• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• 10 Million Afghans Need Urgent Help After Floods, Drought VOA 28 Mar 2019 -- An estimated 10 million people in Afghanistan, more than a quarter of its population, are facing "severe acute" food insecurity and are in need of urgent "life-saving" humanitarian assistance in the wake of recent floods and drought, warns an international relief agency.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Ike Returns to Sea Following Planned Incremental Availability NNS 28 Mar 2019 -- The Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) returned to sea March 28 following a scheduled planned incremental availability (PIA) during which the ship received innovative upgrades.
• AFGSC orders B-1B safety stand-down US Air Force 28 Mar 2019 -- The commander of Air Force Global Strike Command ordered a safety stand-down of the B-1B Lancer fleet March 28.
• Gaggle by Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan While En Route to Tampa, Fla. DoD 28 Mar 2019 -- Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan
• New General Oversees US Central Command VOA 28 Mar 2019 -- Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie has taken charge of U.S. Central command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, central and southwest Asia.
• USNS Fall River Arrives in Kuching for Pacific Partnership NNS 28 Mar 2019 -- USNS Fall River (T-EPF 4), a Military Sealift Command expeditionary fast transport ship, arrived in Kuching, Malaysia as part of Pacific Partnership 2019, March 27.
• North Atlantic Council decides to extend the Secretary General's mandate NATO 28 Mar 2019
• Bishkek, Moscow Agree To Expand Russian Base In Kyrgyzstan RFE/RL 28 Mar 2019 -- During Russian President Vladimir Putin's one-day visit to Kyrgyzstan, the sides have agreed to expand the territory of Russia's military base in the Central Asian country by 60 hectares, or 0.6 square kilometers.
• In US, Taiwan's Tsai says Washington to procure more arms Press TV 28 Mar 2019 -- Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen, who is in the United States, says Washington has agreed to Taipei's request for tanks and fighter jets to bolster its military, a move considered to be in open defiance of China, which views the self-ruled island as part of its territory.
• Ground Force tests proficiency of top officers People's Daily 28 Mar 2019 -- Military expects exam will improve skills, increase combat readiness
• Don't Make A 'Mess' In Space, U.S. Warns Countries After Indian Test Launch RFE/RL 28 Mar 2019 -- India says it has successfully test-fired an antisatellite weapon in a move that brought a warning from the United States that countries around the world should avoid making a "mess" in space from all the debris.
• £2.5m injection for drone swarms UK MOD 28 Mar 2019 -- The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) has awarded £2.5m to a consortium led by Blue Bear Systems Research Ltd to develop drone swarm technology.
• Remarks by President Trump Before Marine One Departure The White House 28 Mar 2019

Defense Industry

• Contracts for March 28, 2019

Other Conflicts

• Syria air defense intercepts Israeli missiles IRNA 28 Mar 2019 -- The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) announced that Syria air defense system has intercepted Israeli jet fighters' attacks on Aleppo.
• UN USG terms UNSC resolutions as base for Golan Sovereignty IRNA 28 Mar 2019 -- The UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs described the related resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as the legal base for Golan Heights sovereignty.
• Israel to wage 'broad military campaign' in Gaza if needed: PM Press TV 28 Mar 2019 -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Tel Aviv is ready to wage a broad military campaign in Gaza if needed, after a two-day flareup of cross-border fighting which has left several people injured on both sides.
• Israel killed 40 Palestinian children in year of Gaza fence protests: UNICEF Press TV 28 Mar 2019 -- The UN children's agency says around 40 children have been killed in one year of demonstrations along the fence that separates the besieged Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied territories.
• Pakistan Dismisses Indian Terror Dossier Handed Over After Kashmir Attack RFE/RL 28 Mar 2019 -- Islamabad has dismissed a dossier handed over by New Delhi in the wake of a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month that brought the neighbors to the brink of war, saying that the allegation Pakistan-based militants were involved was unsubstantiated.
• Pakistan Seeks More Proof From India in Kashmir Attack Probe VOA 28 Mar 2019 -- Pakistan said Wednesday it has sought more evidence from India to determine whether any Pakistani nationals had played a role in last month's deadly Kashmir bombing that pushed the nuclear-armed rival nations to the brink of war.
• Central Mali: Top UN genocide prevention official sounds alarm over recent ethnically-targeted killings UN News 28 Mar 2019 -- The United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, expressed on Thursday his deepest concern and strongly condemned recent attacks against villages in Mali, including mass-killings last weekend in the Mopti region, which left 160 dead, including some 50 children, according to the UN human rights office (OHCHR).
• Human Rights Watch Blasts Cameroon; Military Rejects 'Biased' Report VOA 28 Mar 2019 -- A new report from Human Rights Watch says Cameroon's military has killed scores of people and burned down hundreds of homes in its campaign against separatists in the country's Anglophone regions. Cameroon is rejecting the report as grossly biased.
• Car bomb attack claims lives of 15 people in Somali capital Press TV 28 Mar 2019 -- At least 15 people have been killed and several others injured in a car bomb blast on a busy street in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, officials and witnesses say.
• 12 Killed in Mogadishu Restaurant Blast VOA 28 Mar 2019 -- At least 12 people were killed and more than 20 others injured when a car bomb exploded Thursday outside a restaurant in Somalia's capital.
• Somalia Not Ready for Massive Refugee Return, UN Warns VOA 28 Mar 2019 -- The U.N. refugee agency has warned that a large-scale return of refugees from Kenya's Dadaab camp could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in parts of Somalia.

