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Defense Policy / Programs

• US weighs training Ukrainians in America as war with Russia escalates Press TV 24 Dec 2022 -- The United States military has been considering conducting training courses for Ukrainian soldiers on the Patriot missile system on the US soil.
• Ukraine's unending demand for weapons jeopardizes NATO defense capacity: Report Press TV 24 Dec 2022 -- Ukraine's unending demands for weapons supply have reportedly jeopardized NATO's defense capacity and left Europe struggling to produce enough ammunition for the country and for itself as the war continues with no end in sight.
• Putin tells Russian defense industry to ramp up weapons production Press TV 24 Dec 2022 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his country's defense industry chiefs and weapons producers to accelerate their production to ensure that Russian army quickly got all the weapons, equipment and military hardware it needed to fight in Ukraine.
• US House approves $45 billion military and economic aid package for Ukraine Press TV 24 Dec 2022 -- The US House of Representatives has approved a $45 billion military and economic aid package for Ukraine, deepening the US involvement in the war in defiance of repeated warnings by Russia.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson's Remarks on the US's Signing into Law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 Global Times 24 Dec 2022
• Chinese defense spokesperson remarks on US FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act PLA Daily 24 Dec 2022 -- On December 24 Beijing time, the US President signed the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law, which contains a number of China-related provisions. "China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the US's move, and has lodged solemn representations with the US side," said Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, in a statement released on Saturday.
• No guarantees for Taiwan-U.S. military cooperation in NDAA: Academics CNA 24 Dec 2022 -- Despite the U.S. 2023 National Defense Authorization Act's (NDAA) lofty pledges of support for Taiwan, local academics have said that the scale of joint military training and funding will be contingent on Washington following through with concrete action.
• Record US military spending bill, aid to Taiwan anger China Press TV 24 Dec 2022 -- China has blasted the US passing of a defense authorization law that boosts military assistance for Chinese Taipei in defiance of Beijing's territorial claims over the self-ruled island.
• U.S. Congress passes funding bill that gives loans, but not grants, to Taiwan to buy weapons CNA 24 Dec 2022 -- A United States government funding bill for 2023 that includes provisions to authorize US$2 billion in loans to Taiwan, but not grants, to buy weapons from the U.S. cleared the Congress on Friday following a House of Representatives vote.
• Japan's new security strategy eclipses pacifism, raises concern People's Daily 24 Dec 2022 -- The Japanese government has approved three updated documents on its security and defense policies, vowing to acquire the military power to actively attack its enemy and largely increase its military expenditure for the next five years.
• Japan OKs budget for FY 2023 with record high defense spending People's Daily 24 Dec 2022 -- The Japanese government adopted a record draft budget of 114.38 trillion yen (865 billion U.S. dollars) for fiscal year 2023 (April 2023-March 2024) on Friday, with defense spending hitting a record high and social security costs on a rise.
• Iran Ministry of Defense to increase women recruitment IRNA 24 Dec 2022 -- Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics plans to recruit female staff in the ministry in a greater number, an official said.
• Japan's Defense Budget Hits Record 6.8 Tril. Yen in Policy Shift SPA 24 Dec 2022 -- Japan approved Friday a record-high 6.8 trillion-yen ($51 billion) draft defense budget for fiscal 2023 after pledging to acquire capabilities in a major policy shift under the country's war-renouncing Constitution, Kyodo reported.
• UK government set to increase its military budget by more than £1b Press TV 24 Dec 2022 -- The UK government is set to increase its military spending by more than 1 billion pounds to avoid a real-terms cut over the next two years and to help Ukraine with more military armaments, the Telegraph newspaper has revealed.
• Providing Moldova With NATO Arms Would Bring 'Disaster,' Russia's Deputy FM Says Sputnik 24 Dec 2022 -- Intensified cooperation with NATO undermines Moldova's security and the supply of western arms would only bring negative consequences, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told Sputnik.
• Togo's President Undertakes Military Reshuffle Amid Rising Insecurity in West Africa Sputnik 24 Dec 2022 -- West African nations, in particular Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, have been suffering from rampant terrorism for years, while other countries in the region have also been facing security challenges prompting concerns that terrorist activities may expand to their territories.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

