IRAQ Iraqi forces said on Sunday that they've begun their attack on Mosul's Old City, ISIS's one real remaining stronghold and the district from which they've been able to hold out for several months now. But as usual with these sorts of announcements, this one is surrounded by contradictory and confusing reports from the Iraqis … Continue reading Middle East update: June 17-18 2017

EUROPE UNITED KINGDOM Theresa May's government is refusing to negotiate an orderly exit from the European Union unless it also negotiates the terms of the UK's new relationship with the EU at the same time. This is of course the 180 degree opposite of the EU's position, which is that the new relationship can only … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: June 16 2017

ASIA AZERBAIJAN Armenian separatists in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave say that three of their soldiers were killed in fighting with Azerbaijani forces on Friday. This region has been a lot quieter this year than I'd expected, but it's still a brushfire waiting to break out given a big enough spark. KASHMIR Six Indian soldiers were reportedly … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: June 16 2017

SYRIA And here we go: A pair of top White House officials is pushing to broaden the war in Syria, viewing it as an opportunity to confront Iran and its proxy forces on the ground there, according to two sources familiar with the debate inside the Donald Trump administration. Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the senior director for … Continue reading Middle East update: June 16 2017

UNITED STATES The biggest news in the US over the past couple of days has obviously been the shooting incident in Virginia on Wednesday at a baseball practice being held by Congressional Republicans in advance of the big Congressional baseball game that was held Thursday evening. There's nothing I could say about this that hasn't … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: June 14-15 2017

ASIA AFGHANISTAN ISIS has managed to seize Tora Bora, the mountain hideaway in Nangarhar province that Osama bin Laden used to call home, before he moved into the Pakistani army chief of staff's backyard without anybody in Pakistan knowing about it. Boy, nothing symbolic about that. On Thursday they also managed to find time to … Continue reading Asia/Africa/Australia update: June 14-15 2017

SYRIA As the Raqqa battle intensifies, civilians--naturally--are paying the heaviest price. UN investigators reported Wednesday on the "staggering" loss of life seen in Raqqa since heavy coalition bombing there began in March. Hundreds of civilians have been killed so far and the battle for the city is really still in its opening stages. ISIS is … Continue reading Middle East update: June 14-15 2017

UNITED STATES Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified today in the Trump-Russia investigation and said essentially nothing. No, really, senators were mad at how much nothing he said. He didn't even really assert a justification for saying nothing, either. Just kind of said, "eh, I'm not going to say anything," and that was pretty much that. … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: June 13 2017

ASIA AFGHANISTAN Here's some good news: The World Bank on Tuesday approved financing worth more than $500 million for Afghanistan to support a string of projects to boost the economy, help improve service delivery in five cities and support Afghan refugees sent back from Pakistan. The bank said the six grants, including donor money, worth … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: June 13 2017