North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ambassadors are holding emergency talks (AP) today after an air strike in northeastern Syria killed at least thirty-three Turkish soldiers and Turkey announced it will no longer stop (Anadolu) migrants from crossing its borders into Europe.
 
The strike marked a dramatic escalation in Syria’s rebel bastion and prompted the European Union’s top diplomat to warn (Reuters) of a slide into a major international conflict. Since 2016, Turkey has prevented migrants from crossing into Europe (Guardian) in exchange for financial support from the EU.

Afghan officials are meeting with Taliban leaders in Doha, Qatar, today ahead of Saturday’s expected deal (TOLO) between the militant group and Washington.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Carter Malkasian discusses how to make a U.S.-Taliban peace deal stick.
 
India: Delhi police arrested over five hundred people (Reuters) for their participation in Hindu-Muslim violence that shook the city for three days.

Iraq’s legislature was forced to adjourn (Reuters) a session to approve a new cabinet due to boycotts from some lawmakers. Sunni and Kurdish blocs have opposed Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Allawi’s proposed cabinets.

The African Union (AU) plans to send three thousand troops (Al Jazeera) to West Africa’s Sahel region in an effort to quell escalating attacks by militant groups.
 
Malawi: The country legalized (BBC) the growth, sale, and export of cannabis for medicine and hemp fiber.

The chairman of Chinese tech giant Huawei announced it will build a $217 million plant (Reuters) in France to supply 5G technology throughout Europe.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at the controversies surrounding Huawei.
 
UK: A court blocked the construction (Guardian) of a third runway at London’s Heathrow Airport due to environmental concerns in the world’s first major ruling based on the Paris Agreement.

Construction of a $5 billion natural gas pipeline in British Columbia halted for two days of talks (CBC) between government officials and leaders from the indigenous Wet’suwet’en community, who have encouraged nationwide protests against the project.
 
El Salvador: Human rights groups denounced a new law (Al Jazeera) to prosecute crimes against humanity committed during the country’s civil war. They say the one-year time limit on investigations and the ten-year window in which charges can be leveled will amount to amnesty for perpetrators.

More than a dozen Department of Health and Human Services workers were sent to meet Americans evacuated from the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak without appropriate training or protective gear (WaPo), a whistleblower said.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) urged all nations to prepare (Reuters) for coronavirus outbreaks. Sub-Saharan Africa’s first case of COVID-19 was discovered in a man who traveled through Nigeria’s capital (Reuters) before going to the hospital.
 
For CFR’s Think Global Health initiative, Charles Holmes, Matthew Boyce, and Rebecca Katz discuss Africa’s preparedness for COVID-19.