ASIA AFGHANISTAN The Taliban is trying to assure other Afghans that, if it does conclude a peace deal with the US and US forces do withdraw from Afghanistan, they're not looking to seize total control of the country again: The statement Wednesday by Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen appears aimed at easing fears among those worried … Continue reading World update: January 30 2019

SYRIA Al-Monitor's Metin Gürcan reports that there's no discernible sign yet that Turkey is preparing to invade northeastern Syria and take on the YPG Kurds, mostly because the Turks can't get a green light from Russia: Turkish forces continue to mass in the region but there is no a sense of an imminent operation. As … Continue reading Middle East update: January 30 2019

EUROPE UKRAINE Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced Tuesday that he will run for reelection in March. The announcement was mostly a foregone conclusion, as is--probably--his eventual defeat. Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is considered the favorite according to polling. Poroshenko has of course failed to bring the war in eastern Ukraine to an end and … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: January 29 2019

ASIA AFGHANISTAN With the US and Taliban circling a peace accord, Afghans are starting to wonder what's in store should the militant group regain some degree of legitimate political authority: Haroun Mir, an analyst in Kabul, said Afghans are anxiously waiting for the insurgents to clarify their demands in the next round of talks, especially … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: January 29 2019

SYRIA A suspected ISIS suicide bomber struck the offices of the "National Salvation Government" in Idlib on Tuesday, killing at least one person. The National Salvation Government is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's governing wing for Idlib province. Meanwhile, the Syrian army shelled the town of Maarat al-Numan, killing at least 11 people. This in itself violates … Continue reading Middle East update: January 29 2019

MIDDLE EAST SYRIAThe Syrian Democratic Forces' commander in Baghouz, Heval Roni, says that ISIS is down to its last four square kilometers of territory in Syria, a stretch of territory from the Baghouz area to the Iraqi border. The SDF believes there are "some high-ranking" ISIS bigwigs in that enclave, but doesn't know if Abu … Continue reading World update: January 28 2019

EUROPE BELGIUM An estimated 70,000 protested in Brussels on Sunday in support of stronger action on climate change. The demonstrators directed their ire at both the Belgian government and the European Union, and with the country heading into both national and European parliamentary elections later this year it would seem that climate action is definitely … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: January 26-27 2019

ASIA AFGHANISTAN A group of Taliban accidentally blew themselves up, at least according to Afghan authorities, at a volleyball match in Baghlan province on Saturday. Four of the group's fighters and one civilian were killed. Also on Saturday, one person was killed in a bombing in Nangarhar province. US Afghan envoy Zalmay Khalilzad sure sounded … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: January 26-27 2019

SYRIA The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Saturday that artillery fire from the SDF killed at least 42 people in the remaining ISIS-controlled enclave in eastern Syria, including 13 civilians. ISIS's remaining territory is so rural that there's not even a clear town or village name with which to identify it, though it's in … Continue reading Middle East update: January 26-27 2019

EUROPE RUSSIA NATO and Russian negotiators made a probably last-ditch effort to salvage the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty and failed miserably. NATO reiterated a US demand that Russia destroy its 9M729 cruise missile, which it says violates the treaty, and Russia continued to deny that it violates the treaty and reject the demand for its … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: January 25 2019