Your morning global affairs speed-read

The rest of the world joins America today in awaiting the results of the globe's most important election. The bulk of the focus, of course, is on the presidency: Republican candidate Mitt Romney has vowed to take a tougher stance against Iran's nuclear program and China's alleged currency manipulation, but has offered scant detail about what specifically he'd do differently from Obama.

Regardless of who wins the presidency, changes are expected in Congress. Even if Democrats hold on to their slim advantage in the Senate, presidential priorities such as treaties will have a hard time getting through an almost equally divided body. And if Obama is reelected, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) might get the nod for secretary of State, possibly leaving Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) — a hawk on Iran and Cuba — in charge. 

As for Republicans, the top spot is changing hands following the primary defeat of centrist Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.); he's expected to be replaced by Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who hasn't forged the same working relationship with Kerry. Another major shift: Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the Senate's chief arms-control foe, is retiring, Foreign Policy's blog The Cable points out in a detailed rundown of pending changes in Congress.

Changes are also expected in the much less powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee. Hawkish Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) is stepping down because of committee term limits; Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) is the favorite to take over, although he faces a challenge from Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.). 

Mohamed Salah was designated a terrorist and saw his financial assets frozen in 1995 because of alleged ties to Hamas.

The Obama administration on Monday announced sanctions against the chief of suicide operations for Afghanistan's Haqqani Network, Qari Zakir.

The State Department designated the Haqqani Network as a terrorist organization in September, despite the Pakistani military's private objections, after much prodding from Congress. Zakir is the first individual member of the group to be singled out for sanctions by the Treasury Department, which freezes any U.S. assets he may have and makes it a crime for American citizens to help him.

“This designation today follows on the broader U.S. designation of the Haqqani Network not too long ago. It is a way of ensuring that U.S. banks know that this individual is completely covered by the broader designation, and giving them what they need to identify him as a full member of the Haqqani Network,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday. “This makes absolutely clear to American entities that they shouldn't deal with him in any way, shape or form.”

The Obama administration lambasted Nicaragua on Monday, calling municipal elections conducted over the weekend “disturbing.”

“Irregularities observed on election day included citizens being denied the right to vote, a failure to respect the secrecy of citizens’ votes, and reported cases of voters being allowed to vote multiple times,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. “These disturbing practices have marred multiple recent Nicaraguan elections.”

The left-wing Sandinista government of Daniel Ortega consolidated its rule over the country after winning control of 127 of the 153 city halls in the central American nation, according to early returns. The United States and Nicaragua have clashed on numerous issues since Ortega regained the presidency in 2007, including the country's crackdown on the private sector and its ties to Iran.

The Israeli military was ordered to prepare for a strike on Iran by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2010, but the planning was called off after concerns from the chief of Israel’s military, an Israeli TV station reported.

Israel’s Channel 2 program "Uvda" is set to air a report Monday evening that says Netanyahu’s order to prepare for an imminent strike was met with opposition from Gabi Ashkenazi, then the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, and Meir Dagan, who was then head of Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad.

“This accordion produces music when you play it,” Ashkenazi is quoted as saying in excerpts released before the broadcast, according to The Associated Press. “This is not something you do if you are not sure you want to end up with a military operation.”

Conservatives are furious over the late release of a "60 Minutes" clip showing Obama hedging on whether attack was terrorism.

Syria's main opposition group partly agreed Monday to the Obama administration's demands for a shake-up but stopped short of accepting a more limited role in the revolt against Bashar Assad's regime during talks on uniting the rebel factions in Doha, Qatar.

Monday's concession from the Paris-based Syrian National Council comes as the United States and others are pressing Syria's disjointed opposition to include rebels fighting on the front lines amid reports that Islamist radicals are gaining ground in Syria. The State Department is backing a plan to create a 50-member Syrian National Initiative that would include at least 15 members from the Syrian National Council (SNC), many of whom are exiled academics.

Last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that the council had outlived its usefulness, saying “we’ve made it clear that the SNC can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition.” In a bid to stay relevant, the council on Monday agreed to almost double its membership to about 420, the Associated Press reports, but stopped short of endorsing the proposal to dilute its influence within a 50-member Syrian National Initiative.

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Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) argued in a trio of early-show interviews Monday that veterans would punish President Obama at the polls for the administration's handling of the terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi that left four Americans dead.

"What I've been finding out as I've been traveling around the country nonstop for the last two months, has been that Americans are fed up," McCain told Fox News. "Our veterans are angry in a way that I have never seen them angry. I'm seeing active-duty people who come over and tell me, 'I've lost trust. I've lost trust in this commander in chief.'"

McCain went on to predict possible electoral implications for the president.