Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• US dispatches new reinforcements to Syria's Hasakah: SANA Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- The United States has reportedly deployed new military reinforcements to Syria's oil-rich northeastern province of Hasakah, irrespective of the Damascus government's vehement opposition to the presence of American troops on the Arab state's soil.
• Pentagon admits killing civilians during airstrikes in Somalia Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- The Pentagon has acknowledged for the first time that at least two civilians were killed and three were injured in US airstrikes early last year in Somalia, where rights groups have accused the US military of shrouding its operations in secrecy.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Eisenhower Strike Group Joins in Interoperability Exercises With French Navy NNS 28 Apr 2020 -- The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (CSG) and the French Navy conducted a bilateral, interoperability exercise in the North Arabian Sea April 25- 26.
• Navy Provides Medical Care to Sailors of USS Kidd, Disinfects Ship NNS 28 Apr 2020 -- As part of the Navy's aggressive response to the COVID-19 outbreak on board the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100), the ship will arrive at Naval Base San Diego April 28 to provide medical care for its Sailors and to clean and disinfect the ship.
• NEX Guam Serving Three Squares a Day to Service Members on Restriction of Movement NNS 28 Apr 2020 -- NEX Guam is serving three meals per day for those Sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) as well as a U.S. Marine Corps contingency, currently being quarantined or in restriction of movement (ROM) status on Naval Base Guam.
• Advances in Autonomy Flying High at Latest JIFX NNS 28 Apr 2020 -- The latest iteration of the Joint Interagency Field Experimentation 20-2 (JIFX) program, held March 2-6 at the Naval Postgraduate School Field Lab at Camp Roberts, provided another opportunity for the university to build closer ties with military, academia and the private sector. Autonomy was a key focal area of this event, and its use in the field is changing the game for military tactics and mission execution.
• Navy Strengthens Defense Industrial Base with New Small Business Funding Opportunity NNS 28 Apr 2020 -- To support the national response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Department of the Navy (DoN) must leverage and sustain its research-and-development industrial base–and attract new small business partners.
• US Navy Carrier Nimitz Sets Sail in Empty Pacific After COVID-19 Puts Fleet in Port Sputnik 28 Apr 2020 -- The US Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz left port in Puget Sound on Monday, embarking for comprehensive war drills. With all operational Pacific Fleet carriers in port with COVID-19 outbreaks, the only other capital ship sailing the region is China's Liaoning carrier.
• Ellsworth AFB B-1 plays key role in US, Japan bomber-fighter integration operations US Air Force 28 Apr 2020 -- In a demonstration of the U.S. Air Force's dynamic force employment model, a B-1B Lancer assigned to the 37th Bomb Squadron launched from Ellsworth Air Force Base and integrated with the Japan Air Self Defense Force to conduct bilateral and theater familiarization training near Japan, April 22.
• Pentagon Reports Number of COVID-19 Cases Increase to 6,648 With 27 Deaths Sputnik 28 Apr 2020 -- The number of confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the US armed forces, including family members, civilian staff and contractors, has exceeded 6,600 with a total of 27 deaths, the Department of Defence said on Thursday.
• Air Force update for COVID-19 US Air Force 28 Apr 2020/li>

• Russia Charges U.S. With Seeking 'Dominance' In Arctic RFE/RL 28 Apr 2020 -- Russia's ambassador to Denmark on April 27 accused the United States of pursuing a "policy of confrontation" in the Arctic region in a bid to "achieve dominance."
• COVID-19 may hit military budget, only mildly Global Times 28 Apr 2020 -- China's military budget for 2020 could maintain a steady increase even though foreign reports have suggested that an economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will hit military spending, but a slight decrease is also possible, Chinese analysts said on Tuesday.
• China sends new naval fleet for escort mission PLA Daily 28 Apr 2020 -- The 35th fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy on Tuesday left the port city of Zhoushan in east China's Zhejiang Province for the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia to escort civilian ships.
• US rants on IRGC satellite launch irrelevant: Veteran Iranian MP Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- A senior Iranian lawmaker has dismissed allegations by Washington that Tehran's recent satellite launch was in breach of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, saying it was in fact the United States that violated the UN document by abandoning a 2015 multinational nuclear deal.
• Iran Military Threatens US With 'Decisive' Response In Persian Gulf Radio Farda 28 Apr 2020 -- Any "illegal and provocative move" will be met with the crushing response of the Iranian forces, General Headquarters of the Islamic Republic Armed Forces has warned U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf.
• Tehran Warns 'Harassment or Provocation' to be Dealt with Firmly Amid Flare-Up of Tensions with US Sputnik 28 Apr 2020 -- Ongoing tensions between the US and Iran spiked again recently as President Trump announced he had instructed the US Navy to "shoot down and destroy" Iranian vessels that "harass American warships", after complaints emerged that some Iranian vessels had sailed dangerously close to US warships in the Persian Gulf.
• Norway Scrambles F-16s to Escort Russia's Tu-22M3s Over Barents, Norwegian Seas Sputnik 28 Apr 2020 -- Norway scrambled F-16 fighters to escort Russian long-range bombers Tu-22M3, who made a scheduled flight over the neutral waters of the Barents and Norwegian seas, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.
• Norwegian Chief of Defence Slams Country's Operational Capability, Preparedness Sputnik 28 Apr 2020 -- While noting an improvement from the 2017 situation, which he himself described as "terribly poor", Haakon Bruun-Hanssen stressed a lack of personnel and military equipment.

