SYRIA Most of the rebels in Quneitra province appear to have agreed to the standard "surrender and/or be bused to Idlib" deal that Russia and the Syrian government have been offering to everybody lately. Likewise, rebels in the city of Nawa, in Daraa province, surrendered on Wednesday. With the exception of some scattered fighting with … Continue reading Middle East update: July 18-19 2018

EUROPE NATO Jacobin's Branko Marcetic argues that the reflexive liberal defense of NATO against Donald Trump's behavior is obscuring an important discussion about whether NATO should still exist at all: At best, NATO is a Cold War relic whose attempts to broaden its mission in the twenty-first century have been disastrous failures. At worst, it’s a … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: July 17 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN The Taliban attacked a police checkpoint in Kandahar late Monday night, killing at least nine cops while losing 25 of their own fighters according to Afghan officials. They suffered another major loss on Tuesday, when an ISIS suicide bomber attacked either a meeting between local leaders and Taliban officials or a funeral (accounts … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: July 17 2018

SYRIA Stop me if you've heard this one already, but the Syrian military on Tuesday continued its offensive in the country's southwest, to deadly effect. At least 10 people were reportedly killed in a barrel bomb attack on a village called Ain al-Tineh, while the city of Nawa was subjected to repeated airstrikes, with reports … Continue reading Middle East update: July 17 2018

EUROPE NATO More stories are coming out about Trump's behavior at last weeks NATO summit and they're everything you imagined they might be: On "CBS This Morning" Monday, Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group and a CBS News senior global affairs contributor, said that backstage at the NATO meeting there were elements that were … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: July 16 2018

ASIAAZERBAIJAN Azerbaijani authorities' response to the recent attempted murder of Ganja mayor Elmar Veliyev is bordering on the totally incoherent: Although the details of the case remain murky, the authorities were quick to blame “Islamic extremists” for the crime. They pointed to Yunis Safarov as a main suspect. Safarov is a Russian citizen of Azerbaijani … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: July 16 2018

SYRIA The Syrian offensive in Quneitra proceeded apace on Monday, with the Syrians capturing al-Haara hill, a strategic vista that overlooks the Golan. It used to be the site of a Syrian radar installation to track anything coming across the border from Israel. In Manbij, meanwhile, Turkey is complaining that the YPG hasn't actually evacuated the … Continue reading Middle East update: July 16 2018

EUROPE On his way to Finland to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump once again made his feelings about the European Union very clear: In an interview with "CBS Evening News" anchor Jeff Glor in Scotland on Saturday, President Trump named the European Union -- comprising some of America's oldest allies -- when … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: July 14-15 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN ISIS claimed responsibility for a bombing on Sunday that killed at least seven people near the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development building in Kabul. The day before, a likely Taliban attack on a military checkpoint in Farah province, which began late Friday night, ended with at least 11 Afghan soldiers dead, and a … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: July 14-15 2018

SYRIA Late Sunday, Syrian state media reported that Israeli missiles struck a Syrian military base outside of Aleppo. No word on any casualties. Having secured most of Daraa province, the Syria military began the second phase of its offensive in southwestern Syria over the weekend in neighboring Quneitra province. Russian planes bombed rebel targets in … Continue reading Middle East update: July 14-15 2018