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News Reports

Current Operations

• NATO Chief Admits Afghan Withdrawal 'Entails Risks' VOA 07 Jun 2021 -- There is no guarantee that Afghanistan's government and security forces will succeed, or even survive, once the last U.S. and coalition troops leave the country, according to a blunt assessment from NATO's top official.
• Taliban Pledge No Retaliation Against Afghans Who Worked for Foreign Troops VOA 07 Jun 2021 -- The Taliban have urged Afghans who worked for departing U.S. and NATO militaries in Afghanistan over the years not to "desert" their war-ravaged nation for fear of retribution by the insurgent group.
• Australian Afghan War Veteran Denies Allegations of War Crimes VOA 07 Jun 2021 -- Australia's most decorated Afghanistan veteran will deny alleged war crimes Monday at the start of his high-stakes defamation trial against one of the country's biggest media companies. Ben Roberts-Smith will seek to prove he was unfairly portrayed in newspaper stories as having broken the moral and legal rules of war. He is seeking damages in Australia's Federal Court from Nine Entertainment Co. and three journalists.
• Over 150 Afghan troops killed or injured in 24 hours: Senior official Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- The Afghan Defense Ministry says more than 150 Afghan troops have been killed or injured in clashes in Maidan Wardak Province over the past 24 hours.
• Taliban: Foreign forces' interpreters have nothing to fear if they 'show remorse' Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- The Taliban militant group says Afghans who used to work with foreign forces as interpreters have nothing to fear after the withdrawal of foreign troops if they "show remorse."

Defense Policy / Programs

• Ghost Fleet Overlord Unmanned Surface Vessel Program Completes Second Autonomous Transit to the Pacific DoD 07 Jun 2021 -- The Office of the Secretary of Defense Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO), in partnership with the U.S. Navy, recently conducted a second long-range autonomous transit with a Ghost Fleet Overlord Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) from the Gulf Coast, passing through the Panama Canal, to the West Coast.
• Pentagon: US Pursuing Basing Agreements With Afghanistan's Neighbors Sputnik 07 Jun 2021 -- The United States is pursuing basing options with Afghanistan's neighbors after US troops withdraw from that country but there is nothing to announce at present, a Defense Department spokesperson told Sputnik.
• African Lion 21 exercise begins with 7,800 troops in Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal AFRICOM 07 Jun 2021 -- African Lion, U.S. Africa Command's premier joint annual exercise, kicks off in Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal for its 17th iteration June 7.
• U.S., Kenyan Air Forces hone C-145 capabilities AFRICOM 07 Jun 2021 -- After 3 months of training, U.S. Air Force Combat Aviation Advisors assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command Africa and Kenyan Air Force (KAF) partners completed a successful culmination exercise showcasing the wide range of capabilities the recently-acquired C-145 Combat Coyote will add to the KAF fleet.
• 405th AFSB's Africa battalion provides multiple levels of support to AFRICOM Army News 07 Jun 2021 -- One way U.S. Army Sustainment Command provides contractual and logistical support to U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, the service components and various task forces assigned to the continent of Africa is through the utilization of the 405th Army Field Support Brigade's Army Field Support Battalion-Africa. The battalion, home stationed at Leghorn Army Depot in Italy, manages active services and property in Djibouti, Somalia, Uganda, Niger and other locations in Western Africa.
• USS New Hampshire Carries on Submarine Battle Flag Tradition US Navy 07 Jun 2021 -- The Virginia-class attack submarine USS New Hampshire (SSN 778), homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, participated in a longstanding submarine tradition during its recent deployment.
• Fueling the Future: MQ-25 First to Conduct Unmanned Aerial Tanking US Navy 07 Jun 2021 -- The MQ-25™ program successfully conducted the first ever aerial refueling operations between a manned receiver aircraft and unmanned tanker June 4 from MidAmerica Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois.
