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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• US-Led Coalition Admits Killing About 940 Civilians in Operations in Syria, Iraq Sputnik 28 Jun 2018 -- Strikes carried out by the US-led coalition fighting against the Daesh* terrorist group in Iraq and Syria have claimed the lives of more than 930 civilians since August 2014, Operation Inherent Resolve's Combined Joint Task Force said in a report on Thursday.
• Taliban Raid Kills 16 Afghan Forces Near Tajik Border VOA 28 Jun 2018 -- Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan have attacked and killed at least 16 government troops in the northeastern border province of Takhar.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Readout of Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis' Meeting with China's Central Military Commission Vice Chairman General Xu Qiliang DoD 28 Jun 2018
• Remarks by Secretary Mattis with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo in South Korea Prior to Bilateral Meeting DoD 28 Jun 2018 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis
• US says has 'ironclad' commitment to South Korea's security Press TV 28 Jun 2018 -- US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says the United States has an "ironclad" commitment to South Korea's security and will maintain its current number of troops on the Korean Peninsula, despite the suspension of some joint military drills with Seoul.
• US to Keep Current Number of Troops in South Korea - Defense Secretary Sputnik 28 Jun 2018 -- The United States will keep its current level of troops in South Korea in order to maintain Washington's defense commitment to its Asian ally, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday, as quoted by South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
• Navy Reestablishes Sailor Early Return-to-Sea Policy NNS 28 Jun 2018 -- In an effort to fill critical billets at sea, the Navy announced June 27 that it has increased detailers' authority to transfer Sailors from their shore duty assignment earlier than their projected rotation date (PRD).
• CNO Visits Denmark NNS 28 Jun 2018 -- Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson visited Denmark to strengthen maritime partnerships and international relationships, June. 27-28.
• Trident Shield 18 Tests Mississippi's Domestic Operations Response AFPS 28 Jun 2018 -- In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina swept through the entire state of Mississippi, finally decreasing to a tropical storm as it entered Tennessee. Its passing left 238 Mississippians dead, all 82 counties were officially declared disaster areas, and many coastal towns were simply obliterated.
• DHS Requests DoD House Up to 12,000 Migrants AFPS 28 Jun 2018 -- The Defense Department has received a request for assistance from the Department of Homeland Security to house and care for an alien family population of up to 12,000 people, defense officials announced yesterday. DHS requests that DoD identify any available facilities that could be used for that purpose.
• Army fields disaster comms systems to National Guard as 2018 hurricane season begins Army News 28 Jun 2018 -- June marks the start of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, and U.S. states and territories are keeping an eye to the sky as they continue to rebuild in the wake of last year's string of devastating storms.
• US military plans to install $1bn missile defense radar in Hawaii Press TV 28 Jun 2018 -- The US military is planning to install a massive radar that officials say is designed to identify missile attacks against the US mainland.
• Naval Oceanography Teams Up with Poland, Norway during BALTOPS 2018 NNS 28 Jun 2018 -- Naval Oceanography's Fleet Survey Team (FST) and Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center (NOMWC) recently returned from Exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS), where they executed safety of navigation and mine countermeasure operations in an effort to enhance interoperability with European allies.
• Joint Statement by the Foreign Ministers of the Depositary Governments for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons US Dept. of State 28 Jun 2018 -- The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of The United States of America, The United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation.
• NATO Secretary General meets European leaders at EU Council in Brussels NATO 28 Jun 2018 -- Arriving at the European Council on Thursday (28 June 2018) the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he will be discussing NATO-EU cooperation with European leaders. He highlighted that NATO-EU cooperation is making a lot of progress and that both organisations are working together on migration, tackling the root causes and helping to stabilise the neighbourhood, including by training local forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
• Joint Statement on the Second U.S.-Japan Pacific Dialogue US Dept. of State 28 Jun 2018 -- The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and Japan on the occasion of the second U.S.-Japan Pacific Dialogue.
• Xi meets with U.S. Secretary of Defense People's Daily 28 Jun 2018 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday met with visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis in Beijing.
• Plans in place to build China's first nuclear ice breaker People's Daily 28 Jun 2018 -- Bids have opened for the construction of China's first nuclear powered ice breaker.
• Big Bang: Missile Reportedly Explodes Onboard German Frigate Sputnik 28 Jun 2018 -- Luckily, there were no serious injuries to the sailors onboard the vessel, but the ship itself has suffered significant damage, according to a task group commander.
