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Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• Afghanistan: UN condemns 'horrendous attack' on demining partner HALO Trust UN News 09 Jun 2021 -- The United Nations on Wednesday called for an investigation into the deadly attack in northern Afghanistan against the HALO Trust, a humanitarian group working to rid the country of landmines.
• Armed Attack Kills 10 Staff of Charity Clearing Afghan Land Mines VOA 09 Jun 2021 -- Officials in Afghanistan said Wednesday that gunmen attacked the office of an international charity clearing land mines in the country, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than a dozen others.
• Pentagon Confirms Afghanistan Withdrawal Over 50 Percent Done, Says Won't Give Specifics From Now On Sputnik 09 Jun 2021 -- The United States and its NATO allies began their "final" withdrawal from Afghanistan last month after nearly two decades of war. President Biden promises to complete the troops' extraction by the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
• Berlin Urged to Speed Up Resettlement of Afghans Who Worked for Military Amid Fears of Retribution Sputnik 09 Jun 2021 -- As the United States and NATO forces continue to pull out of the country, the Taliban says people who worked for foreign forces in Afghanistan will be safe as long as they show "remorse" and should not leave the war-ravaged country.
• Ten Afghan Mine-Clearing Workers Killed In Attack RFE/RL Gandhara 09 Jun 2021 -- At least 10 Afghans working for a mine-clearance nongovernmental organization have been killed in an attack in the northern Afghan province of Baghlan.

Defense Policy / Programs

• US Secretary of Defense Austin Orders Pentagon to Focus on China Security Challenge Sputnik 09 Jun 2021 -- US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has ordered several new Department of Defense initiatives to deal with the growing security threats from China, the Department of Defense announced on Wednesday.
• Secretary of Defense Directive on China Task Force Recommendations DoD 09 Jun 2021 -- Based on final recommendations submitted by the DoD China Task Force, Secretary Austin issued a directive today initiating several major Department-wide efforts to better address the security challenges posed by China as the United States' number one pacing challenge.
• Austin Signs Internal Directive to Unify Department's China Efforts DoD News 09 Jun 2021 -- Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III issued an internal directive today to laser-focus Department of Defense efforts to address China as the nation's number one pacing challenge.
• Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby Holds a Press Briefing DoD 09 Jun 2021
• USS Winston S. Churchill: The Navy's Most Combat Ready Ship US Navy 09 Jun 2021 -- As selected by the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) was presented the USS Arizona Memorial Trophy on June 9 by RADM Brendan McLane, Commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic (SURFLANT).
• Pentagon Launches Effort to Better Address China Challenge VOA 09 Jun 2021 -- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin rolled out a departmentwide effort Wednesday aimed at more effectively addressing China as the "pacing challenge" for the U.S. military.
• The Department of Defense Announces Establishment of Arctic Regional Center DoD 09 Jun 2021 -- Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III is proud to announce the establishment of a new Department of Defense Regional Center, the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies. The center will bring increased cooperation on the unique challenges and security concerns related to the Arctic region.
• DOD Announces Center to Collaborate, Advance Shared Interests in Arctic Region DoD News 09 Jun 2021 -- The Defense Department announced today the creation of a new DOD center to focus on issues related to the Arctic.
• Official Says DOD on Track to Accelerate Delivery of Hypersonic Weapons DoD News 09 Jun 2021 -- Hypersonics is a key element of the Defense Department's modernization activity, delivering high-speed, long-range lethal effects that can take out high-priority targets on the battlefield, a key Defense Department official said.
• U.S. Forces Conduct Joint Aviation Integration Exercise with UAE and Saudi Arabia CENTCOM 09 Jun 2021 -- U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and U.S. Air Forces Central (AFCENT) conducted multiple simultaneous, joint air operations in support of maritime surface warfare (AOMSW) exercises with United Arab Emirates (UAE) Coast Guard and Joint Aviation Command (JAC), and Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) in the Arabian Gulf, June 1-2.
• Construction of First Two B-21 Raider Stealth Bombers Is Complete, US Air Force Says Sputnik 09 Jun 2021 -- With just 158 aircraft in its bomber fleet and no plane younger than 21 years of age, the US Air Force has struggled to keep enough aircraft available for missions in the event of a major war.
