Thailand`s ageing king endorsed the military coup that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while he was attending the United Nations General Assembly earlier in the week. Thailand has had eighteen coups since the end of the Second World War.

It appears that the military junta which has taken over Thailand plans to hold onto power, either directly or through a ?suitable? puppet prime minister, for at least a year. The announcement came as the military coup in the country entered its second day.

Thais woke up this morning to the news that the signs of a possible coup-in-the-making was, far from being just a rumor, an actual coup in planning. As Thailand?s prime minister attended the opening of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the country?s army chief took his chance and ordered government buildings surrounded and barricaded.

Oil rates have fluctuated this week following the reports of an alleged U.S military strike against Iran. Oil has climbed back to $68 a barrel on Monday as tension around Iran`s nuclear program increases.

China says it will add 15 percent more funding to its military spending, bringing it to $3.49 billion USD in 2006. U.S. experts are wary of the official number, saying China routinely spends more than it tells the world. For example, some estimates of China`s military spending put it at nearly three times the stated number.

Families of British soldiers killed in Iraq branded Prime Minister Tony Blair a "coward" for refusing to meet them and discuss their concerns about the war. Blair was at the Houses of Parliament when the families of 20 fallen troops delivered their letter.

Senior officials in Moscow said they were not made aware of the incident until last week. But human rights groups have for years complained about violent bullying in the Russian army. All Russian men between the ages of 18 and 27 are supposed to serve two years in the armed forces, a requirement that will be reduced to one year by 2008.

U.S. military officials have been defending an Iraqi propoganda program which pays Iraqi media to plant stories. A top military official stated that this program was to `get the truth out there.`

Supreme Court justices will decide if President Bush overstepped his authority with plans for a military trial for Osama bin Laden`s former driver, who is being held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It would be the first such trial since World War II.

The emergency deployment last month of more than 70,000 U.S. troops for disaster relief on the U.S. Gulf Coast has exacerbated strains on a military already severely taxed by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Gaming Industry Stocks, an investors and industry news portal for the gaming sector and Homeland Defense Stocks, a news portal for the security industry, report on the convergence of gaming and the military as both industries work towards improving current levels of military training and preparation.

Dogs serving in the 2nd Military Police Battalion at Camp Fallujah, Iraq were the focus of a recent donation drive by the Happy Tails Dog Spa conducted on the dogs` behalf in honor of America`s birthday.