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Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• Afghan president rejects key provision of security deal with US Iran Press TV 19 Nov 2013 -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai has rejected a key proposal of a controversial security agreement with the US, putting the entire deal in jeopardy, Afghan and Western diplomats say.
• Afghan Spokesman: US Agrees to Conditions on Troop Conduct VOA 19 Nov 2013 -- An Afghan government spokesman says the United States has agreed not to allow its forces to raid and search the homes of ordinary Afghans, under a proposed security agreement to govern the presence of forces in Afghanistan after most foreign troops leave next year.
• US drone strike kills 3 in eastern Yemen Iran Press TV 19 Nov 2013 -- At least three people have been killed in an airstrike carried out by a US terror drone in Yemen's eastern province of Hadhramaut.
• UN ramps up aid for Typhoon-hit Philippines as Ban urges action now on climate change UN News Centre 19 Nov 2013 -- The United Nations is ramping up relief operations in the Philippines as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned a climate conference today that the deadly devastation wrought by Typhoon Haiyan proves that the world must act now to counter the wrath of a warming planet.
• 31st MEU assesses remote sites with Osprey, delivers help USMC News 19 Nov 2013 -- A bilateral assessment team traveled to remote areas in and near Leyte using an MV-22B tiltrotor Osprey aircraft to assess the needs of people isolated by Typhoon Haiyan Nov. 18, as part of Operation Damayan.
• USNS Charles Drew Helps Quench Philippines' Thirst NNS 19 Nov 2013 -- The Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10) keeps warships like aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) mission ready with fresh food, JP-5 fuel and even ammunition with vertical replenishments and conventional replenishments, Nov. 17.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Statement from Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall on Safeguarding Unclassified Controlled Technical Information DoD 19 Nov 2013 -- The department published an amendment to the Defense Federal Acquisition Supplement Nov. 18 which will require defense contractors to incorporate established information security standards on their unclassified networks, and to report cyber-intrusion incidents that result in the loss of unclassified controlled technical information from these networks.
• Combined Resolve Reflects Post-2014 NATO Training AFPS 19 Nov 2013 -- A training rotation underway at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, offers a glimpse at the direction NATO training is expected to take as the alliance concludes its mission in Afghanistan next year and implements a new strategy focused on the future.
• DoD Announces Recruiting and Retention Numbers for Fiscal 2013 DoD 19 Nov 2013-- The Department of Defense announced recruiting and retention statistics for the active and reserve components for fiscal 2013.
• Cutlass Express 2013 Concludes NNS 19 Nov 2013 -- Maritime forces from East Africa, the United States and European nations concluded exercise Cutlass Express 2013, Nov. 18.
• USS Rentz Coordinates Successful Transfer of Rescued Fishermen with Canadian Warship, HMCS Edmonton. NNS 19 Nov 2013 -- What began as an isolated Safety-of-Life-at-Sea (SOLAS) operation quickly turned into a coordinated effort between the Canadian ship Edmonton (MM 703), a Kingston Class Mine Countermeasure Ship, and the USS RENTZ (FFG 46) in the U.S. 4th Fleet Area of Responsibility (AOR)
• Airmen return from Brazilian-led CRUZEX exercise AFNS 19 Nov 2013 -- Airmen and Air National Guardsmen participated in Cruzeiro do Sul, a Brazilian-hosted air force exercise testing air-to-air maneuvers, mission planning, airdrop operations, and search and rescue skills, Nov. 4-15 in Brazil.
• I MEF (FWD) refines skills during weeklong Predeployment Training Program USMC News 19 Nov 2013 -- Marines and sailors of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) are cycling through the Predeployment Training Program aboard Camp Pendleton, Calif., before heading to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom early next year.
• Russia to Boost Joint Air Defenses with Ex-Soviet States RIA Novosti 19 Nov 2013 -- Russia is planning to strengthen its integrated regional air defense network with Belarus and set up similar joint networks with Armenia and Kazakhstan, President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.
• China-India joint training: small in scale, great in significance People's Daily 19 Nov 2013 -- The China-India army joint anti-terrorism training code-named 'Hand-in-Hand 2013' came to an end on November 13, 2013 at a comprehensive training base of the Chengdu Military Area Command (MAC) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in southwest China's Sichuan province.
• To win battles: PLA newspaper People's Daily 19 Nov 2013 -- China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is striving to maintain its glorious wartime reputation by advancing military reform and putting paid to the ethos of decadence.
• China offers international humanitarian mine-clearance assistance in active way People's Daily 19 Nov 2013 -- China has been actively offering international humanitarian mine-clearance assistance and training since 1998, making positive contributions to reducing civilian injuries from mine explosion, Wu Haitao, head of the Chinese delegation and Chinese ambassador for disarmament affairs, expressed at the 2013 meeting of state parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCCW) and its Protocol II dealing with landmines recently held in Geneva in southwest Switzerland.
• PLA's first meteorological and hydrological support drill held People's Daily 19 Nov 2013 -- The first joint meteorological and hydrological support drill of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) was held in Beijing, Nanjing and Guangzhou simultaneously on November 15, 2013. The meteorological and hydrological troop units of various services and arms of the PLA jointly observed weather and sea conditions for military operations.
• First Rivet Joint delivered to the Royal Air Force AFNS 19 Nov 2013 -- The first of three RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft was officially delivered to the U.K. during a special ceremony at Royal Air Force Waddington, England, Nov. 12.
• November 19, 2013 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 19 Nov 2013

