ASIA PAKISTAN In a surprising turn of events, former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter, and her husband all had their prison sentences for corruption suspended by the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday while they appeal their convictions. It's unclear whether this will have any political reverberations--Sharif is still under a lifetime ban from … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: September 19 2018

HOLIDAYS Yom Kippur began at sundown on Tuesday, and Ashura begins at sundown tomorrow, so Columbia University professor Hamid Dabashi has put together a little piece on the two religious observances' shared heritage: Both Jewish and Muslim observers have noticed this proximity between Yom Kippur and Ashoura. On the occasion of the two holidays coinciding in … Continue reading Middle East update: September 19 2018

G’mar Tov to those who are observing Yom Kippur. EUROPE GERMANY Because he's by all accounts heavily in the bag for the Nazi-lite Alternative for Germany party, the now former head of the country's BfV domestic spying agency, Hans-Georg Maaßen, was promoted on Tuesday to a higher position within the interior ministry. While this is a … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: September 18 2018

G’mar Tov to those who are observing Yom Kippur. ASIA AFGHANISTAN At least nine Afghan police officers were killed late Monday in an "insider" attack in Balkh province. As is typical in these sorts of incidents, the officer who attacked the others took their weapons and went off to join the Taliban. MYANMAR The International … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: September 18 2018

G’mar Tov to those who are observing Yom Kippur. SYRIA It looks like we've narrowly averted World War III in Syria again, so whatever else is happening today at least we have that going for us. If you were with us yesterday, then you know that Israel launched a missile strike against a weapons facility … Continue reading Middle East update: September 18 2018

EUROPE UKRAINE Goldsmiths, University of London scholar Linda Kinstler discusses the Paul Manafort case in light of Ukraine's endemic corruption problem: In Ukraine, where corruption remains widespread, few expect the judicial system to actually render justice. So news of Paul Manafort’s guilty plea for two felony counts, both linked to his extensive work as a … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: September 17 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN Multiple Taliban attacks across three different provinces on Sunday and Monday killed at least 27 Afghan security personnel. A series of attacks beginning Sunday night in Farah province and left 17 security forces dead, while a Monday morning attack in Badghis province killed five and another Monday attack in Baghlan province killed another five. Increasingly, … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: September 17 2018

SYRIA Astoundingly, Monday's meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi appears to have produced a tangible, potentially huge result. The two leaders pledged to establish a 15-20 kilometer wide "demilitarized zone" in Idlib province that will separate rebel and government lines and will be patrolled by Russian and Turkish … Continue reading Middle East update: September 17 2018

EUROPE ROMANIA A group of hundreds of Romanian judges held a silent protest outside Bucharest’s Court of Appeals on Sunday to call for preserving judicial independence. The Romanian government has been on a months' long quest to undermine the judiciary and decriminalize corruption on account of the fact that ruling party boss Liviu Dragnea is currently barred … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: September 15-16 2018