In the interest of the Memorial Day holiday, today's update(s) may be a little shorter and/or earlier than usual. SYRIA Presumably confirming that a Syrian offensive against Daraa is imminent, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Monday that only Syrian military personnel should occupy that area, which abuts Syria's disputed border with Israel. … Continue reading Middle East update: May 28 2018

EUROPE RUSSIA Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe met on Saturday in Moscow to try to end World War II. No, seriously. Japan and Russia/the Soviet Union never signed a peace treaty at the end of that war because they couldn't agree on the final status of the Kuril Islands, a … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: May 26-27 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN A Taliban suicide attack against an army base in Helmand province on Sunday killed at least two Afghan soldiers. On Saturday, Afghan authorities opened a 12 day period to register candidates for parliamentary and district council elections this October. This vote is three years overdue and still may be disrupted by the Taliban … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: May 26-27 2018

SYRIA A group of ISIS fighters attacked a Syrian military position in Deir Ezzor province overnight and, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, killed 35 pro-government troops including nine Russian soldiers--not contractors, but actually active duty soldiers. Russia's defense ministry has acknowledged four Russian deaths in the attack, which it says also left … Continue reading Middle East update: May 26-27 2018

ASIA INDIA If the possibility of an Indian-Chinese war worries and/or excites you, then you may want to pay attention to recent Chinese mining activity in areas around the highly disputed border between the two nations. The area is believed to contain tens of billions of dollars worth of precious metals, so there's definitely an … Continue reading World update: May 25 2018

SYRIA Iraqi aircraft carried out another round of airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, striking suspected ISIS targets around the city of Hajin, in Deir Ezzor province. That city, which sits on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, is surrounded by Syrian Democratic Forces ground troops and has also been the target of US-led coalition … Continue reading Middle East update: May 25 2018

ASIA PAKISTAN A mob of people stormed and destroyed a 100 year old Ahmadi mosque in the city of Sialkot overnight. The Ahmadiyah is an Islamic faith that grew out of a 19th century revivalist movement led by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (d. 1908), who claimed to be the Mahdi. They are a small-ish (anywhere from hundreds … Continue reading World update: May 24 2018

SYRIA Both Syrian state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights are saying that the US-led coalition struck two Syrian army positions in Deir Ezzor province overnight, killing at least 12 pro-government militia fighters. The Pentagon says it has "no information" about any such strikes. State media also says that the Syrian military intercepted a … Continue reading Middle East update: May 24 2018

ASIA AZERBAIJAN One reason why Nagorno-Karabakh remains a potential flashpoint is because of the hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis who were displaced during the 1988-1994 Nagorno Karabakh War, many of whom still have designs on returning home: According to the UN, about 860,000 people were forced to flee either Armenia proper or Azerbaijani territory occupied by local … Continue reading World update: May 23 2018

SYRIA A media outfit with links to Hezbollah reported early on Thursday that the US-led coalition struck the Syrian army in two places near the Iraqi border. At this point the story is unconfirmed and there's no indication why the coalition bombed those targets, nor has there been any report of casualties. Researcher Aymann Jawad … Continue reading Middle East update: May 23 2018