To All
Good Friday June 19, 2020
Regards,
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Today in Naval History
June 19
1864 During the Civil War, USS Kearsarge, commanded by Capt. J.A. Winslow, sinks CSS Alabama, commanded by Capt. R. Semmes, off Cherbourg, France, ending the career of the Souths most famous commerce raider, which included burning 55 vessels valued at $4.5 million.
1942 USS Ballard (AVD 10) is directed by a PBY (VP 11) to rescue 35 survivors (one dies shortly after rescue) from Japanese carrier, Hiryu, which is scuttled by destroyers Kazegumo and Yugumo on June 5 during the Battle of Midway. The men are members of the engineering department and were presumed dead by the Japanese.
1943 USS Gunnel (SS 253) damages Japanese gunboat Hong Kong Maru (ex-Philippine Argus) and sinks freighter Tokiwa Maru off Shirase, Japan, and costal minesweeper Tsubame. Also on this date, USS Sculpin (SS 191) sinks Japanese guardboat No.1 Miyasho Maru and army cargo ship Sagami Maru off Inubo Saki, Japan.
1944 Mulberry A off the coast of Normandy, Omaha Beach, is destroyed in severe storm that lasts until the following day. Deemed irreparable, the use of the mulberry ceases. The British and Canadian Mulberry B, off Gold Beach, survives the storm.
1944 The largest aircraft carrier action in World War II, the Battle of the Philippine Sea begins as Task Force 58 shoots down hundreds of enemy aircraft in what becomes known as the "Marianas Turkey Shoot.
Thanks to CHINFO
Executive Summary:
• Today's national headlines include the President launching his re-election campaign bid in Florida and the House voting to block Trump's transgender ban in the military.
• The Wall Street Journal reports that Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan has decided to not pursue Senate confirmation.
• Speaking in Miami ahead of the deployment of USNS Comfort, Vice President Pence called for the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, reports the Washington Times.
• Defense News reports that Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Paul Selva called on the international community to help secure the free movement of goods and oil in and out of the Strait of Hormuz.
Today in History June 19
240 BC | Eratosthenes estimates the circumference of Earth using two sticks. | ||
1778 | General George Washington's troops finally leave Valley Forge after a winter of training. | ||
1821 | The Ottomans defeat the Greeks at the Battle of Dragasani. | ||
1846 | The New York Knickerbocker Club plays the New York Club in the first baseball game at Elysian Field, Hoboken, New Jersey. | ||
1861 | Virginians, in what will soon be West Virginia, elect Francis Pierpont as their provisional governor. | ||
1862 | President Abraham Lincoln outlines his Emancipation Proclamation. News of the document reaches the South. | ||
1864 | The USS Kearsarge sinks the CSS Alabama off of Cherbourg, France. | ||
1867 | Mexican Emperor Maximilian is executed. | ||
1885 | The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York City from France. | ||
1903 | The young school teacher, Benito Mussolini, is placed under investigation by police in Bern, Switzerland. | ||
1919 | Mustafa Kemal founds the Turkish National Congress at Ankara and denounces the Treaty of Versailles. | ||
1933 | France grants Leon Trotsky political asylum. | ||
1934 | The National Archives and Records Administration is established. | ||
1937 | The town of Bilbao, Spain, falls to the Nationalist forces. | ||
1942 | Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in Washington D.C. to discuss the invasion of North Africa with President Franklin Roosevelt. | ||
1944 | U.S. Navy carrier-based planes shatter the remaining Japanese carrier forces in the Battle of the Marianas. | ||
1951 | President Harry S. Truman signs the Universal Military Training and Service Act, which extends Selective Service until July 1, 1955 and lowers the draft age to 18. | ||
1958 | Nine entertainers refuse to answer a congressional committee's questions on communism. | ||
1961 | Kuwait regains complete independence from Britain. | ||
1963 | Soviet cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, becomes the first woman in space. | ||
1965 | Air Marshall Nguyen Cao Ky becomes South Vietnam's youngest premier at age 34. | ||
1968 | Over 50,000 people march on Washington, D.C. to support the Poor People's Campaign. | ||
1973 | The Case-Church Amendment prevents further U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia. | ||
1987 | The U.S. Supreme Court voids the Louisiana law requiring schools to teach creationism. | ||
1995 | The Richmond Virginia Planning Commission approves plans to place a memorial statue of tennis professional Arthur Ashe. | ||
1953 | |||
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From the Little Big Horn to the '03 Springfield by W. Thomas Smith Jr.
