Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Iraq serious about US troops pullout, negotiations will start next June: Spokesman Press TV 26 Apr 2020 -- The spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces says the Baghdad government is serious about implementation of the parliament's resolution concerning the withdrawal of US forces from the country.
• Taliban Constitution Offers Glimpse Into Militant Group's Vision For Afghanistan RFE/RL 26 Apr 2020 -- When most of Afghanistan was under Taliban rule in the late 1990s, the fundamentalist regime drafted a new constitution.
• U.S. Envoy Calls On Taliban To Observe Cease-Fire During Ramadan, Coronavirus Crisis RFE/RL 26 Apr 2020 -- The U.S. special envoy for Afghan reconciliation has asked the Taliban to observe a cease-fire on "humanitarian grounds" during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
• Taliban Attack in Central Afghanistan Leaves 4 Policemen Killed, 5 Injured - Source Sputnik 26 Apr 2020 -- Four Afghan policemen were killed and five others were injured as Taliban militants carried out an attack on a security checkpoint in the Nachin area of the country's central province of Oruzgan, a security source stated on Sunday.
• US Urges Afghans to Set Disputes Aside to Combat Virus VOA 26 Apr 2020 -- The United States has again demanded that Afghanistan's feuding leaders and the Taliban insurgency set internal disputes aside and cease armed violence to focus on combating the coronavirus pandemic.

Defense Policy / Programs

• US Navy faces another major COVID-19 outbreak aboard warship in Pacific Press TV 26 Apr 2020 -- The US Navy is reportedly fighting a new coronavirus outbreak on yet another one of its warships as 33 American sailors aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Kidd have tested positive for the disease so far.
• Chinese aircraft carrier maneuver aimed at achieving multiple results CNA 26 Apr 2020 -- A recent training mission of the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning, which sailed through waters near Japan and Taiwan and into the South China Sea near Vietnam, has been seen by a Taiwanese defense analyst as a maneuver with the aim of "hitting three birds with one stone."
• China adjusts national defense patent fee reduction policy PLA Daily 26 Apr 2020 -- The Equipment Development Department of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) announces on April 26, the World Intellectual Property Day, that China will adjust the national defense patent fee reduction policy to reduce the burden of innovation entities and encourage the innovative development in defense technology and equipment construction.
• IRGC to receive new 'Fotros' drones with 2,000 km range Press TV 26 Apr 2020 -- Commander of the IRGC Ground Force's Drone Division has said that the force will receive new Fotros drones enjoying an operational range of 2,000 kilometres in the near future.
• Iran's Revolutionary Guards to Take Delivery of New Stealthy Drone With 2,000 km Range - Report Sputnik 26 Apr 2020 -- First unveiled in late 2013, the prospective 'Fotros' drone, built by the Iran Aviation Industries Organization, was once thought to have been an abandoned prototype.
• Comdr upbeat with capable defense industry, strong Navy IRNA 26 Apr 2020 -- Deputy Chief of Staff of Armed Forces for Coordination Rear-Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said on Sunday that the capable defense industry has made the defense power self-sufficient and the armed forces are well-prepared to defend national interests in open Seas.
• US tells UN to renew Iran arms embargo in breach of nuclear deal Press TV 26 Apr 2020 -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on the United Nations Security Council to extend its conventional arms embargo on Iran, set to expire in October, citing Tehran's recent satellite launch.
• Taiwan needs new medium-range missile: analyst CNA 26 Apr 2020 -- The development of the "Yun Feng" (Cloud Peak) medium-range surface-to-surface missile is strategically important to Taiwan as a deterrent, a defense analyst told CNA amid reports that the weapon system had been tested recently.

Defense Industry

• Another Boeing Revenue Stream Disappears as US Navy Takes Delivery of Final Block II Super Hornet Sputnik 26 Apr 2020 -- The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet has been the US Navy's workhorse attack aircraft for nearly two decades, with the planes involved in almost all of America's foreign wars since 2001, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Syria and Iraq again. Its predecessor, the F/A-18, took part in the 1986 bombing of Libya, the Gulf War, and the 90s Yugoslav wars.

