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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• 73 US trucks loaded with military, logistic equipment in Syria's Hasakah: SANA Press TV 20 Dec 2020 -- Another convoy consisting of 73 US Army vehicles loaded with weapons, military equipment and logistic reinforcement has arrived in Syria's oil-rich northeastern province of Hasakah from Iraq, Syria's official news agency reports.
• US Military Equipment Transport Convoy Enters Northeastern Syria Via Iraq, Reports Say Sputnik 20 Dec 2020 -- An US military convoy with logistics and equipment has entered northeastern Syria through a crossing on border with Iraq, the Syrian state-run SANA news agency reported on Sunday, citing sources.
• Afghan Lawmaker Survives Deadly Car Bombing In Kabul RFE/RL Gandhara 20 Dec 2020 -- Afghan authorities say a car bombing targeting a member of parliament killed at least nine people in the capital, Kabul.
• Women, children killed as car bomb targets Afghan lawmaker in Kabul Press TV 20 Dec 2020 -- A car bomb attack has claimed the lives of at least nine Afghan people and injured many others in Kabul, in the latest of a series of deadly attacks to rock the Afghan capital.
• Afghan Troops Kill 74 Taliban Militants During Clashes in Kandahar Province Sputnik 20 Dec 2020 -- As many as 74 Taliban* militants have died during clashes with the Afghan armed forces in Kandahar province, the Afghan Ministry of Defence said on Sunday.
• Car Bomb Kills 9 in Afghan Capital VOA 20 Dec 2020 -- Officials in Afghanistan say a car bomb went off in Kabul on Sunday, killing at least nine people and injuring 20 others.
• US warship to help ongoing troop withdrawal from Somalia Press TV 20 Dec 2020 -- A US warship and an aircraft have launched an operation to withdraw American forces out of Somalia, the Pentagon declared this week as it carries out a Defense Department order to transfer hundreds of troops to other locations.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Biden transition team slams Pentagon for halting cooperation Press TV 20 Dec 2020 -- US President-elect Joe Biden's transition team has expressed frustration over resistance to their requests for information from political appointees at the Pentagon, complaining of "an abrupt halt in the already limited cooperation."
• AFWERX Agility Prime announces "flying car" military airworthiness, infrastructure milestones US Air Force 20 Dec 2020 -- AFWERX Agility Prime announced Dec. 10, during the Accelerate event, a series of milestones for the "flying car" program and discussed new initiatives for 2021, including six sectors for potential "Prime" programs.
• Presidential Message on the First Birthday of the United States Space Force The White House 20 Dec 2020
• Carrier Shandong likely to return to S.China home port for future missions after recent Straits transit: analyst Global Times 20 Dec 2020 -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's second aircraft carrier, the Shandong, sailed through the Taiwan Straits on Sunday toward the south in a combat group of four other PLA warships media reported.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Saudi war, blockade kill 100,000 Yemeni newborns every year: Health ministry Press TV 20 Dec 2020 -- A Yemeni health ministry official says 100,000 newborns die every year in the impoverished country due to the ongoing war of aggression and total blockade imposed on Yemen by the Saudi-led military coalition.
• Germany Repatriates Three IS Women, 12 Children From Syria VOA 20 Dec 2020 -- The German government has brought home three women and 12 children from refugee camps that hold families of Islamic State (IS) fighters in northeastern Syria.
• Katyusha rockets land near US embassy in Baghdad's highly fortified Green Zone Press TV 20 Dec 2020 -- Iraqi sources say at least three Katyusha rockets have landed within the highly fortified Green Zone in the capital Baghdad whose apparent target has been the US embassy in the vicinity.
• Somalia accuses Kenya of arming local militia to attack its forces amid rising tensions Press TV 20 Dec 2020 -- Somalia has accused Kenya of arming local militiamen on the border to attack its security forces as tension rises between the two African neighbors.
• Armenians mourn Karabakh war victims, pile pressure on PM to resign Press TV 20 Dec 2020 -- Thousands of Armenians have marched through the capital Yerevan to mourn the victims of a six-week war with neighboring Azerbaijan, demanding that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan step down over his handling of the conflict.
• WFP: Unrest in Northern Mozambique Creating Acute Food Shortages VOA 20 Dec 2020 -- The World Food Program is warning that hundreds of thousands of people in conflict-ridden northern Mozambique are facing life-threatening shortages of food.

News Reports

• U.S. Senators Urge Response To Cyberattack Blamed On Russian Hackers RFE/RL 20 Dec 2020 -- Two U.S. senators say the United States must respond to a widespread cyberattack that U.S. officials say was carried out by Russian hackers who managed to break into the computer networks of multiple U.S. government agencies.
• Biden Team Reportedly Considers Sanctions, Cyberattacks to 'Punish' Russia Over 'Hack Attack' on US Sputnik 20 Dec 2020 -- While Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Russia of being behind a recent major hacking attack on the US, President Donald Trump was not that sure, instead suspecting China's involvement in the intrusion.