Defense Industry

• Contracts For April 28, 2020

Other Conflicts

• 28 April 2020 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 28 Apr 2020
• Conflict, Disasters Spark Record Number of Internally Displaced VOA 28 Apr 2020 -- A new report finds a record 50.8 million people globally are displaced within their own countries due to conflict, violence and natural disasters. The report, published by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, part of the Norwegian Refugee Council, says an estimated 33.4 million people were newly displaced in 2019, the highest annual figure since 2012.
• Manila Downplays Chinese Laser-Gun Incident in South China Sea Radio Free Asia 28 Apr 2020 -- The Philippines' defense chief on Tuesday downplayed Beijing's latest aggressive move in the South China Sea, saying it appeared that Chinese sailors had no real intention of hurting Filipinos when they pointed a laser gun at a Philippine navy ship.
• Chinese military slams US repeated provocative acts in South China Sea PLA Daily 28 Apr 2020 -- A US guided-missile destroyer USS Barry trespassed into Chinese territorial waters off the Xisha Islands without permission on April 28. In response, the Southern Theater Command (STC) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) organized naval and air forces to track, verify, identify, and warn the ship away, Senior Colonel Li Huamin, spokesperson for the PLA STC, said in a statement on Tuesday.
• Chinese military warns US warship to leave South China Sea Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- The Chinese military has warned a US warship to leave after it illegally entered the disputed waters in the South China Sea.
• Fed Up With FONOPS: China 'Expels' US Warship From South China Sea, Urges Focus on COVID-19 Sputnik 28 Apr 2020 -- In an echo of rhetoric deployed against Beijing for months, Chinese warships drove a US Navy destroyer out of contested waters, urging Washington to focus on combating the COVID-19 outbreak that has killed more than 50,000 Americans.
• PLA expels trespassing US warship from Xisha Islands, urges it to fight COVID-19 at home Global Times 28 Apr 2020 -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Tuesday expelled a US warship that trespassed into Chinese territorial waters off the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea as the US' move could have easily caused an accident, a Chinese military spokesperson said on Tuesday, who also urged the US side to focus on COVID-19 prevention and control at home rather than destabilizing regional security and peace.
• The United States' Concern With the Southern Transitional Council's Announcement of "Self-Rule" in Southern Yemen US Dept. of State 28 Apr 2020
• UN chief calls on Yemenis to resolve differences through inclusive dialogue Global Times 28 Apr 2020 -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on parties concerned in Yemen to resolve their differences through an inclusive dialogue.
• One million Yemenis risk losing shelter due to lack of funds: UN Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- The United Nations refugee agency says nearly one million displaced people in Yemen risk losing their shelter due to torrential rains and seasonal floods, warning about a dire lack of funding at a time when the county is already threatened by the new coronavirus pandemic.
• Terrorist Attack in Afrin, Syria US Dept. of State 28 Apr 2020
• Fuel truck bomb kills 40 in Turkish-controlled northwestern Syria city Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- More than three dozen people have lost their lives when a powerful fuel truck bomb explosion rocked a northwestern Syrian city seized by Turkish military forces and their allied militants in the aftermath of a cross-border ground offensive against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militants more than two years ago.
• 40 Civilians Killed in Bomb Attack in Syria's Afrin, Turkish Defence Ministry States Sputnik 28 Apr 2020 -- Ambulances and fire brigades are working on the scene of the explosion, local media reported.
