Hello and welcome to our next-to-last week here at WordPress! I'm packing things up and moving to Substack starting next week, when I'll be posting in both places by way of transitioning to the new site. I'm also, in case you haven't noticed, returning from an unplanned week away due to the flu. As with … Continue reading Middle East update: March 25 2019

EUROPE POLAND It's nice to see Polish media keeping it classy: A Polish-language weekly, Only Poland, was reportedly spotted at Poland’s Parliament on Wednesday with a front-page offering to inform readers “How to spot a Jew.” Listed were markers such as “Names, anthropological features, expressions, appearances, character traits, methods of operation” and “disinformation activities.” The … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: March 14-15 2019

ASIA TAJIKISTANViolence between a crowd of Tajiks and a crowd of Kyrgyz in Vorukh on Wednesday left at least two Tajiks dead. Vorukh is a Tajik exclave, completely surrounded by Kyrgyzstan and connected to the rest of Tajikistan by one road running through Kyrgyz territory. The clash apparently was over a road that Kyrgyz authorities … Continue reading Asia/Oceania/Africa update: March 14-15 2019

SYRIA The Syrian Democratic Forces once again slowed their assault on Baghouz on Friday, partly out of concern for the civilians still inside the town (many believed to be held there by ISIS) and partly because the SDF is having trouble figuring out where its enemy is. As it's done in previous battles, ISIS has … Continue reading Middle East update: March 14-15 2019

CLIMATE CHANGE The United Nations is out with a new Global Environmental Outlook, and I have to say it looks like things are really going to work out great: The United Nations released its sixth Global Environment Outlook report on Wednesday. Its main message, delivered across 740 pages, is straightforward: Human action is degrading the … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: March 13 2019

ASIA AFGHANISTAN At least five Afghan soldiers in were killed on Wednesday when their checkpoint in Uruzgan province was destroyed by US airstrikes. The soldiers may have fired on a joint US-Afghan unit maneuvering nearby, which then requested air support. PAKISTAN China has blocked a United Nations Security Council move, requested by India, to add … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: March 13 2019

SYRIA Syrian and Russian forces commenced a sustained attack on rebel-held Idlib province on Wednesday, with at least 12 airstrikes reportedly hitting Idlib city alone. At least 13 people were killed and that number may well go up. Russian officials say they conducted the strikes against weapons and drone facilities used by the jihadi group … Continue reading Middle East update: March 13 2019

ASIA AFGHANISTAN In addition to its ongoing, now several days long campaign in Afghanistan's Badghis province, the Taliban have also apparently been active recently in Ghazni province, and an airstrike there on Tuesday reportedly killed at least seven Taliban fighters. There are several unconfirmed reports of multiple civilian casualties from the same strike, with one … Continue reading World update: March 12 2019

SYRIA ISIS's defeat in Baghouz is "imminent," according to Reuters, as hundreds of the group's remaining fighters and their families (perhaps as many as 2000 people total) reportedly surrendered to the Syrian Democratic Forces on Tuesday. At least 25 ISIS fighters have reportedly been killed so far in the SDF operation. The Turkish government, meanwhile, … Continue reading Middle East update: March 12 2019

ASIA AFGHANISTANThe Taliban carried out an attack on an Afghan military base in Badghis province on Monday, killing or capturing the entire company of soldiers there. The attackers reportedly killed 16 Afghan soldiers and took another 40 prisoner. The Taliban has been focusing its efforts on Baghdis province's Bala Murghab district, which provincial officials say … Continue reading World update: March 11 2019