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• The US embassy in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv said it would be closed today after it received “specific information of a potential significant air attack.” Air raid sirens were activated in the city several times overnight. The US said it doesn’t see any indication that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine. • Moscow’s fresh round of nuclear saber rattling follows the US move to allow Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia with American-made weapons. Ukraine hit a Russian weapons arsenal with the ATACMS missiles, which it fired across the border for the first time yesterday, according to two US officials — a major escalation on the 1,000th day of war. • The US has also approved sending anti-personnel mines to Ukraine for the first time, according to two US officials — another major policy shift.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, •, — Locations: Ukraine’s, Kyiv, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, American, Russian

CNN —Ukraine launched the British-French-made Storm Shadow missiles at targets inside Russia for the first time on Wednesday, according to a Russian military blog and Reuters, a day after Ukraine fired US-made ATACMS missiles into Russia. When Umerov was asked if Ukraine used the Storm Shadow missiles to hit a target inside Russia, he replied, “we are using all the means to defend our country, so we’ll not go into detail. A weapons expert who reviewed the video for CNN said there are no indications the explosions are from a different type of munition, but it’s not possible to definitively say they are from Storm Shadow missiles. The UK and France have previously supplied the long-range Storm Shadow missiles for Ukraine to use inside its own borders. Ukraine used eight long-range US missiles to successfully hit an ammunition depot deep inside Russia, according to two US defense officials.

Persons: Rustem Umerov, Umerov, “, we’ll, Trevor Ball, Paul Adams, Shadow, Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Organizations: CNN —, Reuters, Ukraine’s, UK Ministry of Defense, CNN, Storm, US Army, Storm Shadow, French Ministry of Defense, “, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Sunday, Russian Ministry of Defense Locations: CNN — Ukraine, British, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Kursk, Marino, Ukrainian, France, “ Ukraine, Bryansk

☆ China rebuffs meeting with US defense secretary
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-19 | by ( Haley Britzky | Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —China rejected a meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a conference in southeast Asia this week, marking the latest turn in a tumultuous relationship between the two countries’ defense leaders. But China did not accept the offer, pointing to a recent Taiwan arms sale as their rationale, a senior defense official told reporters traveling with Austin in Laos. The Chinese rejection of the meeting in Laos comes just days after US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Peru for their final meeting under Biden’s administration. China has often used the cancellation of meetings and lines of communication as a way of registering displeasure with the United States. After then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022, China cut off a number of lines of communication with the US, including on military issues and climate.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, Austin, Dong Jun, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Jake Sullivan, Biden, Trump, Nancy Pelosi Organizations: CNN, ASEAN Defense, ’, National Locations: China, Asia, Laos, People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Austin, Peru, United States

☆ Biden administration approves sending anti-personnel mines to Ukraine in another major policy shift
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-19 | by ( Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Biden administration has approved sending anti-personnel mines to Ukraine for the first time in another major policy shift, according to two US officials. But until now, the Biden administration had not provided Ukraine with anti-personnel mines over concerns about the enduring danger they may pose. In June 2022 – four months after the start of the war in Ukraine – the Biden administration pledged to limit the use of anti-personnel mines. Kostya Liberov/Libkos/Getty ImagesThe announcement of anti-personnel mines for Ukraine, especially with only weeks left in the Biden administration, is a sudden change on what had been a long-standing policy. Russia has deployed anti-personnel mines and anti-tank mines since the earliest days of the war.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, –, Ukraine –, Trump, Kostya, ” Organizations: CNN, US, Ukrainian, Washington Post, Biden, Russian Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv, Moscow, Ukrainian, South Korea

☆ Pentagon received hundreds of reports of new UFO sightings
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Pentagon has received hundreds of reports of new UFO sightings, including “several particularly interesting cases,” according to the director of the office that investigates these reports, but reiterated it found no evidence of alien activity. The Pentagon, working with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and other government agencies, has received a total of 1,652 reports to date, according to the newly released annual report, including 757 new reports between May 2023 and June 2024. The topic of UAPs has garnered tremendous public attention, fueled in part by its inextricable link to UFO sightings and conspiracy theories about the US government hiding evidence of aliens. “It is also important to underscore that, to date, AARO has discovered no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology,” said Kosloski. None of these closed cases were the result of foreign adversaries or a breakthrough in advanced technologies, AARO said in their report.

