A News Aggregator That Covers The World's Major Wars And Conflicts. Military, Political, And Intelligence News Are Also Covered. Occasionally We Will Have Our Own Opinions Or Observations To Make.
(CNN)US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper made his first visit to Africa Wednesday, a trip aimed in part at pushing back on Russian and Chinese influence in the region.
Esper arrived in Tunisia to meet with top officials, including the country's president, Kais Saied, and to lay a wreath and give a speech at a World War II cemetery to honor US service members who fell during the North African campaign.
The trip was not announced until after Esper departed the country.
Tunisia which has been touted as the sole democratic success story to come out of the 2011 "Arab Spring," was designated "a major-non NATO ally of the United States" in 2015 and has partnered with the US on counterterrorism efforts aimed at ISIS-linked groups.
WNU Editor: China is throwing cash all around the African continent, and Russia is providing military support to their allies in the region. What is US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper offering? The answer is not much. My gut is telling me that he is in Africa trying to his best to stay away from the politics and the insanity of this election cycle. He also has the look of someone who is going to be out of a job in a few months. Regardless of who wins.
As you probably already know by now, on Sept. 29, 2020, a U.S. Marine Corps F-35B and a KC-130J belonging to the VMGR-352 “Raiders” based at MCAS Miramar, were involved in a mid-air collision during AAR (Air-to-Air Refueling) operations.
The F-35B, callsign VOLT 93 crashed, while the KC-130J, callsign RAIDER 50, performed a safe crash landing on a field near Thermal Airport, California.
The single pilot aboard the STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) variant of the Lightning II stealth jet ejected safely and the Super Hercules crew members survived.
The pretty intense audio of the incident was posted by a user at the LiveATC forum.
The U.S. Navy SEALs and the Navy Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC) recently changed their ethos and creed statements to reflect a gender-neutral presentation of the elite Navy outfits, doing away with gendered terms like “brotherhood.”
One change to the SEAL ethos was to alter a sentence in the first paragraph of the ethos to say, “Common citizens with uncommon desire to succeed” instead of the original, “A common man with uncommon desire to succeed.”
Naval Special Warfare spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Stroup confirmed the changes to the ethos and creed statements in an emailed statement to American Military News.
“Naval Special Warfare continues to deliberately develop a culture of tactical and ethical excellence that reflects the nation we represent, and that draws upon the talents of the all-volunteer force who meet the standards of qualification as a SEAL or SWCC,”
Stroup said.
Stroup said the changes to the ethos and creed statements were made to comply with changes in law opening the potential for women to join the elite military units.
WNU Editor: Instead of focusing and addressing the epidemic of suicides in the US military, the leadership of the US Navy SEALs' are prioritizing gender neutral language.You just cannot make this stuff up.
More than 150 flights ferried arms to Haftar's territory between January and April this year, according to unpublished UN report
The United Arab Emirates continued to supply military equipment to Libya's eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar despite a United Nations embargo on weapons transfers to the country, according to a confidential UN report.
The UAE made more than 150 flights to regions controlled by Haftar, mostly in eastern Libya, between January and April in what experts are calling an attempt to prop up the rebel leader's campaign against the UN-recognised Tripoli government.
In particular, flights to Haftar-controlled zones increased during his failed assault on Tripoli earlier this year, a diplomat with access to the unpublished report that was prepared by a UN expert panel told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
UAE-supplied weapons, the report says, have proven crucial in Haftar's campaign and in his takeover of parts of eastern Libya.
* Russia today said that illegal Syrian and Libyan fighters were being sent to the Nagorno-Karabakh region
* Despite Azerbaijan and ally Turkey denying that F-16 downed Armenian SU-25, defence ministry in Yerevan named dead pilot as Major Valeri Danelin and published photos of jet painted in Armenian Air Force colours
* Meanwhile Azerbaijan claimed it had 'neutralised' 2,300 Armenian soldiers as fighting entered fourth day
* It is the worst eruption of violence between the two countries since a 1994 ceasefire over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory which is landlocked in Azerbaijan but largely inhabited by Armenians
* Turkey is stridently backed Azerbaijan, raising fears that Russia - which has a military base in Armenia - could be drawn into a proxy war after Moscow and Anakara came close to trading blows in Syria last year
* French President Emmanuel Macron today slammed Turkey's fighting talk as 'reckless and dangerous' after Ankara pledged its full support for Azerbaijan to reclaim the ethnically-Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh territory
Russia has accused Turkey of sending 'terrorists' from Syria and Libya into the Nagorno-Karabakh region, where fierce fighting has raged for the past four days between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces.
