Congressional support built Wednesday for increased U.S. military assistance to Jordan following a video purporting to show Islamic State militants burning a captured Jordanian air force pilot to death.

Supplying new weapons to Iraq and refurbishing its poorly maintained war stocks has become an urgent priority for Barack Obama’s administration after nearly half the Iraqi Army that was trained and equipped by U.S. forces before 2011 — or about 24 brigades out of 50 — unraveled last summer in the face of the Islamic State’s brutal onslaught.

The United States, Japan, and South Korea signed a military pact that will lead to the three countries sharing intelligence and other sensitive information on North Korea’s progress toward a nuclear missile as well as the state of the country’s general military preparedness.

Britain is to establish its first permanent military base in the Middle East since it formally withdrew from the region in 1971.  The base, at the Mina Salman Port in Bahrain, will host ships including destroyers and aircraft carriers.  The UK said it was an "expansion of the Royal Navy's footprint" and would "reinforce stability" in the Gulf.

Militaries around the world are increasingly tasked with complex humanitarian missions that extend beyond their traditional role. Such missions include development, diplomacy, stability, and peacekeeping operations, and often entail long-term engagements with civilian populations in conflict or disaster zones.

Some 2,200 Polish and British troops are taking part in joint tactical training this month that is part of NATO's reaction to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.