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Lewis Hamilton A 7.5-magnitude earthquake strikes Afghanistan and Pakistan, killing at least 360 people and injuring more than 2000 others. In motorsport, Lewis Hamilton (pictured) wins the Formula One World Drivers' Championship after his team, Mercedes, secured the Constructors' Championship. Jimmy Morales is elected President of Guatemala in a runoff vote. Hurricane Patricia, the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere, makes landfall in Mexico. Scientists describe a new species of giant tortoise, Chelonoidis donfaustoi, in the Galápagos Islands. Ongoing events: Russian military intervention in Syria European migrant crisis Recent deaths: Maureen O'Hara

Current events of October 27, 2015 (2015-10-27) (Tuesday) Armed conflicts and attacks Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen A Yemeni hospital in Saada run by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) is destroyed by several Saudi-led coalition airstrikes overnight. The director of the hospital, Ali Mughli, reported "The air raids resulted in the destruction of the entire hospital with all that was inside - devices and medical supplies - and the moderate wounding of several people". Another airstrike hit a nearby girls school and damaged several civilian homes according to local media. (Reuters) Syrian Civil War, Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports the Islamic State, on Sunday, executed three detainees in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra by strapping them to pillars and blowing them up with the antiquities. ISIL has yet to tell locals the identities of the three individuals or say why they had been killed. (BBC) (USA Today) American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present), American-led intervention in Syria United States Defense Secretary Ashton Carter says the U.S. will begin "direct action on the ground" against the ISIL forces in Iraq and Syria, aiming to intensify pressure on the militants as progress against the militants remains elusive. The U.S. has done some special operations raids in Syria, e.g., last week's rescue operation with Kurdish forces in northern Iraq to free hostages held by ISIL. Carter also said the U.S. would intensify the air campaign against ISIL with heavier airstrikes and will focus on Raqqa, the group's declared capital in Syria. (NBC News) (Al Jazeera) (AP via Boston Globe) Libyan Civil War (2014–present) A Libyan helicopter carrying cash for a local bank on the way out and returning to Tripoli with passengers is shot down near the coastal Almaya area west of the capital city, killing at least 14 of its 23 passengers including senior officers Hosein Bodaya and Duhain Al-Rammah, officials with Libya’s Dawn militias . (AP via ABC News) (BBC) (UPI) Business and economics In a plea bargain with U.S. federal prosecutors, Rohit Bansal, a former Goldman Sachs banker accused of using private information leaked by source inside the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has agreed to plead guilty. The leaked information was said to have given Goldman an undue advantage regarding client advisement. Goldman also faces fines from the New York State’s Department of Financial Services. (New York Times) Walgreens Boots Alliance agrees to buy Rite Aid for US$9.4 billion in a move which will create a retail pharmaceutical giant with 13,000 stores. (Dow Jones via Fox Business) Disasters and accidents 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake Rescuers continue a search for survivors of the earthquake in Afghanistan and Pakistan including in areas controlled by the Taliban. The death toll from the earthquake is 339 with many thousands injured . (AFP via ABC News) (Himalayan Times) The Taliban, which effectively controls some of the worst-affected areas across multiple provinces, urged charity organizations not to hold back in delivering aid to Afghan victims of the quake, saying militants in the affected areas were ordered to provide "complete help." (Reuters) (Daily Star) 2015 Southeast Asian haze Raging Indonesian forest fires have advanced into dense forest on Borneo and now threaten one third of the world’s remaining wild orangutans, say conservationists. (South China Morning Post) (ABC news) International relations Territorial disputes in the South China Sea A United States Navy ship, the USS Lassen, sails near the Spratly Islands, challenging Beijing's claim that the islands are Chinese territory. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the actions of the United States in the South China Sea, saying “China will firmly react to this deliberate provocation". (Wall Street Journal) (NPR) (The New York Times) Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui summons US ambassador Max Baucus to protest a US naval patrol close to Beijing's man-made islands in the South China Sea. Zhang called the US patrol "extremely irresponsible" and urged Washington to cease actions that harm China's sovereignty and security. (Hong Kong Standard) (The Guardian) Greg Poling, a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, says the U.S. operation was aimed at testing control of the seas, not sovereignty over the disputed islands, to force a clarification of China's claims. Under maritime law, artificial islands were not usually afforded the 12-mile territorial zone, and that the U.S. Navy deliberately chose to send the destroyer near Subi Reef for this reason. (CNN) Humanitarian International Services Group, an NGO founded by evangelical Christian Kay Miramine, was part of a secret Pentagon program devised by Lt. Gen. William Boykin used to spy on North Korea, according to an investigation by the online publication The Intercept. The program, which started in 2004, was shut down in 2012 by now-retired Admiral William McRaven, concerned with pushback if this became public. Some current and former American NGO staff with experience in North Korea have expressed doubts about key claims in the report. (The Intercept) (Christian Post) (NK News) Law and crime Guatemala arrests 11 in a public hospital, medicine-buying kickback scheme. Two others remain at large, including Gustavo Alejos Cambara, the former private secretary to ex-President Álvaro Colom. A U.N. commission set up to tackle criminal networks in