Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Afghan Forces Recapture Territory From Taliban, Kill 18 Militants, Local Authorities Say Sputnik 29 Aug 2020 -- Afghan forces on Saturday managed to recapture an area, previously held by the Taliban* movement for years, in the eastern Nangarhar province, Ahmad Ali Hazrat, head of the provincial council, said.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Readout of Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper's Meeting With Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono DoD 29 Aug 2020 -- On August 29, Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper hosted Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono in Guam, where they reaffirmed the strength of the U.S.-Japan Alliance and discussed ways to deepen and expand bilateral defense cooperation.
• Esper, Japanese Defense Minister Discuss Cooperative Efforts DoD News 29 Aug 2020 -- Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper and Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono discussed ways to strengthen the already strong U.S.-Japanese partnership during a meeting at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
• Japan, US Agree to Further Cooperate to Develop New Missile Defence System, Reports Say Sputnik 29 Aug 2020 -- Japanese Defence Minister Taro Kono and US Defence Secretary Mark Esper have agreed to further cooperate on developing a new missile defence system, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday.
• Russia Sends Two Su-27 Fighters to Intercept US B-52H Bomber Over Baltic Sea Sputnik 29 Aug 2020 -- The Russian military reported multiple incidents over the Baltic Sea and the Black sea in August, with dozens of NATO aircraft approaching Russian borders in a major spike of reconnaissance activity.
• Pentagon lists 11 Chinese firms in accusation of militarization Global Times 29 Aug 2020 -- US named another 11 Chinese firms, including construction giant China Communications Construction Company, as being owned or controlled by the Chinese military, the Pentagon said in a statement on Friday.
• China's largest marine research, training vessel enters commission People's Daily 29 Aug 2020 -- China's largest-ever oceanographic research and training vessel, named after Sun Yat-sen University, entered into commission in Shanghai on Friday.
• PLA Garrison in Macao completes 21st routine rotation PLA Daily 29 Aug 2020 -- The Macao Garrison of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) completed its 21st rotation early Saturday since it began garrisoning the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) in 1999.
• China warns of 'accidental' military confrontation with US Press TV 29 Aug 2020 -- China's military has warned of an unintentional military confrontation with the US if it does not halt its naval operations in the South China Sea, insisting that recent US activities in the region are instigating such hostilities.
• Backed by Lockheed Martin, Taiwan Unveils Asia's First Repair Hub for F-16 Fighter Jets VOA 29 Aug 2020 -- A maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) center for Taiwan's fleet of F-16 fighter jets has officially opened on the island amid growing tensions between Taiwan and China.
• Turkey starts new drills in Mediterranean as tensions rise Press TV 29 Aug 2020 -- The Turkish military has launched fresh war games in the eastern Mediterranean region, as tensions between Ankara and Athens mount over maritime borders and gas drilling rights.
• Turkey Launches Shooting Exercises in Eastern Mediterranean Amid Drilling Tensions With Greece Sputnik 29 Aug 2020 -- The development comes as Ankara is engaged in a bitter territorial dispute with Greece and Cyprus. The European Union has threatened to slap sanctions on Turkey if it continues with what Brussels has called "illegal drilling".

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Yemeni forces arrest senior al-Qaeda leader in Sana'a: Interior ministry Press TV 29 Aug 2020 -- Yemeni forces have arrested a senior leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist group who planned to carry out a terrorist operation in the capital, Sana'a, Yemen's Interior Ministry says.
• Saudi-led coalition, mercenaries plunder oil in Yemen's Shabwah: Top official Press TV 29 Aug 2020 -- A senior Yemeni official says Saudi Arabia and Saudi-backed mercenaries loyal to Yemen's former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi are plundering crude oil in Yemen's southern province of Shabwah as the Riyadh regime and its allies press ahead with their devastating war on the impoverished Arab country.
• UN envoy welcomes 'commonalities' shared by Syrians in Geneva talks UN News 29 Aug 2020 -- Syrian opponents meeting in Geneva as part of efforts to find a peaceful end to nearly a decade of conflict in their country have found common ground on which to pursue further discussions, UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen said on Saturday.
