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The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now

Dina Spector   

The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now
Science3 min read

French President Francois Hollande

Good morning! Here's what people will be chatting about on Monday.

1. More than 30 countries will convene in Paris on Monday to discuss a strategy for defeating Islamic State militants. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will try to gather support to carry out airstrikes against the Jihadist group.

2. Ten Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt, will attend the Paris conference. A source told The Guardian that Saudi Arabia feels threatened enough by the Islamic State to consider joining US-led military action against the group: "There is a very real possibility that we could have the Saudi air force bombing targets inside Syria. That is a remarkable development, and something the US would be very pleased to see."

3. British Prime Minister David Cameron reacted on Sunday to the killing of British aid worker David Haines saying "we will hunt down those responsible and bring them to justice." Britain has not yet agreed to join the U.S. in launching air strikes on the militant group in Syria and Iraq.

4. With just 3 days to go before the Scottish independence referendum, Cameron will also be sending out last-minute warnings in Scotland about the ramifications of severing ties with the U.K.

5. The Queen gave No voters in the Scottish independence debate a subtle boost on Sunday, telling one person outside church after services to "think carefully about the future," The Guardian said. This is the first time the Queen has publicly spoken on the independence referendum, as Buckingham Palace has been trying to keep her out of the debate.

6. The leader of Sweden's center-left Social Democrats, Stefan Lofven, defeated prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt in Sunday night's election. According to the Times: "Mr. Reinfeldt's departure is a serious blow for Mr. Cameron, who needs every ally he can get to achieve the meaningful reforms he has promised should he win next year's election and call a referendum on EU membership."

7. The whole world might be focused on Scotland on right now, but BI's Joe Weisenthal says a "potentially more explosive situation is unfolding in Spain," where Catalan activists are preparing for a Nov. 9 vote to decide whether the region will secede from Spain.

8. President Barack Obama is expected to outline a strategy for fighting the Ebola outbreak in a visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reports. "Mr. Obama also is expected to urge Congress to approve the request he made last week for an additional $88 million to fund his proposal," the Journal said.

9. Hurricane Odile made landfall on the southern Baja California peninsula Sunday night. "Forecasters predicted a dangerous storm surge with large waves as well as drenching rains capable of causing landslides and flash floods," The Los Angeles Times reported.

10. Heineken rejected a takeover bid from SABMiller, Bloomberg News reported. "Heineken family members are resistant to any sale because they want to keep control of the 34 billion-euro ($44 billion) Amsterdam-based brewer," sources told Bloomberg.

And finally...

Miss New York Kira Kazantsev is super-excited after being crowned the winner of the 2015 Miss America Competition by in Atlantic City.

Miss New York Kira Kazantsev

REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Miss New York Kira Kazantsev (front) reacts as she is crowned the winner of the 2015 Miss America Competition by Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri in Atlantic City, New Jersey September 14, 2014.

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