ASIA AFGHANISTAN Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has now had a second provincial governor tell him to get bent when Ghani tried to sack him. Ghani tried, and has apparently failed, to can Abdul Karim Khadam, governor of Samangan Province. Khadam is a member of the Jamiat-e Islami party along with Atta Muhammad Nur, the governor of … Continue reading World update: February 17-18 2018

SYRIA So first the big news. According to Reuters, and I would take this with a grain of salt because they don't seem to have any confirmation of it, the YPG and the Syrian government have reached an agreement that will see the Syrian army move into Afrin in the coming days to fight the … Continue reading Middle East update: February 17-18 2018

ASIA AZERBAIJAN This is sure to go over well: Azerbaijan’s president has claimed that large parts of Armenia’s territory are Azerbaijan’s “historic lands,” vowing to return to them. The fraught assertion threatens to derail any progress, however slight, in peace talks between the two countries in recent months.   “Yerevan is our historical land and … Continue reading World update: February 16 2018

SYRIA As usual, civilians are taking the brunt of the pounding as Turkey tries to grind out more territory in Afrin: One-month-old Heyim Hassan was receiving treatment for a chest infection in the Afrin general hospital in northern Syria when a shell landed a few meters (feet) away. His panicked father whisked him out of … Continue reading Middle East update: February 16 2018

It's been a bit of a long day so I'm going to try to keep things brief and contained to one post tonight. MIDDLE EAST SYRIA Reuters is reporting that over 300 Russian mercenaries were killed or injured in last week's US airstrike in Deir Ezzor. Around 100 of them were killed. This is the … Continue reading World update: February 15 2018

CLIMATE CHANGE Well folks, it's been fun. I hope whatever supremely heat- and water-resistant creature inherits this planet does a better job with it than we did: A draft United Nations climate science report contains dire news about the warming of the planet, suggesting it will likely cross the key marker of 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: February 14 2018

ASIA ARMENIA The ruling Republican Party of Armenia's chosen candidate in the country's March 2 presidential vote (Armenian presidents are voted into office by parliament), former Prime Minister Armen Sargsyan, may not be eligible for the office. Everyone agrees that Sargsyan was a dual Armenian-British citizen between 2002 and 2011. The Armenian constitution requires presidents to … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: February 14 2018

SYRIA One addendum to yesterday's update. When I cited the New York Times on estimates of Russian casualties in last week's US airstrikes in Deir Ezzor, I somehow let this gem of a sentence slide past me: The attack occurred in the vicinity of Deir al-Zour, a strategic, oil-rich territory that is coveted by the Syrians. … Continue reading Middle East update: February 14 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN The AP is reporting that Afghan authorities are maintaining two separate tracks of back-channel contacts with the Taliban, one via the country's intelligence chief Mohammed Masoom Stanekzai and the other via Ashraf Ghani's national security adviser, Mohammad Hanif Atmar. The existence of these channels leaves open the possibility of a resumption of peace talks, but … Continue reading World update: February 13 2018

SYRIA There are lingering questions about just how many Russian contractors were killed in last week's US airstrikes in Deir Ezzor province (on Tuesday, a US drone bombed a Russian-made tank in the same area in what appears to have been an isolated incident). Russian authorities continue to deny that any Russian soldiers were killed … Continue reading Middle East update: February 13 2018