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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 26 Dec 2013 [PDF]
• Yemen: UN experts condemn drone strikes on mistaken wedding processions UN News Centre 26 Dec 2013 -- Independent United Nations human rights experts today voiced serious concern about recent lethal drone airstrikes, allegedly conducted by United States forces in Yemen, and stressed the need for accountability as a result of their use.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Obama-signed Bill Provides Military Pay, Bonuses AFPS 26 Dec 2013 -- President Barack Obama today signed House Resolution 3304, which provides pay and bonuses for U.S. service members, enhances counterterrorism efforts overseas, builds security capacities of key U.S. partner-nations, expands efforts to prevent sexual assault and strengthens protections for victims.
• Russian Military Plans to Order More Yak-130 Combat Trainers RIA Novosti 26 Dec 2013 -- The Russian air force is planning to order an additional batch of new Yak-130 combat trainers because demand for the aircraft is growing, the air force's top commander said Wednesday.
• Russia Limits Imports of Foreign Equipment for Defense Industry RIA Novosti 26 Dec 2013 -- The Russian government has put a ban on purchasing foreign-made equipment for its defense industry if there is a locally-made equivalent, according to a statement posted on the government website Thursday.
• Russian Air Force Lets MiG-31 Fly Again After Crash RIA Novosti 26 Dec 2013 -- The Russian Air Force will restart flight operations on Monday by its fleet of Mikoyan MiG-31 interceptor aircraft that were grounded earlier this month following a crash, the service said.
• New Russian Attack Sub to Join Navy on Dec. 30 RIA Novosti 26 Dec 2013 -- Russia's first Project 885M Yasen-class attack submarine, the Severodvinsk, will be handed over to the navy on December 30, a defense industry source told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
• Russia-Led Security Bloc Plans to Spend $1Bln on Weaponry RIA Novosti 26 Dec 2013 -- Members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a military alliance of former Soviet states, are planning to allocate some 33 billion rubles ($1 billion) to procure new weaponry for its joint rapid reaction force, a senior CSTO official said Thursday.
• 6 more Apache choppers to arrive Jan. 2: Defense Ministry CNA 26 Dec 2013 -- A second batch of six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan Jan. 2, Deputy Defense Minister Andrew Hsia said Thursday.
• President reaffirms plan for all-volunteer military CNA 26 Dec 2013 -- President Ma Ying-jeou said Thursday that the government has continued to promote its policy to transform the military into an all-volunteer force, despite facing a recruitment shortage.
• Military acquires submarine-launched Harpoon missiles CNA 26 Dec 2013 -- The United States has begun delivery of submarine-launched Harpoon missiles this year, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) has said in a report to the Legislative Yuan.e

