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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
Defense Industry
Other Conflicts
News Reports

Current Operations

• Houthis strike M/T Wind in Red Sea CENTCOM 18 May 2024 -- At approximately 1 a.m. (Sanaa time) May 18, Iranian-backed Houthis launched one anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) into the Red Sea and struck M/T Wind, a Panamanian-flagged, Greek owned and operated oil tanker. M/T Wind most recently docked in Russia and was bound for China.
• Vessel Damaged in Attack Off Yemeni Coast - Statement Sputnik 18 May 2024 -- A vessel proceeding northwest off the Yemeni city of Al Hudaydah has been slightly damaged as a result of a strike by an unknown object, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Saturday.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Busting drones, 1st Cavalry Division trains for the modern-day battlefield in Europe Army News 18 May 2024 -- Picking up the Dronebuster, Spc. Edgar Galvan peers out into the open field waiting for the instructors to fly a practice drone. His eyes are locked onto the horizon and his hand is steady on the trigger. The drone quickly picks up into the sky, and it darts towards Galvan. He points, shoots, and the drone stalls.
• Zelensky signs legislation to allow some convicts to join armed forces People's Daily 18 May 2024 -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday signed legislation allowing certain convicts to join the country's armed forces, the parliament press service reported.
• NATO states 'considering' sending troops to Ukraine: Report Press TV 18 May 2024 -- A US media report has said that a number of American allies within NATO are moving closer to sending troops into Ukraine to train its armed forces.
• Chinese, Mongolian troops hold live-fire training in joint exercises Global Times 18 May 2024 -- The ongoing China-Mongolia "Steppe Partner-2024" joint army training initiative held its first comprehensive, full-process live-fire training on Friday in Dornogovi Province of Mongolia on Friday.
• North Korea tests missile with autonomous navigation system Press TV 18 May 2024 -- North Korea has successfully tested a missile with a "new autonomous navigation system", vowing to boost its nuclear capability as a deterrent against its enemies after the US and South Korea conducted joint drills with stealth fighter jets simulating air combat.
• DPRK Missile Administration Conducts Test Fire of Tactical Ballistic Missile with New Technology KCNA 18 May 2024 -- The DPRK Missile Administration conducted a test fire of tactical ballistic missile into which a new autonomous navigation system was introduced in the East Sea of Korea on Friday.
• DPRK test-fires tactical ballistic missile using new navigation system People's Daily 18 May 2024 -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted a test fire of tactical ballistic missile using a new autonomous navigation system in its eastern waters on Friday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Saturday.
• Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Guides Production Activities of Major Defence Industrial Complex KCNA 18 May 2024 -- Great achievements have been made even in carrying out the tasks for production for national defence assigned by the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) which attaches special importance to it in the crucial period when epochal results have been achieved in the field of defence industry of the DPRK and remarkable changes are being made one after another in bolstering up its defence capabilities.
• HMAS Anzac (III) farewelled after 28 years of service Australia DOD 18 May 2024 -- The Royal Australian Navy's First Lady of the Fleet, HMAS Anzac (III), has been farewelled after 28 years of service during a decommissioning ceremony at her home port of HMAS Stirling in Perth.
• IRGC warship back to Iran after Indian Ocean mission IRNA 18 May 2024 -- Shahid Mahdavi warship, the fifth warship of IRGC flotilla to the Indian Ocean has returned to Iran after a 39-day mission.
• IRGC's naval flotilla returns home after overseas mission in Southern Hemisphere Press TV 18 May 2024 -- The fifth Martyr Lieutenant General Haj Qassem Soleimani fleet of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has returned home after completing a mission that lasted for 39 days to complete, and took it over the line of zero degrees latitude, the Equator, and into the Southern Hemisphere.
• Iran plans to increase export of defense products by 50%: Defense official Press TV 18 May 2024 -- A senior Iranian defense official says the Islamic Republic plans to increase the export of its defense products by 50 percent.
• Secretary Blinken's Meeting with Argentine Foreign Minister Mondino US Dept. of State 18 May 2024

