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Worldwide current events
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Topics in the news

George Saunders

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (pictured) wins the Man Booker Prize.
The Syrian Democratic Forces declare victory in the Battle of Raqqa.
The first observation of a neutron star merger in gravitational waves as well as gamma rays, visible light, and other forms of electromagnetic radiation is announced.
Sooronbay Jeenbekov is elected President of Kyrgyzstan in the first peaceful transfer of power after a full term in the country's history.
Twin bombings kill at least 320 people in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Flash floods and landslides from a tropical depression kill more than 50 people in Vietnam.

October 19, 2017 (Thursday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- At least 43 Afghan soldiers are killed in a Taliban attack on an army base in Kandahar province. Around 10 Taliban fighters also died in the attack. (Business Insider)

Politics and elections

2017 Spanish constitutional crisis
- Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy warns Catalonian President Carles Puigdemont that the region's autonomy will be suspended if he fails to drop the Catalonian government's bid for secession by 10:00 AM CEST (08:00 AM GMT). (BBC)
- Rajoy announces that he will begin the process of stripping Catalonia of its autonomy starting on October 21. This follows a letter Puigdemont wrote before the deadline again asking for dialogue, and blaming Rajoy for escalating the crisis. Rajoy had wanted dialogue after reassurances that the independence bid was dropped. (Vox)
New Zealand general election, 2017
- Winston Peters of New Zealand First chooses to create a coalition with the Labour Party and form the sixth Labour government. (NZ Herald)
- Jacinda Ardern, the leader of the Labour Party, will be the next prime minister. (Newshub)

Science and technology

Scientists studying flying insects in nature reserves and protected areas of western Germany report of a decline of more than 75% of the population in about three decades. (The Atlantic)(PLOS One)

October 18, 2017 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Syrian Republican Guard major general Issam Zahreddine, known for leading battles against the rebels in Homs and Aleppo, is killed by a landmine in Deir ez-Zor, according to Syrian media. (Al Arabiya)

Arts and culture

Man Booker Prize
- A 2017 experimental novel Lincoln in the Bardo by American writer George Saunders wins the 2017 Man Booker Prize. BBC

Law and crime

Crime in Maryland
- A workplace shooting in Edgewood, Maryland, United States, results in the deaths of three people and injures two. The suspect, Radee Labeeb Prince, flees to neighboring Delaware, where he allegedly shoots a man in Wilmington hours later, before his capture in Newark. (CNN)

Politics and elections

19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China
- China's leader and Party General Secretary Xi Jinping addresses more than 2,000 delegates in Beijing. The congress is expected to finish next week. (BBC)

Ukrainian crisis
- Eleven anti-corruption protestors are detained in Kiev, Ukraine, where police attempted to enter a protestor camp near the parliament building. (RT)

October 17, 2017 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Battle of Raqqa
  - The Syrian Democratic Forces announce the end of the battle for ISIL's de-facto capital. (Al Jazeera)
War in Afghanistan
- A suicide attack on a police compound in Gardez, Paktia Province, kills at least 20 people, while a separate gun attack at a training facility in neighboring Ghazni Province leaves another 15 people dead. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
2017 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
- The Iraqi Army and allied militias continue to seize Kurdish-held territory, taking over several key cities including Khanaqin near the Iranian border, Jalawla, Bashiqa, Sinjar and Rabia, as well as the Mosul Dam. (The Washington Post)

Law and crime

Aftermath of Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct allegations
- Roy Price, chief of Amazon Studios, resigns amid accusations that he harassed a female producer and ignored an actress' allegation of sexual assault by producer Harvey Weinstein. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Ukrainian crisis
- Three protestors and one police officer are injured in clashes between anti-corruption demonstrators and Ukrainian police in front of the parliament building in Kiev, Ukraine. (BBC)
Executive Order 13780, Hawaii v. Trump
- A federal judge in Hawaii blocks enforcement of the latest version of President Donald Trump's travel ban. (ABC News)

October 16, 2017 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Somalia
- October 2017 Mogadishu bombings
  - Somalis march to demonstrate their anger at the presence of al-Shabaab, the group believed to be responsible for a recent bombing attack. (BBC)
2017 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
- Battle of Kirkuk (2017)
  - Iraqi government forces have captured key installations outside the disputed city of Kirkuk from Kurdish fighters. (BBC)
  - Concern over oil supplies from Iraq has pushed crude prices higher as the country's government continues its move against Kurdish forces. (BBC)
Moro conflict
- Battle of Marawi
  - Filipino ISIL leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute are reportedly killed during the siege of Marawi. (ABS-CBN)
Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- The Israeli Air Force (IAF) destroys a Syrian S-200 anti-aircraft battery near Damascus after it fired on its aircraft patrolling in Lebanese air space on a reconnaissance mission. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

2017 Atlantic hurricane season
- Hurricane Ophelia (2017)
  - Schools and hospitals are closed in Ireland and Northern Ireland as the extratropical cyclone Ophelia is forecasted to make landfall on the island. (Reuters)
  - At least three people are killed in Ireland as over 360,000 homes lose power due to the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia. (BBC)
  - October 2017 Iberian wildfires
    - Wildfires in Spain and Portugal kill at least 31 people, which were worsened by strong winds brought by Hurricane Ophelia. (BBC)

