Globe Trot: Wave of destruction rumbles over northern Afghanistan

AFGHANISTAN: A major earthquake has killed at least 135 people in Afghanistan’s remote northeast and across the border in northern Pakistan.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER: Services of prayer for the persecuted church commence this Sunday, Nov. 1, and continue Nov. 8. To me, Iranian-American pastor Saeed Abedini is the symbol of life for a persecuted believer, and he has survived in prison with this sign above his bed.

BURMA: Some opposition leaders are hailing the signing of a partial ceasefire with Burma’s ruling junta, while others say it only papers over ongoing fighting. Fewer than half the ethnic groups who have fought the government signed the agreement, and the Free Burma Rangers, a group working among the predominantly Christian Karens and other minorities, acknowledges the army has not retreated. But fighting has eased in some areas. Burmese go to the polls Nov. 8 in what’s billed as the most free parliamentary election to date.

IRAQ: The Kurds have released a video clip showing a joint U.S.-Kurdish commando raid on an ISIS stronghold that freed about 70 captives. Coalition authorities on Friday identified Master Sgt. Joshua L. Wheeler, 39, as the soldier killed during the raid near Kirkuk.

ELECTIONS: Conservatives have secured a decisive victory in Poland—the first time since democracy was restored in 1989 that a party has won enough seats to govern alone. Poland’s refugee crisis proved a decisive factor in turning out centrist and left-wing parties. In Argentina, a presidential run-off election is scheduled for Nov. 22 after leading candidates failed to secure enough votes on their own. Opposition candidate and Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri did well, possibly signaling the end of the Kirchner era.