News Timeline: September 2013

 

September 11 – Africa: KENYA

Kenya discovers two huge aquifers in its drought-stricken region of Turkana. These new water sources bring hope for development of this driest and poorest region of Kenya by supplying drinking water to its population, as well as water for industry and irrigation.

September 11 – Europe: SPAIN

Hundreds of thousands of people in Spain’s autonomous region of Catalonia form a 250-mile long human chain in support of their quest for independence from Spain. Catalonia has been pushing the Spanish government to agree to a referendum on its independence, and it threatens that if it does not, it will turn the 2016 regional elections into such a vote.

September 16 – South Asia: AFGHANISTAN

An assassination of a female police officer in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Negar, spotlights violence against women in the country. She is among many others recently killed for holding prominent public office, a sharp increase over the last two years.

September 17 – Middle East: SYRIA

The United Nations weapons inspectors conclude in their report that chemical weapons were used in Syria in at attack on the Ghouta area of Damascus on August 21 that killed several hundred people. Although the report does not specify who was responsible for the attack, the inspectors have determined that chemical weapons were carried by Russian-made rockets, which have been used by the Syrian government before. (September 28): The UN Security Council adopts a binding resolution on Syria’s chemical weapons, agreed earlier by Russia and the United States, which states that Syria must abandon its chemical weapon stockpile and must give access to its facilities to chemical weapons specialists.

September 19 – Europe/International Organizations: RUSSIA/GREENPEACE

Russia seizes a ship belonging to Greenpeace and arrests 30 Greenpeace activists in the Pechora Sea in the Arctic on charges of piracy. The activists, who protested Russia’s Arctic oil drilling, say the protests were peaceful. Russia, for which the Arctic oil deposits constitute national security concerns, claims the activists broke the law by trying to seize the oil platform. The arrested Greenpeace activists represent 18 different countries.

September 21 – Africa: KENYA

Somali al-Shabab militants attack a shopping mall in Kenya’s capital of Nairobi, killing more than 60 people and terrorizing many others. The militants demand that Kenya withdraws its troops from Somalia.

September 22 – Europe: GERMANY

Angela Merkel wins a third term as chancellor in Germany’s parliamentary elections after her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) took 41.5 percent of the votes, best result since 1994. Its coalition partner, however, the Free Democrats (FDP) failed to get any seats. The coalition will likely be formed with the Centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) who came second with 25.7 percent of the votes, but after hard negotiations that are expected to last several weeks. Merkel’s win is seen as a strong approval of her stance on austerity measures and budget discipline for other European countries hit by recession, such as Greece.

September 24 – Latin America: PERU/COLOMBIA

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Peru takes over Colombia in becoming the world’s main grower of coca leaves, the raw ingredient in production of cocaine, despite a slight drop in the area of cultivation. Colombia’s eradication program was more successful, leaving Peru with the cultivation area 20 percent higher than in Colombia.

September 25 – Middle East: SYRIA

Eleven of Syria’s rebel groups fighting against the government of Bashir al-Assad issue a statement, which says that they do not recognize the authority of the National Coalition, the main opposition alliance based in Turkey and recognized by more than 100 countries as representative of the Syrian people. The statement calls for all opposition groups, of which there are more than 1,000 to unite under Islamic Sharia law.

September 27 – Former Soviet Union/International Organizations: CENTRAL ASIA/UNITED NATIONS

While addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Uzbekistan’s foreign minister, Abdulaziz Kamilov, and Kazakhstan’s foreign minister, Erlan Idrissov, warn of serious threats to regional and global security from terrorism, Islamic militancy, and drug trafficking after the U.S. withdraws its troops from Afghanistan in 2014. For several years, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and other groups, such as Pakistani and Afghan Taliban, Pakistani Punjabi group, Lashkar-e-Toiba, and the Islamic Jihad Union, have been trying to establish new bases in northern Afghanistan by borders with Central Asia. The most vulnerable countries in Central Asia are Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which share over 1,200 miles of borders with northern Afghanistan.

September 29 – Europe: AUSTRIA

In parliamentary elections, Austrians reelect their grand coalition of the Social Democrats (SPOe) and the conservative People’s Party (OeVP) for another six-year term. Both parties have dominated Austrian politics since WWII. However, the right-wing anti-immigration and anti-European Union Freedom Party gained some support, finishing with over 21 percent of the vote. The complex system of proportional representation has been put in place in Austria to ensure the governing by coalitions rather than a single party with absolute majority.

September 30 – Europe/Middle East: TURKEY

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announces some significant political reforms. They include lowering the 10 percent electoral threshold, which will allow parliamentary representation of the smaller parties, such as the country’s Kurds, allowing to name towns in other than Turkish languages, opening teaching in other languages in private schools, and lifting the ban on women wearing headscarves in public service, excluding judges, prosecutors, and police and armed forces.