Morning Brief, Friday, June 1

Europe

ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP

Under fire by the U.S. State Department, Russia threatened to veto a draft U.N. resolution that would grant Kosovo limited independence from Serbia. Meanwhile, a former top aide to wanted war criminal Ratko Mladic was arrested yesterday in Bosnia.

Europe’s major powers are governed by what the LA Times calls “potentially the most pro-U.S. group of leaders to emerge in Western Europe in years.” That doesn’t mean they all see eye to eye on the EU, however.

A group calling itself the Army of Islam reportedly released a video of kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnston. 

Middle East

A top U.S. commander in Iraq emphasized that September may be too early to tell whether the “surge” is working.

Talks between the EU foreign policy chief and Iran’s top nuclear negotiator resulted in no tangible progress yesterday. 

The Lebanese Army is readying a final assault on the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, where it has been battling al Qaeda-linked militants for nearly two weeks. 

Asia

Bilateral talks between the two Koreas ended without progress toward a deal, with the stumbling point apparently being South Korea’s linkage of food aid to North Korea shutting down its nuclear program. 

China’s new bankruptcy law “means that, for the first time, private Chinese firms that have failed will be allowed to collapse,” according to the BBC. 

China announced a “plan” for curbing greenhouse gas that is to be released before next week’s Group of Eight summit, which is expected to focus heavily on climate change,

Elsewhere

Like China, U.S. President George W. Bush agreed yesterday on the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but his spokesman characterized specific emissions goals as merely “aspirational”. (Apparently the head of NASA was not clued in on the Bush administration’s rhetorical shift.)

Dow Jones’ controlling family announced it will meet with Rupert Murdoch to reconsider his $5 billion buyout offer.

In a little-noticed report, the U.S. Department of Defense acknowledged recently that many of its controversial detention and interrogation techniques (scaled back since the Abu Ghraib scandal) were borrowed from a U.S. military “survival training program.” 

Today’s Agenda

• According to the Iraqi prime minister, Iraqi security forces should be ready to assume control of the country.
• Jack Kevorkian, a.k.a. “Dr. Death,” gets out of jail.
• Today is the last day for the Mexico edition of the Miami Herald, “Mexico City’s only English-language daily.”
• Hurricane season officially begins in the United States.

Yesterday on Passport

• Are you the next Albert Einstein? Wait in line, please.
• Iraq ≠ South Korea
• Trouble on the borders