Further Reading

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Military Strikes Continue Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq AFPS 30 Jul 2016 -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
• Dunford Arrives in Baghdad for Counter-ISIL Talks AFPS 30 Jul 2016 -- Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford arrived here today for talks with Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve leaders on the status of the counter-ISIL campaign.
• One killed, 5 injured as blast hits Afghanistan's Herat Press TV 30 Jul 2016 -- An explosion has rocked Afghanistan's western city of Herat, leaving one civilian dead and five others, including a police force member, wounded.
• Taliban Captures District in Helmand Province VOA 30 Jul 2016 -- Afghan officials and Taliban sources in Afghanistan confirmed the Islamist insurgency has overrun another district in the southern Helmand province, which borders Pakistan.

Defense Policy / Programs

• USS Boxer Visits Singapore NNS 30 Jul 2016 -- The amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) moored at Changi Naval Base, Singapore, July 30 for a port visit.
• USS Carney Aids in Rescue of 97 Migrants in Mediterranean Sea NNS 30 Jul 2016 -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) aided in the rescue of 97 migrants adrift in the Mediterranean Sea, July 29.
• US military aircraft landed on Russian airfield: Pentagon Press TV 30 Jul 2016 -- The Pentagon says a US military aircraft has had an emergency landing in a Russian airstrip near the Chinese border because of landing gear malfunction.
• World order in 2035: US could lose ability for global dominance, DoD paper says RT 30 Jul 2016 -- By 2035, the US could find itself in an environment where Russia or China may match or even exceed the West’s military and economic might in some areas, taking advantage of a “disordered and contested world,” the Pentagon’s research unit said.
• Russia's military resurgence impressive: NATO Press TV 30 Jul 2016 -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) says the Russian army has achieved "impressive" progress in recent years to become "a very serious adversary" to the military bloc and the United States.
• China to Begin Building First Domestically-Sourced Icebreaker at End of 2016 Sputnik 30 Jul 2016 -- China will begin construction of its first domestically manufactured icebreaker at the end of 2016, bringing the total number of these vessels to two, local media reported Saturday citing Jiangnan Shipyard Co.
• China Headlines: Xi brings strength, integrity to Chinese armed forces People's Daily 30 Jul 2016 -- Over three and a half years ago, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, announced his dream of building a strong army, an idea that has since been the basis of all work concerning military affairs.
• Russia, China slam US plan to station missile system in South Korea Press TV 30 Jul 2016 -- Russia and China have voiced worries about the planned deployment of an advanced US missile system to the Korean Peninsula, saying that such a move poses a threat to security in the already tense region.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Yemeni peace talks extended for another week - UN envoy UN News 30 Jul 2016 -- With all eyes on Yemeni peace negotiations, the United Nations envoy for the country announced today that the UN-supported talks under way in Kuwait have been extended for an additional week.
• UN envoy urges Yemeni parties to pursue peace talks Press TV 30 Jul 2016 -- The United Nations special envoy to Yemen has called on the Yemeni warring parties to pursue UN-brokered peace talks in Kuwait for another week.
• Militia blow up Sufi tomb in south Yemen Press TV 30 Jul 2016 -- Saudi-backed militiamen in Yemen have destroyed the centuries-old mausoleum of a Sufi Muslim in the southwest of the country.
• UN Seeks Extension of Faltering Yemen Peace Talks VOA 30 Jul 2016 -- A special U.N. envoy asked Yemen's warring parties to extend peace negotiations for another week, after the Sana'a government said Saturday that it would withdraw from the talks.
• Russia to open 4 more humanitarian corridors out of Syria' Aleppo Press TV 30 Jul 2016 -- Russia has announced that four additional "humanitarian corridors" will be opened for Syrian civilians to leave the besieged city of Aleppo.
• Several militants surrender in E Aleppo, turn in arms Press TV 30 Jul 2016 -- A number of militants operating in the eastern areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo have laid down their weapons and surrendered themselves to government troops, who are making more gains in the embattled province.
• Russia Denies Plan To Seize Syria's Aleppo After Civilian Evacuation RFE/RL 30 Jul 2016 -- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov denied allegations that Russia and Syria are preparing to storm Syria's Aleppo after clearing civilians out of the city under the guise of a humanitarian operation.
• Civilians Flee Syria's Aleppo as Battle for Manbij Continues VOA 30 Jul 2016 -- Syrian state media report dozens of families have been fleeing the besieged city Aleppo after government forces opened a humanitarian corridor. The city had been sealed off for weeks as Syrian forces bombarded the city. U.N. officials and aid groups have demanded the Syrian government open routes to the city for aid deliveries, warning the estimated 300,000 people there are facing dire food shortages.
• Aide to Daesh leader slain in Iraq airstrike Press TV 30 Jul 2016 -- A close aide to the leader of the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group has been killed along with 12 senior figures from the terror outfit in an Iraqi airstrike in a town in Iraq's embattled western province of al-Anbar.
• Turkish forces 'foil PKK raid, kill 35 militants' Press TV 30 Jul 2016 -- Turkish forces say they have killed 35 militants with a separatist Kurdish militant group who attempted to storm a military base in southeastern Turkey.
• OSCE: Monitors In Eastern Ukraine Threatened At Gunpoint By Separatists RFE/RL 30 Jul 2016 -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says members of its monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine have been threatened at gunpoint near a village in the Donetsk region.
• Indian MPs Warn Government to Take Chinese Military Incursion Seriously Sputnik 30 Jul 2016 -- While India's Defense Minister has described Chinese troops' latest intrusion into Uttarakhand as merely a "transgression", members of parliament have warned that the matter should not be taken lightly.
• Philippine President Declares End of Unilateral Ceasefire With Leftist Rebels Sputnik 30 Jul 2016 -- President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte announced on Saturday the end of his unilateral ceasefire with NPA.