Guatemala participated in the investigation. [(AP) Politics and elections Britain is reviewing the powers of the House of Lords after the unelected peers stalled legislation yesterday that would have eliminated some tax allowances for the nation’s poor. Senior Conservatives say the upper chamber of Parliament stepped out of their usual roles as technical overseers of legislation. However, Conservative MP David Davis warned that such a move was “bully politics” that would “disgust” the public. (BBC) (AP via Washington Post) Current events of October 26, 2015 (2015-10-26) (Monday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War Spillover of the Syrian Civil War, Turkey–ISIL conflict Four Islamic State militants and two Turkish policemen are killed during a raid on a house used by militants in the city of Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Four other police officers were injured. (AP via Fox News) (Reuters) United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports at least 120,000 people have been displaced in Syria this month because of fighting. These displaced Syrians need tents, basic household items, food, water and sanitation services. The agency's humanitarian partners are scaling up their response. (AP) Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed it has deployed special forces to Syria over the past weeks supporting its mission to back-up the Bashar al-Assad regime. A Russian Defence Ministry official added that the special forces, who are "akin to the Delta Force of the U.S.," had been operating in pro-Russian rebel held areas of Ukraine before being called off to Syria. (Business Insider) (The Wall Street Journal) A suicide-bomb attack at a Shia mosque in the Saudi Arabian city of Najran accounts for over a dozen casualties. (BBC) Yemeni Civil War (2015) At least 50 people are killed, including seven civilians, in heavy fighting between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to ousted President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi near the city of Taiz. (Al-Jazeera) Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), American-led intervention in Iraq, Syrian Civil War, American-led intervention in Syria United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter indicates a more robust role ahead for the United States military in bolstering indigenous forces countering ISIS and in response to Russia’s increasing role in Middle East conflicts. (WSJ) Colombian conflict (1964–present) At least 11 Colombian Army soldiers and one policeman have been killed in an ELN attack in northeast Colombia. (Colombia Reports) Business MTN Group is fined $5.2 billion by the Nigerian Communications Commission for failing to disconnect non-registered SIM cards. (BBC) Toyota is once again the world's largest carmaker with 7.5 million units sold thus far in 2015, compared to Volkswagen's 7.43 million and General Motors' 7.2 million. (BBC) Japanese tire manufacturer Bridgestone announced it would buy US auto parts retailer Pep Boys for $835 million. (Reuters) Duke Energy announced it would buy Piedmont Natural Gas for $4.9 billion. (Reuters) USAA, one of the largest financial services companies in the U.S., announced the ending of its long-term relationship with MasterCard. The tenth-largest credit card issuer in the U.S. will replace the old credit cards with Visa cards next year. (WSJ) Disasters and accidents 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Moment magnitude scale (MMS) strikes in the Hindu Kush mountain range in northeastern Afghanistan, 158 miles from Kabul, in the remote province of Badakhshan, one of Afghanistan’s most inaccessible regions. Tremors reached as far as New Delhi, India. At least 263 are dead in Afghanistan and nearby northern Pakistan with more than 1,000 injured. The death toll will likely climb since communications in much of the affected areas are cut, and rescue teams had not yet reached districts closest to the epicenter, including some that are controlled by Taliban insurgents. (BBC) (Financial Express) (USGS) (Dawn) (Reuters) (L.A. Times) (AP) International relations Saudi Arabia–United Kingdom relations Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United Kingdom Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, in an op-ed piece in the The Daily Telegraph, warns of "potentially serious repercussions" for the two countries' relationship unless a more respectful discourse developed. At issue is London's withdrawal from a £5.9m (US$9.1m) prison deal with Saudi Arabia which has been linked to London's concerns about a death penalty case and a case involving Karl Andree, a 74-year-old Briton who faces 350 lashes. Today, the Saudi Supreme Court confirmed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr's death sentence. (Arab News) (BBC) (Daily Telegraph) The United States is reportedly blocking a $400 million plan by South Korea to sell KAI T-50 Golden Eagle trainer jets, co-developed in 2006 with Lockheed Martin, to Uzbekistan, according to The Korea Times. The aircraft uses Lockheed Martin technologies -- including avionics -- and as such requires permission under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act for its sale to other countries. (UPI) (The Korea Times) Territorial disputes in the South China Sea The U.S. Navy plans to send guided missile destroyer USS Lassen within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands built by China in the South China Sea. This first freedom of navigation challenge to China's territorial claims in one of the world's busiest sea lanes may occur as soon as tomorrow, according to a U.S. defense official. (Reuters) (The Diplomat) Law and crime Indian fugitive gangster Chhota Rajan is arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali. (BBC) Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court upholds the death sentence of Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who was found guilty of sedition and other charges following his involvement in the 2011 Arab Spring Movement. (Jurist) A member of the Saudi Royal Family and four other people are detained in Lebanon for attempting to smuggle about two tons of Captagon pills and some cocaine on a private jet. This is the largest drug seizure in the history of Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency. (Al