US steps up in Somalia as al-Shabab proves a stubborn foe

With frequent suicide bombings and assaults on Somalia’s hotels and military targets, the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab has proved more resilient than expected, leading President Donald Trump’s administration to pursue wider military involvement here as current strategies, including drone attacks, are not enough, security experts say. Senior U.S. officials have said the Pentagon wants to expand the military’s efforts to battle the al-Qaida-linked group.

.com | Russia, China veto UN resolution on Syria sanctions

Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a Western-backed UN resolution that would have imposed sanctions on Syria over chemical weapons use, in the first clash at the Security Council since US President Donald Trump took office. The twin vetoes came as peace talks in Geneva showed no signs of progress on ending the nearly six-year war in Syria.

More industry players taking part in Lima 2017

Aerial power: EN Projects chief executive officer Shaun Jacobson briefing Hishammuddin and Liow during their official visit to the venue for the coming Lima 2017. LANGKAWI: A total of 505 companies from 36 countries will be taking part in the five-day Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace 2017 here starting from March 21. Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the showcase would feature half of the world’s top 100 maritime and aerospace suppliers.

Iraqi forces advance in Mosul, strike IS inside Syria

The advance comes as part of a major assault that started five days earlier to drive Islamic State militants from the western ha… . An Iraqi military helicopter prepare to attacks Islamic State group positions as Iraqi special forces advance towards the western side of Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017.

Today in History

On Feb. 18, 1977, the space shuttle prototype Enterprise, sitting atop a Boeing 747, went on its debut “flight” above Edwards Air Force Base in California. In 1913, Mexican President Francisco I. Madero and Vice President Jose Maria Pino Suarez were arrested during a military coup .

Trump, Abe express close bonds after NKorea’s missile launch

A man watches a TV news program reporting about North Korea’s missile launch with a file image of a North Korean missile at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. North Korea reportedly fired a ballistic missile early Sunday in what would be its first such test of the year and an implicit challenge to President Donald Trump’s new administration.

Dozens killed in Saudi push to take Yemeni port

News selected on topics and regions – oil and gas, business, politics, IT, the South Caucasus, the Caspian Sea region, Central Asia Ranking of the Azerbaijani banking sector Nearly three dozen people have been killed after Houthi fighters and militias loyal to resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi clashed for the control of a strategic coastal city in Ta’izz province, Press TV reported. The clashes took place in the Red Sea port city of Mokha on Wednesday in which at least eight Saudi mercenaries were killed, medical sources said.

.com | Somalia’s presidential election heads into second round

Somalia’s groundbreaking presidential election moved into a second round on Wednesday as the number of candidates dropped from 21 to three, while a security lockdown closed the capital’s international airport and cleared major streets. Incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud held a slight lead over former prime minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, 88 votes to 72. With at least one of the remaining candidates having dual citizenship, Somalia could end up with a president who also holds a US passport, Farmajo.

Somalia elects first new president in decades

Somalia elects first new president in decades Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo is a former prime minister with dual Somali-.U.S. citizenship. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2k4IB7w Newly elected president of Somalia and former prime minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo gestures as he makes an address on Feb. 8, 2017, in Mogadishu.

Graft, threats as Somalia faces historic presidential vote

Somali soldiers prepare to secure the capital on the eve of presidential elections, at a police academy in Mogadishu, Somalia Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. Graft – vote-buying, fraud, intimidation – is the top concern in a nation that Transparency International now rates as the most corrupt in the world and Mogadishu is in lockdown because of the threat of violence by homegrown Islamic extremist group al-Shabab.

White House Publishes List of 78 Terror Attacks It Says Media Ignored

The White House on Monday released a list of terror attacks around the world that it says the U.S. media “ignored.” While the list of 78 incidents does include major attacks that were covered, such as in Nice and Paris, France; San Bernardino, California; and Orlando, Florida; it also highlights killings in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Parramatta, Australia; and Zvornik, Bosnia that got little attention.

The Latest: Trump press need for tougher immigration checks

President Donald Trump is pressing the need for more stringent screening while his immigration order is on hold by the courts. Trump says in remarks at the U.S. Central Command at the MacDill Air Force base in Florida that, “We need strong programs” so that “people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in” and those who “want to destroy us and destroy our country” are kept out.