Persons: ”, Jon Kosloski, UAPs, AARO, Kosloski, ” Kosloski Organizations: CNN, Pentagon, National Intelligence

☆ Pete Hegseth: Trump’s Pentagon pick aims for clash with top military leadership
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( Jeremy Herb | Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

A Princeton and Harvard grad, Hegseth was CEO of the conservative veteran’s advocacy organization, Concerned Veterans for America, beginning in 2006. He has 20 years’ experience in the military, having served in the Army National Guard as an infantry officer from 2002 to 2021 and leaving service as a major, according to military service records. He also worked as a guard at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from June 2004 to April 2005. Hegseth has been awarded two Bronze Stars from his combat service. In one June interview on Fox, Hegseth bemoaned the state of the US military’s procurement system and the threat posed by China’s growing military.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Pete Hegseth, Hegseth, CQ Brown, —, “ Fox, ”, Trump, ” John Noonan, ‘ You’ve, Hugh Hewitt, “, they’re, Shawn Ryan, you’ve, ” Hegseth, Brown, Staff —, shouldn’t, Obama, Ben Shapiro, America Allison Jaslow —, who’ve, ” Jaslow, –, Biden, neocon, Hegseth –, neocon ”, he’s, ’, they’ve, Vladimir Putin’s “, Ryan, King, warcrimes, Matthew Golsteyn, Clint Lorance –, Eddie Gallagher, Mark Esper, Gallagher, Golsteyn, Lorance, Jaslow, Tim Parlatore, “ Everyone’s, ” CNN’s Oren Liebermann Organizations: CNN, Fox News, Joint Chiefs, Army National Guard, Star, Pentagon, Trump, Princeton, Harvard grad, Veterans, Republican, Defense Department, Armed, Navy, of Defense, Staff, Air Force, Army Ranger School, Army Special Forces, Naval, Warfare Command, Afghanistan Veterans, Ranger School, Defense, Iraq, Fox, United, “ Fox, ”, warcrimes CNN, United States Senate Locations: China, Ukraine, America, Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Washington, United States, Washington ,, Trump, Europe, Poland

☆ US carries out second consecutive night of strikes in Yemen, US defense official says
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-11 | by ( Oren Liebermann | Karina Tsui | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The United States has carried out a second consecutive night of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, a US defense official said Sunday. Details of the types of weapons, targets or locations of the strikes were not immediately available, though there were reports of explosions in the Amran and Saada governorates, north of the capital of Sanaa, where the US has carried out strikes in the past. They say they won’t stop striking Israel and its allies until a ceasefire is reached in the Palestinian enclave. The US has struck Houthis targets in Yemen multiple times over the last 11 months but the attacks have continued. In mid-October, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that the US struck the militant group using stealth B-2 bombers for the first time.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, Joe Biden, Austin, ” Organizations: CNN, US, Hamas, United Nations, Refugee, ” CNN Locations: United States, Yemen, Saada, Sanaa, Iran, Aden, The, Suez, Syria, Gaza, Iraq, Israel, Saudi, Lebanon

☆ Large group of Russian and North Korean forces prepared to retake Russia’s Kursk region from Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-10 | by ( Alex Marquardt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that about 11,000 North Korean soldiers are in the region, where Ukraine’s three-month military incursion into Russian territory has stalled. The New York Times reported Sunday that some 50,000 Russia and North Korean troops are set to take part in the assault. Reports that North Korea was sending troops to Russia began appearing last month, though both countries dismissed the allegations at the time. Russia and North Korea, both pariahs in the West, have forged increasingly friendly ties since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine invaded the Kursk region over the summer, shocking Russia, in the first invasion of the country since World War II.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, hasn’t, Donald Trump, Trump, Ohio Sen, JD Vance, Vladimir Putin, ” Trump, Zelensky, Elon Musk, Biden, CNN’s Jack Forrest, Helen Regan, Svitlana Vlasova, Tara John, Victoria Butenko, Nic Robertson, Kristen Holmes, Natasha Bertrand, Haley Britzky, Oren Liebermann Organizations: CNN, Russia, Sunday, The New York Times, Ukraine, US, NATO, Republican, Pentagon Locations: Russia’s Kursk, Russia, North, Korea, North Korea, Ukraine, Kursk, Moscow, Budapest, Kyiv, “, Ukrainian

