Staff Writer With AFP
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Business
Huntington Ingalls Industries Awarded $145 Million Contract for Amphibious Assault Ship LHA 9
Huntington Ingalls Industries announced that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a third contract modification from the US Navy for $145 million to provide long-lead-time material and advance procurement activities for amphibious assault ship LHA 9. This modification brings the total advance funding for LHA 9 to $350 million. “This advance procurement contract will help protect the health of our supplier base and strengthen our efforts to efficiently modernize the nation’s amphibious fleet as we continue to build amphibious ships for the Navy,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias said. Ingalls is the sole builder of large-deck amphibious ships for the Navy. The shipyard delivered its first amphibious assault ship, the Iwo Jima-class USS Tripoli (LPH 10), in 1966. Ingalls has since built five Tarawa-class (LHA 1) ships, eight Wasp-class (LHD 1) ships and the first in a new class of amphibious assault ships, America (LHA 6), in 2014. The second ship in that class, Tripoli (LHA 7), was delivered to the Navy earlier this year. Bougainville (LHA 8) is under construction. Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more …
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Africa
Egypt’s Sisi Says Turkey/Qatar-Backed Assault on Libya’s Sirte Is ‘Red Line’
Egypt’s president warned Saturday that advances by Turkey-backed Libyan forces on the Libyan city of Sirte could prompt an Egyptian military intervention in the neighboring country in support of Cairo’s ally Khalifa Haftar. Meanwhile, Ankara has urged forces led by the eastern-based Haftar to withdraw from the strategic city for a ceasefire agreement to be reached. The UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli has made major military gains against Haftar’s forces recently thanks to increased support from its backer Turkey. The key city of Sirte, which lies some 280 miles east of the capital, is under the control of Haftar’s forces, who last year launched a recently aborted attempt to seize control of western Libya. In a televised address, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Sirte is a “red line” for Egypt, citing the need to protect its porous border as grounds for “direct intervention” in Libya. “If the Libyan people asked us to intervene, it is a signal to the world that Egypt and Libya share … common interests, security and stability,” Sisi said on Saturday. The GNA denounced Sisi’s warning, saying any intervention would be a threat to Libya’s security. “We strongly reject what was said …
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Asia Pacific
US Navy Confirms Demotion of Captain of Virus-Hit Carrier
The US Navy said Friday it would not reinstate the captain of a coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier, saying he was in part to blame for the severity of the crisis on the warship. Admiral Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, said Brett Crozier, who was fired as captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt in April, was guilty of “questionable judgment” in handling an outbreak of COVID-19 aboard the nuclear-powered ship in March. Gilday likewise faulted Rear Admiral Stuart Baker, Crozier’s direct supervisor as the carrier’s strike group commander, for poor leadership. “It is my belief that both Admiral Baker and Captain Crozier fell well short of what we expect of those in command,” Gilday said. “In reviewing both Admiral Baker’s and Captain Crozier’s actions, they did not do enough, soon enough, to fulfill their primary obligation” to keep the ship’s 5,000 crew safe. After a two-month investigation, the Navy decided that Crozier would not return to the Roosevelt and not be eligible to captain another ship. Baker’s expected promotion meanwhile has been placed on hold, pending further review. The coronavirus outbreak onboard the Roosevelt was one of the first US crises of the pandemic, crippling the massive ship and forcing it …
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Africa
Al-Qaeda North Africa Confirms Chief Is Dead: SITE
Al-Qaeda's North Africa wing has confirmed that its Algerian chief Abdelmalek Droukdel is dead, according to SITE, the US watchdog for extremist groups.
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Africa
UN Accuses Multiple Countries of Quietly Sending Arms to DR Congo
DR Congo's military is receiving weapons and training from multiple countries without notifying the UN as required by a 2004 resolution.
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Africa
Nigeria Attacks Spark Fears of Bloodier Jihadist Strategy
People in northeast Nigeria are no strangers to horror after a decade-long jihadist insurgency, but a flurry of bloody assaults has ramped up fears that a powerful jihadist faction may be opening a grim new chapter.
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Middle East
Rockets Hit Baghdad’s Green Zone for the Fifth Time in 10 Days
Rockets hit Baghdad's Green Zone, home to the US embassy, on Thursday, the fifth such attack in 10 days.
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Africa
Cameroon General Says Troops Kill 24 Separatists
Troops carrying out raids in a western region of Cameroon have killed 24 people described as separatists, a general said.
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Middle East
Turkey Hits PKK in Iraq: Why Now and How Far Could It Go?
Turkey launched a rare ground assault into northern Iraq, deploying special forces against rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party which is blacklisted by Ankara as a 'terrorist' group.
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Middle East
Taliban Raids on Afghan Security Posts Kill 18
Taliban fighters killed at least 18 Afghan security personnel Wednesday in two attacks on checkpoints in the north.
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