Major events in 2019 (10)

OCTOBER

Oct. 1

- An Iranian court sentences a brother of President Hassan Rouhani to five years in prison on corruption charges.

- U.S. President Donald Trump describes a formal impeachment inquiry by Democratic members of the House of Representatives as a “coup”.

- Ecuador announces it will leave OPEC on Jan. 1 in line with the government’s fiscal sustainability goals.

- At least 450 people are killed and more than 19,000 injured in anti-government protests across Iraq.

Oct. 2

- North Korea launches a possible submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) into open water from its east coast, just a day after announcing it would hold working-level negotiations with the United States this weekend.

- Peruvian Vice President Mercedes Araoz resigns, putting an end to rumors that she had initially accepted the interim presidency.

- For more than two weeks, Indonesian students take to the streets to hold demonstrations against controversial bills: the Corruption Eradication Commission Law and the Draft Criminal Code.

Oct. 3

- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson officially presents his new Brexit deal at the House of Commons after its publication a day earlier.

- Hundreds of people in the Netherlands protest against China, demanding justice for Uighurs and restoration of their human rights.

Oct. 4

- China says it discovered more than 115 billion cubic meters of new gas reserves in southern Xinjiang province.

- A total of 72,263 irregular migrants and refugees reach Europe by sea in the first nine months of 2019.

Oct. 5

- Ecuador arrests at least 350 people amid protests over the government’s decision to scrap decades-old fuel subsidies as part of a reform package.

- The Turkish Coast Guard rounds up 38,467 irregular migrants and detains 56 human smugglers in the country’s waters in 2019.

- Working-level nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea break down in Sweden.

Oct. 6

- Indian authorities grant permission to a delegation from the National Conference party to meet two top Kashmiri leaders who are in detention.

- Socialist Party (PS) wins parliamentary elections in Portugal but fails to secure a majority.

- At least 23 are killed in Chile amid protests over the government’s decision to raise subway fares.

Oct. 7

- World number one Novak Djokovic beats John Millman to win the Japan Open tennis tournament.

- A North Korean fishing boat sinks in the Sea of Japan after hitting a Japanese patrol ship.

- William G. Kaelin Jr., Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza jointly win the 2019 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.

Oct. 8

- Ecuador’s president temporarily moves government operations from the capital Quito to the western port city of Guayaquil amid ongoing protests enflamed by the elimination of fuel subsidies.

- The U.S. imposes restrictions on top Chinese officials for Beijing’s “highly repressive campaign against Uighurs” and other predominantly-Muslim minority groups in China

Oct. 9

- U.S. President Donald Trump announces that Washington moved its 50 troops out of areas in Syria facing imminent Turkish operation.

- Free Syrian Army (FSA) is positioned as the official army of the opposition during Syrian civil war.

- John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino win the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their major contributions to the development of lithium-ion batteries.

Oct. 10

- PYD/YPG terrorists in northern Syria are kidnapping and forcing Aramean (Syriac) children to join their group, according to an association of Syriac Christians.

- Romania’s government collapses after a no-confidence vote in parliament.

- Women are allowed to enter a football stadium in Iran for the first time in decades.

- Miguel Diaz-Canel is elected president of Cuba

Oct. 11

- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed wins the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in ending the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

- Missile attack causes explosions that damage an Iranian oil tanker off the Saudi port city of Jeddah

- The U.S. announces the deployment of 3,000 troops to Saudi Arabia as well as military equipment, according to a statement by the Pentagon.

Oct. 12

- Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno imposes a curfew in the capital Quito amid violent protests.

- Germany and France announce halt in arms exports to Turkey.

- World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated with nearly 700 events being held in 70 countries, including activities such as bird watching, lectures and cleanup activities.

- At least 77 people are killed as Typhoon Hagibis strikes Japan’s capital Tokyo.

Oct. 13

- The YPG/PKK terror group sets a camp on fire in Ayn Isa district in northern Syria, where they were holding captured Daesh detainees and their families.

- The U.S. is preparing to evacuate around 1,000 troops from northern Syria, says Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

Oct. 14

- Turkey has “legitimate security concerns” regarding its southern border, NATO secretary general reiterates.

- Fourteen state police officers are killed in an attack by a drug cartel in western Mexico.

- Independent candidate Kais Saied is declared the winner of Tunisia’s presidential election.

- Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer receive the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.

- At least 199 protesters are injured and around 600 people arrested in clashes with police in Spain’s Catalonia region.

Oct. 15

- Just seven days after it began, Turkey’s ongoing anti-terror operation clears a vast area of northern Syria from terrorist oppression, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

- Some 1.3 million South Sudanese children under five years old are at risk of suffering from “acute malnutrition” in 2020, UNICEF warns in a report.

- Switzerland’s glacier melting hits record levels as the summer heatwaves of 2019 were some of the hottest in history, according to a group of Swiss scientists.

Oct. 16

- U.S. forces trained the SDF, a rebranded version of the YPG terror group, for a possible operation by Turkish forces in northeastern Syria, Foreign Policy magazine reports.

- The PKK likely poses more of a terror threat than the Daesh terrorist organization, says U.S. President Donald Trump.

- Sudanese government declares a cease-fire at all battle fronts in the country.

Oct. 17

- YPG/PKK terrorist group killed 1,157 civilians in northern Syria from 2012 until September 2019, says a rights watchdog.

- The death toll from a weekend typhoon in Japan rises to 77 with more than a dozen others still missing, local media reports.

- Protests erupt in Lebanon amid the government’s plans to impose a fee on calls over WhatsApp and similar applications amid the worsening economy.

- Turkey and the U.S. agree over pausing Operation Peace Spring and removing sanctions on three Turkish ministers and two ministries.

