ASIA ARMENIA It's looking more and more like opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan will be Armenia's next prime minster when parliament makes its pick on Tuesday. He's already met with President Armen Sarkisian to pitch his case for taking the job, which presumably centers on his ability to calm the protesters regularly hitting the streets of Yerevan these … Continue reading World update: April 28-29 2018

SYRIA So, um, it appears that the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian army fought each other over the weekend in eastern Syria: U.S-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said they expelled had Syrian troops that briefly took control of a string of villages in oil rich areas east of the Euphrates river near the Iraqi border … Continue reading Middle East update: April 28-29 2018

ASIA ARMENIA Interim Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan refused to meet with opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan on Friday to try to ease the country's ongoing political turmoil. He later complained that Pashinyan and the opposition have been "monopolising the political process." Karapetyan's Republican Party has led the Armenian government since 1999, just to provide some context to that statement. … Continue reading World update: April 27 2018

SYRIA New US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has already started his first overseas trip with a stop in Brussels for meetings with his fellow NATO foreign ministers. Whatever else he did there, Pompeo seems to have made a good impression on Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who told Turkish media on Friday that the US … Continue reading Middle East update: April 27 2018

EUROPE The head of the World Food Program, David Beasley, says that returning ISIS fighters are trying to exacerbate hunger in the Sahel to drive a wave of migrants toward Europe: Speaking to the Guardian during a visit to Brussels for a two-day Syria summit, Beasley said: “You are going to face a similar pattern … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: April 26 2018

ASIA GEORGIA The richest person in Georgia is tired of the little people mucking around with his politics and is ready to do something about it: Georgia’s richest man Bidzina Ivanishvili has emerged from seclusion to take back the reins of the ruling Georgian Dream party in an apparent attempt to iron out bitter divisions … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: April 26 2018

MIDDLE EAST During his Tuesday press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Donald Trump did the thing where you say the quiet part out loud and also in an extremely stupid way: “Countries that are in the area, some of which are immensely wealthy, would not be there except for the United States and, to … Continue reading Middle East update: April 26 2018

EUROPE ALBANIA Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama headed to Berlin on Wednesday to begin European Union accession talks and, in addition to warning that Brussels' failure to expand into the Balkans could leave the region open to Russian influence, had a message for right-wing European populists: From Britain to Hungary, populist parties have made electoral gains … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: April 24-25 2018

ASIA ARMENIA It appears Serzh Sargsyan's resignation was not enough to satisfy the Armenian protesters who forced it earlier this week. Talks between interim Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan and opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan on What Happens Next broke down on Wednesday after Pashinyan made it clear publicly that the entire Republican Party of Armenia must be removed from … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: April 24-25 2018

SYRIA On Wednesday, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons investigative team in Syria visited a second site in Douma that was allegedly struck by chemical weapons on April 7. Meanwhile, the US, France, and Britain may employ a little-used Cold War-era United Nations mechanism to reestablish a full investigation into chemical weapons use … Continue reading Middle East update: April 24-25 2018