ASIA AFGHANISTAN Afghan politics look like they're about to get more chaotic: Leaders of Afghanistan’s three major ethnic minority political parties, all of whom hold senior positions in the government, announced from Turkey Saturday that they have formed a coalition to save Afghanistan from chaos, issued a list of demands for reforms by President Ashraf … Continue reading Asia/Australia/Africa update: July 1-2 2017

SYRIA At least eight people, in addition to the bombers, were killed in Damascus on Sunday in a multiple car bombing. Three cars attempted to get into the central part of the city, but two were stopped at checkpoints and deliberately detonated, so the attack certainly could have been worse. As such the Syrian government … Continue reading Middle East update: July 1-2 2017

I know it's a little early this evening, but I'm beat and so I'm deciding to call it a night barring some major thing happening. EUROPE CYPRUS There has apparently been progress in Cyprus reunification talks, but not enough to say if or when there might be a deal: Progress has been slow in high-level … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: June 30 2017

I know it's a little early this evening, but I'm beat and so I'm deciding to call it a night barring some major thing happening. ASIA AFGHANISTAN Two incidents of note on Friday. In western Afghanistan's Farah province, Taliban fighters attacked a police outpost, killing six Afghan police officers in a battle that also saw … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: June 30 2017

I know it's a little early this evening, but I'm beat and so I'm deciding to call it a night barring some major thing happening. SYRIA Depending on which account you believe, a major ISIS counterattack in Raqqa on Friday either mostly fizzled out or made substantial territorial gains. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights … Continue reading Middle East update: June 30 2017

TRAVEL BAN The Supreme Court's decision to reinstitute Donald Trump's travel ban isn't going over well in the Middle East, and you can understand why. As it turns out, though the decision did leave exceptions for travelers with "bona fide" connections to the United States, the court, in its inimitable way, decided not to explain … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: June 28-29 2017

ASIA UZBEKISTAN One of Uzbekistan's more charming features is the annual enslavement of much of its population to pick cotton, which remains one of the country's most important products. The World Bank has implemented projects in Uzbekistan that are meant to diversify its agricultural sector away from cotton, but a new Human Rights Watch investigation … Continue reading Asia/Australia/Africa update: June 28-29 2017

SAUDI ARABIA Let's check in on former Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef in his definitely totally voluntary and in no way forced retirement. I'm sure he's having a fantastic time: The recently deposed crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Nayef, has been barred from leaving the kingdom and confined to his palace in … Continue reading Middle East update: June 28-29 2017

I'm going to be out for most of the day so I just wanted to run quickly through a couple of big stories. I'll be back for more regular updates tomorrow: UKRAINE/CYBERSPACE A ransomware called "Petya" struck Ukrainian institutions Tuesday morning and seems to be spreading around the world as the day goes on. The … Continue reading (Short) World update: June 27 2017

FYI, this is only going to be a partial update since I'm going to be out most of this afternoon and evening. SYRIA There was a bit more today on the strange White House statement last night regarding Bashar al-Assad's alleged preparations for "another" (assuming you believe there have been others) chemical weapons attack. The … Continue reading Middle East update: June 27 2017