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Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Ellen Margrethe Løj, briefs the Security Council.

Boarding a pirate vessel off the coast of Somalia.

Turkey should do more to help Kurds fight off the IS threat in Kobane, many MEPs said in a debate on the besieged Syrian city on 22 October. They also condemned the violence by IS and said more should be done to tackle the terrorist group and help its victims. Some also raised the potential threat of chemical weapons and said a wider strategy was needed for the Middle East.

Recent opinion surveys reflect an undercurrent of unease among American voters ahead of the November 4 congressional, state and local elections. A Gallup poll says the Ebola virus and the threat posed by Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria are among the top 10 issues Americans consider the most important facing the country. Some Republican candidates are questioning how safe Americans are under Democratic President Barack Obama, and some Democrats are blaming Republicans for cutting funds for public health as Ebola worries surface.

The U.S. Defense Department said that while the situation in the Syrian border town of Kobani remains tenuous, Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State militants remain in control of most of the city. Coalition airstrikes are also supporting Kurdish forces defending the Mosul Dam complex in Iraq, as well as Iraqi security forces trying to push back IS fighters in Anbar province.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) addresses the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. Security Council President for the month of October, María Cristina Perceval of Argentina, is at right.

Lifesaving UNICEF supplies including hygiene kits, blankets, water and high energy biscuits have been delivered to northern Aleppo where thousands of children from the besieged Syrian border city of Ain Al Arab/Kobane have taken refuge.

A remote-controlled bomb blast in Kabul hit a bus carrying Afghan army personnel on Tuesday, killing at least four soldiers.

The United States and Iran are both helping fight Sunni militants in the Islamic State group. But one of the biggest battlefields is Syria, where Washington and Tehran back opposing sides in the civil war.

South Korea has warned North Korea to stop provoking border skirmishes.