Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Kazakhstan Approves Afghanistan Cargo Transit RIA Novosti 27 Dec 2012 -- Kazakhstan's parliament has agreed to allow French aircraft carrying military cargo and personnel out of Afghanistan to land at an airport in south Kazakhstan.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Statement by Secretary Panetta on the Passing of General Norman Schwarzkopf DoD 27 Dec 2012
• New training facility opens in Wyoming AFNS 27 Dec 2012 -- Almost ten years of joint effort and cooperation culminated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Nuclear Security Tactics Training Center in Guernsey, Wyo., in December.
• Solar power lights up Southwest Asia AFNS 27 Dec 2012 -- Air Force leaders are continually looking for means to do things leaner and cleaner, even in deployed locations.
• Besieged Russian Minister to Be Questioned RIA Novosti 27 Dec 2012 -- Russia's former Defense Minister, who lost his job last month over corruption allegations, has been summoned for questioning, a procedure that no top Russian official has faced for years.
• Russia to Commission BMD-4M Airborne Vehicles in 2013 RIA Novosti 27 Dec 2012 -- The Russian Airborne Troops will receive the first BMD-4M airborne combat vehicles and BTR-MD Rakushka multirole transport vehicles by the end of 2013, Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Alexander Kucherenko said on Thursday.
• Russia to Build Two New Radar Stations in 2013 RIA Novosti 27 Dec 2012 -- Russia will start building two new radar stations in east Siberia's Krasnoyarsk Territory and in the south Siberian Altai Republic in 2013, Russia's deputy defense minister said on Thursday.
• FEATURE: The UN General Assembly's First Committee - disarmament and international security issues UN News Centre 27 Dec 2012 -- Established in 1945, at the end stages of World War II, the United Nations General Assembly serves as the world body's principal policy-making and deliberative organ, providing a forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the UN Charter.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 27, 2012

Other Conflicts

• Syria: UN-Arab League envoy calls for transitional government with full powers UN News Centre 27 Dec 2012 -- Calling for "real change" in Syria, the Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States for the war-torn country, Lakhdar Brahimi, said today a Syrian transitional government with full executive powers "must be" created until elections can be held.
• West Wary Over Syria's Chemical Stockpiles VOA 27 Dec 2012 -- Intelligence experts believe Syria has one of the largest chemical weapons arsenals in the world. Experts ask whether the Syrian government might use these weapons against insurgents and whether the rebels could gain access to chemical weapons and use them against the Syrian armed forces.
• SYRIA: Nowhere to run IRIN 27 Dec 2012 -- At a school-turned-shelter in an upscale neighbourhood of the Syrian capital, sheets hanging from makeshift clotheslines divide classrooms into separate sleeping quarters for the 238 families that live here.
• Brahimi Calls For Transitional Government In Syria RFE/RL 27 Dec 2012 -- International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has called for a transitional government to be formed in Syria with 'full executive powers' to run the country until elections can be held.
• UN Syria Envoy to Hold Moscow Talks RIA Novosti 27 Dec 2012 -- The UN and Arab League's envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, is due to visit Moscow on December 29, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, as talks continue to try to end the violence in the Middle East country.
• Russia, UN Envoy Call for Peaceful Solution in Syria VOA 27 Dec 2012 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has echoed a call from an international peace envoy to resolve Syria's civil war through a government-backed national dialogue and political process.
• US Closes Embassy in CAR, Evacuates Staff VOA 27 Dec 2012 -- The United States has temporarily shut down its embassy in the Central African Republic and evacuated the staff, because of a rebel threat to topple the government.
• Secretary-General Ban strongly condemns rebel attacks in Central African Republic UN News Centre 27 Dec 2012 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the armed attacks on several towns in the Central African Republic (CAR) perpetrated by the coalition of rebel groups known as 'SELEKA,' and called on all parties to refrain from acts of violence against civilians.
• France: Protecting Interests, Not Intervening in Central African Republic VOA 27 Dec 2012 -- French President Francois Hollande says France has a presence in the Central African Republic to protect its interests and nationals, not to intervene in the country's business.
• Turkish Kurds Want Accountability for Mistaken Air Strike VOA 27 Dec 2012 -- This Friday marks the first anniversary of the killing of 34 Kurdish smugglers by a mistaken Turkish air strike. The incident remains contentious in Turkey, with pressure both nationally and internationally on the government to punish those responsible.
• SENEGAL: Casamance recovers more land lost to landmines IRIN 27 Dec 2012 -- People in at least 44 villages in Casamance, southern Senegal, can once again cultivate their fields and rice paddies thanks to Italian government-funded demining efforts, though over 100 other villages - abandoned more than 10 years ago - remain no-go areas.
• MAC reiterates objections to China's new passport design CNA 27 Dec 2012 -- The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) urged Beijing Thursday to pay attention to the Taiwanese people's indignation over the design of China's new passports, after Taiwan's protests over the issue were brushed off by China.

News Reports

• Egypt's Morsi Cedes Top Legislative Authority to Parliament RIA Novosti 27 Dec 2012 -- Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said in his address to the nation late on Wednesday that he cedes the top legislative authority to the Shura Council, the upper chamber of the Egyptian parliament.
• Bhutto's Son Launches Political Career in Pakistan VOA 27 Dec 2012 -- The only son of assassinated former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto told hundreds of thousands of supporters on Thursday, the fifth anniversary of his mother's death, that he would carry forward her legacy, an appearance designed to anoint him as a political heir.
• Bhutto's Son Vows to Fight for Democracy in Pakistan VOA 27 Dec 2012 -- The son of Pakistan's slain former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, launched his political career Thursday, vowing to continue his mother's fight for democracy.
• Russia, China Launch Stage Two in Joint Nuclear Plant Project RIA Novosti 27 Dec 2012 -- Russia and China are starting construction work on the second stage of the Tianwan nuclear power plant, Russian officials said on Thursday.
• Russia Launches $70 Bln Space Program for 2013-2020 RIA Novosti 27 Dec 2012 -- Russia will spend 2.1 trillion rubles (about $70 billion) under a state program for the development of the national space industry in 2013-2020, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday.
• Russia to Launch New Light Class Carrier Rocket in 2013 RIA Novosti 27 Dec 2012 -- The first launch of a new Russian light class carrier rocket has been scheduled for the beginning of 2013, Russia's Aerospace Defense Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Alexander Golovko said on Thursday.
• Private Company Hopes To Build 'Railway' To The Moon RFE/RL 27 Dec 2012 -- The last time a human went to the moon was 40 years ago this month. Now, a private U.S. company called Golden Spike is trying to reignite interest by creating a transport system to the moon that any nation can use.