Russia's foreign ministry said today that Syrian and Libyan fighters from illegal armed groups were being sent to the region.
Russia called on the countries involved to prevent the use of 'foreign terrorists and mercenaries' in the conflict.
Two Syrian rebel sources have said that Turkey is sending Syrian rebel fighters to support Azerbaijan, which Turkey and Azerbaijan have denied.
Earlier today, Armenia revealed photos of the wreckage of its SU-25 fighter jet which it claims was shot down by a Turkish F-16 amid accusations that Ankara is throwing its military might behind Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan today announced it had 'neutralised' 2,300 Armenian soldiers as fighting entered a fourth day in the worst eruption of violence between the two countries since a 1994 ceasefire over an Azerbaijani territory which is largely inhabited by Armenians.
If we decide to reject what has become accepted behavior, we will eliminate all
that wasn’t on Tuesday night.
Many have tried to describe the first presidential
debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
Adjectives have failed, pejoratives have prevailed and analysis has fallen
tragically short of capturing what happened Tuesday night. Sometimes when it
becomes impossible to describe what something is, it is easier to outline what
it is not.
During and after the debate, my text messages lit up with comments
and questions from colleagues, friends and sources around the country. Beyond
the easy “hot mess,” “dumpster fire” and “train wreck,” most of the people I
spoke with didn’t know what to say.
The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) sits in dry dock during a 14-month scheduled docking planned incremental availability at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Wesley J. Breedlove
One congressman suggests contracting ship maintenance work to private yards or even working with allies.
As the U.S. Navy struggles to enlarge its fleet, experts are warning that the service’s four public maintenance yards are ill-equipped to repair even the ships it currently has.
These shipyards in Virginia, Maine, Washington state, and Hawaii don’t have enough workers, drydocks and modern infrastructure and equipment, these experts say.
“[R]egardless of what the future size and composition of the Navy is going to be, the Navy needs to have the support and the maintenance infrastructure to ensure it can maintain that fleet now and in the future,” Diana Maurer, director of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office’s Defense Capabilities and Management team, said Wednesday at a Heritage Foundation event.
Russia’s military is now more capable than at any time since the end of the Cold War, a development that comes as Western nations are increasingly concerned about President Vladimir Putin’s role in election meddling and conflicts from Ukraine to Syria, according to a new report.
After more than a decade of investment and reform, Russia’s troops are better equipped and more professional than their predecessors, according to “Russia’s Military Modernization: An Assessment,” a report published on Wednesday by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“Russia’s armed forces are today a capable military tool that Moscow has demonstrated a willingness to use or to threaten the use of,” according to the report.
Since 2014, Russia has annexed Crimea, engaged in protracted fighting in eastern Ukraine, and intervened in the Syrian civil war.
In July, the Kremlin publicly welcomed the Trump administration’s plans to withdraw about 12,000 troops from Germany, arguing that there was no justification for their continued presence.
Russia began its current military modernization drive after its armed forces’ poor performance in the country’s brief war with Georgia in 2008, according to the report.
It highlights particular improvements in Russia’s nuclear weaponry and in the Russian Aerospace Forces, as well as patchier progress in Russia’s ground forces and navy.
WNU Editor: The Russian military has come a long way in the past 30 years. The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies report (the introduction that is) is here .... An introduction to Russia's military modernisation.
"Akademik Aleksandrov" arriving port in Severodvinsk by the White Sea after her first long-lasting voyage in Arctic waters. The ship belongs to the Main Directorate for Deep-Water Research (GUGI) of Russia's Ministry of Defense. Photo: Press service of the Northern Fleet
The ship "Akademik Aleksandrov" is closely linked with testing of Russia's disruptive nuclear-powered underwater drone and the top-secret Harmony system of underwater sensors.
“The crew has conducted scientific and practical research in the waters of the Arctic Ocean,” is all what the press service of the Northern Fleet has to say when posting a series of photos from the ship’s return to port at Belomorsk naval base in Severodvinsk this week.