Other Conflicts

• UAE-backed separatists break with Saudi-sponsored militants, declare self-rule in southern Yemen Press TV 26 Apr 2020 -- UAE-backed separatists have broken with once-allied Saudi-sponsored militants in Yemen, saying they will establish a self-ruled administration in the war-torn country's southern regions.
• Five Yemeni Provinces Reject Southern Transitional Council's Self-Governance - Reports Sputnik 26 Apr 2020 -- The Southern Transitional Council has stated it introduced self-governance and a state of emergency in Yemen's south. The council has been accusing the Yemeni government of corruption, failure to fulfill its obligations, plotting against Yemeni people and failing to pay salaries to civilians and servicemen for months.
• Yemen's Southern Transitional Council Announces Self-Governance, State of Emergency Sputnik 26 Apr 2020 -- Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC) is introducing self-governance in the country's southern provinces and has declared a state of emergency in those areas, a statement of the council, obtained by Sputnik, says.
• COVID: Syrian Facilities Holding IS Prisoners Receive Needed Supplies VOA 26 Apr 2020 -- U.S.-led coalition forces delivered much-needed medical and sanitation supplies to detention facilities in Syria holding 10,000 Islamic State prisoners, the coalition said Sunday.
• Israeli authorities accelerating implementation of settlement plans, PLO warns Press TV 26 Apr 2020 -- The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has warned that Israel is speeding up implementation of settlement building schemes in the occupied Palestinian territories in a flagrant breach of international law.
• Netanyahu 'Confident' Israel Will Annex Parts of West Bank Within Months VOA 26 Apr 2020 -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is "confident" Israel will be able to annex parts of the West Bank within a few months with backing from the Trump administration.
• EU calls for Ramadan truce in Libya Press TV 26 Apr 2020 -- Major European Union (EU) countries have called for a humanitarian truce in Libya during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
• Two Pakistani Soldiers, Nine Militants Killed In North Waziristan Clash RFE/RL 26 Apr 2020 -- Pakistani military officials say at least two soldiers from Pakistan's army and nine militants were killed in a gun battle late on April 25 near the border with Afghanistan.

News Reports

• Russia Cuts Off Wheat, Other Grain Exports RFE/RL 26 Apr 2020 -- The Russian Agriculture Ministry announced on April 26 that it was suspending its export of most grains until July 1, seemingly shrugging off warnings from international organizations who are asking countries not to disrupt global food supply chains during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
• Senior official says financial risk remains controllable in Hong Kong Global Times 26 Apr 2020 -- Financial Secretary of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government Paul Chan said Sunday that the financial risk remains controllable in Hong Kong despite the double blow from the violent incidents last year and the recent COVID-19 epidemic.
• Chinese lawmakers review draft biosecurity law PLA Daily 26 Apr 2020 -- China's draft biosecurity law was submitted to a regular session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee for its second review on Sunday.
• Kim Jong-un 'Alive and Well', Advisor to South Korea's President Says Sputnik 26 Apr 2020 -- The North Korean leader's lack of appearances in public since early April, combined with media speculation, has led to the circulation of a bevy of rumours regarding his health, with some reports alleging that Kim is recovering from heart surgery, while others have gone so far as to suggest that he has become a vegetable or even dead.
• North Korean State Media Report on Kim Jong Un's Activities Amid Death Speculation - Yonhap Sputnik 26 Apr 2020 -- As the world mulls Kim Jong Un's health, with some suggesting that the leader of North Korea may be dead, guesses continue to be fueled by reports of Kim's alleged heart surgery and his disappearance from high-profile official events.
• North Korean leader's train seen at resort town amid speculation about death Press TV 26 Apr 2020 -- Satellite images released by a US think tank have shown a special train probably belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un parked at a coastal resort town in the east of the country, as speculation rises about his whereabouts, poor health, and even death.
• US Calls On Europe, Others To Take Action Against Iran After Satellite Launch Radio Farda 26 Apr 2020 -- In its latest move to garner diplomatic support against Iran for having launched a military satellite, the U.S. State Department issued a statement on April 25 calling on other countries to "reject" Iran's move.
• As Epidemic Rages On In Iran, Lack Of Revenues Pressures Rouhani Radio Farda 26 Apr 2020 -- A senior Iranian Health Ministry official says the coronavirus epidemic in Iran has still not reached its peak, meaning the number of infections and deaths are still on the rise.
• US renews Iraq waiver to import electricity from Iran Press TV 26 Apr 2020 -- The United States has renewed a waiver for Iraq to continue importing electricity from neighboring Iran.
• Pompeo Renews US Waiver for Iraq to Import Electricity From Iran for 30 Days – Report Sputnik 26 Apr 2020 -- Following the 2018 unilateral withdrawal of the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the reimposition of sanctions against Iran, Washington has been issuing special waivers that permit some countries and companies to conduct business with Tehran.
• UN Says Consequences Remain More Than Three Decades After Chernobyl Disaster RFE/RL 26 Apr 2020 -- The United Nations says persistent and serious long-term consequences remain more than 30 years after the explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
• Bushfires in Chernobyl Area Destroy Over 27,200 Acres of Forest - Ukrainian President Sputnik 26 Apr 2020 -- Ongoing bushfires in the exclusion zone near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant have destroyed more than 11,000 hectares (27,200 acres) of forest, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, exactly 34 years after the worst nuclear disaster in history.