Morning Brief, Friday, March 2

Africa  Fifteen European tourists have been kidnapped in Ethiopia. Six explosions rocked the Somalian capital of Mogadishu. Asia Former Taliban defense minister was arrested in Pakistan. Mullah Obaidullah is the highest ranking Taleban member caught since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. He was arrested on Monday, conveniently on the same day that Dick ...

Africa 

Africa 

Fifteen European tourists have been kidnapped in Ethiopia.

Six explosions rocked the Somalian capital of Mogadishu.

Asia

Former Taliban defense minister was arrested in Pakistan. Mullah Obaidullah is the highest ranking Taleban member caught since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. He was arrested on Monday, conveniently on the same day that Dick Cheney was in town.

After four days of talks Pyongyang and Seoul have agreed to resume reunions for families divided since the split of North and South Korea. The two countries will hold economic talks next month, where they'll discuss the resumption of aid.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says that there's no proof that Japan forced women in Asia into sexual slavery during WWII.  

The Jolie-Pitts are adding to their brood. Baby #4 will be from Vietnam. How politically incorrect! Shouldn't they be adopting from Latin America this time?

Middle East

A conference call yesterday between the US, UK, China, France, Germany and Russia resolved some outstanding issues on sanctions against Iran. The six countries will hold another call tomorrow, and could begin drafting a new UN resolution as early as next week.

A car bomb hit a wedding convoy in Fallujah yesterday. 

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will pay his first state visit to Saudi Arabia tomorrow. 

Europe

Lloyds has shut down its call centers in India.

Rumble in Copenhagen, and this time it has nothing to do with cartoons. Danish cops have evicted squatters at a youth center. 217 are arrested.

Elsewhere

In the wake of a Washington Post investigation, which found that wounded soldiers were mistreated, the U.S. Army fired the general in charge of Walter Reed hospital.

Douglas Tompkins, the founder of North Face and Esprit, likens himself as an environmentalist, ready to save Patagonia. But Argentinians don't like his meddling. 

The SEC is investigating Google's tax accounting.

Alan Greenspan revises his remarks from last week and says he thinks it's "not probable" that the U.S. will slide into a recession later this year. This comes two days after current Fed chief Ben Bernanke says everything is copacetic.

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

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