Boeing Co beat out Lockheed Martin to retain its position as the prime contractor for the U.S. long-range missile shield, the Pentagon said on Friday.

The U.S. Defense Department said it was awarding Boeing a $3.48 billion, seven-year contract to develop, test, engineer and manufacture missile defense systems.

A team led by Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Co had vied with Boeing to expand and maintain the Ground-based Midcourse Defense, or GMD, hub of layered antimissile protection.

Boeing partnered with Northrop Grumman Corp to retain the work.

More at: http://news.yahoo.com/boeing-wins-3-48-billion-u-missile-defense-020950294.html

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has blamed the US for being behind the recent wave of protests in Russia against the outcome of the Dec 4 parliamentary elections.

Chavez Wednesday said the US was attempting to destabilize Russia, and repeat the scenario in Egypt, Libya, Syria and the nations of South America.

'There goes the madness of the empire,' Chavez said on Venezuela de Television.

Political rallies have been held all across Russia since the disputed Duma elections, the largest of which, in Moscow, drew tens of thousands of protesters in an unprecedented display of opposition.

More at: http://in.news.yahoo.com/chavez-sees-us-hand-russia-protests-102856512.html