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Current Operations

Defense Policy / Programs

• USS Hershel "Woody" Williams (ESB 4) Spends Christmas in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania US Navy 26 Dec 2022 -- The Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary sea base USS Hershel "Woody" Williams (ESB 4) spent the Christmas season in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania after arriving in the Tanzanian port for a scheduled visit, Dec. 22, 2022.
• Belarus: Russian Iskander, S-400 missiles systems fully prepared to perform tasks Press TV 26 Dec 2022 -- The Belarusian Defense Ministry says the Iskander tactical missile systems and the S-400 air defense systems, which have been deployed to the country by Russia, are now fully prepared to perform their intended tasks.
• All members of 8th Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion to South Sudan (Juba) return home PLA Daily 26 Dec 2022 -- The second batch of the 8th Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion to South Sudan (Juba) arrived at Tianjin Binhai International Airport by chartered plane, marking that the 8th Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion to South Sudan (Juba) successfully completed the 12-month peacekeeping missions and all returned to China.
• Tsai promotes Taiwan's first female two-star general CNA 26 Dec 2022 -- President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has called on Taiwanese to become more united to strengthen the country's security at a ceremony held to promote 28 senior military officers, including Taiwan's first female two-star general.
• President Tsai to announce decision on extending military service Tuesday CNA 26 Dec 2022 -- President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is set to announce the government's decision on the extension of the current four-month-long mandatory military service at a press event on Tuesday afternoon, amid the rising threat from China, her spokesman said Monday.
• HMS Prince of Wales Spends More Time in Workshop Than on Seas, Reports Say Sputnik 26 Dec 2022 -- The UK aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has been in dock for repairs more often than at sea since being commissioned in 2019, British press reported on Monday.

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

Ukraine Conflict News
• More Repressive Measures In Pipeline As Taliban Reverts To 'Old Practices' In Afghanistan RFE/RL Gandhara 26 Dec 2022 -- After forcibly seizing power in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban made a public effort to assuage concerns by the international community that it would return to its brutal rule of the 1990s.
• Taliban Police Chief Killed In Badakhshan Car Bombing RFE/RL Gandhara 26 Dec 2022 -- A regional Taliban police chief and two others have been killed in a car bomb attack in Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan Province.
• UN chief disturbed by reported Taliban ban on women working for NGOs People's Daily 26 Dec 2022 -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "deeply disturbed" by the reported order of the Taliban-run administration in Afghanistan banning women from working for national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), his spokesman said on Saturday.
• UN calls on Taliban to suspend ban on female aid workers Press TV 26 Dec 2022 -- The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has called on the Taliban to reverse a decision to ban female humanitarian workers as millions of people are in need of humanitarian assistance in harsh winter conditions.
• Islamic State Attack Kills Provincial Police Chief in Afghanistan VOA 26 Dec 2022 -- Taliban authorities in Afghanistan said Monday a car bomb killed a provincial police chief and his two guards.
• Yemeni forces ready to strike sensitive sites deep inside aggressors' territories: Defense Minister Press TV 26 Dec 2022 -- The Yemeni defense minister says the country's armed forces are prepared to target the strategic depths of Saudi Arabia and its allies in retaliation for their devastating war and all-out blockade.
• Second boatload of Rohingya arrives in Indonesia in as many days Radio Free Asia 26 Dec 2022 -- About 185 gaunt and bone-tired Rohingya refugees landed on the coast of Pidie regency in Indonesia's Aceh province Monday, police said, as reports emerged that another boatload of Rohingya may have sunk at sea.
• Rohingya Refugees Adrift for Weeks at Sea Land in Indonesia VOA 26 Dec 2022 -- A broken-down boat ferrying over 180 ethnic Rohingya men, women and children landed Monday afternoon on the shores of Indonesia's Aceh province after weeks adrift with more than a dozen reported deaths, two rights groups that have been tracking the vessel told VOA.
• Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Agree to Avoid Escalation on Interstate Border Sputnik 26 Dec 2022 -- Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have agreed to prevent aggravation of the situation on the border between the two countries, the Kyrgyz Border Guard Service told Sputnik on Monday.
• Russian Foreign Ministry: Western Inaction on Kosovo Breaches UN Resolution Sputnik 26 Dec 2022 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman criticized the European Union and the United States on Monday for being in breach of the 1999 UN resolution on Kosovo.
• Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova answers a media question in connection with the worsening crisis in Kosovo Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 26 Dec 2022
• Ethiopia Federal Government Officials in First Post-War Visit to Tigray VOA 26 Dec 2022 -- Ethiopian officials have for the first time in nearly two years arrived in Tigray's capital Mekelle to join in overseeing implementation of a November peace deal.
• Somalia's al-Shabaab Terrorist Group Releases 14 Iranian Fishermen Detained Since 2015 Sputnik 26 Dec 2022 -- Police forces in Somalia announced finding 20 foreigners, including 14 Iranians and 6 Pakistanis, in a territory controlled by the al-Qaeda*-affiliated al-Shabaab* group in November. Al-Shabaab has long been terrorizing people in Somalia and other countries in East Africa.
• Cameroon Uses 'Boxing Day' to Aid Children Displaced by Separatist Conflict VOA 26 Dec 2022 -- Cameroon is marking Boxing Day, the day after Christmas when gifts are traditionally given to the poor, with a nationwide gift drive for internally displaced children. Cameroon's government, churches and aid groups are working together to provide food, books, and school fees to tens of thousands of children displaced by the country's separatist conflict.