• Pentagon Seemingly Drops Quest for Ship-Based Electromagnetic Railgun Sputnik 09 Jun 2021 -- In the US Navy's proposed budget for the coming fiscal year, it has dropped funding for the programs developing an electromagnetic railgun and the special hypervelocity rounds it would have fired.
• New AFMC office to drive digital transformation across Air, Space enterprise US Air Force 09 Jun 2021 -- The Air Force Materiel Command has established a new office to manage digital transformation activities across the Air and Space Force enterprise.
• USS Laboon Conducts Port Visit in Souda Bay US Navy 09 Jun 2021 -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58), an element of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, conducted a scheduled port visit to Souda Bay, Greece, June 3.
• U.S. Naval Forces Rescue Mariners from Sinking Ship in Gulf of Aden US Navy 09 Jun 2021 -- A U.S. Naval ship assigned to U.S. 5th Fleet provided emergency assistance to a motor vessel in distress in the Gulf of Aden, June 7.
• Top NATO Commander Reports Progress in US Effort to Keep China 5G Equipment Out of Europe Sputnik 09 Jun 2021 -- China's sales to US allies of 5G communications equipment threatens NATO's ability to protect its forces in Europe and ensure interoperability of disparate national militaries, although the US is making progress in persuading allies to shun Chinese companies, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, US General Tod Wolters said.
• Upgraded FC-31 top candidate for China's next-generation carrier-based stealth fighter jet: observer Global Times 09 Jun 2021 -- The FC-31, China's second stealth fighter jet, is a top candidate to become the country's next-generation aircraft carrier-based fighter jet after receiving corresponding upgrades, military observers said on Wednesday, after foreign media outlets posted a photo showing a full-size model of the fighter that was recently spotted on a full-size mock aircraft carrier, allegedly used to evaluate the country's carrier development.
• PLA Rocket Force practices night DF-26 missile launch Global Times 09 Jun 2021 -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force recently conducted a series of exercises with the "aircraft carrier killer" DF-26 ballistic missile at night, and while related techniques are challenging, they can bring many advantages on the battlefield, experts said on Wednesday.
• Chinese naval escort taskforces conduct mission-handover in Gulf of Aden PLA Daily 09 Jun 2021 -- The 37th and the 38th Chinese naval escort taskforces held a mission-handover ceremony in waters west of the Gulf of Aden on the morning of June 7, local time, on the commanding ship Destroyer Changsha (Hull 173) of the 37th escort taskforce.
• Pakistan will not allow US to use its bases: Foreign minister Press TV 09 Jun 2021 -- Pakistan's foreign minister says the administration of Prime Minister Imran Khan will not give the US military access to any bases inside the country after the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.
• First F-35B Lightning landing on HMS Prince of Wales UK MOD 09 Jun 2021 -- An F-35B Lightning aircraft has landed onboard the Royal Navy's latest aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, for the first time.
• Submarine training facility takes shape at HMNB Clyde UK MOD 09 Jun 2021 -- Work is well underway on a new training facility which will secure HMNB Clyde as the central base for submariners in the UK.
• INDO-THAI COORDINATED PATROL (CORPAT) India PIB 09 Jun 2021 -- The 31stedition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) between the Indian Navyand the Royal Thai Navyis being conducted from 09 – 11 June 2021.
• Putin Says Ukrainians Opposing NATO Membership Are 'Smart People' Sputnik 09 Jun 2021 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the intelligence of Ukrainians who oppose their country's NATO membership, noting that they do not want to become cannon fodder or political currency.
• Kyrgyz President Says Important to Expand Military Cooperation With Turkey Sputnik 09 Jun 2021 -- Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov believes it is important to build up cooperation with Turkey in the military sphere, his press service told Sputnik on Wednesday.
• F-35A's first working display Australia DOD 09 Jun 2021 -- The ADF's newest strike aircraft has successfully conducted its first public working display, in the skies over the NSW Central Coast.
• Paris holds back military aid to CAR over alleged anti-French campaign Press TV 09 Jun 2021 -- France says it will withhold its military cooperation and budgetary aid to the Central African Republic pending further assessments, alleging that the government in Bangui has been involved in a "massive disinformation campaign" with Russia.
• Bulgarian Fighter Jet Disappears From Radars, Search Operation Underway, Report Says Sputnik 09 Jun 2021 -- A fighter jet of the Bulgarian air force disappeared from radars during a training flight over the country's territorial waters on Wednesday, and the search operation is underway, the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reported, citing the Defenсe Ministry.
