Turkish operation in Syria
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the launch of the military operation “Source of Peace” in Syria, targeting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the Islamic State.
Erdogan claims that the purpose of the operation is to destroy the terrorist corridor these forces are trying to create on Turkey’s southern border.
The Pentagon’s Mark Esper suggested that the Turkish army retreat from Syrian territory, as their actions could threaten American military personnel in the area– but Erdogan says the operation will continue as planned
US and Saudi Arabia
Washington will be sending additional troops and weapons to Saudi Arabia, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman recently announced.
The decision was made by Defense Secretary Mark Esper by request of US Central Command.
Tunisian elections
Election polls in Tunisia came in showing that 61-year-old professor and independent candidate Kais Said had received a majority with 76% of the vote. The professor beat-out influential media tycoon Nabil Karoui who had been his closest competitor.
Read more about the details of the election, the candidates and the perspectives of ordinary Tunisians from UWI.
Elections in Poland and Hungary
On October 13, parliamentary elections were held in Poland, where the right-wing conservatives of the Kaczynski Party PiS again claimed victory. According to the exit polls, the incumbent party received an absolute majority of seats in the Sejm. However, forces from the left have also returned to parliamentary power.
In Hungary, municipal elections took place. Various opposition forces (the liberals, “greens”, socialists etc) were able to come to an agreement on a single candidate to oppose those of the ruling right-wing Fidesz party. As a result, in Budapest, the 44-year-old centre-left politician Gergely Karácsony defeated the incumbent mayor István Tarlós, who had led the city since 2010. In addition to Budapest, the opposition won the mayoral elections in 10 of the 23 major Hungarian cities.
Taliban and the US
Representatives of the US and the Taliban movement re-entered discussions over the situation in Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Meetings between the two parties were held in late September and early October in order to discuss confidence-building measures, which may include the possible exchange of prisoners or the reduction of violence.