• IS Militants Stepping Up Attacks in Syria's Desert VOA 28 Apr 2020 -- Militants linked to the Islamic State (IS) terror group have increased their attacks in recent weeks against military forces and civilians in the desert region of Syria.
• US committing 'coup' against peace: Palestinian Authority Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- The Palestinian Authority (PA) condemns the United States' recent expression of readiness to recognize Israel's annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories.
• Palestinian group says has captured Israeli military drone flying over Gaza Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- The Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, says it has captured an Israeli military drone flying over the Gaza Strip.
• US ready to recognize Israeli 'sovereignty' in occupied Palestinian lands Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- The United States says it is "prepared to recognize Israeli actions to extend Israeli sovereignty" in the occupied lands belonging to Palestinians.
• General Haftar seeking to stage new coup in Libya, GNA warns Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) says renegade General Khalifa Haftar is seeking to stage a new coup against the government after he claimed to have a "mandate" from the Libyans to govern.
• Libyan strongman dismisses UN unity pact, vows to form own govt. Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- Libya's renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar has dismissed a 2015 United Nations-brokered unity accord for the war-ravaged country as "a thing of the past," vowing to establish a new government under his rule.
• France Says Libyan Conflict Can Only Be Resolved Through UN-Backed Dialogue Between Parties Sputnik 28 Apr 2020 -- The statement follows military commander Khalifa Haftar's announcement that he had assumed control of the eastern-based civilian authorities and had a popular mandate to govern Libya.
• Russian FM Source Says Moscow 'Surprised' at Haftar's Claims of LNA's Control Over Libya Sputnik 28 Apr 2020 -- Russia finds surprising the claims by Libyan National Army (LNA) commander, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, that the LNA assumes leadership over the country, and keeps insisting that the crisis cannot be solved militarily, a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
• Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh Face 'Severe' Food Shortages, HRW Warns Radio Free Asia 28 Apr 2020 -- A coronavirus shutdown imposed on refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh has placed more than 1 million Rohingya sheltering there at severe risk of food and water shortages and disease outbreaks, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.
• Lhasa's Historic Barkhor District Opens, But Monasteries Remain Closed Radio Free Asia 28 Apr 2020 -- The central Barkhor old town and market area of Tibet's regional capital Lhasa has reopened to the public, and worshippers have begun again to walk devotional circuits around the city's famed Jokhang temple as coronavirus restrictions continue to lift, Tibetan sources say.
• Kashmiri Leader: COVID-19 Lowers Chances of Pakistan-India War VOA 28 Apr 2020 -- Pakistan and India are locked in almost daily military clashes across their Kashmir frontier, but the president of the Pakistani-ruled part of the disputed territory says the coronavirus pandemic has for now diminished chances, if any, of the tensions escalating into a full-blown war.
• Colombia's National Liberation Army Announces End of Ceasefire From 1 May Sputnik 28 Apr 2020 -- A major Colombian militant group, National Liberation Army (ELN) announced the end of the ceasefire from 1 May, the UN representative in Colombia immediately called on the ELN to extend the ceasefire because of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

