Army recruitment hits its target, the PM wields the axe in the reshuffle and Sinn Fein gains influence in the Irish election

Summary: The Army has some rare good news on the shortfalls in its ranks. A surprisingly busy cabinet reshuffle. any defence implications? Parts of Africa’s Sahel region, is currently at the centre of huge conflict with different armed groups, including Al Qaeda and Islamic State. The United States is a hundred percent committed to NATO.  So says a US General involved in the planning of the largest deployment of U.S.-based forces to Europe for an exercise in more than 25 years.