Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS James Jeffrey on the Virtual Meeting of Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Small Group US Dept. of State 05 Jun 2020
• U.S. Air Strikes Target Taliban In Afghanistan RFE/RL 05 Jun 2020 -- The U.S. military says it has launched its first air strikes against the Taliban since a cease-fire declared by the militants and Afghan forces last month.
• US Carries Out First Airstrikes Against Taliban Since End of Afghan Ceasefire - Official Sputnik 05 Jun 2020 -- A ceasefire, which was part of the peace deal negotiated between the Afghan government and the Taliban with the mediation of the United States earlier this year, expired on 26 May.
• Taliban Ambush Kills 15 Afghan Forces, US Attacks Insurgents VOA 05 Jun 2020 -- Afghan officials said Friday fresh fighting in the southern province of Zabul has killed at least 15 members of the security force and 12 Taliban insurgents.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Ex-Joint Chiefs Chairman 'Troubled' by Trump's 'Dangerous' Plan to Use Troops to Quell Protests Sputnik 05 Jun 2020 -- Cities across America are being rocked by massive protests in the wake of the Minnesota police killing of an unarmed black man accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. The majority of the protests have been peaceful, but some have degenerated into violence, looting and arson, prompting governors in at least 25 states to deploy the National Guard.
• North Dakota Activates National Guard Ahead of George Floyd Protest in Fargo - Reports Sputnik 05 Jun 2020 -- The North Dakota National Guard has been sent to the border with Minnesota ahead of a George Floyd protest in the city of Fargo later in the day, ABC News TV channel reported on Friday.
• Ex-Joint Chiefs chairman: Trump's threat to use military on protesters 'very dangerous' Press TV 05 Jun 2020 -- Former US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey has slammed President Donald Trump for his handling of nationwide protests against police violence and systemic racism sparked by the recent police killing of unarmed, handcuffed African-American man George Floyd.
• Air Force update for COVID-19 US Air Force 05 Jun 2020
• Trump Orders Pentagon to Reduce US Troops in Germany by 9,500 Soldiers - Report Sputnik 05 Jun 2020 -- Currently, the number of US troops permanently assigned in Germany is 34,500.
• Experts Predict Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Warfare DoD News 05 Jun 2020 -- Artificial intelligence will increasingly – and dramatically – improve systems across the Defense Department, the director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center said.
• Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group Units Begin to Return from Deployment NNS 05 Jun 2020 -- Elements of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group began returning home June 5, marking the end of their deployment after operating in the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation.
• AFCEC leads Little Rock AFB runway replacement US Air Force 05 Jun 2020 -- The Air Force Civil Engineer Center is leading a $180 million project to replace the 64-year-old runway at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas.
• AFWERX to host JADC2 demo event for government users, tech scouts US Air Force 05 Jun 2020 -- AFWERX is scheduled to host a digital Joint All-Domain Command and Control prototyping demonstration event during the weeks of June 15 and 22.
• White House Report Recommends Multi-Pronged Approach to Counter China DoD News 05 Jun 2020 -- China is using government, military, economic, diplomatic and information levers to change the well-tested and beneficial international order, and the United States must have a similar strategy to combat these efforts, according to a White House report.
• Space Development Agency Works Closely With Army, Its Biggest Customer DoD News 05 Jun 2020 -- With the 2019 creation of the Space Force, U.S. Space Command and the Space Development Agency, the Defense Department has a lot riding on space. But the agency's big focus now is on taking care of its biggest customer – the Army – the Space Development Agency's director said.
• U.S. destroyer transits Taiwan Strait on June 4 CNA 05 Jun 2020 -- A United States destroyer transited the Taiwan Strait on routine operations on Thursday, the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in China, according to Taiwan's defense ministry and the U.S. 7th Fleet.
• US warship crosses Taiwan Straits attempting to shift its domestic pressure: analyst Global Times 05 Jun 2020 -- A US warship made a transit through the Taiwan Straits on Thursday, the seventh of such an event in 2020. The move is not only preparing the US military for a potential conflict in the region and an attempt to provoke the Chinese mainland, but also an attempt to shift domestic pressure from widespread protests, COVID-19 and a poor economy, for which the Chinese mainland should maintain its strategic focus and not dance to the US' tune, analysts said on Friday.