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for November 19, 2013

Other Conflicts

• 19 November 2013 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 19 Nov 2013
• Syria army retakes Qara town in al-Qalamoun Iran Press TV 19 Nov 2013 -- The Syrian army has regained full control of the Qara town in the strategic al-Qalamoun area in the countryside of the capital Damascus.
• Russia Blames Syrian Militants for Aid Supply Problems RIA Novosti 19 Nov 2013 -- Russia's foreign minister has blamed Syrian militants for difficulties in delivering humanitarian aid to the war-torn country where armed rebels have been fighting government troops for nearly three years.
• Thousands flee Syria fighting to neighbouring Lebanon, UN agency reports UN News Centre 19 Nov 2013 -- The United Nations refugee agency and other humanitarian partners have been working with Lebanese authorities to cope with the influx of an estimated 6,000 people who have arrived from Syria in recent days.
• 10 killed in al-Shabab attack in Beledweyne, Somalia Iran Press TV 19 Nov 2013 -- Al-Shabab militants have targeted a police station run by the African Union force in Somali town of Beledweyne, killing at least 10 people.
• Somalia's al-Shabab Revives, Renews Attacks VOA 19 Nov 2013 -- A year ago, the Somali government and African Union troops were on the move against al-Shabab, taking over town after town. The al-Qaida-linked militants were in clear retreat, and violent in-fighting among top leaders shook the group. Since then, the tables have turned and al-Shabab appears resurgent with renewed attacks inside and outside Somalia, most notably the deadly assault on a Kenyan shopping mall in September. Analysts say the group should never be underestimated.
• Israelis and Palestinians must refrain from undermining renewed talks – UN political chief UN News Centre 19 Nov 2013 -- Four months since their resumption, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have reached a delicate moment, the United Nations political chief told the Security Council today, warning that the consequences of failure would be dire for both parties.
• Libya: UN rights office condemns use of violence against peaceful protestors UN News Centre 19 Nov 2013 -- The United Nations human rights office today expressed deep concern about violent incidents in the Libyan capital of Tripoli which have left more than 40 people dead and hundreds others injured, and urged authorities to bring those responsible to justice.
• When hosts go without: how to aid refugee camp hosts IRIN 19 Nov 2013 -- Since April, when the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) started biometric registration of the Malian refugees in Mauritania's Mbera camp, 8,000 of the 68,000 registered refugees have been de-activated from the system - almost all of them Mauritanians from nearby towns and villages hoping to access aid handouts. In September, a small group of camp residents tried to destroy the registration centre in protest of the new system, raising a key question: when and how should aid agencies helping refugees also try to assist vulnerable host populations?
• Analysis: How Bangladesh aid restrictions impact Rohingyas IRIN 19 Nov 2013 -- Limited humanitarian access continues to have an adverse effect on the lives of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in southeastern Bangladesh. Aid workers and activists say Rohingya communities fear that what little support they have might disappear as a result of threats made by the Bangladeshi government to further limit humanitarian activities.
• Azeri, Armenian Presidents Discuss Nagorno-Karabakh Dispute RIA Novosti 19 Nov 2013 -- The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia met Tuesday in Vienna in an attempt to resolve a decades-old territorial conflict, an Armenian diplomat said.
• DRC Armed Groups Ready to Demobilize, Activists Say VOA 19 Nov 2013 -- Several armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have said they are ready to lay down their weapons, following the army's defeat of M23 rebels. Since then, there has been a series of letters and declarations by other militias expressing their willingness to be demobilized.
• After 'milestone' Kosovo poll, UN to assist further political development UN News Centre 19 Nov 2013 -- The United Nations pledged full cooperation today with the European Union (EU) in tackling the "critical and broadly more challenging phase" confronting Kosovo after the "essential step forward" achieved through municipal elections earlier this month.

