Ceremony marks the accession of Albania and Croatia to NATO

OTAN – 07/04/2009

On 7 April a ceremony was held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels to mark the accession of Albania and Croatia to the Alliance. The two countries’ flags were raised in the presence of Prime Minister Sali Berisha of Albania and Prime Minister Ivo Sanader of Croatia.

China, Uruguay agree to advance military ties

China – Xinhua News Agency – 08/04/2009

Chinese and Uruguayan defense ministers held talks in Beijing on Tuesday, agreeing to push forward military exchanges and cooperation.

Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie told his Uruguayan counterpart, Jose Bayardi, that the latest meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez in March had greatly advanced ties.

Russia to supply advanced surface-to-air missiles to Belarus

Rússia – RIA Novosti – 08/04/2009

Russia is to deliver S-400 Triumf (SA-21 Growler) surface-to-air missile systems to Belarus under an integrated air-defense agreement, a senior Belarusian military official said on Wednesday.

Igor Azarenok, commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces, said the countries’ defense ministries were currently discussing delivery terms.

The S-400 is designed to intercept and destroy airborne targets at a distance of up to 400 kilometers (250 miles), twice the range of the U.S. MIM-104 Patriot, and 2 1/2 times that of the S-300PMU-2.

Chávez promueve en China la creación de “nuevo orden mundial”

BEIJING — El presidente venezolano Hugo Chávez afirmó que su visita de dos días a Beijing forma parte de la creación de un “nuevo orden mundial”, al tiempo que su colega chino lo llamó “el viejo y gran amigo de China”.

Fidel descreve reunião “magnífica” com parlamentares dos EUA

HAVANA (Reuters) – O ex-presidente cubano Fidel Castro descreveu como “magnífica” a reunião de quase duas horas que manteve na terça-feira com três parlamentares norte-americanos que visitaram Cuba para explorar a possibilidade de um futuro diálogo.

Mas, em artigo publicado no final da noite de terça-feira no site http://www.cubadebate.cu, Fidel afirmou ter manifestado aos deputados que “as realidades objetivas eram (são), nos Estados Unidos, mais poderosas do que as sinceras intenções (do presidente Barack) Obama”.