World

The War in Syria Has a New Map. Again.

Published

1 year ago

December 6, 2024

Sources: Institute for the Study of War and AEI’s Critical Threats Project (areas of control as of Dec. 5); Janes (rebel control as of November)

In just over a week, Syrian rebel forces have seized much of Syria’s northwest from the government in a fast-moving attack, upending the once-stagnant civil war. After capturing most of the major city of Aleppo, its airport, military bases and many towns and villages, on Thursday they drove government troops from the western city of Hama, which had never before fallen into rebel hands.

The offensive comes after a period of relative, if brittle, calm. Since 2020, the territorial map had stayed largely frozen: President Bashar al-Assad’s government dominated much of the country, while an array of other factions held different fragments of the rest.

Here’s who is fighting whom in Syria’s nearly 14-year-old civil war:

Opposition forces

Their territory had shrunk until advances this week.

Source: The Carter Center. Note: Opposition forces include both extremist Islamic and moderate factions.

The war erupted in 2011 after Mr. al-Assad brutally crushed antigovernment protests. In the early stages, rebels — who included both extremist Islamist and moderate factions — managed to take most of the country’s northwest and expanded into other territory. By 2014, they controlled not only their stronghold in the northwest, but also areas north of Hama, east of Damascus and in the southeast, near the Israeli border, as well as villages along the Euphrates and in al-Hasakah province, in Syria’s far northeast.

Then came the rise of the Islamic State in 2014 and Russia’s decision the following year to give Mr. al-Assad military support. The Islamic State expanded its so-called caliphate into northeastern Syria, while overpowering Russian airstrikes forced the rebel groups that had been battling Mr. al-Assad since 2011 to retreat. By this year, those opposition forces held nothing but a patch of the northwest until their latest offensive began last week.

Government forces and allies

The conflict had shifted in their favor years ago — but now they are retreating.

Source: The Carter Center

Despite initial rebel successes, pro-Assad forces — including not only Syria’s military but also fighters sent by Iran and the Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah — were able to retake more territory over the last decade after a series of events shifted the conflict in their favor. Pro-government troops recaptured Aleppo with the help of Russian airstrikes after a four-year battle ending in 2016. The next year, a government offensive against the Islamic State put Mr. al-Assad back in control of many towns along the Euphrates River. And his forces’ advance on northwestern Syria in 2019 and 2020 cornered opposition forces in Idlib Province, bringing the conflict to an impasse that lasted until a week ago.

Islamic State

It once held a third of Syria.

Source: The Carter Center

Syria’s civil war, along with growing instability in Iraq, allowed an ambitious Al Qaeda offshoot called the Islamic State to mushroom rapidly across both countries in 2013 and 2014. Fueled by a bloody, ultra-extremist interpretation of Islam, it conquered an expanse of territory in Syria and Iraq that it ruled as a so-called caliphate. At its height in 2015, the group held a third of Syria and about 40 percent of Iraq, with the northern Syrian city of Raqqa as its capital.

But a Western coalition led by the United States targeted the group with thousands of airstrikes, and U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces eventually routed the Islamic State in much of northeastern Syria. Pro-Assad forces also pushed the group back in other areas, while the Iraqi army battled it in Iraq. By 2018, it had lost all but tiny shreds of its territory.

Kurdish-led forces

They took territory from the Islamic State, but lost other ground to Turkish-backed forces.

Source: The Carter Center

Forces from Syria’s Kurdish ethnic minority became the United States’ main local partner in the fight against the Islamic State. After the extremist group was defeated in large parts of the country, the Kurdish-led forces consolidated control over towns in the northeast, expanding an autonomous region they had built there, and along the Euphrates. But despite routing the Islamic State, Kurdish fighters still had to contend with their longtime enemy across the border, Turkey, which regards them as linked to a Kurdish separatist insurgency.

In 2019, President Donald J. Trump pulled American troops away from northern Syria, abandoning the Kurdish-led forces and opening the door for Turkish forces to oust them from areas along the northern border. Looking for protection against Turkey, the Kurdish-led forces turned to Damascus, allowing Mr. al-Assad’s forces to return to parts of northern Syria, where they have co-existed since. The Kurds still control much of northeastern Syria.

Turkish military operations

Captured parts of the northern border area from Kurdish-led forces.

Source: The Carter Center

Since the beginning of the civil war, the Turkish military has launched several military interventions across the border into Syria, mostly against Syrian Kurdish-led forces, whom Turkey views as linked to what it calls a terrorist separatist movement in Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P.K.K. Three Turkish operations – in 2016-2017, 2018 and 2019 – were aimed at taking control of towns and villages the Kurdish-led fighters had previously held along the northern border. Turkey now effectively controls that zone, where it provides public services and where its currency is routinely used.

Related Topics:Featured Hama (Syria)maps Syria

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World

Sporticast: What’s Going On With LIV Golf?

