Putin leads Russian naval parade after crackdown in Moscow
Russian President Vladimir Putin led Russia’s first major naval parade in years on July 28, the day after a violent police crackdown on anti-government protesters in Moscow.
Putin went aboard one of the vessels in the Navy Day parade in St. Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland. The parade, the biggest in years, included 43 ships and submarines and 4,000 troops.
Putin was spending the weekend away from Moscow, the Russian capital, where nearly 1,400 people were detained Saturday in a violent police crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. A Russian group that monitors police arrests gave the figure Sunday, saying it was the largest number of detentions at a rally in the Russian capital this decade.
Police wielded batons and wrestled with protesters around the Moscow City Hall after thousands thronged nearby streets, rallying against a move by election authorities to bar opposition candidates from the Sept. 8 ballot for the Moscow city council. AP
Israel, U.S. test long-range missile defense system in Alaska
Israel and the United States completed a series of tests of the new long-range missile defense system in Alaska.
A spokesperson with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said in a statement the Arrow Weapon System testing including the successful interception of an “enemy” target. The tests were conducted at Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska in Kodiak.
MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill says the success in Kodiak helps with confidence in Israel’s ability to defeat the developing threats in its home region.
The Israel Missile Defense Organization director Moshe Patel said the fact the tests were conducted tens of thousands of kilometers away from Israel, demonstrates the capabilities of the Arrow 3 system. AP
Belgrade leader praises Putin for boosting Serbia’s military
Serbia’s leader has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin for boosting Serbia’s military with battle tanks and armored vehicles, amid Western fears that the arms buildup could threaten a fragile peace in the Balkans.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was speaking July 29 during inspection of 10 recently arrived Russian armored patrol vehicles at a Serbian army military base. The vehicles have been delivered despite neighboring Romania’s refusal to let them transit via the Danube River because of international sanctions in place against Moscow over its actions in Ukraine.
Media reports say Russia flew 10 armored vehicles to Serbia last week on its transport planes. AP
UN: Afghan forces, NATO killed more civilians in 2019
The U.N. mission in Afghanistan says that more civilians were killed by Afghan and NATO forces than by insurgents in the first half of 2019.
Most of the civilian casualties were inflicted during Afghan and NATO operations, such as airstrikes and night raids on militant hideouts.
The U.N. report, which was released on July 30, says 403 civilians were killed by Afghan forces in the first six months of the year and another 314 by international forces, a total of 717.
That’s compared to 531 killed by the Taliban, an Islamic State affiliate and other militants during the same period.
The U.N. report says 300 of those killed by militants were directly targeted. The last six months have seen the Taliban carry out near-daily attacks, mainly targeting security forces. AP