1.   In southern Afghanistan, US and Canadian troops worked to boost defences around their coalition base in Kandahar amid signs an unknown enemy was trying to penetrate it.

2.   But he has agreed that the breakdown of spending among various economic sectors could be revised to boost defence.

3.   Rybkin also lashed out at deputies from the upper house or Federation Council who called on the Duma Tuesday to boost defence spending as demanded by the military.

4.   Saddam, despite a US warning not to repair the missile installations hit in the missile strikes, chaired a meeting on Saturday to boost air defences.

5.   Sri Lanka Wednesday announced plans to boost defence spending as Tamil Tiger rebels escalated their separatist war by inflicting heavy losses on the security forces.