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

Ukraine Conflict News

Operation Iron Swords / Operation Al-Aqsa Flood

• Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, May 18 Israel Defense Forces 18 May 2024
• Israel Defense Forces Says Eliminated "Significant" Target During Strike on Jenin Sputnik 18 May 2024 -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), jointly with the Israel Security Agency (ISA), said they eliminated one of "significant" targets in an airstrike on their operations center in the West Bank city of Jenin.
• May 17: 'Axis of Resistance' operations against Israeli occupation Press TV 18 May 2024
• 800,000 people flee Rafah without safe options amid Israeli military VOA 18 May 2024 -- An estimated 800,000 people have fled Gaza's southern border city of Rafah since Israel's military began a ground assault there two weeks ago, the head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said Saturday.
• 800k Palestinians forced to flee Rafah amid Israel invasion: UNRWA Press TV 18 May 2024 -- A senior UN official says around 800,000 people have been "forced to flee" Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip since the Israeli regime began carrying out ground incursions into the refugee-packed city from various axes.
• Israeli military destroyed 604 mosques in Gaza: Report IRNA 18 May 2024 -- The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs of Palestine in a report announced that 604 mosques were destroyed in the Zionist regime's offensives in the Gaza Strip.
• Over 600 mosques destroyed in Israeli onslaught on Gaza since Oct. 7 Press TV 18 May 2024 -- The Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs in the Gaza Strip says Israeli military forces have fully destroyed or damaged hundreds of mosques in the besieged coastal territory ever since the Tel Aviv regime started its bloody onslaught in early October last year.
• Fighting rages in Rafah amid intensified Israeli bombardments Press TV 18 May 2024 -- Heavy Israeli bombardments have rocked Gaza's southern city of Rafah coinciding with the Western media fanfare that the first so-called humanitarian aid had entered Gaza via a US-built pier.
• Gaza: Nearly 800,000 now displaced from Rafah UN News 18 May 2024 -- Roughly 800,000 people have been forced to flee Rafah since Israel launched a military operation in the area on 6 May, the head of UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA said on Saturday in a renewed appeal for greater protection of civilians in Gaza, safe humanitarian access and, ultimately, a ceasefire.
• 'Brand new words' needed to describe Gaza devastation, UN humanitarian says UN News 18 May 2024 -- The situation in Gaza is so devastating that no words can adequately describe it, a humanitarian officer working in the besieged enclave has said.
• Once again, nearly half of the population of Rafah or 800,000 people are on the road, having been forced to flee since the Israeli forces started the military operation in the area on 6 May UNRWA 18 May 2024
• UN chief renews call for two-state solution, calls Gaza war 'open wound' Press TV 18 May 2024 -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has reiterated his call for a two-state solution, saying Israel's ongoing war on the besieged Gaza Strip "is an open wound that threatens to infect the entire region."
• UN agrees to support handling of aid from pier off Gaza People's Daily 18 May 2024 -- The United Nations has agreed to support the handling of aid from the U.S.-built floating dock off Gaza, a spokesman said Friday.
• U.S.-installed pier in Gaza starts receiving aid: sources People's Daily 18 May 2024 -- A temporary floating pier built by the United States in the Gaza Strip started receiving humanitarian aid items on Friday.
• Statement from NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan's Travel to Saudi Arabia and Israel The White House 18 May 2024
• Ceasefire in Gaza prelude to security in Red Sea: Iran envoy IRNA 18 May 2024 -- The clashes in the Red Sea are considered the spillover of Israeli brutal attacks on Gaza, so if the US and its allies seek peace, security, and tranquility in the region, especially in the Red Sea, they must try to set up an immediate ceasefire in the war-torn strip, an Iranian ambassador said.
• Palestinians say ready for 'long war of attrition' as Israel pushes Rafah invasion Press TV 18 May 2024 -- The military wing of Hamas says Palestinians are ready for a long war of attrition, pledging to stand up to Israel's ground invasion of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and elsewhere.
• US pier no substitute for Rafah crossing: Hamas ISNA 18 May 2024 -- Hamas emphasized Friday that any way to bring in aid, including the American pier, is no substitute for opening all land crossings under Palestinian supervision.
• Five Zionist soldiers killed in Rafah: Al-Qassam Brigades IRNA 18 May 2024 -- The Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, which is the military wing of Palestine's Hamas Resistance Movement, has said that its fighters have killed five Zionist soldiers in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
• Resistance destroyed 100 Israeli vehicles in 10 days: Abu Obeida ISNA 18 May 2024 -- The people of Gaza and their resistance have fought an unequal war and fiercely defended themselves against the brutal Israeli occupation for 32 weeks so far, al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obeida said Friday.
• Hezbollah targets Zionist bases in northern occupied lands IRNA 18 May 2024 -- Hezbollah of Lebanon has carried out separate attacks on Zionist bases and spy facilities in northern Palestinian lands occupied by the Israeli regime.
• Hezbollah drones challenging Israeli radar systems: Reports IRNA 18 May 2024 -- Drones operated by the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah have challenged the radar and reconnaissance systems of the Israeli air force, according to reports from the Israeli regime's media.
• Israeli positions hit in fresh Hezbollah missile attacks IRNA 18 May 2024 -- Lebanon's Hezbollah Resistance Movement has carried out fresh attacks on positions in northern Israeli-occupied territories, in the latest act of support for the Palestinian people and their resistance fighters battling the regime in Gaza.
• Palestinian fighters kill 15 occupying forces IRNA 18 May 2024 -- The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, announced on Saturday that its fighters detonated a bomb in a house in Rafah city, which left 15 Israeli troops killed.

