Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• PMU anti-terror forces vow to end US 'occupation' of Iraq Press TV 04 Apr 2020 -- Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), better known by their Arabic name Hashd al-Sha'abi, have blasted the US forces based in their country as "occupiers", pledging to bring the occupation of the Arab country to an end.
• Afghan Spy Agency Captures Regional IS Chief VOA 04 Apr 2020 -- Afghanistan's spy agency announced Saturday that it had arrested Islamic State's regional leader, along with 19 key operatives of the terrorist group.
• Federal Government of Somalia, AFRICOM target al-Shabaab AFRICOM 04 Apr 2020 -- In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab terrorists in the vicinity of Bush Madina, Somalia, April 3.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Congress lawmakers request investigation of Navy's firing of captain Press TV 04 Apr 2020 -- Democratic lawmakers have formally protested to the Navy's dismissal of the commander of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, who requested urgent aid to stop a coronavirus outbreak on board his ship.
• 155 Crewmembers of US Aircraft Carrier Theodore Roosevelt Have Covid-19 After 44% of Crew Tested Sputnik 04 Apr 2020 -- The testing of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier's crew for COVID-19 is being conducted after an coronavirus outbreak aboard the ship was revealed through the efforts of the vessel's captain, Brett Crozier, who has since been relieved of his command.
• US Army Awards $139 Million in Contracts to Build Care Centres Sputnik 04 Apr 2020 -- Four construction companies have received nearly $140 million in contracts to convert existing facilities into emergency hospitals from the US Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), the Department of Defence said in a press release.
• Bataan Amphibious Ready Group Transits Strait of Hormuz CENTCOM 04 Apr 2020 -- The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), along with guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) and the dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12), conducted a routine transit through the Strait of Hormuz into the Arabian Gulf April 3, 2020.
• Attack Submarine USS Delaware Joins Fleet NNS 04 Apr 2020 -- The Navy commissioned USS Delaware (SSN 791), the 18th Virginia-class attack submarine, April 4.
• U.S., Japan Operate Together in Andaman Sea NNS 04 Apr 2020 -- The Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Akizuki-class destroyer JS Teruzuki (DD 116) conducted operations together, while sailing through the Andaman Sea, April 2.
• Rapid Mobilization Process Established for Reservists Supporting COVID-19 Response NNS 04 Apr 2020 -- In support of the Navy's Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic response, the Navy has instituted a Distributed Mobilization process allowing a more efficient path to recall Reserve Sailors to active duty in support of the COVID-19 response.
• NATO says plans to expand mission in Iraq Press TV 04 Apr 2020 -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the military alliance has decided to expand its mission in Iraq by training personnel for the Iraqi army and security forces.
• CENTCOM confirms deploying new Patriot missiles to Iraq Press TV 04 Apr 2020 -- US Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed the deployment of new Patriot missile systems to Iraq amid calls for the withdrawal of American troops from the Arab country.
• Iran to start building 6,000-ton destroyer, able to produce nuclear submarines: Defense Ministry Press TV 04 Apr 2020 -- Iran's Defense Ministry says that the country is planning to start the construction of a 6,000-ton destroyer this year and that it has the ability to produce nuclear-powered submarines.
• US Envoy to NATO Floats Idlib Aid 'Package' to Turkey in Exchange for Dropping Russia's S-400s Sputnik 04 Apr 2020 -- Ankara is expected to activate the S-400s in the coming weeks, but Washington has not given up on its plans to get the much-feared weapons out of Turkey. Stick has not worked, apparently, so now is the time to offer some carrot.
• From landmines to pandemics, on Mine Awareness Day UN chief says milestones reached by 'working together' UN News 04 Apr 2020 -- Decades ago, millions of landmines were buried in countries around the globe, and today the world is in the throes of a deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the UN chief said on Saturday, noting that in both situations, the most vulnerable remain at risk.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Peacekeepers help fragile countries navigate conflict and COVID-19 UN News 04 Apr 2020 -- Even as UN peacekeepers adapt to the challenges posed by the coronavirus, they continue to perform their vital peace and security tasks while helping to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Saudi rocket attack kills entire Yemeni family in Sa'ada Press TV 04 Apr 2020 -- Saudi Arabia has conducted a rocket attack on a border district in Yemen's northwestern Sa'ada Province, killing all members of a family.
• UAE altering demographics of Yemen's Tai'zz to dislodge fmr. pro-Saudi govt.: Former official Press TV 04 Apr 2020 -- The former governor of Yemen's southwestern Ta'izz province has said that the United Arab Emirates is manipulating the demographic composition of the province to weaken pro-Saudi forces, exposing further rift in the Saudi-led coalition.
• US Moves to Bolster Prisons Holding Captured Islamic State Fighters VOA 04 Apr 2020 -- Help is on the way to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, less than a week after a riot at a Syrian prison holding thousands of captured Islamic State fighters allowed some to briefly escape.

News Reports

• Trump Fires Intelligence Official Involved In Impeachment Probe RFE/RL 04 Apr 2020 -- U.S. President Donald Trump has fired the intelligence official who handled the whistle-blower complaint involving aid to Ukraine that triggered Trump's impeachment.
• Trump Removes Intel Watchdog Who Revealed Whistleblower Complaint That Led to Impeachment VOA 04 Apr 2020 -- U.S. President Donald Trump has removed the U.S. intelligence community watchdog from office.