News Reports

• My firing by Trump was 'potentially obstruction of justice': Comey Press TV 28 Mar 2019 -- Former FBI Director James Comey has said that his 2017 firing by US President Donald Trump was "potentially obstruction of justice," after Trump claimed "complete and total exoneration" in the so-called Russia probe.
• Venezuela bars opposition leader Guaido from holding office for 15 years Press TV 28 Mar 2019 -- The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has stripped opposition leader Juan Guaido of the right to hold public office for 15 years.
• Russia to keep forces in Venezuela 'as long as needed' despite US call for removal Press TV 28 Mar 2019 -- Russia says it will keep the roughly 100 servicemen it sent to Venezuela over the weekend, despite the US call for their removal.
• Russia Says It's 'Not A Threat' After Troops Land In Venezuela RFE/RL 28 Mar 2019 -- Moscow says the arrival of Russian soldiers in Venezuela does not present a threat to anyone, after U.S. President Donald Trump called on Russia to withdraw its troops from the South American country and warned that "all options" were open to achieve that.
• Maduro Government Bans Guaido From Holding Office for 15 Years VOA 28 Mar 2019 -- The Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro said Thursday that it had stripped opposition leader Juan Guaido of the right to hold public office for 15 years, a sharp escalation of the political unrest in the South American country.
• Gunbattle Near Military Camp Kills Several in Comoros VOA 28 Mar 2019 -- Four people died Thursday in a gunfight at a military camp in Comoros where police had detained an opposition presidential candidate. VOA's Swahili service said at least seven people were injured.
• Briefing with Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Moscow, March 28, 2019 Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 28 Mar 2019
• Russian Region Bans Employment Of Foreigners In Dozens Of Sectors RFE/RL 28 Mar 2019 -- The head of Russia's Sakha-Yakutia region has signed a decree banning the employment of foreigners in dozens of economic sectors and other activities, amid tensions following the arrest of a Central Asian migrant suspected of raping a local woman.
• Former Government Contractor Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge of Willful Retention of National Defense Information US Dept. of Justice 28 Mar 2019 -- Law Enforcement Recovered Classified Material, Stolen Over Two Decades, From the Defendant's Home and Car
• FM spox warns US against robbing Iranians' assets IRNA 28 Mar 2019 -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman says the US should know that it cannot rob Iranians from their assets by scattering lies.
• US accusations of China's Xinjiang policies based on lies: FM Global Times 38 Mar 2019 -- Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that China will never accept the US' groundless accusations based on lies about China's Xinjiang affairs, as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China's policies on the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
• China urges US to stop from interfering by using Xinjiang-related issues Global Times 38 Mar 2019 -- Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang on Thursday refuted recent US accusations and attacks against the Chinese government and China's Xinjiang policy, once again urging the US side to stop interfering in China's internal affairs by using Xinjiang-related issues.
• President slams China for seeking to alter cross-strait status-quo CNA 28 Mar 2019 -- President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) slammed China for seeking to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait during a video conference in which she participated in Honolulu Wednesday.
• 'One country, two systems' does not reflect cross-strait wishes: U.S. CNA 28 Mar 2019 -- The commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) said Wednesday that China's "one country, two systems" formula for unification with Taiwan does not reflect the wishes of the two sides.
• U.S. state secretary hints at more high-level U.S.-Taiwan visits CNA 28 Mar 2019 -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed Wednesday the importance of U.S. legislation that encourages high-level U.S. officials to visit Taiwan and vice versa.
• US approves secret sale of nuclear tech to Saudi Arabia Press TV 28 Mar 2019 -- The administration of US President Donald Trump has approved six authorizations that allow American companies to secretly provide Saudi Arabia with nuclear technology or technical assistance, an official document shows.
• Khashoggi murder trials must public and meet international standards, UN expert urges UN News 28 Mar 2019 -- A United Nations human rights expert said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia's closed-door trials of those it accuses of assassinating the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, have fallen short of international standards, calling instead for public trials of the alleged killers.
