Morning Brief, Friday, January 18

Asia TARIQ MAHMOOD/AFP/Getty Images The destabilization of Pakistan continues apace. A suicide bomber killed at least 12 people in a Shiite mosque in Peshawar, which is steadily falling under the control of militant extremists. A second Frontier Corps fort has fallen to militants in South Waziristan. And, in a sign that militants may be exploring ...

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597021_pakistan_08.jpg
Pakistani Shiite Muslims men gather at a mosque after the suicide attack in Peshawar, 17 January 2008. A teenage suicide attacker blew himself up 17 January at a Shiite mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least eight people and wounding 20, officials said. AFP PHOTO/Tariq MAHMOOD (Photo credit should read TARIQ MAHMOOD/AFP/Getty Images)

Asia

Asia

TARIQ MAHMOOD/AFP/Getty Images

The destabilization of Pakistan continues apace. A suicide bomber killed at least 12 people in a Shiite mosque in Peshawar, which is steadily falling under the control of militant extremists. A second Frontier Corps fort has fallen to militants in South Waziristan. And, in a sign that militants may be exploring the vulnerability of Pakistan’s nuclear-related facilities, rockets were fired at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra. Faced with such daunting security challenges, the regular Army is deploying to… Sindh, where the late former PM Benazir Bhutto’s party is gearing up for the Feb. 18 elections.

The CIA blames Pakistani tribal leader Baitullah Mehsud and elements of al Qaeda for Bhutto’s assassination.

Chinese officials insist that the country’s farm-raised fish are safe to eat, an assertion questioned by the New York Times. Some Chinese food exporters are turning to Jewish Rabbis to assure Americans of the safety of their products.

Middle East

Israel has closed all of its border crossings with Gaza in an effort to squeeze Hamas. 

Iraq’s security forces could take the lead in all 18 provinces by the end of 2008, a top U.S. commander said. The U.S. military rates 75 percent of Baghdad’s neighborhoods as secure.

Underscoring the ongoing fragility of the situation, a suicide blast killed 11 people at a Shiite mosque in Diyala Province.

Osama bin Laden’s son Omar says he wants to be an “ambassador for peace.”

Europe

Former chess champ Bobby Fischer has died in Iceland at the age of 64.

Bulgaria approved a new gas pipeline agreement with Russia.

A British Airways plane crash-landed at London’s Heathrow Airport. 

Elsewhere 

The U.S. stock market took a big dive Thursday after new signs of trouble emerged for the U.S. economy. Trading was volatile elsewhere in the world on Friday.

Violent protests continued for a third day in Kenya.

Brazil is attracting huge amounts of foreign capital.

Today’s Agenda

  • Zimbabwe introduces the $10m bill.
  • U.S. President George W. Bush presents his economic stimulus plans.
  • Cyprus celebrates its adoption of the euro.

Yesterday on Passport

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