If the current rate of global carbon emissions continues, the world is likely to experience an average temperature rise of 3.5°C above preindustrial levels by 2100, according to a new report [PDF] from the UN Environment Program. 

The annual report, which described the findings as “bleak,” lays out the gap between countries’ emissions and the emissions targets laid out in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which seeks to cap (UNFCCC) global temperature rise to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. To meet that target, the report says global emissions must drop by 7.6 percent every year from 2020 to 2030. Yet, emissions grew by around 1.5 percent (WaPo) each year of the last decade. The United States’ energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rose 2.7 percent last year.

Beijing has set up a crisis command center on the mainland near the Hong Kong border as a pro-democracy movement continues in the territory, according to a Reuters report. It is also considering replacing the top mainland official stationed in Hong Kong.
 
Japan: Pope Francis met with survivors (Kyodo) of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Tokyo on the last day of a visit to Japan during which he spoke against the use of nuclear weapons.
 
CFR President Richard N. Haass discusses the looming threat of nuclear competition.

The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and the rights group Amnesty International called for the release (TOLO) of two activists detained by Afghan security forces last week after they exposed a child sex abuse ring in eastern Afghanistan’s Logar Province.
 
Pakistan: The country’s top court suspended a three-year tenure extension (Dawn) for army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, whose term is set to end Friday. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government had ordered the extension (Reuters) in August.

U.S. troops and allied Kurdish fighters have restarted joint operations (NYT) against the self-proclaimed Islamic State in the country’s north after a partial U.S. troop withdrawal in recent weeks, according to the head of the U.S. Central Command.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Frances Z. Brown discusses the limits of the Trump administration’s Syria strategy.
 
Saudi Arabia: Since November 16, authorities have arrested (WSJ) at least nine journalists, intellectuals, and businessmen who publicly supported the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

A new report from the McKinsey Global Institute warns that progress toward gender parity has stalled across Africa, though the report found that the continent has the highest representation of women on company boards of any region in the world, at 25 percent.
 
Mali: Thirteen French soldiers died when two helicopters accidentally collided (Al Jazeera) during a combat mission against suspected jihadis, the French government said. The incident is thought to be France’s deadliest in Mali since it began its current military operations in 2013.
 
For the Africa in Transition blog, CFR’s John Campbell discusses the role of foreign troops in combating terrorism in the Sahel.

Turkey tested its new Russian S-400 missile defense system yesterday, local media reported. Washington has warned Ankara (VOA) it could impose sanctions on the NATO ally if Turkey does not remove or return the anti-aircraft system.

Colombian President Ivan Duque met with business and union leaders who helped organize a 250,000-person march last week in an effort to quell nationwide protests. Duque promised a national dialogue (Reuters) on corruption and social issues.
 
Argentina: Two Catholic priests were convicted of sexually abusing eleven children (WSJ) between 2005 and 2016. The church and Pope Francis, who is from Argentina, have been criticized for a perceived reluctance to investigate abuse charges.

A federal judge ruled against (NYT) a White House argument that senior officials do not have to comply with congressional subpoenas because of executive privilege, and ordered former White House Counsel Donald McGahn to testify in the congressional impeachment inquiry.