Morning Brief, Wednesday, October 11

War on terror The Lancet has published a study claiming that 655,000 Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. invaded in 2003, a number sure to be disputed by the Bush administration. Only 33 out of 12,000 FBI agents have a limited working knowledge of Arabic. That includes those who only know a handful of ...

War on terror

War on terror

The Lancet has published a study claiming that 655,000 Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. invaded in 2003, a number sure to be disputed by the Bush administration. Only 33 out of 12,000 FBI agents have a limited working knowledge of Arabic. That includes those who only know a handful of words. Six people were killed when a bomb exploded on the Philippine island of Mindao. Authorities think that the the device might have been detonated by Jemaah Islamiya or Abu Sayyaf, who are unhappy with Manila's support for the U.S. war on terror.

More nuclear fallout 

South Korea, China, and Japan reconsider their policy stances towards North Korea. Condoleeza Rice rules out the possibility of bilateral talks between Washington and Pyongyang. North Korea has threatened further nuclear tests if the U.S. does not drop its campaign for economic sanctions. Meanwhile, Japan announced its own restrictive sanctions. Even China has expressed a willingness to support UN sanctions, provided they're narrowly targeted. South Koreans seem more willing to support engagement.

Elsewhere 

Hezbollah says it plans on staying in southern Lebanon for the foreseeable future. The conflict in Sri Lanka continues, with 22 soldiers killed in clashes with the rebel Tamil Tigers. An Egyptian woman has tested positive for bird flu, the first case there since April. OPEC has agreed to cut production of oil by 1 million barrels a day. Amnesty International says that there are still at least 11,000 child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Enough with the bangers and mash? The British are the fatties of Europe

Christine Y. Chen is a senior editor at Foreign Policy.

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