What's Going On Around The World Today

HERE ARE THE TOP STORIES

U.S. President Barack Obama said at the United Nations that the fight against ISIS is a “long-term campaign.”

Obama said he would spare no expenses or effort — on the military, economic, and intelligence level — in his fight against the militant group, the Associated Press writes. But it's not going to be easy. ISIS rose to power in 2014 after capturing parts of Syria and Iraq, where it continues to expand and become more resilient.

“This is not a conventional battle. This is a long-term campaign – not only against this particular network, but against its ideology,” Obama said yesterday during a United Nations summit on defeating ISIS. He also urged world leaders to “fight violent extremism not just with weapons but with ideas, jobs and good governance,” because just military pressure won’t be enough to defeat groups like ISIS, the New York Times writes.

Obama also emphasized that defeating ISIS would only be possible if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad resigns, BBC News writes. Assad is widely blamed for the rise of ISIS, after his government’s harsh reaction to the Arab Spring protests in 2011 escalated into a brutal civil war between the government and rebel opposition groups.

And a little extra.

Russia's parliament today unanimously granted President Vladimir Putin permission to send Russian armed forces to Syria, BuzzFeed News’ Francis Whittaker writes. For America and its allies, this move complicates the fight against the militant group, because Russia supports Assad’s government. By sending military to the region, Russians might be pitted against both ISIS militants, and the western-backed rebels who are fighting Assad's troops.

And yesterday, the U.S. government announced sanctions against 25 people and five groups who are connected to ISIS, which indicates that the militant organization has a wide reach that includes Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the Associated Press reports.

If you want the latest news and alerts on top stories, download the BuzzFeed News app for iOS and Android.

Georgia executed 47-year-old Kelly Gissendaner, the only woman on the state’s death row, for plotting to kill her husband in the late 1990s.

Gissendaner was the first woman the U.S. state executed in 70 years. The execution by lethal injection took place at 12:21 a.m. local time. Gissendaner had been scheduled for execution twice before. The first time it was cancelled due to the weather and the second time, it was called off after floating particles were found in the execution drugs, BuzzFeed News’ Chris McDaniel writes.

Last-minute pleas for her mercy to the U.S. Supreme Court and Georgia’s State Board of Pardons and Parole were all denied.

Gissendaner is the 21st person to be executed in America in 2015. And she's the 1,415th person — but only the 16th woman — to be executed since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, The Atlantic writes.

Last week, in his address to the U.S. Congress, Pope Francis called for the global abolition of the death penalty. Here are the states in America with and without the death penalty and death penalty statistics from around the world.

Planned Parenthood’s president defended the organization’s finances to the U.S. Congress. Some Republican lawmakers want to cut federal funding for the women’s health care group.

“The fight matters because of the ongoing efforts in Congress to pass a federal budget for 2016,” BuzzFeed News’ Dan Vergano writes. Some anti-abortion Republicans are refusing to pass a budget unless Planned Parenthood loses all of its federal funding. The calls for defunding the group were sparked by a series of secretly recorded and highly edited videos that were released over the summer, alleging illegal fetal tissue sales by the nonprofit.

During yesterday’s hearing, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards defended her organization — which offers reproductive health services such as anti-conception and abortions, as well as maternal and child services — and said it had fallen subject to a “smear campaign.” Lawmakers also questioned Richards' leadership, the size of her salary, and accused her of lying.

The hearing lasted more than five hours and lead to some contentious back-and-forths multiple times. Here are six noteworthy clips of audio from yesterday's hearing, courtesy of NPR.

What’s next?

Congress will have to pass a budget by midnight tonight to avoid a government shutdown. That means, without a passed budget, the government cannot legally spend any money. But the chances of the government ~actually~ shutting down are slim.

House Speaker John Boehner's upcoming resignation reduces the odds of a government shutdown further, because he'll be able to pass a bill with the help from Democrats. Last week, Boehner said he's stepping down from his speakership as well as his house seat in October.

Since he's leaving anyway, Boehner isn't afraid his fellow Republicans will oust him from his seat and he'll be able to pass a spending bill without stripping Planned Parenthood of its federal funding (something Democrats oppose), Vox writes.

We could be having a similar conversation again in three months. The current funding bill only covers the government's costs through December 11 of this year. So by then, a new bill will have to be introduced to fund the entire 2016 fiscal year.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS?

Ellen Page: Trailblazer.

The 28-year-old actress, known best for her breakout role in the movie Juno, is at a new stage in her career. She has come out as gay — something she never thought she'd be able to do. And her new movie Freeheld, which marks an important step in the marriage equality movement, will be released this week.

In Freeheld, which Page also produced, she plays the role of a gay woman. “It was a special experience for me personally: what it represented in my life,” she told BuzzFeed News' Kate Aurthur. “It was nice to play a gay person. I'm gay! It was nice to fall in love with a person onscreen who is the kind of person that you'd fall in love with.”

Quick things to know:

• Japan’s leader Shinzo Abe pledged $1.5 billion for Middle East and Africa peacekeeping efforts, and to help Syrians and Iraqis displaced by conflicts. (BBC News)

• Thousands of carats of blood diamonds may be set to hit world markets. (BuzzFeed News)

• India has halted the everyday goods Nepal needs to survive. (BuzzFeed News)

• National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden is now on Twitter. He’s verified and only following one other account, the NSA. Here’s what it could mean for the 2016 U.S. presidential race to have Snowden on Twitter. (NPR)

• President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro met for the second time this year. They discussed recent progress in reestablishing diplomatic ties between their countries. (BuzzFeed News)

• The FBI is reviewing the death of a man in jail for a traffic violation. (BuzzFeed News)

• Actually researching running water on Mars might be hard without bringing in bugs from earth that will cause contamination. (The Guardian)

• It was a big day for Google: Here are the most important announcements from Google’s annual Nexus event. (Digg) A long history of Google’s Nexus phone. (BuzzFeed News) YouTube introduces shopping ads. (TechCrunch) And Google laptops will soon outnumber all other devices combined in schools. (BuzzFeed News)

• Ralph Lauren announced he will step down as the CEO but will stay on at his fashion company. Old Navy’s president Stefan Larsson will replace Lauren as chief executive. (New York Times)

• Today in tech: Twitter is reconsidering its 140-character limit. (BuzzFeed) And teens aren’t happy with Snapchat’s creepy new filter that turns you into a yellow monster. (BuzzFeed News)

Happy Wednesday

It’s possible to be your ~very best self~ physically and emotionally. And in her new book Super You, author Emily V. Gordon has created seven steps to do just that. Her advice includes “dating yourself,” which means giving yourself the same amount of love you would a significant other, and other things like volunteering. Gordon also advises you to take some downtime, which could be anything from eating in a restaurant alone, making cookies, or going for a stroll. And don’t forget, it’s OK to ask for help.

Bonus! To celebrate the launch of our BuzzFeed News app for Android, we’re doing a mini-quiz every day this week. Do you know what’s going on in the news today? Take the quiz!

This letter was edited and brought to you by Claire Moses and Millie Tran. You can always reach us here.