• China Calls US Warship's Taiwan Strait Transit a Provocation VOA 05 Jun 2020 -- Chinese state media and internet users Friday accused the United States of making "another provocative move" as a warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait – the seventh such transit by the U.S. Navy this year, at a time when the island mourns victims of China's 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
• Chinese peacekeepers to DRC engage in emergency construction of quarantine station PLA Daily 05 Jun 2020 -- While COVID-19 epidemic is still spreading, a new round of Ebola and malaria quietly breaks out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In order to strengthen the epidemic prevention and control, the 23rd Chinese peacekeeping engineering contingent to DRC dispatched personnel and vehicles to the Kawum area on June 3, setting out the construction of a temporary quarantine station for the peacekeeping forces.
• Special moments from Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong's history People's Daily 05 Jun 2020 -- China's first domestically built aircraft carrier, the Shandong (hull number 17), departed from the Dalian Shipyard on May 25 for sea trials in the northern region of the Yellow Sea. Let's look back at some of the special moments from this aircraft carrier's history.
• Briefing with U.S. Representative to the UN Ambassador Kelly Craft On U.S. Engagement at the United Nations Security Council US Dept. of State 05 Jun 2020

Defense Industry

• Contracts For June 5, 2020

Other Conflicts

• 5 June 2020 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 05 Jun 2020
• Indonesia Rejects China's Offer For South China Sea Talks Radio Free Asia 05 Jun 2020 -- Indonesia on Friday rejected a Chinese offer for negotiations on the South China Sea, as Jakarta reiterated that it had no overlapping claims with Beijing in its exclusive economic zone.
• US Military Claims China Using COVID-19 as Cover for Increased South China Sea Activity Sputnik 05 Jun 2020 -- The commander of the United States Forces Japan and the Fifth Air Force at Yokota Air Base has issued a warning, alleging that Beijing's increased maritime activity in the South China Sea will continue following the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic.
• KSrelief Delivers Chinese Government Aid to Yemen to Combat COVID-19 SPA 05 Jun 2020 -- King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has delivered aid provided by the Chinese government to Yemen to combat the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), in coordination with the forces of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy, in Yemen.
• KSrelief Delivers 3rd Batch of Medical Aid to Yemeni Health Ministry to Confront COVID-19 SPA 05 Jun 2020 -- King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) delivered yesterday the third batch of medical aid to the Yemeni Ministry of Health to combat the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in various governorates of Yemen.
• Iran says expansion of US, EU bans on Syria 'unlawful, inhumane' Press TV 05 Jun 2020 -- Iran has condemned the expansion of EU and US sanctions against Syria, calling it an inhumane tool that seriously endangers human rights.
• Airstrike Attributed To Israel Kills Nine Iran-Backed Forces in Syria Radio Farda 05 Jun 2020 -- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says airstrikes attributed to Israel has killed at least nine "Iranian-backed" forces in the Syrian province of Hama.
• Libyan government forces retake Haftar's last stronghold in west Press TV 05 Jun 2020 -- Libya's government forces have regained control of the strategic town of Tarhuna in the southeast of the capital Tripoli, the last major stronghold of Libyan rebels under the command of renegade general Khalifa Haftar.
• Local Officials in Myanmar's Rakhine State Resign, Fearing Arrest by Military Radio Free Asia 05 Jun 2020 -- Dozens of village and ward administrators in a township in western Myanmar's war-scarred Rakhine state submitted their resignations on Friday out of fear of arbitrary arrest by the Myanmar military, following the recent detentions of three of their colleagues on terrorism charges.
• Some acts of violence in DR Congo may amount to war crimes: UN Press TV 05 Jun 2020 -- The United Nations (UN) has warned that some acts of violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo may amount to "war crimes."
• Hamas calls for new strategy to counter challenges facing Palestinian cause Press TV 05 Jun 2020 -- The head of the political bureau of the Hamas resistance movement has called for a coherent national strategy in the face of dangers and challenges that threaten the Palestinian cause.
• Greek Defence Minister Warns Athens Prepared for Conflict With 'Aggressive' Turkey Sputnik 05 Jun 2020 -- Relations between the two NATO members have been poor for centuries following several major wars, as well as tensions over Cyprus, repeated military confrontations in the Aegean Sea, and concerns by Athens that Ankara is deliberately "threatening Europe" with an influx of Middle Eastern refugees.
• Terrorist groups exploiting COVID-19 in Sahel, UN peacekeeping chief tells Security Council UN News 05 Jun 2020 -- COVID-19 is complicating an already complex security situation in the Sahel, with terrorist groups exploiting the pandemic as they step up attacks on national and international forces, the UN's peacekeeping chief said on Friday.

