SYRIA At least three people were killed and eight injured by a motorcycle bomb that hit the town of al-Bab in Turkish-controlled northern Syria on Thursday. Similar bombings in the towns of Qabasin and al-Ghandura injured three people, and a bomb in the town of al-Rai was discovered by authorities and destroyed via controlled detonation. … Continue reading Middle East update: January 24 2019

I'll be out much of this evening, so we'll have to make do with a short update today and more detailed stuff tomorrow. MIDDLE EAST SYRIAVladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met in Moscow on Wednesday to talk about Syria. While speculation was that Erdoğan would try to win Putin's support for a Turkish offensive … Continue reading World update: January 23 2019

EUROPE RUSSIA At least ten crew members aboard two ships in the Kerch Strait have died after their vessels caught on fire at sea on Monday. Normally this is not the kind of story we cover here, but it turns out that these deaths were related to US sanctions against Russia and Syria. One of … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: January 22 2019

ASIA AFGHANISTAN The official death toll from Monday's Taliban suicide bombing in Maidan Wardak province stands at 43, for now, but unofficial reports still put the total killed at well over 100. The Afghans may only be reporting deaths among the National Directorate of Security staff--some of the wording in the stories I've read today … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: January 22 2019

SYRIA A car bomb in the city of Latakia on Tuesday killed at least one person and wounded 14 others, according to Syrian state media. No word on responsibility--obviously ISIS can't be ruled out, but given the location Hayat Tahrir al-Sham may be the likelier suspect. Bashar al-Assad's government has revoked multiple-entry visas for European … Continue reading Middle East update: January 22 2019

ASIA AFGHANISTAN The Taliban carried out a devastating suicide attack against Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security training center in Maidan Wardak province on Monday, killing at least 126 people according to unconfirmed accounts. It was a major blow against the country's primary intelligence agency and local militias who were being trained at the facility. Later … Continue reading World update: January 21 2019

SYRIA It would appear that Monday's Israeli strikes in Syria are the result of a full weekend of back and forth exchanges with Iranian forces there: The Israeli military said on Monday that it had attacked Iranian military targets in Syria, capping an exchange of blows in a rare, direct confrontation between the two antagonists … Continue reading Middle East update: January 21 2019

EUROPE SERBIA An estimated 10,000 people, organized by an umbrella opposition group called "the Alliance for Serbia," protested in Belgrade on Saturday night against the government of President Aleksandar Vučić. These rallies are organized by Vučić's political opponents and so their ultimate goal is to oust him and his Serbian Progressive Party from power. But … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: January 19-20 2019

ASIA AFGHANISTAN The Taliban carried out a car bombing in Logar province on Sunday morning that killed at least eight Afghan security forces. Meanwhile, in northern Afghanistan's Sar-e Pul province, a recent surge in Taliban activity has displaced about 40 families from the province's Kohistan hinterland into the provincial capital. The Taliban is trying to … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: January 19-20 2019

SYRIA This is still developing, but there was another Israeli airstrike on Syria's capital on Sunday. Both the Russian military and Syrian media have reported that Syrian air defenses shot down seven Israeli missiles heading toward Duwali International Airport in southeastern Damascus. This seems...unlikely, "missile defense" being what it is, but more likely than the … Continue reading Middle East update: January 19-20 2019