• Bulgaria Mobilizes Navy, Air Force to Search For Pilot of Missing Fighter Jet Sputnik 09 Jun 2021 -- Military helicopters and boats are involved in the search for the pilot of a Bulgarian air force MiG-29 plane that disappeared from radars during drills on Wednesday, the country's defence ministry said.
• Bulgarian MiG-29 Goes Missing During Military Drills Over Black Sea RFE/RL 09 Jun 2021 -- Bulgaria says one of its MiG-29 aircraft has lost radio communication and disappeared from radars while taking part in military exercises over the Black Sea.
• Europe Prepares Warm Welcome for Biden at G-7, but Skepticism Remains VOA 09 Jun 2021 -- Leaders of the G-7 group of industrialized nations meet this weekend in Britain, with an agenda topped by the global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, taxation, and the challenges posed by Russia and China.
• Joint Statement on the Eighth U.S.-UAE Economic Policy Dialogue US Dept. of State 09 Jun 2021 -- The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates.
• Remarks by President Biden Before Air Force One Departure The White House 09 Jun 2021
• Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Jen Psaki and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan En Route Suffolk, England The White House 09 Jun 2021
• Department Press Briefing – June 9, 2021 US Dept. of State 09 Jun 2021

Defense Industry

• Contracts For June 9, 2021

Other Conflicts

• 9 June 2021 - Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General United Nations 09 Jun 2021
• Why Malaysia, Normally Calm, Is Upset with China over a Maritime Dispute VOA 09 Jun 2021 -- Analysts say a rare burst of anger from Malaysia over the flight of Chinese air force planes near its airspace and a coast guard vessel spotted in a disputed waterway indicates Beijing has crossed a line with Kuala Lumpur in its slow maritime expansion.
• Syria rejects Blinken's remarks on occupied Golan Heights Press TV 09 Jun 2021 -- Syria has categorically rejected remarks by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, reiterating that the land was and will remain a "Syrian Arab" territory.
• Commander of anti-terror Hashd al-Sha'abi forces in Iraq's Anbar released after charges dropped Press TV 09 Jun 2021 -- Iraqi authorities have released a high-ranking commander of anti-terror Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) after charges of involvement in a series of attacks on US military forces and installations against him were dropped.
• Three Drones Attacked US State Department Facility Near Baghdad Airport, Officials Say Sputnik 09 Jun 2021 -- Several drones attacked a US facility near Baghdad International Airport early on Thursday morning, according to local security officials, who said the same group attacked another base 40 miles north of Baghdad just hours earlier.
• UN special rapporteur warns of 'mass deaths' in eastern Myanmar Press TV 09 Jun 2021 -- The United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has warned of "mass deaths" from starvation and disease in the country's east where fighting goes on between rebel groups and the junta.
• UN Warns of 'Massive Loss of Life' in Eastern Myanmar VOA 09 Jun 2021 -- A United Nations official says Myanmar's eastern Kayah State is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, with thousands of people facing starvation after fleeing their homes to escape fighting between security and ethnic rebel forces.
• Nearly 230,000 Displaced in Fighting Between Junta and Militias, Ethnic Armies Since Myanmar Coup Radio Free Asia 09 Jun 2021 -- More than a quarter of a million civilians in seven regions of Myanmar have been displaced by clashes between the military and militias or fighting between ethnic armies in the four months since the junta overthrew the country's democratically elected government, aid groups said Wednesday.
• 'Mass deaths' alert in Myanmar as 100,000 flee junta's heavy weapons UN News 09 Jun 2021 -- In Myanmar, international action is needed urgently to prevent "mass deaths" there, after civilians fled attacks by so-called "junta bombs", a top independent UN rights expert has warned.
• Report Warns Of 'Fragile' Prospects For Postwar Nagorno-Karabakh RFE/RL 09 Jun 2021 -- Elmira is the only woman who stays overnight in her neighborhood in the southern part of Nagorno-Karabakh.
• Outgoing ICC Prosecutor urges Security Council to keep focus on justice in Darfur UN News 09 Jun 2021 -- The international community must stay focused on achieving justice and peace for the people of Darfur, the outgoing Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) told the Security Council on Wednesday.