Jazeera) (NBC News) Politics and elections Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a review of the status of certain Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. Netanyahu says he is considering revoking residency status for Palestinians living there, according to Israel's Channel 2. (AP) (UPI) Gun politics in the United States Leaders of nine national law enforcement groups, at the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Chicago, Illinois, call on federal lawmakers to strengthen background checks on gun purchases . (USA Today) (Reuters) In the United Kingdom, the unelected House of Lords, Parliament’s upper house, delays by three years reductions in tax credits paid to working people that would have cost affected families an average of £1,300 ($2,000) a year. This is the first major setback for George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, since the general election. Osborne said the government will "lessen" the impact of tax credit cuts for those affected, while vowing to press on with changes designed to save billions from welfare. (Bloomberg) (BBC) Science A new study by scientists finds that areas around the Persian Gulf could become uninhabitable to humans in less than 100 years due to rising temperatures. (The Telegraph)(New York Times)(Nature) Current events of October 25, 2015 (2015-10-25) (Sunday) Armed conflicts and attacks Israeli-Palestinian conflict (2015) Israeli border police shoot dead a 17-year-old girl after she approached them with a knife in the southern West Bank city of Hebron. (The New Daily AU) A Palestinian stabs an Israeli settler in Gush Etzion. 3 more stabbing attacks against Israelis resulted in no Israeli fatalities. (Ynet) Business and economics The United Parcel Service pilots’ union authorizes its executive board to call a strike at the board’s discretion as contract talks slog into a fifth year. This is in the wake of competitor FedEx pilots' approval of a new six-year contract. (WSJ) Danish A.P. Moller–Maersk Group announced smaller-than-expected earnings because of weak earnings by its bellwether container shipping unit, Maersk Line. (WSJ) Disasters and accidents At least 17 people are killed and 71 injured following a fire in a karaoke bar on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. (AP via Fox News) European migrant crisis The bodies of 40 migrants wash ashore on the Libyan coast with another 30 people missing. (AAP via SBS) At least five people are dead, one missing, and 21 rescued, from a tour boat carrying 27 people that sinks west of Vargas Island, off the coast of Tofino on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The RCMP is responsible for the missing person now that the search has been called off. (CTV) (CNN) (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) International relations European migrant crisis Eleven European and Balkan leaders meet about the migrant crisis at an emergency summit in Brussels, Belgium; Turkey did not attend. The Prime Minister of Slovenia says the EU will ‘start falling apart’ within weeks if the migrant crisis continues unchecked. Huge divisions remain among EU states over how to deal with the influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants. (Chicago Tribune) (Radio New Zealand) (Daily Mail) Balkan and European leaders agree to work together implementing a 17-point action plan that includes United Nations-aided accommodation for 100,000 places in reception centers along the route from Greece towards Germany, half in Greece and half in the countries to the north. Some of the other measures: within a week, deploy 400 police officers to Slovenia; step up efforts to return migrants not needing international protection; and, reinforce support of the bloc’s border agency, Frontex', role in securing external borders between Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, and Albania. (Reuters) (The Guardian) Law and crime 2015 Oklahoma State University homecoming parade crash Police have updated information on the casualties from this crash. Four died and 47 were injured; five remain in critical condition. (Q13 Fox) (Lethbridge Herald) The attorney for Adacia Chambers, the woman whose car plowed into a homecoming parade crowd, says he doesn't think his client was intoxicated at the crash. Tony Coleman said, "I don't believe right now that she was intoxicated. ... she's suffering from mental illness." (USA Today) (KFOR) More than 200 black bears are killed in a single day in the U.S. state of Florida after state officials allow the hunting of the animals for the first time in 21 years; supporters say the aim is to cut down on the animals' surging population, but animal rights activists have criticized the hunts as cruel and ineffective. (Sky News) Politics and elections Polish parliamentary election, 2015 Official results show Poland's conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, led by eurosceptic Jarosław Kaczyński and the new PM Beata Szydło, won more seats than any other party in today's general elections. Kaczyński is the twin brother of the late President Lech Kaczyński, who died in a 2010 jet crash. Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz has conceded defeat. (NDTV) (Newstalk), (AP via US News and World Report) Guatemalan general election, 2015 Voters in Guatemala go to the polls for the second round of voting in a presidential election with former TV comedian Jimmy Morales winning a landslide victory. (Wall Street Journal), (Reuters via ABC News Australia) Elections in the United States; Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2015 Republican U.S. Senator David Vitter and Democratic state Representative John Bel Edwards top two Republican candidates for spots in the November 21 runoff election. Edwards wins 40 percent and Vitter 23 percent of the primary vote, according to unofficial returns. (AP) Haitian presidential election, 2015, Haitian parliamentary election, 2015 Unlike the first round of the Haitian parliamentary elections when balloting was cancelled in 22 constituencies, voting appeared orderly, and largely peaceful, with a large turnout in Sunday's presidential and parliamentary second round elections. Electoral officials said there might be partial results in 10 days but final results would not be ready until late November. Haitians faced