars space probe [photo 2nd right] mission circulating in the Kremlin today states that since his last report (which we reported on in our 26 December report US Warned Could Soon Face Russian Wrath...