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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Kabul, Taliban Agree to Continue Talks, Start Countrywide Humanitarian Aid Programme Sputnik 18 Jul 2021 -- This comes amid a recent surge in violence in Afghanistan following the start of the withdrawal of international troops from the country in line with an agreement reached between the Taliban* and the US in Doha last year.
• Russian Foreign Ministry Says Moscow's Contacts With Taliban in Line With UNSC Resolution Sputnik 18 Jul 2021 -- By maintaining its contacts with the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) and trying to convince them to negotiate with the Afghan government, Moscow is implementing a relevant UNSC resolution, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.
• Taliban leader says 'favors political settlement' to Afghan conflict Press TV 18 Jul 2021 -- Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has urged Kabul to stop relying on "foreigners" to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan, saying the militant group favors "a political settlement" by the Afghan parties.
• Taliban Leader Says Group 'Strenuously Favours Political Settlement' Ahead of Eid Celebrations Sputnik 18 Jul 2021 -- The Taliban* has capitalised on the last stages of the withdrawal of the US and other foreign troops from Afghanistan to launch a series of offensives across the country. Foreign troops have been in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years following the US-led invasion launched after the 11 September 2001 attack on America.
• Afghanistan Recalls Diplomats From Pakistan Over Kidnapping of Envoy's Daughter VOA 18 Jul 2021 -- Afghanistan said Sunday it has asked all of its diplomats in Pakistan to return to Kabul until Islamabad addresses "all security risks" to them and brings to justice those behind last week's brief abduction of the Afghan ambassador's daughter.
• Putin, Biden discussed use of Russian bases to 'coordinate actions' in Afghanistan: Report Press TV 18 Jul 2021 -- A Russian media source has alleged that Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart, Joe Biden, have discussed the possibility of exchanging information on the conflict in Afghanistan and the use of Russian military bases to monitor the situation in the war-ravaged country.

Defense Policy / Programs

• USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Returns from Deployment, IKE CSG Earns Navy Unit Commendation US Navy 18 Jul 2021 -- The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (IKE) returned home to Naval Station Norfolk July 18 following a six-month deployment to the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation.
• USS Roosevelt Arrives in Reykjavik US Navy 18 Jul 2021 -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) arrived in Reykjavik, Iceland July 18, 2021, for a scheduled port visit while on patrol in the High North.
• USS Thomas Hudner Returns from Deployment US Navy 18 Jul 2021 -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), a ship of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKE CSG), returned to its homeport of Naval Station Mayport on July 17 after a six-month deployment to the U.S. 5th and U.S. 6th Fleet areas of operation.
• NATO launches new US command for 'battle of the Atlantic' citing China, Russia Press TV 18 Jul 2021 -- The US-led NATO military alliance has celebrated the official launch of Joint Force Command-Norfolk, the first such command to be located in the US, joining similar NATO commands in Brunssum, Netherlands and Naples, Italy.
• Pentagon's Top General Warns of 'Great Power War' as NATO Launches New Anti-Russia Atlantic Command Sputnik 18 Jul 2021 -- Biden's administration has continued his predecessors' strategy of pushing Russia and China closer together via a hostile US sanctions policy and military manoeuvres near the two countries' borders.
• PLA holds beach assault drills after US military aircraft's Taiwan island landing Global Times 18 Jul 2021 -- The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Army and Navy held joint amphibious landing exercises in waters off East China's Fujian Province on Friday, geographically divided from the island of Taiwan only by the Taiwan Straits, just one day after a second US military aircraft landed on Thursday on the island in less than two months.
• Magnifying legal Chinese ship presence near US-Australian military drill unreasonable: experts Global Times 18 Jul 2021 -- Recent coverage by Australian media on the legal presence of surveillance ships of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy near ongoing US-Australian military exercises has been unreasonable magnified, particularly when Western countries like the US do the same on China, Chinese experts said on Sunday.
• Expeditionary Strike Group 7 arrives for Talisman Sabre 21 Australia DOD 18 Jul 2021 -- The forward-deployed ships of Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 7, along with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, arrive off the coast of Australia in preparation for the biennial bilateral exercise Talisman Sabre 21 (TS21), 16 July.
• Royal Australian Artillery and US Marines share M777A2 procedures Australia DOD 18 Jul 2021 -- It's rehearsal day for the Talisman Sabre 21 show of force demonstration, and Australian and US batteries have mixed their gunner teams for a fire mission.
• US Fires Patriot Missile First Time in Australia During Drills Sputnik 18 Jul 2021 -- The United States fired its Patriot missile in Australia for the first time as part of the Talisman Sabre 21 exercise (TS 21), the US Army said in a press release.
• S. Korea Sends Plane to Bring Home Anti-Piracy Personnel Infected With COVID Off Africa Sputnik 18 Jul 2021 -- South Korea's government sent a plane to its anti-piracy naval unit in the Gulf of Eden near Somalia to bring back home all personnel, many of which have contracted COVID-19, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Kosovo Repatriates 11 Citizens From Islamic State Camps In Syria RFE/RL 18 Jul 2021 -- Kosovo has repatriated 11 of its citizens from camps in Syria holding Islamic State group fighters and their families.
• Ethiopia police arrest hundreds for alleged support for Tigray forces Press TV 18 Jul 2021 -- Ethiopian authorities have arrested hundreds of people on suspicion of supporting Tigrayan forces in the country's war-torn northern region, in what human rights groups describe as an ethnically-motivated crackdown.
• Turkey's Erdogan set to visit Northern Cyprus amid tensions Press TV 18 Jul 2021 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan heads to Northern Cyprus to mark the anniversary of Turkey's 1974 invasion, a visit that is bound to draw the ire of Greek Cypriots.

