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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 22 Dec 2014 [PDF]
• Military Airstrikes Continue Against ISIL in Syria and Iraq AFPS 22 Dec 2014 -- U.S. and partner nation military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria Dec. 22 using fighter and bomber aircraft to conduct 12 airstrikes.
• US may not target Taliban after Jan. 2: Official Iran Press TV 22 Dec 2014 -- The US may not target senior Afghan Taliban leaders, including Mullah Omar, and other militants across war-ravaged Afghanistan after January 2, 2014.

Defense Policy / Programs

• DoD Releases 2015 Military Pay and Compensation Rates DoD 22 Dec 2014 -- Today, the Department of Defense announced the 2015 military pay and compensation rates for service members.
• USS Rodney M. Davis Returns from Final Deployment NNS 22 Dec 2014 -- The Navy frigate USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG 60) returned from its final deployment to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans Dec. 19.
• Two C-17 squadrons to be inactivated over next two years AFNS 22 Dec 2014 -- Air Mobility Command will inactivate two C-17 Globemaster III squadrons during the next two years - one at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, and one at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington - based on the President's Defense Budget for fiscal year 2015.
• Marines, Ugandan service members complete joint training engagement USMC News 22 Dec 2014 -- U.S. Marines and Sailors with SPMAGTF Crisis Response-Africa completed a joint training engagement with service members of the Ugandan People's Defense Force in Camp Singo, Uganda.
• Forest Light 15-1 marked success at closing ceremony USMC News 22 Dec 2014 -- Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members and U.S. Marines closed out Forest Light 15-1 with a ceremony Dec. 12 at Camp Kita Kumamoto in Kumamoto, Kumamoto prefecture, Japan.
• Air Support: US Marines, JGSDF look to sky for Forest Light's culminating event USMC News 22 Dec 2014 -- U.S. Marines and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force troops simulated a movement to contact and assault on an objective, Dec. 9-10, while participating in Forest Light 15-1 at the Oyanohara Training Area in Yamato, Japan.
• Navy Awards Contract for Ranger Dismantling NNS 22 Dec 2014 -- The Navy awarded a contract, Dec. 22, for the towing and dismantling of the decommissioned aircraft carrier Ranger (CV 61) to International Shipbreaking, Ltd.
• USS Fort Worth Arrives in Jakarta for First Southeast Asia Port Visit NNS 22 Dec 2014 -- Littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia, Dec. 22 as part of a 16-month rotational deployment in support of the Indo-Asia-Pacific rebalance.
• Australian F-35 lands at new home AFNS 22 Dec 2014 -- The first Royal Australian air force F-35A Lightning II arrived at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona Dec. 18, marking the first international partner to arrive for training.
• Iran warns extra-regional recon aircraft near borders Iran Press TV 22 Dec 2014 -- Iranian military has sent warning signals to extra-regional reconnaissance aircraft flying near the country's borders over the past few days, a senior Iranian commander says.
• Saudi Arabia largest purchaser of Canadian weapons: Report Iran Press TV 22 Dec 2014 -- Saudi Arabia has been the largest purchaser of arms from Canada, a report says.
• December 22, 2014 - U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 22 Dec 2014

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 22, 2014
• Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd Named Partner in Russia-India Helicopter Deal Sputnik 22 Dec 2014 -- India's state-owned aerospace and defense giant Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will be one of the major partners in the Russia-India helicopter deal, the spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in India told Sputnik Monday.

