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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
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Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• AFCENT publishes October Airpower Summary AFNS 30 Nov 2018 -- "Our mission is to deliver decisive air and space power on behalf of U.S. Central Command for the security and stability of the region. We do this mission proudly, alongside our international, joint and interagency partners," said Lt. Gen. Joseph Guastella, Combined Forces Air Component commander.
• US airstrike in Helmand killed 23 civilians, UN says Press TV 30 Nov 2018 -- At least 23 civilians, most of them women and children, have been killed in a US airstrike in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand, the UN says.
• Taliban Infighting Leaves Dozens Of Militants Dead In Afghanistan RFE/RL 30 Nov 2018 -- Afghan officials say clashes between two Taliban factions have killed dozens of militants in the country's west, underlying divisions in the militant group that has waged a deadly 17-year insurgency against the Western-backed government in Kabul.
• Trump Administration Asks Pentagon to Extend Military Presence on Mexico Border VOA 30 Nov 2018 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has asked the Pentagon to extend the U.S. military presence at the Mexico border into next year.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Pax River F-35 ITF leaves HMS Queen Elizabeth after 'eclipsing aspirations' NNS 30 Nov 2018 -- F-35 Lightning jets from the Pax River Integrated Test Force left HMS Queen Elizabeth, Nov. 19, 2018, after eight weeks flying on and off the 65,000-tonne warship, helping to write the 'operator's manual' so the jets can fly from her deck on front-line operations.
• Into the Flames: Seabees aid Marshall Islands firefighters NNS 30 Nov 2018 -- Seabees are renowned for their "Can Do" attitude. No matter the situation, Seabees are trained to respond to a variety of crises.
• Three New Russian Military Satellites Successfully Reach Orbit Sputnik 30 Nov 2018 -- The Briz-KM upper stage of the Rokot launch vehicle brought three new Russian military satellites to the orbit, the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.
• Germany 'Convinced' by US Claims About Russian Violations of INF Treaty – Report Sputnik 30 Nov 2018 -- Earlier, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas urged the US "not to recklessly abandon" the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a landmark arms control treaty aimed primarily at reducing the risk of nuclear war in Europe.
• Norway Discovers 'Dramatic' Safety Errors on Sunken Frigate, Its Peers Sputnik 30 Nov 2018 -- Amid their investigation of the Norwegian frigate KMN Helge Ingstad, which sank after NATO drills while formally under the alliance's command, experts have warned that the vessel's four sister ships in the Norwegian navy all suffer from the same defects and want answers from the Spanish shipyard that built them.
• PLA keeps eye on US ships in Taiwan Straits People's Daily 30 Nov 2018 -- The Chinese military is aware of the recent passage of two United States naval ships through the Taiwan Straits and will remain vigilant, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday.
• Taiwan Considering Buying F-16Vs Instead of Expensive, Unproven F-35s - Report Sputnik 30 Nov 2018 -- Taiwanese government officials are considering whether to buy dozens of F-16V jets from the United States for their country's air force, instead of picking up some F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters.
• 53 Iranian cruisers present in Aden Gulf, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait IRNA 30 Nov 2018 -- Iranian Deputy Navy Commander for Engineering and Civil Defense affairs says 53 Iranian dispatched cruisers are now present 24/7 in Gulf of Aden and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
• Commander lauds Iran naval power IRNA 30 Nov 2018 -- Iran's navy commander on Friday praised the country's naval capacities to carry out international operations.
• Iranian navy seeking to promote Iran position in int'l community IRNA 30 Nov 2018 -- Iranian navy is after reinforcing Iran diplomacy, promoting the position of the country in the international community and safeguarding sea borders, deputy navy commander said.
• US Allies France, Poland Eager to Help Turkey Bypass Pentagon Chopper Engine Ban Sputnik 30 Nov 2018 -- Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) was forced to look for a replacement to US and British-made LHTEC T8004A turboshaft engines for a defence order with Pakistan after the Pentagon refused to provide the company with an export license.