• ICC Prosecutor Calls on Sudan to Hand Over War Crimes Suspects VOA 09 Jun 2021 -- The departing prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has called on Sudan's government to transfer four men wanted for war crimes in Darfur to The Hague.

News Reports

• US Attorney General Warns Ransomware 'Getting Worse and Worse' VOA 09 Jun 2021 -- U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland warned Wednesday that ransom-motivated cyberattacks are "getting worse and worse," echoing other top Biden administration officials who have sounded the alarm about the problem in recent weeks.
• Third and Final Defendant Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISIS US Dept. of Justice 09 Jun 2021 -- Today, Mohamed Haji, 28, of Lansing, Michigan, pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, aka ISIS. In January 2020, his co-defendants Muse Muse and Mohamud Muse pleaded guilty to the same offense.
• Executive Order on Protecting Americans' Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries The White House 09 Jun 2021
• Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate on Protecting Americans' Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries The White House 09 Jun 2021
• The Designation of Navalny-Affiliated Organizations as "Extremist" US Dept. of State 09 Jun 2021 -- "We condemn today's decision by a Moscow court to designate as "extremist" three organizations affiliated with imprisoned opposition figure Aleksey Navalny."
• Navalny Political Organizations Declared Extremist RFE/RL 09 Jun 2021 -- A Russian court on June 9 approved a request by prosecutors to declare organizations linked to imprisoned opposition politician Aleksei Navalny as "extremist," the latest move in a campaign by authorities to bar the Kremlin critic's allies from running in parliamentary elections in September.
• Russian Bill Approved Expanding 'Undesirable' Organizations Law RFE/RL 09 Jun 2021 -- The Russian parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, has approved the third and final reading of a bill that widens the scope of a controversial existing law on "undesirable" organizations.
• Russia: UK condemns ruling of Navalny foundation as extremist organisation UK FCDO 09 Jun 2021 -- The UK has condemned the judgment by a Russian court today that Alexey Navalny's anti-corruption foundation is an extremist organisation.
• No exaggerated expectations ahead of Putin-Biden summit: Moscow Press TV 09 Jun 2021 -- Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow has "no exaggerated expectations" about a potential breakthrough at an upcoming summit between President Vladimir Putin and President Joe Biden of the United States.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on June 9, 2021 PRC MofA 09 Jun 2021
• McCaul, Rogers, and Nunes Urge Biden to Take Steps to Expose and Counter Chinese Nuclear Build Up House Foreign Affairs Committee Republicans 09 Jun 2021 -- House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX) joined Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), Ranking Member of House Armed Services Committee and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, to send a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to expose China's duplicity and rapidly expanding nuclear program, and bring them into meaningful arms control discussions.
• China hits back at US competition bill Global Times 09 Jun 2021 -- China on Wednesday harshly criticized the US Senate's passing of an innovation and competition bill, saying that the legislation is full of Cold War mentality, grossly interferes in China's internal affairs and is doomed to fail, urging Washington to halt the legislation to avoid further damaging China-US relations and cooperation.
• U.S. Senate approves bill to counter China People's Daily 09 Jun 2021 -- The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted 68-32 to pass a package of legislation intended to boost the country's ability to compete with Chinese technology.
• Senate passes bill to boost US science and tech innovation to counter China Press TV 09 Jun 2021 -- The US Senate has overwhelmingly approved an expansive bill to boost the country's ability to compete with Chinese technology.
• Senate Act to Aid US Competition With China Prompts Backlash From Beijing Radio Free Asia 09 Jun 2021 -- The U.S. Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would fund the development of technologies at home to compete with those being backed by China's government, prompting Beijing to dismiss the move as motivated by "Cold War mentality" and chastise Washington for treating it as an "imaginary enemy."
• Chinese Parliament Slams US Bill Addressing 'Tech Threat' Coming From China Sputnik 09 Jun 2021 -- On 8 June, the US Senate approved a package of legislation intended to boost the country's ability to compete with Chinese technology, authorising nearly $190 billion for provisions to strengthen US technology and research.
• Two Years After Million-Strong Protest, Hongkongers 'Saddened' by Loss of Freedom Radio Free Asia 09 Jun 2021 -- Hongkongers on Wednesday marked the second anniversary of a million-strong march that launched a mass protest movement in 2019 that started with widespread opposition to plans to allow extradition to mainland China, and broadened into calls for full democracy and official accountability.