• Israel Holds Iran Missile Strike Simulations at its Nuclear Reactors – Reports Sputnik 28 Jun 2018 -- The Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) has been working to boost security of the Dimona and Nahal Sorek nuclear reactors against possible missile strikes from Iran and Lebanon-based Hezbollah, Haaretz reported.
• Over 10,000 troops from nine nations ready to meet global challenges UK MOD 28 Jun 2018 -- Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson today signed the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) Comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding alongside counterparts from the eight partner nations.
• OPCW gains power to assign guilt for chemical attacks after UK proposal Press TV 28 Jun 2018 -- The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has gained new powers to apportion blame for attacks under a Britain-drafted proposal despite opposition from Russia, which argues the move goes beyond the mandate of the watchdog.
• OPCW Members Agree to Expand Its Role to Attributing Blame for Chemical Attacks Sputnik 28 Jun 2018 -- Members of Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have approved the UK-tabled draft motion expanding the organization's powers to assign responsibility for chemical weapons attacks.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for June 23, 2018

Other Conflicts

• 28 June 2018 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 28 Jun 2018
• UN: 10,000 Children Killed, Maimed in Conflicts Worldwide in 2017 VOA 28 Jun 2018 -- More than 10,000 children were killed or maimed last year in armed conflicts around the world, a U.N. report said this week.
• Beijing Takes South China Sea Issue Off the Table in Relations With US Sputnik 28 Jun 2018 -- China won't give up "even one inch" of lands it inherited from its ancestors. This is what Chinese President Xi Jinping explicitly stated in his negotiations with US Defense Secretary James Mattis.
• De-escalation of fighting in Hodeida is key to 'long-overdue' restart of Yemen peace talks: UN envoy UN News 28 Jun 2018 -- "Events on the battlefield" are the main spoiler to the peace process in Yemen, but political negotiations are the top overall priority for resolving the conflict, according to the UN's envoy for the country, speaking exclusively to UN News.
• Malaysia withdrawing troops from Saudi-led military coalition: Defense minister Press TV 28 Jun 2018 -- Malaysia says it is pulling its troops out of the Saudi-led military coalition, which has been relentlessly pounding impoverished Yemen in an imposed war for the past three years.
• Syrian army takes key town amid new advances in southwest Press TV 28 Jun 2018 -- Syrian troops have regained control of al-Harak town in Dara'a Province from Takfiri terrorists as the government widens a major offensive against foreign-backed militants in the troubled southwest.
• 13 warplanes, 1,140 Russian troopers withdrawn from Syria over past few days: Putin Press TV 28 Jun 2018 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country has pulled out 1,140 military personnel and 27 aircraft from war-ravaged Syria during the past few days.
• Putin Says Russia Withdrew Many Troops, Aircraft From Syria RFE/RL 28 Jun 2018 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin says more than 1,000 military personnel and dozens of aircraft have been withdrawn from Syria over the past several days.
• Syrian Army Liberates City of Al Hrak in Daraa Province - Source Sputnik 28 Jun 2018 -- The Syrian army liberated the city of Al Hrak as well as a number other settlements in the southwestern province of Daraa, a source in the Syrian army told Sputnik on Thursday.
• French Firm Charged With Complicity in Crimes Against Humanity in Syria - Source Sputnik 28 Jun 2018 -- Lafarge is a French industrial company specializing in three major products: cement, construction aggregates, and concrete. Between 2013 and 2014, the company's Jalabiya plant operated on Daesh*-controlled territories in northern Syria.
• Hostilities in Syria's southwest, mean cuts in vital aid across Jordanian border: Senior UN official UN News 28 Jun 2018 -- Escalating conflict in Syria's southwest has cut vital cross-border aid deliveries from neighbouring Jordan, a senior United Nations official said on Thursday, in an appeal to warring parties to halt the fighting immediately.
• UN Calls for Immediate End to Fighting in SW Syria VOA 28 Jun 2018 -- A senior U.N. official is calling for an immediate end to the fighting in Daraa and Quneitra in southwest Syria as tens of thousands of civilians flee for their lives.
• Over 15,000 Syrians held captive by terrorist groups IRNA 28 Jun 2018 -- Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced on Wednesday that over 15,000 Syrians are currently being held captive by Daesh terrorist group.