Published

6 hours ago

April 16, 2026

Press Room

On the 544th Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the latest with LIV Golf. After spending more than $5 billion on the upstart pro golf circuit, Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF is now considering cutting funding, Sportico reported on Tuesday.

The hosts talk about the tension that’s been brewing inside LIV Golf for a while now. They also talk about some of the various winners (PGA Tour) and losers (Bryson DeChambeau), and what might be behind the potential new approach. Those possibilities include microeconomics—LIV Golf has lost hundreds of millions of dollars—and also more macro forces. The ongoing war in Iran, for example, has shifted some priorities across the Middle East.

Next the hosts talk about a lawsuit involving Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm, who has accused his parents of defrauding him. Bohm has made roughly $50 million in his MLB career and is the latest in a long list of high-profile athletes that have claimed to be misled financially by people that he trusted.

They close by talking about a hiccup in Amazon‘s broad sports streaming ambitions. The group’s feed of an NBA play-in game Tuesday night cut out with less than a minute left in overtime, a high-profile misstep for a company that had successfully changed the narrative on the reliability of sports streaming over the past few years, particularly with its NFL partnership. The mistake also comes amid heightening tension between sports streamers and more legacy sports media companies.

(You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts.)

World

Russian missiles and drones bombard Ukraine in hourslong attack, killing at least 16

Published

7 hours ago

April 16, 2026

Press Room

Russian missiles and drones bombard Ukraine in hourslong attack, killing at least 16

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Russia hammered civilian areas of Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in an attack that stretched for hours from daytime into the night, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 80 others as terrified residents cowered in their homes, officials said Thursday.

Russia launched nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles, primarily targeting civilians, in its biggest aerial barrage in almost two weeks, authorities said.

Tetiana Sokol, a 54-year-old resident of Kyiv, said two missiles hit near her home and she took cover with her dog in the hallway as flashes lit up the night and windows shattered from the blast wave.

“On the third attack everything broke, everything flew, we were shocked, we didn’t know where to run. I grabbed whatever came to hand and ran away with the dog,” she told The Associated Press. “I still can’t find the cats in the house, they climbed out somewhere, I don’t even know. No windows, nothing, the dog is still walking around in stress.”

RUSSIAN WINTER STRIKE LEAVES NEARLY 800K HOMES WITHOUT POWER AND HEAT IN UKRAINE’S DNIPRO REGION

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in Kyiv after a Russian strike on April 16, 2026. Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at civilian areas across Ukraine, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 80, officials said. (Serhii Okunev / AFP via Getty Images)

Moscow’s forces have hit civilian areas almost daily since its all-out invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago, with the regular assaults occasionally punctuated by massive attacks. More than 15,000 Ukrainian civilians have died in the strikes, the United Nations says.

Zelenskyy on a mission to improve air defenses

The latest bombardment came in the wake of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 48-hour trip this week to Germany, Norway and Italy in an urgent search for more air defense systems that can stop Russian missiles.

Ukraine has developed a significant domestic arms industry, especially in the production of drones and missiles, but it can’t yet match the sophistication of U.S. Patriot air defense systems. Ukraine’s top diplomatic priority is securing allies’ help to buy and build more and better air defenses, Zelenskyy said this week.

Cash-strapped Ukraine also needs the speedy disbursement of a promised loan from the European Union of 90 billion euros ($106 billion) that has been blocked by Hungary.

Ukraine fears the Iran war is burning through stockpiles of the advanced American-made systems it needs, and has argued against a U.S. temporary waiver on Russian oil sanctions that Kyiv says is helping finance the Kremlin’s war effort.

US ACCUSES RUSSIA OF ‘DANGEROUS AND INEXPLICABLE ESCALATION’ IN UKRAINE WAR DURING PEACE NEGOTIATIONS

A woman walks her dog through the rubble of a house damaged in a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 16, 2026. Officials said Russian forces fired nearly 700 drones and multiple missiles in a sweeping attack on Ukrainian civilians that lasted from day into night. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

“Another night has proven that Russia does not deserve any easing of global policy or lifting of sanctions,” Zelenskyy said on X.

He thanked Germany, Norway and Italy for new agreements this week on supporting Ukraine’s air defense. Officials are also working with the Netherlands on additional supplies, he said.

At the same time, he noted that some partner countries haven’t followed through on pledges of military support.

“I have instructed the Commander of the Air Force to contact those partners who earlier committed to providing missiles for Patriot and other systems,” Zelenskyy said.

Other areas of Ukraine and Russia were also hit

The bombardment was the biggest in weeks. Last month, Russia fired 948 drones and 34 missiles in the space of 24 hours in the largest assault of the war on civilian areas.

At least four people were killed overnight in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old, with more than 50 others injured, according to authorities. Officials said the attack damaged 17 apartment buildings, 10 private homes, as well as a hotel, office center, car dealership, gas station and a shopping mall in the capital.