Other Conflicts

• 22 December 2014 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 22 Dec 2014
• 2015 will be 'tough year' for humanitarian operations, senior UN official warns UN News Centre 22 Dec 2014 -- The outlook for global humanitarian operations is "very, very bleak," a top United Nations humanitarian official warned today saying that "it's been a rapid deterioration through 2014 and sadly, as we move forward we're expecting to face a tough year in 2015."
• Kazakh President Calls For Compromise Between Russia And Ukraine RFE/RL 22 Dec 2014 -- Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, during a visit to Kyiv, has reportedly called on Russia and Ukraine to seek compromise in order to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine and preserve its territorial integrity.
• Tenth Russian Humanitarian Aid Convoy Returns From Donbas: EMERCOM Sputnik 22 Dec 2014 -- The tenth Russian humanitarian aid convoy to Ukraine's eastern Donbas region has returned home, said Russian Emergencies Ministry spokesperson Alexander Drobyshevsky.
• 2015 Could Be Watershed for Syria Conflict VOA 22 Dec 2014 -- Another year has passed in Syria, with no end in sight for a conflict that has claimed 200,000 lives, injured a million and displaced nearly half the population.
• Libya's General Haftar pays secret visit to Jordan Iran Press TV 22 Dec 2014 -- A recent report shows that Libya's renegade general, Khalifa Haftar, has recently paid a secret visit to Jordan, where he met and conferred with Jordanian military's top brass and intelligence officials over the ongoing crisis in Libya.
• Pakistan to execute 500 militants after school massacre Iran Press TV 22 Dec 2014 -- Pakistan is due to execute around 500 militants in coming weeks, following Premier Nawaz Sharif's move to end a six-year moratorium on the death penalty in terror cases.
• Pakistan To Execute About 500 Terrorism Convicts RFE/RL 22 Dec 2014 -- Pakistan says it will begin executing nearly 500 prisoners convicted on terrorism-related charges in the coming weeks.
• Pakistan Set to Execute 500 Convicted Terrorists in Coming Weeks Sputnik 22 Dec 2014 -- Five hundred convicted terrorists are set to be executed in Pakistan within the next few weeks, according to an announcement which was made by the country's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
• Pakistan Makes Arrests in Peshawar Massacre VOA 22 Dec 2014 -- Authorities in Pakistan have arrested several people in connection with a school massacre last week in which nearly 150 students and teachers were killed.
• Central African Republic clashes kill 20 Iran Press TV 22 Dec 2014 -- At least 20 people have been killed and dozens others injured in clashes between armed groups in the Central African Republic.
• Central African Republic: rebels clash with UN peacekeepers during weekend fighting UN News Centre 22 Dec 2014 -- The United Nations mission in the Central African Republic has said it is concerned about fighting that took place this weekend in several locations around the country, including between anti-Balaka members and peacekeepers.
• Yemen: What next? IRIN 22 Dec 2014 -- More than 1,500 Yemenis died in political conflicts in 2014, the most since 2011 uprisings which saw the deaths of some 2,000 protesters before driving the country's long-time dictator from office.
• South Sudan Peace Talks Collapse - Again VOA 22 Dec 2014 -- The latest round of IGAD-brokered peace talks for South Sudan have collapsed, Information Minister Michael Makuei said Monday, blaming the rebel side for the talks' failure.

