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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Afghan army warriors take the fight to the Taliban UK MOD 21 Jan 2014 -- Over a tonne of illegal fertiliser, used by bomb-makers, has been seized by the Afghan army in Helmand.
• Stingers back from Smokin' Aces USMC News 21 Jan 2014 -- Marines with Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31 returned from a six-month deployment to Afghanistan, Jan. 10.
• Pakistan Military Airstrikes Target Militants VOA 21 Jan 2014 -- A renewed wave of deadly insurgent attacks in Pakistan has prompted the military to launch rare airstrikes against suspected militant hideouts in a remote tribal district that critics have long condemned as a center of local and international terrorists.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Readout of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's Meeting with Iraqi Council of Representatives Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi DoD 21 Jan 2014
• Fighting Bengals roar into Western Pacific USMC News 21 Jan 2014 -- Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 224 deployed from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to the Western Pacific in support of the Unit Deployment Program, Jan. 9.
• CRS-1 Holds RIP/TOA Ceremony on Camp Lemonnier NNS 21 Jan 2014 -- Coastal Riverine Squadron 1-Forward conducted a relief in place/transfer of authority ceremony Jan. 17 as CRS-1 Forward Wave 1 was replaced by CRS-1 Forward Wave 2.
• USS Makin Island Successfully Completes Sea Trials NNS 21 Jan 2014 -- USS Makin Island (LHD 8) completed a nine-day scheduled sea trials on Jan. 17, after coming out of a 13-month Phased Maintenance Availability (PMA).
• USS Seawolf Returns Home From Deployment NNS 21 Jan 2014 -- The fast-attack submarine USS Seawolf (SSN 21) returned to its homeport of Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton Jan. 21, concluding a six-month deployment.
• New Zealand joins NATO's counter-piracy mission Ocean Shield NATO 21 Jan 2014 -- Following a formal exchange of letters signed Tuesday (21 January 2014) between NATO and the New Zealand Government, the Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS TE MANA is set to join the Alliance's Operation Ocean Shield on 23 January, marking the second time a partner nation has contributed to NATO's counter-piracy effort.
• Belarus Begins Snap Inspection of Armed Forces RIA Novosti 21 Jan 2014 -- President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday ordered a large-scale surprise inspection of the country's armed forces, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said.
• Iranian Navy flotilla to enter Atlantic Ocean for 1st time ISNA 21 Jan 2014 -- The 29th training and combat flotilla of Iranian Navy started an international mission from Bandar Abbas to Atlantic Ocean.
• UN chief encourages Conference on Disarmament to live up to world's expectations UN News Centre 21 Jan 2014 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today encouraged the world's sole multilateral forum for disarmament negotiations to live up the international community's expectations and resume substantive work aimed at ridding the globe of weapons of mass destruction.
• January 21, 2014 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 21 Jan 2014

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• 21 January 2014 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 21 Jan 2014
• UN invite withdrawal regrettable: Iran FM Iran Press TV 21 Jan 2014 -- Iran has called 'regrettable,' the United Nations secretary-general's rescinding his invitation to the Islamic Republic to participate in the forthcoming international conference on the Syrian crisis.
• Iran never requested presence in Syria talks: Official Iran Press TV 21 Jan 2014 -- Iran Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham says the Islamic Republic had never requested to attend the forthcoming international conference on the Syria crisis.
• Syria army seizes warehouse full of weapons Iran Press TV 21 Jan 2014 -- The Syrian army says it has seized a warehouse full of weapons and ammunition used by foreign-backed militants near the capital Damascus.
• Russia Says Revoking Iran Invite To Syria Talks 'Mistake', Not 'Catastrophe' RFE/RL 21 Jan 2014 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the UN decision to withdraw an invitation to Iran to attend peace talks on Syria was a 'mistake' but not a 'catastrophe.'
• On eve of Syrian peace conference, Ban holds intensive talks with participants UN News Centre 21 Jan 2014 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Switzerland today on the eve of a United Nations-led conference on ending the nearly three-year-old Syrian civil war and immediately went into talks with participants from various countries and regional organizations involved.
• Dim Hopes for Breakthrough in Syrian Peace Talks VOA 21 Jan 2014 -- President Barack Obama spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by telephone on Tuesday, and the leaders discussed an internationally sponsored conference on Syria. The Russian president's official website said their conversation was 'businesslike and constructive.'
• Assad Focuses on Fighting Terrorism, Not Power-Sharing, at Switzerland Talks VOA 21 Jan 2014 -- Syrian peace talks are scheduled to start Wednesday in Switzerland, nearly three years after the start of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. The government in Damascus is rejecting calls that it share power, saying these talks should be about fighting terrorism.
• China to Start Regular Patrols From Disputed South China Sea Island VOA 21 Jan 2014 -- China has announced plans to start regular civilian patrols of the disputed South China Sea, a move that could further escalate tensions in the region.
• Fighting in Iraqi city of Ramadi intensifies Iran Press TV 21 Jan 2014 -- Iraq's security forces are pressing on with their offensive against al-Qaeda-linked militants holding parts of a city in the western province of Anbar.
• Public killings highlight power shift in CAR IRIN 21 Jan 2014 -- Two murders committed in full view of the media and witnessed by French peacekeepers in the Central African Republic (CAR) this weekend have raised questions about security and the balance of forces in the capital, Bangui.
• EU to send 500 troops to CAR, fewer than expected Iran Press TV 21 Jan 2014 -- The European Union has revised a plan to send a battalion-sized force to the Central African Republic (CAR), choosing instead to deploy half as many troops to the African country, an official says.
• Clashes strain health services in Libya's south IRIN 21 Jan 2014 -- Clashes and insecurity in southern Libya are putting pressure on over-stretched health facilities as the government declares a state of emergency in the southern Fezzan region.
• Abuses lead to calls for accountability in South Sudan IRIN 21 Jan 2014 -- The UN warned this month that acts committed by both sides in the South Sudan crisis could amount to crimes against humanity, and urged parties engaged in peace talks to establish mechanisms to ensure accountability for the violence.
• Senior UN official congratulates Yemen on concluding National Dialogue UN News Centre 21 Jan 2014 -- After being on the brink of civil war, Yemenis negotiated an agreement for peaceful change, the only such in the region, a senior United Nations official today said welcoming the conclusion of the National Dialogue Conference as an "historic moment" for the country.

