The world at a glance . . . International

Moscow

Ultranationalists riot: Far-right activists and neo-Nazis clashed with police this week as they used the occasion of Russia’s National Unity Day to demonstrate against immigrants. Several hundred people were arrested. National Unity Day was introduced in 2005 as a holiday to replace the anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. In just a few years, it has become a rallying day for ultranationalists. But not all the celebrants were from the hard Right. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party and its Young Guard wing held a state-sanctioned rally, at which thousands of youths shouted, “We believe in Russia, we believe in ourselves!” and “Putin! Party! Young Guard!”

Beijing

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Trade with Taiwan: China and Taiwan took a major step forward in improving their relations this week by tripling the number of flights between them, while Taiwan said it would allow shipping to cross the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan had long banned direct flights and shipping to and from China, fearing Beijing might attack it with bombers or warships disguised as civilian vessels. But last July, the two countries signed a deal that allowed 36 weekly flights. This week’s agreement provided for 108 direct flights, including cargo planes for the first time. Ships may also now sail directly across the Taiwan Strait instead of diverting around Okinawa. “The direct shipping will finally help Taiwan become a transport hub in Asia and better explore the mainland market,” said Taiwanese envoy Chiang Pin-kung.

Tehran

Lying minister fired: Iran’s parliament impeached the interior minister this week, in a sharp rebuke to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ali Kordan was found to have lied about receiving a doctorate from Oxford University. Kordan argued that his 30 years of government service were more valuable than a degree. Parliament asked Ahmadinejad to dismiss him, and when Ahmadinejad refused, it acted on its own. The impeachment of one of Ahmadinejad’s ministers is a sign that he has lost many of his allies in the parliament. He is up for re-election next summer.

Baghdad

Decline in violence: Total deaths in Iraq during October—military and civilian—hit the lowest monthly level since May 2004, the U.S. military said this week. No figures were released for Iraqi casualties, but the number of Americans killed, 13, matched the record low recorded in July. “Thanks to the strategic partnership we have with the coalition forces, the Iraqi security forces, and the people of Iraq,” said Brig. Gen. David Perkins, “the overall situation here with regard to security continues to improve.” So far in November, though, violence is up slightly. At least 15 people were killed and dozens wounded in Baghdad this week in several bombings that police attributed to “sticky IEDs,” small bombs with adhesives that can be attached to the underside of a car or a market stall.

Damascus, Syria

Retaliation against U.S.: Syria this week ordered U.S. citizens who work at the American school and the American cultural center in Damascus to leave the country. The Syrian government ordered the closure of the U.S. facilities in response to a U.S. military attack on a Syrian target last week from across the Iraqi border. The U.S. has not formally acknowledged the raid, but authorities said the attack killed an Iraqi militant who was running fighters and guns into Iraq. The Syrians say eight Syrian civilians were murdered. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said his country might resort to more “painful” measures—presumably including ending cooperation on Iraqi border security—if the U.S. doesn’t provide an official explanation for the raid.

Goma, Congo

U.N. steps in: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this week he would personally mediate to avert a rekindling of the civil war in Congo. Rebels have been sporadically fighting pro-government militias near Goma, on the border with Rwanda, for the past two weeks, and tens of thousands of civilians have fled the area. The Congolese government accuses Rwanda of supporting the rebels. Congo fought a bitter civil war from 1998 to 2003 that was known as Africa’s World War, because it drew in the armed forces of Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Chad, as well as numerous militias. Ban said he would meet with the presidents of Rwanda and Congo as soon as possible, and he enlisted Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo as a special envoy to the region.