DefenceTalkItaly’s parliament on Wednesday ratified the UN’s Arms Trade Treaty, which is intended to stop arms supplies to countries at war or that abuse human rights. The treaty was adopted by the United Nations in April to regulate the $80 billion (59 billion euros) annual trade in conventional arms and stop supplies to states where […]https://www.defencetalk.com/italy-becomes-first-eu-state-to-ratify-un-arms-treaty-49214/

DefenceTalkUS Secretary of State John Kerry will sign the first global treaty to regulate the $80 billion annual trade in conventional arms, a US official said Tuesday. Kerry on Wednesday is to sign the Arms Trade Treaty, in a bid to stem the flow of weapons used in brutal uprisings and genocide. “Following congressional notifications […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-to-sign-global-treaty-on-conventional-arms-trade-49192/

DefenceTalkSwitzerland’s voters Sunday rejected a plan to axe the country’s military draft, bucking Europe’s anti-conscription trend and sticking to a tradition as Swiss as chocolate and cheese. Results from Sunday’s referendum showed an overwhelming 73 percent vote against scrapping compulsory military service, and just 27 percent in favour. Armed neutrality has been the cornerstone of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/swiss-reject-plan-to-scrap-military-draft-49188/

DefenceTalkChina has banned exports to North Korea of technologies and goods that could be used to make missiles and nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, the government said, as it moves to comply with UN resolutions. Beijing, the North’s sole major ally and economic lifeline, has publicly supported sanctions against Pyongyang in the past, though it […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-bans-weaponry-related-exports-to-north-korea-49183/

DefenceTalkOne after another yesterday in a hearing before a House panel, the nation’s service chiefs described how severe budget cuts required by law in fiscal year 2014 would slash their forces, capabilities and readiness and raise security risks to the American people. The House Armed Services Committee heard testimony on planning for sequestration in fiscal […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-military-service-chiefs-detail-2014-sequestration-effects-49136/

DefenceTalkLike the collapse of East Germany, the collapse of North Korea could occur suddenly and with little warning. But a North Korean collapse could be far more dangerous and disastrous than the actual collapse of East Germany, especially given the inadequate preparations for it, according to a new RAND Corporation report. The current North Korean […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-south-korea-and-allies-should-prepare-for-eventual-collapse-of-north-korea-49134/

DefenceTalkIt’s official. The leadership of this country including the major media outlets have lost their collective minds. Yesterday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff testified before the House Armed Services Committee that if sequestration continues, they could not say with confidence that the U.S. military could successfully handle even one serious conflict! Not a war on […]https://www.defencetalk.com/does-anyone-care-about-the-fate-of-the-us-military-49127/

DefenceTalkA US envoy said Monday that Washington still hoped to talk directly with the Taliban to support an Afghan peace deal but that the militants seemed unwilling to do so. The Taliban opened an office in the Qatari capital Doha in June aimed at talking to the United States ahead of next year’s withdrawal of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-still-hopes-for-taliban-talks-envoy-49069/

DefenceTalkRussian President Vladimir Putin meets Iran’s new president for the first time this week, reportedly armed with an offer to supply missile systems and build a second nuclear power reactor that is likely to gladden Tehran and trouble the United States. President Hassan Rowhani is set to meet Putin on the sidelines of a summit […]https://www.defencetalk.com/putin-to-offer-iran-arms-nuclear-deal-at-summit-49050/

DefenceTalkConfronted by sclerotic economies and sovereign debt concerns, defense spending remains largely a tertiary concern across much of Europe, according to Forecast International’s latest Europe Military Markets analysis. Countries throughout the region are simultaneously seeking to achieve savings while protecting their social welfare nets, thus creating pressures on military budgets that are placing defense investment […]https://www.defencetalk.com/europes-era-of-austerity-defense-continues-to-fade-into-the-background-48988/