• Uyghur Relatives Deployed by China to Counter Abuse Testimony Rejected as 'Forced' Witnesses Radio Free Asia 09 Jun 2021 -- Chinese officials of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) presented relatives of ethnic Uyghurs at a news conference on Wednesday to speak out against witnesses who testified during a recent independent tribunal in London, discrediting their accounts of torture, sexual assaults, and other grave human rights violations inflicted on Muslims in the region.
• CPC wins people's heartfelt support because it serves them wholeheartedly: Xi PLA Daily 09 Jun 2021 -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said the Party has won the people's wholehearted support because it has always served the people heart and soul and strived for the wellbeing of all ethnic groups.
• Chinese Police Hold Billionaire With Links to Fall of Zhou Yongkang Radio Free Asia 09 Jun 2021 -- Authorities in the southwestern province of Sichuan have detained a businessman with links to the family of jailed former head of Chinese law enforcement, Zhou Yongkang.
• Chinese Police Detain Maoist Leftists Ahead of Ruling Party Centenary Radio Free Asia 09 Jun 2021 -- Authorities in the eastern province of Shandong are detaining Maoist activists ahead of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) centenary celebrations on July 1, Taiwanese media reported.
• Taiwan applauds U.S. Senate's passage of China competition bill CNA 09 Jun 2021 -- Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Wednesday commended the United States Senate for passing an expansive bill to counter China's growing economic influence.
• China's defense ministry slams 3 U.S. senators' visit to Taiwan region PLA Daily 09 Jun 2021 -- On Tuesday, Chinese defense ministry strongly condemned the visit of three U.S. senators to Taiwan region, calling it an abominable political provocation that challenges the one-China principle and aims to achieve the end goal of "containing China."
• Iran protests against losing its voting privileges in UNGA ISNA 09 Jun 2021 -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres denounced the UN's flawed and unjustified decision to deprive Iran of its voting privileges in the UN General Assembly, saying the inability to fulfill the financial obligations is caused by the US' unlawful and unilateral sanctions.
• Iran criticizes IAEA Grossi for taking unilateral approach ISNA 08 Jun 2021 -- Ambassador and permanent representative of Iran to the International Organizations in Vienna, Kazem Gharibabadi criticized Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi's recent reports and his unilateral stance.
• Blinken says "hundreds of sanctions" against Iran to remain in place People's Daily 09 Jun 2021 -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that "hundreds of sanctions" against Iran will remain in place even if Washington and Tehran return to compliance with the nuclear deal.
• Iran's envoy: US yet to show determination to remove sanctions, help revive JCPOA Press TV 09 Jun 2021 -- Iran's permanent representative to Vienna-based international organizations says the United States has shown no determination towards removing its sanctions and returning to compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
• Iran Nuclear Negotiations To Resume This Weekend, U.S. Official Says RFE/RL 09 Jun 2021 -- Negotiations aimed at returning the United States and Iran to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal will resume this weekend, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on June 9.
• Myanmar Shadow Government Distrustful of Chinese-ASEAN Approach to Crisis Radio Free Asia 09 Jun 2021 -- Myanmar's shadow government rejected Chinese support for ASEAN on resolving political turmoil in the wake of the Feb. 1 coup, saying the neighbors' plan would cement military control of the country.
• Interview: NUG Urges China to 'Understand the True Situation' of Myanmar Radio Free Asia 09 Jun 2021 -- Zin Mar Aung, a former student activist who spent 11 years as a political prisoner for her opposition to Myanmar's military government in the late 1990s, won re-election to her seat in the main city Yangon in November, but was not allowed to take her seat when a coup ousted the elected government on Feb. 1.
• RFE/RL President Says Lukashenka Has Discussed Adopting 'Foreign Agents' Law RFE/RL 09 Jun 2021 -- RFE/RL President Jamie Fly told a U.S. Senate committee on June 9 that Belarusian authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka has discussed copying Russia's "foreign agents" law to further restrict media freedom in Belarus.
• Belarus Opposition Leader Seeks Tribunal to Investigate Lukashenko VOA 09 Jun 2021 -- A Belarusian opposition leader has called for creation of an international tribunal to investigate war crimes allegedly committed by authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
• Lukashenka Turning Belarus Into North Korea Of Europe, Tsikhanouskaya Tells U.S. Senators RFE/RL 09 Jun 2021 -- Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya told U.S. lawmakers on June 9 that authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka is turning Belarus into "a North Korea of Europe" and urged the United States to expand sanctions against the people and enterprises who finance his regime.
