IRAQ At least 38 people were reportedly killed on Monday in a double suicide bombing in Baghdad's Tayaran Square area. Casualty reports are contradictory, as they often are in these situations, but the highest count I've seen says that over 100 other people were injured in the attack. This is the second terrorist attack in … Continue reading Middle East update: January 15 2018

By way of a site update, with tomorrow being a holiday in the US I'm not 100 percent sure I'll be blogging. If not then I'll be back on Tuesday with two days' worth of bad news. ASIA AFGHANISTAN Afghan officials say that peace talks are underway in Turkey between Kabul and the Taliban. They've … Continue reading World update: January 13-14 2018

By way of a site update, with tomorrow being a holiday in the US I'm not 100 percent sure I'll be blogging. If not then I'll be back on Tuesday with two days' worth of bad news. IRAQ I have bad news, good news, and political news, which is probably bad but also silly. Baghdad … Continue reading Middle East update: January 13-14 2018

EUROPEUKRAINE Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed on Thursday as Kiev and eastern Ukrainian separatists accused one another of ratcheting up the violence in the Donbas. POLAND In an effort to prove to the European Union that it really stands for democracy and isn't just trying to amass power, Poland's ruling Law and Justice party on … Continue reading Shithole update #3 (Europe/Americas): January 11-12 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN A Friday morning Taliban attack on a police outpost in Farah province killed three Afghan police officers. US forces on Thursday reportedly bombed an Afghan government-aligned militia in Nangarhar province after one or more members of that militia opened fire on US special forces troops amid some kind of argument. At least 13 militia … Continue reading Shithole update #2 (Asia/Africa): January 11-12 2018

SYRIA To the extent that anybody's eyes are still on Syria, right now they're on Idlib province, where fighting has escalated to levels perhaps not seen in western Syria since Bashar al-Assad's forces captured eastern Aleppo back in 2016. More than 100,000 people have already been displaced in this fighting, which kicked up a notch … Continue reading Shithole update #1 (Middle East): January 11-12 2018

ASIA MYANMAR The Myanmar military has admitted that its soldiers murdered ten Rohingya prisoners in September, during its excessive crackdown/ethnic cleansing campaign. It's one of the few instances in which they've allowed that perhaps some of their soldiers acted inappropriately during the episode that saw mass atrocities committed against the Rohingya community. CHINA Beijing's Belt … Continue reading World update: January 10 2018

SYRIA The United Nations reports that 85 civilians have been killed just in Ghouta so far in 2018 and says there are concerns that combatants on both sides are failing to distinguish between civilian and military targets. Meanwhile, to the north, Turkey is continuing to demand, without effect, a halt to the Syrian offensive in … Continue reading Middle East update: January 10 2018

ASIA PAKISTAN A suicide bomber killed six police officers in Quetta on Tuesday. No word as to whether this was an Islamist attack or a Baluch separatist attack, but either is possible. A Pakistani court has freed Sufi Mohammad, a militant leader who supported the Taliban after the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. This … Continue reading World update: January 9 2018

SYRIA Damascus says that Israeli forces struck the Qutaifa area near Damascus from air and ground on Tuesday, presumably because of something to do with Hezbollah although as usual the Israeli government refused to talk about it. Questions about who exactly has been attacking Russia's military bases in Latakia remain unanswered, and that's encouraging some creative … Continue reading Middle East update: January 9 2018