Top news: Lakhdar Brahimi, the new U.N. and Arab League peace envoy, appealed to top Iranian officials for assistance on Monday to broker a cease-fire in Syria in advance of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. Brahimi, who was in Tehran as part of a regional tour, said a temporary cessation of violence could "allow a political process to develop." Iran is Syria's lone regional ally and is thought to be supplying President Bashar al-Assad's forces with weapons and training.
Meanwhile, the EU imposed its toughest round of sanctions yet against Iran in an effort to halt the country's nuclear program. The new measures, which target Iran's banking, industrial, and shipping sectors, represent a significant shift for the EU, which has so far shied away from blanket industry bans on humanitarian grounds.
Benghazi: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN, "I take responsibility" for the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that left Amb. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead last month. Her comments come one day before the second presidential debate and were likely intended to end what has become an embarrassing political debacle for the administration.
Middle East
- More than 100 inmates escaped from prison in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
- Israel announced that it will hold parliamentary elections on January 22, 2013.
- The United States is speeding up efforts to built an elite Libyan commando force to combat terrorism.
Africa
- Gunmen attacked infrastructure targets in the Ivory Coast's capital, Abidjan, on Monday.
- For the third time in four years, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation did not award its multimillion-dollar good-governance prize for African leaders.
- Gunmen kidnapped six people, including four aid workers, in central Niger.
Asia
- UK doctors are hopeful that Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl shot by Taliban militants last week, will recover.
- A member of the Afghan intelligence service killed six people, including two Americans, in an insider attack in a remote outpost in Kandahar.
- The government of the Philippines signed a framework agreement with the country's largest Muslim rebel group.
Europe
- The Portuguese government revealed details from its 2013 draft budget, which contains harsh austerity measures.
- The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia will begin trying its final suspect on Tuesday.
- EU data regulators have requested that Google change the way it gathers personal information in Europe.
Latin America
- Argentina sacked its navy chief after creditors seized a naval training ship in Ghana.
- Mexican authorities raided three college campuses, where students have been protesting curriculum changes.
- Judges in Argentina convicted three former navy officers of executing prisoners in 1972.
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