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Iran continues to provide “calibrated lethal aide to the Taliban” in Afghanistan to help the group conduct attacks on U.S. and Western security forces operating in the country, according to a new report published by the Pentagon.

Russia is willing to wait until the end of the year for France to make good on the delivery of the first ship in two hull amphibious warship deal that has been held up since September, according to a Thursday report in Russian news service RIA Novosti.

Zhong Jianhua, China’s Special Representative for African Affairs, is in many ways surprisingly candid and disarming. In a recent interview with Independent Newspapers, Zhong, China’s previous ambassador to South Africa, happily acknowledged the deficiencies in China’s understanding of the South Sudan conflict, which is the current focus of his attention.

Since the insurgency began in 2009, the military’s response has been both slow and inadequate. Residents report seeing soldiers running away during confrontations with Boko Haram. Soldiers say they do not have enough equipment — they often appear to lack protective gear — and do not get paid on time, if at all. Recently, a military tribunal sentenced 12 soldiers to death for attempted murder and mutiny; they had shot at their commanding officer after a convoy of their fellow soldiers was ambushed by Boko Haram.