• UN: Saudi Khashoggi investigation falls short of intl. standards Press TV 28 Mar 2019 -- The United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Agnes Callamard, says Saudi Arabia's so-called investigation into the murder of prominent dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi falls short of international standards.
• Department of State Submits 2019 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report US Dept. of State 28 Mar 2019 -- The U.S. Department of State submitted the 2019 edition of the annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) to Congress today. This two-volume, Congressionally-mandated report assesses foreign governments' efforts to reduce illicit drug production, trafficking and use, as well as their work to counter drug trafficking-related money laundering.
• UNSC ratifies resolution to counter financing terrorism IRNA 28 Mar 2019 -- The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday passed a resolution to counter financing terrorism.
• Landmark terror finance resolution adopted by Security Council UN News 28 Mar 2019 -- The UN is hailing a new Security Council resolution adopted on Thursday as a landmark step in suppressing the funding of terror groups worldwide.
• UN Orders Members to Crack Down on Terrorist Financing VOA 28 Mar 2019 -- The U.N. Security Council Thursday unanimously passed the first-ever resolution ordering members to enforce laws against terror financing.
• Pakistan, China Slam Fresh US Anti-Terror Move in UN VOA 28 Mar 2019 -- China and Pakistan are criticizing the United States for bypassing established mechanisms and submitting a draft resolution directly in the United Nations Security Council to push for outlawing a Pakistani extremist leader.
• UK parliament to vote on Brexit deal for 3rd time Press TV 28 Mar 2019 -- UK Prime Minister Theresa May is set to push ahead with a critical vote on the "withdrawal agreement" of her Brexit deal.
• UK PM May pledges to quit to save Brexit deal Press TV 28 Mar 2019 -- UK Prime Minister Theresa May has offered to resign in a final effort to get Parliament to support her Brexit deal, as lawmakers failed in their own attempt to break the deadlock that has plunged Britain into crisis.
• Tossing Coins on Brexit: 2nd Referendum, General Election? VOA 28 Mar 2019 -- Britons desperately wanting some clarity in the country's interminable Brexit saga were disappointed Wednesday when lawmakers plunged the country's proposed exit from the European Union, after half-a-century of membership, into further disarray, failing to find a majority for any way forward after a series of so-called indicative votes.
• Ukrainian Presidential Front-Runner Did Not Declare A 15-Room Italian Villa, Journalists Discover RFE/RL 28 Mar 2019 -- Ukrainian journalists have discovered that comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a political novice whose campaign has blurred the lines between the everyman leader he plays on a popular television sitcom and his front-runner position ahead of Ukraine's presidential election, has a 15-room villa in Italy that he failed to disclose in his public asset declaration.
• Ukraine Warned Of Russian Cyberattacks Aimed At Presidential Vote RFE/RL 28 Mar 2019 -- Ukraine is bracing itself for "unprecedented" cyberattacks during the first round of voting in the presidential election on March 31, Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service has warned.
• Pompeo Says He Hopes To Set New Measures Soon Against Russia Over Actions In Ukraine RFE/RL 28 Mar 2019 -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he hopes to be able in the coming days to announce additional measures along with Western allies to counter Russian aggression in Ukraine.
• European Lawmakers Again Back Visa Liberalization For Kosovars RFE/RL 28 Mar 2019 -- The European Parliament has once again backed visa liberalization for citizens of Kosovo in an attempt to put pressure on reluctant EU member states.
• New UN Global Climate report 'another strong wake-up call' over global warming: Guterres UN News 28 Mar 2019 -- The increasing number of natural disasters and dangers linked to climate change, highlighted in a major UN report released on Thursday, represents "another strong wake-up call" to the world, which must be countered by finding sustainable solutions quickly, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said.
• Thailand' Electoral Commission: Pro-Army Party Wins Popular Vote VOA 28 Mar 2019 -- Thailand's Election Commission said Thursday, the pro-army Palang Pracharat Party won the popular vote in Sunday's (March 24) general election with 8.4 million ballots.