• Syrian Talks on New Constitution End on Amicable Note VOA 29 Aug 2020 -- Weeklong negotiations in Geneva aimed at drafting a new constitution for Syria have ended with an agreement to meet for further talks at an as yet unspecified date.
• Two Turkish Soldiers Die in Clash With PKK Members, Defence Ministry Says Sputnik 29 Aug 2020 -- Two Turkish soldiers were fatally wounded during an operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara considers a terrorist group, in the eastern Agri province near the border with Iran on Saturday, the Defence Ministry said.
• Tripoli Power Struggle Prompts Egypt Visit by UN Special Libya Envoy VOA 29 Aug 2020 -- A week of protests in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and an apparent power struggle inside the National Unity Government that controls the west of the country have both the U.N. and regional power brokers Egypt and Turkey jockeying to resume stalled political talks inside the country.
• UAE revokes law boycotting Israel, allows first direct flight Press TV 29 Aug 2020 -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has officially canceled a law that boycotted Israel and prevented trade as well as financial agreements with Tel Aviv after signing a deal to normalize relations.
• Israel demolished, sized 25 Palestinian-owned structures in West Bank in 2 weeks: UN Press TV 29 Aug 2020 -- The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Palestine says Israel forces have either demolished or seized a total of 25 Palestinian-owned structures in the occupied West Bank in just two weeks.
• Palestinian groups ready for 'long-term' battle against Israel amid Gaza escalation Press TV 29 Aug 2020 -- Amid the relentless Israeli acts of aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip, all Palestinian resistance groups have expressed their preparedness for a "long-term" battle against the occupying regime's acts of terror.
• 'Hypocritical': Turkey Scolds EU's Threat of Sanctions Over Tensions in East Mediterranean Sputnik 29 Aug 2020 -- Already fraught relations between Greece and Turkey worsened this month after Ankara dispatched its Oruc Reis oil and gas seismic survey vessel to a disputed area of Mediterranean Sea also claimed by Athens.
• Secret Tunnel Detected Along India-Pakistan Border in Jammu, Officials Say Sputnik 29 Aug 2020 -- The BSF safeguards the 3,300 km international border along India's Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat areas. According to officials, there have been multiple incidents that have placed border security forces on a high-alert footing, due to what is claimed to be an infiltration of terrorists into India.
• Seven Terrorists, One Soldier Killed in India's Jammu and Kashmir in Security Operation Sputnik 29 Aug 2020 -- The issue of terrorism in India's Kashmir Valley dates back to the 1990s, when demands for independence from the country began to be made in the region. The Indian government accuses neighbouring Pakistan, which also lays claim to the region, of fuelling Kashmiri secessionism
• Xi stresses building new modern socialist Tibet PLA Daily 29 Aug 2020 -- President Xi Jinping has called for efforts to build a new modern socialist Tibet.
• UN extends peacekeeping mission in Lebanon by one year, but decreases troops Press TV 29 Aug 2020 -- The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously approved a resolution to renew the mandate of UN peacekeeping forces stationed along Lebanon's southern border with the Israeli-occupied territories, but has reduced troop capacity there.

News Reports

• Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Schiff Statement on Cancellation of Election Security Briefings by Office of the Director of National Intelligence House Speaker Pelosi 29 Aug 2020 -- Today, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) released the following statement following the cancellation of all election security briefings for the Congress by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence:
• COVID-19 No Match for Southeast Asia's Booming Drug Trade VOA 29 Aug 2020 -- A string of mammoth drug busts and low street prices for methamphetamine across Southeast Asia this year suggest COVID-19 has done little to stem the flood of illegal drugs washing over the region, even as the pandemic seals borders.
• Russia lambasts U.S. sanctions amid Washington's own suspicious research People's Daily 29 Aug 2020 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned the U.S. decision to blacklist Russian research institutes, recalling that Washington itself was carrying out suspicious research both in the United States and abroad.
• Navalny Associate: Kremlin Involved in Opposition Leader's Poisoning VOA 29 Aug 2020 -- A close ally of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says authorities in Moscow are reluctant to investigate Navalny's alleged poisoning, because the Kremlin was behind it, despite its denials.
• Russia's Khabarovsk Holds 50th Protest In Defense Of Arrested Ex-Governor RFE/RL 29 Aug 2020 -- Locals in the Russian Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk have held their 50th protest against the July arrest of the region's popular former governor, Sergei Furgal.
