Monday, 6th October
ISIS CRISIS–NATO will stand by member stateTurkeyif it comes under attack as a result of the fighting in neighboring Syria, alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. (The Wall Street Journal)
BULGARY– Bulgaria’s center-right GERB party won Sunday’s general election with 32.6% of the vote against 15.27% for their main Socialist opponents. (Reuters)
Tuesday, 7th October
SPAIN– Investigations are under way at a hospital in Madrid after a Spanish nurse became the first person known to have contracted the deadly Ebola virus outside West Africa. (BBC)
EUROPEAN UNION– The European Union plans to launch a mission to helpItalycope with swarms of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa, the EU said. Called Operation Triton, the mission will be managed by Europe’s border control agency, Frontex. It will reinforce Italy’s own rescue operation, Mare Nostrum, which began after 366 people drowned just a mile from the Italian island of Lampedusa when their boat capsized a year ago. (Reuters)
Wednesday, 8th October
TURKEY–At least nine people were killed and dozens wounded in demonstrations acrossTurkey, as Kurds demanded the government do more to protect the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane from Islamic State militants. (Reuters)
YEMEN– Shia rebels have rejected a new Yemeni prime minister just hours after his appointment, in a blow to hopes of restoring order two weeks after they overran the capital. (Al Jazeera)
CYPRUS– The Republic of Cyprus on Tuesday pulled out of the latest round of UN buffered peace talks in protest at apparent attempts by Turkey to encroach on Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and called on the international community to condemn Ankara’s “provocative behavior”. (ANSAmed)
Thursday, 9th October
PALESTINE– Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah arrived in Gaza Thursday from Ramallah, the West Bank, for a national unity government meeting. The visit marks the first time that Palestinian Authority representatives have entered Gaza since 2007, when Hamas took over the enclave. (The New York Times)
JORDAN– The EU and Jordan have officially established a “Mobility Partnership”. Through this cooperation, according to the EU Commission, the EU and Jordan “agree to ensure that the movement of persons is managed as effectively as possible, allowing for concrete actions to further improve the situation in the way migration, asylum and borders are dealt with”. (ANSAmed)
EBOLA CRISIS– Secretary of State John Kerry made an urgent plea Wednesday for nations to step up their response to the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, saying more money, equipment and personnel are needed now. In an impassioned appeal, Kerry said progress against the disease was being made, but far too slowly, and that the world is not where it needs to be in stemming Ebola’s spread. (The Huffington Post)
Friday, 10th October
IRAN–Talks over Iran’s nuclear program might be extended if disagreement over remaining issues cannot be resolved by a November deadline. (Al-Monitor)
FRANCE–France, the world’s most nuclear-dependent country, Friday voted to cut reliance on the energy source from more than 75% to 50% within a decade. The vote comes as part of an ambitious makeover of France’s energy use promised by President Francois Hollande during his 2012 election campaign. (The Daily Star)
ISIS CRISIS– Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have advanced deeper into the embattled Syrian town of Kobane, taking control of more than 40% of territory. (Al Jazeera)