lengthy ballots featuring 54 presidential hopefuls and significant numbers of legislative and municipal candidates. An expected runoff between the top two presidential candidates is scheduled for December 27. (Miami Herald) (AP via Washington Post) (AFP via Capital Broadcasting Network) Argentine general election, 2015 Voters in Argentina went to the polls Sunday to select a new President and legislature. The race to be Argentina's next president heads for a November 22 runoff. With 80 percent of polling places reporting, opposition, Republican Proposal (PRO) candidate Mauricio Macri, and ruling party, Justicialist Party (PJ) candidate Daniel Scioli each have 35 percent of the votes. (BBC) (AP via Washington Post) (CNN) Sports Lewis Hamilton wins a third World Drivers' Championship in Formula One, as his team Mercedes secures the Constructors' Championship. (The Guardian) Current events of October 24, 2015 (2015-10-24) (Saturday) Armed conflicts and attacks A series of bomb blasts targeting Shia Muslims in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka kills at least one person and injures dozens more. Claims of responsibility by ISIS are discounted by Dhaka police who told AFP, "So far we have not found any link to any militant group." (Reuters) (Christian Science Monitor) Sinai insurgency, Egyptian parliamentary election, 2015 A first lieutenant and two soldiers have been killed in an explosion which targeted a police armored vehicle in the northern Sinai city of Al-Arīsh. (NY Times) Two suspected militants riding a motorcycle shoot and kill Mostafa Abdelrahman, the ultraconservative Salafi Al-Nour Party secretary, and parliamentary candidate for Al-Arīsh. Arish residents say militants have threatened candidates, accusing them of cooperating with the government. Al‑Nour is the only prominent Islamist party to emerge unscathed after the military's 2013 crackdown on Islamists. (Reuters) (AFP via Bangkok Post) Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015) Violence continues while talks persist looking for a peaceful resolution. A 16-year old Palestinian is shot dead after he tried to stab an Israeli security guard at a West Bank border crossing. A 25-year old Palestinian protester died of wounds suffered last week when he was shot by Israeli troops during a border clash near the Gazan town of Khan Yunis. (Reuters) (AP) Syrian Civil War Al-Nusra Front's (Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria) leader Abu Suleiman al-Masri is reportedly killed in the Aleppo province during clashes with the Syrian Army. (Independent) Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen At least 40 people, including several fishermen, are reportedly killed following Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on two islands off Yemen's Red Sea coast. Local fisherman reported coalition aircraft and warships struck the Aqban and Kadman islands targeting Houthi forces but also destroyed several boats killing local fishermen. (Reuters) Arts and culture Actress Maureen O'Hara dies in her sleep at her Boise, Idaho, home. "She passed peacefully surrounded by her loving family as they celebrated her life listening to music from her favorite movie, The Quiet Man," said her family's statement. (AP) (ABC News) Close to 300 landmarks in 60 countries, from the Pyramids in Egypt, to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the Empire State Building in New York, were lit up in blue — the official color of the United Nations — to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the world body. (New York Times) (UN) (Blue photos UN) The three-week synod on the family convened by Pope Francis at the Vatican concludes with traditional Catholic orientations toward marriage and the family intact. (New York Times) Disasters and accidents A Union Pacific freight train derails in flooded North Texas, near Corsicana, where the tracks washed away. The two crewmen on board swam to safety. (CBS News) (WFAA blog) 2015 Pacific hurricane season Hurricane Patricia, which hit the Mexican coast as a Category 5 storm, appeared to leave remarkably little damage as it moved rapidly inland over mountainous western Mexico and is now a tropical depression (35 mph/55 kph). The storm is currently centered northeast of Zacatecas, Mexico, moving northeast at 24 mph/39 kph. While there are no reports of casualties or substantial widespread damage, authorities warn deadly floods and mudslides remain possible. (ABC News) (CTV News) (NHC) 2015 Oklahoma State University homecoming parade crash A driver, arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI), plows into the Oklahoma State Homecoming parade in Stillwater, Oklahoma, killing four people and injuring 34 with eight in critical condition. The homecoming game with Kansas was played at 2:30 p.m. CT as scheduled. (USA Today) (KOCO) (AP via WFLX) (Stillwater News Press) Costa Rica's restive Turrialba Volcano erupts. (The Tico Times) International relations Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015), Israel–Jordan relations Israel and Jordan agree to take steps to quell violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem which includes round-the-clock monitoring of new security cameras there. Israel reaffirms Jordan's historic role as formal custodian of what is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and as Haram al-Sharif to Muslims. Yesterday, Israeli authorities lifted restrictions that had banned men aged under 40 from praying at al-Aqsa. (Reuters) (BBC) (Washington Post) 2015 anti-government protest in Montenegro Thousands protest and clash with police in Montenegro's capital Podgorica, demanding the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Milo Đukanović. Đukanović has rejected calls to resign and has accused the opposition of trying to prevent the country's NATO membership, saying he is convinced Russia is behind the unrest. (AFP via Yahoo) Law and crime Ahmed Adeeb, the Vice President of the Maldives, is arrested on suspicion of links to an explosion on the boat of President of the Maldives Abdulla Yameen last month. (AP via Washington Post) Politics and elections Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2015 Voters in Louisiana go to the polls to elect its next governor. The winner will succeed Bobby Jindal, who is in his second and final term, and is