☆ US carries out strikes against Houthis in Yemen, defense official says
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-09 | by ( Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The US carried out a series of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen late Saturday evening, according to a US defense official, targeting numerous weapons storage facilities across at least three locations. The facilities housed advanced conventional weapons used to target ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, said the official, who added that the US used fighter jets to carry out the attack. The Iran-backed Houthis have for months targeted ships in the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest waterways, calling the attacks a response to Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas. The Houthis, Hamas and Hezbollah are all part of an Iran-led alliance spanning Yemen, Syria, Gaza and Iraq that has attacked Israel and its allies since the war began last year. Austin said he authorized the strikes at the direction of President Joe Biden to “further degrade” the Houthis’ capabilities.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, Austin, Joe Biden, “, ”, CNN’s Haley Britzky Organizations: CNN Locations: Yemen, Aden, Iran, Red, Gaza, Syria, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon

☆ Pentagon officials discussing how to respond if Trump issues controversial orders
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-08 | by ( Natasha Bertrand | Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Pentagon officials are holding informal discussions about how the Department of Defense would respond if Donald Trump issues orders to deploy active-duty troops domestically and fire large swaths of apolitical staffers, defense officials told CNN. “Troops are compelled by law to disobey unlawful orders,” said another defense official. “But the question is what happens then – do we see resignations from senior military leaders? At the time, defense officials tried to include as few civilian employees as possible to limit the impact to the workforce, sources said. But “there are still ways a new administration could work around these protections,” a defense official said, even if it might take several months to do so.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, ”, Mark Milley, “, Defense Lloyd Austin, Milley, John Kelly, Trump’s, Kelly, Hitler’s, Biden, –, George Floyd, …, Austin, ” CNN’s Oren Liebermann Organizations: CNN, Pentagon, Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs, Staff, ”, “ Troops, Trump, White, DoD, Defense, National Guard, White House, Defense Department, Customs, Reserves, Army, Congress, United States, Civilian, National Security and Intelligence, Management Locations: ’, ”, Hitler’s Nazi, United States

Officials said they hope it will speed up the maintenance and repairs of weapons systems being used by the Ukrainian military. “In order to help Ukraine repair and maintain military equipment provided by the US and its allies, DoD (Department of Defense) is soliciting bids for a small number of contractors who will help Ukraine maintain the assistance we’ve already provided,” a defense official said. Allowing experienced, US government-funded American contractors to maintain a presence in Ukraine means they will be able to help fix damaged, high-value equipment much faster, officials have told CNN. “The Department made this decision after careful risk assessment and in coordination with interagency stakeholders,” the defense official said. Instead, it would likely result in anywhere from a few dozen to a couple hundred contractors working in Ukraine at a time.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Donald Trump, Trump Organizations: CNN, Pentagon, Russia “, US, DoD, Department of Defense, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Patriots, Biden, Russia, State Department, “ Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Ukrainian, Russian, Poland, Romania, Iraq, Afghanistan

☆ Two Navy pilots killed in jet crash had recently returned from Middle East deployment
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-21 | by ( Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Lyndsay P. Evans, 31, and Lt. Serena N. Wileman, 31, were killed after their EA-18G Growler fighter jet crashed on Tuesday. She was also awarded three Strike Flight Air Medals for contributing to missions flown between last December and March. Because of poor weather conditions and difficult terrain, the search for their downed fighter jet took three days. Search and rescue teams ultimately found the remains of the aircraft in a “remote, steep, and heavily-wooded area” at about 6,000 feet east of Rainier, the Navy said. The two often flew together on an EA-18G, according to the Navy, a modified version of an F/A-18 fighter jet.