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for November 30, 2018

Other Conflicts

• 30 November 2018 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 30 Nov 2018
• In a time of rising xenophobia, more important than ever to ratify Genocide Convention UN News 30 Nov 2018 -- Speaking ahead of the UN Day commemorating victims of genocide, the UN chief has called for every country to ratify the Genocide Convention, which still has not been ratified by 45 UN Member States, despite being adopted at the General Assembly 70 years ago.
• Beijing Sends Warships to Warn US Over Its 'Provocation' in S China Sea Sputnik 30 Nov 2018 -- The warning came after the US Pacific Fleet said that its guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville had sailed near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea to challenge what it described as Beijing's "excessive maritime claims."
• Houthis vow to liberate southern Yemen on anniversary Press TV 30 Nov 2018 -- A senior Houthi official says Yemen will liberate the country's south from the grip of separatists and aggressors led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
• Houthis Ready for Talks in Sweden, But Ask UN for Security Guarantees Sputnik 30 Nov 2018 -- Houthis are ready to take part in talks on Yemen in Sweden, but demand that the UN resolve the issue of providing the aircraft, issuing the permit for its departure and the delegation's security, a representative of the Ansar Allah Houthi organization told Sputnik.
• Yemen war: The battle rages on, children suffer most UN News 30 Nov 2018 -- "Violence has forced over a third of all schools there to close, with 15 located on the frontline and others badly damaged or being used as shelters for displaced families," said Meritxell Relaño, UNICEF Representative in Yemen.
• 30 civilians killed as US-led coalition warplanes strike eastern Syria Press TV 30 Nov 2018 -- More than two dozen civilians, mostly women and children, have lost their lives when the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group conducted an aerial assault on Syria's eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr.
• EU rebuffs Ukraine call to send ships to waters off Russia Press TV 30 Nov 2018 -- European leaders have rebuffed calls from Ukraine for greater support against Russia after Kiev urged NATO to send ships into waters disputed with Moscow.
• Russian Men Barred From Entering Ukraine Amid Escalating Crisis RFE/RL 30 Nov 2018 -- Ukraine has barred Russian male nationals between 16 and 60 from traveling to the country, President Petro Poroshenko announced on November 30.
• Lawyer For Detained Ukrainian Sailor Decries 'Political Trial' RFE/RL 30 Nov 2018 -- A lawyer for one of the Ukrainian sailors detained by Russia on November 25 off the Russia-occupied Ukrainian region of Crimea has said the case against the seamen was "a political trial."
• EU, NATO React Coolly To Ukraine's Call For New Moves Against Russia RFE/RL 30 Nov 2018 -- European leaders and NATO have reacted coolly to calls by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for new measures to strengthen defenses and penalize Russia over its capture of Ukrainian ships and crew off Crimea.
• Pantsir-S Missile Battalion Enters Service in Crimea After Kerch Strait Incident Sputnik 30 Nov 2018 -- The deployment comes after three Ukrainian ships illegally entered Russian territorial waters as they sailed toward the Kerch Strait last Sunday. Moscow described the incident as a clear provocation in violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and promised to suppress any attempts to challenge its territorial integrity.
• NATO to Keep Monitoring Black Sea Following Ukraine's Kerch Strait Provocation Sputnik 30 Nov 2018 -- Earlier, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called on NATO to deploy its warships to the Sea of Azov to support Ukraine in the wake of the incident in the Kerch Strait near Crimea last Sunday, when three Ukrainian vessels were seized by Russia after entering Russian territorial waters.
• UNICEF: Children in CAR Face Lives of Desperation, Deprivation VOA 30 Nov 2018 -- A new report presents a dire portrait of the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in the Central African Republic. They live in a state of permanent crisis brought on by years of conflict and international neglect, a report by the United Nations Children's Fund on the "Crisis in the Central African Republic" found.
• Two-thirds of children in C. Africa need emergency aid: UNICEF Press TV 30 Nov 2018 -- The United Nations children's agency UNICEF has warned that two-thirds of all children in Central African Republic, amounting to 1.5 million kids, need emergency aid.
• Bosnian Muslim Commander Oric Aquitted Of War Crimes Charges RFE/RL 30 Nov 2018 -- Naser Oric, the Bosnian Muslim commander who defended Srebrenica during the 1990s war, has been acquitted of war crimes charges.