• 'I'm Not Going Anywhere': Popular Pakistani Journalist Defiant Following TV Ban RFE/RL Gandhara 09 Jun 2021 -- Hamid Mir, one of Pakistan's most prominent television journalists, was the target of a powerful bomb in 2012 when high explosives were found planted under his car by police in Islamabad.
• Banned Pakistani TV Host Apologizes Over Speech Criticizing Military RFE/RL Gandhara 09 Jun 2021 -- Pakistan's most prominent TV presenter, who was taken off air by his employer last month after criticizing the military, has offered an apology saying he had no intention to defame anyone.
• UK-EU impasse over Northern Ireland Protocol nearing breaking point Press TV 09 Jun 2021 -- As the political and diplomatic crisis centered on Northern Ireland takes on increasingly international dimensions, the European Union (EU) says its patience with the UK is "wearing very thin".
• Biden implores UK and EU not to 'imperil' Northern Ireland peace Press TV 09 Jun 2021 -- US President Joe Biden reportedly has "deep" concerns that an intensifying dispute between the UK and the European Union (EU) over the Northern Ireland Protocol could endanger "peace" in the British-controlled territory.
• Final Brexit Hurdle: UK and EU Remain Deadlocked Over Northern Ireland Protocol Sputnik 09 Jun 2021 -- Following a four-hour meeting in London on Wednesday between UK-EU minister Lord David Frost and the European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, no breakthrough has been achieved.
• EU Court Annuls 2019 Decision On Ex-Ukrainian President Yanukovych RFE/RL 09 Jun 2021 -- The General Court of the European Union has annulled the bloc's 2019 decision to extend asset freezes imposed on former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his son Oleksandr over the alleged embezzlement of Ukrainian state funds and assets.
• Cambodia Celebrates First Drop of Offshore Oil Despite Major Petroleum Setback Radio Free Asia 09 Jun 2021 -- Cambodia's government held a ceremony Wednesday to commemorate the delivery of the first drop of oil extracted from the country's offshore deposits, but the partner company that produced it went bankrupt days earlier and activists said oil is not the answer to the country's ailing economy.
• U.S. 'Modernizes' Sanctions Policy For Western Balkans To Go After Corruption RFE/RL 09 Jun 2021 -- The United States is "modernizing" its sanctions policy in the Western Balkans by further targeting corruption, human rights abuses, and acts that threaten democracy in the region, the State Department said.
• Hungary's Orban Says Global Minimum Tax Plan 'Absurd' RFE/RL 09 Jun 2021 -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has criticized a proposed global minimum corporate tax, calling it "absurd" and warning that his government would need to consider contingency plans if the concept is adopted.
• Whereabouts Unknown: Tajik Government Critics Face Pressure, Forced Disappearances In Russia RFE/RL 09 Jun 2021 -- Relatives of Tajik blogger Ehson Odinaev haven't heard from him since May 2015, when Odinaev left his apartment in St. Petersburg to buy medicine from a nearby pharmacy. He never returned home.
• Announcing Sanctions on the Ortega Regime in Response to Arbitrary Detentions and Other Undemocratic Moves US Dept. of State 09 Jun 2021 -- The United States calls on President Ortega and the Nicaraguan government to immediately release presidential candidates Cristiana Chamorro, Arturo Cruz, Félix Maradiaga, Juan Sebastian Chamorro and other civil society and opposition leaders arrested in the past week, including in last night's crackdown, which sent independent journalists and activists into hiding for fear of reprisals.
• Treasury Sanctions Nicaraguan Officials for Supporting Ortega's Efforts to Undermine Democracy, Human Rights, and the Economy US Treasury 09 Jun 2021 -- Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated four individuals who support the Ortega regime — a regime that has undermined democracy, abused the human rights of civilians, enacted repressive laws with grave economic consequences, and tried to silence the independent news media.
• Albania Parliament Votes to Impeach President VOA 09 Jun 2021 -- Albania's Parliament voted Wednesday to impeach President Ilir Meta, after the ruling Socialist Party accused him of meddling in the April 25 national election and violating the country's constitution.