• Patrol Squadron (VP) 45 hosted III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team US Navy 07 Jun 2021 -- Patrol Squadron (VP) 45 hosted members of the III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team, conducting training to familiarize themselves with the P-8A Poseidon's weapons systems and aircraft hazards, June 4.
• U.S. Navy Launches First Flight III Guided Missile Destroyer, the future Jack H. Lucas US Navy Press Release 07 Jun 2021 -- The first DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer to be built in the Flight III configuration, the future Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), was successfully launched at Huntington Ingalls Industries, Ingalls Shipbuilding division, June 4.
• Finland, Sweden, Norway, US Start Arctic Challenge Drills Sputnik 07 Jun 2021 -- Air forces of Finland, Sweden, Norway, and the US begin the Arctic Challenge Exercise 2021 (ACE) on Monday, according to the Finnish army.
• Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's Meeting With NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg DoD 07 Jun 2021
• Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Opening Remarks at Bilateral Meeting DoD 07 Jun 2021
• Statement by Press Secretary Jen Psaki on President Biden's Meeting with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization The White House 07 Jun 2021
• Biden Will Press NATO Allies on Budget Burden-Sharing at June Summit, Sullivan Says Sputnik 07 Jun 2021 -- As Ukraine pushes for acceptance into the NATO alliance seven years after a US-backed coup brought a right-wing, pro-Western government to power, Washington is pushing other NATO allies to boost their military budgets even further in an attempt to bring maximum pressure against Moscow.
• U.S. Leaders See NATO Summit as Means to Strengthen Trans-Atlantic Ties DoD News 07 Jun 2021 -- Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg today at the Pentagon in advance of the NATO Summit next week in Brussels.
• Remarks by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council NATO 07 Jun 2021
• Estonian Cyberexperts Partake in NATO-Led Interoperability Exercise, Defense Forces Say Sputnik 07 Jun 2021 -- Estonian specialists will take part in the NATO-backed Coalition Warrior Interoperability eXercise (CWIX) on the technical compatibility of telecommunications technologies and cybersecurity of the alliance's member states, the Estonian Defense Forces announced on Monday.
• Possible First Use of AI-Armed Drones Triggers Alarm Bells VOA 07 Jun 2021 -- Western military experts are assessing whether an autonomous drone operated by artificial intelligence, or AI, killed people — in Libya last year — for the first time without a human controller directing it remotely to do so.
• PLA Eastern Theater Command's advanced howitzers test new tactic in coastal region Global Times 07 Jun 2021 -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command recently dispatched some of its most advanced artillery pieces to a coastal region and practiced the indirect fire tactic, which analysts said on Monday can reach longer ranges and is more flexible than previous approaches.
• PLA Navy organizes month-long open-sea training PLA Daily 07 Jun 2021 -- Recently, a naval flotilla under the PLA Southern Theater Command successfully completed a month-long open-sea training exercise after sailing more than 6,700 nautical miles along the waters of the South China Sea, the Sulawesi Sea and the Western Pacific.
• Advanced Light Helicopters Inducted at INS Dega India PIB 07 Jun 2021 -- The induction ceremony of '322 Dega Flight' was held in the presence of Vice Adm Ajendra Bahadur Singh, AVSM, VSM Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command (ENC) with three indigenously built Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) MK III helicopters flying into Naval Air Station, INS Dega on 07 Jun 21.
• Russia Officially Pulls Out Of Open Skies Treaty RFE/RL 07 Jun 2021 -- President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that formalizes Russia's withdrawal from an international treaty allowing nations to collect information on one another's military forces in order to increase transparency, following the departure from the accord by the United States late last year.
• Putin signs Russian withdrawal from Open Skies Treaty after US exit Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- President Vladimir Putin has signed legislation to pull Russia out of the Open Skies arms control treaty following the US exit from the pact.
• Putin Signs Bill Renouncing Open Skies Treaty Into Law Sputnik 07 Jun 2021 -- The treaty was signed in 1992 and became one of a number of post-Cold War confidence-building measures, as it allowed the participating nations to openly collect information about each other's military forces and activities via surveillance flights.
