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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF/OND Casualty Update 20 Jan 2015 [PDF]
• Coalition Airstrikes Continue Against ISIL in Iraq, Syria AFPS 20 Jan 2015 -- U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq in recent days, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
• Afghan Cabinet Introduced to Parliament for Approval VOA 20 Jan 2015 -- Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday introduced his cabinet nominees to the parliament's lower house, or Wolesi Jirga, for a vote of confidence. The move came nearly four months after Ghani took office because of prolonged negotiations with his election-rival-turned coalition partner, Abdullah Abdullah, on finalizing the list.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Remarks by the President in State of the Union Address | January 20, 2015 The White House 20 Jan 2015
• Lift-off, Signal Acquired for Navy Communications Satellite NNS 20 Jan 2015 -- The Navy's third Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite was launched today at 8:04 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 41. This communications satellite will significantly improve capability for Navy and Department of Defense tactical operators.
• All Systems Go for Navy's Communications Satellite Launch Jan. 20 NNS 20 Jan 2015 -- Final preparations are underway to launch the Navy's latest communications satellite that will significantly improve capability for Navy and Department of Defense tactical operators.
• MacDill AFB hosts cross-service exercises AFNS 20 Jan 2015 -- The 6th Air Mobility Wing here hosted a massive 300 sortie Navy F-18 pilot training exercise from Jan. 4-17.
• Laboon Nearly Halfway Through COMPTUEX NNS 20 Jan 2015 -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) is halfway through Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) with the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG) in preparation for an upcoming scheduled deployment.
• Battle 'E' Winner, USS San Francisco, Departs Yokosuka NNS 20 Jan 2015 -- The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS San Francisco (SSN 711) departed Fleet Activities Yokosuka Jan. 16 after a brief visit as part of its deployment to the Western Pacific Ocean.
• US sending 700 soldiers to Djibouti on training mission Iran Press TV 20 Jan 2015 -- The United States is deploying some 700 soldiers to a strategic location in the Horn of Africa on a security and training mission, a report says.
• Russian Soldier Will Be Tried In Armenia, Reportedly By Russian Court RFE/RL 20 Jan 2015 -- Russia says a soldier accused of killing seven members of a single family in Armenia will be tried on Armenian soil, but media reports say the trial will be conducted by a Russian military court.
• Putin Says US Military Spending Incomparably Higher Than Russia's Sputnik 20 Jan 2015 -- Moscow is capable to meet challenges posed by other countries without being drawn into an expensive arms race, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.
• Russia to Test Strategic Missile Forces in Unscheduled Drills Sputnik 20 Jan 2015 -- Russia has kicked off its first unannounced drills of the year for the country's Strategic Missile Forces with over 1,200 active duty servicemen in western Siberia, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Igor Egorov said Tuesday.
• Moscow, US End Nuclear Cooperation Program Sputnik 20 Jan 2015 -- Moscow has decided to end its nuclear cooperation program with the US, saying that it no longer needs assistance in safeguarding nuclear sites located in Russia, the Boston Globe reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation.
• Iran, Russia sign military MoU ISNA 20 Jan 2015 -- Iranian and Russian defense ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to boost mutual cooperation on defense and military domains.
• Iran, Russia sign defense-military agreement Iran Press TV 20 Jan 2015 -- Iran and Russia have signed an agreement to improve cooperation in defense and military arenas.
• Russia, Iran Sign Joint Military Cooperation Agreement Sputnik 20 Jan 2015 -- Russia and Iran signed on Tuesday an intergovernmental agreement on military cooperation.
• Iran, Oman to hold joint naval drill: Iran Navy cmdr. Iran Press TV 20 Jan 2015 -- The naval forces of Iran and Oman plan to hold a joint rescue and relief drill in the waters south of Iran in the coming months.
• Chinese, Russian Warplanes Prompt Japan To Scramble Jets At Record Pace RFE/RL 20 Jan 2015 -- Japan says it is scrambling its fighter jets at a record pace to confront Chinese and Russian warplanes in or near its airspace.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for January 20, 2015

Other Conflicts

• 20 January 2015 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 20 Jan 2015
• Yemenis living 'hour to hour' amid power struggle IRIN 20 Jan 2015 -- Muneer Asharby nearly didn't go to work today. It wasn't until after noon that he finally braved the walk. Even so, he kept half of his hardware shop closed in case he needed to make a fast exit.
