ASIA AFGHANISTAN At the World Economic Forum in Davos on Friday Afghan President Ashraf Ghani substantially revised the number of Afghan security forces who have been killed fighting militants since he became president, to 45,000 from a previously cited figure of 28,000. Ghani, who seems increasingly irritated that he's being completely cut out of peace … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: January 25 2019

SYRIA The head of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Kobani, told AFP on Friday that he expects ISIS's remaining elements in eastern Syria to be fully defeated within a month. The SDF has forced ISIS out of most of its last enclave around Hajin, but the group still holds some mostly rural territory near the … Continue reading Middle East update: January 25 2019

EUROPE GREECE The Greek parliament on Friday will probably approve the deal under which the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia in return for the Greek government dropping its objections to Macedonia's membership in NATO and the European Union. The vote was postponed from Thursday to … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: January 24 2019

ASIA GEORGIA The Georgian and Russian governments may be about to reach an agreement on transit through the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Those two regions were of course the object of the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, and transit through them has been gummed up ever since. The deal would put a Swiss company … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: January 24 2019

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