US aircraft crossed five miles into Syrian air space Oct. 26 and launched a raid that left at least eight dead and several more injured near the Iraqi border, Damascus charges. The Foreign Ministry summoned the US envoy in Damascus to protest "this dangerous aggression," Syria's state news agency Sana reported.

Suspected US drones fired missiles into an alleged Taliban compound near Wana village in Pakistan's South Waziristan, killing at least seven people, local security officials said Oct. 26. There was no immediate confirmation of the strike from Pakistan's military or the US-led coalition in Afghanistan. The attack is the 12th in the past 10 weeks—all of which have been blamed on CIA or US-led forces in Afghanistan.

Sam Stein writes for Huffington Post, Oct. 22:

McCain Surrogate: Al Qaeda Blogger Using Reverse Psychology
The McCain campaign blasted back against a story in today's Washington Post reporting that an al-Qaeda official in a "commentary posted Monday on the extremist Web site al-Hesbah," had called for the support of the Arizona Republican.

Up to two million marched in Rome's Circus Maximus Oct. 25 to protest the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi under the slogans "Save Italy" and "Another Italy is possible." Walter Veltroni, leader of the center-left opposition, told the crowds that Berlusconi is incapable of handling Italy's financial crisis—and said the country is moving in a fascist direction under his leadership.

Conservative Colombian congressman Oscar Tulio Lizcano is free Oct. 26 after more than eight years as a hostage of the FARC guerillas—their longest-held captive. But news accounts diverge widely on the details of his liberation. CBS says he was "freed" by the Colombian army. RTT News reports he was "rescued" by the armed forces. But Reuters writes that Lizcano "escaped through the jungles with one of his captors," and they "traveled for three days before reaching an army post where the guerrilla surrendered."

The Mexican government has offered a $370,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the killers of Andres Dimitriadis, sub-prosecutor for organized crime with the Prosecutor General of Morelos. Dimitriadis was shot in his car with his two guards in the Morelos capital of Cuernavaca as he drove home late on Oct. 23. More than 100 rounds of ammunition were fired at the vehicle. The attack took place just 300 meters from the Cuernavaca federal police headquarters. (BBC News, Oct. 26; La Jornada, Oct. 25)

A statement from the Iraq Freedom Congress, Oct. 19:

Thousands of Workers Took To the Street against the Minister of Finance
US Troops and National Guards Surround the Event While the Labor Leaders Deliver Their Speeches
In a series of demonstrations led by workers of the Ministry of Industry against the Minister of Finance and government decisions that intend workers salaries cut back under terms of the International Monetary Fund, a massive demonstration was organized today October 19, 2008 in Firdaus Square in Baghdad, where thousands of workers have participated.

Some 30,000 indigenous protesters arrived in the Colombian city of Cali Oct. 25, where President Álvaro Uribe pledges to meet with their leaders this weekend for a dialogue on land conflicts and investigations into 1,240 indigenous Colombians who have been killed in the six years he has been in power.