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Defense Policy / Programs
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Current Operations

Defense Policy / Programs

• DOD Funding Contributes to U.S. Biodefense Infrastructure AFPS 16 Oct 2013 -- The Defense Department has contributed core capabilities to a national center funded as a public-private partnership by the Department of Health and Human Services to enhance the U.S. response to infectious diseases and biological, chemical, radiological and nuclear threats.
• Relationships Sustain Recruiting Through Shutdown AFPS 16 Oct 2013 -- During the first week of the partial government shutdown, recruiters at the Jacksonville Recruiting Battalion in Florida enlisted 88 new soldiers onto active duty and six others into the Army Reserve. The Air Force shipped 856 new airmen off to basic military training. The Navy enlisted 242 future sailors into the delayed entry program.
• USS Spruance Departs for Maiden Deployment NNS 16 Oct 2013 -- The Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance(DDG 111) departed Naval Base San Diego Oct. 16 on its maiden deployment to the Western Pacific Ocean.
• USS San Antonio Responds to Persons in Distress Near Malta (Updated 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time) NNS 16 Oct 2013 -- At the request of the Maltese government, the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) rendered assistance Oct. 16 to persons in distress at sea in the central Mediterranean.
• Former Army Captain Receives Medal of Honor at White House AFPS 16 Oct 2013 -- President Barack Obama presented the Medal of Honor to former Army Capt. William D. Swenson in a White House ceremony yesterday, citing Swenson's heroism during a six-hour battle that followed a deadly Taliban ambush in Afghanistan four years ago.
• VMAQT-1 begins first training class, students learn about Prowler USMC News 16 Oct 2013 -- Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Training Squadron 1 began training its first class of seven replacement pilots Oct. 7. The squadron was redesignated from VMAQ-1 to VMAQT-1 during a June 14 ceremony here.
• Air forces take to the skies UK MOD 16 Oct 2013 -- British and French jets have been practising their flying skills in the skies above northern England as part of Exercise Capable Eagle.
• NATO Secretary General praises Montenegro's reform efforts NATO 16 Oct 2013 -- The President of Montenegro Filip Vujanovic visited the NATO Headquarters on Wednesday (16 October) and met with Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. They discussed progress in Montenegro's reform agenda and the growing cooperation between NATO and Montenegro. The NATO Secretary General commended Montengro's continued reform efforts on the way to Euro-Atlantic integration.
• Fang Fenghui holds talks with commander-in-chief of Myanmar Armed Forces People's Daily 16 Oct 2013 -- Fang Fenghui, member of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), held talks with Min Aung Hlaing, the visiting commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces, on the afternoon of October 14, 2013 in Beijing.
• China holds UN military observers international training course for first time People's Daily 16 Oct 2013 -- Beginning from October 14, 2013, dozens of military officers from 15 countries in the world would attend a three-week-long United Nations (UN) military observers training course, the first of its kind held in China, in the Peacekeeping Center of the Ministry of National Defense (MND) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Beijing.
• Training for PLA electromagnetic spectrum management troops held People's Daily 16 Oct 2013 -- The concentrated training for electromagnetic spectrum management troops of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) was held on October 11 and 12, 2013 in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province.
• China, Myanmar pledge to enhance military ties People's Daily 16 Oct 2013 -- China will work with Myanmar to further improve military ties and jointly safeguard border stability, a senior Chinese military officer said on Tuesday.
• Minister calls for better border defense in Xinjiang People's Daily 16 Oct 2013 -- Defense Minister Chang Wanquan has called for a strengthened border and national defense in northwest China's Xinjiang at the end of a week-long inspection tour in the region on Tuesday.
• Taiwan to receive more anti-submarine aircraft this year CNA 16 Oct 2013 -- Taiwan will take delivery of three more submarine-hunting aircraft from the United States by the end of this year, as part of an order for 12 P-3C anti-submarine aircraft, the military said recently.
• Conscripts prepare for alternative service overseas CNA 16 Oct 2013 -- Taiwanese servicemen set to spend their alternative military service terms abroad expressed excitement Wednesday over their role in supporting assistance programs and cooperative projects in other countries.
• Russia, S.Korea Coast Guards Hold Joint Anti-Terror Exercise RIA Novosti 16 Oct 2013 -- Russian coast guards and South Korean marine police units have conducted a joint anti-terror exercise in Russia's Maritime Territory, the local Federal Security Service (FSB) said.
• 16 October 2013 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 16 Oct 2013
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney The White House 16 Oct 2013

Defense Industry

• Angola Inks $1Bln Arms Deals With Russia – Paper RIA Novosti 16 Oct 2013 -- Russia's state arms export monopoly has signed a $1 billion deal package with Angola to deliver military equipment, build an ammunition plant and provide maintenance services, Vedomosti business daily reported Wednesday.

