UNITED KINGDOM Saturday night's terrorist attack in London killed at least seven people, and with 21 people reportedly in critical condition there's still a danger that figure could rise. Just before 10 PM local time, a van struck a crowd of pedestrians on London Bridge, and then drove to Borough Market, where three attackers got … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: June 3-4 2017

ASIA AFGHANISTAN It was a horrific week in Kabul. After Wednesday's massive bombing led to deadly anti-government protests on Friday, on Saturday suicide bombers targeted the funeral of one of Wednesday's victims, killing at least 19 people. The Taliban once again denied what seems like an obvious Taliban attack and tried to blame rivalries within Afghanistan's … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: June 3-4 2017

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Hackers have apparently compromised the personal email account for Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE Ambassador to the US, and leaked its contents to several media outlets including The Intercept and Huffington Post. There's some serious stuff in this leak. Otaiba, for those who don't know, is one of the most active ambassadors in … Continue reading Middle East update: June 3-4 2017

UNITED NATIONS Congratulations to the newest members of the UN Security Council: The 193-member United Nations General Assembly elected Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Peru and Poland to the U.N. Security Council on Friday for a two-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2018. The Netherlands was elected for a one-year term after reaching a deal with … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: June 2 2017

PHILIPPINES At this point, from where I sit, there is almost nothing about Friday's attack on the Resorts World Manila casino that makes sense. The death toll now stands at 38, including the lone attacker, who either died of gunshot wounds or self-immolation. The other 37 seem to have all died of causes related to … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: June 2 2017

IRAQ ISIS may be down to three Mosul neighborhoods now, as Iraqi authorities said today that their forces have captured the city's Sihha neighborhood from the insurgents. I know I keep saying this, but the Iraqis have a tendency to overestimate their progress, so Sihha may not quite be under full Iraqi control yet, but … Continue reading Middle East update: June 2 2017

NATO Two major NATO exercises took place in Eastern Europe today, the annual BALTOPS naval exercise in the Baltics and the Romanian leg of the alliance's "Noble Jump 2017" exercise. This did not, of course, go without notice from Moscow, whose ambassador to NATO, Alexander Grushko, issued a warning: "NATO countries should understand that all … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: June 1, 2017

ASIA UZBEKISTAN An audio recording has surfaced that appears to include Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev lambasting his deputy prime minister, Rustam Azimov, who may or may not have been present. This seems to be another sign that Azimov, who was expected to be part of a ruling triumvirate with Mirziyoyev and Uzbek intelligence chief Rustam Inoyatov after … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: June 1 2017

ISRAEL-PALESTINE The US embassy in Israel is...staying put, in Tel Aviv, for the foreseeable future. After making a big campaign deal about moving the embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing that city as Israel's capital, President Donald Trump today issued the same national security wavier that every president since 1995 has issued to keep the embassy … Continue reading Middle East update: June 1 2017

WELL, WE HAD A...RUN Via Axios, Donald Trump is reportedly, and unsurprisingly, about to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Or if you prefer visual representations of your world news, he's about to do this: https://twitter.com/ianbremmer/status/869930895821725696 Without disparaging Nicaragua and, ah, Syria, I'm not sure that's the best company for the … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: May 31 2017