Persons: Cmdr, Lyndsay, Evans, Serena, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Chris “, Ike, ” Wileman, ”, Miley, Aron Montano, US Navy Evans, “, ” Evans, Seattle’s King, Wileman Organizations: CNN, Naval, EA, Electronic Attack, Navy, Carrier Air, US Navy, Luke Air Force Base, Houthi Locations: Mount Rainier, Washington State, Yemen, Iran, Arizona, Rainier

CNN —The US carried out a round of strikes in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthis on Wednesday evening, according to three US defense officials, targeting weapons storage facilities, including underground facilities. The strikes were carried out by B-2 Spirit bombers, according to one of the officials, marking the first time the US has used the strategic stealth bomber to attack the Houthis in Yemen since the beginning of the US campaign. Over the past year, the US has repeatedly struck or intercepted Houthi drones and missiles in an effort to protect ships and degrade the Houthi arsenal. In September, the Houthis claimed to have launched approximately two dozen ballistic and cruise missiles and drones against three US destroyers. The Israeli military said on the latter attack, Israel had intercepted a surface-to-air missile fired from Yemen toward central Israel.

Persons: Sabrina Singh, “, ” Singh, ”, ” CENTCOM, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Organizations: CNN, US, Pentagon, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Yemen, Iran, Aden, Israel, Lebanon, Hamas, Gaza

UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon) armoured personnel carriers depart a base to patrol near the Lebanon- Israel border on October 5. UNIFIL — the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon — has called the violations “shocking” while Israel has accused Hezbollah of operating in areas near UNIFIL posts. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was established by the UN Security Council following Israel’s first invasion into southern Lebanon in 1978. It acts as a de-facto border between the two countries since Lebanon and Israel have an ongoing border dispute. The UNIFIL troops are tasked with monitoring border violations and keeping the area, which includes Hezbollah strongholds — secure.

Persons: Carl Court, Lebanon — Organizations: UNIFIL, United Nations Interim Force, UN, UNIFIL — Locations: Lebanon, Israel, UNIFIL, Indonesia, Italy, India, Nepal, Ghana, Malaysia

☆ Drownings of two Navy SEALs off Somalia were preventable, Navy investigation finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-11 | by ( Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The drownings of two Navy SEALs during a maritime intercept off the coast of Somalia were preventable, caused by a lack of proper training and unclear guidance on effective flotation, a Navy investigation found. Loaded with gear for the intercept mission, the two Navy SEALs went under in less than a minute. “The entire tragic event elapsed in just forty-seven (47) seconds, and two [Naval Special Warfare] officers were lost to the sea,” the investigation found. Naval Special Warfare SEAL Team Three deployed on board the USS Lewis B. Puller in December 2023. The Navy highlights the need for “positive buoyancy” – the ability to stay afloat – for boarding team members.

Persons: Christopher Chambers, Nathan Ingram, Chambers, Ingram, ”, Michael “ Erik ” Kurilla, Lewis B, Puller, “ Organizations: CNN, Navy, Warfare, Special Warfare Command, US Central Command, Special Warfare, Naval Service, Special Warfare Force, Tactical Locations: Somalia, Yemen, San Diego

On the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks, Gaza’s north was hit with more Israeli strikes, with no end in sight to the war devastating the enclave. Israel’s objective of defeating Hamas still seems far from reach as its military offensives in Gaza continue to ramp up. Israel launched a new ground operation in northern Gaza on Sunday and encircled the Jabalya refugee camp, where it says it saw signs of Hamas regrouping. Earlier this year, Israel’s military said it had defeated Hamas in northern Gaza, only to announce new offensives there in May. The camp was targeted early on in Israel’s response to Hamas’ attacks one year ago and has been struck several times during the war.

Persons: ”, haven’t, ” Lena, Philippe Lazzarini Organizations: Hamas, United Nations, Residents, CNN, Mercy Corps, UN, UNRWA Locations: Gaza, Israel, Jabalya, Israeli

As with Gaza, US officials say Israel was initially planning for a much larger ground incursion into Lebanon before the US convinced it to scale back. ‘The right moment’ for diplomacyThe US still wants to see Lebanon ceasefire talks resume, officials said, and US officials continue to believe that the conflict can only be resolved diplomatically. Nasrallah and other members of Hezbollah’s senior leadership are now dead as a result of Israel’s operations in Lebanon. Earlier in the day, a reluctant Biden told reporters he’d be “comfortable with [Israel] stopping” the campaign in Lebanon that risked further inflaming the region. Behind closed doors, sources say, Biden offered reluctant support for eliminating Hezbollah infrastructure along Israel’s border and in southern Lebanon, as long as Israel’s operations remained limited in nature.

