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France is continuing to oppose Syrian President Bashar Assad stating that his government will not be the best group to combat terrorism. They continue to side with the Syrian people and their aspiration to forma civil democratic state. 

This article illuminates the aftermath of Gaddafi's reign from a first person perspective of a citizen fleeing the country due to its devastating chaos. He offers a short version of the conflict and the rise in militant groups. The root of the issue is the fact that when the GNC took power, the factions funded the militant groups for their own insurance rather than working towards their disbandment. The Islamist coalition dominated parliament, and as chaos deepened when they realized they would loose the election so they just delayed having one. This is where General Khalifa Haftar chimed in, launching his offense against islamic insurgency by storming the capitol in Tripoli leading the country to slip into civil war. The Author says "We are like a class of kids where the bad teacher is suddenly dead," he said. "Now we all fight each other." When the light finally comes to a country that was for so long in the dark, its blinding. 

The Council on Foreign Relations published an article about democratization in the middle east and the major obstacles that are present in the process. While most assume Islamists and Islamic embedded institutions are the root of the delayed democratic transition, the problems are much bigger than that. While Islamist regimes do indeed stunt the growth of democratic progress in terms of creating a stable government, Arab countries struggle with economic and social factors as well. The Arab Spring Revolutions have caused economic and social degradation across the region, resulting in a road block of political leadership. Without a reliable and capable government structure, the states are unable to progress economically. However, in order to have a stable government, social and economic institutions must be in place to create this capitalist economy that they strive for. Because most wealth resides in oil, the revenue that the states bring in isn't distributed properly throughout society and is concentrated within few business elites. The article stresses that instead of foreign aid going into the hands of an unstable leader or regime, it should be invested in institutions in order to spur economic growth and eliminate corruption. Rather than focusing on the Islamist-secularist divide, the world should be working towards the strengthening of institutions to create a stable foundation for governance. 

Moscow continues to push for peace talks between all the oppositions groups and the Syrian government. Russia believes that the best way to have peace is to avoid foreign interference and they call for sanctions to be lifted. 

Last month Tunisia installed a new government. The conference was a way of telling the world that Tunisia is back on track. The Prime Minister talked about how he promises for economic reform as well as hopes that the long delayed free trade agreement between the U.S. and Tunisia could be finally completed.

After a long delay, Syria has begun its destruction of dozens of storage facilities used to house chemical weapons. Syria joined the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) after an attack in Damascus killed more than 1000 people in 2013. Syria has handed over thousands of pounds of chemical agents since joining the OPCW but has yet to disclose any documentation about its chemical weapons program.

Yemen's ousted ruler flees house the arrest that was forced upon him by the Houthi Rebels that took power in Yemen's capitol. The unrest in Yemen leaves the opportunity for terrorist groups to gain power.

Iran's return in the oil market leads to new consequences for current producers, and consumers of oil. Including Saudi Arabia

Russia warned it will act unilaterally starting on Tuesday to end alleged violations of the "cessation of hostilities" agreement, unless Moscow and Washington urgently reach an agreement to deal with attacks. The Russian military has accused the United States of dragging its feet on responding to Moscow's proposals on rules for joint monitoring of the Syria ceasefire and response to violations, saying delays are leading to civilian casualties. The Russian Government has threatened the Syrian people who stand against the peace treaty..

Saturday October 11 signalled the start of the new academic year in Egyptian universities, delayed this year by the authorities from September to mid-October to allow them time to prepare their security forces for the expected demonstrations.

The UN has moved peace talks concerning Syria back to March 9th. This is to let the current cessation of hostilities settle down even more; there is a reduction in violence, but both sides of the conflict are still violating the cease fire.