Other Conflicts

• 16 October 2013 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 16 Oct 2013
• Ban appoints Sigrid Kaag to head up joint OPCW-UN mission in Syria UN News Centre 16 Oct 2013 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment of Sigrid Kaag, of the Netherlands, as Special Coordinator of the joint mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations, which officially began its work today overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical stockpiles and production facilities.
• Analysis: Getting it right for Syrian refugees the second time round IRIN 16 Oct 2013 -- On a rocky patch of wind-swept desert 80km east of the Jordanian capital Amman, teams of construction engineers are hard at work erecting metal shelters.
• 21 killed in car bomb blast in Syria's Daraa Iran Press TV 16 Oct 2013 -- At least 21 people, including four children, have been killed in a car bomb blast in Syria's southern province of Daraa, as the Arab country continues to grapple with foreign-backed militancy.
• 70 militant groups reject Syrian National Coalition Iran Press TV 16 Oct 2013 -- Seventy foreign-backed militant groups in Syria have announced their separation from the so-called Syrian National Coalition (SNC) opposition group.
• Armed conflicts between militants, Kurd fighters kill over 40 Iran Press TV 16 Oct 2013 -- Two days of heavy clashes between Kurdish fighters and al-Qaeda-linked militants in northeast Syria have left over 40 dead on both sides.
• Syria forces recapture key town of al-Bweida Iran Press TV 16 Oct 2013 -- Syrian government forces have recaptured the strategic town of al-Bweida, south of the capital, Damascus.
• Equipment Destroyed at 6 Syrian Chemical Weapons Sites – OPCW RIA Novosti 16 Oct 2013 -- Experts from the global chemical weapons watchdog said Wednesday that critical equipment has been destroyed at six chemical weapon sites in Syria.
• Côte d'Ivoire sees sharp rise in banditry IRIN 16 Oct 2013 -- In the three months since June, Côte d'Ivoire has seen twice as many armed highway attacks as in the whole of 2012. Observers say that a slow pace of security sector reforms is prompting ex-fighters to take to banditry.
• Nigeria military kills 40 Boko Haram militants Iran Press TV 16 Oct 2013 -- Nigeria's military says its troops have repelled attacks by members of the Boko Haram militant group and killed 40 militants in the northeastern state of Borno.
• Despite recent progress, urgent challenges remain to restore stability in Mali - UN envoy UN News Centre 16 Oct 2013 -- Important steps have been taken recently to help restore constitutional order and stability in Mali, including successful presidential elections, the top United Nations envoy there said today, while noting some key remaining tasks such as addressing security and humanitarian challenges.
• UN: Recent Security Incidents in Mali 'Wake-up Call' VOA 16 Oct 2013 -- The head of the U.N. mission in Mali said recent security incidents are an "important wake-up call" and urged the Security Council to enable the rapid deployment of additional troops and helicopters to the mission.

News Reports

• British MPs accuse spying agencies of misleading parliament over Tempora Iran Press TV 16 Oct 2013 -- Britain's spying agencies have been accused of seriously misleading the country's parliament over how far they were able to intrude public's privacy without their consent.
• New Momentum Cited in Iran Talks VOA 16 Oct 2013 -- Negotiators say two days of nuclear talks in Geneva between Iran's new government and the United Nations contact group achieved new levels of specificity and openness. They will not reveal details, however, and say much work remains.
• Iran, Russia delegations meet in Geneva ISNA 16 Oct 2013 -- Iranian and Russian delegations met on the sidelines of the Geneva meeting in Switzerland in an official bilateral session.
• Third round of Iran nuclear talks ends in Geneva Iran Press TV 16 Oct 2013 -- Iran and six world powers have wrapped up the third round of negotiations on the Islamic Republic's nuclear energy program in Geneva.
• Iran top brass tells US to seize 'historic' opportunity Iran Press TV 16 Oct 2013 -- Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi says the United States must seize the historic opportunity created by Iran's foreign diplomacy.
• Iran, world powers to meet again in Geneva in Nov. Iran Press TV 16 Oct 2013 -- Iran and the six world powers have agreed to meet again in Geneva on November 7-8 for a fresh round of negotiations over Iran's nuclear energy program.
• Most detailed talks ever held with Iran: Ashton Iran Press TV 16 Oct 2013 -- EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, says the two days of nuclear talks between Iran and the world powers in Geneva were the "most detailed" ones ever held between the two sides.
• EU's Top Diplomat Praises 'Substantive' Iran Nuclear Talks RFE/RL 16 Oct 2013 -- Talks between Iran and six world powers on Tehran's controversial nuclear program have ended on an upbeat note, with the European Union's top diplomat calling them 'substantive' and 'very important.'
• Iran Open to Uranium Enrichment Deal if Sanctions Lifted – Source RIA Novosti 16 Oct 2013 -- Iran is ready to compromise over its controversial uranium enrichment program, if international sanctions against the country are lifted, a diplomatic source said Wednesday.
• Talks on Iran's Nuclear Program 'Substantive' VOA 16 Oct 2013 -- Six world powers and Iran have ended two days of talks on Tehran's nuclear program with both sides describing the negotiations in hopeful terms in a rare joint statement.
• Court Suspends Navalny Sentence; He Vows Appeal RFE/RL 16 Oct 2013 -- Russia's most prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin -- will not be returned to prison.
• Russian Opposition Leader Navalny Given Suspended Sentence RIA Novosti 16 Oct 2013 -- A court in Russia offered outspoken opposition leader Alexei Navalny a reprieve Wednesday by granting him a suspended sentence on embezzlement charges.
• Sentence Suspended for Russian Opposition Leader VOA 16 Oct 2013 -- A Russian appeals court has suspended the five-year prison sentence of anti-corruption blogger and opposition leader Alexei Navalny.