Other Conflicts

• Experts dispel Philippines' malicious misinterpretation of China's new CCG regulations Global Times 18 May 2024 -- The Philippine media associated the promulgation of China's regulations on administrative law-enforcement procedures of Coast Guard agencies (hereafter referred to as Procedures) with Philippine "local fishermen" engaging in provocations in the surrounding waters of China's Huangyan Dao.
• China slams provocative U.S. naval moves, invocation of UNCLOS People's Daily 18 May 2024 -- A Chinese military spokesperson on Friday slammed a U.S. military vessel's recent "provocative moves," stating that the U.S. side's invocation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) reveals its hegemonic nature.
• Lawmakers visit Taiping Island, urge Lai to reaffirm sovereignty CNA 18 May 2024 -- A group of legislators visited Taiping Island on Saturday and called on President-elect Lai Ching-te (賴清德) to assert the country's sovereignty over the disputed island at his inauguration on Monday.
• Taliban raise death toll to 6 in gun attack on Western tourists VOA 18 May 2024 -- The Taliban government said Saturday that the death toll from an overnight gun attack on Western tourists in central Afghanistan had risen to at least six, including three Spaniards.
• About 30 Rohingya killed in clashes between Myanmar junta, insurgents Radio Free Asia 18 May 2024 -- About 30 members of Myanmar's Rohingya minority have been killed in clashes between junta forces and ethnic minority Buddhist insurgents, residents of Rakhine State said on Saturday, raising new fears that the persecuted Muslim community is being caught in the middle of increasingly bitter fighting.
• Final Text Of UN Resolution On Srebrenica Genocide Agreed RFE/RL 18 May 2024 -- Bosnia-Herzegovina's ambassador to the United Nations has announced that the final text of a resolution on the Srebrenica genocide has been agreed.
• UN: Sri Lanka must clarify fate of thousands who vanished during war VOA 18 May 2024 -- A report by the U.N. human rights office criticizes the Sri Lankan government's failure to acknowledge and hold accountable the perpetrators of tens of thousands of enforced disappearances during the country's decades-long civil war.
• 15 years since the end of Sri Lanka's armed conflict: Foreign Secretary statement UK FCDO 18 May 2024 -- The Foreign Secretary gave a statement on the 15th anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka's armed conflict.

