The World

1 | Somalia Disturbing the Peace More than 20 people were killed Oct. 29 by a series of suicide bombings whose targets included a U.N. compound and the Ethiopian consulate, in the relatively stable northern Somali regions of Somaliland and Puntland. Government officials blamed the bombings on radical Islamic insurgents, who have vowed to continue fighting despite a U.N.-backed cease-fire agreed to earlier in the week by the Somali transitional government and the rival Islamic movement. The attacks coincided with a summit held in Nairobi by Somali and other African leaders to discuss the options for ending the chaos that has engulfed the nation since 1991.

2 | Mexico Spies Hinder The War on Drugs With the help of up to $450,000 paid each month to government workers, the Beltrán-Leyva drug cartel infiltrated the Mexican attorney general’s office and may have paid a spy inside the U.S. embassy to leak Drug Enforcement Administration secrets, Mexican authorities say. The case is the most serious known example of corruption since 1997, when the head of Mexico’s antidrug agency was arrested and later convicted of aiding a drug lord. U.S. officials have not confirmed the embassy infiltration, and no staff changes are planned.

3 | Washington Extended Tours Continue Owing to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Army announced it will continue involuntary extensions of combat duty, also known as stop-loss, through 2009. Since 2002, more than 130,000 soldiers have been affected by this policy, which on average means spending an extra seven months in war zones.

[This article contains a complex diagram. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

March 2005 Highest number on record 15,758*

Feb. 2006 13,849

Nov. 2007 After calls for a reduction in January 11,010

March 2008 Highest so far this year 12,235

Peak months for Army stop-loss extensions

*SOLDIERS AFFECTED (SOURCE: ARMY PUBLIC AFFAIRS)

4 | Colombia Free at Last After eight years as a prisoner of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), former Colombian lawmaker Oscar Lizcano escaped from his captors, hiking for three days with his former farc guard through the jungle before reaching an army post. His escape is the latest setback for the rebel group, weakened by defections and a daring operation earlier this year that rescued 15 hostages, including politician Ingrid Betancourt.

5 | Detroit Carmakers Cry for Help Amid talk of a merger with Chrysler, General Motors is lobbying federal officials for sizable financial assistance. In addition to the $25 billion in government loans promised to the industry in an energy bill for production of fuel-efficient vehicles, GM’s lending arm, GMAC, is exploring ways to access funds in the $700 billion federal-bailout package, while the company reportedly is also seeking cash injections to cover potential merger costs. GM and Chrysler employ more than 200,000 U.S. workers and support many more jobs in the auto-parts and sales industries; GM’s stock has fallen more than 80% since January. White House press secretary Dana Perino confirmed talks between federal officials and the struggling company but added that ailing U.S. carmakers “are dealing with some decisions that they’ve made in the past. And we are in a global environment, and they’re competing globally.”

6 | Democratic Republic of Congo REBEL ROUT Forces led by renegade general Laurent Nkunda advanced on the provincial capital of Goma in eastern Congo, sending tens of thousands (like those above) fleeing to makeshift camps, while angry protesters attacked retreating U.N. peacekeepers for failing to stop the rebel army. Nkunda has said his guerrillas are fighting to protect the country’s ethnic Tutsi minority. Some 5.4 million people have died in Congo since 1998 in a civil war and from the ensuing humanitarian crisis.

7 | India Dalai Lama Backs Down After decades of fruitless talks with Beijing, the Dalai Lama said from his home in exile in Dharamsala that he has suspended his efforts to pursue Tibetan autonomy, leaving it up to his people to decide the best course of action regarding their homeland. Tibetan-exile representatives will meet to discuss a post–Dalai Lama strategy next month.

8 | Israel Coalition Dies, Elections Live Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has asked President Shimon Peres to call for early elections, a move that could jeopardize her Kadima Party’s hold on power. Livni, who had hoped to put together a coalition that would have made her the nation’s first female Prime Minister since Golda Meir, decided to call for elections rather than concede to demands from conservatives that she roll back the peace process with the Palestinians.

TZIPI LIVNI Some polls have shown the Foreign Minister with a slight lead over her opponents

EHUD BARAK Labor Party head; agreed to join Livni’s short-lived coalition attempt

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU Leader of the right-wing Likud Party; Livni’s main opposition

9 | Maldives Out with The Old … On Oct. 28, Asia’s longest-serving ruler, Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, lost the country’s first-ever democratic election, to Mohamed Nasheed, an activist who had been imprisoned by Gayoom a decade earlier. Though he is credited for the islands’ tourism boom, Gayoom routinely persecuted critics and appointed relatives to official posts. As the only candidate on the ballot in previous elections, Gayoom ruled the nation of 360,000 for three decades.

10 | U.S. Taking It to the People Voters in many states may need to bring a study guide with them into the booth on Nov. 4. More than 100 ballot measures–down from over 200 in 2006–are up for consideration nationwide, largely the work of special interests including unions, animal-rights groups and pro-life activists. A sampling of the proposals awaiting voters on Election Day:

CALIFORNIA Require humane confinement of farm animals Require utilities to use more renewable fuel Ban gay marriage (also in Arizona and Florida)

COLORADO Eliminate affirmative-action hiring

HAWAII Reduce age requirement for governor from 30 to 25

MASSACHUSETTS Repeal state income tax

MICHIGAN Allow people to grow marijuana for medical use

MISSOURI Make English the state’s official language

SOUTH DAKOTA Ban most abortions, with a few narrow exceptions

* | What They’re Selling In Namibia: On Oct. 28, Namibia’s government held the first legal ivory auction since 1999, with more than seven tons of elephant tusks raising over $1 million from buyers in China and Japan. The sale–sanctioned by an international-wildlife-trade agreement–will soon be followed by auctions in Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, with the proceeds earmarked for elephant conservation efforts. Detractors say the auctions could rekindle black-market demand for ivory.