Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Kabul says 1,000 Taliban prisoners free to date, urges reciprocation Press TV 10 May 2020 -- The Afghan government says it has so far released 1,000 Taliban members under a deal between the militant group and the Unites States, and that the militants should now reciprocate by freeing their captives and expediting intra-Afghan dialog.
• Afghan Forces Kill Senior Taliban Spy in Laghman Province Sputnik 10 May 2020 -- The Afghan forces have killed one of the Taliban's regional intelligence officers in the eastern province of Laghman, Asadullah Dawlatzai, the provincial governor's spokesman, stated on Sunday.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Travis AFB bolsters aeromedical evacuation capabilities amid COVID-19 US Air Force 10 May 2020 -- Travis Air Force Base is now one of three staging areas for the U.S. Air Force's specialized aeromedical evacuation missions relating to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic.
• U.S., UK conducting mine countermeasure exercise in the Arabian Gulf CENTCOM 10 May 2020 -- U.S. and UK Royal Navy mine countermeasures and surface assets are conducting Mine Countermeasures Exercise 2020 (MCMEX 20-3) in the Arabian Gulf April-May.
• First homemade airdrop-capable wheeled armored vehicle enters military service Global Times 10 May 2020 -- China's first batch of homemade airdrop-capable four-wheeled armored vehicles have entered service, which will boost the all-terrain mobilization capacity of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force and provide paratroopers enhanced firepower, mobility and protection.
• China-US war unlikely despite rising hostility Global Times 10 May 2020 -- The failed handling of the COVID-19 outbreak in the US has fueled Washington's hostility toward China and escalated concern that worsening bilateral ties might lead to a China-US war, prompting Chinese experts to assert that Beijing has sufficient nuclear capacity to assure mutually assured destruction (MAD) and create deterrence to reduce the risks of any direct conflict.
• India Defense Chief: India Must Stop Buying and Depending on Foreign-Made Weapons VOA 10 May 2020 -- India must stop buying and depending on foreign-made weapons and instead start manufacturing its own, India's Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat told The Times of India in an exclusive interview Saturday.
• Repatriated Indians Arrive Kochi Onboard Indian Naval Warship INS Jalashwa FROM Maldives India PIB 10 May 2020 -- INS Jalashwa, deployed for "Operation Samudra Setu", entered Kochi harbour at around 10:00 am on 10 May with a total of 698 Indian nationals stranded at Maldives, which included women, elderly people and children.
• Operation Samudra Setu - INS Magar Departs Male with Indian Citizens Embarked India PIB 10 May 2020 -- INS Magar, the second Indian Naval ship to reach Male, Maldives for evacuation of Indian citizens, has departed Male, Maldives after completing embarkation of personnel.
• Operation Samudra Setu INS Magar Arrives at Male to Evacuate Indian Citizens India PIB 10 May 2020 -- INS Magar, the second naval ship of the Indian Navy's Op Samudra Setu, to evacuate stranded Indian Nationals from Maldives and ensure smooth and safe passage back to India, arrived at Male Port on the morning of 10 May 20.
• MISSION SAGAR - 10 MAY 2020 India PIB 10 May 2020 -- As part of the Government of India outreach amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Indian Naval Ship Kesari has departed for Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros, to provide Food Items, COVID related Medicines including HCQ Tablets and Special Ayurvedic Medicines with Medical Assistance Teams embarked, on 10 May 20.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• US Navy warns China against 'bullying' others in S China Sea amid rising tensions Press TV 10 May 2020 -- The US Navy has warned China to stop "bullying" foreign ships in the South China Sea as two American warships sailed into the midst of a dispute in the contested waterway near Chinese territorial waters.
• WHO Suspends Operations in Much of Yemen VOA 10 May 2020 -- The World Health Organization has suspended its operations in the main Houthi-held areas of Yemen to pressure the rebel group to be more open about suspected coronavirus cases.
