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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• US forces send 43 military, logistic vehicles to Syria's oil-rich Hasakah: SANA Press TV 06 Dec 2020 -- Another US convoy consisting of 43 vehicles laden with weapons, military equipment, and logistic reinforcement has arrived in Syria's oil-rich northeastern province of Hasakah from Iraq.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Japan, France, US set to hold joint war games in May as 'message' to China Press TV 06 Dec 2020 -- Japan, France, and the United States are reportedly set to hold joint military drills for the first time in May next year, as part of attempts to contain what is claimed as China's growing influence in the Asia Pacific region.
• Plans of UK, India to deploy aircraft carriers against China of 'no military significance' Global Times 06 Dec 2020 -- China's surroundings could soon be infested with foreign aircraft carriers targeting China, with the latest media reports saying the UK is planning to send an aircraft carrier strike group to the western Pacific as soon as early 2021, while India is eyeing the development of a third aircraft carrier.
• Taiwan F-16 upgrade remains on schedule: Air Force CNA 06 Dec 2020 -- The goal of upgrading 22 of Taiwan's more than 140 F-16 A/B jet fighters to F-16Vs in 2020 remains achievable, according to a recent report by Taiwan's Air Force.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Yemen: Saudi aggression in final stages after receiving successive blows Press TV 06 Dec 2020 -- The spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces says the Saudi military aggression against his country is in its "final stages" after suffering successive defeats at the hands of resistance forces.
• Turkish-Backed Rebels Intensify Attacks on Syrian Town VOA 06 Dec 2020 -- A town in northern Syria has increasingly been under attack from rebel groups backed by Turkey amid fears of a new Turkish offensive into the region.
• UN: Relocation of Rohingya Refugees to Remote Island Must Stop VOA 06 Dec 2020 -- The United Nations refugee agency says it opposes the relocation of Rohingya refugees from Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal. Bangladeshi authorities Friday moved more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char, an uninhabited Bay of Bengal island vulnerable to cyclones and prone to flooding.
• Fighting persists in Tigray despite Ethiopia's declaration of victory against rebels Press TV 06 Dec 2020 -- Fighting persists in Ethiopia's Tigray state a week after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced victory against armed rebels in the northern region in a conflict that has shaken the Horn of Africa.
• Israel approves plan for building 4 new settlement projects: Report Press TV 06 Dec 2020 -- The Israeli regime has approved four new settlement projects in the occupied West Bank, and is planning construction of 9,000 settlement units north of Jerusalem al-Quds, Palestinian and Israeli media report.
• Is China Reinforcing its Position in Himalayas Along Disputed Borders? VOA 06 Dec 2020 -- Rapid construction of infrastructure along the China-Bhutan border near a strategic Himalayan plateau where Indian and Chinese forces were engaged in a standoff three years ago and new claims raised by China to a wildlife park in Bhutan have raised fresh concerns about Beijing pushing its boundaries in the Himalayan mountains.

News Reports

• US Releases Study on Mystery Illness at US Embassies VOA 06 Dec 2020 -- A U.S. government report says "directed, pulsed radio frequency energy" is the probable cause of a mystery illness that has afflicted U.S. diplomats and their families at U.S. embassies around the world.
• Mexico considers curbing foreign agents after general's arrest in US Press TV 06 Dec 2020 -- The Mexican president has proposed tightening restrictions on "foreign agents," in the wake of a diplomatic row with the US that was sparked by the arrest of a former top general in Los Angeles.
• Russian Police Detain Kremlin Critic Near Opposition Gathering RFE/RL 06 Dec 2020 -- Russian police have detained prominent political scientist and Kremlin critic Valery Solovei.
• Russian Ships Move To Baltic Sea Areas To Resume Construction Of Controversial Pipeline RFE/RL 06 Dec 2020 -- A Russian pipe-laying ship has moved into position to resume construction of a natural-gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea that the United States, Ukraine, and other countries have vehemently opposed.
• US ends China exchange programs, calling them 'propaganda tools' Press TV 06 Dec 2020 -- The US State Department has announced its termination of five cultural exchange programs with China, referring to them as "soft power propaganda tools." said on Friday it has ended five cultural exchange programs with China, calling them
• HK police freeze self-exiled Ted Hui's bank accounts on national security charges, vows to apprehend fugitives Global Times 06 Dec 2020 -- As the Hong Kong government and judiciary show resolution in punishing secessionists and restoring social order, Ted Hui Chi-fung, the just-exiled former opposition lawmaker, told the media on Saturday that all his bank accounts involving millions of Hong Kong dollars of his "life savings" were frozen after he absconded.
• Chang'e-5 completes China's first docking in lunar orbit Global Times 06 Dec 2020 -- After a successful liftoff from the lunar surface and rendezvous in lunar orbit, China's Chang'e-5 lunar probe docked with the orbital module on Sunday, with the lunar samples safely transferred to the return capsule, China's first successful attempt at such a maneuver made possible by cutting-edge technologies.
• Chang'e-5 return capsule with Moon samples separates with orbital module: CNSA Global Times 06 Dec 2020 -- China's Chang'e-5 lunar probe's ascender successfully docked with the orbital module in lunar orbit on Sunday 5:42 am, some 380,000 kilometers away from Earth, and completed lunar soil sample transfer at 6:12 am from the ascender to the return capsule, the Global Times learnt from the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
• China completes first spacecraft rendezvous, docking in lunar orbit People's Daily 06 Dec 2020 -- The ascender of China's Chang'e-5 probe successfully rendezvoused and docked with the orbiter-returner combination in lunar orbit, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced Sunday.
