Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Dec. 12 airpower summary AFNS 13 Dec 2009 -- Coalition airpower integrated with ground forces in Iraq and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in the following operations.
• British Leader Wraps Up Unannounced Visit to Afghanistan VOA 13 Dec 2009 -- The meeting took place after recent public statements by the two leaders criticizing each other.
• Pakistan ends anti-militants operation in Waziristan: PM IRNA 13 Dec 2009 -- Pakistani security forces have ended a major ground operation in the country’s South Waziristan tribal region, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Saturday.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Carl Vinson Air Department Works to Certify Flight Deck Navy NewsStand 13 Dec 2009 -- Air Department Sailors aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) are working toward carrier flight deck certification during the December underway period.
• KFOR Soldiers combine forces to master art of quelling hostility Army News 13 Dec 2009 -- KFOR Soldiers from four nations came together here recently to practice their skills in controlling riots in one of the most realistic training environments anywhere.
• India successfully test fires nuclear-capable ‘Dhanush” missile IRNA 13 Dec 2009 -- India on Sunday successfully test fired its nuclear-capable ballistic missile 'Dhanush', with a range of 350 km, from a naval ship off the Orissa coast.
• India successfully test fires nuclear-capable missile RIA Novosti 13 Dec 2009 -- India successfully test fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile from a naval ship off the coast of the Orissa state on Sunday, Indian media reported citing the firing range director.
• India Successfully Tests Nuclear-Capable Missile VOA 13 Dec 2009 -- India says it has successfully test fired a short range, nuclear-capable missile.
• Plane with arms detained in Thailand was bound for Ukraine RIA Novosti 13 Dec 2009 -- A cargo plane full of North Korean weapons, detained in Thailand after an emergency landing at Bangkok airport, was bound for Ukraine, the Thai news agency TNA reported on Sunday.
• Plane with arms cache detained in Thailand was bound for Ukraine RIA Novosti 13 Dec 2009 -- A cargo plane full of North Korean weapons, detained in Thailand after an emergency landing at Bangkok airport, was bound for Ukraine, the Thai news agency TNA reported on Sunday.
• Kazakhstan checks info on plane with arms detained in Thailand RIA Novosti 13 Dec 2009 -- Kazakhstan is checking information on a cargo plane full of North Korean weapons detained in Thailand after an emergency landing at Bangkok airport, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
• Thailand Charges Crew of Plane Carrying North Korean Weapons VOA 13 Dec 2009 -- The crew members will face court Monday on charges of transporting weapons of war. The arrests followed cooperation with international intelligence agencies who had been tracking the aircraft over the past week.
• US Envoy Says North Korea Open to Direct Talks with Japan VOA 13 Dec 2009 -- North Korea may be willing to begin direct talks with Japan. That's the message from senior U.S. envoy Stephen Bosworth. Bosworth made the comments in Tokyo, where he briefed Japanese leaders on his recent trip to North Korea.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Israel Approves More Funds for West Bank Settlements VOA 13 Dec 2009 -- Israel's Cabinet has approved a new "priority map" that grants additional funding to tens of thousands of Jewish settlers in the West Bank.
• Saudi regime kills 75 Yemeni civilians, spokesman IRNA 13 Dec 2009 -- The Saudi regime on Sunday killed 75 Yemeni civilians including women and children in an indiscriminate bombardment of Rajeh, Yemen.
• Breakaway Abkhazia's Leader Reelected RFE/RL 13 Dec 2009 -- Abkhazia's de facto president Sergei Bagapsh has won a second term as leader of the separatist territory in an election hailed by Russia, but considered illegitimate by most of the world.
• Incumbent Abkhaz leader wins presidential poll with 59% of votes RIA Novosti 13 Dec 2009 -- Abkhazia's incumbent President Sergei Bagapsh has won presidential elections in the first round, with 59.4% of votes cast in his favor, the Central Election Commission said on Sunday.
• Opposition candidates highlight violations in Abkhazia vote RIA Novosti 13 Dec 2009 -- Challengers to Abkhazia's incumbent president who won Saturday's vote highlighted on Sunday widespread violations and vowed to appeal the results.
• Abkhazia Re-elects President VOA 13 Dec 2009 -- Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region has re-elected its president for a second term.
• Sudan rival groups reach deal on reforms RIA Novosti 13 Dec 2009 -- Sudan's two main political groups in the north and south reached agreement on democratic reforms on Sunday.
• Sudan's North and South Agree on Referendum Laws VOA 13 Dec 2009 -- On Sunday, the north's National Congress Party and the south's Sudan People's Liberation Movement announced the deal in Khartoum, following months of rising tension.
• Pakistan wants meaningful, constructive dialogue with India: FO IRNA 13 Dec 2009 -- Pakistan wants meaningful, constructive and result oriented dialogue with India to resolve all the outstanding issues between the two countries.

News Reports

• Iran's Supreme Leader Lashes Out at Opposition and Threatens Action VOA 13 Dec 2009 -- As the Iranian government wages a media campaign against the opposition for allegedly burning a poster of Islamic Republic founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has raised the gauntlet against movement leaders Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. Calling them "former brothers," Khamenei warns them to dissociate themselves with the picture burners.
• Supreme Leader denounces insult to Imam Khomeini IRNA 13 Dec 2009 -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that certain individuals, through law-breaking attitudes, tried to encourage people to act against the Islamic Republic system.
• Speaker condemns insult to Imam Khomeini IRNA 13 Dec 2009 -- Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani here on Sunday condemned the insult to the Founder of the Islamic Republic, the late Imam Khomeini.
• Iran's Supreme Leader Issues Stern Warning to Protesters VOA 13 Dec 2009 -- Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday the opposition's relentless protests were disrespectful. State television had broadcast footage of what it said were opposition supporters destroying photos of both Ayatollah Khamenei and the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, during massive anti-government protests on December 7.
• Iraqi Official: 13 Arrested in Connection to Baghdad Bombings VOA 13 Dec 2009 -- Sunday's announcement of the arrests came as lawmakers again questioned officials about security lapses in the capital, where there have been three massive attacks since the beginning of August.
• Man Attacks Italian PM, Breaks Nose and Teeth VOA 13 Dec 2009 -- Police in Italy say a man with a history of mental problems hit Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the face with a statue Sunday.
• Georgia reports first lethal case of swine flu RIA Novosti 13 Dec 2009 -- A 27-year-old man died in a Georgian hospital after he was diagnosed with A/H1N1 virus, becoming the first citizen of the former Soviet state to die of swine flu, the health minister said.
• Guinea Mediation Resumes VOA 13 Dec 2009 -- Sunday's talks in the Burkinabe capital Ouagadougou have been in doubt since Guinea's military leader was shot ten days ago.