• Yemen urges UN to pressure Saudi-led coalition over offloading stranded oil tanker Press TV 10 May 2020 -- The Yemeni minister of oil and minerals has called upon the United Nations to pressure the Saudi-led coalition involved in a campaign against his country into allowing the offloading of crude oil from a tanker afloat off the coast of Yemen's port city of Hudaydah.
• Iraq's PMU forces kill Daesh top leader in Diyala, thwart infiltration in Anbar Press TV 10 May 2020 -- Iraq's pro-government Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), known in Arabic as Hashd al-Sha'abi, says its anti-terror fighters have killed a top leader of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in eastern province of Diyala.
• Heavy rocket attack by Libya rebels damages airport in Tripoli, kills 6 Press TV 10 May 2020 -- Libyan rebels have heavily attacked an airport in the capital Tripoli, killing six civilians and inflicting damage in and around the facility.
• At Least 3 Dead, a Dozen Wounded in Libya VOA 10 May 2020 -- Heavy shelling in residential areas of Tripoli, Libya's capital, left at least three dead and a dozen wounded Saturday, according to official sources.
• Turkey Threatens Retaliation Against Haftar's Forces in Libya VOA 10 May 2020 -- Turkey is threatening tough retaliation if forces loyal to Libyan general Khalifa Haftar strike Turkish interests or its diplomatic missions in Tripoli or elsewhere.
• Ankara threatens to target Haftar's forces if they continue to attack Turkey's interests Press TV 10 May 2020 -- Turkey has warned that it would deem the rebel forces of Libya's renegade General Khalifa Haftar "legitimate targets" if they continue to attack Turkey's interests and diplomatic missions in the violence-wracked North African country.
• Israel's annexation plan means end to peace illusions: Palestinian official Press TV 10 May 2020 -- Israel's controversial plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank means an end to peace efforts and the so-called two-state solution, a senior Palestinian official says.
• Mohsin: State-Sponsored Militants Behind Wazir's Killing VOA 10 May 2020 -- A prominent leader of Pakistan's Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) and member of the country's National Assembly blamed "state-sponsored militants" for last week's fatal attack on a leader of the movement in the country's South Waziristan region.
• Ethiopia admits shooting down Kenyan aircraft in Somalia Press TV 10 May 2020 -- Ethiopian military forces in Somalia have admitted to shooting down a Kenyan cargo plane carrying aid supplies earlier this week, which resulted in the deaths of all the six people on board.
• Three UN Peacekeepers Killed in Roadside Bomb Explosion in Northern Mali Sputnik 10 May 2020 -- UN peacekeepers are operating in Mali under the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), created by Security Council Resolution 2100 of 25 April 2013 to support political processes in the African country and carry out a number of security-related tasks.
• Indian, Chinese Troops Come to Blows in Ladakh, Injuries Reported Sputnik 10 May 2020 -- On Saturday, as many as 11 soldiers – four Indian and seven Chinese – were injured after a tense face-off near the Naku La sector (ahead of Muguthang Valley), a pass at a height of over 5,000 metres in the Sikkim sector. As per officials, the two Asian giants share a 2,400-mile long demarcated border.
• Newspaper Report: Indian, Chinese Troops Square off on Sikkim Border VOA 10 May 2020 -- A report published on an Indian newspaper's website says Indian and Chinese soldiers "exchanged blows" Saturday in North Sikkim, along India and China's border.
• Thousands Forced to Flee Violent Interethnic Attacks in Eastern DRC VOA 10 May 2020 -- In the last two months, the U.N. Refugee Agency reports more than 200,000 people have been forced to flee surging violence between the Lendu and Hema groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri Province.

News Reports

• Venezuela issues arrest warrant for 3 in US for role in failed plot Press TV 10 May 2020 -- Venezuela's chief prosecutor has issued arrest warrants for a former US Green Beret and two insurgents living in the United States for their role in a bungled operation intended to topple country's President Nicolás Maduro from power.