News Reports

• Erdogan announces closing of all military academies following coup Press TV 30 Jul 2016 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says from now on all military commanders will report directly to the country's defense minister and that all military academies will be closed.
• Erdogan Plans to Close All Military Schools, Create National Defense University Sputnik 30 Jul 2016 -- Erdogan announced that all Turkish military schools will be closed and a national defense university will be established on their basis.
• Turkey Releases Over 800 Soldiers After Failed Coup RFE/RL 30 Jul 2016 -- Turkish courts have released over 800 enlisted conscripts who were under arrest as part of the investigation into the July 15 failed coup, state media has reported.
• Turkey Suspends 60 Workers at Nation's Highest Court VOA 30 Jul 2016 -- Turkey continued its government crackdown in the wake of the July 15 failed military coup with the suspension Saturday of 60 Constitutional Court employees.
• Officer killed, 73 people injured in Armenia clashes Press TV 30 Jul 2016 -- One police officer was shot dead and more than 70 people were injured in new clashes between Armenian police and supporters of gunmen who have been barricaded in a police station in the capital Yerevan for the past two weeks.
• Armenian Police Officer Shot Dead In Yerevan Standoff RFE/RL 30 Jul 2016 -- Authorities say an Armenian police officer has been shot dead in an ongoing standoff with opposition gunmen barricaded inside a police station in the capital, Yerevan.
• IAEA denies leaking confidential info on Iran nuclear program Press TV 30 Jul 2016 -- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has denied leaking confidential information about Iran's nuclear program.
• China puts $46 billion into Africa's economy People's Daily 30 Jul 2016 -- Beijing's cooperation with Africa has been dominated by commercial deals instead of aid in the past, with $46 billion in direct Chinese investment and commercial loans having been signed since December, Chinese officials said.t
• Hong Kong Bars Pro-independence Politician From Upcoming Poll VOA 30 Jul 2016 -- A top pro-independence politician in Hong Kong has been barred from running in the territory's September legislative elections.
• Russia's Putin Visits Slovenia Amid Simmering Tensions With West RFE/RL 30 Jul 2016 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun a visit to the small Balkan state of Slovenia amid tensions between Moscow and the West over the Kremlin's role in Ukraine.
• Russia Says Malware Found in 20 of Country's Computer Networks VOA 30 Jul 2016 -- Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that the computer networks of about 20 Russian organizations, government agencies and defense contractors have been infected with malware designed for cyber espionage.