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Defense Policy / Programs
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Current Operations

Defense Policy / Programs

• Freedom's Maiden Deployment Nears End, Changes Hands at Pearl Harbor NNS 15 Dec 2013 -- Cmdr. Roger D. Heinken assumed command of USS Freedom (LCS 1), the U.S. Navy's first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), during a change of command at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Dec 15.
• Joint Operations Help USS Gettysburg Achieve 10,000th Aircraft Check-in of Deployment NNS 15 Dec 2013 -- Guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) conducted its 10,000th aircraft check-in while deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility, Dec. 6.
• Future USS Jackson (LCS 6) Launches, Marks Production Milestone NNS 15 Dec 2013 -- The future USS Jackson (LCS 6) launched from the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Ala., Dec. 14, marking an important production milestone for the littoral combat ship program.
• UK to unveil new contracts for Trident nuke system Iran Press TV 15 Dec 2013 -- Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to unveil new contracts for the next phase of renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system.
• Iraq Expects Russian Weapons Delivery Next Month RIA Novosti 15 Dec 2013 -- The second consignment of Russian weapons and military equipment, to be delivered to Iraq under the deal signed in 2012, will arrive later than previously announced, a senior Iraqi lawmaker said on Sunday.
• Iran unveils project to produce 1st national GPS system IRNA 15 Dec 2013 -- The project to produce first national Global Positioning System (GPS) was inaugurated during a ceremony here Sunday in the presence of Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan.
• France to lose out lucrative Brazil jets deal Iran Press TV 15 Dec 2013 -- France would most likely lose out in its bid to conclude a multibillion-dollar contract with Brazil to sell twin-engine and multirole Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft to the Latin American country.
• Yemeni parliament bans US terror drone strikes Iran Press TV 15 Dec 2013 -- Yemeni MPs have strongly condemned US assassination drone strikes inside the Arab country and the parliament passed a law banning the drone attacks.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Syrian army recaptures key areas from militants Iran Press TV 15 Dec 2013 -- The Syrian army continues mop-up operations against foreign-backed militants on the outskirts of the capital Damascus.
• Syria army tightens noose around militants Iran Press TV 15 Dec 2013 -- The Syrian army continues to tighten the noose around foreign-sponsored militants in several areas across the country.
• Early Storms Foretell Another Hard Winter for Syria Refugees VOA 15 Dec 2013 -- A winter-worthy storm system pummeling parts of the Middle East has hit Syrian refugees especially hard, and the worst is yet to come.
• Public support for Paris intervention in CAR falls Iran Press TV 15 Dec 2013 -- A larger proportion of the French population is now turning against Paris military intervention in the Central African Republic (CAR), Press TV reports.
• FARC begins 30-day unilateral ceasefire Iran Press TV 15 Dec 2013 -- Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has begun a 30-day unilateral ceasefire as peace talks continue with the government.
• DRC Establishing Order in Former Rebel Strongholds VOA 15 Dec 2013 -- The Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) information minister says the country's administration is implementing measures to reestablish law and order in the former strongholds of the M23 rebel movement in the North Kivu provinces.

News Reports

• China Successfully Soft-lands Probe on the Moon RIA Novosti 15 Dec 2013 -- China on Saturday successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades, state media said, the next stage in an ambitious space program that aims to eventually put a Chinese astronaut on the moon.
• Thousands of Ukrainians stage rival rallies in Ukrainian capital Iran Press TV 15 Dec 2013 -- Thousands of protesters have staged mass rallies against President Viktor Yanukovych in the center of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, just a few hundred meters away from pro-government demonstrators, amid simmering fears of skirmishes.
• Massive Ukraine Rally As EU Suspends Talks RFE/RL 15 Dec 2013 -- An estimated 200,000 pro-EU protesters have gathered on Kyiv's Independence Square, as demonstrators continue their protests against President Viktor Yanukovych's rejection of an association accord with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.
• EU Officials Controversial About Future of Ukraine Trade Deal RIA Novosti 15 Dec 2013 -- European officials gave controversial statements about the future of a trade and cooperation agreement with Ukraine on Sunday.
• Ukraine Sees More Major Rallies as Political Stalemate Persists RIA Novosti 15 Dec 2013 -- Hundreds of thousands emerged onto the streets of Ukraine's capital Sunday for dueling meetings for and against an embattled government struggling to cope with a political crisis provoked by last month's decision to back away from greater economic ties with the EU.
• Ukraine Protesters Warn Against Trade Pact with Moscow VOA 15 Dec 2013 -- Ahead of a visit to Moscow by Ukraine's president, protesters filled central Kyiv, warning him not to sign a trade pact with Russia.
• IAEA to inspect Gachin mine soon IRNA 15 Dec 2013 -- A spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Sunday announced that inspectors of the UN nuclear watchdog are to inspect the Gachin mine in southern Iran in a near future.
• Zarif: Iran will seriously continue negotiations IRNA 15 Dec 2013 -- Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran is to continue the negotiations process seriously.
• Zarif: Tehran to give smart response to destructive actions ISNA 15 Dec 2013 -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the country would show 'proper and smart' reaction to any unconstructive measure towards Geneva deal concluded between Iran and the G5+1.
• US obstructing path of Geneva nuclear deal: Majlis speaker Iran Press TV 15 Dec 2013 -- Iran Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani warns that obstructing the path of the nuclear deal reached between Tehran and the six major world powers in Geneva is not in the interest of the West.
• McCain: Iran sanctions bill 'very likely' Iran Press TV 15 Dec 2013 -- US Senator John McCain says the Senate is "very likely" to pass a new sanctions bill against Iran despite a deal that the US, Russia, France, China, Britain and Germany - the so-called P5+1 group of countries, reached with Iran over its nuclear program on November 24 in Geneva.
• Iran demands US explanations on former FBI agent ISNA 15 Dec 2013 -- Iranian UN mission called on the US administration to provide explanations about former FBI agent Robert Levinson claimed to have gone missing in Iran a few years ago.
• US must explain Levinson's mission: Iran diplomat Iran Press TV 15 Dec 2013 -- An Iranian diplomat has demanded the US to explain about the mission of an American national, who went missing in Iran in 2007, after media revealed he was a CIA spy.
• Levinson not incarcerated in Iran, Zarif says Iran Press TV 15 Dec 2013 -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the retired FBI agent, who went missing in Iran in 2007, is not incarcerated in the country.
• Turkmenistan Votes in First Ever Multi-Party Legislative Polls RIA Novosti 15 Dec 2013 -- More than 91 percent of Turkmenistan's registered voters came to polling stations on Sunday to cast their ballot in the country's first ever parliamentary elections that see more than one party competing.
• Nelson Mandela Laid to Rest in Ancestral Village VOA 15 Dec 2013 -- South Africa's first black president, anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, has been buried in his home village near Qunu, in Eastern Cape Province. Several thousand family members and close friends attended the funeral.
• Rioting Kills 8 in Bangladesh VOA 15 Dec 2013 -- At least eight people were killed in Bangladesh on Sunday in clashes between police and rioting activists of an Islamic party who were protesting the execution of one of their leaders.