Persons: Israel upended, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Biden, Israel, Matthew Miller, that’s, Joe Biden, ” Alon Pinkas, Yoav Gallant, Lloyd Austin, Gallant, Pinkas, ” Pinkas, Netanyahu, Hassan Nasrallah, ” Gallant, ‘, “ We’re, Karine Jean, Pierre, ”, Nasrallah, Austin, “, “ What’s, Antony Blinken, CQ Brown, National Intelligence Avril Haines –, he’d, hasn’t, ” Maj, Patrick Ryder, ” Israel, Ryder, Miller, CNN’s MJ Lee, Alex Marquardt Organizations: CNN, Biden, White House, Hamas, ”, ” Senior, US, Israeli, Israel, Iran, Joint Chiefs, National Intelligence, Pentagon, State Department Locations: Lebanon, Iran, Gaza, Israel, France, ”, Washington, Israeli, New York, Beirut, Lebanese, “, Austin, Beirut’s

Ilia Yefimovich/dpa/APThis week’s ground incursion into southern Lebanon is the latest chapter in a long history of Israel sending its troops into the territory of its northern neighbor. In response, Israel occupied most of the southern part of the country, despite Lebanon’s claims it had nothing to do with the bus attack. But it resulted in a years-long occupation of southern Lebanon and Israeli troops bogged down in a protracted and increasingly unpopular war. Israeli troops withdrew from West Beirut after that but continued to occupy southern Lebanon until 2000. 2006: In 2006, Hezbollah militants infiltrated Israel in a surprise attack, killing eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapping two more in an attempt to prompt a prisoner exchange.

Persons: Ilia Yefimovich, Israel, Sabra, Shatila Organizations: Palestinian Liberation Organization, PLO, United Nations Interim Force, Christian Lebanese, UN, Human Rights Watch, IDF Locations: Lebanon, Israel, UNIFIL, West Beirut

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gives a televised address, Lebanon, September 19, 2024, in this screenshot taken from a video. “I don’t see how this doesn’t go much wider soon,” said one senior Western official. Hezbollah will almost certainly respond, according to Jonathan Panikoff, a former senior intelligence official specializing in the region, and Iran is likely to play a role. A senior US official said the US believes Iran will intervene in the conflict if they judge that they are about to “lose” Hezbollah. US officials have long assessed that senior Hezbollah leadership has wanted to avoid all-out war with Israel, even as fighting has intensified in recent months.

Persons: Hassan Nasrallah, Joe Biden’s, “, ”, Jonathan Panikoff, ” Panikoff, Nasrallah, Mick Mulroy Organizations: Reuters, Western, US, Hezbollah, Israel, Middle, Defense Department Locations: Lebanon, Beirut, Iran, Tehran, Israel

☆ China’s newest nuclear-powered submarine sank earlier this year, US official says
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-26 | by ( Oren Liebermann | Paul P. Murphy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —China’s newest nuclear-powered submarine sank pierside in the spring and the Chinese Navy tried to conceal the loss, according to two US defense officials. The attack submarine was the first of its new Zhou-class line of vessels, the official said, under construction at a shipyard near the city of Wuhan. “It’s not surprising that the PLA Navy would try to conceal the fact that their new first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank pierside,” said the senior US defense official. According to the latest China military power report from 2023, the PLA Navy operates six nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines, and 48 diesel-powered attack submarines. The PLA Navy has 370 platforms, which includes 234 warships, according to CRS, while the US has 219 warships.

