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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Fighting Still Raging in Afghan City of Ghazni VOA 12 Aug 2018 -- Sporadic clashes raged for a third day Sunday for the control of Afghanistan's southeastern city of Ghanzi amid conflicting claims about whether the government or the Taliban insurgency controlled key installations.
• Taliban militants attempt to seize Afghanistan's Ghazni Press TV 12 Aug 2018 -- The Taliban militants have attacked the police headquarters and other government buildings in Ghazni amid their threats to seize control of the eastern Afghan city.
• Uzbekistan confirms meetings with Taliban reps Press TV 12 Aug 2018 -- Representatives from Afghanistan's Taliban militant group have held talks with senior officials in Uzbekistan, reportedly discussing a range of issues including transport, power lines, and the prospect of peace in war-torn Afghanistan.
• Rape, Forced Marriages, And Child Soldiers -- Life Under Islamic State In Afghanistan RFE/RL 12 Aug 2018 -- Clad in a dusty blue burqa and clutching a piece of stale bread, Khaleda cowers in front of her three wailing young children in a makeshift refugee camp in northern Afghanistan.
• Taliban, Afghan Forces 'Continue To Battle' For Key City RFE/RL 12 Aug 2018 -- The battle for the eastern Afghan city of Ghazni has continued into the evening for a third day as government forces and Taliban fighters engage in intense clashes, reports say.
• Afghan Electoral Body Seeks To Bar 35 Candidates Over Alleged Ties To Armed Groups RFE/RL 12 Aug 2018 -- Afghanistan's top electoral body has recommended barring 35 candidates from running in the upcoming parliamentary polls after it alleged they had links to armed groups.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Mattis: 'I Was Not Against Setting up a Space Force' VOA 12 Aug 2018 -- Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said he was not against establishing a sixth branch of the military for space when he wrote Congress about it last year.
• Press Gaggle by Secretary Mattis En Route to Brasilia DoD 12 Aug 2018 -- Presenter: Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Saudi side agrees to new Yemen talks amid backlashes Press TV 12 Aug 2018 -- The UN special envoy to Yemen says warring sides in the most impoverished Arab nation will meet in Geneva next month to discuss a transitional governance deal.
• Syrian army in control of borders of Sweida desert IRNA 12 Aug 2018 -- Syrian Army units, in cooperation with the supporting forces, expanded control over new areas in Sweida eastern Badiyah (desert) after engaging in violent clashes with Daesh (ISIS) terrorists, SANA reported.
• Syrian Army takes control of Sweida borders IRNA 12 Aug 2018 -- Army units, in cooperation with the supporting forces, expanded control over new areas in Sweida eastern Badiyah (desert) after engaging in violent clashes with Daesh (ISIS) terrorists, Syrian Arab New Agency (SANA) reported.
• Syria army destroys terrorists' hotbeds in Hama IRNA 12 Aug 2018 -- Army units on Sunday carried out precise strikes against gatherings and supply routes of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists and the affiliated groups in Hama northern countryside, Syrian media 'SANA' reported.
• Syria militants forming 'army' with Turkish support Press TV 12 Aug 2018 -- Turkish-backed militants in Syria are reportedly creating a "national army" with Ankara's support in the Arab country's northwest.
• Syrian Rebel Enclave Threatens Turkish Syria Conflict VOA 12 Aug 2018 -- Russian and Turkish foreign ministers are set to hold talks Monday in Ankara focusing on the looming crisis over the rebel-controlled Syrian Idlib enclave, which threatens to become a military flashpoint between Turkish and Syrian forces. The crisis threatens to derail deepening Russian-Turkish ties.
• Security forces neutralize 'most wanted' PKK terrorist in eastern Turkey Press TV 12 Aug 2018 -- Turkish security forces have killed a prominent member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group during a counter-terrorism operation, supported by fighter jets, in the country's eastern province of Tunceli.