This Week in American Military History:
June 20, 1941: The U.S. Army Air Corps is reorganized as the U.S. Army Air Forces (the predecessor to the U.S. Air Force).
June 22, 1944: Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 – commonly known as the "G.I. Bill of Rights" – into law.
The law will literally change the socio-economic landscape of the country:
putting teeth in the U.S. Veterans Administration, and providing education and work-training opportunities, home loans, farm and business startup capital, and other benefits for millions of soon-to-be-returning World War II veterans who otherwise would never receive such.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, "Before the war, college and homeownership were, for the most part, unreachable dreams for the average American."
The G.I. Bill changed that.
"Millions who would have flooded the job market instead opted for education. In the peak year of 1947, veterans accounted for 49 percent of college admissions. By the time the original G.I. Bill ended on July 25, 1956, 7.8 million of 16 million World War II veterans had participated in an education or training program."
June 23, 1903: The U.S. Army adopts the now-famous Springfield rifle
(M1903) as the standard infantry weapon.
The bolt-action M1903 Springfield will be the primary American rifle carried by soldiers and Marines during America's year (1918) in World War I. And in 1942, U.S. Marines fighting Japanese diehards on Guadalcanal are still armed with the '03 Springfield as their primary weapon (though the semi-automatic M1 Garand had begun to replace the Springfield a few years earlier).
Coincidentally among the American combat units on "the Canal" is the fighting 5th Marine Regiment, which – 25 years earlier during the bloody battle of Belleau Wood – won for the entire Corps a reputation as some of the world's best marksmen. And they did so of course with the '03 Springfield.
U.S. Army Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, commanding general of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, will say, "The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle [meaning his '03 Springfield]."
In his book, Guadalcanal Marine, author Kerry L. Lane will write: "The enemy on Guadalcanal would soon learn that a Marine marksman armed with a Springfield '03 rifle is a dangerous man at a great distance."
June 25, 1876: The battle of the Little Big Horn opens between a few hundred U.S. Army cavalry troopers under the command of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and thousands of allied Lakota and Cheyenne Indian warriors under the command of Crazy Horse and Chief Gall.
Also known as "Custer's last stand," the battle will result in the encirclement and total annihilation of Custer and his vastly outnumbered command.
Though a dark day for the American Army, the battle of the Little Big Horn represents multiple inescapable elements of American military tradition:
The dashing, adventurous cavalry trooper riding off into the unknown, mistakes made, mistakes corrected, courage, sacrifice, our American Indian heritage, and the growing pains of America's westward expansion.
June 26, 1948: The Berlin Airlift – a series of some 300,000 air-transport flights into West Berlin delivering an average of 5,000 tons of life necessities every day for nearly a year – begins.
Led by the U.S. Air Force, the airlift – codenamed "Operation Vittles" and unofficially known as "LeMay's Feed and Coal Company" – is launched in response to a Soviet blockade of West Berlin; cutting off all highway and rail routes into the Western zones.
(Gen. Curtis LeMay – affectionately known as "Old Iron Ass" – was the Air Force's brash, cigar-chewing master of strategic bombing.) U.S. Army Gen. Lucius Clay, the military governor of the American zone of occupied Germany, writes: "When the order of the Soviet Military Administration to close all rail traffic from the western zones went into effect …, the three western sectors of Berlin, with a civilian population of about 2,500,000 people, became dependent on reserve stocks and airlift replacements. It was one of the most ruthless efforts in modern times to use mass starvation for political coercion... ."
The blockade and subsequent airlift was the first serious confrontational crisis between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union following World War II. But the airlift, which gained wide public support around the world, was an enormous success. In May 1949, the Soviets conceded and reopened the land routes, though strict – in fact, harsh – control continued for the remainder of the Cold War.
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If you want a great book on the Marianas Turkey Shoot see Barrett Tillman's Clash of the Carriers. Skip
Thanks to Barrett
Turkey Day
And not gobble-gobble!
19 June '44 was The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, largest carrier battle there will ever be: 15 US and 9 IJN. (Leyte Gulf doesn't count because the strikes were all one-way.)
