Aerospace & Defense

Germany disputes size of Russian wargames, predicts 100,000 troops

TALLINN Germany said on Thursday that Russia was planning to send more than 100,000 troops to war games on NATO's eastern flank this month, disputing Moscow's version that only 13,000 Russian and Belarussian servicemen would participate.

China's tighter drone rules send new pilots flocking to school

BEIJING A buzz fills the sky above a flight base in northern Beijing, as pilots practise take-offs and landings ahead of tests to qualify for a license - to fly drones. | Video

Russian and Japanese leaders 'decisively condemn' North Korean tests

VLADIVOSTOK Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the two leaders "decisively condemned" North Korean weapons tests.

France offers Belgium to supply its army with Rafale war planes

PARIS France has offered Belgium a deal to purchase Dassault Aviation's Rafale war planes, the French Defence ministry said on Thursday, as Brussels seeks to replace 34 of its Lockheed Martin's F-16 planes.

The death of the car show?

PARIS/FRANKFURT Frankfurt's vast auto show, which opens next week, is already getting attention of the wrong kind - for its impressive list of no-shows.

Cyber alert: EU ministers test responses in first computer war game

TALLINN European Union defense ministers tested their ability to respond to a potential attack by computer hackers in their first cyber war game on Thursday, based on a simulated attack on one of the bloc's military missions abroad.

South Sudan president sacks state-owned oil company boss

JUBA South Sudan President Salva Kiir has sacked the head of national oil company Nilepet, according to a government decree.

North Korea pledges 'powerful counter measures' against U.S.-backed sanctions

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia North Korea on Thursday pledged to take "powerful counter measures" to respond to U.S. pressure or any new sanctions against it over its missile program, accusing Washington of wanting war.

Putin thinks North Korea crisis will not go nuclear, diplomacy to prevail

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he thought the North Korea crisis would not escalate into a large-scale conflict involving nuclear weapons, predicting that common sense would prevail.

Emirates could restore U.S. capacity within six to nine months

LONDON Emirates President Tim Clark said on Thursday he hopes the Middle East's largest airline will restore capacity to the United States in six to nine months after some flights were dropped earlier this year.

EU should impose more sanctions on North Korea-foreign policy chief

TALLINN The European Union should add more sanctions on North Korea as part of international pressure following Pyongyang's largest nuclear test to date, the bloc's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Thursday.