• Trump discounts impact of huge hack, alleged Russia role, blames China Press TV 20 Dec 2020 -- Outgoing US President Donald Trump has downplayed the seriousness and impact of a massive cyber attack on the government's military, intelligence and financial institutions as well as the alleged Russian role in it, instead pointing to China as the possible source.
• Experts: US govt. caught blindsided in sophisticated cyber hack, 200 agencies hit Press TV 20 Dec 2020 -- After one of the most successful cyber intrusion operations in US history, questions remain abound over how the federal government have been so utterly blindsided by an attack many experts describe as a grave threat that should have been anticipated.
• Congratulations on Security Agency Worker's Day President of Russia 20 Dec 2020 -- Vladimir Putin visited Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service headquarters on Security Agency Worker's Day.
• Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy guides China's actions as responsible country amid pandemic People's Daily 20 Dec 2020 -- In the special year of 2020 shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, China has fulfilled its responsibilities as a major country in the world while safeguarding its national interests and dignity.
• China opposes U.S. move to add 59 Chinese entities to export control list People's Daily 20 Dec 2020 -- China is firmly opposed to the United States adding 59 Chinese entities to its "entity list" of export controls, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said Saturday.
• Chinese Company SMIC Slams US for Blacklisting Firm, Reiterates It's Not Affiliated With Military Sputnik 20 Dec 2020 -- On Friday, the US Commerce Department announced that it will put China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and 60 other Chinese companies on a trade blacklist in order "to protect US national security".
• Outspoken HK lawmaker mulls national security education center to supervise reforms Global Times 20 Dec 2020 -- An outspoken pro-establishment LegCo lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu plans to establish a center for national security education with 8 million Hong Kong dollar ($1.03 million), aiming to supervise reforms of liberal studies subjects at local schools while reporting public opinion to the new national security committee and other relevant authorities to further implement the national security law for Hong Kong.
• China unveils new foreign investment security review rules to align with intl practice Global Times 20 Dec 2020 -- China unveiled new rules for reviewing foreign investment on security grounds over the weekend in a major move to align with global practice in regulating foreign investment in the military, key energy and information technology sectors, and financial services.
• Huge gas reserve found in NW China's Xinjiang People's Daily 20 Dec 2020 -- A massive gas reservoir with expected reserves of over 100 billion cubic meters was found in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to PetroChina's local branch.
• Taiwan monitors Chinese aircraft carrier Taiwan Strait trip: MND CNA 20 Dec 2020 -- China's first indigenous aircraft carrier, the Shandong, transited through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, prompting Taiwan to dispatch military assets to monitor the voyage, according to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND).
• US actions endanger peace and stability across Taiwan Strait: Spokesperson PLA Daily 20 Dec 2020 -- "The US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin sailed through the Taiwan Strait on the night of December 18. The naval and aerial forces under the Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command have tracked and monitored the US destroyer throughout the whole process," said Air Force Senior Colonel Zhang Chunhui, spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command, in a written statement published on Saturday.
• Taiwan deploys ships, aircraft in Taiwan Strait as China's Shandong carrier passes island Press TV 20 Dec 2020 -- Taiwan has deployed navy and air force after a Chinese aircraft carrier group led by the country's newest carrier, the Shandong, sailed through the Taiwan Strait just one day after the US sent a warship to the sensitive waterway.
• Taipei Deploys Navy, Air Force Following Passage of Chinese Carrier Through Taiwan Strait Sputnik 20 Dec 2020 -- Beijing previously slammed the US for sending one of its destroyers through the strait, which serves as a buffer between mainland China and Taiwan, an island that Beijing considers to be an inalienable part of its territory.
• UN-backed JCPOA binding deal for all members: Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Press TV 20 Dec 2020 -- The spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry says the multilateral nuclear agreement signed between the Islamic Republic and major world powers in 2015, has been endorsed by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 and all UN member states are bound to implement it.
• INSTEX failed to prove its efficiency in past 2 years: Iran Press TV 20 Dec 2020 -- Iran says the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), the financial mechanism proposed by Europeans to enable Iran to get round US sanctions, has failed to prove itself effective in the past two years.
• More Than 150 Anti-Lukashenka Demonstrators Detained In Belarus RFE/RL 20 Dec 2020 -- A Belarusian human rights group says security forces have detained more than people during protests calling on strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka to step down.
• Bosnia-Herzegovina's Mostar Holds First Local Elections In 12 Years RFE/RL 20 Dec 2020 -- Polls have closed in Bosnia-Herzegovina's ethnically divided southern city of Mostar is holding its first local elections in 12 years on December 20, amid concerns that a surge in coronavirus infections would keep many voters away.
• CAR: UN chief condemns escalating violence during election campaign UN News 20 Dec 2020 -- With a week to go until elections are scheduled to take place in the Central African Republic (CAR), the UN is concerned about an escalation of armed attacks, amid reports that armed groups have taken control of towns near the capital, Bangui.
• UN Condemns Growing Repression in Thailand VOA 20 Dec 2020 -- The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights is expressing alarm at the growing repression and clampdown on freedom of expression and assembly in Thailand.