News Reports

• Iran loses trust in G5+1 in Geneva talks, says negotiator ISNA 19 Nov 2013 -- Senior Iranian nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi said Iran lost its confidence in the G5+1 after Geneva II meeting held early November.
• Nuclear talks have good chance of success: Iran FM Iran Press TV 19 Nov 2013 -- Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says he sees "every possibility for success" of the forthcoming nuclear talks between Iran and the six world powers.
• Outcome Of Iran Nuclear Talks Could Hinge On Congressional Sanctions Debate RFE/RL 19 Nov 2013 -- The fate of talks in Geneva over Iran's nuclear program could rest on Capitol Hill.
• US Lawmaker: No Vote on Iran Sanctions for Now VOA 19 Nov 2013 -- A senior U.S. lawmaker says Congress will not vote on new economic sanctions against Iran while international negotiations aimed at curbing its nuclear program continue.
• Bombs Near Iranian Embassy in Lebanon Kill 23 VOA 19 Nov 2013 -- Officials in Lebanon say at least 23 people were killed and more than 140 wounded in two bomb blasts Tuesday near the Iranian embassy in Beirut. An Iranian diplomat was among those killed.
• Blasts Kill, Injure Scores Near Iranian Embassy In Beirut RFE/RL 19 Nov 2013 -- Two explosions outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut have killed at least 23 people -- including one diplomat -- and left more than 100 other people injured.
• NSA monitored 33m phone calls in Norway: Snowden Iran Press TV 19 Nov 2013 -- The United States National Security Agency (NSA) has monitored 33 million mobile conversations in Norway in the course of just one month, US whistleblower and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden has said.
• Oslo spied on millions of phone calls: Military chief Iran Press TV 19 Nov 2013 -- Norway's military intelligence chief has admitted that Oslo gathered records on millions of phone calls around the world and shared that data with its allies including the United States.
• NASA Blasts Mars Orbiter Into Space RIA Novosti 19 Nov 2013 -- The US space agency NASA on Monday launched its space probe designed to study the upper atmosphere of Mars in a bid to understand how the Red Planet's climate changed over the course of billions of years.
• Ukraine Parliament Again Delays Vote On Key 'Tymoshenko' Legislation RFE/RL 19 Nov 2013 -- Ukrainian lawmakers have again delayed considering legislation that would allow imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to travel abroad for medical treatment.