The deadliest attack on Iraqi civilians since 2007 occurred on Sunday, October 25, near the city's “green zone,” in a heavily fortified administrative district. At 10:30 a.m., a twin suicide car bombing adjacent to Iraqi government buildings killed at least 132 people and injured nearly 600. One of the bombs exploded outside Baghdad's governorate building, and the second one less than a minute after outside the Ministry of Justice, about 500 meters (1,600 feet) away. At least 25 staff members of the Baghdad Provincial Council, who run the city, were reported dead.

The attacks are being compared with those of August 19, when truck bombs targeted on the ministry of finance, as well as the foreign ministry of Iraq. The Iraqi authorities believe that the two assaults are connected to each other, leading to a similar motive behind the attacks. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki denounced the involvement of Al-Qaeda and the supporters of former president Saddam Hussein after visiting the site of the blast near the Haifa street. The onslaughts were executed right before the impending Iraqi election, scheduled for January 16, 2010. The instable environment makes the poll more unpredictable and increases the possibility of enhanced violence ahead of the election.

An unprecedented explosion at a fuel storage facility created a huge pandemonium across San Juan, the Puerto Rican capital, on Friday, October 23. The mushroom cloud originating from the cremation forced the alteration of flights for airliners as well as closing down of the adjacent schools and offices. Fifteen of the 40 tanks at the Caribbean Petroleum Corp. facility in the suburb of Bayamon were ablaze more than 19 hours after a sudden eruption from an unknown source.

According to the Puerto Rico Seismic Network, the explosion at 12:30 a.m., was the equivalent of a 2.8 magnitude earthquake. It shook people out of their beds across metropolitan San Juan and shattered windows in colonial Old San Juan. At least four people sought help for respiratory problems and two people suffered minor injuries at the nearby U.S Army Base. Nobody was reported killed by the blast. The peak of the flames, reaching 100ft (30m) above the oil centre, were tackled by about 130 fire-fighters and supported by the National Guard. Up to 1,500 people were evacuated from the capital and nearby cities, and a state of emergency was declared.

The cause of the explosion was undetected, and the FBI was reported to be helping the authorities in their investigations. As the storage complex, filled with gasoline and gasoline-related products, sits near the San Juan's bay, the authorities are taking necessary precautions to prevent the water from being contaminated.

On Tuesday, October 20, Afghanistan's election commission ordered a November 7 run-off in the disputed presidential poll conducted on August 20. President Hamid Karzai agreed to participate in a new election against his main rival Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister, despite the huge challenges that are lying ahead.

The possibility of a run-off emerged on Monday after the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission invalidated one third of Karzai's votes from the August 20 ballot due to convincing evidence of forgery. This overthrow pushed his totals below 50 per cent setting the stage for a run-off. To ensure a fairer election, Afghanistan's Independent Elections Commission (IEC) is discharging thousands of officials from the first round and reducing the number of polling stations that were reported to be corrupted.

Afghan diplomats provided mixed opinions regarding the re-election, while some see it as a necessity others perceive it as an imposition by western countries. At a time when the international community is optimistic about a democratic Afghanistan, Taliban militants have announced the launch of operations to prevent people from participating in the poll. Some civilians were killed during the previous election due to Taliban rocket and grenade attacks on polling stations in small towns.

On account of thwarting Taliban calls to outlaw the polls, two voters had their ink-stained fingers cut off. Irrespective of these severe threats and an uncertain situation, U.N has already started delivering ballots and voting kits to Afghanistan in preparation for the election.