RUSSIAN DRONE ATTACK ON PASSENGER TRAIN IS AN ‘ACT OF TERRORISM,’ ZELENSKYY SAYS

Firefighters work at a building damaged in an overnight strike by Russia in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 16, 2026. Ukrainian officials said Russia’s hourslong aerial assault hit Kyiv, Odesa, the Dnipro region and Zaporizhzhia, damaging homes and other civilian sites. (Genya SAVILOV / AFP via Getty Images)

Nine people were killed and 23 injured in the southern port city of Odesa, three women were killed and around three dozen injured in the central Dnipro region, and one person was killed in Zaporizhzhia in the south.

“Such attacks cannot be normalized. These are war crimes that must be stopped and their perpetrators held to account,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.

Ukraine’s air force said air defenses shot down or disabled 667 out of 703 incoming targets, including 636 Shahed-type drones and other uncrewed aerial vehicles.

It said 20 strike drones and 12 missiles hit 26 locations.

Meanwhile, in Russia, Krasnodar regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev reported that a 14-year-old girl and a woman were killed in Ukrainian strikes in the Black Sea port of Tuapse.

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He said that attacks damaged six apartment buildings, 24 private houses and three schools. Drone fragments also fell near the port of Tuapse.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its air defenses downed 207 Ukrainian drones overnight.

World

Flights hit by Iran war? Europe’s handiest rail networks revealed

Published

8 hours ago

April 16, 2026

Press Room

Flights hit by Iran war? Europe’s handiest rail networks revealed

The oil crisis triggered by the war in Iran has threatened flight disruption this summer, with many holidaygoers now considering train travel instead — or even a mix of both.

But is it worth it? Europe in Motion looked at price differences on some of the continent’s routes.

Specifically, we looked at direct trains with the lowest price and with a reasonable journey length — meaning that the time difference between the cheapest and most expensive option doesn’t exceed one hour per trip.

Additionally, the departure time must allow passengers to reach the station from the city without using a car, meaning that public transport must be operating.

Train vs plane: What’s most convenient on similar routes?

British trains remain eye-waterlingly expensive. On the London-Edinburgh route, which typically takes between four and 4 1/2 hours, tickets (€153) can cost up to three times more than a one-hour and 20-minute low-cost flight (€53) in the same period.

The average price per kilometre is also roughly double that of other European routes of similar length.

Italy comes in second by a wide margin, based on the route between its two biggest cities, Rome and Milan – usually a three-hour journey by high-speed rail.

Here, train and plane tickets tend to level out, with flights sometimes edging slightly higher than trains (€93 vs 127), especially at the weekend.

Third-placed Germany offers a reasonable €0.15 per kilometre on the Berlin-Munich route, which typically lasts a little more than four hours.

If booking around a month in advance, trains are still slightly cheaper than planes (€91vs €137).

For those who aren’t in a rush, France seems even better value. On the Paris-Bordeaux route (around two hours and 15 minutes), we’re looking at €0.14 per kilometre — while flying over the same weekend might cost at least three times as much.

Prices look competitive on other major routes too, like Paris-Lyon or Paris-Marseille, thanks to strong competition on the rail network from private operators like Ouigo or Trenitalia.

That said, timing does matter. Prices can swing, and booking further ahead doesn’t always mean cheaper fares. The same Paris-Bordeaux route, booked three months in advance, can end up costing €50 more.

Madrid-Barcelona (three hours and 15 minutes) looks like the standout deal of them all, with a cost per kilometre of just €0.13. Fly over the same period and expect to pay more than double.

Greece also has competitive prices on the north-south Thessaloniki-Athens route, coming at €69 for a 500km-long journey lasting a little more than five hours.

How easy is it to travel and move around by train in Europe?

For those wondering how effective it is to move around Europe by train, we can look to Eurostat’s latest report on European transport for the answer — and yes, train travel is relatively easy.

Railway density on the continent is roughly 58 km of railways every 1,000 square kilometres.

Moving around is particularly easy in Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg, the European countries with the most extensive networks in Europe, with more than 100 km of railway per 100,000 square kilometres

Germany is also one of the countries where the network grew most in the past decade, up 6 km per 1,000 km² of land area.

Norway, Greece, and Finland, on the other hand, rank at the bottom with fewer than 20 kilometres. Hence, it may not be a surprise that Greece is the EU nation that travels the least by train, covering only about 70 km a year, domestically.

Which European citizens use trains the most?

In the EU, 95% of that traffic takes place on domestic railways.

The beating heart of the rail network lies on a central-western axis, as Austrian, Hungarian and French passengers rack up the most kilometres, between 1,400 and 1,500, according to Eurostat.

The average EU citizen travels around 1,000 km per year. The total kilometres travelled reach 443 billion. If you were to cover that distance in space, you could take 500 round-trips between Earth and Jupiter.

UK data is not included in the Eurostat report, but the average is very similar to the EU’s. Nevertheless, rail traffic there is mostly concentrated in London and the south east, according to the Office of Rail and Road 2025 data.