SYRIA The Syrian Democratic Forces have paused their operation in Baghouz to give the people remaining in ISIS's last pocket of territory in Syria a chance to leave. An estimated 1200 have done so just in the past day or so. There were ISIS fighters among them, and the fact that they were able to … Continue reading Middle East update: February 13 2019

EUROPE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA The former Republic of Macedonia is now officially the Republic of North Macedonia. The country will roll out changes to documents, currency, license plates, etc. over the next few months. HUNGARY Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is offering to pay Hungarian women to have more Hungarian children: The latest example … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: February 12 2019

ASIA AFGHANISTAN Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan visited Afghanistan on Monday and stressed that the Trump administration has not come to a decision about any possible US troop withdrawal. The administration has been negotiating with the Taliban about a peace deal that would require the US to withdraw, and there have been rumors that … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: February 12 2019

SYRIA A car bomb hit a checkpoint near the Turkish border outside the town of al-Rai on Tuesday. Three police officers and four civilians were wounded. That area is controlled by Turkey and its proxies, so there are a number of possible suspects including the YPG, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and of course ISIS. Speaking of … Continue reading Middle East update: February 12 2019

Tonight's updates didn't really fit into any of my usual groupings, but they were too long for one post, so I mashed them together as best I could. OCEANIA AUSTRALIA Although Prime Minister Scott Morrison's approval rating is up and a plurality of Australians prefer him as PM over Labor Party leader Bill shorten, Labor is nevertheless ahead of Morrison's coalition in the latest head-to-head polling, 53 percent to 47 percent. Australia's next election is coming in May (for state … Continue reading World update part 2: February 9-10 2019

Tonight's updates didn't really fit into any of my usual groupings, but they were too long for one post, so I mashed them together as best I could. MIDDLE EAST SYRIA The Syrian Democratic Forces, with US help, announced late Saturday that they've begun the "decisive battle" to wipe out the last remnants of ISIS's "caliphate" in eastern Syria. ISIS still controls a small piece of territory around two villages in Deir Ezzor province, small enough that it can still … Continue reading World update part 1: February 9-10 2019

MIDDLE EAST SYRIA Syrian state media reported Friday that seven people were killed by a landmine in Hama province. It's likely, but not certain, that ISIS placed the mine back when it controlled part of Hama province at its territorial height. YEMEN There are no details about this that I've seen yet, but the Saudi-led … Continue reading World update: February 8 2019

MIDDLE EAST SYRIA The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the US military plans to withdraw its forces from Syria by the end of April. It's unclear whether this is a firm schedule or if there's flexibility in case there's some unforeseen complication in the anti-ISIS operation or the Trump administration hasn't negotiated an arrangement to prevent … Continue reading World update: February 7 2019

EUROPE RUSSIA With the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Vladimir Putin wants his military to develop "invincible" hypersonic missiles as a threat/deterrent to the United States. Or at least he wants people to think that's what he wants his military to do. With Russia's economy perpetually in tatters there's little reason to think … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: February 6 2019