TF-58 repelled four attacks that morning, a wake-up for the Japanese Navy because previously it did not fully appreciate the sophistication of USN fleet defense: 60-80 mile skin paints on inbound hostiles, or more. With 15 VF squadrons to rotate on ForceCAP, the Hellcats began working over the visitors, who operated beyond range of US strikers. Attrition among Japanese formations was horrific, totaling over 200 among 328 claimed. (Additional IJN planes were splashed on search missions).
Six Hellcat pilots became aces in a day. LtJG Alex Vraciu of VF-16/CV-16 splashed 6 to become the leading Navy ace--added one more next day in "the mission beyond darkness."
A Hornet pilot, Ens. Wilbur Webb, was orbiting a downed flier off Guam when he saw what he saw. He opened up: "This Spider Webb. I have about 40 of 'em cornered over Orote Point and I could use a little help." Joined the traffic pattern and hosed six. His F6F was junked when he trapped aboard CV-12.
(Alex died January, Spider in 2002.)
During the day no US CV aviators saw enemy flight decks but submarines sank Shokaku (a Pearl Harbor attacker) and the flagship Taiho.
The Turkey Shoot name was applied by a VF-16 pilot, Ens. Ziggy Neff, who splashed 4 in his only combat of the war. During debrief he said, "It was just like an old-time turkey shoot back home in Missouri." (I suspect he said Missourah...)
USS Belleau Wood torpedo planes sank a third IJN CV the next evening, IJNS Hiyo.
The next time Japanese carriers deployed, the 4 available at Leyte in October were mainly used as bait. Many/most of their aviators had not CQ'd.
Barrett sends
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Jun 19, 1944:
United States scores major victory against Japanese in Battle of the Philippine Sea
June 19
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On this day in 1944, in what would become known as the "Marianas Turkey Shoot," U.S. carrier-based fighters decimate the Japanese Fleet with only a minimum of losses in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
The security of the Marianas Islands, in the western Pacific, were vital to Japan, which had air bases on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. U.S. troops were already battling the Japanese on Saipan, having landed there on the 15th. Any further intrusion would leave the Philippine Islands, and Japan itself, vulnerable to U.S. attack. The U.S. Fifth Fleet, commanded by Admiral Raymond Spruance, was on its way west from the Marshall Islands as backup for the invasion of Saipan and the rest of the Marianas. But Japanese Admiral Ozawa Jisaburo decided to challenge the American fleet, ordering 430 of his planes, launched from aircraft carriers, to attack. In what became the greatest carrier battle of the war, the United States, having already picked up the Japanese craft on radar, proceeded to shoot down more than 300 aircraft and sink two Japanese aircraft carriers, losing only 29 of their own planes in the process. It was described in the aftermath as a "turkey shoot."
Admiral Ozawa, believing his missing planes had landed at their Guam air base, maintained his position in the Philippine Sea, allowing for a second attack of U.S. carrier-based fighter planes, this time commanded by Admiral Mitscher, to shoot down an additional 65 Japanese planes and sink another carrier. In total, the Japanese lost 480 aircraft, three-quarters of its total, not to mention most of its crews. American domination of the Marianas was now a foregone conclusion.
Not long after this battle at sea, U.S. Marine divisions penetrated farther into the island of Saipan. Two Japanese commanders on the island, Admiral Nagumo and General Saito, both committed suicide in an attempt to rally the remaining Japanese forces. It succeeded: Those forces also committed a virtual suicide as they attacked the Americans' lines, losing 26,000 men compared with 3,500 lost by the United States. Within another month, the islands of Tinian and Guam were also captured by the United States.
The Japanese government of Premier Hideki Tojo resigned in disgrace at this stunning defeat, in what many have described as the turning point of the war in the Pacific.
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Thanks to NHHC
WWII@75: Battle of the Philippine Sea
On June 19, 1944, 75 years ago, the largest aircraft carrier action of World War II began as Allied forces continued their push across the Pacific. Following the buildup of the U.S. Navy's fast carrier forces in the central Pacific, the American drive into the strategic Marshall Islands chain, and the foreseeable U.S. victory on Saipan, Japanese naval leadership believed that the time had come for decisive large-scale fleet action. Previous attempts either had failed or had come up short of a victory that would change the war in favor of Japan. Task Force 58 clashed with the Imperial Japanese Navy's Carrier Division 3 in a series of engagements fought out in the air, several hundred miles west of Saipan. By the evening of June 20, Task Force 58's aircraft broke the back of Japanese naval aviation and the Japanese combined fleet's carrier forces by sending hundreds of enemy aircraft into the water. To learn more, visit the new Battle of the Philippine Sea page on NHHC's WWII 1944 page. Also, read "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" by NHHC historian Guy J. Nasuti.