• Monitor Posts Video Of Truck Convoys Between Russia, Eastern Ukraine RFE/RL 11 Aug 2018 -- The official European monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine has for the first time posted video footage showing convoys of trucks crossing from Russia into Ukraine and from Ukraine into Russia through a back road that has no border guards.
• Egypt's police kill 12 suspected terrorists in northern Sinai: Ministry Press TV 12 Aug 2018 -- Egyptian police forces have killed 12 suspected members of a terror outfit affiliated to the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in the north of the Sinai Peninsula during an intense gunfight in the region, the interior ministry says.
• Rumors, Misinformation Swirl After Federal, Regional Forces Clash in Ethiopia VOA 12 Aug 2018 -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Saturday that Ethiopia would remain a unified country, despite what he characterized as "a lot of people talking" about secession with divisive rhetoric and false accusations.

News Reports

• Five States Sign Convention On Caspian Legal Status RFE/RL 12 Aug 2018 -- Meeting in the Kazakh port city of Aqtau, the leaders of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have signed a new convention on the legal status of the resource-rich Caspian Sea -- a matter disputed between the five neighbors for more than 20 years.
• 'Milestone event': Five states sign historic deal on status of Caspian Sea RT 12 Aug 2018-- Vladimir Putin attended the Caspian Sea summit in Kazakhstan which he said has "milestone" significance. There five littoral powers finally made a breakthrough on trade, security and environment following 20 years of talks.
• Caspian Summit ends IRNA 12 Aug 2018 -- The 5th Caspian Summit ended in Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Sunday.
• Some 90% of Caspian Sea legal regime convention finalized IRNA 12 Aug 2018 -- Some 90% of the Caspian Sea legal regime convention has been finalized which will be signed in Aktau, Iranian Foreign Ministry's Center for Public Diplomacy and Media Affairs said in a statement on Sunday.
• Caspian Sea, sea of peace, solidarity IRNA 12 Aug 2018 -- Presidents of five Caspian littoral states in a joint statement announced that the Caspian Sea is the sea of peace, good neighborliness and effective international cooperation.
• President Rouhani: Caspian Sea is Sea of peace, friendship IRNA 12 Aug 2018 -- President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday that all should endeavor to turn Caspian Sea to Sea of peace and friendship to broaden relations and cooperation amongst Caspian Sea littoral states.
• Caspian Littoral States agree to continue dialog on delimitation, shares of sea, resources ISNA 12 Aug 2018 -- During his visit to Kazakhstan to attend Caspian Sea Littoral States summit, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday praised the approval of Caspian Sea Convention on Legal Status in Twitter.
• Caspian Sea Legal Regime Convention inked by 5 states ISNA 12 Aug 2018 -- The Caspian Sea Legal Regime Convention was signed by the five littoral countries in Kazakhstan.
• President addressing Caspian Sea Littoral States Summit: Talks for final agreement, esp. on defining limits must continue ISNA 12 Aug 2018 -- The Caspian Sea Legal Regime Convention was signed by the five littoral countries in Kazakhstan.
• Convention on Caspian Sea's Legal Status declares against presence of non-littoral, foreign military forces ISNA 12 Aug 2018 -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed that signing of the Convention on Caspian Sea's Legal Status is a significant step to finalize the 21-year talks in this regard.
• Caspian Sea, model for peace, stability, friendship: Iran's Rouhani Press TV 12 Aug 2018 -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the Caspian Sea is now a model for guaranteeing peace, stability and friendship.
• Caspian Sea states sign landmark convention on sea's legal status Press TV 12 Aug 2018 -- The presidents of the five states bordering the resource-rich Caspian Sea have signed a historic convention on the sea's legal status after more than two decades of discussions.
• Caspian Summit Delivers Less Than Expected RFE/RL 12 Aug 2018 -- The leaders of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan met in Aqtau, Kazakhstan, on August 12 for what was supposed to be the long-awaited signing of a convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea.
