Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• The Taliban, The Government, And Islamic State: Who Controls What In Afghanistan? RFE/RL 31 May 2020 -- After 18 years of fighting, the Afghan war is at a deadly stalemate.
• Islamic State Claims Blast That Killed Afghan Journalist, Technician RFE/RL 31 May 2020 -- The Islamic State (IS) extremist group has claimed responsibility for a bomb blast that killed an Afghan journalist and a technician in a minibus carrying employees of a local television station.
• Hundreds More Captives Freed As Part Of Afghanistan-Taliban Prisoner Swap RFE/RL 31 May 2020 -- The Afghan government and the Taliban have released more captives as part of a major prisoner swap ahead of formal peace talks aimed at ending the 18-year war.
• Afghan TV Journalist, Driver Killed in Kabul Blast VOA 31 May 2020 -- Afghan officials said Saturday a bomb exploded and killed a journalist and a driver of a private television channel in the capital, Kabul. Six other people were injured.
• National Guard Called up in 11 States to Handle Protests VOA 31 May 2020 -- The governors of Minnesota and 11 other states have called up National Guard troops as they faced another night of violent protests sparked by the death of an African American man while in police custody.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Russia's Northern Fleet Plans Major Arctic Drills For This Summer Sputnik 31 May 2020 -- Russia's Northern Fleet will carry out major drills in the Barents and Norwegian Seas this month, with more than 30 ships planned to be involved, Commander of the Northern Fleet, Vice Admiral Alexander Moiseyev, has announced.
• PLA expands high-altitude arsenal to address border threat Global Times 31 May 2020 -- Since the Doklam standoff with India in 2017, the Chinese military has expanded its arsenal with weapons like the Type 15 tank, Z-20 helicopter and GJ-2 drone that should give China the advantage in high-altitude conflicts should they arise, Chinese analysts said on Sunday.
• Syria receives advanced MiG-29 fighter jets from Russia: SANA Press TV 31 May 2020 -- Syria has received a second batch of advanced MiG-29 fighter jets from Russia as Damascus and its allies are fighting a remaining Daesh pocket in the Arab country.
• Seas around Taiwan to be center of military movements: defense analyst CNA 31 May 2020 -- The seas around Taiwan, including the Miyako Strait, the Bashi Channel, the East China Sea, the South China Sea and the Philippine Sea, are expected to become the focus of increased military movements, according to a Taiwanese defense analyst.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• 4 civilians killed in shelling by Saudi mercenaries in Yemen's Hudaydah Press TV 31 May 2020 -- At least four civilians have been killed and over a dozen others injured in mortar shelling by Saudi-sponsored militiamen loyal to Yemen's former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, at a residential area in the western coastal province of Hudaydah.
• Jordan warns UK, US of 'unprecedented danger' of Israel's land grab bid Press TV 31 May 2020 -- Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has cautioned Britain and the United States against the "unprecedented danger" posed by an Israeli scheme to annex parts of the occupied Palestinian territory, urging the international community to step in.
• Egyptian Armed Forces Neutralise 19 Terrorists in Northern Sinai, Military Spokesman Says Sputnik 31 May 2020 -- The Egyptian military has eliminated 19 terrorists in northern Sinai during several raids over the week, spokesman Tamer Al-Rifai has said.
• Cameroon Military Acknowledges Soldiers Arrested in Togo VOA 31 May 2020 -- Cameroon's military says three of five men recently arrested by Togolese police and portrayed by Togolese media as notorious criminals who committed serious offenses against Togolese citizens are Cameroonian soldiers, while the other two are former convicts. The three military men stole weapons from the military headquarters in Yaoundé and went to Togo's capital, Lomé, where they used the weapons to harass Togolese, according to Togolese police.
• Roadside Bomb Blast Kills 9 Near Somali Capital VOA 31 May 2020 -- Somali officials say nine civilians were killed and 10 others were wounded in a roadside bomb explosion outside Mogadishu on Sunday.

News Reports

• No, 5G Cellular Technology Does Not Cause COVID-19 Or Facilitate Its Spread RFE/RL 31 May 2020 -- In an official statement on May 20, the synod of the Orthodox Church of Moldova urged the government to make any eventual vaccine against the deadly coronavirus voluntary.
• US Protests Could Bring Coronavirus Surge VOA 31 May 2020 -- U.S. health officials are warning there could be a new surge in coronavirus cases following the protests of the death of George Floyd, the African American man who died after a police officer in Minneapolis pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd lay on the ground.
• India expels two Pakistani officials for alleged espionage Press TV 31 May 2020 -- India has declared two officials of the Pakistan High Commission in the capital New Delhi as persona non grata for "espionage activities", ordering their expulsion amid deepening tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
• Two Pakistani Officials Detained in India Over Espionage-Related Activities Sputnik 31 May 2020 -- Authorities in India have declared two officials personae non grata for what they described as activities incompatible with their status as members of a diplomatic mission and asked them to leave the country within 24 hours.
• On US College Campuses, Student Groups Call for Closure of Beijing-Funded Confucius Institutes VOA 31 May 2020 -- Two of the largest U.S. college campus political organizations are calling for the closure of all Confucius Institutes in the United States, saying the Beijing-funded outposts are part of the Chinese Communist Party's attempt to control discourse on China at American universities.