• Russia Fires Outspoken Chief Of Anti-Doping Agency RFE/RL 29 Aug 2020 -- The outspoken chief of Russia's Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) has been fired, a move that the World Anti-Doping Agency said only reinforced its ongoing concerns about the agency.
• France won't ban Huawei as relations with China remain 'stable and mature' Global Times 29 Aug 2020 -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday (French time) met with French President Emmanuel Macron during his ongoing European tour and the two discussed a wide range of topics including co-developing a COVID-19 vaccine and France's pledge not to ban Chinese tech company Huawei.
• US Fines Company for Goods Made With Suspected Forced Labor in China VOA 29 Aug 2020 -- Earlier this month, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued its first penalty for goods made with forced labor under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015.
• Xinjiang debunks accusations of 'birth-control' measures on Uygurs Global Times 29 Aug 2020 -- The population of the Uygur ethnic group in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has increased from 10.17 million to 12.71 million during the period from 2010 to 2018, showing a higher growth rate than other ethnic minorities in the data of the entire region, a Xinjiang regional government spokesperson told a press conference on Saturday, in refuting German "scholar" Adrian Zenz's accusations of Xinjiang restricting its Uygur population.
• US walks alone in Iran sanctions, EU goes other way IRNA 29 Aug 2020 -- The European Union remains committed to implementing the Iran nuclear deal as a matter of respecting international agreements and of the bloc's shared international security, EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Spokesperson Peter Stano said.
• EU remains committed to Iran nuclear deal as key security element: Spokesperson Press TV 29 Aug 2020 -- A spokesman for the European Union says the bloc remains committed to implementing a landmark nuclear deal Iran signed with major world powers in 2015 in order to observe international agreements and respect EU's shared international security.
• Iran Accuses Pompeo Of Living In An 'Imaginary World' Radio Farda 29 Aug 2020 -- In a series of tweets, the Islamic Republic foreign ministry officials have dismissed the U.S. Secretary of State's Mike Pompeo's remarks about returning the international sanctions on Iran.
• CBI: US lawsuit to seize Iran's assets in Germany doomed to failure IRNA 29 Aug 2020 -- The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) dismissed a lawsuit filed in the United States to force a European financial provider to transfer Iranian assets to the US.
• Iran Security Forces Disperse Gathering To Mark 32nd Anniversary Of Mass Executions Radio Farda 29 Aug 2020 -- Friday August 28 marked the 32nd anniversary of the mass execution of political prisoners in Iran.
• Iran Proposes Bill For Tighter Online Censorship, 'Military Control' Of Internet RFE/RL 29 Aug 2020 -- A group of 40 Iranian lawmakers has submitted a controversial draft bill to the parliament that could result in harsher online censorship by giving control of the country's Internet gateways to the armed forces, including the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
• US charges three over collecting monetary aid for war-torn Yemen Press TV 29 Aug 2020 -- The US Justice Department has charged three people in connection with a campaign to collect monetary assistance for the oppressed Yemenis, who are suffering under the years-long Saudi war and blockade.
• A Political Crisis Has Gripped Belarus. Is An Economic Crisis Next? RFE/RL 29 Aug 2020 -- As political protests sweep across Belarus following a presidential election that the opposition has called rigged, citizens aren't only lining up in the streets to show solidarity with opponents of the country's strongman leader.
• Belarus Revokes Accreditation Of At Least 17 Journalists Covering Postelection Turmoil RFE/RL 29 Aug 2020 -- Belarusian authorities stripped accreditations from at least 17 journalists from major foreign news organizations who have been covering the country's turmoil following the disputed presidential election. Two Moscow-based reporters with the Associated Press were also deported.
• Belarusian President Threatens to Cut European Transit Routes if Sanctions Imposed VOA 29 Aug 2020 -- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday threatened to cut European transit routes through Belarusian territory if sanctions are imposed on his country.
• Flooding in Niger Kills Dozens, Displaces Thousands VOA 29 Aug 2020 -- Flooding has killed at least 45 people and led to the displacement of more than 226,000 from their homes in Niger this week, officials said Saturday.