News Reports

• Trump Defends His Russian Business Efforts As 'Very Legal & Very Cool' RFE/RL 30 Nov 2018 -- U.S. President Donald Trump has defended his decision to seek a business deal in Russia in 2016 even as he pursued the Republican presidential nomination.
• Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Moscow, November 30, 2018 Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 30 Nov 2018
• Kremlin Says Putin, Trump Will Meet on Sidelines of G-20 VOA 30 Nov 2018 -- Russian authorities said Friday that Vladimir Putin will have a brief meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump during the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Trump Says He Will Meet Putin At 'The Appropriate Time' RFE/RL 30 Nov 2018 -- U.S. President Donald Trump says he has a "very good relationship" with Vladimir Putin, despite calling off planned talks after the Russian coast guard seized Ukrainian sailors and naval vessels, and will meet with the Russian president when the time is right.
• Report: Russia, China 'Stress-Testing' Resolve of West VOA 30 Nov 2018 -- Russia and China are among several countries attempting to "stress-test" the resolve of traditional powers, according to a report from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
• Accused Russian Agent In Washington Appears Near Settling Case RFE/RL 30 Nov 2018 -- A woman charged with working secretly for the Russian government to sway politicians in Washington appears to be moving toward a settlement of her case with U.S. prosecutors, according to her family and court documents.
• South Korea train enters North for first time in a decade Press TV 30 Nov 2018 -- A South Korean train has crossed into the North to officially launch a historic joint project to reconnect railroad tracks between the two nations.
• Koreas Survey Railway Tracks Cut Since the Korean War VOA 30 Nov 2018 -- A South Korean train entered to North Korea on Friday as the two countries began inspecting northern railways tracks they hope to relink with the south.
• Iran says not to wait forever for Europe's special payment mechanism Press TV 30 Nov 2018 -- Iran has warned that it cannot wait forever for the establishment of a payment mechanism the Europeans have promised to launch in order to maintain trade with Tehran.
• Deputy FM: Iran to Give EU Some More Time to Set Up Sanctions Evasion Mechanism Sputnik 30 Nov 2018 -- Iran is ready to wait some more as the European Union works on a mechanism that will allow trade between them to bypass US financial services, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday.
• Taiwan's cross-strait policy remains unchanged: President Tsai CNA 30 Nov 2018 -- Taiwan will maintain its policy toward China in the wake of the Nov. 24 local government elections, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Friday, urging Beijing not to allow political issues to disrupt city-to-city exchanges between the two sides.
• Pakistan's Detention of TLP Cleric Draws Mixed Reactions VOA 30 Nov 2018 -- Pakistanis have had mixed reactions to the government's decision to detain Khadim Rizvi, a radical Islamic cleric and founder of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a religious-turned-political party with extreme views on the country's blasphemy law.
• Georgia's 2018 Presidential Election US Dept. of State 30 Nov 2018 -- The United States congratulates Salome Zourabichvili on her election as President of Georgia.
• U.S. Seeks to Recover over $73 Million in Proceeds Traceable to Bank Fraud to Conceal the Involvement of Jho Taek Low US Dept. of Justice 30 Nov 2018 -- The Department of Justice announced today the filing of a civil forfeiture action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to forfeit and recover more than $73 million in funds associated with an international conspiracy to defraud U.S. financial institutions and to launder funds controlled by Jho Taek Low, also known as "Jho Low," an individual who is the subject of an indictment filed in the Eastern District of New York, alleging that Low and others conspired to launder billions of dollars embezzled from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Malaysia's investment development fund, and pay hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to foreign officials, among other things.
• Former Justice Department Employee Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Deceive U.S. Banks about Millions of Dollars in Foreign Lobbying Funds US Dept. of Justice 30 Nov 2018 -- A former employee with the U.S. Department of Justice pleaded guilty today for his role in a conspiracy to deceive banks in the United States about the source and purpose of millions of dollars sent from overseas to finance a lobbying campaign on behalf of foreign interests, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.
• Trump 'persecuting Venezuelans just like Hitler': Maduro Press TV 30 Nov 2018 -- President Nicolas Maduro says US President Donald Trump is "persecuting" Venezuelans through harsh economic sanctions that have prevented the country from easing its worsening crisis.
• Venezuela's President Compares Trump With Hitler Amid "Economic Warfare" Sputnik 30 Nov 2018 -- Since the beginning of the fall in oil prices in 2014, Venezuela's economy has been going through an unprecedented economic crisis, as oil provided up to 95% of Venezuela's export earnings, accounting for around 25% of the nation's GDP, when combined with gas. Because of the crises, more than 2 million people have left the country.
• Kosovo Spurns EU, U.S. Calls To Lift Heavy Tax On Serbian Imports RFE/RL 30 Nov 2018 -- Kosovo has spurned calls from the United States and European Union to eliminate a new 100 percent tariff on Serbian imports, saying the levy will stay until Serbia recognizes Kosovo's sovereignty and reaches a normalization agreement with its neighbor.
• Zimbabwe Government Urges Opposition to Stop Economic Protests VOA 30 Nov 2018 -- Opposition supporters marched Thursday in Zimbabwe's capital, demanding that the government do more to fix the sinking economy. The government allowed the protest, but said marches will only derail progress.