Greeted by high ranking officers and the navy orchestra highlight the importance of this first voyage by “Akademik Aleksandrov”.
The ship, though, is sailing missions for the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research, often referred to as GUGI, a structure reporting to the Ministry of Defense.
GUGI is one of the most secret units of the Russian Armed Forces and operates deep-diving, nuclear-powered, mini-submarines like the Losharik that caught fire last year, killing the crew of 14.
U.S. military has embraced AI, arguing that America cannot compete against potential adversaries without the futuristic technology. (U.S. Dept of Defense/Peggy Frierson)
A new bipartisan congressional report calls for the Defense Department to get a lot more serious about the race to acquire artificial intelligence and autonomous capabilities, modeling efforts to become dominant in these spheres after the "Manhattan Project" initiative to test and develop nuclear weapons in the 1940s.
On Tuesday, the House Armed Services Committee released the results of a yearlong review, co-led by Reps. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., and Jim Banks, R-Ind., aimed at assessing U.S. military capabilities and preparedness to meet current threats. The 87-page Future of Defense Task Force Report contains some expected findings -- China and Russia are identified as the top security threats to the U.S. and modernization is described as an urgent need -- but there are surprising points of emphasis.
Since taking power in 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping has helped cement China's position as a global superpower -- and pushed forward an aggressive foreign policy, making bolder moves in several key flashpoints across Asia.
From the South China Sea to the Himalayan Sino-Indian border, and even in one of its own cities, China has doubled down on its claims of territory, and taken a harder line in response to perceived challenges.
And as those disputes escalated this year with renewed and rising tensions, Xi has bulked up the military and increased its budget, with the instruction to "resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests."
Here's what you need to know about China's key flashpoints in the Asia-Pacific region.
WNU Editor: We all know about China's current border disputes. But the big prize for China has always been Central Asia and Russia\s Siberia .... Why China Will Reclaim Siberia (New York Times).
NEW DELHI - As India and China continue with military and diplomatic talks on their disputed border, troops positioned in the Ladakh region now have to additionally grapple with deteriorating weather conditions as winter sets in.
At Pangong Tso, a Himalayan lake, where Chinese and India troops are in a stand-off, temperatures drop to sub zero.
Temperature during the winter, starting next month till February, will plummet to minus 40 degrees Celsius and the lake, which cuts through Chinese and Indian territories, will freeze over.
The area is known as the "cold desert", said retired Army colonel S Dinny, who served as commanding officer at Pangong Tso between 2015 and 2017.
"The temperature goes down to sub-zero. The oxygen level is at 60 per cent. Fatigue increases manifold. You get chilblains if a body part is exposed for even a short duration," said Col Dinny.
"There is definitely a decrease in activities in winter whether infrastructure development like building roads or patrols. It is quite challenging. It will test the limit of logistic backup, sustenance and survivability of people and equipment. It won't be easy. But there is a job to be done, we will do it."
President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden battled fiercely over Trump's record on the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare and the economy in a chaotic and bad-tempered first debate marked by personal insults and Trump's repeated interruptions. While being interrupted by Trump, Biden said, "Will you shut up, man. This is so unpresidential. ... Keep yapping, man." REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
WNU Editor: It has been an interesting morning. The main stream media's reaction and pundit commentary has been predictable. President Trump is blah, blah, blah. After four years nothing has changed in the main stream media. Talked to a few people who do not like President Trump. Same reaction. They do not care about Presidential candidate Biden and how he performed last night. Their focus is entirely on President Trump. I detected zero enthusiasm for the former Vice-President. Talked to a few Trump supporters. They loved how he was fighting back and refusing to stand down. They are firmly committed to supporting him.
In my case. I know where President Trump stands. What I wanted to know more is former Vice-President Biden positions. This is what I learned.
Law and order: This is an important issue. The former Vice President was not reassuring. The fact that he could not name one police precinct that supports him is telling.
Closing economy: President Trump wants to open the economy. Former Vice-President Biden is more focused on closing the economy.
Green deal: Former Vice-President says he does not support it. But it is on his web page. I believe he does support this program, and he just did not want to scare those who may be impacted by it personally.
Antifa: This is an organization. Has been for years.
SCOTUS: Former Vice-President Biden is not willing to publish his list. Why?