• Houthis gain full control of Yemen presidential palace Iran Press TV 20 Jan 2015 -- Shia Houthi movement's Ansarullah fighters in Yemen have reportedly gained full control of the presidential palace in the capital, Sana'a.
• Yemen's Hadi, Shia Houthis hold talks after clashes Iran Press TV 20 Jan 2015 -- Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and a Houthi advisor are holding talks, a day after heavy clashes between Shia Houthi movement's Ansarullah fighters and the government forces in the capital Sana'a.
• Two Members of Yemen Presidential Guard Dead in Clashes With Houthi Rebels Sputnik 20 Jan 2015 -- Two members of the Yemeni presidential guard lost their lives, as Houthi rebels captured the presidential palace, Al Arabiya television channel reported Tuesday.
• Yemen Rebels Seize Presidential Complex VOA 20 Jan 2015 -- Houthi rebels in Yemen seized the presidential compound and attacked the president's home Tuesday in Sana'a, in the latest attack targeting leadership in the country.
• UN urges immediate halt to hostilities in Yemen, calls on all sides to abide by commitments UN News Centre 20 Jan 2015 -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his grave concern today about the deteriorating situation in Yemen, calling for an immediate end to all hostilities and the restoration of full authority to legitimate Government institutions.
• ISIL unlawful 'shari'a courts' meting out 'monstrous' punishments, UN warns UN News Centre 20 Jan 2015 -- The United Nations human rights office today confirmed that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has established unlawful, so-called 'shari'a courts' in the territory under its control that have been carrying out cruel and inhuman punishments against men, women and children.
• Israel deploys missile batteries near Lebanon, Syria: Reports Iran Press TV 20 Jan 2015 -- Israel has reportedly deployed batteries of missile interceptors near the borders with Lebanon and Syria as the regime braces for possible retaliation by Hezbollah over a recent deadly Israeli attack on members of the Lebanese resistance movement in Syria.
• Israel Deploys Iron Dome Batteries, Braces for Hezbollah Retaliation Sputnik 20 Jan 2015 -- Israel defense forces are on high alert after Iranian military men and six Hezbollah fighters were killed during the raid on the side of the Golan Heights, controlled by Syria, on Sunday.
• UNHCR: Lebanon's New Syrian Refugee Rules Raise Concern VOA 20 Jan 2015 -- Recent moves by the Lebanese government to control the influx of Syrian refugees have had a "dramatic impact" on the ability of those fleeing the war to enter the country, a senior UNHCR official has claimed.
• IS Sharia Courts in N. Iraq Dispense Cruel Punishments VOA 20 Jan 2015 -- The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights is condemning cruel and inhuman punishments meted out by so-called Sharia courts established by Islamic State militants in northern Iraq. The agency says anyone falling foul of the militants' extremist interpretation of Islam is at risk of being killed.
• New Round of Ukraine Peace Talks Set VOA 20 Jan 2015 -- A new round of peace talks to settle the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine will be held in Berlin Wednesday, Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said as fighting between the warring sides escalated in recent days.
• Moscow rejects new Kiev claims of east Ukraine presence Iran Press TV 20 Jan 2015 -- Russia has denied as 'absolute nonsense' claims by Kiev that Moscow has sent two contingents of its troops into war-ravaged eastern areas of Ukraine.
• Fresh fighting in east Ukraine claims three lives Iran Press TV 20 Jan 2015 -- Fresh fighting has erupted in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russians and government forces, leaving at least three civilians dead.
• Security deteriorating in East Ukraine: OSCE Iran Press TV 20 Jan 2015 -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has warned of a serious deterioration in security in Ukraine's restive eastern regions amid Kiev's latest offensive against pro-Russian forces there.
• Kharkiv Blast Injures 14 As Fighting Rages In Donetsk RFE/RL 20 Jan 2015 -- An explosion near a court house in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has left 14 people wounded, four of them seriously.