• Trump slams China over Hong Kong security law, threatens severe action Press TV 31 May 2020 -- US President Donald Trump has slammed China over the recently-passed national security law by the legislative council in the former British colony of Hong Kong, claiming that Beijing had broken its word regarding the city's autonomy and vowing that the territory no longer warranted US economic privileges.
• US threats of sanctions fail to pressure HK Global Times 31 May 2020 -- Officials in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) remain defiant over US threats to impose sanctions on the city following the adoption of a national security legislation for Hong Kong, as they mounted a fierce defense against what they call US' hypocrisy and double standard. They insisted that the city is not worried about the impact of potential US sanctions.
• US, UK attempts to discuss HK security bill at UN Security Council end in failure Global Times 31 May 2020 -- Attempts made by the US and the UK to push the UN Security Council to discuss Hong Kong's national security legislation have ended in failure, with a Chinese envoy slamming it as intending to point fingers at the internal affairs of China for their own political purposes.
• HKSAR gov't voices deep regret over U.S. smearing China's legitimate rights to protect national security People's Daily 31 May 2020 -- China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Saturday voiced deep regret that the U.S. government continued to smear and demonize the legitimate rights and duty of China to safeguard national security in the HKSAR which is aimed at restoring stability to Hong Kong society.
• Chinese Mission asks EU to refrain from interfering in HK affairs People's Daily 31 May 2020 -- A spokesperson of the Chinese Mission to the European Union (EU) on Friday urged the EU to refrain from interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs in any form, in response to Declaration of the High Representative on behalf of the EU on Hong Kong.
• Hong Kong officials slam US for moving to end special treatment of city Press TV 31 May 2020 -- Hong Kong government officials have criticized US President Donald Trump for moving to strip the semi-autonomous Chinese territory of its special rights status.
• Long lines as Iranian fuel arrives at Venezuela's gasoline stations Press TV 31 May 2020 -- Fuel shipped from Iran has begun arriving at Venezuela's gasoline stations as the fifth cargo of an Iranian flotilla approached the Caribbean Sea and was expected to reach Venezuelan waters Sunday.
• What's Behind Iran's Fuel Shipment to Venezuela? VOA 31 May 2020 -- The arrival in Venezuela of five Iranian oil tankers is expected to ease the South American nation's gasoline crisis, while challenging U.S. sanctions targeting both countries.
• Canada Continues Pressure On Iran To Hand Over Black Boxes Of Downed Airliner Radio Farda 31 May 2020 -- Canada and four other countries are still trying to pressure Iran to release the flight recorders from a Ukrainian passenger plane shot down in January over Tehran, Transport Minister Marc Garneau says.
• Iran's New Parliament Speaker Rejects Talks With US As 'Futile' Radio Farda 31 May 2020 -- Iran's new parliament speaker Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf has said any negotiations with the United States would be "futile" as he delivered his first major speech to the conservative-dominated chamber on Sunday.
• Special Representative Hook Calls Iran's Regime 'Marxist Theocracy' Radio Farda 31 May 2020 -- The "Fact Sheet" published by the U.S. Department of State, highlighting allegations against the Islamic Republic has triggered a war of words between Tehran and Washington.
• Iran Minister Downplays November Protest Death Toll In First Official Acknowledgement Radio Farda 31 May 2020 -- Nearly seven months after Iran's security forces killed several hundreds protesters in November 2019, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said implicitly for the first time on Saturday May 30 that the number of those killed was around 200.
• Iran completes cycle of space technology despite sanctions IRNA 31 May 2020 -- Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology Morteza Barari said on Sunday that despite all sanctions and restrictions, the Islamic Republic of Iran attained full cycle of space technology.
• Russian space agency calls Trump's reaction to SpaceX launch 'hysteria' Press TV 31 May 2020 -- The Russian space agency Roscosmos has criticized US President Donald Trump's reaction to NASA's launch of two astronauts into space, calling it "hysteria."
• SpaceX Astronauts Welcomed Aboard International Space Station VOA 31 May 2020 -- The crew of the International Space Station welcomed U.S. astronauts Douglas Hurley and Bob Behnken after their privately built SpaceX capsule docked Sunday.
• NASA, SpaceX launch astronauts to space Global Times 31 May 2020 -- NASA and SpaceX launched Crew Dragon spacecraft from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, carrying two American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
• US Astronauts Dock SpaceX Rocket at International Space Station VOA 31 May 2020 -- U.S. astronauts Douglas Hurley and Bob Behnken docked SpaceX's newly designed Crew Dragon capsule at the International Space Station on Sunday.
• Saudi activist reveals formation of opposition council to oust crown prince Press TV 31 May 2020 -- A Saudi activist has revealed the formation of a coordinating council by the kingdom's distinguished opposition figures and political dissidents, including three senior members of the royal family, in order to remove Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) from power.
• Children Of Azerbaijani Ex-Security Chief Acquired Luxury Properties In Britain, Investigation Finds RFE/RL 31 May 2020 -- The children of Azerbaijan's former security chief have acquired a number of a luxury properties in Britain, including a $21 million home in London, an investigation revealed.
• Vindication? Ex-Minister Takes Aim At Bulgaria's 'Totalitarian Instinct' RFE/RL 31 May 2020 -- A former Bulgarian foreign minister who has since been targeted by the country's courts has vowed to help pull back the curtain on autocratic tendencies and anti-Western elements in the European Union's poorest state.