A B-1B Lancer, assigned to the 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth AFB, S.D., rests on the flightline at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, July 23, 2020. (Joshua Sinclair/U.S. Air Force)
Integrated Battle Station represents an exciting leap forward in the modernization of the famous bombers.
An eight-year-long project to install the Integrated Battle Station (IBS) on the B-1B Lancer fleet has been completed ahead of schedule, the United States Air Force announced. A total of sixty of the late Cold War-era aircraft went through the modification process, which began in late 2012. It was reported to be the largest and most complicated modification performed to date on the B-1 and it gave the flight deck a completely new look.
The battle station was developed as three separate modifications that included a Fully Integrated Data Link, Vertical Situational Display Unit and Central Integrated Test System.
“During development, it became obvious that modifying the same aircraft three times would be detrimental to aircraft availability and would create numerous aircraft configurations,” said William Barnes, B-1B Systems program manager at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. “Thus Integrated Battle Station was born.”
A thunderous noise that panicked residents of Paris Wednesday was caused by the sonic boom of a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier, police in the French capital said.
The military said the jet had been scrambled to go to the aid of another aircraft that had lost radio contact, and was authorised to travel at supersonic speed.
"A very loud noise was heard in Paris and in the Paris region. It was not an explosion, it was a fighter jet crossing the sound barrier," Paris police said on Twitter, urging people to stop calling emergency phone lines.
The noise, which was heard all over the city and neighbouring suburbs and shook windows, rattled Parisians already on edge after a knife attack outside the former offices of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo last week that the government has called an act of terror.
"A Rafale, carrying out an intervention to assist an aircraft that had lost contact, was authorised to break the sound barrier to reach the aircraft in difficulty," a French air force spokesman told AFP.
WNU Editor: I have heard a few sonic booms in my life. It is always attention grabbing. I can understand why people who have never heard one react the way that they do as the above video shows.
China’s growing military prowess and increasingly aggressive foreign policy have revived talk among U.S. and European officials of creating an “Asian NATO” of regional powers to contain communist Beijing’s expansionist ambitions.
Past efforts for an East Asian security alliance, such as the post-World War II Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) to guard against Cold War-era communism, failed to gain lasting traction.
But that was before China’s emergence as a rising superpower — a reality NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said is “fundamentally shifting the global balance of power” in ways should motivate NATO itself to “become more global.”
Quietly, Trump administration officials have gone further. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E. Biegun recently suggested that the informal defense alignment between the U.S., Japan, Australia and India already known as the Quad could be the beginning of a NATO-style alliance in Asia.
“It’s something that I think in the second term of the Trump administration or, were the president not to win, the first term of the next president, it could be something that would be very much worthwhile to be explored,” Mr. Biegun said at a U.S.-India strategic dialogue on Aug. 31.
Senior officials from the four powers — all of which had tense recent relations with China — held another virtual meeting on Friday, Indian newspapers reported.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the four countries called for a “free, open, prosperous and inclusive” Indo-Pacific region based on shared valued and respect for international law.
Mr. Biegun said last month that the Asian NATO would be about more than simply countering China, and could focus on broadly coordinating militaries and economies of the region’s smaller nations around a rules-based value system.
WNU Editor: I am surprised that an Asian NATO has not yet emerged. But the trend lines are very clear. Expect an Asian version of NATO to counter China emerging in the next few years.
Two F-35s bank after receiving fuel over the Midwest on Sept. 19, 2019. The two
aircraft were in route to the 158th Fighter Wing out of the Vermont Air National
Guard Base, South Burlington, Vt., the first Air National Guard unit to receive
the aircraft. (Master Sgt. Ben Mota/U.S. Air Force)
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department and Lockheed Martin reached a handshake
agreement that will require the defense giant to invest about $70.6 million to
fix an ongoing problem with F-35 spare parts, one that resulted in increased
government labor costs, the department announced Sept. 29.
For the past few
months, Lockheed and the Defense Contracts Management Agency have been locked in
a dispute over more than 15,000 F-35 spare parts sent to the U.S. military with
incorrect or incomplete “electronic equipment logs” or EELs, which allow the
parts to be absorbed into the F-35′s logistics system and installed on the jet.
Lockheed and the Defense Contracts Management Agency expect a final agreement to
be formalized sometime within the next two weeks or so, said DCMA spokesman
Matthew Montgomery, who confirmed the $70.588 million deal to Defense News.