This week's Webpage of the Week is new to NHHC's World War II 1944 page. Operation Forager: The Battle of Saipan—an in-depth essay written by COD's Adam Bisno—provides a depiction of the battle that began on June 15, 1944, and ended on July 9 with the United States securing the island that was only 1,200 nautical miles south of Tokyo. The essay explains all phases of the operation, including the background, planning, initial landings, concurrent action in the Philippine Sea, the aftermath, and the heavy price of the battle. Check out this page today and learn more about this significant battle in the Pacific.
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Thanks to Mud
Here Comes the D-Day Myth Again
Subject: American-German ex-pat Kevin Kennedy: Here Comes the D-Day Myth Again (Too Many American-British-Canadian Students Are Taught That Victory Over Nazi Germany Was the Work of Anglo-American Forces, A Distortion of Truth)
American & World History buffs should consider this a MUST READ -- most assuredly all history lovers living in Mason-Dixon Country, whose families have been bombarded with propagandized, distortions of truth about the real reasons why the Confederates launched the American Civil War for a century and a half or longer. Bill
https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/172164 by Kevin KennedyKevin Kennedy is a German-American historian, lecturer, writer and commentator who lives in Potsdam, Germany. He also works as a local guide in Berlin, Potsdam and Dresden. His work has appeared in the British periodical History Today, the English-language service of Deutsche Welle, the philosophy blog Modern Stoicism and History News Network. He can be reached at kevin.alterfritz@gmail.com
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Thanks to Carl……An interesting read
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2019/06/ron-unz/was-general-patton-assassinated-by-the-us-government/
Was General Patton Assassinated by the US Government?
June 18, 2019
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for June 19
FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR June 19
THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
19 June 1944: BATTLE OF THE PHILIPPINE SEA. Through 20 June, American pilots shot down 476 Japanese aircraft in a battle known as "The Marianas Turkey Shoot." The US lost 130 planes. Navy submarines and aircraft also sank three Japanese carriers. Afterwards, Japanese naval airpower was not a serious threat to US forces in the Pacific. (20) (21)
1947: Col Albert Boyd set a world speed record of 623.8 MPH, flying an XP-80R jet airplane over a 3-kilometer course at Muroc. (24)
1952: KOREAN WAR. Through 20 June, B-29s flew 35 sorties against N. Korean targets, nearly three times the nightly average for the month. Another 27 medium bombers hit the Huichon rail bridge. (28)
1961: The first Atlas F arrived at Vandenberg AFB. (6)
1962: A superpressure balloon launched at Kindley AFB, Bermuda, on 31 May 1962, landed near Iwo Jima after 19-days at a constant altitude of 68,000 feet. (16) (24) FIRST GENERAL WHITE SPACE TROPHY. SECAF Eugene M. Zuckert presented the first Gen Thomas D. White Space Trophy to Astronaut Capt Virgil I. Grissom. (16) (24)
1970: The first flight of Minuteman III missiles became operational with the 741 SMS at Minot AFB (See 19 August 1970). (6) (12)
1977: MACKAY TROPHY. Capt David M. Sprinkel flew his C-5, with a 40-ton superconducting magnet aboard, nonstop from Chicago's O'Hare Airport to Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow. The 5,124 nautical-mile flight needed two aerial refuelings. This was the first time a MAC C-5 landed in the Soviet Union. This feat earned the Mackay Trophy for 1977. (16) (18)
1986: All USAF Rapier surface-to-air missiles in Europe became operational. The British provided this missile defense system by agreement to USAF bases in Europe. (16) (26)
1998: The first of four C-32As left Boeing's plant in Seattle and flew to the 89 AW at Andrews AFB. The military version of Boeing's 757-200 replaced the VC-137 aircraft in the presidential airlift fleet. (22)
1999: A Global Hawk flew to northern New Mexico and returned to Edwards AFB, logging some 13 hours of autonomous flight, to support the DoD's annual Roving Sands air defense exercise.