a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election. (Reuters) (Houma Courier) Current events of October 23, 2015 (2015-10-23) (Friday) Armed conflicts and attacks Boko Haram Two suicide bombings at mosques kill at least 33 people in the northeast Nigerian cities of Yola and Maiduguri. (Premium Times) (Reuters) (Media24) (AFP via Yahoo) War in North-West Pakistan A bomb detonates in a Muharram procession in Jacobabad killing twenty-four people, including 10 children & 6 women and several others injured. (Dawn)(Samaa News) Syrian Civil War Islamic State fighters take control of a section of road running between the towns of Khanaser and Ithriya, southeast of Aleppo, according to a monitoring group. This threatens the Syrian army's only supply route into the city. (Reuters) Libyan Civil War (2014–present) At least nine people are killed and dozens injured in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi after several mortar shells hit a protest against a UN proposal for a unity government to end the four-year long crisis in the country. (Reuters) Arts and culture Adele returns from a three-year hiatus with the new single "Hello" from the album 25. (Forbes) (BBC) Business and economics Lockheed Martin embarks on corporate overhead cost cutting reviews, another initiative following business selloffs and personnel layoffs. In the face of U.S. budget constraints, Lockheed’s actions are in step with those of other major U.S. defense contractors. (Zacks) Imprimis Pharmaceuticals Inc. announces it will begin selling $1 doses of the antimalarial drug used for HIV patients, pyrimethamine (generic drug name for Daraprim), whose price was recently raised to $750 per pill by Turing Pharmaceuticals following Martin Shkreli's purchase of its marketing rights this year. Imprimis also plans to start making inexpensive versions of other generic drugs whose prices have skyrocketed. (Chicago Tribune) (Toronto Star) Disasters and accidents 2015 Pacific hurricane season Hurricane Patricia makes landfall at Playa Perula in Mexico's western Jalisco state . The storm strengthens into a powerful Category 5 hurricane with winds of 200 mph and gusts up to 245 mph. The NHC has called the storm "potentially catastrophic" for Mexico. Patricia is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 6 to 12 inches, with isolated maximum amounts of 20 inches, through Saturday. These rains could produce life-threatening flash floods and mud slides. (National Hurricane Center) (Reuters), (AFP via ABC News Australia) Hurricane Patricia becomes the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere with winds of 200 mph (320 km/h). (NBC) 2015 Puisseguin road crash At least 43 people die after a bus collides with a truck near the French town of Puisseguin. (The Guardian) International Relations Kuwait and France sealed a deal whereby the Gulf nation will upgrade its defense capabilities with $2.8 billion worth of military equipment. Defense experts cite the ongoing conflict in Iraqi Civil War, the June 2015 terror attack claimed by ISIS in Kuwait City, and a reluctance by the U.S. to supply Kuwait as reasons for the deal. (Vice News) The president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, is awarded the Confucius Peace Prize, sometimes characterized as a Chinese alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize. (The Guardian) Law and crime Trollhättan school attack Swedish police claim that the deceased attacker was driven by "racist motives". (Reuters via Daily Mail) European migrant crisis Police in Bamberg, Germany arrested three people said to be involved in a far-right extremist terror plot to attack refugee shelters, shelter staff and public officials supportive of refugees. (The Telegraph) School shootings in the United States Nineteen-year old Cameron Selmon died during last night's shooting on the Tennessee State University campus when a fight erupted during a dice game, in which a player pulled out a gun and started firing. One of the three injured 18-year-old female students remains hospitalized. The suspect fled the scene on foot and is still at large. The school is closed today but will re-open with Monday classes. (The Tennessean) (Fox News) Politics and elections United States presidential election, 2016 Democratic Party presidential candidates, 2016, Former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee announces his decision to end his campaign for the 2016 Democratic Party presidential nomination in Washington, D.C. (NBC News) (Christian Science Monitor) Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016 Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, no longer a front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, reduces the size of his Miami, Florida, presidential campaign operations, cuts staff salaries across the board, and refocuses efforts on the early voting states. The shake-up comes two days before Bush gathers with top political donors in Houston, Texas, and 100 days before the party’s first nominating contest in Iowa. (Bloomberg) (Miami Herald) (Washington Post) The U.S. Department of Energy cancels a shipment of 100 pounds of spent nuclear fuel (estimated value $200 million per year) to Idaho after failing to agree on terms that required a waiver to their 1995 agreement. (AP) The U.S. Department of Justice decides not to prosecute Lois Lerner or others in connection with the 2013 IRS targeting controversy. (CBS News), (FOX News), (The Wall Street Journal), (Reuters), (AP) Sports 2015 Major League Baseball postseason The Kansas City Royals win the 2015 American League Championship Series, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 4–3 in Game 6 to take the best-of-seven series 4–2. (Los Angeles Times) The first World Indigenous Games begins in the Brazilian city of Palmas, Tocantins with the opening ceremony disrupted by a protest by native Brazilians. (AFP via Daily Mail) Current events of October 22, 2015 (2015-10-22) (Thursday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War The Associated Press reports that Kurds in Syria established a new administration in the Sunni-Arab town of Tal Abyad, which the Kurds wrestled from ISIS last June. (U.S. News and World Report) Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports at least a dozen people, including health-care workers, were