ASIA AFGHANISTAN A car bomb killed at least 34 people on Thursday outside a bank in the city of Lashkar Gah, in Helmand province. The Taliban took credit for the attack, though the location indicated as much anyway. One of the Taliban's favorite tactics in recent months has been to attack banks on payday, when … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: June 22 2017

SYRIA With my focus heavily on the Saudi story yesterday, I feel like I gave short shrift to this Washington Post piece on the Trump administration's thinking with respect to the next (post-Raqqa) phase of its Syria operations. It's not that the piece breaks much new ground in terms of what's happening in Syria--it's been obvious … Continue reading Middle East update: June 22 2017

EUROPE RUSSIA Say, things between Moscow and Washington seem like they're going well: Russia has canceled a planned round of talks with the US in protest at new sanctions imposed this week over Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine. The deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, denounced the new sanctions, which expanded the list of individuals and … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: June 21 2017

ASIA AFGHANISTAN Uh-oh, looks like the Pentagon made a little fashion faux pas in Afghanistan: US taxpayers unnecessarily spent $28m on uniforms for the Afghan National Army, according to the US inspector general tasked with overseeing the war. In a scathing report, John Sopko said that officials bought "forest" pattern uniforms, despite the country's landscape … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: June 21 2017

SAUDI ARABIA OK, time for some more BIG, BREAKING news on today's huge shakeup in the Saudi line of succession...but, you know what? There really hasn't been any. If you were hoping for some serious Saud family drama, then at the very least you're going to have to keep hoping for a while longer, assuming … Continue reading Middle East update: June 21 2017

BELGIUM This is still sort of breaking so it goes first: Belgian soldiers have shot a man suspected of being a would-be suicide bomber at Brussels Central Station, officials say. He was shot after reportedly setting off a small explosion and no-one else is believed to have been injured. Prosecutors later said the man had … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: June 19-20 2017

PHILIPPINES BREAKING: Just in the past few minutes (it's about 10:30 PM east coast time as I write this) reports have starting coming in about more Islamist militant activity on the Philippines' southern Mindanao Island: A police report said about 300 armed men, among them members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), stormed a school … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: June 19-20 2017

BREAKING: Well, I suppose this was inevitable: Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Wednesday appointed his 31-year-old son Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince, placing him firmly as first-in-line to the throne and removing the country's counterterrorism czar and a figure well-known to Washington from the royal line of succession. In a series of royal decrees … Continue reading Middle East update: June 19-20 2017

We're going to try a little experiment tonight and not talk about whatever absurd shit is happening at the White House. In fact, I think you'll understand if the bulk of this update is devoted to what's happening in London right now. UNITED KINGDOM Shortly after midnight local time, someone drove a van into a … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: June 17-18 2017

MALI Four jihadi attackers stormed the Campement Kangaba, a Bamako hotel reportedly popular with foreigners, on Sunday afternoon. They killed at least two people before Malian authorities, with some French assistance, killed three of them (the fourth attacker seems to have gotten away). There's been no claim of responsibility, but Mali has a significant al-Qaeda … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: June 17-18 2017