US officials said Tuesday that Iraq has signed a deal to buy 18 F-16 warplanes from the US. The deal "proves the basis for their air sovereignty", according to US Army Lt. Gen. Michael Ferriter. The US plans a troop pullout by the end of this year.
The budget of the Chinese military is to increase by more than 12 percent in 2011, a parliamentary source said. The double-digit hike is likely to further stoke fears among neighbouring countries over China’s expanding regional clout.
The French defence group Thales confirmed Monday that it has been court-ordered to pay damages and interest on unauthorised commissions relating to the sale of six frigates to Taiwan in 1991. The amount comes to a total of 630 million euros.
The United States said on Saturday it regretted China's announced cuts in bilateral contacts and its plans to punish US companies involved in a $6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan.
Beijing will suspend military exchanges with Washington in protest of an approved 6.4 billion-dollar arms deal with Taiwan, calling the sale an obstacle to regional peace, according to state media.
The US government has no exact figure for how many contractors are employed in Iraq and Afghanistan, inviting the risk of fraud and security threats, a US commission has warned.
A US federal appeals court Friday dismissed a lawsuit against two U.S. defense contractors by Iraqi torture victims, saying the companies had immunity as government contractors.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his British homologue David Miliband have failed to persuade the Sri Lankan government to end its offensive against Tamil rebels and allow aid to civilians trapped by the fighting.
Five guards belonging to the private US security firm Blackwater have been indicted with manslaughter in the 2007 shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad.
US officials are expected to announce criminal charges against Blackwater contractors over the 2007 shooting of 17 civilians in Baghdad, media reports say.
military contractors 
