October 1 — South Asia/North America: PAKISTAN/UNITED STATES

The United States Congress approves the Kerry-Lugar bill, which triples non-military aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year for the next five years. The bill has, however, several conditions attached: Pakistan has to dismantle its nuclear proliferation networks; it has to stop supporting militant groups; and it has to strengthen its laws on counter-terrorism and money-laundering. The aid will not be disbursed directly to the Pakistani government, but monitored by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.

October 3 — Europe: EUROPEAN UNION

Irish voters approve the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty in a second referendum held 18 months after the first one that rejected it. The voters approve it after the EU gave Ireland guarantees that the treaty would not infringe on the country’s key issues of sovereignty, such as taxation and social issues. Ireland is the only country holding a referendum on the treaty, which aims at making the Union more efficient and cannot go into effect until all 27 EU members ratify it. (October 10): Polish President Lech Kaczynski signs the Lisbon Treaty after receiving an exemption from the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, which is part of the treaty. The Czech Republic remains the only country that has yet to ratify the treaty. Its Eurosceptic President Vaclav Klaus claims that the treaty will undermine his country’s sovereignty and demands similar opt-outs and sovereignty guarantees.

October 4 — East Asia:NORTH KOREA/CHINA

China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao arrives in North Korea on an official visit to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and to sign cooperation agreements. Since China has significant influence over North Korea, Wen’s visit is hoped to restart the six-party talks about the North Korea’s nuclear program. The six-party talks, which involve North Korea, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the U.S., started in 2001, but North Korea withdrew in April this year. (October 12): North Korea tests short-range missiles, firing five of them off its east coast.

October 8 — Africa: NIGERIA

As a result of a two-month amnesty, a variety of oil militant groups in Nigeria’s Niger Delta turn in 5,000 weapons and 18 gunboats. In the last three years, militant attacks on oil installations have disrupted Nigeria’s oil production, contributing to hiking oil prices on the world markets.

October 13 — Africa/East Asia: GUINEA/CHINA

Guinea and China sign an agreement making China a strategic partner in Guinea’s mining and oil projects. The deal involves $7 billion in Chinese investment in Guinea’s infrastructure. China is Africa’s second-largest trading partner after the United States.

October 14 — Latin America: VENEZUELA

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez issues a decree to nationalize one of the Hilton hotels situated on the island of Margarita. The move is the next in a string of recent nationalizations, including those of the electric, cement, steel, and banking industries.

October 17 — South Asia: PAKISTAN

Pakistan launches a military offensive against Taliban militants in its north-western semi-autonomous region of South Waziristan. About 28,000 Pakistani soldiers face tough resistance from up to 20,000 militants. South Waziristan has become a haven for Islamic militants and terrorist training camps from where the militants have been launching terrorist attacks across the country. Pakistan vows to clear the area of terrorist organizations. The campaign is expected to last up to two months.

October 18 — Africa: BOTSWANA

Botswana’s ruling party, the Botswana National Front, wins the parliamentary elections, which allows incumbent President Ian Khama stay in office for another five-year term. Election observers say the voting turnout was high and do not report any irregularities. Botswana is one of Africa’s most stable democracies.

October 19 — South Asia: AFGHANISTAN

After having investigated 600 serious complaints, Afghanistan’s Electoral Complaints Commission deducts hundreds of thousands of votes from the main candidates in the August Afghan presidential election, lowering Hamid Karzai’s win below 50 percent. This forces Karzai into a run-off against his rival Abdullah Abdullah, which will take place on November 7.

October 20 —Europe: RUSSIA/SERBIA

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pays an official visit to Serbia, where he approves a $1.5 billion loan for the country. The loan will cover Serbia’s deficit and investment in infrastructure. Russia and Serbia are traditional allies, who focus on strategic cooperation such as the South Stream gas pipeline, which will bypass Ukraine and bring natural gas from Russia to Europe through Serbia.

October 25 — Middle East: IRAQ

The Islamic State of Iraq, a radical Sunni militant group linked to al-Qaeda, claims responsibility for suicide bombings in Baghdad that killed more 150 people. The attacks aimed at the ministry of justice and a provincial government office. The group opposes the Iraqi government and fights to establish an Islamic state.

October 31 — North America: UNITED STATES

The United States former territory, the Pacific island of Palau, agrees to resettle six Chinese Uighur prisoners from the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay. Although the Uighur detainees are not considered enemy combatants, the U.S. has not allowed them to resettle in the U.S. Four other Uighurs were resettled in Bermuda and another five sent to Albania. There are still more than 200 detainees at Guantanamo Bay center, which is scheduled to close by mid-January 2010.