2002: Due to bad weather in Florida, the Space Shuttle Endeavour landed at Edwards AFB after 14- day mission (STS-111) to the International Space Station. The astronauts assembled and repaired space station robotics during the mission. The shuttle also brought back a Russian cosmonaut and two U.S. astronauts after 196 days in orbit. (3)
2006: The first Lockheed-Martin C-5M test aircraft made its first flight at Edwards AFB. The former C-5B received a complete avionics modernization, reliability enhancement, and re-engining in its conversion to an M-model. In the avionics modernization, Lockheed-Martin added a new cockpit with a digital all-weather flight control system and autopilot, a new communications suite, flat panel displays, and enhanced navigation and safety equipment. (USAF Aimpoints, "Second C-5M Takes Flight," 21 Nov 2006)
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Daily News thanks to Military Periscope for 19 June
USA—Pilots Eject From Super Hornet Over Philippine Sea USNI News | 06/19/2020 A U.S. Navy fighter jet has crashed during pilot training in the Philippine Sea, reports USNI News. On Thursday, the F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to USS Theodore Roosevelt went down during routine pilot proficiency training, the carrier said. The pilot and weapons officer ejected safely and were rescued by an MH-60S helicopter, officials said. Medical crews assessed both as in good medical condition. An investigation into the incident has been opened. The carrier returned to sea in May after a two-month quarantine in Guam due to a significant novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak among its crew.
USA—Another Top Pentagon Official Resigns After Nomination Pulled Over Loyalty Concerns Politico | 06/19/2020 The Pentagon's top acting official for international security affairs has resigned after the Trump administration nixed her nomination to take over the post full time over concerns about her loyalty to President Trump, reports Politico. Kathryn Wheelbarger, who has served as acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs since October 2018, tendered her resignation on Wednesday, reported Reuters. She was nominated for the position of undersecretary for intelligence in February. The nomination was withdrawn on June 12, reported Defense News. Wheelbarger is the second senior Pentagon official to step down this week, following the resignation of Elaine McCusker, acting Pentagon comptroller. McCusker's nomination to serve as comptroller was axed for similar loyalty concerns. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and his deputy, David Norquist, unsuccessfully attempted to salvage both nominations, sources said. Senior administration officials reportedly viewed Wheelbarger with suspicion due to her close ties to the late Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.) and former Defense Secretary James Mattis. The recent moves have further politicized Pentagon jobs and are likely to hurt the recruitment of talented personnel, analysts said.
USA—NRO Sticks With Rocket Labs For 2021 Launches C4ISRNet | 06/19/2020 Days after a second successful launch mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), California-based launch provider Rocket Lab says it has been chosen for two more NRO missions next year, reports C4ISRNet. On June 18, the company announced that it would launch two more NRO payloads in the spring of 2021 from two separate pads at its launch complex in New Zealand. Using two different launch pads will enable Rocket Labs to perform the launches within weeks of each other, providing a more responsive capability, the company said. These are the third and fourth launches ordered from Rocket Lab under the NRO's Rapid Acquisition of a Small Rocket (RASR) contract vehicle. Rocket Lab's second RASR launch took place on June 13, carrying three NRO satellites and several scientific payloads into orbit.
China—Beijing Denies Reports That It Detained Indian Soldiers After Border Clash British Broadcasting Corp. | 06/19/2020 China has denied reports that it detained any Indian troops following a clash on the border in the Kashmir region earlier this week, reports BBC News. On Friday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman denied reports that four Indian officers and six enlisted servicemembers had been released following talks between the two sides. In a statement, the Indian army said that none of its soldiers were missing in action after the fighting, reported Agence France-Presse. At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed and as many as 76 injured in hand-to-hand fighting in the Galwan Valley on June 15. China has not confirmed any casualties from the clash. Indian officials said that both sides suffered losses. Each side accused the other of crossing the poorly demarcated border and provoking the battle. The Press Trust of India reported that the 10 servicemembers were released on Thursday following three rounds of discussions between the two sides. All the soldiers were returned in good health, reported the Hindu (Chennai). The border standoff began in May when India launched infrastructure projects to enable it to more efficiently move personnel and materiel in the region.