• Over 120 Kiev Soldiers Killed in Latest Donbas Clashes, DPR Official Says Sputnik 20 Jan 2015 -- Ukrainian government forces have lost more than 120 soldiers in attacks on positions of Donbas militia in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours, a senior commander of the armed militia in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said Tuesday.
• International Criminal Court to prosecute alleged perpetrator of Uganda war crimes UN News Centre 20 Jan 2015 -- The International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently escorting alleged former rebel leader Dominic Ongwen – against whom it back in 2005 issued an arrest warrant for war crimes committed in Uganda – from the Central African Republic to the court's detention centre in The Hague, Netherlands.
• DR Congo: UN Mission deplores loss of life as police, protesters clash in capital UN News Centre 20 Jan 2015 -- The head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) today condemned the deaths and injuries that occurred when protests turned violent on Monday in the country's capital, Kinshasa.
• Reports on Chinese nationals trapped in Myanmar 'not true': spokeswoman People's Daily 20 Jan 2015 -- A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday that media reports claiming hundreds of Chinese nationals have been trapped in Myanmar due to fighting are incorrect.

News Reports

• Turkey arrests 23 in wire-tapping scandal Iran Press TV 20 Jan 2015 -- Turkey has arrested 23 people for wire-tapping senior government officials including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
• Police crack down on people attempting to leave China to join jihadist organizations People's Daily 20 Jan 2015 -- Chinese police hold two people suspected of illegal border crossing transferred by Vietnamese police in April 2014. Photo: courtesy of CCTV
• German police launch sting operation on terror suspects Iran Press TV 20 Jan 2015 -- Police in Germany have raided more than a dozen residences which have been under the suspicion of acts of terrorism.
• ISIL demands $200m ransom for two Japanese hostages Iran Press TV 20 Jan 2015 -- The Takfiri ISIL terrorist group has threatened to kill two Japanese hostages unless Tokyo pays a 200-million-dollar ransom within 72 hours.
• Japan PM Says IS Hostage Threat 'Unforgivable' RFE/RL 20 Jan 2015 -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said a threat by Islamic State (IS) militants to kill two Japanese hostages is 'unforgivable' and demanded their immediate release.
• Japanese Gov't Vows to Make Every Effort to Release Two IS Hostages Sputnik 20 Jan 2015 -- The Japanese government will make every effort to release two hostages that Islamic State militants have threatened to kill, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary said Tuesday.
• Abe Pledges to Save Japanese Hostages Held by IS, Continue Anti-IS Campaign Sputnik 20 Jan 2015 -- Shinzo Abe, Japans' prime minister, pledged to make every effort to save two Japanese nationals, whom the Islamic State threatened to kill in 72 hours if it does not receive $200 million, the Associated Press reports.
• Japan Demands IS Release Hostages VOA 20 Jan 2015 -- Japan's government vowed not to give in to terrorism after Islamic State militants released a videotaped threat to kill two Japanese citizens held hostage.
• 'No room for complacency' UN officials say, urging vigilance in Ebola fight as West Africa marks progress UN News Centre 20 Jan 2015 -- One year has passed since Ebola began spreading in West Africa, ravaging villages and local economies, and yet, amid dramatic improvements in the three most affected countries, the United Nations can now report progress in the fight against the deadly virus, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today as he urged the global community to help the region regain its footing following the unprecedented outbreak.
• World Bank: worst-affected countries 'crippled' by economic impact of Ebola UN News Centre 20 Jan 2015 -- While the Ebola epidemic shows its first signs of slowing and confidence grows about stopping the outbreak and reaching the target of zero new cases, a new World Bank Group report on economic impacts of the disease says its effects will continue to cripple the economies of hard-hit Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
• UN: African Countries 'Vital' in Fight Against Ebola VOA 20 Jan 2015 -- Sub-Saharan African countries have made relatively small, but "vitally important," contributions towards the fight against Ebola according to the U.N. Mission for Ebola Emergency Response. This includes sending much-needed health care workers and medical supplies, as well as dedicating already-limited resources toward prevention and surveillance measures within their own borders to stop the further spread of the disease.