• Venezuelan military seizes Colombian combat vessels, weapons Press TV 10 May 2020 -- The Venezuelan Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the boats were equipped with machine guns and ammunition, but had no crew.
• Venezuelan Court Orders to Arrest US Citizens Accused of Involvement in Failed Invasion Sputnik 10 May 2020 -- A national court in Venezuela has ruled to take two US citizens into custody for being involved in the failed maritime invasion of Venezuela, the country's Supreme Tribunal of Justice has announced.
• COVID-19 pushes US-China relations to lowest point in decades Press TV 10 May 2020 -- The coronavirus threatens to further send the already strained relations between the US and China on a rapid downward slide, at a time when cooperation between the world's two largest economies is key to combat the pandemic and salvage the global economy.
• Deputies, support staff get ready for two sessions Global Times 10 May 2020 -- Preparations for the upcoming annual two sessions kicked off across China amid the COVID-19 epidemic as the Beijing traffic management authority conducted a thorough inspection of dozens of taxis that will serve the two sessions in late May.
• Hong Kong: Small Protests Renew Calls for Autonomy VOA 10 May 2020 -- Police pursued pro-democracy protesters in shopping malls in Hong Kong Sunday, after permission for a Mother's Day march was denied.
• "Taiwan independence" secessionists' recent attempts are extremely dangerous: spokesperson People's Daily 10 May 2020 -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Saturday issued a stern warning to "Taiwan independence" secessionists against their recent attempts to challenge the mainland's bottom line.
• IRGC Linked Agency Says Media, Analysts Got Khamenei's Pacifist Message Wrong Radio Farda 10 May 2020 -- Tasnim news agency in Iran says some foreign media and analysts got a tweet by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei wrong and portrayed it as if he was prepared to make peace with the United States.
• Iran's Ex-President Warns Of A Cycle of Violence Between People And Government Radio Farda 10 May 2020 -- Ex-president of the Islamic Republic, Mohammad Khatami, has warned that people in Iran might resort to violence as an answer to their state of hopelessness and despair. He has also warned that a "cycle of reciprocal violence between the people and the government" could occur in the clergy-dominated Iran.
• Will The Stock Market Bubble Burst In Iran? Radio Farda 10 May 2020 -- Iran's stock market is on a historic run as prices increased 190 percent in the twelve months ending March 20 and keep rising, outpacing any other investment opportunity in the country.
• Rare Race Heats Up Among Iran's Conservatives For Parliament Speaker RFE/RL 10 May 2020 -- Three months after the first round of national elections in Iran, a behind-the-scenes battle over the parliament speaker's post is pitting several conservatives against an ambitious former mayor of Tehran.
• HRW Urges Iran To Halt Prosecutions For Protests Over Ukraine Air Crash RFE/RL 10 May 2020 -- Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Iran to halt prosecutions of those who peacefully protested the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) deadly attack on a civilian airliner and the initial denial of responsibility.
• Iran Says Ready For Prisoner Swap With U.S. Without Preconditions RFE/RL 10 May 2020 -- Iran is ready for a full prisoner exchange with the United States, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei says, adding that Washington has yet to respond to Iran's call for a prisoner swap.
• Iran Ready for Unconditional Prisoner Swap With US, Reports Suggest Sputnik 10 May 2020 -- The New York Times previously reported that Tehran and Washington were holding negotiations on exchanging a US Navy veteran, Michael R. White, for an unidentified doctor held by the US.
• Iran Waiting to Hear from US About Prisoner Exchange VOA 10 May 2020 -- Iranian officials said Sunday they are ready for a prisoner exchange with the U.S. but that they have yet to hear from U.S. officials.
• New Iraqi PM Orders Jailed Protesters Freed VOA 10 May 2020 -- Iraqi courts have freed jailed anti-government protesters, carrying out one of the first major orders from the new prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
• Newly Appointed Iraqi PM Meets with US and Iran Ambassadors VOA 10 May 2020 -- Iraq's new prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, chaired his first cabinet meeting Saturday after being sworn in earlier in the week.