as i can't stomach shoehorning Saudi Arabian liberalization into failed Turkish coups any longer-
the Krauts just finished their national elections for the 19th Bundestag and unsurprisingly Angela Merkel's CDU/CSU came in first with 33% of the vote ensuring her a 4th term as Chancellor. however that does represent a decline of 9% from the 2013 elections, and the far rightwing nationalist AfD surged to a 13% showing, earning legislative seats for the first time in its history.
to a thornier part of the world, the Kurds of Iraq just held an independence referendum which passed with an overwhelming 92% of the vote. the government in Baghdad, naturally, responded furiously threatening to impose land and air blockades on the region while authorizing the use of military force to retake disputed mixed-ethnicity lands that the Kurds had previously liberated from ISIS. the tense situation between two American allies is further complicated by Turkey's (and to a lesser extent Iran's) deep hostility to the notion of increased Kurdish sovereignty; Erdogan has likewise threatened to shut down trade and borders with the potential new state if independence moves forward.