Russia has reopened a Soviet-era laboratory to test weapons in extreme Arctic conditions, the military-industrial company which will run the facility said on Thursday, amid a push by the Kremlin to beef up its defences in the resource-rich region, as reported by Reuters.

President Vladimir Putin has touted the Arctic as a vital region for Russian interests as climate change makes it more accessible, presiding over a buildup of military infrastructure and pushing to increase cargo volumes shipped via the Northern Sea Route across its northern flank.

Russia has reopened a Soviet-era laboratory to test weapons in extreme Arctic conditions (Photo: Reuters)

The Central Scientific-Research Institute for Precision Machine Engineering, that makes weapons for Russia’s military, said it had restored testing chambers to simulate extreme conditions. The chambers were closed after the Soviet breakup in 1991.

Simulated conditions include extreme heat, cold and wet weather.

Maintenance funding for the testing chambers dried up in the early 1990s and they had fallen into a state of disrepair, it said.

“Certification was the final technical stage in restoring the unique testing technology that was lost after the Soviet collapse and that was only owned by our institute,” Sergei Karasev, a senior official at the centre, said in a statement.

Syrian air defense responds to an alleged Israeli airstrike

Syrian air defense systems reportedly responded to an alleged Israeli airstrike in north-western Syria, Syrian state news agency SANA reported late Thursday.

Initially reported as explosions heard north of Masyaf in north-western Syria, SANA later confirmed that the Syrian air defense was activated against an alleged airstrike, The Jerysalem Post said.

A security source told Sputnik news that the airstrike targeted the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center in the Masyaf area.

The Syrian Defense Ministry stated that an alleged Israeli airstrike targeted the Masyaf area from north of Tripoli in Lebanon, according to SANA, claiming that Syrian air defenses succeeded in intercepting most of the missiles. Unlike previous reports, the ministry's usual statement of "only material damage was caused" was lacking from the report.

MISSILES ARE seen at a Syrian air defense base (Photo: Reuters)

The area of Masyaf has been considered a target for several attacks in recent years, mostly attributed to the Israeli Air Force (IAF.) The last time an airstrike attributed to Israel targeted the area of Masyaf was in early June, when alleged Israeli airstrikes targeted Syrian defense factories near the city. At least nine people, including four Syrian nationals, were reported dead as a result.

In November, Syrian state news agency SANA blamed Israel for a series of airstrikes on locations south of the capital Damascus, near the village of Rwihinah, south of Quneitra near the Israeli border, and near Jabal Mane near the town of Kiswah south of Damascus. Eight pro-Iranian fighters were reportedly killed in the strikes.

Israel has allegedly struck targets in Syria several times over the years as part of its “war between the wars” campaign against the continued entrenchment of Iran and its terrorist proxy Hezbollah in Syria.

Gold price forecast – gold markets bounce from the 50 day EMA

Gold bounced on Wednesday, as the 50 day EMA has offered a significant amount of support. Furthermore, there is a short-term gap just below that has held.

(Photo: NDTV)

Gold markets have shown a bit of resiliency near the 50 day EMA during the Wednesday session, as we have formed a bit of gap just below there as well. By doing so, it suggests that the market is going to continue to go towards the $1900 level and beyond. All things being equal, this is a market that will continue to get a bit of a boost due to the stimulus efforts around the world, not the least of which would be American stimulus. At the end of the day, we have tested the 200 day EMA underneath and bounced significantly from it, suggesting that the longer-term trend is very much intact, FX Empire said.

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