October 2 — Former Soviet Union: GEORGIA
Georgia’s opposition coalition Dream party wins parliamentary elections, defeating President Mikhail Saakashvili’s United National Movement, and marking the country’s first democratic transfer of power. Its leader and Saakashvili’s rival, billionaire tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili, is set to become the country’s new prime minister. He campaigned on a platform designed not only to obtain NATO membership but also achieve stable relations with Russia.
October 4 — Middle East/Europe: TURKEY/SYRIA
Turkey strikes targets in Syria in retaliation for Syria’s deadly bombardment of a Turkish border town of Akcakale, which killed five people. Turkey also calls on the United Nations to take action and stop Syrian aggression.
October 7 — Latin America: MEXICO
Heriberto Lazcano, the leader of the Zetas drug cartel in Mexico, is killed in a shootout with the country’s marines. The Zetas is one of the powerful drug organizations controlling drug-trafficking in north-eastern part of the country and is infamous for mass killings.
October 8 — Latin America: VENEZUELA
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez wins a fourth 6-year term in office, gathering 54 percent of the vote. He vows to continue the “Bolivarian revolution.” Even though opposition candidate Henrique Capriles loses the election, for the first time, he represents a united opposition that significantly managed to close the gap between Chavez and his next challenger.
October 8 — Europe: EUROPEAN UNION
The eurozone countries of the European Union launch a permanent fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) with a lending capacity of $650 billion, which will be able to bail out stressed economies and banks. It will come into effect as of 2014. The fund will be chaired by Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, and its biggest provider will be Germany, contributing 27 percent of the fund’s total.
October 9 — South Asia: PAKISTAN
Taliban militants attack and seriously injure a 14-year old girl, Malala Yousafzai, in Pakistan’s northwestern region of the Swat Valley, who has campaigned for education rights for girls. She has come to be known as a campaigner after writing a diary for BBC Urdu, in which she described the closing girls’ schools in her region in 2009. The Taliban says it targeted Yousafzai because she “promoted secularism.”
October 14 — Africa: LIBYA
Libya’s National Congress elects Alid Zidan the country’s new prime minister after Mustafa Abu Shagur failed to form a government. Zidan is a liberal politician who defected from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s government in 1980 and joined the opposition forces abroad.
October 15 — Europe: UNITED KINGDOM
Great Britain’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, and Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, agree on terms for a Scottish referendum on independence from the United Kingdom, which is scheduled to take place in the fall of 2014.
October 15 — East Asia: PHILIPPINES
The Philippine government signs a sketch of a peace plan with the Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which would end the 40-year old conflict that claimed 120,000 lives. According to the plan, an autonomous region named Bangsamoro would be set up in the south of the country, where Muslims constitute the majority.
October 16 — Latin America: CUBA
As part of the reforms pursued by the country’s President Raul Castro, Cuba eliminates the requirement of an exit permit for Cuban citizens who wish to travel abroad. The government acknowledges that the restriction did not prevent the flight of many Cubans from the country, but allowing the citizens to go abroad and bring back earned cash might help the country’s economy.
October 17 — Africa: SOMALIA
Somalia’s new president selects former businessman Abdi Farah Shirdon as the country’s new prime minister. The biggest challenge he is facing is the Islamist organization al-Shabab, which is connected to al-Qaeda, and in control of large southern and central areas of Somalia.
October 26 — Middle East: SYRIA
The UN-brokered ceasefire between the Syrian troops and the country’s rebels for the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha breaks down with continued attacks. International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who mediated the ceasefire, had hoped the truce would lead to a peace process. It is estimated that in the 18 months of fighting at least 30,000 have been killed and the international community has been unable to find a diplomatic solution to end the conflict.
October 29 — Former Soviet Union/Europe: UKRAINE
Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych’s governing Party of Regions wins a decisive victory in parliamentary elections. The European election observers criticize the election, saying that government resources were used to boost the chances of the governing party. Yulia Tymoshenko’s party comes second. The other parties with a significant percentage of votes are the Communists, who are allied with the Party of Regions, and the far-right Svoboda party with a surprising high 10 percent of the vote.