• Ukraine Making Progress on Defense Reforms, Official Says DoD News 07 Jun 2021 -- America is unwavering in its support for Ukraine sovereignty, territorial integrity and Euro Atlantic aspirations, said the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia.
• Deputy Secretary General underlines NATO support for Ukraine NATO 07 Jun 2021 -- NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană underlined the Alliance's enduring support for Ukraine and its ambitious reform agenda at the 'Zero Corruption: Democracy in Action' conference on Monday (7 June 2021).
• Ukraine Still Needs to Implement Reforms to Meet NATO Criteria, Pentagon Official Says Sputnik 07 Jun 2021 -- Ukraine still needs to implement a series of reforms to ensure the interoperability of its armed forces with those of NATO and meet the alliance's membership requirements, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence Laura Cooper said on Monday.
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, June 7, 2021 The White House 07 Jun 2021

Defense Industry

• Contracts For June 7, 2021

Other Conflicts

• 7 June 2021 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 07 Jun 2021
• Yemen blasts UN silence, inaction over Saudi Arabia's seizure of Yemen-bound oil vessels Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- The Yemeni Petroleum Company (YPC) has criticized the United Nations for its silence and inaction to step in and pressure the Saudi-led coalition into releasing ships carrying energy derivatives destined for the impoverished and war-ravaged Arab country.
• Netherlands Admits 4 Nationals Held by Kurds in Syria VOA 07 Jun 2021 -- A senior government delegation from the Netherlands arrived in Qamishli, a predominantly Kurdish city in northeastern Syria, to take back four Dutch nationals tied to the Islamic State.
• Thousands More Flee Clashes Between Myanmar Militias and Military, Ethnic Armies in June Radio Free Asia 07 Jun 2021 -- Fighting in Myanmar's Chin, Sagaing, and Shan regions has displaced thousands of new villagers since the beginning of the month, sources said Monday, as clashes between military troops, militia groups, and ethnic armies continues to intensify amid the turmoil of a junta coup in February.
• Rohingya refugees feel trapped on Bangladesh island, fear monsoons: HRW Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- Rohingya refugees kept on a Bangladeshi island have expressed fears of being exposed to severe climate during the looming monsoon season and having to put up with "inadequate" health and educational facilities, a rights group said.
• US Welcomes Pledge by Myanmar Shadow Government to Help Rohingya VOA 07 Jun 2021 -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed a pledge by a shadow government in Myanmar to address discrimination and human rights abuses against minority Rohingya Muslims.
• Two Men Arrested In Armenia Accused Of Spying For Azerbaijan RFE/RL 07 Jun 2021 -- Armenia's National Security Service says it has arrested two men on suspicion of spying for Azerbaijan, with which Yerevan recently fought a war over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
• Court In Netherlands To Start Hearing Evidence In MH17 Case RFE/RL 07 Jun 2021 -- The trial in absentia of four suspects -- three Russians and one Ukrainian -- in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014 has entered a decisive new phase during which judges in the Netherlands will be presented with witness testimony and evidence.
• Tribal clashes in Sudan's Darfur leave 36 dead, dozens injured Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- New tribal clashes between ethnic groups in South Darfur have left 36 people dead and dozens injured, authorities say.
• Boko Haram ringleader blows himself up: Daesh branch Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- Daesh reportedly announces the self-afflicted death of the notorious ringleader of Boko Haram, its fellow Takfiri terrorist outfit based in Nigeria that had entered alliance with the group before allegedly going rogue.
• Announcement of Visa Restrictions on Those Undermining the Peaceful Resolution of the Crisis in the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon US Dept. of State 07 Jun 2021 -- "The United States is deeply concerned by the continued violence in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon."
• Fragile democratic gains at risk in Central Africa as violence by armed groups escalates UN News 07 Jun 2021 -- Attacks by armed groups including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province pose grave threats to Central Africa's fragile stability, the Secretary-General's Special Representative told the Security Council on Monday, while spotlighting crucial democratic gains that must be protected.