killed when Russian aircraft attacked a field hospital in Sarmin, Idlib. (AFP via Yahoo News) Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present): A joint early-morning raid conducted by Iraqi and US forces on an IS-run prison in Hawija, Kirkuk Province has freed 70 hostages. One U.S. Delta Force soldier was reported killed – the first American combat death since the start of the US-led intervention against IS. (BBC) War in Afghanistan (2015–present) Taliban insurgents assassinate Mohammad Daud Sultanzoy, a district administrator in Afghanistan's eastern Ghazni province. (Voice of America) Sinai insurgency Egypt's military says it has gained "full control" over the North Sinai areas of Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid after successful raids on terrorist strongholds and weapons caches. (Ahram Online) At least 10 people are killed and 12 injured when a suicide-bomber attacks a Pakistani Shia Mosque and Imambargah during prayers in the District Bagh of Kachhi 300 Km from Quetta in Balochistan. (Pakistan Today) Disasters and accidents 2015 Pacific typhoon season The death toll for Typhoon Koppu (Lando) in the Philippines rises to 54 with more than 1.2 million affected. (Rappler) (The Guardian) 2015 Pacific hurricane season Hurricane Patricia strengthens to Category 4 ahead of making landfall in Mexico. (The Weather Channel) European migrant crisis Human Rights Watch says unidentified armed men have been disabling boats carrying migrants and asylum seekers in the Aegean Sea traveling from Turkey toward the Greek islands. Witnesses have described eight incidents this month in which masked assailants intercepted and disabled the boats by damaging engines or fuel systems, and in the case of inflatable boats, attempting to puncture hulls. (UPI) (Human Rights Watch) In a pair of incidents on Tuesday and Wednesday, two migrants were killed, 16 are missing, and 48 were rescued from boats heading to Greece from Turkey that capsized in the Aegean Sea. (Hürriyet Daily News) International relations European migrant crisis Authorities in Slovenia say around 2,000 migrants from a refugee camp at the Croatian border are traveling in four trains toward Austria, three to the overloaded crossing at Šentilj and the other to Jesenice. (Washington Post) U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein accuses the Czech Republic of committing systematic human rights violations by detaining refugees for up to 90 days and strip-searching them for money to pay for their own detention. Czech President Miloš Zeman rejected Zeid's criticism "of his stance against migration and Islam." (Reuters) (NYSE Post) (The Guardian) Kuril Islands dispute Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu announces Russia plans to build a new military base on the Kuril Islands, a group of Pacific islands it seized from Japan at the end of World War II. (Business Insider) Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met today in Berlin with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the recent spate of violence between Palestinians and Israelis. Kerry will meet on Saturday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah of Jordan in Amman. (Washington Post) Law and crime Trollhättan school attack A teacher and a student are killed, and another student injured, in an attack at a high school in Trollhättan, Sweden. The attacker was shot dead by police. (BBC) (The Guardian) Chilean officers start to grant civil unions licences to both heterosexual and homosexual couples, marking the first time a same-sex relationship is officially recognized in the country. (BBC) (The Guardian) A shooting late Thursday on the Tennessee State University campus in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., injures three people, one critically. One of those wounded died later at a hospital. The victims were transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. (New York Daily News) (NBC News) Politics and elections West Lothian question The UK House of Commons passes an "English votes for English laws" bill by 312 to 270 votes giving English MPs a greater say over legislation that only applies to England. The bill has been fiercely opposed by the opposition Labour Party and the Scottish National Party. (BBC) U.S. President Barack Obama vetoes the $612 billion annual defense authorization bill because of the way it would sidestep budget limitations for the military and because it would restrict the transfer of detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay. This is the President's fifth veto since 2009. (Washington Post) (Reuters) Paul Ryan announces that he will run to succeed outgoing Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner after receiving the support of a significant majority of members of the Republican Party. (NBC) Sports Baruto Kaito, former sumo wrestler who once reached ōzeki, the sport's second-highest rank, announces he will compete in mixed martial arts and is set to make his debut at Rizin Fighting Federation. (Kyodo News) Current events of October 21, 2015 (2015-10-21) (Wednesday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in Afghanistan (2015–present) The Taliban announced it overran Ghoryan in the western Herat province, the second district to fall in three days. (Long War Journal) Syrian Civil War ISIL orders males aged 14 and older in Raqqa, its de facto Syrian capital, to register with the police, an action seen as the first step toward forced conscriptions in this region. (Al Jazeera America) Yemeni Civil War (2015) Rockets fired by Houthi forces reportedly kill 14 people in city of Taiz, southwestern Yemen. (Reuters) Boko Haram insurgency According to a civilian vigilante, 20 people are killed after Boko Haram militants open fire on cars outside a village in Nigeria's restive northeast Borno state. (AFP via Yahoo) Disasters and accidents 2015 Pacific typhoon season The death toll from Tropical Storm Koppu that battered the Phillippines' main island this weekend climbed to at least 39. Koppu forced more than 100,000 villagers into emergency shelters and destroyed rice fields ready for harvest. (AP) (BBC) A U.S. F-18 fighter jet crashes into farmland near RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk county, England, killing the pilot. (Sky News) Health and medicine The American Academy of Pediatrics calls for pregnant women to abstain completely from alcohol during the entire three trimesters of the pregnancy, saying no amount of any type of alcohol should be considered safe since the risks, to the baby in particular (such as fetal alcohol syndrome, among many others), are too great. This puts the U.S. alongside other Western developed countries- except Italy and the United Kingdom, which still allow occasional small amounts- in urging complete abstinence. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the two other U.S. agencies that comment most about this issue, already recommend total alcohol abstinence. (CNN) International relations Syrian Civil War The President of Syria Bashar al-Assad visits Moscow for talks with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin in an unannounced visit. (BBC) Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approves the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, and orders it to be implemented subject to certain conditions. The letter states the United States and European Union should clearly announce the elimination of sanctions against Iran. The imposition of sanctions at any level and under any pretext from any of the negotiating countries would violate the JCPOA. (Reuters) (Mehr News Agency) (Daily Mail) The Vatican denies an Italian newspaper report that Pope Francis has a benign brain tumour, saying the 78-year-old pontiff is in good health, and denounces the article as utterly reprehensible. (Reuters) (AP via Philly.com) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech yesterday that the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem persuaded the Nazis to adopt their Final Solution to exterminate 6 million Jews is reproached by Holocaust experts and survivors, historians, world leaders, etc. Palestine Liberation Organization's Saeb Erakat and Israel's Zionist Union party's Isaac Herzog both blasted Netanyahu's claim. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, "All Germans know the history of the murderous race mania of the Nazis that led to ... the Holocaust." Mehnaz Afridi, a Manhattan College professor who promotes Muslim-Jewish dialogue said, "this ... really is a terrible statement to make at this time." (Time) (Reuters) (CNN) Law and crime Two Chinese consulate staff are killed and a consul general injured after a gunman opened fire on a restaurant in the city of Cebu, the "second city" of the Philippines. Various reports named the gunman as Chinese national Li Qingliang. (The Telegraph) St. Louis' police chief announces officers are stepping up patrols following fires at six predominantly African-American churches in the past two weeks. No one has been injured in any of the fires. The reward for information leading to an arrest is now $4,000; the St. Louis Police Officers’ Association will match the $2,000 reward being offered by the St. Louis Regional Crime Stoppers and the ATF. The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and the Anti-Defamation League suggest the fires may be arson sparked by racist motivations. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) (NBC News) Wikileaks releases U.S. Central Intelligence Agency director John O. Brennan's personal information after the top spy's personal email account was allegedly hacked by a 13-year-old and information sent to Wikileaks. All of the documents predate Brennan's time in the Obama administration and reveal no classified data. Among the information released are Social Security numbers, an incomplete questionnaire for security clearance, and addresses of his family and associates. (BBC) (CNN) A British lawyer and his wife are found dead by their gardener at their home on the Caribbean island of Tobago. The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service believe the couple were murdered during a suspected robbery. (Independent) Politics and elections United States presidential election, 2016 Vice President Joe Biden says that he will not be seeking the Democratic Party nomination. (Los Angeles Times blog) (Washington Post) Sport 2015 Major League Baseball postseason In Major League Baseball, the New York Mets defeat the Chicago Cubs 8–3, completing a four-game sweep of the 2015 National League Championship Series, and advance to the 2015 World Series. (Newsday) More October 2015 events...

Time: 22:56 UTC  |  Day: 27 October  |   << October 2015 >> S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31    More October 2015 events... About this page • Suggest a headline News about Wikipedia  Ongoing events Political Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, Cameroon and Niger Iraqi Civil War Military intervention against ISIL Iranian-led American-led Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015) Lebanese anti-government protests Nagorno-Karabakh conflict PKK rebellion Yemeni Civil War Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Second Libyan Civil War Sinai insurgency South China Sea disputes Syrian Civil War American-led intervention against ISIL (Syria) Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War War in Donbass Russian military intervention in Ukraine Sports 2015 Rugby World Cup 2015 MLB Postseason 2015 League of Legends World Championship Environmental Southeast Asian haze More details on ongoing conflicts below  Recent deaths October 27: Philip French 26: Ed Walker 25: Cao Ying 25: David Cesarani 25: Pijush Ganguly 25: Lisa Jardine 25: Flip Saunders 24: Ján Chryzostom Korec 24: Maureen O'Hara 24: Sandra Peterson 23: Leon Bibb 23: Roger De Clerck 23: Thomas G. Stemberg 22: Peter Baldwin 22: Willem Aantjes 22: Arnold Klein 22: Mark Murphy 22: Mohammad Daud Sultanzoy 21: France Bučar 21: Marty Ingels 21: Ian Steel death announced on this date 20: Makis Dendrinos 20: Michael Meacher 20: John Scott 20: Cory Wells 19: Leon Bramlett 19: Ron Greener 19: Ali Treki 18: Robert Dickerson 18: Gamal El-Ghitani 18: Robert W. Farquhar 18: Frank Watkins 17: Howard Kendall 17: Anne-Marie Lizin 16: Bevo XIV 16: Irwin Schiff 15: Nate Huffman 15: Kenneth D. Taylor 15: Michael Stevens 14: Mathieu Kérékou 14: Bruce Mozert 14: Skip Yowell 13: Bruce Hyde 13: Rosalyn Baxandall 13: Rizzini Alexis Gomez 13: Sue Lloyd-Roberts 12: Sam de Brito 12: Duncan Druce 12: Hal Hackady 12: Joan Leslie 12: George Mueller 11: Dean Chance 11: David Hunt 11: Steve Mackay 10: Diepreye Alamieyeseigha 10: Richard F. Heck 10: Manorama 10: Sybil Stockdale 9: Ray Duncan 9: Gordon Honeycombe 9: Geoffrey Howe 9: Ravindra Jain 9: Dave Meyers 9: Koopsta Knicca 9: Jerry Parr 9: Larry Rosen 9: Robbin Thompson 8: Richard Davies 8: Jim Diamond 8: Hossein Hamadani 8: Lindy Infante 8: Paul Prudhomme 8: Elizabeth Ramsey 8: Hugh Scully 7: Elena Lucena 7: Gail Zappa 6: Kevin Corcoran 6: Árpád Göncz 6: Billy Joe Royal 5: Chantal Akerman 5: Joker Arroyo 5: Grace Lee Boggs 5: Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria 5: Anna Pump 4: Job de Ruiter 4: Henning Mankell 4: Edida Nageswara Rao 4: Neal Walk 3: Denis Healey 3: Barbara Meek 2: Brian Friel 2: Coleridge Goode 1: Don Edwards 1: Hadi Norouzi September 30: Claude Dauphin 30: Kelly Gissendaner 29: Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 29: Ram Kapse 29: Gamaliel Onosode 29: Paul Reed 29: Pat Woodell 29: Phil Woods 28: Michael Burgess 28: Catherine E. Coulson 28: Alexander Faris 28: Frankie Ford 28: John Guillermin 28: Walter Dale Miller 28: Erik Roner 27: Syed Ahmed 27: Pietro Ingrao 27: Richard Rainwater 27: Frank Tyson  Ongoing conflicts Africa Algeria, Tunisia and Niger Maghreb insurgency Central African Republic Civil war Democratic Republic of the Congo Kivu conflict ADF insurgency Katanga insurgency Ituri conflict Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Libya Civil war Mali Northern Mali conflict Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger Boko Haram insurgency Somalia Civil war South Sudan South Sudanese Civil War Sudan War in Darfur South Kordofan conflict Americas Colombian conflict Internal conflict in Peru Mexican War on Drugs Asia Afghanistan War China Xinjiang conflict India Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Insurgency in Northeast India India and Pakistan Kashmir conflict Pakistan War in North-West Pakistan Balochistan conflict Philippines CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion Moro conflict Moro conflict in Sabah Southeast Asia Internal conflict in Burma Papua conflict South Thailand insurgency Europe Georgia Abkhaz–Georgian conflict Georgian–Ossetian conflict Chechen–Russian conflict North Caucasus insurgency War in Ingushetia Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Ukraine War in Donbass Russian military intervention in Ukraine Middle East Arab–Israeli conflict Gaza–Israel conflict Israeli–Lebanese conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Egypt Sinai insurgency Iran Iran–PJAK conflict Iraqi civil war American-led intervention in Iraq Iranian intervention in Iraq Syrian Civil War American-led intervention in Syria Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon Turkey Turkey–PKK conflict Turkey–ISIL conflict Yemeni crisis Houthi rebellion Al-Qaeda insurgency South Yemen insurgency  Elections Recent October 4: Kyrgyzstan, Supreme Council 4: Portugal, Assembly of the Republic 11: Belarus, President 11: Guinea, President 17–19: Egypt, Parliament (1st phase) 18: Switzerland, Federal Assembly 19: Canada, House of Commons Ongoing October 25: Argentina, President, National Congress 25: Republic of the Congo, Referendum 25: Côte d'Ivoire, President 25: Guatemala, President (2nd round) 25: Haiti, President, National Assembly (2nd round) 25: Oman, Consultative Assembly 25: Poland, Parliament 25: Tanzania, President, National Assembly Upcoming November 1: Azerbaijan, National Assembly 1: Turkey, Grand National Assembly 4: Belize, House of Representatives 8: Croatia, Parliament 8: Myanmar, Legislature 16: Marshall Islands, Legislature 21–23: Egypt, Parliament (2nd phase)  Trials Recently concluded Australia: Brett Peter Cowan, Craig Thomson, Robert Hughes Brazil: Mensalão scandal Canada: Luka Magnotta China: Ji Jianye, Li Chuncheng, Jiang Jiemin, Liao Shaohua, Ni Fake, Chen Baihuai, Zhou Yongkang, Gu Junshan Croatia: Ivo Sanader Egypt: Hosni Mubarak, Peter Greste, Mohamed Morsi Germany: Bernie Ecclestone, Uli Hoeness, Christian Wulff Iran: Mohammad Reza Rahimi Israel: Hussam Qawasmeh Jordan: Abu Qatada Romania: Liviu Dragnea, Dan Diaconescu Russia: Leonid Khabarov, Eston Kohver, Vladimir Kvachkov South Africa: Shrien Dewani, Oscar Pistorius Turkey: Kenan Evren, Tahsin Şahinkaya United Kingdom: Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, Kweku Adoboli, Tony McCluskie, Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, Chris Huhne, Nicola Edgington, Vicky Pryce, Derek Rose, Mick Philpott, Mairead Philpott, Paul Mosley, Stuart Hazell, Mark Bridger, Andrew Lancel, Dale Cregan, Ray Wilkins, Liam Adams, R v Grillo and Grillo, Ian Watkins, William Roache, Dave Lee Travis, Nicholas Jacobs, Nigel Evans, Max Clifford, Stuart Hall, Dappy, Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, Rolf Harris, Tulisa Contostavlos, Chris Denning, Ray Teret, Gary Glitter, Fred Talbot United States: Abu Hamza al-Masri, Michael Grimm, Jesse Jackson Jr., Bob McDonnell, Vilma Bautista, Jared Lee Loughner, Lauryn Hill, Kermit Gosnell, George Zimmerman, Chelsea Manning, Ariel Castro, Whitey Bulger, Robert Bales, Nidal Malik Hasan, Jodi Arias, Anas al-Libi, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, James Eagan Holmes International ECCC: Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan ICC: Germain Katanga ICTY: Momčilo Perišić, Mladen Markač, Ante Gotovina, Zdravko Tolimir Ongoing China: Yao Mugen, Guo Youming, Zhu Zuoli Germany: Beate Zschäpe Iran: Babak Zanjani, Jason Rezaian Philippines: Andal Ampatuan, Jr., Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Janet Lim-Napoles, Jovito Palparan, Joseph Scott Pemberton Romania: Darius Vâlcov, Dan Șova, Elena Udrea, Radu Mazăre, Gheorghe Nichita, Marian Vanghelie, Cătălin Voicu, Relu Fenechiu, Gheorghe Ștefan, Gabriel Sandu, Dorin Cocoş, Dumitru Nicolae Russia: Alexei Navalny South Korea: MV Sewol crew members International ICTY: Radovan Karadžić, Ratko Mladić PCA: China Upcoming China: Wu Changshun, Ling Jihua Estonia: Edgar Savisaar Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Spain: Lionel Messi United States: Paul Anthony Ciancia, Javaris Crittenton, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Dylan Quick, Aaron Hernandez, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Rick Perry International ICC: Laurent Gbagbo

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