China—Beijing Lashes Out After Trump Signs Law Sanctioning Officials Over Human-Rights Abuses In Xinjiang Nbc News | 06/19/2020 Beijing has threatened to retaliate after President Trump signed a law that sanctions Chinese officials involved in human-rights abuses against the Uighur and other Muslim minorities, reports NBC News. On Wednesday, President Trump signed the Uighur Human Rights Policy Act, which was nearly unanimously passed by the House of Representatives and Senate, noted the Washington Post. The U.N. estimates that more than a million Muslims have been detained in camps in the western Xinjiang province. Beijing says the camps provide vocational training as part of efforts to fight extremism. The legislation requires the government to identify which Chinese officials are responsible for the "arbitrary detention, torture and harassment" of minorities. Any assets held by such officials in the U.S. would be frozen and they would be subject to a travel ban, reported the Guardian (U.K.). The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the law after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Chinese Foreign Secretary Yang Jiechi in Hawaii on Wednesday. Yang expressed "strong dissatisfaction" with the measure during the talks. Beijing decried the move as interference in its internal affairs and pledged unspecified countermeasures.
Australia—Prime Minister Reveals Large-Scale Cyber Attacks Australian Broadcasting Corporation | 06/19/2020 Australia has been targeted by significant cyber attacks by a state-based actor, reports ABC News (Australia). On Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Australia was dealing with a malicious and sophisticated cyber actor, reported CNN. Multiple levels of government, business and political parties are said to have been affected, reported the Voice of America News. Two sources told ABC that China was suspected, with the attacks beginning after Canberra decided in August 2018 to ban Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei from its 5G network. The Ministry of State Security, China's most powerful intelligence service, may be leading the operations, the sources said. Other analysts noted that the attacks were not sophisticated, making attribution difficult. According to the Australian Cybersecurity Center, much of the code used in the attack was copied from open sources, reported the Guardian (U.K.). Some sources said that the attacks may have been intended to steal information about Australia's response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
India—Air-Launched BrahMos Approved For Operational Use Financial Express | 06/19/2020 The Indian military airworthiness agency has certified the air-launched variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile for operational service, reports the Financial Express (India). The Center for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) approved the certification on June 10, enabling the missile to be employed in combat missions by Su-30MKI fighters with the necessary modifications. The first Su-30MKIs equipped to carry the BrahMos-A were inducted into the 222 Squadron "Tigersharks" in January, reported Livefist Defence. The fighter can carry a single BrahMos underslung on a specially modified belly pylon. The air-launched missile has a range of about 190 miles (300 km).
Pakistan—At Least 4 Killed In Attacks Targeting Paramilitary Rangers Geo News | 06/19/2020 At least two paramilitaries and two civilians have been killed in attacks targeting the Pakistan Rangers paramilitary unit in Pakistan's southeastern Sindh province, reports the Geo News (Karachi). On Friday, a device exploded in a market in the city of Ghotki as the rangers were shopping for meat, killing two paramilitaries and a civilian. At least three other people, including one paramilitary official, were injured in the attack, reported the Dawn (Karachi). The rangers were known to frequent the shop, reported Bol News (Karachi). Separately, a civilian was killed and eight others injured in a hand grenade attack in Karachi's Liaquatabad area, reported the Press Trust of India. The grenade was thrown at a line of people collecting government payments provided in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. A third attack, reportedly involving firecrackers, occurred in Larkana, also in Sindh province. Seven were injured. Following the blasts, a relatively unknown Twitter account posted that a Sindh nationalist group had claimed responsibility. An investigation has been ordered into the attacks.
Yemen—Riyadh Pitches Compromise Between Secessionists, Government Reuters | 06/19/2020 Saudi Arabia says it has crafted a power-sharing deal to resolve fighting between Yemeni factions that are part of its coalition battling Houthi rebels, reports Reuters. The proposal calls for a cease-fire in Abyan province between the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) and internationally recognized government and for the STC to end its emergency rule. The Saudi-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi would then appoint a governor and security chief for Aden, the temporary Yemeni capital, and name a premier to form a new Cabinet that includes the STC. The STC would then withdraw its fighters from Aden to Abyan, enabling the new government to be formed, three sources said. Two sources said that the STC wanted the government to be formed before it withdrew its forces. Members of the STC, which seized control of Aden in April, said that they had not seen the proposal.
Libya—Russian Fighters Flying Missions For Haftar, Says AFRICOM Stars And Stripes | 06/19/2020 U.S. Africa Command says that Russian jets delivered to the Libyan National Army, led by eastern militia leader Khalifa Haftar, have begun operating in Libya, reports Stars & Stripes. Last month, the command said that Russia had delivered 14 MiG-29 fighters and several Su-24 strike jets to the Al-Jufra airbase in central Libya. There are concerns that these aircraft are being flown by inexperienced mercenary pilots who will not adhere to the laws of armed conflict, putting civilians at risk, AFRICOM said. The deployment of the fighters also violates the U.N. arms embargo on Libya, command officials said. A MiG-29 has been photographed flying over Sirte, where the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord is trying to drive out the LNA, noted the War Zone website.
