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Pope Francis has decided to take on the task of ending the ongoing religious conflicts that are ripping apart the Middle East and sending millions of people fleeing for their lives. He will get an opportunity when he hosts the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during his travels to the West.

It really frustrates me that the US is often very outspoken about rights, freedom and democracy. Yet time and time again, I have seen that politics are nothing more than a pursuit of interests. The US continues its "ambiguity" of action in Syria, essentially furthering the spread of chaos. Now Turkey, and important US ally is frustrated that the US has been siding with alleged Kurdish terrorist groups.

An explosion just happened in Ankara, Turkey. The explosion has left at least 28 dead and almost 50 injured according to reports. The PKK is currently the chief suspected organization responsible for this but it will be interesting to see what reports show over the next few days.

Opening of a representative office of Syrian Kurdistan in Moscow - Russia seeks to "demonstrate it has allies other than Bashar al-Assad. I believe this is a great step for Russia as well as the Syrian Kurds for standing up next to Russia's ambiguous relationship w/Syria's dictator Assad.

This article by the BBC news talks about the recent banning of social media in Turkey. The interesting thing that this article points out is that social media was banned when it was near an election. The fact that they control the flow of information to the citizens around election time is extremely significant, because not being able to communicate about the elections can greatly impact the results.

A New York Times article on the violence in Greece between Syrian refugees and the Macedonian border guards. The article talks about the Europeans not being able to come to a consensus on what to do with refugees. Additionally the page has a video of the protesters attempting to break through the barricade, which in response Macedonian authorities indiscriminately fired tear gas into a crowd including small children.

While once a popular idea, getting rid of Gaddafi now seems like it could have been more of a blunder. Hillary Clinton is widely given credit for supporting this regime change which has now led to challenges not only for Libya but for the world. ISIS has found a new base for operations against Europe and a new government has been unable to take shape. This article looks at how choices, especially those that seem appropriate at the time, may turn out to be disastrous.

The head of the UN Mission in Libya, Martin Kobler, announced that the newly established unity government, that Kobler helped broker, would be installed in Tripoli in days. This comes after 5 years of a formal governmental void that has helped Libya become a haven for militant and terror groups. This has also led many Libyans to attempt to flee to Europe, increasing security fears among those who believe these refugees might be infiltrated by ISIS.

Libya's newly formed unity government, which is backed by many, if not all, of Libya's neighbors and regional partners, has yet to be approved by the Libyan parliament. Malta, who stated the obvious in this article, is calling for the government to be established and installed as quickly as possible in an effort to prevent ISIS from acquiring even more territory inside of Libya.

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Monday urged the European Union to ban Israeli settlement products from entering Europe. At a meeting with Christian Berger, director for Middle East at the European External Action Service, Hamdallah said the Israeli settlements are illegitimate under international law. UNHRC adopted a resolution to "blacklist" companies that operate in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

In the early morning hours of 1 November 1954, small units of Algeria Muslims, organized by the Front de Libération National (FLN) attacked police posts, warehouses, communications facilities, and public utilities military installations.