News Reports

• Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov' opening remarks at a working meeting with senior executives of the Russian media, Moscow, December 26, 2022 Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 26 Dec 2022
• In India, after falling from the third floor, a Vladimir deputy, previously included in the Forbes list, died Current Time 26 Dec 2022 -- In the city of Rayagada in eastern India, Pavel Antov, a 65-year-old deputy of the legislative assembly of the Vladimir region, the founder of a large producer of meat and sausage products, the Vladimir Standard company, died. This was reported on the website of the Legislative Assembly without details about the cause and place of death.
• Informal summit of CIS heads of state President of Russia 26 Dec 2022 -- The Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library in St Petersburg hosted an informal meeting of the heads of state of members of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on December 26, 2022 PRC MofA 26 Dec 2022
• 71 Chinese warplanes detected around Taiwan, highest number this year CNA 26 Dec 2022 -- A total of 71 Chinese military aircraft and seven vessels have been detected around Taiwan from 6 a.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND), marking the most within a 24-hour span so far this year.
• PLA drills around Taiwan break August record targeting US move Global Times 26 Dec 2022 -- The joint drills by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) around the island of Taiwan on Sunday in response to the recent escalation in the US-Taiwan collusion were record-breaking, surpassing even the peak number observed in the large-scale PLA drills held in August following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's provocative visit to Taiwan, as the PLA again demonstrated its capabilities in blockading the island and shutting down all external interference attempts, experts said on Monday.
• China's Army Sends 71 Aircraft, 7 Ships to Taiwan Strait - Taiwanese Defense Ministry Sputnik 26 Dec 2022 -- Taiwan's defense ministry said on Monday that the island's armed forces registered 71 aircraft and seven ships of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) approaching the island in the past 24 hours.
• Socialist Constitution of Juche Shining with August Name of Sun KCNA 26 Dec 2022 -- The Socialist Constitution of the DPRK was adopted at the First Session of the Fifth Supreme People's Assembly on December 27, Juche 61 (1972).
• People's Code Guaranteeing Advantages Peculiar to DPRK KCNA 26 Dec 2022 -- The DPRK people are greeting the 50th institution anniversary of the Socialist Constitution in the shining course of struggle this year which won a great victory to be specially recorded in the history of the nation and put the dignity and prestige of the state on a high level under the leadership of the great Party Central Committee.
• S. Korea scrambles jets, fires shots as North Korean drones cross border Press TV 26 Dec 2022 -- South Korea has scrambled its jets and helicopters and fired warning shots after North Korean drones reportedly entered its airspace amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
• US Aware of North Korean Drone Incursion Into South Korea, Says US Security Spokesman Sputnik 26 Dec 2022 -- The United States is aware of an infiltration of North Korean drones into South Korean airspace, and Washington is holding consultations to establish the nature of the launches, a US National Security Agency spokesperson said on Monday.
• Five North Korean Drones Cross Into South Korean Airspace, One Flies to Seoul, MoD Says Sputnik 26 Dec 2022 -- South Korea fired warning shots after DPRK drones crossed the inter-Korean border without permission.
• Iran says West admits miscalculation after gamble on riots falls flat Press TV 26 Dec 2022 -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani says Western countries bet on a losing horse when they put all their weight behind the recent riots across Iran, noting that they have now admitted their miscalculation concerning the violent unrest.
• Chief Prosecutor Threatens Legal Action Against Women Who Do Not Follow Iran's Head Scarf Law RFE/RL 26 Dec 2022 -- Iran's chief prosecutor has warned women who have rejected wearing a hijab while participating in recent nationwide anti-government demonstrations to follow the country's mandatory head scarf law "for their own safety and health."
• Leading Iranian Digital Rights Activist Says He's Been Sentenced To Six Years In Prison RFE/RL 26 Dec 2022 -- Jadi Mirmirani, considered to be one of Iran's leading technologists and a defender of digital rights, has said that he has been sentenced to six years in prison for comments he posted on social media.
• Iran's Revolutionary Guards Arrest Dual Nationals Over Protests RFE/RL 26 Dec 2022 -- Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) says they have arrested seven people with links to Britain, including dual citizens, on charges that they allegedly teamed up with each other to direct ongoing nationwide anti-government protests.
• FM Spox: Dialogue window still open from Iranian side of JCPOA IRNA 26 Dec 2022 -- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has referred to the continued negotiations between Iran and world powers to revive a 2015 deal on the country's nuclear program, known as the JCPOA, saying that the window of dialogue is still open and that an agreement can be reached if there is a genuine will in Western countries that are parties to the deal.
• China: JCPOA revival talks in final phase, agreement still possible despite challenges Press TV 26 Dec 2022 -- China says the talks to resume compliance as per the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are in the "final phase," emphasizing that there is still an opportunity to reach a final agreement on the revival of the US-abandoned accord.
• Iran says new round of fence-mending talks with Saudi Arabia possible in Baghdad Press TV 26 Dec 2022 -- The spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry has suggested that representatives from the Islamic Republic would most likely launch a new round of talks with their Saudi counterparts in the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad aimed at mending strained ties between the two nations.