Bolivian President Evo Morales Oct. 13 led the opening rally at a cross-country march from the city of Caracollo, Oruro department, to La Paz in support of a referendum on the country's pending new constitution. "If from here we begin with 5,000 demonstrators, for sure we will arrive in La Paz with more than one million," Morales said, adding that the march would "persuade that small group of opposition to allow us to change the country." The president called on farmers along the route to provide food and accommodations for the marchers, who are expected to arrive in La Paz on Oct. 20 after traveling some 200 kilometers. Representatives of social organizations from all nine of Bolivia's departments are participating in the march. (Xinhua, Oct. 14; Prensa Latina, Oct. 13)

The International Court of Justice Oct. 15 gave Georgia approval to open a suit charging Russia with a campaign of ethnic cleansing in and around the separatist enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The ruling was hailed by Georgia's attorneys as a defeat for Russia, which argued that the court lacks jurisdiction. The ICJ ordered both sides to refrain from discrimination and allow the free movement of civilians and humanitarian aid. (NYT, Oct. 16)

Thai and Cambodian troops exchanged rocket and rifle fire for about an hour Oct. 15 in a border skirmish over claims to the 900-year-old mountaintop temple known to Cambodians as Preah Vihear and to Thais as Khao Phra Viharn. At least two Cambodian soldiers were killed, Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said. Several hundred soldiers from both sides have faced each other at the border since July, when UNESCO approved Cambodia's request to have the temple named a World Heritage site.

Renewed fighting between the Congolese army and forces loyal to a renegade general Laurent Nkunda has displaced more than 100,000 people in eastern Congo since August, according to UN officials, who describe the situation as "catastrophic." The fighting has mainly been in North Kivu province, where Nkunda and his the National Congress for the Defense of the People have established a virtual fiefdom, taking over villages and levying taxes. Nkunda says he is protecting the region's Tutsi minority from ethnic Hutu militias. In recent weeks, Nkunda he has vowed to "liberate" all of the Democratic Republic of Congo from the government of President Joseph Kabila. (WP, Oct. 16)

Saudi Arabia is mediating between Taliban and Afghan officials to prevent Pakistan from sliding into civil war and to wean the Taliban away from al-Qaeda, anonymous diplomats told Reuters. "They want to help because Pakistan is frightening. They fear what could happen in Pakistan. This (mediation) is to stabilize Pakistan," said one diplomat privy to details of the talks held recently in Mecca. The sources said Saudi external intelligence chief Prince Muqrin and his predecessor Prince Turki al-Faisal were involved in arranging the mediation, which is at an early stage. (Pakistan Daily Times, Oct. 16)

A report issued Oct. 14 by Amnesty International (AI) links the large number of executions in Saudi Arabia to flaws in the Saudi judicial system. The report, titled "Affront to Justice: Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia," noted a significant increase in executions from 2006 to 2007, when at least 158 death sentences were carried out, and a relatively high rate of execution for migrant or foreign workers.

A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-packed vehicle into a police station in Pakistan's northwestern Swat valley Oct. 16, killing three officers and wounding 15. (Reuters, Oct. 16). Later that day, a suspected US missile struck a house in Tapargai, South Waziristan, killing one suspected foreign militant and injuring another, Pakistani officials said. Local residents reported seeing unmanned aircraft in the sky before and after the attack. (AP, Oct. 16)

Fifteen anti-war protesters were arrested on disorderly conduct charges outside the presidential debate at Long Island's Hofstra University Oct. 15. A skirmish broke out between protesters and mounted police at the gates when police refused to allow anti-war Iraq veterans into the debate. Mounted police pushed a group of about 200 people away from the gates—injuring at least two, one of whom was taken away in an ambulance. Most of those arrested were members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). (Newsday, The Indypendent, Oct. 16)