* Island assault exercise off Californian coast uses badge depicting China on the uniforms
* Chinese state media condemns implication of possible action in South China Sea
The United States has staged a simulated island assault exercise featuring a red silhouette of China on air personnel’s uniforms, in what Chinese state media described as a provocative gesture.
The drill, to be completed on Tuesday, was being conducted in California, but triggered warnings from Chinese state media that China would fight back if the US attacked it in the South China Sea.
US-based Air Force magazine reported that the training by the US veteran drone fleet, which began on September 3, suggested that the US Air Force was focusing more on the Pacific region.
Patches on uniforms made for the exercise featured an MQ-9 Reaper drone superimposed over a red silhouette of China, the report said.
The tanker (pictured on Tuesday) was forced to make an emergency landing in a field near Thermal, California, just east of the airport. All eight crew members on board were unharmed
The F-35 crew ejected and is being treated, the KC-130 crew is safe, military officials said.
A U.S. military jet crashed Tuesday in California, after a mid-air collision with a KC-130J aircraft.
According to the military, the crash occurred around 4 p.m. after the F-35B hit the KC-130J during an air-to-air refueling.
A radio dispatch of emergency personnel on the ground reported that the F-35's pilot and co-pilot were able to safely eject before the plane crashed in Thermal, Ca.
The pilot of the F-35 is being treated and all crew members aboard the KC-130 were reported safe, a military spokesperson told FOX News.
The KC-130 was carrying at least eight passengers., KESQ reported.
Sudan's army launched a disarmament campaign Tuesday to seize all illegal weapons in a country left awash with guns after decades of civil war, by blowing up 300,000 firearms https://t.co/1UPACO2PSR
An ethnic Armenian soldier fires an artillery piece during fighting with Azerbaijan's forces in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, September 29. Defense Ministry of Armenia/via REUTERS
Spanish speaking viewers of Telemundo expressed their preference of who won tonight’s presidential debate: 66% Trump 34% Biden. #DebateTuesdaypic.twitter.com/JxCUFda6iF
WNU Editor: The Telemundo numbers are shocking. It looks like President Trump resonated with Hispanic voters. These numbers are also the exact reverse for President Trump from 2016 when the majority of hispanic viewers believed Hillary Clinton had won the debate. CNN and FOX have also done a poll with their viewers. LOL Their numbers are the complete opposite of each other (see below).
Fans of President Donald Trump applaud while watching a streaming of the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, from Lititz, Pennsylvania. REUTERS/Rachel Wisniewski
WNU Editor: Andrew Sullivan is a Biden supporter, and he is clearly disappointed in his candidate's performance. But what I find interesting is not his tweet, but the comment thread to his tweet from mostly Democrat supporters. They are all unhappy, and their vitriol and hatred towards President Trump is off the scale. I have checked other sites, and they are all the same. The anger and hate that I am reading is not healthy. If Presidential candidate Biden had nailed this debate tonight, they would be praising him to high-heaven. But they are not.
'How you doing, man?': Joe Biden greeted President Trump at the start of their first debate, where they adhered to social-distancing protocols by not shaking hands. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in their first 2020 presidential campaign debate held on the campus of the Cleveland Clinic at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, September 29, 2020.REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Here are some quick takes from tonight.
I hope this is the last debate that Mike Wallace ever moderates. He was awful. As moderators go. If he is not the worse, he is close to it.
Presidential Democrat candidate Biden did not collapse. But I found his demeanour oily and condescending. When he said "Will you shut up, man" at President Trump. That took me back. This is someone who is easily prone to anger. The racist jab is also not going to help him. His supporters probably loved these remarks and jabs, but it runs contrary to the reassuring Uncle Joe image that he has projected to the public in the past few months. Being and acting like Trump is not going to win him any new voters. Not answering about packing the court will raise some eyebrows. His response on Covid-19 was not reassuring, nor how to re-open schools. But what hurt him was when he was asked about calling Democrat mayors/governors and telling them to stop the rioting. Saying he's not an elected person, not an office holder....despite saying just 10 minutes earlier that he was the Democratic Party. Yeah. That is going to hurt him. Violence and crime is one of the three or four top issues for most Americans. They want to be reassured that this ongoing mayhem is going to be stopped. Joe Biden certainly did not deliver on that.