Somalia—3 Dead In Roadside Bombing In Mogadishu Garowe Online | 06/19/2020 At least three people have been killed in an explosion in Mogadishu, reports the Garowe Online (Somalia). On Thursday, a motorized rickshaw, known locally as a Tuk Tuk, hit land mines in the road in the Hodan district, killing three people instantly and injuring several others, some critically, said a government spokesman. Four civilians were killed and three were wounded, according to a police official quoted by the Anadolu Agency (Ankara). Such attacks are common in Hodan district, where they typically target public service vehicles and security forces, analysts said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, although Al-Shabaab was suspected.
Ethiopia—No Agreement Reached After Latest Round Of Nile Dam Talks Egypt Today | 06/19/2020 A new round of trilateral talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River has failed to reach an agreement, reports Egypt Today. Ministers from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan resumed talks via video conference on June 9, with the U.S., European Union, and South Africa, the current chair of the African Union, observing. Egypt failed to convince Ethiopia to push the issue to the prime minister level in a last effort to reach an agreement, said Egypt's water minister. Cairo could resort to other measures due to Ethiopia's intransigence, the minister said. These could include raising the issue with the U.N. Security Council to prevent Addis Ababa from taking unilateral action that harms Egypt. The three sides are attempting to reach an agreement on the filling of the dam's reservoir, affecting the flow of water to Egypt, which relies on the Nile for much of its water needs. Ethiopia is looking to fill the dam in as little as seven years while Egypt has proposed a 12-21 year process, noted Al Jazeera (Qatar). Following the end of the talks, Sudanese Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas told reporters in Khartoum that the irrigation ministers from the three countries had agreed on "90-95 percent" of technical issues, but that a few legal issues remained to be resolved. Addis Ababa continues to stand by a July date for when it will start to fill the dam.
Mali—AQIM Confirms Death Of Leader Agence France-Presse | 06/19/2020 Al-Qaida's North African branch has confirmed the death of leader Abdel Malek Droukdel, reports Agence France-Presse. On Thursday, the SITE Intelligence group, which monitors extremists online, said that Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) had confirmed the death of the Algerian terrorist, who led the group since its founding in 2007. Before that, Droukdel led the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, a major player in the Algerian civil war. The video statement from AQIM pledged to continue the battle against French forces in Mali and the Sahel. On June 5, French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly announced that Droukdel had been killed in Mali by French special operations forces. The death of Droukdel could leave AQIM in disarray amid pressure from security forces and competition with other regional Islamist groups, analysts said.
Democratic Republic of the Congo—Several Countries Providing Training, Equipment To Military Despite Embargo, U.N. Says Agence France-Presse | 06/19/2020 Multiple countries are suspected of violating a 2004 arms embargo on the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a U.N. report cited by Agence France-Presse. Albania, China, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Romania, South Africa, Sudan, Turkey, the U.K. and the U.S. have provided equipment, training or both to the Congolese army without notifying the U.N. as required, the report says. Arms, ammunition, military vehicles, helicopters and other equipment have been supplied, some of which was later diverted to militants in the eastern DRC, says the document. Sanctions targeting the Congolese military expired in 2008 but any equipment or training provided to it must be reported to the U.N. The embargo continues against armed groups.
South Sudan—Agreement Reached On State Governors Asharq Al-Awsat | 06/19/2020 South Sudanese leaders have reached an agreement on the selection of governors for South Sudan's 10 states, reports Asharq Al-Awsat (London). On Wednesday, President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar announced that they had finalized a deal, resolving what had been one of the last major threats to the transitional unity government formed earlier this year. Under the agreement, Kiir and his allies will nominate the governors for six states, including oil-rich Unity state and Central Equatoria, where the capital, Juba, is located, reported Al Jazeera (Qatar). Machar and his allies will nominate governors for Upper Nile state, which is the largest oil-producing area in the country, as well as Western Bahr El Ghazal and Western Equatoria. All three states have a large presence of former rebel fighters, which are now being integrated with the national armed forces. The Sudan Opposition Alliance, which is also part of the unity government, will nominate the governor for Jonglei state. The leaders said the composition of the executive and legislature for the states will be determined later.
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