ASIA UZBEKISTAN The Afghan Taliban sent a delegation to Uzbekistan last week, ostensibly to talk about the Afghan peace process but probably more as a demonstration of its improving situation vis-a-vis the war and the legitimate Afghan government in Kabul. The Afghan government says that the Uzbek government had its permission to invite the Taliban … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: August 11-12 2018

SYRIA At least 39 people were killed on Sunday when a weapons depot in the town of Sarmada, in Idlib province, exploded. The depot was apparently inside a civilian residential building, which shows the kind of deep concern for human life that you can only find in a group like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, whose fighters' … Continue reading Middle East update: August 11-12 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN "Dozens" of people were reportedly killed in an overnight Taliban assault on the city of Ghazni. It's unclear how close the Taliban came to capturing the city, but judging from the descriptions by Afghan authorities--who are naturally going to be inclined to downplay any Taliban successes--they probably came pretty close before the Afghans, … Continue reading World update: August 10 2018

SYRIA Syrian state media reported Saturday morning that the country's air defenses had intercepted a "hostile target" near Damascus. No further details seem to be available at this point. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights the Syrian military conducted "dozens" of air and artillery strikes in northern Hama, southern Idlib, and western Aleppo provinces … Continue reading Middle East update: August 10 2018

ASIAARMENIA/AZERBAIJAN If you talk about "settlements" in a contemporary geopolitical context the assumption people usually have is that you're talking about Israel's settlements in the West Bank. Joshua Kucera writes about a lesser-known settlements situation in the parts of Azerbaijan surrounding the Armenian breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh: Unlike Nagorno-Karabakh, the population of which had been … Continue reading World update: August 9 2018

YEMEN We normally start with Syria but I thought I'd change it up today because, in case you missed it, America's best Middle Eastern pals massacred a bunch of Yemeni kids again on Thursday: An airstrike from the Saudi-led coalition struck a school bus in northern Yemen on Thursday and killed dozens of people, many … Continue reading Middle East update: August 9 2018

EUROPE RUSSIA The United States announced on Wednesday that it is imposing sanctions on Russia over the Sergei Skripol/novichok affair in the United Kingdom. At this point that amounts to "restrictions on the export of sensitive technology," but if Russia doesn't allow international inspections to determine whether or not it's manufacturing chemical and biological weapons--which … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: August 8 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN A roadside bomb killed eight people in Balkh province on Wednesday. The Taliban is probably to blame. The group also killed eight police officers in an attack on a checkpoint in Herat province. BANGLADESH Perhaps taking their cue from the way the Saudis are dealing with Canada, the Bangladeshi government is demanding that … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: August 8 2018

SYRIA The Defense Intelligence Agency apparently believes there are a lot more ISIS fighters remaining in Syria than the US government has previously been willing to let on. A new inspector general report, citing the DIA, says that some 4000-6000 ISIS fighters remain in northeastern Syria, a far cry more than the 2000 the Pentagon … Continue reading Middle East update: August 8 2018

EUROPE GERMANY Parts of Frankfurt airport had to be evacuated on Tuesday after somebody about a family of four triggered explosives detectors and yet the family was able to pass through security anyway. Nothing serious happened, but if you've ever tried to fly through Frankfurt you can probably imagine what this situation did to all … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: August 7 2018