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 26, 2013

Other Conflicts

• First Stage of Syrian Chemical Weapons Destruction Complete RIA Novosti 26 Dec 2013 -- The first stage of the destruction of the Syrian government's chemical arsenal has been completed, the head of the Russian Security Council said Thursday.
• Statement by the Spokesperson of the ROK Government on Japanese Prime Minister Abe's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs 26 Dec 2013 -- The government of the Republic of Korea cannot help but deplore and feel anger over Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit on Thursday, December 26, to the Yasukuni Shrine, which glorifies Japan's history of colonial rule and war of aggression and enshrines war criminals despite continued concerns and warnings by neighboring countries and the international community.
• Japan's Abe Condemned for Visit to Controversial War Shrine VOA 26 Dec 2013 -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the controversial Yasukuni shrine Thursday, sparking outrage in China and South Korea and further damaging Japan's already frosty relations with the region. Yasukuni shrine honors the country's nearly 2.5 million war dead, including convicted World War II war criminals.
• China Protests Japan War Shrine Visit RFE/RL 26 Dec 2013 -- China has summoned Japan's ambassador and delivered a 'strong protest' after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited a controversial shrine.
• China scathing on Abe's Yasukuni visit Xinhua 26 Dec 2013 -- China on Thursday condemned Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the Yasukuni shrine, saying the gesture is 'a major new political obstacle' to already strained relations.
• 26 December 2013 - Press Conference by Secretary-General's Special Representative for South Sudan United Nations 26 Dec 2013
• UN hopes to have peacekeeping reinforcements in strife-torn South Sudan within 48 hours UN News Centre 26 Dec 2013 -- The United Nations hopes to have peacekeeping reinforcements on the ground in strife-torn South Sudan within the next 48 hours, including both troops and critical assets such as helicopters, as it seeks to protect civilians in a conflict that is already estimated to have claimed well over 1,000 lives, the top UN official in the country said today.
• South Sudan Says It's Preparing for Peace Talks VOA 26 Dec 2013 -- South Sudan's government says a meeting with regional leaders has helped move forward plans for a dialogue between the president and his political rival to end the violence that has divided the country. The development comes as a humanitarian crisis continues to deepen in the young nation.
• China to dispatch special envoy to South Sudan Iran Press TV 26 Dec 2013 -- China says it will send a special envoy to South Sudan to help find a solution to the conflict between government forces and rebels in the African country.
• African leaders launch peace talks in South Sudan Iran Press TV 26 Dec 2013 -- African leaders start talks in South Sudan to try and broker a settlement as fighting rages on between government forces and rebels in the country's north.
• Productive South Sudan Talks Amid Ongoing Violence VOA 26 Dec 2013 -- African mediators say they have held productive talks with South Sudan President Salva Kiir on ending his country's spiraling unrest.
• South Sudan Rebels Say Ready for Talks to End Unrest VOA 26 Dec 2013 -- Forces loyal to former South Sudan Vice President Riek Machar said Thursday they are prepared to take part in talks to end violence in the world's newest nation and have named delegates to the negotiations, which would be held in the Ethiopian capital.
• 40 killed, dozens injured in attack in DRC Iran Press TV 26 Dec 2013 -- At least 40 civilians have been killed and dozens injured in an attack on a village in the Beni region in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
• UN peacekeepers respond to Ugandan rebel attack in eastern DR Congo UN News Centre 26 Dec 2013 -- United Nations peacekeepers in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) yesterday helped the national armed forces retake control over a town following an attack by a Ugandan rebel group that left dozens dead and displaced many more.
• Fear in Khatumo ahead of Puntland polls IRIN 26 Dec 2013 -- Thousands of people in northern Somalia's two-year-old Khatumo state remain displaced for fear of a repeat of the armed violence in late November that forced them to flee their homes in the state capital, Taleh.
• UN agency condemns Israeli demolition of Arab homes, urges adherence to international law UN News Centre 26 Dec 2013 -- The United Nations agency assisting Palestinian refugees today condemned Israel's latest demolitions in the West Bank which have displaced 68 people, including 32 children, in the depths of winter, saying it is violating international law and calling on it to abide by its obligations.

News Reports

• Salehi: Iran designs new generation of centrifuges IRNA 26 Dec 2013 -- A new generation of centrifuges are designed and ready to be mass produced, but before that phase they have to pass many tests, head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said here on Thursday, adding that there are now 19,000 centrifuges in Iran.
• Egypt Arrests Muslim Brotherhood Members, Supporters Under Terror Law VOA 26 Dec 2013 -- A roadside explosion blew out the windows of a passenger bus in a Cairo suburb Thursday, injuring five people. The blast came one day after Egypt's military-installed interim government criminalized the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood, further cracking down on a movement that had risen to power in national elections last year.
• Turkey's Erdogan Revamps Cabinet As Corruption Scandal Grows RFE/RL 26 Dec 2013 -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a reshuffling of his cabinet after three top ministers resigned amid a growing corruption scandal.
• Turkish Prosecutor Dismissed, Charged with Official Interference VOA 26 Dec 2013 -- A Turkish prosecutor leading a high-level bribery and corruption investigation says he has been removed from the case and that police refused to comply with his orders to arrest more suspects.
• Thailand's Government Rejects Call for Election Postponement VOA 26 Dec 2013 -- After clashes between police and anti-government protesters in Bangkok Thursday that left one officer dead and dozens injured, Thailand's government rejected a request from the election commission to postpone a February vote.
• Anniversary of Assumption of Supreme Commandership Observed KCNA 26 Dec 2013 -- Social organizations held celebrations Thursday on the occasion of the second anniversary of Marshal Kim Jong Un's assumption of supreme commandership of the Korean People's Army.
• Xi: Holding high banner of Mao 'forever' People's Daily 26 Dec 2013 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that the Communist Party of China (CPC) will hold high the banner of Mao Zedong Thought 'forever' in pursuing the Chinese nation's rejuvenation.