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Added on the 29/10/2018 16:32:54 - Copyright : Wochit
The United States will deploy 1,500 additional troops to the border with Mexico, the Pentagon says, ahead of an expected surge of migrants when Covid-era restrictions are lifted next week. "For 90 days, these 1,500 military personnel, who will be sourced from the active duty component, will fill critical capability gaps, such as ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support," spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder tells reporters during a press conference. SOUNDBITE
The Pentagon has upped the number of National Guard members it wants present at President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration by 4,000. CNN reports the Pentagon on Friday authorized up to 25,000 National Guard members, marking an increase from the 21,000 troops authorized a day earlier. Law enforcement in Washington, DC, and around the country is bracing for more extremist violence after the deadly insurrection at the Capitol last week. The DOD announced Tuesday that Guardsmen and women will be armed. Law enforcement is monitoring phones and other communications in an all-out effort to track individuals to ensure they do not travel to Washington.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is expected to get emergency use authorization from the Food & Drug Administration. And according to Business Insider, the Pentagon is working with military precision to deliver the vaccine to US troops. The Pentagon announced plans on Wednesday to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine to US military personnel, starting with almost 44,000 doses. Initially, vaccination will be voluntary, as is standard practice with emergency use authorizations. However, it could eventually become mandatory.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces that the US will send “an additional 1,000 troops” to Poland, on top of the 4,500 already present there, during a press conference in Warsaw. SOUNDBITE
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper says he has approved the deployment of 3,000 additional troops and military hardware to Saudi Arabia to boost the country's defenses in the wake of attacks on its oil installations blamed on Iran. SOUNDBITE
Some 30,000 Syrians fleeing an offensive in Aleppo, mass at the Turkish border in hopes that Ankara will soon let them cross. Mana Rabiee reports.