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USA
U.S.: NORAD, Russia To Conduct First Joint Drills August 8, 2010

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and Russian air force will conduct their first-ever joint air defense drill beginning Aug. 8, RIA Novosti reported, citing a statement from NORAD. The exercise will continue through Aug. 11, and involve U.S. E-3 Sentry and Russian A-50 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft, fighter jets, aerial refueling tankers, and Russian, Canadian and U.S. military personnel operating at Elmendorf air base in Alaska, and Khabarovsk, Russia. The exercise, dubbed Vigilant Eagle, will simulate a situation requiring Russia and the United States to launch or divert fighter jets to follow a U.S. commercial aircraft on an international flight that has been hijacked.

EUROPE
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

RUSSIA
Russia: Wildfires Extinguished In 5 Regions - Minister August 9, 2010

Wildfires in five Russian regions, including Tula, Tambov, Belgorod, Lipetsk and Ivanovo, have been almost completely extinguished, Russian Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu said Aug. 9, RIA Novosti reported. However, conditions in Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow regions are still bad, Shoigu said. Emergency Situations Ministry aircraft will extinguish the fires in Moscow region as quickly as one day, provided that visibility improves, Shoigu added. NASA Terra and Aqua satellites registered 377 hot spots from wildfires across Russia on Aug. 9 — down 65 from Aug. 8.

Russia: Lower Harvest Amounts Predicted August 9, 2010

Russia’s grain harvest is expected to drop 35 percent from 2009 because of continuing drought and wildfires, head of the state meteorology service Alexander Frolov said, DPA reported Aug. 9, citing Interfax. In 2010, 67 million tons of grains are expected to be harvested. In 2009, the collection was 97 million tons. Frolov said potato and sugar beet harvests will also be affected.

IRAN
Iran: Senior Official Meets With Hamas, PIJ Leaders August 8, 2010

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior aide to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, met with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah in Damascus on Aug. 8, state-run SANA reported. Meshaal said discussions centered on regional affairs and threats from Israel and the United States. He added that Hamas is capable of facing all future challenges, and prepared to continue its resistance to Israel.

Iran: Support To Lebanon, Syria Promised If Israel Attacks August 8, 2010

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran will stand by Lebanon and Syria in the event of an Israeli attack, Ynet reported Aug. 8. Speaking at a press conference with Lebanese Foreign Minister Ali Al Shami, Mottaki said Iran, Lebanon and Syria hold ongoing discussions on the threat of Israeli attacks, and said the Aug. 3 border clash between Israel and Lebanon was a sign of Israel’s increased aggression. He also said he does not believe war in the Middle East is likely but that other countries in the region would not allow Israel to continue a “hit and run policy.” A senior aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Akbar Velayati, also met with Syrian President Bashar al Assad and the officials issued a joint statement saying “the Islamist resistance in Palestine and Lebanon is the only way to handle the Zionist regime’s greediness.”

Iran: Support To Lebanon, Syria Promised If Israel Attacks August 8, 2010

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran will stand by Lebanon and Syria in the event of an Israeli attack, Ynet reported Aug. 8. Speaking at a press conference with Lebanese Foreign Minister Ali Al Shami, Mottaki said Iran, Lebanon and Syria hold ongoing discussions on the threat of Israeli attacks, and said the Aug. 3 border clash between Israel and Lebanon was a sign of Israel’s increased aggression. He also said he does not believe war in the Middle East is likely but that other countries in the region would not allow Israel to continue a “hit and run policy.” A senior aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Akbar Velayati, also met with Syrian President Bashar al Assad and the officials issued a joint statement saying “the Islamist resistance in Palestine and Lebanon is the only way to handle the Zionist regime’s greediness.”

Iran: Nuclear Enrichment Efficiency Increased August 9, 2010

Iran has begun using new machines to enrich uranium to higher levels more efficiently, Reuters reported Aug. 9, citing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Iran is using a second set, or “cascade,” of centrifuge machines at the Natanz plant to enrich uranium to 20 percent purity, which is in violation of U.N. sanctions, the IAEA said. A July 17 IAEA inspection of the Natanz plant confirmed a report from the U.S.-based Institute for Science and International Security that Iran is, in fact, feeding nuclear material into centrifuge cascades, and IAEA spokesman said.

Iran: Bushehr To Be Activated After Ramadan August 9, 2010

The Bushehr nuclear plant will officially become active after Ramadan, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Aug. 9, ILNA reported. Experimental tests are ongoing at Bushehr, and the facility will be inaugurated in September, Mehmanparast said. If Iran’s conditions as laid out in its letters to the International Atomic Energy Agency are met, nuclear talks will continue in September, Mehmanparast added.

IRAQ
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT


ISRAEL
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT


AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan: Tripartite Commission Meets August 9, 2010

The Tripartite Commission comprising senior military officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) met Aug. 9 in Kabul, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations office announced. Afghan Chief of General Staff Gen. Sher Muhammad Kirmi, Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani and ISAF commander Gen. David Petraeus discussed security along the Afghan-Pakistani border. Kayani also met Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss issues of mutual interest.

Kyrgyzstan: No U.S. Base Talks - Interior Minister August 9, 2010

Kyrgyzstan is not negotiating to open a $10 billion U.S. military base in Osh region, Kyrgyz Interior Minister Kubatbek Baybolov said, contradicting media reports, Interfax reported Aug. 9. Baybolov said talks were held on the subject when Kurmanbek Bakiyev ruled the country.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER
Venezuela: President Urges Colombian Rebels To Disarm August 8, 2010

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Aug. 8 that Colombian rebels should lay down their arms and the new government of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos should not accuse Venezuela of maintaining ties with the rebels, Reuters reported. He said if Venezuela is respected, progress will be made on improving relations between the two countries. Chavez also said on his weekly television program that the rebels should release their hostages and seek peace with the Colombian government, because they have become an excuse for the United States to intervene in Colombia, from which it can threaten Venezuela. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro met with Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin in Bogota for Santos’ inauguration Aug. 8, and said he hopes the countries can begin rebuilding the trust destroyed by the previous Colombian government

MISC
Saudi Arabia: U.S. To Sell F-15s August 9, 2010

In a proposed $30 billion, 10-year arms package, the United States plans to sell advanced F-15 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia but won’t equip them with long-range weapons systems and other arms, diplomats and officials said on Aug. 9, The Wall Street Journal reported. The 84 F-15s will be “very capable” aircraft and have onboard targeting systems similar to those offered to other foreign governments, including South Korea and Singapore, officials said. Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Washington worked closely with the Israeli government to address its concerns about the sale.

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