• China's Chang'e-5 Successfully Docks to Orbiting Spacecraft, Moon Samples Set for Delivery to Earth Sputnik 06 Dec 2020 -- The People's Republic of China planted its flag on the lunar surface on Thursday, successfully completing a historic mission to collect samples from the satellite's surface before lifting off to transport the material back home.
• Observers Say Beijing's Planned Blacklist of Taiwan Secessionists Could Backfire VOA 06 Dec 2020 -- Beijing has confirmed that it is drafting a list of pro-independence advocates in Taiwan, a move that some observers say reveals the Chinese government's intention to criminalize what it calls "Taiwan secessionists" after an anti-secession example had been set recently in Hong Kong.
• Chinese anti-submarine plane enters Taiwan's ADIZ CNA 06 Dec 2020 -- A Chinese military Y-8 anti-submarine plane entered Taiwan's southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Sunday afternoon, the fifth day on which such incursions have occurred in December, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).
• PLA anti-submarine warfare aircraft conducts depth charge attack drills, seen as deterrent to Taiwan secessionists Global Times 06 Dec 2020 -- In a rare report shared with media, an anti-submarine warfare aircraft of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) was shown dropping a new type of depth charge in a recent training exercise, demonstrating its capability to not only detect, but also launch attacks on submarines, analysts said on Sunday.
• Military pressure essential for reunification with Taiwan: experts Global Times 06 Dec 2020 -- As the tension between the Chinese mainland and the island of Taiwan grows and some foreign media even predicted that the US could make more provocations to escalate the matter, experts from the two sides of the Taiwan Straits said that reunification between the mainland and the island of Taiwan will not be realized without military pressure.
• Contradictory approach of EU states signatories to Iran nuclear deal IRNA 06 Dec 2020 -- France and Germany, the so-called advocates of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are recently talking about the necessity of reviewing the nuclear agreement while they ignore the fact that they've failed to comply with their commitments to JCPOA.
• IRGC: Satellite equipment used in assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist Press TV 06 Dec 2020 -- Satellite equipment has been used in the assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, says the spokesman for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
• Saudi Arabia urges 'permanent ban' on Iran's uranium enrichment Press TV 06 Dec 2020 -- Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud has claimed that Saudi Arabia is not opposed to a possible return of the US to the Iran nuclear deal, but that a "permanent ban" should be imposed on Tehran's uranium enrichment.
• Iran vows to legally pursue leakage of IAEA confidential report Press TV 06 Dec 2020 -- Iran says it will soon begin its "serious" legal pursuit of the leakage of confidential reports prepared by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), after a confidential report by the UN nuclear watchdog on an Iranian facility was leaked to the media.
• Iranian Military Says Nuclear Physicist Was Assassinated by Satellite-Controlled Weapon Sputnik 06 Dec 2020 -- The weapon used to assassinate Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was remotely controlled from a satellite, Brig. Gen. Ramazan Sharif, the spokesman for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said on Sunday.
• Belarus Opposition Continues Rallies Despite Harsh Crackdown RFE/RL 06 Dec 2020 -- Belarusian security forces detained more than 300 people across the country on December 6 in the latest of nearly four months of demonstrations calling on authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka to resign.
• Over 300 People Detained During Anti-Government Protests in Minsk, Law Enforcement Agency Says Sputnik 06 Dec 2020 -- More than 300 people were detained during unauthorised protests across the Belarusian capital on Sunday to potentially be faced with administrative charges, the interior directorate of the Minsk City Executive Committee said in a press release.
• SpaceX Dragon Cargo Mission Successfully Launches For ISS From Kennedy Space Centre Sputnik 06 Dec 2020 -- The spacecraft will spend nearly one month docked on the International Space Station before it returns to Earth.
• Fundamental divergences remain as Brexit trade talks near end: Minister Press TV 06 Dec 2020 -- Fundamental divergences remain as talks between the UK and the EU over a post-Brexit trade agreement are about to end, says British farming minister.
• EU May Exclude Poland, Hungary From COVID-19 Recovery Plan, French Minister for Europe Warns Sputnik 06 Dec 2020 -- French Minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune has said that Poland and Hungary may be denied access to the European Union's COVID-19 pandemic recovery fund unless they give up their tough stance towards the so-called rule of law mechanism.
• Venezuelans start voting for parliamentary elections despite opposition boycott Press TV 06 Dec 2020 -- People in Venezuela are voting in parliamentary elections amid calls for a boycott by the country's US-led opposition figure and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido.
• Sudan government rejects army chief's new council Press TV 06 Dec 2020 -- Sudan's transitional government has rejected the creation of a new body with broad powers that was declared by the army chief, as the African nation is going through a fragile transition to civilian rule.
• Romania's Ruling Liberals, Socialists Neck And Neck In Critical Elections RFE/RL 06 Dec 2020 -- Romania's ruling National Liberal Party (PNL) and the leftist Social Democrats (PSD) were neck and neck in the country's parliamentary elections, according to an exit poll released on December 6.
• Thousands Rally For Snap Elections In Moldova's Pro-Russia Parliament RFE/RL 06 Dec 2020 -- Some 20,000 protesters backing Moldova's incoming pro-EU president have taken to the streets of the capital demanding the government's resignation and early general elections.