News Reports

• Smartphones of Rights Activists, Journalists Hacked With Private Israeli Spyware VOA 18 Jul 2021 -- Spyware developed by an Israeli firm and licensed to governments for tracking terrorists and criminals was also used to hack smartphones of human rights activists, business executives and journalists, according to a global investigation by 17 media partners.
• Azerbaijan Suspected Of Spying On Reporters, Activists By Using Software To Access Phones RFE/RL 18 Jul 2021 -- A new report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) alleges Azerbaijan has been spying on hundreds of local activists and journalists, including RFE/RL reporters, using sophisticated software that gave the government access to their phones.
• Israel pushed spy tech firms to work with Riyadh despite Khashoggi murder: NYT Press TV 18 Jul 2021 -- The Israeli regime has continued to allow and encourage cyber-surveillance companies to secretly work with Saudi Arabia despite international condemnation of the kingdom's heavy-handed crackdown on dissent and the 2018 brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an American daily newspaper says.
• Russian Human Rights Association Shuts Down Amid Fears Of Criminal Investigations RFE/RL 18 Jul 2021 -- An association of Russian human rights lawyers linked to jailed Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny's group says it has suspended its work to protect its members and supporters from criminal prosecution amid a government pressure campaign.
• China firmly opposes U.S. sanctions on officials of Chinese central government in HK People's Daily 18 Jul 2021 -- China urges the United States to immediately stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs, and China will take all necessary measures in line with law to safeguard its sovereignty and security and development interests, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Saturday.
• HKSAR officials hit back at U.S. false assertions, reiterate business confidence People's Daily 18 Jul 2021 -- Senior officials of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Saturday hit back at the so called "business advisory" issued by the U.S. government and the false allegations by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the national security law in the HKSAR.
• Iran has a prisoner-swap agreement with US and UK in place: Spox IRNA 18 Jul 2021 -- Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, in response to the US denial that there was an agreement on prisoner exchange with Iran, said on Sunday that Iran had an agreement in place with the US and the UK and was ready to implement it "TODAY".
• Iranian MP: JCPOA talks framework will not change under Raeisi administration Press TV 18 Jul 2021 -- A senior Iranian lawmaker has said the framework of Iran's policy at the Vienna talks will not change under the incoming administration of Ebrahim Raeisi, noting that the Islamic Republic will continue the talks, aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement, to reach its objectives.
• Vienna talks must await Iran' new administration: Araghchi ISNA 18 Jul 2021 -- Iranian deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs and the head of Iran's negotiating team in nuclear talks Abbas Araghchi stressed that Iran is in a transition period as a democratic transfer of power is underway in the country so Vienna talks must await Iran's new administration.
• Iran says ready to proceed with prisoner swap deal with US, UK Press TV 18 Jul 2021 -- Iran has rejected the United States' denial of an agreement on a humanitarian prisoner exchange, expressing Tehran's preparedness to immediately proceed with the deal already agreed with Washington and London.
• Iranian Foreign Ministry Calls 'Outrageous' US Denying Deal on Prisoner Swap Sputnik 18 Jul 2021 -- Tehran reiterated on 18 July that Iran had reached a deal on prisoner swap with the United States, and denounced the US' denial of this fact as "outrageous."
• Belarusian Opposition Leader in Washington to Meet With US Officials VOA 18 Jul 2021 -- In an interview Sunday with Voice of America, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of the Belarusian opposition, said she came to Washington at the invitation of the U.S. State Department for a series of meetings with high-ranking U.S. government officials. She said her focus would be on the worsening human rights situation in Belarus as well as the escalation of violence by the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko.
• Police fire rubber bullets, tear gas at protesters rallying against Thai PM Press TV 18 Jul 2021 -- Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Thailand's capital, Bangkok, to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha and denounce government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Bulgaria's Interim Government Accuses Controversial Prosecutor Of Wrongdoing RFE/RL 18 Jul 2021 -- Bulgaria's interim government has accused Prosecutor-General Ivan Geshev, who was the target of mass protests last year, of wrongdoing as it seeks to oust the controversial official.
• OPEC+ Reaches Agreement On Oil Output Increase; Russia To Boost Production RFE/RL 18 Jul 2021 -- Major oil-producing nations have reached an agreement on an increase in output, ending a dispute that sent prices to a six-year high earlier this month.
• Eliminating Presidential Candidates In Central Asia RFE/RL 18 Jul 2021 -- Jahongir Otajonov just dropped out of the presidential race in Uzbekistan.