SYRIA At least 2000 more people evacuated Baghouz on Wednesday to escape the Syrian Democratic Forces' assault on the town. Among these were reportedly "hundreds" of ISIS fighters who surrendered to SDF fighters. Another 400 or so ISIS fighters were caught attempting to hide themselves among the crowd of evacuees, and while it would be … Continue reading Middle East update: March 6 2019

CLIMATE CHANGE Hey, this seems bad maybe: Global warming is gradually increasing the average temperature of the oceans, but the new research is the first systematic global analysis of ocean heatwaves, when temperatures reach extremes for five days or more. The research found heatwaves are becoming more frequent, prolonged and severe, with the number of … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: March 5 2019

ASIA AFGHANISTANThe New York Times highlights a budding split between urban and rural Afghans over peace talks with the Taliban: As American diplomats push for a peace deal with the Taliban to end the 18-year war, a strong voice of protest, largely coming from urban centers, has been cautioning against a rushed deal that could endanger … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: March 5 2019

SYRIA Somewhere in the neighborhood of 6500 people have fled Baghouz over the past two days, as the Syrian Democratic Forces militia assaults the last bit (sort of--see below) of Syrian territory still under ISIS control. Several hundred of those have been ISIS fighters, whom the SDF took into custody (there's certainly a chance that … Continue reading Middle East update: March 5 2019

I've got some things to take care of this evening, so today's update is a little truncated and early. Back for more tomorrow. MIDDLE EAST SYRIA The Syrian Democratic Forces are making slow progress in their offensive to capture the border town of Baghouz and with it ISIS's last enclave of Syrian territory. Around 500 … Continue reading World update: March 4 2019

ASIA AFGHANISTAN The Taliban launched another attack on Camp Shorab in Helmand province on Friday night, killing at least 23 Afghan soldiers in an engagement that lasted into Saturday evening. At least 22 Taliban fighters were reportedly killed. In a separate attack in Sar-e Pol province on Saturday, the Taliban killed at least nine Afghan … Continue reading World update: March 2-3 2019

SYRIA The battle for Baghouz, and along with it ISIS's last enclave in Syria, is on. Syrian Democratic Forces fighters have reportedly entered the town and are meeting the anticipated heavy resistance from the remaining ISIS defenders. As they usually do in the last stages of a fight in which they're facing a vastly stronger … Continue reading Middle East update: March 2-3 2019

AFRICA ALGERIA If you've been hoping for the protests against Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's potential fifth term in office to dissipate, Friday was not your day: Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Algiers on Friday to denounce Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s decision to run for a fifth term, and police fired … Continue reading World update part 2: March 1 2019

MIDDLE EAST SYRIA The Syrian Democratic Forces on Friday began what should be their final offensive to capture Baghouz and close off the last ISIS-controlled enclave in Syria. The SDF has spent the past couple of weeks evacuating thousands of civilians, escaped slaves, and even some fleeing ISIS fighters from the town--some 10,000 people are … Continue reading World update part 1: March 1 2019