Persons: The Zhou, Zhou, It’s, ”, Tom Shugart, “ I’ve, ” Shugart, Shugart Organizations: CNN, Chinese Navy, Maxar Technologies, PLA Navy, Center, New, New American Security, People’s Liberation Army, PLA ) Navy, US Navy, Street Journal, Congressional Research Service, Navy, CRS Locations: Wuhan, The, New American, Beijing, United States, China, Washington ,

☆ US announces $375 million aid package for Ukraine as Biden administration pledges ‘unwavering support’
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-25 | by ( Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The US announced a $375 million aid package for Ukraine on Wednesday as the Biden administration pledged “unwavering support” to the war-torn country. The plan includes Kyiv’s long-stated request to use US-manufactured long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia, an ask that the Biden administration has repeatedly denied. which the Biden administration has repeatedly denied. The Biden administration has nearly $6 billion left in unused presidential drawdown authority that is set to expire at the end of the month. A shortage in excess stockpiles of weapons the US was willing to send Ukraine forced the Biden administration to announce smaller military aid packages of approximately $200 million over the last several months.

Persons: Biden, ”, Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Kamala Harris, ” Biden Organizations: CNN, US, Ukraine, United Nations General Assembly, White, UN, Wednesday Locations: Ukraine, Washington, Russia

Israel’s aerial bombardment killed nearly 500 people, including at least 35 children and 58 women, according to Lebanese authorities. That’s nearly half the number killed throughout the entire 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. Lebanese civilians know all too well how frightening the Israeli military’s attempts to target Hezbollah can be. On Friday, Israeli jets carried out an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs, in which they killed several senior Hezbollah commanders. But the missiles also destroyed a nine-story building in a densely populated neighborhood, killing 45 people, including women and children.

Persons: Bilal Hussein, That’s Organizations: AP Locations: Beirut's, AP Lebanon, Israel, The Iran, Beirut’s, Lebanon

☆ US Navy replenishment ship sustains damage while operating in Middle East, official says
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-24 | by ( Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A US Navy replenishment ship sustained damage while operating in the Middle East in an incident that remains under investigation, according to a Navy official. The USNS Big Horn was damaged after the ship refueled and replenished Navy vessels operating in the region, including the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and several guided-missile destroyers. The Navy official would not say where the incident occurred or what type of damage the replenishment oiler sustained. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group has been operating in and around the Gulf of Oman in an effort to send a message of deterrence to Iran. All crew members on board the ship are safe, and US 5th Fleet, which controls Navy operations in the Middle East, is assessing the situation, the official added.

Persons: Big Horn, Abraham Lincoln, ” Organizations: CNN, Navy, Big, Fleet Locations: Gulf of Oman, Iran

“We are the closest we’ve been to spiraling to a regional war” since Hamas’ October 7 attack, one of the officials said. The US assesses that neither Israel nor Hezbollah are interested in a full-scale war, officials said. On Monday, Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, warned of “dangerous consequences” following Israel’s strikes. Israel has told the US that a full-scale war is not the intent of its strikes, according to an Israeli official. The goal is a diplomatic solution through escalation, the Israeli official said.

Persons: “, Israel, Nasser Kanaani, “ They’ve, Joe Biden’s, ” “, Daniel Hagari, Hagari, ” Hagari, Hassan Nasrallah, Ismail Haniyeh, Masoud Pezeshkian, “ Ismail Haniyeh, ” Pezeshkian, “ Israel Organizations: CNN, Ramat David, State Department, UN, Assembly, Pentagon, General Assembly, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, Hezbollah Locations: Israel, Lebanon, East, Beirut, Ramat, Haifa, Iran, Tehran, New York, “, Gaza

☆ US soldier who fled to North Korea sentenced to one year in confinement and dishonorable discharge
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-20 | by ( Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The US soldier who ran across the border from South to North Korea last year was sentenced Friday to one year in confinement and dishonorable discharge after pleading guilty to charges of desertion and assault. The time King spent in confinement after his apprehension will count toward his sentence, the Army said. Military officials previously said that in July 2023 King “willfully and without authorization” crossed into North Korea shortly after he was released from a detention facility in South Korea. One day later, King joined a tour of the Joint Security Area in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea from which he fled across the demarcation line and into Pyongyang’s custody. Several months later, the US received word that North Korea wanted to return King.

Persons: Travis King, King, “, Travis, ”, Franklin Rosenblatt, ” Rosenblatt, Michelle McCaskill, King “ Organizations: CNN, US Army Office, Army, Military, Army’s, Joint Security Area, DPRK, US Army Locations: South, North Korea, Fort Bliss , Texas, South Korea, Seoul, United States, North, Korea, Swedish, China

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