The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now

DINA SPECTOr

OCT. 17, 2014

Reuters / Arnd Wiegmann

Infection control nurse Marc Dangel (R) assists his colleague Heinz Schuhmacher to wear a protection suit during a media presentation at an isolation ward for possible Ebola patients at of the Universitaetsspital Basel hospital in Basel October 15, 2014.

Good morning. Here’s what you need to know for Friday. 

1. A wave of deteriorating economic data in Europe has stocked fears of another financial meltdown.

2. The second Dallas nurse infected with Ebola is being transferred to a unit at the National Institutes Of Health in Maryland. 

3. Meanwhile, US lawmakers sharply criticized the response of federal health officials to Ebola in a congressional hearing on Thursday. 

4. Europe also said Thursday that it will step up efforts to contain the spread of Ebola and help the worst-hit countries in west Africa. 

5. Police cleared a main protest site in Hong Kong early Friday, although pro-democracy activists and officials remain in a standoff after three weeks of demonstrations. 

6. Kurdish fighters claim to have pushed back Islamic State militants in the Syrian town of Kobane, but have asked a US-led coalition for more airstrikes and weapons. 

7. Hurricane Gonzalo is barreling toward Bermuda as a powerful Category 4 storm. 

8. A $54 billion “tax inversion” deal under which Chicago-based AbbVie would buy Irish drug company Shire is likely to collapse. 

9. The iPhone 6 is finally available in China.  

10. Apple unveiled it’s newest iPads — the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3 — in an event on Thursday. The iPad Air 2 will start at $499 and the iPad Mini 3 will start at $399.

And finally …

The San Francisco Giants are heading to the World Series.