Morning Brief, Wednesday, November 8

Sea change, paradigm shift, thumping victory – call it what you will, but last night belonged to the Democrats. They recaptured the House of Representatives by a sizable margin and may even control the Senate depending on results in too-close-to-yet-call Montana and Virginia. A host of familiar Republican faces have been handed pink slips by voters – including senators from Ohio, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Missouri. Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female Speaker of the House.

Bush will host a press conference at the White House this afternoon to discuss just what he plans to do with a Democratic Congress, something he’s never had to deal with as president. Already, people are calling for Rumsfeld’s resignation. 

The world’s reaction: The words “lame duck” come to mind. 

Iraq

There’s no question that this election was a referendum on Iraq. So, will there be a change of course? Simon Tisdall thinks not. Sixty Iraqis were killed or found dead today. Maliki says Saddam will be executed before year’s end.

Elsewhere

A suicide bomber has killed several dozen Pakistani troops at an army training school in northwest Pakistan.  

More than a dozen Palestinians are said to have been killed by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza. 

Ortega wins in Nicaragua. China and Egypt sign a nuclear energy deal. The EU gives Turkey a month to open its ports to Cypriot ships or face consequences. Will a new landmark peace deal in Nepal survive? Kofi Annan urges progress on combating climate change.

And forget the one-child policy. Beijing has instituted a new one-dog policy to stop the spread of rabies.