News Reports

• Car Bomb Kills 4 in Beirut Hezbollah Stronghold VOA 21 Jan 2014 -- Lebanon's National News Agency says that four people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle he was driving on a busy thoroughfare in Beirut's mostly Shi'ite southern suburbs. It was the fourth major explosion in the area, where influence is held by the pro-Syrian, pro-Iranian Hezbollah.
• Lebanon: UN officials condemn latest deadly blast to strike Beirut suburb UN News Centre 21 Jan 2014 -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations envoy to Lebanon have condemned today's explosion in a southern Beirut suburb that killed and wounded a number of people, and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
• U.S., Russian Leaders Discuss Afghanistan, Sochi, History AFPS 21 Jan 2014 -- Two tankers who as young men could have squared off against each other on the East German border sat in the Russian Embassy here today and talked about ways their two nations could cooperate.
• Thai govt. declares state of emergency amid protests Iran Press TV 21 Jan 2014 -- Thai authorities have declared a state of emergency as anti-government protests are gaining momentum in some parts of the Southeast Asian country.
• Salehi stresses Irans nuclear rights IRNA 21 Jan 2014 -- Head of Irans Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) said right of enrichment is Irans red line and our negotiating team has not crossed this line.
• Iran's new centrifuges 15 times more powerful than old ones, says Salehi ISNA 21 Jan 2014 -- Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said the country's new centrifuges are 15 times more powerful than the old ones.
• Iran to get access to its $4.2 bln frozen assets Voice of Russia 21 Jan 2014 -- Iran will get the access to its frozen funds in the nearest future as the US and EU began easing economic sanctions. Tehran will have an easier time trading in crude oil, gold and other high-value materials.
• Chinese tourist dies of H7N9 flu: CDC CNA 21 Jan 2014 -- A Chinese tourist in Taiwan who was diagnosed with the H7N9 influenza virus in December last year has died after developing more complicated respiratory symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday.
• Security Concerns Mount As Sochi Olympic Opening Nears RFE/RL 21 Jan 2014 -- Security forces in the Black Sea Russian city of Sochi are looking for a woman from the North Caucasus whom they believe might be planning a terrorist attack during next month's winter Olympic games.
• US Offers Russia Security Support for Sochi Olympics RIA Novosti 21 Jan 2014 -- American military assets have been offered to bolster security for the upcoming Sochi Olympic Games scheduled to open in less than three weeks, the Pentagon said Monday.
• Russia Searches for 'Black Widow' Suicide Bomber in Sochi VOA 21 Jan 2014 -- Russian police are on the hunt for a potential female suicide bomber in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, where the Winter Olympics are set to begin next month.
• Ukraine Opposition Warns It May Be 'Too Late' As Tensions Continue RFE/RL 21 Jan 2014 -- Ukrainian opposition leader Yuriy Lutsenko has warned amid ongoing confrontations in the streets of Kyiv that it may be too late for President Viktor Yanukovych to negotiate with the opposition.
• Senior UN officials urge restraint, dialogue to defuse tensions fuelling protests in Ukraine UN News Centre 21 Jan 2014 -- Urging restraint amid widespread anti-Government protests in Ukraine, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called today for sustained and inclusive dialogue to defuse tensions in the country.
• Ukraine PM Warns of Use of Force Against Protesters VOA 21 Jan 2014 -- Ukraine's prime minister, Mykola Azarov, is warning anti-government protesters that authorities may use force against them.