Pentagon to Pour Extra Money in Hypersonic Weapons as Putin Reveals New Arms

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has received increased funds for the development of hypersonic weapons, the agency’s director, Steven Walker, said amid Moscow’s revelations about the creation and mass production of hypersonic weapons in Russia.

US shutdown begins as Senate fails to pass new budget

The United States Senate on Friday night failed to approve the new funds necessary to finance the government past midnight, pushing it towards a partial and indefinite shutdown.

La France va accorder un prêt de 430 millions d'euros à l'Irak

La France va accorder un prêt de 430 millions d'euros en 2017 à l'Irak dont le budget est fortement grevé par la lutte contre les djihadistes et la chute des cours du pétrole, a annoncé samedi le ministère français des Affaires étrangères.

Renzi Starts Final Days as Italy Premier With Party Huddle

Italian Premier Matteo Renzi is opening his final days in office by meeting with his party members, as opposition leaders jockey for position following his resounding defeat in a weekend referendum.

Japan plans record defense spending in response to North Korea, Chinese incursions

Increasingly alarmed by heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula and the presence of Chinese vessels near the disputed Senkaku Islands, Japan is planning a record defense budget for 2017.

Pentagon proposes to quadruple military spending in Europe in FY 2017

The Pentagon proposed to quadruple US military spending in Europe in fiscal year 2017 to 3.4 billion US dollars from last year's request of 789 million dollars, US defense chief said on Thursday.

S.Korean president says defense budget hike for DPRK provocations

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday that the country will increase next year's defense budget to strengthen defense capability against future provocations from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Obama orders preparations to accept Syrian refugees. (U.S. should take 65,000 of Syrian refugees "to maintain its leadership position in refugee resettlement.")

U.S. President Barack Obama has asked his administration to open the door to at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next fiscal year, the White House said Thursday.

EU to increase spending on migration in 2015

The European Union (EU) finance ministers agreed to increase spending to manage migration and refugee flows on Friday.

Estonia doubts if it can house African refugees under proposed EU quota scheme

The European Commission’s controversial proposal all EU member countries should take in refugees under a quota scheme has drawn a skeptical reaction from the Interior Minister of Estonia, Hanno Pevkur.

Greece squeezes election budget as municipal workers' union threatens to strike

Greece has further squeezed election costs for the forthcoming Jan. 25 general polls compared to previous elections, according to figures released Tuesday by the Interior Ministry.

Merkel refuses to increase public spending

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday her government would stick to its budget target and would not increase government spending or raise new debt for economic stimulation.

Addressing a meeting of German employers association in Berlin, Merkel said German economy was stable, but faced risks from geopolitical tensions abroad.

Investment was needed to boost growth, she said, but her government would not spend more than its current plans, nor would new debt be raised. Instead, her government would encourage private investment by lifting burdens for the business.

Face à la Russie, l'Otan doit investir davantage dans sa défense, estime Hagel (2% of GDP)

Les 28 membres de l'Otan doivent augmenter leur budget consacré à la défense malgré leurs difficultés financières pour faire face à Moscou qui, "sur le long terme", va chercher à "tester" l'Alliance atlantique, a estimé le chef du Pentagone vendredi.

Face aux actions de la Russie en Ukraine, l'Otan a réagi avec "force et volonté" pour rassurer ses membres est-européens frontaliers du géant russe, se félicite Chuck Hagel lors d'un discours qu'il doit prononcer vendredi et dont des extraits ont été rendus publics. "Mais sur le long terme, nous devons nous attendre à ce que la Russie teste la raison d'être de notre alliance, notre énergie, notre engagement", note-t-il, appelant à investir dans l'alliance Depuis plusieurs années, les responsables américains s'inquiètent de la baisse des budgets de défense des membres européens de l'Otan.

Kerry urges NATO members to increase defense budget. -Not all allies are going to meet the NATO benchmark of 2% of GDP

 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday urged members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to boost their spending on defense in response to what he called Russia's efforts to change the "security landscape" of East and Central Europe.

Describing the events in Ukraine as a "wake-up call," the top American envoy cautioned that "We cannot continue to allow allied defense budgets to shrink," a refrain repeated oftentimes by U.S. officials over the years.

FYROM Government illegaly allocated 58 million Euros for “Skopje 2014” project

Skopje, August 12, 2013

Government in FYROM has illegaly allocated 58 million Euros for the funding of the “Skopje 2014” project.

This has been the conclusion of the commission of experts of the “Qender” commune in Skopje, which has revised the expenses of the “Skopje 2014” project.

According to the commission, the government has funded the majority part of the monuments and that it had transferred the money in the account of Qender commune. According to the commission, this transfer is illegal, because there is no law for the support of such projects and the transfer of money for reasons of this nature.

17 Injured in Unrest in Front of FYROM's Parliament

At least 17 persons, including 11 policemen, have been injured during a protest in front of FYROM's parliament in Skopije that turned violent late Monday evening.
Tensions erupted during the discussions in the chamber of the country's state budget for 2013.
Discussions led to clashes in the plenary hall, after which MPs from the ruling VMRO-DPMNE and DUI coalition went on to adopt the budget on their own.
The opposition had requested at least EUR 208 M spending cuts, and had attempted to block the adoption by filing as many as 1,000 amendment proposals.