Morning Brief, Monday, July 23

Europe

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Turkey’s ruling party expanded its plurality in parliament to 47 percent. Hailing his party’s victory, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan promised to continue reforms and vie for membership in the European Union.

Bus-plunge horror kills 26 Poles in the French Alps. 

With little fanfare, Gordon Brown has ended Britain’s “war on terror.”

Middle East

A skyscraper being built in Dubai is now the world’s tallest building, its owners say.

The U.S. and Iranian ambassadors to Iraq will meet tomorrow in Baghdad.

Drug smugglers killed 11 Revolutionary Guardsmen in eastern Iran. 

Asia

Afghanistan’s last king died at the age of 92. 

Afghan security forces say they’ve surrounded Taliban fighters thought to be holding 23 South Korean missionaries.

Japan’s prime minister is in trouble, and the upcoming upper house elections could bring his early political demise. If that happens, will Japan’s military keep expanding its scope of operations?

Elsewhere

The “$100 laptop” is ready for mass production. 

Somalis are fleeing Mogadishu again as fighting breaks out. 

Democrats in the U.S. Congress want to expand the safety net for white-collar workers whose jobs are sent offshore.

A new poll finds growing anti-globalization sentiment in developed countries. 

Today’s Agenda

• Eight Democratic presidential candidates will answer voter-generated questions in a debate cosponsored by CNN and YouTube.
• Middle East envoy Tony Blair reports for duty in Amman, Jordan.
• The Badwater Ultramarathon begins in Death Valley, California.
• Leaders from Kosovo are due to discuss their national status with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.