• South Sudan 'revitalized' peace deal must be inclusive, Security Council hears UN News 28 Jun 2018 -- Although recent engagement between the main political rivals in South Sudan is a welcome development, ending the country's long-standing conflict will only be achieved by addressing its root causes and ensuring women, youth and other sectors contribute to peace efforts.
• At UN, South Sudan Cease-fire Welcomed With Cautious Optimism VOA 28 Jun 2018 -- African countries on the U.N. Security Council welcomed Thursday the signing of a permanent cease-fire between South Sudan's president and his former vice president, but they expressed concern that, like previous agreements, it may not last.
• Ethiopia, Eritrean Leaders to Meet for First Time in Nearly Two Decades VOA 28 Jun 2018 -- The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea have agreed to meet for the first time in nearly 20 years, a surprising sign of a diplomatic thaw between the neighboring northeast African nations.
• UN chief welcomes 'first concrete step' in normalizing Eritrea-Ethiopia relationship UN News 28 Jun 2018 -- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the high-level visit of a delegation from Eritrea to neighbouring Ethiopia which began on Tuesday, as "a first concrete step" in the process of normalizing relations between the two countries.
• Did The Army That Gave Birth To Yugoslavia Also Destroy It? RFE/RL 28 Jun 2018 -- The conclusions of a new study out of Belgrade on the role of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) in the Balkan wars of the 1990s include one finding that might shock some readers. The Center for Humanitarian Law in the Serbian capital appears to be saying that the army that gave birth to Yugoslavia eventually also destroyed it.

News Reports

• Trump-Putin Summit Set for Helsinki on July 16 VOA 28 Jun 2018 -- U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will hold their first formal summit July 16 in Helsinki.
• Statement from the Press Secretary on a Bilateral Meeting Between the United States and Russia The White House 28 Jun 2018
• Putin-Trump Summit Set For Helsinki On July 16 RFE/RL 28 Jun 2018 -- The first summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will be held on July 16 in Helsinki, the Kremlin and the White House have said in synchronized announcements.
• Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Moscow, June 28, 2018 Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 28 Jun 2018
• U.S. House Republicans Shout Down No. 2 Justice Official On Russia Probe RFE/RL 28 Jun 2018 -- Congressional allies of Donald Trump shouted attacks at a top U.S. Justice Department official over an inquiry about possible collusion between the president's 2016 campaign and Russia, telling him to "finish it the hell up."
• Trump Ex-Campaign Chairman 'Got Loan' From Russian Billionaire RFE/RL 28 Jun 2018 -- Newly released court filings reveal that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort received a $10 million loan from Kremlin-connected Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, Reuters reports.
• Senior State Department Official on the 2018 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report US Dept. of State 28 Jun 2018 -- Special Briefing by Senior State Department Official
• Russia, Belarus, Iran, Turkmenistan Among 'Worst Human Traffickers' RFE/RL 28 Jun 2018 -- In a new report, the U.S. State Department says Belarus, Iran, Russia, and Turkmenistan remain among the worst offenders of human trafficking and forced labor.
• Talks of Inter-Korean Panel for Cooperation in Roads Held KCNA 28 Jun 2018 -- The talks of inter-Korean panel for cooperation in roads were held at the Thongil House in the north side's portion of Panmunjom on Thursday under the agreement reached at north-south high-level talks for implementing the historic Panmunjom Declaration.
• Pyongyang and Seoul Move to Refurbish Roads, Railways Connecting Two Koreas Sputnik 28 Jun 2018 -- The two countries pursued the construction of a road, that would allow driving from Seoul all the way to Pyongyang in 2015, but the project was tabled in 2016 when tensions on the peninsula escalated.
• US, S Korea Say UN Sanctions on Pyongyang to Be Kept Until Full Denuclearization Sputnik 28 Jun 2018 -- US Defense Minister Jim Mattis and his South Korean counterpart Song Young-moo said in a joint statement on Thursday that the international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang should be kept until North Korea's full denuclearization.
• UN Security Council members call for JCPOA full implementation IRNA 28 Jun 2018 -- Nearly all members of the United Nations Security Council called for full implementation of the July 2015 nuclear deal, Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the UN said here on Wednesday afternoon.
