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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Soldier dies from wounds
• Coalition Kills 11 in Shootout With Terrorists AFPS 31 Dec 2008 -- Coalition forces killed 11 terrorists after coming under fire yesterday during an operation in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, military officials reported.
• Iraqi Civilians Lead Coalition to Dismantle Bombs, Seize Weapons AFPS 31 Dec 2008 -- The “Sons of Iraq” civilian security group led coalition troops to their biggest operations in recent days – disarming a bomb at a security checkpoint and finding one of their largest weapons caches to date, military officials reported.
• U.S. Seeks More Supply Routes for Afghanistan AFPS 31 Dec 2008 -- As Pakistani troops apply renewed pressure on militants who have threatened a major supply line, military transportation officials are seeking alternate routes for supplying U.S. and NATO troops deployed in Afghanistan.
• AFGHANISTAN: Farmers in the midst of poppy cultivation dilemma IRIN 31 Dec 2008 -- Farmers in Nangarhar Province, eastern Afghanistan, have been told by Taliban insurgents to grow poppy, but the government has warned them not to.
• Over 200,000 vulnerable Afghans to receive winter aid from UN agency IRNA 31 Dec 2008 -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners have started to deliver supplies to help an estimated 200,000 Afghan returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) get through the country's harsh winter, said a press release issued by the United Nations Information Center here on Wednesday
• Rescue wing sends replacements to Afghanistan AFNS 31 Dec 2008 -- A group of Air Force Reserve Command Airmen from the 920th Rescue Wing here departed on the last leg of a 14-month deployment to Afghanistan Dec. 27 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Microbes to Clean Seal Beach Groundwater Navy NewsStand 31 Dec 2008 -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest has instituted a cutting-edge treatment of contaminated groundwater at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach that will save the Navy more than $3 million and cut cleanup time by two-thirds.
• "Cart-Starts" make a quick launch for B-52s AFNS 31 Dec 2008 -- Airmen assigned to the 36th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron have recently been showcasing the B-52 Stratofortress's ability to respond to threats at a moment's notice.
• NMCB 74 Perfects the Basics During Field Exercise Navy NewsStand 31 Dec 2008 -- Chiefs and officers assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 74 conducted a field exercise Dec. 13-20.
• Camp Buehring Places First Section of Concrete for New Power Plant Navy NewsStand 31 Dec 2008 -- The morning of Dec. 17 was brutally cold, but optimism filled the air as it was concrete day for the Seabees of Camp Buehring.
• Press Briefing by Deputy Press Secretary Gordon Johndroe The White House 31 Dec 2008

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 31, 2008

Other Conflicts

• PRESS CONFERENCE on situation in Gaza United Nations 31 Dec 2008
• Conflict must end once and for all, Secretary-General says during emergency Security Council meeting on escalating situation in Gaza, southern Israel UN Security Council 31 Dec 2008
• Israel Says No to Cease-Fire, Vows to Press Offensive VOA 31 Dec 2008 -- Israel has rejected international pressure for an immediate, even if temporary, cease-fire five days into its offensive against Hamas militants and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Despite massive damage and a toll of nearly 400 Palestinians killed, Hamas also remains defiant, continuing to fire rockets ever deeper into Israel.
• US Continues Diplomatic Push for Gaza Cease-Fire VOA 31 Dec 2008 -- The United States is continuing diplomatic contacts for a Gaza cease-fire despite Israel's rejection of a French-proposed 48-hour truce. President Bush spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is said to have given an assurance Israel is trying to minimize civilian casualties in its air campaign against Hamas.
• ISRAEL-OPT: Gaza health services on brink of collapse IRIN 31 Dec 2008 -- In Gaza’s main hospital, the director’s office is under virtual siege, according to an IRIN journalist in Gaza. Relatives of the injured are desperate to get their kin transferred to Egypt for emergency treatment.
• UN rapporteur criticizes human rights violation in Gaza IRNA 31 Dec 2008 -- Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip represent severe and massive violations of international humanitarian law as defined in the Geneva Conventions, both in regard to the obligations of an Occupying Power and in the requirements of the laws of war, said the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
• Israel rejects ceasefire with Hamas, but may reconsider RIA Novosti 31 Dec 2008 -- Israel will continue its military operations in the Gaza Strip but has not ruled out a possible diplomatic solution in the future, the country's prime minister announced on Wednesday.
• Israel says proposals for truce with Palestinians unrealistic RIA Novosti 31 Dec 2008 -- Israel considers all international proposals on a ceasefire in Gaza unrealistic and insists that Palestinian militants should stop attacks first, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.
• Israel Turns Down Truce Proposals, Continues Assault on Hamas Targets VOA 31 Dec 2008 -- Israel has rejected international pressure for an immediate, even if temporary, cease-fire five days into its offensive against Hamas militants and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
• Arab League Holds Emergency Meeting on Gaza VOA 31 Dec 2008 -- The Arab League is holding an emergency meeting in Egypt to discuss Israel's military campaign against Hamas, which has killed nearly 400 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
• UN feeds over 18,000 Congolese victims of attacks by Ugandan rebels UN News Centre 31 Dec 2008 -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has delivered emergency supplies for more than 18,000 displaced people in the strife-torn eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who are victims of violence at the hands of the notorious Ugandan rebel group known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
• UN-African Union peacekeeping operation in Darfur marks one-year anniversary UN News Centre 31 Dec 2008 -- The joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission, tasked with protecting civilians in war-ravaged Darfur and quelling the violence in the Sudanese region, commemorated its first anniversary in operation today as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon confirmed that troop levels have exceeded 60 per cent of the full authorized strength.
• Paucity of political leadership at root of Somalia’s problems, says top UN envoy UN News Centre 31 Dec 2008 -- Somalia’s problems are driven by a lack of responsible political leadership, the top United Nations envoy to the Horn of Africa nation said today.
• India, China to hold new round of boundary talks IRNA 31 Dec 2008 -- India and China will hold a new round of talks on the vexed border issue which is an area of 'differences and divergences' despite bilateral relations having witnessed 'visible' improvement

News Reports

• Czech Republic to Face Many Challenges During EU Presidency VOA 31 Dec 2008 -- On January 1, the Czech Republic takes over the rotating six-month European Union presidency from France at a time when the 27-nation bloc is facing a host of problems. From Paris, Lisa Bryant reports for VOA.
• Sheikh Hasina Calls On Rivals to Cooperate VOA 31 Dec 2008 -- In Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, who won a landslide victory in the country's first election in seven years, has called on her main rival to cooperate in restoring democracy. The appeal came after her opponent rejected the election results.
• Ukraine threatens to seize Russian gas RIA Novosti 31 Dec 2008 -- Ukraine's Naftogaz said Wednesday it could start confiscating Russian natural gas meant for European consumers after January 1 if no new contract is agreed for 2009.
• Ex-Indonesian Spy Cleared of 2004 Assassination of Military Critic VOA 31 Dec 2008 -- An Indonesian court has acquitted a former senior intelligence official charged with ordering the 2004 murder of a human rights activist.