News Reports

• Trump ignored repeated virus warnings in Jan. and Feb.: US media Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- President Donald Trump was repeatedly warned about the dangers of the coronavirus in January and February but refused to take action, US media said.
• Poll Finds Russians' Trust In Putin Dips To Lowest Point In 14 Years RFE/RL 28 Apr 2020 -- A survey by Russia's main state-funded pollster shows that trust in Russian President Vladimir Putin fell in March to its lowest in 14 years.
• Amid Czech Claims Of Poisoning Plot, Moscow Says It's Victim Of 'Slander' RFE/RL 28 Apr 2020 -- Russia has rejected as slander a Czech media report of an alleged poisoning plot against Prague officials, including the city's mayor, as the Czech counterintelligence agency refuses to comment on the allegations.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on April 28, 2020 PRC MofA 28 Apr 2020
• Beijing warns on use of 'China card' in US vote People's Daily 28 Apr 2020 -- Beijing opposes the efforts of some individuals in the United States to drag China into the US elections and play the China card to gain votes, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Monday.
• Rights Group Details Litany of Police Violence, Abuses During Hong Kong Protests Radio Free Asia 28 Apr 2020 -- A Hong Kong-based human rights group has detailed a litany of police violence and abuse of power during last year's protests in a report to the U.K. parliament, as sporadic protests continue in the city in spite of the coronavirus pandemic.
• US Religious Freedoms Panel Urges Sanctions on China Over Violations in Xinjiang Radio Free Asia 28 Apr 2020 -- A U.S. bipartisan commission called on Tuesday for sanctions against entities deemed responsible for the persecution of Muslims in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and for the country to be placed on a State Department blacklist of the world's worst abusers of religious freedoms.
• North Korea's Kim may be trying to avoid coronavirus: South Korea Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- South Korea has again rejected reports about a serious illness afflicting North's leader Kim Jong-un, saying his recent absence from a key public event may have been to avoid exposure to the new coronavirus.
• Kim Jong-un Alive & Dodging COVID-19, S Korean Gov't Minister Says Sputnik 28 Apr 2020 -- The minister argued that Kim has dropped out of sight on at least two occasions since mid-January, which could hardly be considered unusual amid the current coronavirus situation.
• What Awaits North Korea Should Anything Happen to Kim Jong-un? Sputnik 28 Apr 2020 -- Rumours about the North Korean leader being in a coma or even passing away emerged last Saturday, but one thing is certain: it's actually not the first time that 36-year-old Kim Jong-un has "died," with the main intrigue being not the trustworthiness of the claims, but how things would play out should it really be the case.
• Trump Refuses to Comment Whether Kim Jong Un Still at Helm of North Korea, Wishes Him Well Sputnik 28 Apr 2020 -- US President Donald Trump on Tuesday refused to comment during a press briefing on Tuesday whether North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is still at the helm of the country.
• Iran's Zarif, Russia's Lavrov dismiss as 'impractical' Pompeo's anti-Iran UN bid Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- The top Iranian and Russian diplomats have dismissed a plot by their US counterpart to press for the extension of a UN arms embargo against the Islamic Republic by resorting to a process outlined in a 2015 nuclear agreement that Washington has already abandoned.
• US to face tough battle in pushing plan to extend UN Iran arms embargo: Diplomats Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- Diplomatic sources at the United Nations say Washington has a tough challenge ahead at the Security Council (UNSC) if it pushes for an extension of the world body's arms embargo against Iran through recourse to a process set out in a multilateral nuclear deal that the US controversially abandoned in 2018.
• Zarif, Lavrov dismiss US new plan for JCPOA as impractical, delusional IRNA 28 Apr 2020 -- Foreign Ministers of Iran and Russia on Tuesday rejected a new US plan about a 2015 Iran nuclear deal – known as JCPOA.
• Zarif, Lavrov reject US new plan for JCPOA as impracticable ISNA 28 Apr 2020 -- Iran's Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov held a phone conversation on Tuesday, rejecting US delusional plan for Iran nuclear deal as impracticable.
• Leader approves vesting of Justice Shares owned by 49mn Iranians Press TV 28 Apr 2020 -- Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has endorsed a government request to vest restricted stocks of dozens of government-run companies that are owned by tens of millions of Iranians.
• Iran's Conservatives To Fight Over Post Of Parliament Speaker Radio Farda 28 Apr 2020 -- Several conservative contestants for the post of the Speaker of Iran's Parliament (Majles) are trying to prevent Tehran's former Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf from winning the position, says reformist newspaper Ebtekar in Tehran.
• Iran Shipping Large Quantity Of Crude Oil To Syria Radio Farda 28 Apr 2020 -- Tanker tracking sources say Iran's oil exports to Syria have increased substantially in recent weeks and currently several cargoes have reached the Baniyas port in Syria.
• India Activates Currency Swap Arrangement with Maldives Amid China's Return to the Island Sputnik 28 Apr 2020 -- The currency swap facility is part of the $1.4 billion economic package announced by India for the Maldives in December 2018 after Abdulla Yameen's defeat in the elections.
• Burundi Moves Ahead With May Election Amid Coronavirus Outbreak VOA 28 Apr 2020 -- The race to become Burundi's next president is officially underway as authorities proclaim God will protect citizens from the novel coronavirus, which has already infected 15 people in the central African nation and caused the death of one other.
• Protesters, Soldiers Clash in Lebanon as COVID-19 Pandemic Worsens Financial Crisis VOA 28 Apr 2020 -- Hundreds of protesters set two banks on fire and clashed with soldiers Tuesday in Tripoli, as the country's crippling financial crisis is worsened by coronavirus lockdown measures, medical and security sources said.
• Shots Fired, Cars Burned as Haiti Police Officers Hit Streets to Demand Back Pay VOA 28 Apr 2020 -- Dozens of police officers took to the streets of Port-au-Prince Monday to demand the government pay them the money it owes them. The group, who fanned out on motorbikes, pickup trucks, SUVs and on foot, were accompanied by some civilian supporters.
• U.S. Religious-Freedom Report Cites Improvement in Uzbekistan, Deterioration In Russia RFE/RL 28 Apr 2020 -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is proposing the State Department remove Uzbekistan from its "worst of the worst" list of offenders of religious freedom, while reiterating that Russia should be put on that list.