• Caspian Sea Countries Sign Landmark Deal VOA 12 Aug 2018 -- The leaders of the five countries bordering the Caspian Sea have signed a landmark agreement on its legal status.
• US ambassador urges UK to ditch support for Iran nuclear deal Press TV 12 Aug 2018 -- US Ambassador to Britain Woody Johnson has urged the UK to drop out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and follow the lead of President Donald Trump who left the "flawed" agreement in May.
• Iran says Total not withdrawn from SP Phase 11 yet Press TV 12 Aug 2018 -- Iran says French energy giant Total is still to officially announce its withdrawal from one of the country's biggest gas projects with a top official saying no change has been occurred in the combination of a consortium formed over the project.
• Iraqi Prime Minister's Iran Visit Canceled After Sanctions Remarks RFE/RL 12 Aug 2018 -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi's visit to Iran has been canceled after he said he had no choice but to abide by U.S. sanctions against Tehran, even though he disagreed with their imposition.
• Confusion Surfaces Over Total's Investment In Iran Pars Project RFE/RL 12 Aug 2018 -- Confusion has surfaced over French energy giant Total's massive South Pars gas project in Iran after the official IRNA news agency reported that China's state-owned petroleum corporation had been given a majority stake in the field.
• US Ambassador Warns Britain to Back Trump Over Iranian Sanctions VOA 12 Aug 2018 -- The U.S. ambassador to London has publicly warned British Prime Minister Theresa May to side with President Donald Trump in the burgeoning transatlantic dispute over the controversial nuclear deal with Iran, which the U.S. leader withdrew from in May.
• Free and secure access needed in DR Congo conflict zone to tackle Ebola – WHO UN News 12 Aug 2018 -- After seeing first-hand the complexities of the Ebola response in the conflict-affected region of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Head of the World Health Organization (WHO) called for "free and secure" access to the disease-affected people.
• UN Stepping Up Ebola Screening of Refugees Fleeing DR Congo VOA 12 Aug 2018 -- The U.N. refugee agency reports it is stepping up efforts to reduce the risk of the spread of the deadly Ebola virus as refugees flee DR Congo. Latest estimates put the number of confirmed and probable cases of Ebola in eastern DRC at 49, including 38 deaths.
• NASA sends spacecraft to Sun after delay Press TV 12 Aug 2018 -- NASA has blasted off a spacecraft toward the Sun on a mission to explore the mysteries of dangerous solar storms.
• Turkish president says Lira crash political plot against Ankara Press TV 12 Aug 2018 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the lira's drop is a "political plot" against Ankara, and his country will begin to seek for new partners.
• Erdogan Claims Lira Plunge a 'Political Plot' Against Turkey VOA 12 Aug 2018 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, embroiled in a bitter dispute with the U.S., a NATO ally, contended Sunday the plunging value of his country's lira currency amounted to a "political plot" against Turkey.
• Egyptian court sentences Muslim Brotherhood leader to life in prison Press TV 12 Aug 2018 -- A court in Egypt has sentenced the chairman of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and other senior leaders of the movement to life in prison over charges of alleged incitement to murder and violence during protest rallies five years ago.
• Romanians Hit Streets Again For Antigovernment Protests RFE/RL 12 Aug 2018 -- Thousands of Romanians rallied for the third night in a row, protesting against corruption and demanding the resignation of the current government.
• Zimbabwe Decries US Renewal of Sanctions VOA 12 Aug 2018 -- Zimbabwe's government says the recent renewal of sanctions imposed on the country by the U.S. government is going to further strain the southern African's nation's ailing economy.
• Malians Vote in Presidential Runoff VOA 12 Aug 2018 -- Malians have voted in a presidential runoff election Sunday amid heavy security to thwart violence, deciding whether to hand incumbent Ibrahim Boubacar Keita a second five-year term or replace him with opposition challenger Soumalia Cisse.