The Czech Republic is Now Officially "Czechia" For Short

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Czech Republic Changes Official Name

Location of "Czechia" within the European Union
Map by David Liuzzo (CC BY-SA)

Last month, we wrote about a formal name change for the Gambia, a small country in Africa. But the Gambia wasn't the only country to modify its official name this year: Europe's Czech Republic also filed a name change with the UN, of a slightly different kind.

Rather than changing the details of its full name, as the Gambia did when it switched out "Republic of the Gambia" for "Islamic Republic of the Gambia", the Czech Republic actually only changed its foreign language short name.

Long known for not really having a good short name in English, the Czech Republic now wants you to call it "Czechia" (pronounced "CHECK-ee-ah") in all casual contexts. (The complete formal name is still "Czech Republic".)

Iraq Control Map & Timeline: The Siege of Mosul - November 2016 (Subscription)

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The battle is now on for Mosul, the so-called Islamic State's (ISIS/ISIL) biggest city. A grand coalition of Iraqi military, Shiite and Sunni militias, and Kurdistan's Peshmerga forces - with controversial help from the Turkish military - have now entered and mostly surrounded the city.
 
See all this and more on the latest update to PolGeoNow's concise, professional map of control in Iraq's civil war, including a timeline of changes since our previous Iraq map report of September 2016.

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The Gambia's Name Change

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US government map of the Gambia (source)

The Gambia Changes Official Name
If you read our review of world political geography changes in 2015, you might remember a brief note on the official name of the Gambia, a tiny country located along the banks of a river in West Africa. Last December, the Gambia's maverick dictator decided to declare the country an "Islamic republic", a designation that can have various meanings and is used by four other countries in the world.

At the time, at least one regional news source claimed that the country's official name had indeed been changed from "Republic of The Gambia" to "Islamic Republic of The Gambia". But for a country's name to be formally changed, its government normally has to pass a law or at least issue some kind of proclamation, and at the time it wasn't clear whether that had actually  happened.

Syrian Civil War Control Map & Report: October 23, 2016 (Subscription)

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Since earlier this month, rebels in Syria have scored an important victory against the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL), even while losing ground to the government - and fighting amongst themselves - in other areas.
 
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• Detailed indication of city-by-city control, including key towns and other locations important to current events.
• Locations of recent fighting and other important events, including Dabiq, Tell Rifaat, Moadamiya, and more.
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Syrian Civil War Control Map & Report: October 2, 2016 (Subscription)

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Research by Djordje Djukic. Map by onestopmap.com, Evan Centanni, and Djordje Djukic

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During the past month, a continued Turkish military incursion into Syria completely cut off the so-called "Islamic State" from the self-proclaimed caliphate's last international border in the region (other than its boundaries with Syrian and Iraqi territory).

Meanwhile, the Assad government and rebel groups have continued to take territory from each other despite a brief attempt at a country-wide ceasefire.
 
See all this and more on the latest update to PolGeoNow's concise, professional Syrian Civil War control map, which includes a timeline of changes since our previous Syria map report in late August, with sources cited.

This map and report are premium professional content, available to paid subscribers of the PolGeoNow Conflict Mapping Service.

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Exclusive report includes:

• Up-to-date map of current territorial control in Syria, color-coded for the Assad government, rebel groups, "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL) fighters, and Kurdish/SDF forces. Colorblind accessible.
• Special symbols indicating towns dominated by rebels of the former Nusra Front (now Jabhat Fateh al-Sham) and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
• Detailed indication of city-by-city control, including key towns and other locations important to current events.
• Locations of recent fighting and military operations, including Dabiq, Halfaya, Suran, Jarabulus, and more.
• Detailed timeline of important events and changes to territorial control since August 27, 2016, compiled by our Syria-Iraq expert, with links to sources.

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