Ukraine Conflict News
• Afghanistan's Taliban Rulers Order NGOs To Prevent Women From Working At Their Jobs As Protests Spread RFE/RL Gandhara 24 Dec 2022 -- In the latest assault on women's rights, Afghanistan's Taliban rulers ordered all domestic and international NGOs to prevent female employees from working at their jobs, claiming that many were not observing dress codes in the conservative Muslim nation.
• Iran reacts to Taliban stripping female Afghan students from education IRNA 24 Dec 2022 -- Rasoul Mousavi, an aide to the Iranian Foreign Minister, said on Saturday that in a meeting with the caretaker Afghan ambassador to Tehran, has announced Iran's stance on a suspension of university education for all female students in Afghanistan.
• UN condemns reported ban on women working for NGOs and international organizations UNOCHA 24 Dec 2022 -- The United Nations is profoundly concerned by reports that the Taliban de facto authorities today issued an order barring all female employees of national and international organizations from going to work with immediate effect.
• Women in Afghanistan Facing Numerous Taliban Restrictions in 2022 VOA 24 Dec 2022 -- Throughout 2022, the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan introduced and enforced some of the worst gender-based discriminatory policies seen anywhere in the world.
• Taliban Bans Female NGO Staff, Water Cannon Disperses Women Protesters VOA 24 Dec 2022 -- The Taliban rulers Saturday ordered domestic and international nongovernmental organizations in Afghanistan to immediately ban female staff from coming to work "until further notice."
• China sanctions two U.S. individuals People's Daily 24 Dec 2022 -- China has decided to take countermeasures and sanction two U.S. individuals in response to the U.S. sanctions against two Chinese officials on Dec. 9 over alleged human rights issues related to Tibet.
• Statement by the Federal Foreign Office on Libya Germany Federal Foreign Office 24 Dec 2022 -- Germany welcomes the statement of the SRSG Bathily and his ongoing efforts to reinvigorate the political process in Libya.
• Libya's Haftar Declares 'Final Opportunity' to Draw up Electoral Roadmap Sputnik 24 Dec 2022 -- Following the civil war which erupted in 2011 and then-leader Muammar Gaddafi's murder, Libya no longer exists as a single state. The government in Tripoli, which is in the west of the country, and the government in eastern Libya, which was backed by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, have been at odds with one another for the past few years.
• Telephone conversation with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev President of Russia 24 Dec 2022
• Armenia Dismisses Russian Criticism Over Canceled Talks With Azerbaijan RFE/RL 24 Dec 2022 -- Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has dismissed criticism from Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov over canceled talks with Azerbaijan, insisting that the Russian side was duly informed about his request for the "postponement" of a trilateral meeting of foreign ministers earlier this week.
• DR Congo: M23 Rebels Leave Strategic Positions in 'Gesture of Goodwill', Media Report Sputnik 24 Dec 2022 -- The Tutsi-led March 23 Movement, also known as M23, was formed in 2012, starting a rebellion which lasted until the following year. The group recuperated in 2017 and in 2022 it occupied large areas in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

News Reports

• Wang Yi urges US to stop 'containing China while calling for dialogue' in phone call with Blinken Global Times 24 Dec 2022 -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday, during which Wang called on the US to stop its old tricks of unilateral bullying and containing China's development.
• Premier Li meets with HKSAR chief executive People's Daily 24 Dec 2022 -- Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday met with Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) John Lee, who is currently paying a duty visit to Beijing.
• Premier Li meets with Macao SAR chief executive People's Daily 24 Dec 2022 -- Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday met with Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Ho Iat Seng, who is on a duty visit to Beijing.
• China's space station provides open platform for global cooperation People's Daily 24 Dec 2022 -- China recently launched the manned spaceship Shenzhou-15. The launch marks the final one at the construction stage of its space station.
• Relying on the US to seek 'Taiwan independence' a dead end: Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council Global Times 24 Dec 2022 -- The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council urged on Saturday those in the US to immediately correct their wrong words and deeds on the Taiwan question and warned the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in the Taiwan island that relying on the US to seek independence is a dead end.
• Iran Curbs 'Morality Police' Amid Protests, Uses Other Oppressive Tools VOA 24 Dec 2022 -- There are new indications that Iran's Islamist rulers have constrained their morality police force that sparked nationwide protests in September, but researchers say the curtailment is not universal and merely reflects a shift in government tactics for suppressing dissent.
• At Least 44 Lawyers Arrested in Iran VOA 24 Dec 2022 -- Reports from Iran say at least 44 lawyers have been arrested since mass anti-government protests erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who had been arrested by Iranian authorities for wearing her headscarf improperly.
• Window open for JCPOA agreement but not for ever: Iran FM IRNA 24 Dec 2022 -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has warned international powers that a window for reviving a 2015 international deal on Iran's nuclear program, known as the JCPOA, remains open but not forever.
• Window of opportunity for agreement on JCPOA revival is open, but not forever: Iranian FM Press TV 24 Dec 2022 -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says the window of opportunity is open for the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal to reach a good and durable agreement in the talks on the removal of sanctions and revival of the multilateral agreement.
• Iran's top lender allows banks to issue 23% deposit certificate Press TV 24 Dec 2022 -- The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has allowed domestic lenders to issue high-yield certificates of deposit (CD), a move that experts say is a prelude to increasing interest rates with the purpose of controlling inflation in the country.
• Iran halts gasoline exports amid rising domestic demand Press TV 24 Dec 2022 -- An Iranian Oil Ministry official says the country has halted taking new orders for exports of gasoline as domestic demand for the fuel rises to all-time highs.
• Sitiveni Rabuka becomes Fiji's new prime minister after days of uncertainty Press TV 24 Dec 2022 -- Sitiveni Rabuka became Fiji's next prime minister after a coalition of parties voted to install him, signaling an end to Frank Bainimarama's 16 years in power.
• Burkina Faso expels senior UN official for 'discrediting country' Press TV 24 Dec 2022 -- Burkina Faso's military government has ordered senior UN coordinator Barbara Manzi to leave the country by the end of the day, declaring her "persona non grata," the foreign ministry has said.
• Turkmenistan's Former President Plays Role Of Leader Despite Stepping Down RFE/RL 24 Dec 2022 -- Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov stepped down as Turkmenistan's president in March, handing power to his son, Serdar, in a managed election.