Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Inherent Resolve Strikes Target ISIS in Syria, Iraq AFPS 26 Mar 2017 -- U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Russia Destroys Last Remaining Supplies of Deadly Chemical Weapon Soman Sputnik 26 Mar 2017 -- Russia's last supplies of the deadly chemical weapon soman have been destroyed, Russia's Federal Administration for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons announced on Saturday.
• Symbolic End: Missile Cruiser 'Ukraine' Being Sold Off for Scrap Metal Sputnik 26 Mar 2017 -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a decree to scrap the unfinished Soviet-era missile cruiser 'Ukrayina' ('Ukraine'), which has been sitting for nearly thirty years at the docks of a shipyard in the port city of Mykolaiv, local media reports. Observers suggest that the decision is highly symbolic.
• Iran's Navy flotilla docks at India's Cochin Port IRNA 26 Mar 2017 -- Iranian Navy flotilla comprising " Tunb" and " Naqdi" warships berthed at Indian port of Cochin.
• US secretly sending strategic weapons to South Korea: Report Press TV 26 Mar 2017 -- The US has been secretly moving strategic weapons to South Korea in order to threaten North Korea, a US military official says, noting that Washington has taken a more aggressive approach towards Pyongyang under President Donald Trump

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• China calls for cooperation mechanism among South China Sea littoral countries People's Daily 26 Mar 2017 -- China on Saturday called on littoral countries of the South China Sea to establish a cooperation mechanism.
• Iran calls for putting an end to bloodshed in Yemen IRNA 26 Mar 2017 -- On the second anniversary of aggression of the so-called coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia against Yemen, Iran's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Sunday to strongly condemn the blatant warmongering and called for putting an end to the devastating war and bloodshed in the country at the earliest.
• Iran urges swift end to Saudi aggression against Yemen Press TV 26 Mar 2017 -- On the second anniversary of Saudi Arabia's brutal military aggression against Yemen, the Iranian Foreign Ministry says war and bloodshed must immediately end in the impoverished country.
• Yemenis rally in Sana'a on 2nd anniversary of Saudi war Press TV 26 Mar 2017 -- Thousands of Yemenis have poured out into the streets of the capital Sana'a to mark the second anniversary of the brutal Saudi war, which has left a massive trail of death and devastation across the impoverished Arab state.
• Houthi Addicted to Mass Massacres against Armless Yemenis SPA 26 Mar 2017 -- The Yemeni National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) concluded that the Houthi militia and the ousted Saleh forces carried out mass massacres against unarmed civilians, in several Yemeni governorates, by indiscriminately shelling residential compounds and open markets with artillery, mortars and Katyusha rockets.
• Yemeni Pro-Houthi Court Sentences Country's President to Death Sputnik 26 Mar 2017 -- Yemeni ambassador to the United States Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak said that a court in Yemeni capital city of Sanaa, controlled by the Houthi movement, sentenced the country's President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and six other top government's officials to death.
• Residents warned of catastrophic dam failure in northern Syria Press TV 26 Mar 2017 -- Members of the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group have ordered the residents of their major urban stronghold in Syria to immediately evacuate the city of Raqqah, warning of imminent flash floods that could submerge countless settlements on the banks of Euphrates River due to failure in Tabqa Dam.
• France's optimism on Raqqah recapture far from reality: Russia Press TV 26 Mar 2017 -- Russia has rejected the US-led coalition's "rosy forecasts" on surrounding and swiftly retaking the Syrian city of Raqqah from Daesh, saying any such victory could only be achieved through concerted cooperation among all parties fighting terror in the Arab state.
• SDF Units Liberate Airport Near Syrian Tabqa From Daesh on Way to Raqqa Sputnik 26 Mar 2017 -- SDF reportedly pushed Sunday the militants of Daesh terrorist group out of the military airport, located near the Syrian city of Tabqa.
• Syria's Biggest Dam Partially Collapses Due to SDF-Daesh Fight Near Raqqa Sputnik 26 Mar 2017 -- Syria's largest Tabqa Dam located on the Euphrates river partially has collapsed on Sunday as a result of the fighting between armed units of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and militants of Daesh near the city of Raqqa.
• We Mean Business: Syria Will Fire Scuds at Israel in Response to Airstrikes Sputnik 26 Mar 2017 -- The Syrian government has announced that it will retaliate should Israel continue to conduct airstrikes on Syrian territory.
• Iraq investigates fatal US-led airstrikes in western Mosul Press TV 26 Mar 2017 -- Iraqi officials have launched an investigation into two airstrikes by the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group that claimed the lives of more than 200 people in the country's northern city of Mosul last week.
• Iraq, US Investigate Scores of Civilian Deaths in Mosul VOA 26 Mar 2017 -- The Iraqi military is casting doubt on reports that U.S.-led coalition airstrikes killed as many as 100 civilians sheltered earlier this month in a building in the contested city of Mosul, citing new evidence it says shows Islamic State militants rigged the site with explosives.
• UN appalled at killing of aid workers in South Sudan UN News 26 Mar 2017 -- Six aid workers from a national non-governmental organization were killed when their convoy was ambushed yesterday while travelling along the Government-controlled area on the Juba-Pibor road, the United Nations mission in the country (UNMISS) has said.
• IGAD Leaders to Help Send Refugees Back Home VOA 26 Mar 2017 -- The leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development regional grouping, meeting in Nairobi Saturday, agreed to facilitate the voluntary return of refugees and address the political and security situation in Somalia.

