[BartSimpson]

As per the usual, this is Chatter. It's something I heard from someone who picked it up.

Take it with a grain of salt.

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The old Federal House in Bonn, Germany in May hosted a meeting of military representatives from various EU countries to discuss what was termed as upcoming military unification. The UK was not invited and Italy reportedly did not send a representative.

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Pakistan is waging war on illegal religious schools (madrassas) and a reported 182 have been seized and closed this year.

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Afghanistan has responded to Pakistani corruption by redirecting over 70% of their shipping to the unsanctioned Iranian port of Chabahar. The approximate $5 billion in annual trade used to transit Pakistan and then ship out via Pakistani ports. The Afghans are doing this in response to the Afghan-Pakistan border frequently and arbitrarily being closed to Afghan trade while remaining open to Pakistani trade.

It is also suspected that the Iranians are subsidizing the Afghan trade in order to help camouflage Iranian trade that accompanies the Afghan trade.

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India sent 45 commandos to reinforce their embassy in Baghdad.

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Despite the protests of European nations and the EU bureaucracy the Kenyans will be closing the Dadaab Refugee camp and ordering its ~230,000 Somali occupants to return to Somalia. This is starting immediately and is supposed to be completed before the end of July.

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North Korea developed an app to spy on the cell phones of the few North Koreans to have access to cell phones. Anyone failing to install the app has been told they will face decades in prison camps with their families.

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Iran and Syria signed a formal agreement to restore Syrian control of all of Syria. No comment from Turkey.

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Russia is increasing their presence in Venezuela. At least three distinct units of the Zasion (special forces) have been positively identified in country advising and training and operating along side Maduro's forces. The Russian SVR (their foreign intelligence agency) is also identified as participating in the arrests and interrogations of opposition leaders.

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The Russians are also peeved that their KrasMash weapons facility is partly destroyed with the rest heavily damaged after an explosion and fire. The destruction has impacted the production of the RS-28 Satan 2 ICBM and components of other liquid fueled ballistic missiles and satellite launchers. Russian investigative activity indicates that this event was part of the low-level war with Ukraine in which both sides have been sabotaging each other's weapons production factories.

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NATO-Ukraine military training stepped up in early 2019. The Joint Multinational Training Group - Ukraine (JMTG-U) brought in 150 US troops plus an undisclosed number of other NATO troops to develop five Ukrainian infantry battalions per year that are capable and equipped for integration and close cooperation with NATO ground forces. The US Army 101st Airborne Division sent a contingent of troops, NCO, and officers to train their Ukrainian counterparts.

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Turkey has upgraded their border security in the portion of Syria that they recently and illegally annexed. Turkey asserts that the measure is to deter refugees from entering Turkey.

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The US Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program has been cut from a planned 55 ships to just 30. The LCS has been plagued with faulty designs, poor materials, shoddy workmanship, and extensive cost overruns due to the problems incurred by a pathetically ineffective procurement process.

Which leads to the US Navy starting to come up with requirements for a new class of frigates to fill the hole left by the cancelled LCS hulls. Several European designs are being studied and several members of Congress (bipartisan) are considering altering US law to allow the procurement of foreign built ships outside of the patronage system that is built into US military procurements.

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UK Royal Air Force recon groups were recently recognized by the Pentagon and President Trump for their outstanding performance in Syria and Iraq. US forces have come to rely on the UK's particular recon and analysis skills in the region.

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That is all.

[xerxes]

$1:

Pakistan is waging war on illegal religious schools (madrassas) and a reported 182 have been seized and closed this year.

If so, good for then. Religious extremists there are the biggest threat to the powers that be there.

$1:

North Korea developed an app to spy on the cell phones of the few North Koreans to have access to cell phones. Anyone failing to install the app has been told they will face decades in prison camps with their families.

As opposed to the lifelong sentence of living in the DPRK to begin with?

[BartSimpson]

xerxes xerxes:

As opposed to the lifelong sentence of living in the DPRK to begin with?

That made me chuckle.

Yeah, even if you live in a shithole like DPRK it can still get worse.