News Reports

• Georgia's President Vetoes 'Foreign Agent' Law As Protesters Attacked In Tbilisi RFE/RL 18 May 2024 -- Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has vetoed the so-called foreign agent bill targeting media and NGOs that are funded by foreign governments following weeks of mass protests by Georgians who see the bill as endangering the country's path toward EU integration.
• Georgian Dream Takes On The 'Global War Party' RFE/RL 18 May 2024 -- On May 13, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze made a rather odd-sounding claim.
• Georgian President Vetoes Foreign Agents Bill Sputnik 18 May 2024 -- Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said on Saturday that she vetoed the controversial foreign agents bill passed by the country's parliament earlier in May.
• China abolishes mortgage floor rates, cuts minimum down payment ratios to boost property market People's Daily 18 May 2024 -- China on Friday announced a slew of measures to boost the property market, cutting minimum down payment ratios, setting up a relending facility for affordable housing and pledging to deliver unfinished homes.
• China remains popular destination for foreign investment: FM spokesperson People's Daily 18 May 2024 -- With China's steady economic growth, the country will remain a driver of global economy and a popular destination for foreign investment, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Friday.
• Lai to assume presidency amid geopolitical and domestic challenges CNA 18 May 2024 -- Vice President Lai Ching-te is set to assume the presidency on May 20, but he faces a carrot-and-stick strategy from Beijing which will put his administration to the test.
• Taiwan's incoming leader should resume cross-Strait exchanges: New Party chairman People's Daily 18 May 2024 -- Taiwan's New Party on Friday called on the incoming leader of the region to respect the expectations of the majority of Taiwan people for resuming cross-Strait exchanges and create conditions for peace across the Taiwan Strait.
• China vows to punish critical Taiwanese commentators, families for 'slander' VOA 18 May 2024 -- China's Taiwan Affairs Office this week vowed to punish five well-known Taiwanese media commentators and their families for "fabricating false, negative information" about China and "provoking [a] hostile cross-strait confrontation."
• PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan May 18, 2024 ROC MND 18 May 2024
• Press Statement by Director General of Department of U.S. Affairs of DPRK Foreign Ministry KCNA 18 May 2024 -- Kwon Jong Gun, director general of the Department of U.S. Affairs of the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK, issued the following press statement on Saturday:
• Iran UN mission confirms indirect Tehran-Washington talks IRNA 18 May 2024 -- Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations in New York, the US, has confirmed that indirect talks were held between the two countries this week.
• Iran oil output reaches 3.3 million bpd in April: IEA IRNA 18 May 2024 -- The International Energy Agency (IEA) declared a 50,000 barrel per day jump in Iran's daily oil production in the fourth month of the current year, reaching 3.3 million barrels per day.
• Iran: BRICS core of global efforts to build just world ISNA 18 May 2024 -- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani says the BRICS group of emerging economies is the core of the international will to build a justice-based world and serve the interests of independent countries.
• New Caledonia unrest: Death toll rises to six as France deploys more troops Press TV 18 May 2024 -- The death toll has risen to six and hundreds more have been injured as protests and riots entered a fifth day in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia.
• Death Toll in France's New Caledonia Climbs to 6 Amid Public Unrest - Reports Sputnik 18 May 2024 -- A man died and two people were wounded in a shootout in France's New Caledonia, bringing the total death toll to six amid public unrest organized by the supporters of the island's independence, French media reported on Saturday.
• India says growing trade with Russia not temporary as Moscow turns 'eastwards' Press TV 18 May 2024 -- India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar says his country's growing trade with Russia should not be perceived as a "temporary phenomenon", as it is accompanied by the emergence of numerous economic prospects.
• Pakistanis in the Kyrgyz Republic Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs 18 May 2024 -- The Government of Pakistan has been in contact with the Kyrgyz Government to ensure the safety and security of its nationals at risk in view of the mob riots of last night in the Kyrgyz Republic.
• Bishkek University Reportedly Calm After Mob Violence That Injured At Least 29 People RFE/RL 18 May 2024 -- The situation in Bishkek was stable late on May 18, police said, after mob violence against foreign students injured at least 29 people, including several foreigners, and triggered diplomatic tensions with Pakistan and India.