ASIA KAZAKHSTAN Central Asia analyst Natalie Hall considers who might eventually succeed 78 year old Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev: Kazakhstan’s power structure, like many post-Soviet states, is pyramidic in nature. From his seat of power at the top, a series of patronage networks flows down the ranks of government, distributing money, favors, and power to … Continue reading World update: October 30 2018

SYRIA At least one Syrian Kurdish fighter was reportedly killed late Tuesday when Turkish forces fired on Tal Abyad. Rudaw reports that the attack is ongoing so that casualty count may increase. Perhaps not coincidentally, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told a group of AKP legislators on Tuesday that the Turkish military has begun "active … Continue reading Middle East update: October 30 2018

ASIA AFGHANISTAN At least six people were wounded on Monday when an ISIS suicide bomber struck near the headquarters of the Afghan election commission in Kabul. SRI LANKA Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa began his new gig as prime minister on Monday, after having been suddenly appointed to the job by current President Maithripala … Continue reading World update: October 29 2018

SYRIA The US is reportedly helping the Syrian Democratic Forces regroup and resupply after a bad weekend in and around the eastern Syrian town of Sousa. ISIS was able to retake the town after losing about half of it to the SDF last week, killing dozens of SDF fighters in the process. It doesn't really … Continue reading Middle East update: October 29 2018

ASIA GEORGIA Sunday's Georgian presidential election looks likely to prove indecisive, which means that the top two finishers, Salome Zurabishvili and Grigol Vashadze, will meet in a runoff sometime next month. Zurabishvili is supported by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, the wealthiest man in Georgia and the man generally believed to be running the country behind the scenes. … Continue reading World update: October 27-28 2018

SYRIA ISIS killed more than 40 Syrian Democratic Forces fighters, captured several more, and retook the town of Sousa in a battle that began late Friday and continued into Saturday morning. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is citing a higher casualty figure of more than 60. The SDF had taken about half of Sousa … Continue reading Middle East update: October 27-28 2018

EUROPE CYPRUS Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı met on Friday for the first time in six months and agreed to open two additional border crossings between the two halves of the country. The goodwill gesture is meant to build momentum toward possibly giving peace talks another crack. RUSSIA Donald Trump has … Continue reading Europe/Americas update: October 26 2018

ASIA PAKISTAN The Pakistani navy says that China has not asked for military access to its Gwadar port. Developing Gwadar is one of the centerpieces of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor project, AKA Pakistan's leg of the Belt and Road Initiative. The large Chinese commitment to the port has raised concerns in the US and India … Continue reading Asia/Africa update: October 26 2018

SYRIA An exchange of artillery fire in southeastern Idlib province killed at least seven people on Friday in the biggest single violation of the Russian-Turkish deescalation agreement there since it came into effect in September. Smaller scale violations have occurred here and there with occasional casualties, but Friday was a much bigger event than those … Continue reading Middle East update: October 26 2018

ASIAARMENIA US National Security Advisor John Bolton visited Armenia on Thursday and blamed Russian arms sales for exacerbating the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. Moscow is the main weapons supplier to both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Lest you think this was some high-minded and wholly out of character exercise in pacifism, Bolton also added a sales pitch … Continue reading World update: October 25 2018