• Iran: US must be held accountable for withdrawal from JCPOA IRNA 28 Jun 2018 -- The United States must be held accountable for the consequences of its reckless and wrongful act of withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached between Iran and G5+1 (US, UK, France, Russia, China plus Germany) in 2015.
• Iran, Russia rap UN for failing to mention US violations in report on JCPOA Press TV 28 Jun 2018 -- Iran and Russia have sharply criticized the UN Secretariat for failing to address the US's brazen violations of international law and bringing up, instead, irrelevant issues in its latest assessment of the situation surrounding the 2015 nuclear deal following Washington's withdrawal.
• Turkey Says It Won't Honor U.S. Demand To Stop Buying Iran's Oil RFE/RL 28 Jun 2018 -- Turkey has said that it does not plan to honor a U.S. call for countries to stop importing oil from Iran, calling the demand "not binding" on Ankara.
• Tehran, Washington Trade Blame For Iran's Deepening Economic Woes RFE/RL 28 Jun 2018 -- Iranian President Hassan Rohani in a fiery speech has blamed Washington for the country's deepening economic problem, while nearly two-thirds of Iran's legislators issued a letter demanding that he change his own economic management team.
• Washington Pushes UN to Punish Iran for 'Malign Behavior' Sputnik 28 Jun 2018 -- The United States wants to work with the UN Security Council on sanctions against Iran, who it suspects of "malign" actions in the region, the US deputy envoy said.
• China 'monitoring US legislation on inbound investments' Press TV 28 Jun 2018 -- China's Commerce Ministry says it is carefully monitoring new US legislation that would restrict Chinese investment in America but that is meant to do so through a less confrontational attitude.
• Another American Confirmed Hurt by Mystery Attack in Cuba VOA 28 Jun 2018 -- One more U.S. Embassy employee in Havana has been affected by mysterious health incidents, the State Department said.
• Iraqi lawmakers will not support parliament term extension beyond Saturday: Sunni lawmaker Press TV 28 Jun 2018 -- A senior member of the Iraqi parliament says lawmakers will not support an extension of the term of the legislature until after a recount of votes from a recent parliamentary election is complete.
• Pakistan Added To Watch List On Global Terror Financing RFE/RL 28 Jun 2018 -- A global money-laundering watchdog will place Pakistan back on its terrorism financing "grey" monitoring list to pressure Islamabad to halt alleged support for militant groups, Pakistani officials say.
• Pakistan Confirms Place on Terror-Financing Watch List VOA 28 Jun 2018 -- Pakistan on Thursday confirmed it had been placed on the Financial Action Task Force's "gray list" over its alleged failure to choke off terror financing, although the global financial watchdog has not yet announced the decision.
• U.S. Reportedly Withholding Funding For New UN Counterterrorism Office RFE/RL 28 Jun 2018 -- The United States is withholding $2 million in promised funding for the United Nations Counterterrorism Office in the latest move by the White House to push for reform of the world body, media reports say.
• 'Agile', multilateral response vital to combat terrorism - UN chief Guterres UN News 28 Jun 2018 -- The complex and evolving nature of terrorism necessitates a response that is as agile and multifaceted as the threat itself, the United Nations Secretary-General said on Thursday.
• Turkey's Erdogan, alliance partner agree to lift state of emergency: Report Press TV 28 Jun 2018 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his alliance partner have agreed not to extend the controversial state of emergency, which has been in place since the 2016 abortive coup and will expire next month.
• U.S. Calls Move To Void Chisinau Mayoral Vote A 'Threat To Democracy' RFE/RL 28 Jun 2018 -- The "nontransparent" decision by Moldova's Supreme Court to uphold the invalidation of the mayoral election in the capital, Chisinau, represents a "threat to democracy" in the the country, the U.S. State Department warns.
• Baltic States, Poland To Link Power Grids To EU, End Russian Reliance RFE/RL 28 Jun 2018 -- The Baltic states and Poland have signed an agreement to connect their power grids to the European Union network by 2025 in a bid to end their dependence on Russia dating back to the Soviet era.
• EU Summit To Discuss Migration, Brexit, Eurozone Reform RFE/RL 28 Jun 2018 -- EU leaders are meeting in Brussels on June 28-29 to discuss some of the 28-member bloc's most pressing issues, including the long-standing debate over migration, trade, the eurozone, and the negotiations for Britain's leaving the European Union in March 2019 - the so-called Brexit process.