• Donald Trump to Fire Inspector Who Defied Him on Whistleblower Complaint - Reports Sputnik 04 Apr 2020 -- Last year, Michael Atkinson notified the US Congress that he'd receiving a complaint from an intelligence officer concerning the July telephone conversation between the US President and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. The content of the conversation ultimately became the reason for the impeachment proceedings against Trump.
• Iran Accuses US Diplomats of Staging Coups, Arming Terrorists Amid Spat Over Slain Journalist Sputnik 04 Apr 2020 -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of using "agents of terror" disguised as diplomats to carry out assassinations and engage in bomb plots across Europe on Thursday amid reports citing US intelligence that an Iranian hit squad was behind the death of a dissident Iranian journalist in Turkey late last year.
• Iran hits back at Pompeo over alleged assassination attempt in Turkey Press TV 04 Apr 2020 -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman has lashed out at US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for accusing "Iranian diplomats" of involvement in an alleged "assassination" in Turkey last November.
• Saudis Lash Out Over Russia's Claim That Kingdom Withdrew From Output Deal RFE/RL 04 Apr 2020 -- Saudi Arabia's energy minister has rejected Russia's allegation that the kingdom withdrew last month from a deal to cut oil production.
• Two Czech politicians thank Taiwan for donation CNA 04 Apr 2020 -- Two prominent political figures in the Czech Republic thanked Taiwan for its donation of medical equipment to fight the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, according to a video message posted by Taiwan's foreign ministry on its Facebook page Saturday.
• U.S. State Dept. calls for Taiwan to receive WHA observer status CNA 04 Apr 2020 -- The United States State Department on Friday called for Taiwan to receive observer status in the World Health Assembly (WHA), and said Taiwan's model for fighting the COVID-19 coronavirus could benefit countries around the world.
• North Korea's Self-Isolation, Weapons Program Thwart Virus Aid VOA 04 Apr 2020 -- North Korea's decision to protect itself from the coronavirus by sealing its borders and evicting foreigners, coupled with prioritizing its nuclear and missile tests over citizens' health, may be self-defeating as humanitarian groups find anti-virus aid efforts thwarted.
• Tehran mayor elaborates on crippling impacts of sanctions on fighting COVID19 IRNA 04 Apr 2020 -- Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi in an article published by the British daily newspaper 'The Guardian' seriously criticized the US sanctions in a situation that countries are fighting coronavirus, saying sanctions have disturbed the process of fighting the pandemic in Iran.
• Sanctions are crippling Iran's fight against coronavirus: Tehran mayor Press TV 04 Apr 2020 -- The extra-territorial US sanctions prevent many countries and companies to do legitimate business with Iranians, particularly to sell medicines to the Islamic Republic, at a time that the country is severely fighting the deadly new coronavirus pandemic, the mayor of Tehran Pirouz Hanachi writes in an opinion in the British daily newspaper Guardian.
• Coronavirus Shatters Iranian Death Rituals, Robbing Many Of Last Farewell With Loved Ones RFE/RL 04 Apr 2020 -- Kambiz says the day he buried his 96-year-old grandmother, who died after contracting the coronavirus, was the "saddest and loneliest" day of his life.
• Answering Ayatollah Sistani's call, Iraqis support those in need amid coronavirus outbreak Press TV 04 Apr 2020 -- Thousands of people across Iraq have begun a full-fledged campaign to support those in need in the Arab country following a call by the country's most prominent Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to help the people, irrespective of their race or religion, amid the deadly novel coronavirus pandemic.
• Iraq Protesters Confront Security Forces as PM-designate Presents Agenda to Parliament VOA 04 Apr 2020 -- Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Adnan Zurfi presented his agenda Saturday to Parliament as government security forces clashed with protesters defying a government-imposed curfew. More than a dozen Iraqi police reportedly were wounded when protesters in Nasiriya threw gasoline bombs at police, who were firing tear gas at them.
• Keir Starmer replaces Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Press TV 04 Apr 2020 -- As widely expected Keir Starmer has been elected to the leadership of the Labour Party and will replace outgoing leader, Jeremy Corbyn, with immediate effect.
• UK Labour Party Names Keir Starmer as New Leader Sputnik 04 Apr 2020 -- Former party leader Jeremy Corbyn announced his resignation on 13 December, the day after his party suffered a resounding defeat in the UK general election.
• Caracas Condemns EU for Endorsing US Plan on Setting Transitional Venezuelan Government Sputnik 04 Apr 2020 -- Venezuela is condemning the European Union's endorsement of the United States' proposal to establish a transitional government in the Latin American country as silence in the face of Washington's "aggression against Venezuelan sovereignty," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Gorge Arreaza has said.
• In Malaysia, It's Out With the New, in With the Old VOA 04 Apr 2020 -- With parties championing Malaysia's Malay Muslim majority back in power following February's spectacular collapse of Mahathir Mohamad's reformist Pakatan Harapan, or Coalition of Hope, government, many expect a conservative turn with more race-based policies that risk raising tensions in the multiethnic country.
• At Least 19 Killed in Clashes Between Armed Groups in Mexico Sputnik 04 Apr 2020 -- A joint operation of the Public Security Secretariat and the Mexican army has been launched to find the whereabouts of the armed groups involved in the clashes.