News Reports

• Czech Government Orders Out Two Russian Embassy Staff Over Ricin Plot Hoax RFE/RL 05 Jun 2020 -- Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis says his government has designated two staff members at the Russian Embassy in Prague as personae non gratae and ordered them to leave.
• Foreign States or Criminals Trying to Steal UK's COVID Vaccine Secrets, Spy Chief Claims Sputnik 05 Jun 2020 -- The GCHQ director would not disclose who is believed to be behind the attacks, although he described China as the UK's "intelligence adversary" elsewhere in the interview.
• Facing More Pressure from Washington, Britain Pushes Back on Huawei Dependence VOA 05 Jun 2020 -- The Trump administration's campaign to keep Chinese tech giant Huawei out of its allies' 5G networks appears to be gaining ground in Britain.
• U.S. Senators Introduce Legislation To Stop Completion Of Russian Gas Pipeline RFE/RL 05 Jun 2020 -- A group of bipartisan senators has submitted legislation to stop Russia from completing a controversial undersea natural-gas pipeline to Germany.
• The Week In Russia: Plebiscites, Parades, And Opinion Polls RFE/RL 05 Jun 2020 -- Some people say that, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, everything's got to change. Others hope for a return to the way things were before - or the way they think they were.
• Cosmic Or Cosmetic Changes: A Twitter Shake-Up At Russia's Space Agency RFE/RL 05 Jun 2020 -- A scroll through the official Twitter account of Roskosmos on June 3 would have turned up some striking old posts from Russia's respected state-owned space agency.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on June 5, 2020 PRC MofA 05 Jun 2020
• HK legislators pass National Anthem Bill People's Daily 05 Jun 2020 -- Hong Kong's legislature passed the long-delayed National Anthem Bill on Thursday, which outlaws insults to China's national anthem.
• China Deplores the UK's 'Gross Interference' over Hong Kong Citizenship Offer, Warns of Consequences Sputnik 05 Jun 2020 -- Earlier, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated he was prepared to offer the right to live and work in Britain to some 3 million Hong Kong citizens eligible for a British National Overseas passport, in the event that Beijing proceeded with enforcing its security legislation within the city.
• China Misses Energy Goal as Environment Concerns Grow Radio Free Asia 05 Jun 2020 -- As China tries to restore its economy to pre-pandemic levels, signs are growing that the government has assigned environmental concerns a lower priority.
• Kashgar's Old City Destruction Emblematic of Beijing's Cultural Campaign Against Uyghurs: Report Radio Free Asia 05 Jun 2020 -- China's government has destroyed much of Kashgar's Old City in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) precisely because of its cultural significance for Uyghurs, according to a new report, which called the campaign key to understanding how Beijing seeks to control the ethnic group.
• Contract Decision Raises Doubts About Israel-China Tech Ties VOA 05 Jun 2020 -- The Trump administration appears to have scored a victory in its campaign to dissuade key allies from expanding their high-tech trade relations with China.
• North Korean Party Officials Required to do 'Voluntary' Labor on Farms Radio Free Asia 05 Jun 2020 -- Officials from key departments of North Korea's ruling Korean Workers' Party are being mobilized to help with work on farms, ending their traditional exemption from labor in the fields, North Korean sources say.
• South Korea Blocks NGO From Sending Bibles, Rice to North VOA 05 Jun 2020 -- South Korean police on Friday prevented a Christian activist group from sending aid and Bibles to North Korea, the latest evidence Seoul intends to prevent cross-border distributions that have angered Pyongyang.
• Statement of Spokesman for United Front Department of C.C., WPK KCNA 05 Jun 2020 -- A spokesman of the United Front Department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea published a statement on Friday.
• Pak Pong Ju Inspects Hwanghae Iron and Steel Complex and Namhung Youth Chemical Complex KCNA 05 Jun 2020 -- Pak Pong Ju, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), vice-chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and vice-chairman of the C.C., WPK, inspected the Hwanghae Iron and Steel Complex and the Namhung Youth Chemical Complex.
• This Week in Iran Policy US Dept. of State 05 Jun 2020
• Iran spox confirms meeting of FM Zarif, US' Bill Richardson IRNA 05 Jun 2020 -- Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Friday confirmed the meeting between Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and former US ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson.
• FM Zarif to Trump: Iran, JCPOA parties never left table IRNA 05 Jun 2020 -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a message reacted to Trump's offer of talks with Iran, saying Iran and other JCPOA parties never left table.
