CLIMATE CHANGE A new report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change finds that we're all careening very rapidly toward disaster: On Monday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a daunting report, suggesting that we are currently on track for around 3 degrees Celsius of warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The IPCC … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: October 9 2018

ASIA ARMENIA Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has managed to convince the leader of a small party called Prosperous Armenia, plus several individual members of the opposition Republican Party, to agree to hold a snap election in December. This gives Pashinyan the election he's wanted in order to build a genuine parliamentary majority and eases what … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: October 9 2018

SYRIA Bashar al-Assad called the Russia-Turkey arrangement in Idlib province "temporary" at a Baath Party function over the weekend, which is probably news to Turkey and its rebel proxies and may even be news to Russia (though probably not). That kind of remark is probably not going to encourage the rebels in Idlib, who have … Continue reading Middle East update: October 9 2018

attwiw is taking the long weekend off, so these will be our last updates until Tuesday. Thanks for reading! ASIA AFGHANISTAN At least five Afghan civilians were killed Thursday in three separate and so far unclaimed bombings--one in Kandahar province, one in Nangarhar province, and the third in Kabul. US officials announced on Thursday that … Continue reading World update: October 4 2018

attwiw is taking the long weekend off, so these will be our last updates until Tuesday. Thanks for reading! SYRIA The US is very miffed at Russia for selling its S-300 air defense system to the Syrian government. General Joseph Votel, the head of Central Command, referred to the sale as a "needless escalation" that … Continue reading Middle East update: October 4 2018

ASIA GEORGIA NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg promised on Wednesday that Georgia will one day be a member of the transatlantic alliance. Which is great, I bet the Russians will be really happy for Georgia. ARMENIA Eurasianet's Joshua Kucera has more on the latest political tensions in Armenia: Armenians poured into the streets of Yerevan on … Continue reading World update: October 3 2018

SYRIA Bashar al-Assad told Kuwait's al-Shahed newspaper on Wednesday that "Arab and Western delegations" have started visiting Damascus to lay the groundwork for resuming normal diplomatic relations with Syria. Presumably he was referring to Gulf Arab delegations. The Gulf states have been opposed to Assad since the early days of the civil war in 2011 but … Continue reading Middle East update: October 3 2018

ASIA ARMENIA Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan led a rally of his supporters in Yerevan on Tuesday against what he called a "counterrevolution" by his political opponents. Pashinian's rise to the premiership in May, amid massive public protests against then-PM Serzh Sargsyan, didn't do anything to address the fact that Sargsyan's Republican Party still has a majority in parliament. … Continue reading World update: October 2 2018

SYRIA According to Rudaw, the Syrian Democratic Forces are only about 150 meters away from ISIS's defensive line in the town of Sousa, in Deir Ezzor province. It should be the next part of ISIS's pocket around Hajin to fall to the SDF. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports at least 211 ISIS fighters and … Continue reading Middle East update: October 2 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN Afghan security forces on Sunday night raided the home of Atallah Safi, a candidate for parliament in Kunar province, killing three of his bodyguards. Two additional people were reportedly arrested for some reason--no explanation for the raid has been forthcoming. PAKISTAN The Pakistani government has reduced the Chinese loan backing a major Belt and Road … Continue reading World update: October 1 2018