• Protection call for Burkina Faso civilians after terror attack leaves 132 dead UN News 07 Jun 2021 -- Communities in rural Burkina Faso urgently need greater protection from violent extremists, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, insisted on Monday, in response to a deadly assault at the weekend that claimed the lives of at least 132 innocent people.

News Reports

• Department of Justice Seizes $2.3 Million in Cryptocurrency Paid to the Ransomware Extortionists Darkside US Dept. of Justice 07 Jun 2021 -- The Department of Justice today announced that it has seized 63.7 bitcoins currently valued at approximately $2.3 million. These funds allegedly represent the proceeds of a May 8, ransom payment to individuals in a group known as DarkSide, which had targeted Colonial Pipeline, resulting in critical infrastructure being taken out of operation.
• US Snatches Back Ransom from Colonial Pipeline Hackers VOA 07 Jun 2021 -- U.S. law enforcement officials say they have hit back at the Russian-based criminal network that caused gas pipelines to shut down across parts of the country last month, seizing much of the multimillion-dollar ransom payment before it could be used.
• U.S. Seizes Most Of Bitcoin Ransom From Colonial Pipeline Attack RFE/RL 07 Jun 2021 -- The United States has recovered most of the bitcoin ransom paid to the suspected Russia-based Darkside cybercriminal group behind the attack on Colonial Pipeline last month that temporarily shut down the largest U.S. fuel network.
• US officials warn cyberattacks are 'here to stay' amid surge in hacking Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- US officials have warned of a growing threat of cyberattacks against American companies and government entities as the country has been hit by a string of hacking attacks, targeting key national entities.
• Blinken: Biden will warn Putin on future cyberattacks Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has revealed that President Joe Biden's upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin is about the recent devastating cyberattacks on US soil which Washington has compared the to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
• Will Promises of Democratic Transition in Mali Convince France to Leave? VOA 07 Jun 2021 -- A promise Monday by Mali's new interim president to hold democratic elections by early next year appears to meet some conditions set by France to resume recently suspended cooperation with Malian forces. But some hope Paris is slowly heading for the exit when it comes to its yearslong Barkhane anti-terrorist operation in the Sahel.
• Mali coup leader Goita sworn in as interim president Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- Mali's military strongman Assimi Goita has been formally sworn into office as the new interim president, as his second military coup in nine months has elicited a chorus of condemnation in the West African country.
• Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's telephone conversation with Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic Jean-Yves Le Drian and Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany Heiko Maas Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 07 Jun 2021
• Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on retaliatory measures against Canadian officials and individuals involved in shaping and pursuing anti-Russian policy Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 07 Jun 2021
• Russia threatens to exit space station unless US lifts sanctions on space sector Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- Russia has threatened to withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) in 2025 unless the United States removes sanctions against the country's space sector.
• EU's Michel Urges Putin To Stop 'Disruptive Behavior' To Improve Relations RFE/RL 07 Jun 2021 -- European Council President Charles Michel has spoken by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, stressing that relations between the bloc and Russia are "at a low" and that "this situation or its further deterioration is in neither side's interest."
• Navalny Transferred From Prison Hospital Back To Penal Colony RFE/RL 07 Jun 2021 -- Jailed Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny has been transferred from a prison hospital in the Correctional Colony No. 3 (IK-3) back to his court-mandated prison in the Vladimir region.
• Opposition Politician Gudkov Vows To Continue Work Despite 'Forced Departure' From Russia RFE/RL 07 Jun 2021 -- Russian opposition politician and former State Duma Deputy Dmitry Gudkov says that he decided to leave Russia after he was warned that his relatives and associates could face arrest if he remained.
• Navalny Associate Sobol's Curfew Extended Through Parliamentary Campaign RFE/RL 07 Jun 2021 -- A Moscow court has prolonged the curfew for Lyubov Sobol, the lawyer for jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), potentially undermining her campaign for parliament.
