Morning Brief, Thursday, August 9
Asia CHIP SOMODEVILLA/Getty Images Pakistanis are taking out their anger on their country’s military. They’ll be angrier if President Pervez Musharraf breaks his word and declares a state of emergency. The British blame U.S. Special Forces for killing too many civilians in Afghanistan. China’s stock markets keep breaking records; the Shanghai Composite Index is up ...
Asia
Asia
Pakistanis are taking out their anger on their country’s military. They’ll be angrier if President Pervez Musharraf breaks his word and declares a state of emergency.
The British blame U.S. Special Forces for killing too many civilians in Afghanistan.
China’s stock markets keep breaking records; the Shanghai Composite Index is up 8.4 percent in the last five sessions alone.
Europe
Russia’s military chief of staff accuses the Georgians, who are complaining that Russian planes recently violated their airspace, of “a provocation against Russian peacekeepers and Russia as a whole.” Georgia is calling for U.N. mediation. The U.S. government, for its part, has condemned what it terms a “rocket attack” against Georgia.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy scored an invite to Kennebunkport, Maine, where the Bush family often vacations.
Poland’s prime minister fired his interior minister over suspicions that the latter obstructed a police investigation by leaking to the press.
Middle East
The United States is taking on Shiite militants in Sadr City that the U.S. military says are being backed by Iran.
Meanwhile, security is tight as over one million Shiite pilgrims are expected to march to a sacred shrine in northern Baghdad. Two years ago, nearly 1,000 people died when a rumor that suicide bombers were among the crowd set off a stampede.
Oops. The Palestinian Authority accidentally paid the salaries of some of its rivals in Hamas.
Elsewhere
Trying to top the Russians, Canada’s prime minister is pulling his own Arctic publicity stunt.
“The most stubbornly inflationary dairy markets in history” are pushing up food prices around the world, and countries that depend heavily on food imports are in a panic.
Mia Farrow gets results from the Sudanese government?
Today’s Agenda
- The U.S. government releases its annual hurricane outlook.
Yesterday on Passport
More from Foreign Policy
A New Multilateralism
How the United States can rejuvenate the global institutions it created.
America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want
Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.
The Endless Frustration of Chinese Diplomacy
Beijing’s representatives are always scared they could be the next to vanish.
The End of America’s Middle East
The region’s four major countries have all forfeited Washington’s trust.
Sign up for World Brief
FP’s flagship evening newsletter guiding you through the most important world stories of the day. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.