Morning Brief, Friday, November 16

2008

ETHAN MILLER/Getty Images News

Democratic Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton accused her opponents at last night’s presidential debate of launching attacks that are “right out of the Republican playbook.”

Middle East

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hailed the IAEA’s latest report (pdf) on his country’s nuclear program as proof that “the resistance of our nation has been correct.” One cleric even called for an “apology” from the West. In reality, the report offers a mixed evaluation of Iran’s level of compliance, and the United States and Britain are vowing to pursue new sanctions if Iran doesn’t answer the remaining questions.

Iranian moderates and pragmatic conservatives, meanwhile, are stepping up their political attacks on Ahmadinejad ahead of next spring’s parliamentary elections. 

The U.S. military in Iraq sees electricity as its top reconstruction priority, but the average Iraqi still has power for only 8 hours a day. U.S. troops have just launched a new offensive operation against al Qaeda.

Asia

Militants continue to make gains on the ground in Pakistan despite the state of emergency there. On the political side, former PM Benazir Bhutto is now free again and says the new “caretaker government” is illegal. For his part, President Pervez Musharraf prides himself on having “introduced the essence of democracy.”

China would suffer greatly from a slowdown in the U.S. economy, its commerce ministry has warned. And yet China is discriminating against foreign imports, the U.S. Treasury Department says.

The favorite in Thailand’s upcoming elections? The party of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

A powerful cyclone has killed more than 500 people in Bangladesh.

Europe

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe says it will no longer monitor the upcoming Russian parliamentary elections because “entry visas have continuously been denied” for the organization’s election monitors.

The European Central Bank is becoming increasingly concerned that rising food prices will spark broader inflation.

The 3-day-old strike by German rail workers is already turning ugly.

A snub from China has forced German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück to cancel his visit.

Elsewhere

Canary in the coal mine? Foot traffic at Starbucks Coffee is down in the United States.

Goldman Sachs says that the subprime crisis could lead to a $2 trillion drop in lending. And that may be a “conservative estimate.”

OPEC is moving to the center on climate change. 

Watch out for the adenovirus. 

Today’s Agenda

• Japan’s new prime minister visits the White House.
• Beginning Saturday, Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez will tour Europe.
• Today is the U.N.’s International Day for Tolerance.

Yesterday on Passport

• The world of bridge gets political
• Why Belgium matters (no, seriously)
• There’s something about Michelle