Happy Halloween to those who are celebrating! EUROPE RUSSIA A suicide bomber struck the Federal Security Service (FSB) office in the city of Arkhangelsk on Wednesday, injuring three people (the bomber obviously died). So far there's been no motive offered for the bombing, which is a fairly unusual occurrence in Russia outside of the North Caucasus … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: October 31 2018

Happy Halloween for anyone celebrating! ASIA AFGHANISTAN An Afghan army helicopter crashed on its way from Farah province to Herat province on Wednesday, killing 25 people including the head of the Farah provincial council and a western regional Afghan military commander. The Taliban claims to have shot the helicopter down but Afghan officials have disputed … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: October 31 2018

Happy Halloween to those celebrating! MIDDLE EAST The Carnegie Endowment has produced a several-part series on the "hybridization" of national security in several Arab countries: Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, and Yemen. What they're talking about is the increasing reliance these states have on non-state militias to backstop their national militaries. These countries have played around … Continue reading Middle East update: October 31 2018

ASIA KAZAKHSTAN Central Asia analyst Natalie Hall considers who might eventually succeed 78 year old Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev: Kazakhstan’s power structure, like many post-Soviet states, is pyramidic in nature. From his seat of power at the top, a series of patronage networks flows down the ranks of government, distributing money, favors, and power to … Continue reading World update: October 30 2018

SYRIA At least one Syrian Kurdish fighter was reportedly killed late Tuesday when Turkish forces fired on Tal Abyad. Rudaw reports that the attack is ongoing so that casualty count may increase. Perhaps not coincidentally, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told a group of AKP legislators on Tuesday that the Turkish military has begun "active … Continue reading Middle East update: October 30 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN At least six people were wounded on Monday when an ISIS suicide bomber struck near the headquarters of the Afghan election commission in Kabul. SRI LANKA Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa began his new gig as prime minister on Monday, after having been suddenly appointed to the job by current President Maithripala … Continue reading World update: October 29 2018

SYRIA The US is reportedly helping the Syrian Democratic Forces regroup and resupply after a bad weekend in and around the eastern Syrian town of Sousa. ISIS was able to retake the town after losing about half of it to the SDF last week, killing dozens of SDF fighters in the process. It doesn't really … Continue reading Middle East update: October 29 2018