Oct. 18

- Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s son, Ovidio, escapes from arrest only a few hours after his capture by Mexican security forces.

- NASA carries out the first-ever all-female spacewalk as two astronauts venture outside the International Space Station to replace a faulty battery charger.

Oct. 19

- A state of emergency is declared in Chile’s capital Santiago after demonstrations against a rise in metro fares turns into acts of violence.

- Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu says 41 Daesh terrorists have been handed over to Turkey following their release by the YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror group.

- Malian armed forces kill around 50 militants and wound 30 others in an operation.

Oct. 20

- Swiss citizens begin voting to choose a new parliament for the next four years.

- Joko Widodo and Ma’ruf Amin are sworn in as president and vice president of Indonesia for the 2019-2024 period.

- A ruling party leader in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh asks members of his Hindu community to “buy swords made of iron instead of gold jewelry and silver vessels” on Dhanteras, a Hindu festival, ahead of the verdict on the Ayodhya issue.

- At least 23 people are killed in protests and violence over presidential elections in Bolivia.

- Qantas completes the world’s longest commercial test flight from New York to Sydney. Qantas Flight 7879 on a new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner touches down in Sydney after a 16,200-kilometer (10,066-mile) journey which lasted 19 hours 16 minutes.

Oct. 21

- “Plenty of Turks” die as a result of conflicts on Turkey’s borders, U.S. President Donald Trump says in defense of his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria.

- Tens of thousands of people are left without power in eastern Texas in the U.S. after tornado winds lashed parts of Dallas, tearing through the roofs of homes and downing power lines.

- At least 55 elephants die over the past two months in Zimbabwe’s largest national park due to a severe drought, according to local media reports.

Oct. 22

- Russia offers the Philippines help to build a submarine for the country.

- A total of 2.6 million people in Somalia are internally displaced amid insecurity, drought and floods, the UN migration agency says in a report.

- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he has “paused” a bill on the EU withdrawal agreement after suffering a defeat on a vote that would enable him to fast-track legislation and leave the EU on the Oct. 31 deadline.

Oct. 23

- British police say the bodies of 39 people have been found in a truck in an industrial park in Thurrock, west England.

- After months-long protests, the government in Hong Kong officially withdraws the extradition bill as the session of the Legislative Council resumed, local media reports.

- The Oxford English Dictionary adds the Turkish word “simit” in its latest update.

- At least 80 people have been killed and many injured in protests in support of Jawar Mohammed, a high-profile activist and journalist, who said police had surrounded his home and attempted to remove his government security detail.

Oct. 24

- Pakistan and India sign an agreement for the opening of a key border crossing for Sikh pilgrims despite heightened tensions between the two nuclear rivals over Kashmir.

- Bolivia’s president declares himself the winner of presidential elections after the first round, saying a 10% lead needed for victory has been achieved.

- The body of former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, which was resting in a giant mausoleum containing the bones of thousands of his victims, is exhumed and flown by helicopter to a cemetery north of Madrid.

- Ilham Tohti wins EU's Sakharov Prize for defending Uighurs

Oct. 25

- A total of 82,978 irregular migrants and refugees reached Europe by sea in the first 10 months of 2019, the UN migration agency says.

Turkey controls an area in northern Syria the length of 120 kilometers (74.56 miles) east of the Euphrates River along the border between the two countries, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay says.

Nearly 490,000 children have been affected by heavy floods hitting South Sudan, the UN’s children agency says.

Oct. 26

- Falling short of a quorum, Iraq’s parliament fails to meet to discuss the demands of protests that have been rocking the country.

- Some 50 police and their family members are kidnapped by a rebel group in Myanmar’s conflict-torn Rakhine state.

- The U.S. dispatches more military reinforcements to oil fields in eastern Syria.

Oct. 27

- Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is killed in a U.S. military operation in northwest Syria.

- Iraq’s government orders two Saudi channels to suspend operations amid mass protests in the country.

- More than 80 Taliban insurgents are killed in air operations by Afghan and U.S. forces in Kandahar and Faryab provinces alone over the past 24 hours, officials confirm.

- Alberto Fernández wins Argentina’s presidential election with 47.9% of the vote.

- Turkish diver Sahika Ercumen breaks world record.

Oct. 28

- Two Yemeni ministers survive an assassination attempt in southern Shabwah province, according to a local official.

- At least 118 Syrian National Army (SNA) soldiers have been martyred in attacks by YPG/PKK terrorists since the launch of a Turkey-led anti-terror operation in northern Syria earlier this month.

- The EU agrees to accept the U.K.’s request for a Brexit extension until Jan. 31 of next year, EU Council President Donald Tusk announces.

Oct. 29

- Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announces his resignation amid ongoing protests.

- British lawmakers give a green light for an early general election on Dec. 12 after a crucial vote that followed hours of debate.

- Technology giant Facebook announces it is suing Israeli online surveillance firm NSO Group over the alleged hacking of users of its popular WhatsApp messaging service between April and May this year.

- The U.S. House of Representatives passes a resolution recognizing the so-called "Armenian genocide”.

Oct. 30

- Turkey rejects a resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Armenian claims, the country’s Foreign Ministry says.

- Israeli embassies and consulates around the world shut down because of a strike by diplomats and military attaches over a pay dispute.

- French Senate approves a controversial bill banning mothers of children from wearing Muslim headscarves during school trips.

Oct. 31

- A fire breaks out on a passenger train in northeast Pakistan, killing at least 74 people and injuring over two dozen, an official confirms.

- Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot owner Groupe PSA announce merger that will make it the world’s fourth-largest carmaker.

- A fire breaks out on a passenger train in Pakistan due to a gas cylinder blast, killing at least 74 people.

- Constitutional changes approved on Aug. 5 by India’s parliament revoking autonomy and the separate citizenship law for Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir become operational.