• Iran's Zarif Challenges Trump To Return To Nuclear Deal Radio Farda 05 Jun 2020 -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has responded to Donald Trump's conciliatory tone, following a deal to release an American prisoner, by challenging him to return to the Obama-era nuclear deal.
• Leaving Iran deal a 'dumb bet'; up to you when to fix it: Zarif to Trump Press TV 05 Jun 2020 -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says it is up to US President Donald Trump to decide when to redress his mistake of leaving the 2015 nuclear deal signed between the Islamic Republic and major world powers.
• Briefing with Special Representative for Iran and Senior Advisor to the Secretary Brian Hook On the Release of Michael White US Dept. of State 05 Jun 2020
• Exclusive: Iran Admits Proposing Separate Settlement To Ukraine On Downed Plane Radio Farda 05 Jun 2020 -- In a statement issued on Thursday, the Embassy of the Islamic Republic in Ukraine for the first time admitted that Iran has proposed a settlement to close the case of the country's Flight PS752 which Iran's Revolutionary Guard downed in January.
• As Cost Of Living Rises In Iran Millions Fall Under Poverty Line Radio Farda 05 Jun 2020 -- The poverty-line income needed by a four-member household in Iran has risen from 25 million to 45 million rials monthly in the past two years, showing an eighty percent increase, the Islamic Parliament Research Center (IPRC) says in a new study.
• Iranian Sports Mired In Corruption, Former Federation President Says Radio Farda 05 Jun 2020 -- A former President of the Football Federation of Iran has called on the Ministry of Intelligence to step in and investigate "wheeling-dealing" and "corruption" in the federation and the Ministry of Sport and Youth.
• IAEA: Iran Further Raises Uranium Stockpiles, Blocks Visits To Sites RFE/RL 05 Jun 2020 -- The United Nations' atomic watchdog said on June 5 that Iran has continued to increase its stockpiles of enriched uranium far beyond the limits set in the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
• Iran top security official says prisoner swap with US involved no negotiations Press TV 05 Jun 2020 -- Iranian authorities have dismissed claims by the United States administration that a recent prisoner swap between Washington and Tehran was the outcome of successful negotiations between the two sides.
• Iran's Zarif Reveals US Prisoner Swap Deal Happened 'Despite Trump Subordinates' Efforts' Sputnik 05 Jun 2020 -- On Thursday, the US president confirmed that former US Navy veteran Michael White had been released after spending over a year-and-a-half incarcerated in an Iranian jail, and boasted that over 40 US 'hostages and detainees' had been released since he took office in 2017.
• Michel Barnier Slams UK for 'Backtracking' on Political Promises During Brexit Negotiations Sputnik 05 Jun 2020 -- Negotiations over the United Kingdom's future relationship with the European Union are ongoing but have come to a deadlock as the two sides fail to agree on key issues. Until the end of this year, the UK remains subject to EU laws despite having formally left the bloc in January.
• Hundreds Rally In Kyiv Demanding Interior Minister's Resignation RFE/RL 05 Jun 2020 -- Hundreds of protesters calling for the resignation of Ukraine's interior minister, Arsen Avakov, have set off smoke bombs and fireworks in front of the parliament in Kyiv.
• Guaido seeking refuge at French embassy in Caracas: Venezuela FM Press TV 05 Jun 2020 -- Venezuela's US-backed opposition figure Juan Guaido is said to have sought refuge at the French embassy in the Latin American country's capital, Caracas.
• Uzbek President Visits Eastern Region Wracked By Ethnic Unrest RFE/RL 05 Jun 2020 -- Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev is touring the eastern region of Ferghana days after simmering ethnic unrest boiled over again near the region's Sokh exclave within neighboring Kyrgyzstan.
• The 'Respectable' Faces That Help Cambodia's Elite Loot the Country Radio Free Asia 05 Jun 2020 -- In August 1990, one year before he took up his role as U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, Charles Twining wrote that "the Phnom Penh regime is … acquiring a significant reputation for corruption." Three decades later the country has the same prime minister, Hun Sen, and his government the same reputation for graft. Another constant for the last 30 years has been the apparent willingness of outwardly respectable banks, realtors and consultants to help politically connected Cambodians expatriate their country's riches.
• New Kyrgyz Political Alliance Established Months Before Parliamentary Elections RFE/RL 05 Jun 2020 -- Several political parties and movements in Kyrgyzstan have established an alliance called Jany Dem (A New Breath) to jointly take part in parliamentary elections scheduled for October.