News Reports

• Tunisia Elects Former Minister Essebsi President VOA 22 Dec 2014 -- Tunisia has elected veteran politician Beji Caid Essebsi in its first free presidential election since independence from France in 1956.
• Political Veteran Essebsi Elected Tunisia's New President VOA 22 Dec 2014 -- Veteran politician and staunch anti-Islamist Beji Caid Essebsi has been elected Tunisia's next president.
• N. Korea to US: Apologize for Sony Hack Claim VOA 22 Dec 2014 -- North Korea has called on the United States to apologize for implicating Pyongyang in the hacking of Sony Pictures and threatened to fight back in a variety of ways, including cyberwarfare.
• South Korea Divided on Response to North's Cyber Attack VOA 22 Dec 2014 -- In South Korea, there are voices of support for the idea that U.S. President Barack Obama might put North Korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism in response to the cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment.
• North Korea threatens to strike US over Sony hack Iran Press TV 22 Dec 2014 -- North Korea has threatened to retaliate against the United States after it was accused of orchestrating a destructive cyberattack on Sony Pictures.
• North Korea Warns of Retaliation After US Blames Pyongyang for Sony Hacking Sputnik 22 Dec 2014 -- An irate Pyongyang has released a statement through its Korean Central News Agency threatening an attack against the US, after Washington announced North Korea is to blame for the Sony Picture hacking scandal.
• In Security Council, UN officials urge renewed engagement with DPR Korea on human rights UN News Centre 22 Dec 2014 -- Despite a grim litany of human rights abuses committed against its own people and ongoing provocations to global peace and security, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has shown signs of compliance with human rights mechanisms prompting hopes that the Asian nation may one day yield to the call for full accountability and reform, two senior United Nations officials stated today.
• Security Council Puts N. Korean Human Rights on Agenda VOA 22 Dec 2014 -- The U.N. Security Council took up the issue of North Korea's bleak human rights situation for the first time Monday, a groundbreaking step toward possibly holding the country and leader Kim Jong Un accountable for alleged crimes against humanity.
• North Korea Snubs UN Meeting, Slams Security Council's 'Double Standards' Sputnik 22 Dec 2014 -- North Korea has refused to take part in a UN Security Council meeting set for Monday, December 22, which will address the DPRK's human rights issues. The 'hermit kingdom' has reproached the UN for maintaining double standards.
• Courage of Ebola health workers should inspire greater efforts by all, says Ban UN News Centre 22 Dec 2014 -- Citing the "memorable and moving" example of a Sierra Leonean nurse who had contracted Ebola but became a caregiver as soon as she had recovered, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that kind of commitment "should move us all to do more to end the outbreak" in West Africa.
• US Officials Warn Against Complacency in Fight Against Ebola VOA 22 Dec 2014 -- U.S. officials are worried that progress in the global effort to curtail the spread of the deadly Ebola virus could lead to overconfidence and a reemergence of an outbreak that has already claimed more than 7,000 lives. Both health officials and lawmakers are warning the fight against Ebola may be entering its most critical phase.
• WHO: Ebola Death Toll Passes 7,500 VOA 22 Dec 2014 -- The World Health Organization says the death toll from the Ebola outbreak has risen to more than 7,500 people and the number of cases is nearing 20,000.
• France Rocked by Attacks as Fear of IS-Inspired Terror Grows VOA 22 Dec 2014 -- Eleven people were injured, two seriously, when a man shouting 'Allahu Akbar' ('God is Great' in Arabic) drove his car into crowds of pedestrians Sunday in the French city of Dijon. Witnesses say he invoked 'the children of Palestine' to explain his actions.
• Xi eyes HK in Macao speech People's Daily 22 Dec 2014 -- A speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Macao urging people to understand the essence of 'one country, two systems' and strengthen patriotic education among the young was seen by observers as a reminder to neighboring Hong Kong in the wake of the Occupy protests that tarnished the region's image.
• Ling Jihua investigated for serious disciplinary violation People's Daily 22 Dec 2014 -- Ling Jihua, a senior Party official and national political advisor, is now under investigation for 'suspected serious disciplinary violation'.
• Egypt's spymaster sacked for thaw in Doha-Cairo ties, reports say Iran Press TV 22 Dec 2014 -- Egypt's spymaster was removed from his post by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi as a precondition to reconciliation between the country and Qatar, Egyptian political sources have said.
• Cameron under pressure over CIA probe Iran Press TV 22 Dec 2014 -- British Prime Minister David Cameron has come under intense pressure to hold a judge-led inquiry into Britain's alleged involvement in a recently revealed CIA torture program, a report says.
• Polish Committee Investigates Allocation of Funds for CIA Secret Prisons Sputnik 22 Dec 2014 -- The lower house of the Polish parliament, the Sejm, is carrying out an investigation into where the money allocated for CIA 'black sites' in Poland has gone, the head of the Sejm's Special Services Committee said Monday.
• Russia, Ukraine Not Yet Discussing Gas Transit After 2019: Energy Minister Sputnik 22 Dec 2014 -- Russia and Ukraine are currently not negotiating the continuation of transit gas to Europe through Ukraine's territory after 2019, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Monday.
• Aceh redux: Aceh at 10 – A look back at the response IRIN 22 Dec 2014 -- A decade after the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated Aceh, the isolated tip of Indonesia's Sumatra Island on the morning of 24 December 2004, IRIN looks at the unprecedented aid response, its impact on the industry, and how local people continue to be affected.