International relations

North Korea–Russia relations
- Russian president Vladimir Putin signs decree to implement U.N. resolution sanctioning on North Korea. (TASS)

Law and crime

Reactions to the Panama Papers and Maltese general election, 2017
- The Maltese blogger and journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, whose corruption allegations against prime minister Joseph Muscat led him to call early elections, is killed by a car bomb near her home. (The Times of Malta) (Politico.eu)

Science and technology

Gravitational-wave astronomy, GW170817
- Scientists announce that the LIGO and VIRGO gravitational wave observatories detected for the first time gravitational waves from the merger of two neutron stars. The event coincided with a short gamma ray burst GRB 170817A detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, leading to SSS17a, the immediate follow-up observations by the Hubble space telescope and numerous ground-based telescopes. This confirms the theory according to which neutron star mergers are the cause of at least some short gamma-ray bursts. (LIGO press release)(The Verge)
Wireless security, KRACK
- Researchers discover a vulnerability in the WPA2 protocol, leaving devices running Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android, Linux and OpenBSD operating systems vulnerable to attack over wireless connections. (Ars Technica)

October 15, 2017 (Sunday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

2017 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
- Battle of Kirkuk (2017)
  - Iraqi forces advance into Kurdish-held territory around the city of Kirkuk. Clashes have been reported in the surrounding cities. (Reuters) (RT)

Politics and elections

Kyrgyz presidential election, 2017
- Voters in Kyrgyzstan go to the polls to elect a new president, with current president Almazbek Atambayev constitutionally barred from seeking a second term in office. (BBC)
- Sooronbay Jeenbekov is elected President of Kyrgyzstan in the first peaceful transfer of power after a full term in the country's history. (BBC)
Austrian legislative election, 2017
- Voters in Austria go to the polls to elect a new National Council. (Euro News)
Venezuelan regional elections, 2017
- Voters in Venezuela go to the polls to elect new state governors, resulting in the incumbent socialist party winning the majority of the governorships, a result disputed by the opposition. (Reuters)

October 14, 2017 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

October 2017 Mogadishu bombings
- At least 276 people are killed when a truck filled with explosives detonates outside a hotel in the capital Mogadishu, becoming the worst terrorist attack in Somalia's history. (NBC News)
Battle of Raqqa (2017)
- The Syrian Democratic Forces carry out a deal to evacuate dozens of ISIL militants from Raqqa to Deir ez-Zor. (Rudaw)

Arts and culture

Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct allegations
- The Board of Directors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decides to strip Harvey Weinstein of membership following several allegations of predatory sexual behavior. (Los Angeles Times)

Health and medicine

A small-scale study has determined that psilocybin mushrooms, which contain the drug psilocybin, can treat depression. (BBC)

October 13, 2017 (Friday)

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Business and economy

Human rights in the Philippines
- A group of civil society organizations, "among them groups working on human rights, youth and drug policy reform," have demanded that Apple Inc. remove from its App Store games it said violated the tech firm's guidelines and promoted violence and killings commonplace in the Philippine Drug War. (Reuters)
Economy of the United Kingdom
- The head of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority Andrew Bailey admits to meeting oil giant Saudi Aramco over a potential £1.5 trillion listing on the London Stock Exchange. The regulator has been criticised for proposing changes to listing rules to accommodate sovereign-owned companies. (BBC)
Economy of the United States
- U.S.-based electric automobile maker Tesla fires 400 employees. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

October 2017 Northern California wildfires
- Among the property damage from the wildfires in California is the Santa Rosa home of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz; his widow was evacuated Monday. Peanuts featured the characters Snoopy and Charlie Brown. (CNN)
- The death toll grows to 35 people with hundreds still missing. (BBC), (Los Angeles Times), (Reuters)
- The property destruction now includes more than 5700 homes and businesses. (Reuters)
Wildlife of Antarctica
- Conservation biologists describe Adélie penguin east Antarctic colony population conditions as catastrophic for the second time in five years as excessive ice kills birds travelling for food. (BBC)

International relations

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
- U.S. President Donald Trump chooses not to certify that Iran complies with the 2015 agreement. The United States Congress now has 60 days to decide whether to lift the sanctions relief, possibly breaching the agreement. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Cybercrime
- U.S.-based Hyatt Hotels discovers another (the other much larger one being in 2015) unauthorized access to payment card information at certain Hyatt-managed locations worldwide between March 18 and July 2, at a total of 41 properties in 11 countries. (Reuters)
MS-13
- Police in Chimaltenango, Guatemala capture Ángel Gabriel Reyes Marroquin, a leader of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, street gang. Prosecutors say he is connected to the deaths of at least 287 people. In 2014 Reyes escaped while facing charges including murder from a maximum security prison. Currently, he was also wanted for an August 17 armed attack on Roosevelt Hospital in Guatemala City in which seven people were shot dead. (BBC), (BBC)