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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Taliban Seizes Key Areas Of Kunduz As Two Other Afghan Provincial Capitals Fall RFE/RL Gandhara 08 Aug 2021 -- Taliban fighters overran three provincial capitals, including the strategic city of Kunduz and Sar-e Pol in the north of the country on August 8, local officials and a spokesman for the militants said as the group stepped up its northern offensive and threatened more urban centers.
• Qatar to Host International Meetings on Afghan Peace VOA 08 Aug 2021 -- Two back-to-back international meetings are being convened in Qatar this week to press Afghanistan's warring parties to resume peace negotiations and reach a deal before the Afghan conflict spirals out of control.
• Taliban Capture Large Parts of Kunduz, 2 Other Provincial Capitals VOA 08 Aug 2021 -- Taliban fighters overran large parts of Kunduz city along with the capitals of Takhar and Sar-e-Pul provinces in northern and northeastern Afghanistan Sunday after intense fighting that lasted several days.
• Taliban make rapid advances, overrun three northern Afghan cities in one day Press TV 08 Aug 2021 -- The Taliban militant group continues to make rapid advances across Afghanistan, overrunning a number of provincial capitals and aggressively pushing back the demoralized Afghan forces.
• Afghan forces engage Taliban in heavy fighting in three northern provinces Press TV 08 Aug 2021 -- Afghan government forces and the Taliban are engaged in fierce fighting in three northern provinces as the militants ramp up their offensives to seize further territory in the conflict-ridden country.
• Biden orders B-52, C-130 gunships to bomb advancing Taliban insurgents Press TV 08 Aug 2021 -- US President Joe Biden has reportedly ordered the US Air Force to carry out air strike against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan using B-52 bombers and C-130 Specter gunships after the militants continued advancing towards major Afghan cities.
• Taliban Warns Biden Against Interfering in Afghan Affairs - TV Report Sputnik 08 Aug 2021 -- This comes after the Biden administration launched airstrikes on Taliban* fighters in northern Afghanistan on Saturday, as the Islamists have continued their offensive, capturing new areas amid the rapid withdrawal of US forces.
• Biden Briefed on Taliban Offensive in Afghanistan, No Change in Plans - Reports Sputnik 08 Aug 2021 -- US President Joe Biden was informed on Sunday about the Taliban* offensive in Afghanistan and the seizure of several regional centres, but the troop pullout plan remains unchanged, The New York Times reported, citing sources in the administration.
• Taliban Militants Claim to Have Gained Control Over Capital of Takhar Province in Afghanistan Sputnik 08 Aug 2021 -- The Taliban militants have seized the city of Taleqan, the centre of the northeastern Afghan province of Takhar, the spokesman of the movement stated on Sunday.
• Taliban Claims to Have Seized Afghan Provinces of Kunduz, Sar-e Pol Sputnik 08 Aug 2021 -- The Taliban movement said it had gained control over the Kunduz and Sar-e Pol provinces in Afghanistan, but the authorities refuted the statement.

Defense Policy / Programs

• US Army to keep 6 military facilities in Europe, vetoing transfer plans Press TV 08 Aug 2021 -- The US Army in Europe and Africa has announced plans to retain six military sites that were previously scheduled to be returned to Germany and Belgium in face of growing demand for facilities on the continent.
• USS Gerald R. Ford Conducts Final Explosive Event, Completing Full Ship Shock Trials US Navy 08 Aug 2021 -- USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) successfully conducted a third explosive event off the coast of Jacksonville, FL, on 8 Aug., marking the completion of the ship's Full Ship Shock Trials (FSST).
• INDIGENOUS AIRCRAFT CARRIER (IAC(P71)) 'VIKRANT' RETURNS AFTER SUCCESSFUL MAIDEN SEA VOYAGE India PIB 08 Aug 2021 -- Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) 'Vikrant' successfully accomplished its maiden sea voyage today for which she had sailed on 04 Aug 21 from Kochi.Trials progressed as planned and system parameters proved satisfactory. The carrier would continue to undergo series of sea trials to prove all equipment and systems prior handing over the vessel to the Indian Navy.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Top negotiator for Yemen's Ansarullah movement: No point in meeting new UN envoy as Saudi siege remains Press TV 08 Aug 2021 -- A spokesman for Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement has ruled out a meeting with the United Nations' new special envoy for Yemen unless the tight land, air and sea blockade by Saudi Arabia and its regional allies on the impoverished Arab country is fully lifted.
• Yemeni FM: Saudi Arabia 'cannot play hegemonic role anymore' Press TV 08 Aug 2021 -- The foreign minister of Yemen's National Salvation Government says it is time for Saudi Arabia to put an end to intervention in its southern neighbor's internal affairs, and stop attempts to undermine the Arab nation's independence.
• EU Decries Attack on Mercer Street Vessel in Gulf of Oman as 'Reckless' Sputnik 08 Aug 2021 -- The European Union denounces "in the strongest terms" the recent attack on the Japanese-owned Mercer Street oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman that left two crew members dead, saying "such reckless and unilateral actions" cannot be justified, the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Sunday.
• Pakistani Police Kill Three Alleged Militants In Raid RFE/RL Gandhara 08 Aug 2021 -- Pakistani counterterrorism police said they killed three suspected militants in a gunbattle early on August 8 during a raid on their hideout near the eastern city of Lahore.

