World Watch

It's Decision time
TURKEY The country's unpredictable parliament is expected to vote as early as this week on a U.S. request to send up to 11,000 troops to Iraq. Given that Turkey rejected an American request to admit U.S. troops to Turkish soil before the war, officials in Ankara are not forecasting the outcome. But there are reasons to believe that the result will be different this time. Turkey's armed forces and the pro-Islamic government both realize that failing Washington again could endanger Turkey's economy, says Dogu Ergil, a political scientist at Ankara University.

They also believe that Turkish interests in Iraq — especially Ankara's eagerness to prevent Kurds from establishing political autonomy there — will get a boost if Turkey sends troops. "There is an urgent need to restore peace and order," says deputy Suleyman Gunduz of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK). He voted no to the U.S. request before the war, but will back the current bill and expects many of his colleagues to do the same. Diplomats tell TIME the government will first seek broad authorization, leaving the details until later. — By Andrew Purvis and Pelin Turgut

Terror Convictions
BELGIUM Tunisian-born al-Qaeda member Nizar Trabelsi was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he admitted planning a suicide bomb attack on a NATO military base. Trabelsi was

MEANWHILE IN ECUADOR ... Punctuality Pays A nationwide synchronization of watches marked the start of a campaign to stamp out the country's legendary tardiness. Locals run on what is referred to as "Ecuadorian time," meaning most people turn up for appointments at least 15 minutes late. The civic group behind the scheme puts the cost of this lax approach at more than $700 million a year. The campaign has the backing of President Lucio Gutierrez, below, who is often as much as three hours late for meetings. Franklin Jacome/REUTERS

tried with 22 other al-Qaeda suspects in Belgium's biggest ever terrorism trial. Seventeen of the other defendants were convicted on a range of lesser charges; five were acquitted.

Setback for Silvio
ITALY In a surprise sign of unrest within Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's ruling coalition, the lower house of parliament passed two opposition amendments to a bill to overhaul the media industry. The bill, which critics say will benefit Berlusconi's business empire, must now return to the upper house, delaying its final approval. Berlusconi had characterized the secret ballot as a vote of confidence in his leadership.

Secret Al-Qaeda Arrest
AZERBAIJAN The last of the al-Qaeda operatives from Georgia's Pankisi Valley still being sought by the U.S. was arrested in the Azeri capital of Baku in a secret operation in September, security officials in the Caucasus told TIME. Abu-Ayat was an alleged explosives specialist who claimed to be close to Osama bin Laden and had been on the run for over a year. He was handed over to the U.S., local officials say, and has probably been transferred to Guantánamo Bay.

Peace Setback
ISRAEL A suicide bomb attack at a restaurant in the northern port of Haifa killed at least 19 people and injured up to 50. The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. Hours later, Israeli helicopter gunships struck two locations in the Gaza Strip. The violence came just before Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Conflict of Interest
ALGERIA The governmental crisis deepened as the main political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), withdrew five ministers from the coalition cabinet. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika fired FLN leader Ali Benflis as PM in May, and sacked five other FLN ministers last month.

The U.N. Moves In
LIBERIA Fighting between rebels and government forces in Monrovia marred the formal takeover by the U.N. of peacekeeping duties. The 3,500 members of the interim West African force already in Liberia formed the nucleus of the new U.N. Mission to Liberia (UNMIL). The last of 200 U.S. soldiers left the country.

Easy Victory
RWANDA With 74% of the vote, President Paul Kagame's alliance won the first multiparty legislative elections since the country's independence from Belgium in 1962.