• Ottawa Says Russia Countersanctions Against Top Canadian Officials Unacceptable, Unfounded Sputnik 07 Jun 2021 -- Russian countersanctions against top Canadian officials are unacceptable and baseless, Global Affairs Canada told Sputnik.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on June 7, 2021 PRC MofA 07 Jun 2021
• Anti-foreign sanctions draft law proposed to top legislature Global Times 07 Jun 2021 -- China's anti-foreign sanctions draft law - the first of its kind - was proposed to the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) on Monday. The law is expected to provide strong legal support and guarantee for the country against the unilateral and discriminatory measures imposed by foreign countries.
• Hungary Appears To Backtrack On Controversial Chinese University Plans RFE/RL 07 Jun 2021 -- Hungary appears to have backed off from a controversial project to build a Chinese university in Budapest after thousands took to the streets of the capital over the weekend amid concerns it could help Beijing increase its influence in Europe.
• China-Hungary ties intact despite Budapest school branch on hold amid opposition's attempt to stigmatize exchanges Global Times 07 Jun 2021 -- After the march in Budapest against Hungary's plan to build a Chinese university branch - a move incited by the country's opposition party to stigmatize the cultural exchanges for political gain - the Hungarian prime minister appeared to suspend the plan and offered to hold a referendum on the project in 2023, which reflects the hurdles ahead in ties between China and Hungary marred by few opposition politicians' ulterior motives to hijack China-Hungary and China-EU ties.
• Uyghur Tribunal Wraps up With Testimony on Enforced Disappearances, Detentions, And Deaths Radio Free Asia 07 Jun 2021 -- Witnesses and experts testified about enforced disappearances, compulsory sterilization of women and forced contraception, organ harvesting, and torture in detainment by Chinese authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) on the final day of a tribunal in London investigating whether China's treatment of its ethnic Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims constitutes genocide.
• CCP-Linked Figure Calls on Tiananmen Vigil Group to Disband Radio Free Asia 07 Jun 2021 -- The organizers of a now-banned candlelight vigil for the victims of the June 4, 1989 massacre in Beijing have been warned by a key supporter of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to disband or face prosecution.
• Hu Yaobang is Seen as 'More of a Reformer Than Deng Xiaoping,' Says Hu Biographer. Radio Free Asia 07 Jun 2021 -- Retired veteran U.S. government intelligence analysts Robert Suettinger served as deputy national intelligence officer for East Asia at the National Intelligence Council from 1989 to 1994, and from 1987 to 1989 was President George H. W. Bush's director of the office of analysis for East Asia and the Pacific at the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
• China: US Senators' visit emboldens separatist forces in Chinese Taipei Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- China has lambasted a recent visit by American senators to Chinese Taipei, saying it will embolden "separatist forces" in the self-governed island.
• North Korea Taps Workers in Russia to Fund Pyongyang Construction Radio Free Asia 07 Jun 2021 -- North Korean workers dispatched to Russia must now pay their government an additional U.S. $100 in so-called "loyalty funds" to help cover the costs of a 10,000-home construction project in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, sources in Russia told RFA.
• UN Nuclear Watchdog Accuses Iran of Snubbing Inquiry VOA 07 Jun 2021 -- The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency accused Iran on Monday of failing to answer questions about the discovery of uranium particles at undeclared nuclear sites in the country.
• IAEA chief says it's getting harder to extend inspections agreement with Iran amid JCPOA talks Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it is getting increasingly harder to further extend a deal that the agency originally clinched with Iran in February to monitor the country's peaceful nuclear activities, which expires on June 24 after its first extension.
• UN Nuclear Watchdog Urges Iran to Explain Particle Traces at Undeclared Sites Sputnik 07 Jun 2021 -- Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN atomic watchdog, urged Iran on Monday to reveal the source of uranium particles discovered at four undeclared locations.