News Reports

• DHS warns of rising threat of violence tied to pro-Trump election conspiracies Press TV 08 Aug 2021 -- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reportedly notified local and state authorities regarding recent online campaigns calling for violence in relation to several 2020 election conspiracies.
• Spying Gets Craftier as China, Taiwan Up Use of Cyber Tools VOA 08 Aug 2021 -- Espionage between Taiwan and China has grown more sophisticated because of fewer people-to-people exchanges and more use of cyber tools, as relations between the two remain chill, analysts in Taipei say.
• China seeks to replace weakening global cotton industry body BCI Global Times 08 Aug 2021 -- Chinese cotton industry is moving ahead with plans to form a fairer and more transparent international industry standard-setting platform to replace the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a Switzerland-based nongovernmental organization, as the latter failed to facilitate the positive and sound development of the global cotton supply chain, Chinese industry experts said on Sunday.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Remarks on the US President's Signing of the Hong Kong-related Memorandum PRC MofA 08 Aug 2021 -- "The so-called memorandum blatantly defames and attacks the Law of the PRC on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR and China's Hong Kong policy, which is another embodiment of the US side's vile behaviors in grossly interfering in China's Hong Kong affairs."
• Rabbit-Breeding Brisk in DPRK KCNA 08 Aug 2021 -- Rabbit-breeding has gained momentum as an all-people movement across the country.
• Tougher Measures Taken to Prevent Damage from Downpour and Flood KCNA 08 Aug 2021 -- Efforts are directed to preventing damage from downpour and flood in the fields of electric power and coal industries.
• North Korea leader mobilizes military for relief work in flood-hit areas Press TV 08 Aug 2021 -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has mobilized the military to carry out relief work in areas recently hit by heavy rains, amid concerns over food shortages.
• North Korea to Involve Army in Recovery Campaign for Flooded Regions Sputnik 08 Aug 2021 -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued an order to send aid to South Hamgyong Province, which was damaged by flooding, and to involve the army in recovery activities, the state news agency KCNA reported on Sunday.
• Alireza Zakani elected 19th Tehran mayor IRNA 08 Aug 2021 -- The Tehran city council on Sunday elected Alireza Zakani as the city's new mayor.
• Iran's Raeisi picks vice president, chief of staff in first appointments Press TV 08 Aug 2021 -- Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has made his first appointments since taking office earlier this month.
• Raisi Chooses Head Of Sanctioned Iranian Conglomerate To Be His First Vice President RFE/RL 08 Aug 2021 -- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has named the chairman of a powerful state-owned conglomerate sanctioned by the United States as his first vice president.
• ASEAN Envoy to Myanmar Pledges to Involve All Parties in Negotiations Radio Free Asia 08 Aug 2021 -- ASEAN's newly appointed special envoy to Myanmar will insist on meeting with jailed politicians and members of the opposition, he told reporters Saturday in his first public remarks about the role.
• Marches In Warsaw, Kyiv Protest Repression In Belarus On Eve Of Election Anniversary RFE/RL 08 Aug 2021 -- Hundreds of people marched in Warsaw to protest political repression in Belarus on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Belarus presidential election that the opposition says was rigged in favor of authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
• Turkey says 13 suspected members of Gulen movement arrested as they attempted to cross into Greece Press TV 08 Aug 2021 -- Turkey says its security forces have detained 13 individuals over their suspected affiliation to the banned Gulen movement while they were attempting to flee to neighboring Greece.
• Somalia, Kenya Agree to Mend Strained Relations VOA 08 Aug 2021 -- The governments of Somalia and Kenya agreed to improve strained diplomatic ties following a meeting in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, between officials of both countries on Sunday.