Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• UN strongly condemns Afghan civilian deaths caused by improvised explosive devices UN News Centre 01 Jun 2014 -- The United Nations has strongly condemned the killing of 12 civilians in Afghanistan's Ghazni province on Saturday, when two vehicles traveling to a wedding party hit pressure-plate improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted on the road.
• Taliban leader describes swap as 'victory' Iran Press TV 01 Jun 2014 -- The Afghan Taliban leader has described the exchange of a US soldier with five Afghans held at the notorious US-run Guantanamo prison in Cuba as a "great victory".
• Hagel: Sgt. Bergdahl's Release Important Day for Troops, Nation AFPS 01 Jun 2014 -- The release yesterday of former prisoner of war Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, after a years-long international effort to free him from nearly five years of captivity in Afghanistan, was an important day for U.S. troops and for the United States, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said today.
• Hagel Greets U.S. Troops at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan AFPS 01 Jun 2014 -- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stopped at Bagram Air Base today on his way from Singapore to Brussels to thank U.S. troops for their service in Afghanistan and to share the intense gratification of freeing prisoner of war Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl after nearly five years in captivity.
• Remarks by Secretary Hagel at Bagram Air Force Base, Afghanistan DoD 01 Jun 2014 -- Presenters: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel; General Joseph F. Dunford, commander, International Security Assistance Force/U.S. Forces-Afghanistan
• Media Availability with Secretary Hagel enroute to Afghanistan DoD 01 Jun 2014 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel
• US Defense Chief Defends Secrecy of Prisoner Swap Deal VOA 01 Jun 2014 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is defending the deal to secure the freedom of an American soldier in a swap for five Afghan insurgents, even though Congress was not notified ahead of time as required by U.S. law.
• 18 killed in US drone attack in E Afghanistan Iran Press TV 01 Jun 2014 -- At least 18 people have been killed in the latest US assassination drone strike in eastern Afghanistan.
• Washington Debates Terms of Bergdahl Release VOA 01 Jun 2014 -- A U.S. Army sergeant freed by the Taliban after nearly five years in captivity is receiving medical attention in Germany before an expected reunion with his family in the United States. The Obama administration is responding to criticism from some lawmakers over the release of five detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in return for Bowe Bergdahl's freedom.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Joint Statement from U.S.-ROK-Japan Defense Ministers Meeting DoD 01 Jun 2014 -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of National Defense Kim Kwan-jin, and Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, held trilateral defense ministerial talks in Singapore May 31 on the margins of the Shangri-La Dialogue to discuss North Korea and the regional security situation.
• Chinese military endeavors to contribute to maintaining Asia-Pacific security: officer People's Daily 01 Jun 2014 -- China always pursues a defense policy that is defensive in nature, and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China is endeavoring to contribute to maintaining regional security, Wang Guanzhong, a senior PLA officer, said on Sunday.
• Russian inspectors to carry out observation flights over Latvia, Lithuania VoR 01 Jun 2014 -- Russian inspectors will carry out an observation flight over the territories of Latvia and Lithuania this week under the Open Skies Treaty, Ruslan Shishin, the acting head of the national nuclear risk reduction center, told Itar-Tass.
• IRGC Army Chief: Message of peace, friendship for peace-seeking countries IRNA 01 Jun 2014 -- Commander of revolutionary guards Army said here Saturday in a meeting with foreign embassies military attaches in Tehran that Irans message for entire peace-seeking, freedom-seeking, and humane countries of the world is a message of peace and friendship.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• China Calls Japan, US Comments on Disputed Areas 'Provocative' VOA 01 Jun 2014 -- A senior Chinese general has lashed out at the U.S. and Japan for criticizing Beijing's activities in disputed areas of the South China Sea, calling the comments 'provocative.'
• Israel launches incursions into besieged Gaza Strip Iran Press TV 01 Jun 2014 -- Israeli military vehicles have carried out two cross-border military incursions into the southern part of the besieged Gaza Strip.
• Israel Condemns Plans for Palestinian Unity Government VOA 01 Jun 2014 -- Israel has condemned Palestinian plans to inaugurate a controversial new government this week.
• Jet bombs militant positions in Libya's Benghazi Iran Press TV 01 Jun 2014 -- Libyan officials say an air force jet has bombed militant-held positions in the eastern city of Benghazi, as part of an ongoing offensive by a renegade general.
• DR Congo: UN and partners renew call for surrender of Rwandan rebel group UN News Centre 01 Jun 2014 -- The United Nations and its partners today renewed their call for the complete surrender of all leaders and combatants of the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, which has caused untold suffering in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for many years.

News Reports

• Ukraine Revolutionaries Vow to Stay in Kyiv's Maidan VOA 01 Jun 2014 -- Ukrainian activists who fought for change in their capital's Independence Square are refusing to leave the public space that became the focal point of anti-government protests which in February toppled a pro-Moscow government and paved the way for a new one to take charge.
• Six killed as self-defense forces come under attack at Donetsk airport VoR 01 Jun 2014 -- Six self-defense fighters were killed as they attempted to take away the bodies of volunteer guards shot down by the Ukrainian military near Donetsk international airport over the week, the press office of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said on Sunday, according to Itar-Tass.
• All OSCE monitors in Donetsk region released - people's mayor of Slavyansk VoR 01 Jun 2014 -- The self-defense force in Donetsk region claims to have freed all detained OSCE monitors. 'At the present moment we don't have OSCE monitors. All those detained last week have been released,' people's mayor of Slavyansk Vyacheslav Ponomaryov told Interfax on Sunday.
• Ukraine forces resume massive shelling in Slavyansk region VoR 01 Jun 2014 -- Ukraine's National Guard has resumed massive shelling of a settlement near the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on Saturday. 'Bombing alarm sirens are switched on in the city,' a self-defense representative told Itar-Tass. Meanwhile, automatic rifle fire can be heard in Semyonovka and the Krasny Liman settlement on a highway to the eastern city of Kharkov, the representative added.
• Thai army deploys troops to prevent anti-coup rallies Iran Press TV 01 Jun 2014 -- Thailand's military junta has sent thousands of police and troops across the capital, Bangkok, in an attempt to prevent expected anti-coup rallies.
• Thai Security Forces Tighten Control of Bangkok VOA 01 Jun 2014 -- A major Bangkok shopping center was ordered closed by police Sunday after anti-coup protesters tried to prevent an officer from arresting one of their fellow demonstrators.
• Valery Bganba to serve as Abkhazia's acting president VoR 01 Jun 2014 -- Speaker of the Abkhazian parliament Valery Bganba, who was appointed interim president by the parliament on Saturday, will take over as Abkhazia's acting President after Alexander Ankvab announced his resignation on Saturday. Ankvab announced that he decided to step down to preserve stability in Abkhazia. Ankvab's official representative Kristian Bzhania told Itar-Tass Ankvab had a private meeting with Bganba and gave him the country's official seal.
• NSA collecting 'millions' of faces from web Iran Press TV 02 Jun 2014 -- The US National Security Agency has been collecting millions of electronic images from the internet for its facial-recognition program, according to the classified documents obtained from American whistleblower Edward Snowden.
• Hong Kong Remembers Tiananmen Protests VOA 01 Jun 2014 -- Tens of thousands* of Hong Kong residents gathered a few days early to mark the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests on June 4, 1989, crushed with deadly force by Chinese troops.