Venezuela
- Trump suggests the US may blockade Venezuela. [Link]
- Trump signs an executive order freezing all Venezuelan assets. Some analysts believe this will allow the US to sanction anyone who does business with Venezuela. [Link]
Korean Peace
- North Korea says planned US and South Korean joint military drills violate the agreement between the US and North Korea. [Link]
- South Korea reports North Korea tested two missiles. [Link]
Afghanistan
- Afghan security forces are at their lowest level since 2015. The on-the-books number of soldiers dropped by 10,000s after a biometric system began to be used to pay soldiers. ‘Ghost soldiers’ have been a rampant problem for the Afghan military. [Link]
- The NATO Secretary-General says we are closer to peace in Afghanistan than ever before. [Link]
- US and Taliban officials say they are nearing a peace agreement to end the war. One of the last issues to be worked out is the withdrawal of US troops. US officials are pushing for a conditions-based withdraw, and the Taliban want the withdrawal to be on a timeline. [Link]
Middle East
- Iran says it will reduce its commitments to the JCPOA in one month if European countries do not come into compliance with the nuclear safeguards agreement. [Link]
- The UK will join a US maritime security mission in the Persian Gulf. [Link]
- Turkey’s president says Turkey will invade Kurdish/US held northern Syria. Turkey has threatened to invade northern Syria several times unless the US established safe zones along the border that prevents the US-backed Kurdish militia from being within several miles of Turkey. [Link]
- The Syrian Army resumes airstrikes on al-Qaeda linked rebels in Idlib. [Link]
- The Houthi announce a deal has been made with the UN to restart aid to Yemenis. The UN World Food Program cut some aid going to Yemen over a disagreement with the Houthi over who controlled the data from the WFP’s biometric program. [Link]