UK Royal Air Force Added to the Military Space Situational Awareness Presentation Line-Up

In the run-up to the event, SMi Group adds a new expert presenter to Military Space Situational Awareness 2017: Air Commodore Alan Gillespie, Battlespace Management Force Commander of the UK Royal Air Force. London, United Kingdom, February 03, 2017 — — Taking place in London, United Kingdom, the event will give attendees the chance to discuss key topics that affect space situational awareness; from space-borne sensors to effective information management system with leaders from around the world.

Yemen Aftermath: Trump’s First Military Raid Continues To Raise Questions

The tribal delegation visiting Sheikh Abdelraouf al-Dhahab was still talking in the very early hours of the morning last Sunday when his nephew, Abdullah, noticed strangers approaching on foot across the rocky, inhospitable terrain of central Yemen. According to accounts by locals, this was the way the battle began with U.S. special operations forces and some of their allies, which would unfold over several hours on the ground – and end with an aerial bombardment.

Abengoa Abengoa restarts activities in Spain after being awarded…

Abengoa , the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, has been awarded three new electricity transmission and distribution projects in Spain. The first of these projects will be undertaken for the Department of the United States Air Force in Moron de la Frontera , while the other two will be performed in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Lugo for the Spanish Energy Grid .

Trump’s Vainglorious Affront to the C.I.A.

The death of Robert Ames, who was America’s top intelligence officer for the Middle East, is commemorated among the hundred and seventeen stars on the white marble Memorial Wall at C.I.A. headquarters, in Langley, Virginia. He served long years in the region’s hellholes-Beirut; Tehran; Sanaa, Yemen; Kuwait City; and Cairo-often in the midst of war or turmoil.

‘On that stage’

US Navy Petty Officer Josua Waqa, 23, was among the 15 ceremonial guardsmen who took part in yesterday’s historic event at the White House in Washington DC in the US. Picture: US MILITARY Her son, US Navy Petty Officer Josua Waqa, 23, was among the 15 ceremonial guardsmen who took part at yesterday’s historic event at the White House in Washington DC in the US.

Atlas V rocket blasts off with missile warning satellite

The rocket thundered from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Friday night, powered by a Russian main engine generating 860,000 pounds of thrust. Atlas V rocket blasts off with missile warning satellite The rocket thundered from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Friday night, powered by a Russian main engine generating 860,000 pounds of thrust.

The Latest: Relatives unhappy Flight 370 plane search ends

In this March 22, 2014, file photo, Flight Officer Jack Chen uses binoculars at an observers window on a Royal Australian Air Force P-3 Orion during the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in Southern Indian Ocean, Australia. The Joint Agency Coordination Center in Australia said Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017 that the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 had officially been suspended after crews finished their fruitless sweep of the 120,000-square kilometer search zone west of Australia.

Elon Musk And The American Taxpayer

Elon Musk, chairman of SolarCity and CEO of Tesla Motors, speaks at SolarCity’s Inside Energy Summit in Manhattan, New York October 2, 2015. REUTERS/Rashid Umar Abbasi/File Photo If you’re ambitious to be among the first humans who travel to Mars, and you’re not afraid to die trying, you may be able to hop a flight with the blessing and financial support of Elon Musk.

US imposes sanctions on Syrian military, tech company

The Obama administration imposed sanctions Thursday on 18 Syrian government officials, Syria’s military and a tech company in response to the use of chemical weapons by President Bashar Assad’s government. The State Department slapped sanctions on the Organization for Technological Industries, which it accused of helping Syria’s ballistic missile program.

U.S. military confirms that November firefight with Taliban killed 33 civilians in Afghanistan

Afghan villagers gather on Nov. 4 around several victims’ bodies who were killed during clashes between Taliban and Afghan security forces in the Taliban-controlled, Buz-e Kandahari village in Kunduz province, Afghanistan. In a statement released Thursday, the U.S. military in Afghanistan said the results of its investigation into the November firefight shows that American troops had fired on Afghan homes, killing 33 civilians.

Air Marshal Anil Khosla takes over as AOC-IN-C Eastern Air Command, IAF

Kolkata, Jan 1 : Air Marshal Anil Khosla AVSM VM took over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Air Command on Jan 1,2017, officials said. The Air Marshal is an alumni of the National Defence Academy, was commissioned in the fighter stream of Indian Air Force in Dec 79. Air officer has to his credit over 4000 hours of accident free flying mainly on different variants of Jaguar, Mig-21 and Kiran aircraft.