News Reports

• Pro-West Party Of Ex-Bulgarian PM Tops Vote; Socialists Concede RFE/RL 26 Mar 2017 -- Partial official results in Bulgaria have given the pro-Western party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov apparent victory in national parliamentary elections, and the pro-Russia Socialists have conceded defeat.
• Pro-Europe Party Wins Bulgaria Elections, Socialists Yield VOA 26 Mar 2017 -- The leader of Bulgaria's Socialist party has conceded defeat after exit polls showed her party placing second in the parliamentary election held Sunday.
• Navalny, Hundreds Of Others Detained At Anticorruption Rallies Across Russia RFE/RL 26 Mar 2017 -- Police detained anticorruption activist Aleksei Navalny as hundreds were arrested and thousands rallied in cities across Russia in the largest public demonstrations the country has seen in years.
• Russian Police Arrest Opposition Leader Navalny at Moscow Protest VOA 26 Mar 2017 -- Russian protesters have demonstrated by the thousands in cities across the country in support of a call by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny for accountability among Russian elite. Over a hundred people were detained around Moscow's Pushkin square, including Navalny, for protesting without permission.
• Russian Opposition Figure Navalny Detained in Moscow Amid Unlicensed Protest Sputnik 26 Mar 2017 -- Detention of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny took place in the center of Moscow during an unauthorized protest against corruption, according to a lawyer for Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation.
• In reciprocal act, Iran sanctions 15 American companies IRNA 26 Mar 2017 -- The Islamic Republic of Iran, in response to Washington's imposition of new sanctions against Tehran, has put 15 American companies under sanctions.
• Iran announces sanctions on 15 US companies Press TV 26 Mar 2017 -- Iran has announced retaliatory sanctions on 15 American companies over their support for Israeli crimes and terrorism two days after Washington imposed bans on nearly a dozen foreign companies or individuals for aiding the Islamic Republic.
• North Korea vows preemptive strike against South, US Press TV 26 Mar 2017 -- North Korea has condemned a joint military drill between South Korea and the United States and threatened a preemptive strike.
• Hong Kong's New Chief Exec Pledges to Unite a Divided Society VOA 26 Mar 2017 -- Hong Kong has selected Carrie Lam to be the city's first-ever female chief executive, sealing an election that many saw as a foregone conclusion and not a democratic race.
• Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor elected as Hong Kong's new chief executive People's Daily 26 Mar 2017 -- Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Sunday won the election of the fifth-term chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR).
• China favorite elected Hong Kong's new leader Press TV 26 Mar 2017 -- Former senior government official Carrie Lam has been elected Hong Kong's next leader by a 1,200-person committee amid competing rallies held outside the election venue over China's rule.
• In 'one country,' China can open market wider to Taiwan: negotiator CNA 26 Mar 2017 -- China's top negotiator with Taiwan said Sunday that there will be a problem for Beijing to unilaterally open the Chinese market to Taiwan since both are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
• Bill to monitor cross-strait pacts crucial: Chinese official CNA 26 Mar 2017 -- China's top negotiator with Taiwan said Sunday that a draft bill on monitoring agreements between the two sides should be passed in Taiwan's Legislature as soon as possible so that bilateral negotiations on a pending trade pact can resume.
• Heavy Riot Police Presence In Minsk Following Crackdown RFE/RL 25 Mar 2017 -- Riot police deployed in force in the Belarusian capital, preventing protesters from holding a rally one day after a violent crackdown that activists said saw hundreds of people arrested and many beaten.
• Iran dismisses Turkey's claims as justification for its expansionist policies Press TV 26 Mar 2017 -- Iran has dismissed the recent "unacceptable and unjustifiable" remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against Tehran, saying Ankara is leveling accusations against other countries to justify its expansionist policies.
• Erdogan says Turkey may hold referendum for EU accession Press TV 26 Mar 2017 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says a second referendum may be held after the April constitutional reforms vote over the continuing of EU accession talks.