President Trump was also overly angry and aggressive. But I know that is what the base wants. I would not have focused my attention on Hunter Biden. I would have focused on the ongoing lawlessness in places like Seattle and Portland. The race questions, when he could have talked about record low black and Hispanic and women unemployment he talked about law and order. He is also responsible for prison and sentencing reform. This is a big issue among minorities, and President Trump did not push it. Big mistake. He also did not mention the peace deals in the Middle East. He owns it. Maybe he will bring it up in the foreign policy debate? In his rallies there is a certain energy that he projects which wins him converts. He did not bring that energy tonight.
So will anything change from tonight's debate. There was a side of Joe Biden that was revealed tonight that I do not think will appeal to those voters who are looking to vote for someone other than President Trump. They needed to be reassured, and Joe Biden certainly did not deliver on that tonight. I can see these voters staying home. President Trump was President Trump. He will not lose any voters, but he did not gain any tonight. But he could have done better.
* Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan, has denied claims that a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down a Sukhoi Su-25 plane, killing the pilot
* This comes as dozens have died and hundreds have been injured in fresh clashes over the Nagorno-Karabakh region
Armenia said a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down one of its warplanes over Armenian airspace on Tuesday, killing the pilot, but Turkey
called the claim “absolutely untrue”.
Any such incident would mark a potentially major escalation of conflict in the South Caucasus region.
Turkey is a close ally of Azerbaijan, which is fighting ethnic Armenian forces in a major new flare-up of a decades-old conflict
over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
An Armenian defence ministry spokeswoman said the Armenian Sukhoi Su-25 warplane had been on a military assignment when it was downed by an F-16 fighter jet owned by the Turkish air force.
BAKU/YEREVAN (Reuters) - Armenia and Azerbaijan accused one another on Tuesday of firing directly into each other’s territory and rejected pressure to hold peace talks as their conflict over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh threatened to mushroom into all-out war.
Both reported firing from the other side across their shared border, well to the west of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region over which fierce fighting broke out between Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces on Sunday.
The incidents signalled a further escalation of the conflict despite urgent appeals from Russia, the United States and others to halt it.
The conflict has reignited concerns about stability in the South Caucasus region, a corridor for pipelines carrying oil and gas to world markets.
* Donald Trump and Joe Biden arrived in Cleveland for their first debate
* Trump arrived with Melania and his adult children
* Biden arrived solo; Jill Biden coming from Michigan where she was campaigning
* The 90-minute debate will be divided into six segments, selected by Fox News' Chris Wallace, who is moderating
* Major topics to include Trump taxes and SCOTUS nominee
* Trump and Biden will not shake hands because of COVID restrictions
* There will be no opening statements and first question will go to Trump
* A small audience will be in the room and will have gotten a COVID test
President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden have touched down in Cleveland for Tuesday night's first presidential debate.
Trump arrived with first lady Melania Trump, who wore a $3340 Dolce & Gabbana black pinstriped pantsuit.
Biden arrived solo. Jill Biden campaigned in Michigan earlier in the day and will join him in Cleveland Tuesday evening for the debate.
Read more ....
A new and dangerous eruption of a decades-old conflict has broken out between Azerbaijan and its ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Scores are dead but the figures are disputed.
Hundreds have been injured and each side has blamed the other for instigating the deadly clashes as the shelling continued.
There have been many flare-ups between the former Soviet republics, which sit near strategic oil and gas pipelines, and are split along religious and ethnic lines.
"This is a life and death war," Nagorno-Karabakh leader, Arayik Harutyunyan, said.
So where exactly is the fighting, who is involved, why has violence again returned to the region and can it be stopped?
U.S. diplomats are trying to play hardball with Russia in negotiations over whether to extend New START.
The Trump administration has asked the military to assess how quickly it could pull nuclear weapons out of storage and load them onto bombers and submarines if an arms control treaty with Russia is allowed to expire in February, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
The request to U.S. Strategic Command in Nebraska is part of a strategy to pressure Moscow into renegotiating the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty before the U.S. presidential election, the people said.
In making the request, the Trump administration wants to underscore that it is serious about letting the treaty lapse if Russia fails to meet U.S. demands. The negotiating team is leery that Russia is dragging out the talks in the hope that Joe Biden — who has pledged to extend New START under what Moscow believes will be more favorable terms than what this White House is offering — wins the election.