• Zarif stresses Iran's compliance with JCPOA IRNA 07 Jun 2021 -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed Iran's compliance to the Joint Comprehensive of Plan of Action (JCPOA) and said it was time for the US to change course.
• Unclear yet if Biden, Blinken ready to change course on Iran: Zarif Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says it still remains to be seen if US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are prepared to depart from their predecessors' attitude towards Iran.
• Former Iranian Officer Says Sabotage, Hostile Action Possible In Sinking Of Navy's Largest Ship RFE/RL 07 Jun 2021 -- Hossein Aryan, a British-trained former officer in the Iranian Navy, was the original operations officer on the Iranian ship Kharg, the navy's largest vessel, which debuted in 1980. The ship sank on June 2 in the Gulf of Oman near the port city of Jask after a fire reportedly broke out in the engine room. The Kharg was built in Britain and launched in 1977. It was the latest in a string of naval accidents involving Iranian ships in the last two years.
• Iranian Cleric Who Allegedly Founded Lebanese Hezbollah Dead Due to COVID-19 Sputnik 07 Jun 2021 -- Mohtashamipur, a close follower of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, was reportedly responsible for making alliances with Muslim groups across the Middle East in the 1970s while serving on behalf of the former Iranian leader.
• ASEAN calls on Myanmar military junta to halt violence against protesters, free prisoners Press TV 07 Jun 2021 -- Southeast Asian foreign ministers have urged Myanmar junta to halt violence, free prisoners and start its agreed dialogue amid a surge in daily protest rallies and public demonstrations following the Feb. 1 coup in the country.
• Indonesian Foreign Minister: Beijing's Help 'Crucial' in Supporting ASEAN Efforts on Myanmar Radio Free Asia 07 Jun 2021 -- China's backing is crucial to ASEAN's efforts to foster a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Myanmar, Jakarta's top diplomat said Monday.
• Myanmar Security Forces Arresting Relatives of Anti-Coup Activists They Can't Nab in Raids Radio Free Asia 07 Jun 2021 -- Security personnel loyal to Myanmar's military regime who fail to detain anti-coup activists in raids are increasingly arresting their family members, apparently to use them as leverage, sources say, with the move prompting the condemnation of watchdogs who call the practice a violation of law and human rights.
• Rights experts decry 'black hole' for media freedoms in Belarus UN News 07 Jun 2021 -- UN independent human rights experts have called for the immediate release of a jailed social media activist in Belarus amid what they described as a "black hole" for media freedoms in the country, according to a statement issued on Monday.
• Pakistan Launches New Polio Vaccination Drive RFE/RL Gandhara 07 Jun 2021 -- Pakistan has launched a five-day anti-polio campaign to vaccinate more than 30 million children under the age of 5.
• Statement by Press Secretary Jen Psaki on President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine The White House 07 Jun 2021
• Germany In Talks To Make Ukraine 'Whole' For Losses From Russian Pipeline, Blinken Says RFE/RL 07 Jun 2021 -- Germany is discussing ways to compensate Ukraine for the financial loss it will suffer from the completion of a controversial Russian natural-gas pipeline backed by Berlin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told Congress.
• Biden Invites Ukrainian President To White House RFE/RL 07 Jun 2021 -- President Joe Biden invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to visit the White House this summer in a show of support for the Eastern European nation.
• Biden Invites Ukrainian Leader to White House VOA 07 Jun 2021 -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, pleading to meet U.S. President Joe Biden prior to Biden's talks in Geneva next week, was rebuffed by the White House on that request but was awarded a consolation phone call on Monday that included an invitation to Washington.
• Foreign Minister of Maldives elected next General Assembly President UN News 07 Jun 2021 -- The UN chief welcomed the election on Monday of Abdulla Shahid, Foreign Minister of the Maldives, as President-elect of the 76th session of the General Assembly.
• Peru Presidential Elections Too Close to Call VOA 07 Jun 2021 -- Two candidates vying for Peru's presidency were still neck and neck Monday as vote counts trickled in for the runoff election.