Morning Brief, Tuesday, January 29

Florida Primary DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images All eyes on Florida today as fierce rivals Mitt Romney and John McCain square off to win a state that could be the linchpin to the Republican nomination. Will this be the end for Rudy Giuliani? Asia China’s freaky winter weather has killed 25 people. China has resumed allowing U.S. ...

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596815_rudy_05.jpg

Florida Primary

Florida Primary

DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images

All eyes on Florida today as fierce rivals Mitt Romney and John McCain square off to win a state that could be the linchpin to the Republican nomination. Will this be the end for Rudy Giuliani?

Asia

China’s freaky winter weather has killed 25 people.

China has resumed allowing U.S. Navy ships to dock in Hong Kong.

A look back at Suharto’s legacy.

Middle East

Turkey’s parliament is poised to overturn the country’s controversial ban on headscarves at universities.

Israel said it will permit Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority to man the Gaza border with Egypt. Hamas, of course, is another story.

A car bomb struck a town 34 miles east of Algiers.

Europe

Stating the obvious, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said, “Société Générale is in a crisis situation.”

The European Union has extended a pre-membership offer to Serbia ahead of the second round of that country’s presidential elections.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sharply criticized Russia’s electoral system, but it didn’t make television news in Russia.

Elsewhere

In western Kenya, government helicopters saved a group of refugees from mob violence. And in Nairobi, the killing of an opposition MP unleashed new unrest.

With the “strong bolivar” overvalued, more and more Venezuelans are exploiting a loophole to trade currency in the black market.

Who massacred 53 sea lions in the Galapagos?

The Brazilian government is handing out millions of condoms in time for Carnival.

Today’s Agenda

  • The Open Market Committee of the U.S. Federal Reserve begins a key two-day meeting.
  • Florida holds its Republican primary today (the Democratic contest doesn’t count).
  • British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso are meeting in London to talk about financial stability and central banking.
  • World Bank President Robert Zoellick heads to Liberia.
  • Mardi Gras festivities are getting underway around the world.

Yesterday on Passport

Web Exclusives

Battlefield Earth
It may sound like science fiction, but it’s only a matter of time before the world’s militaries learn to wield the planet itself as a weapon. By Jamais Cascio

The List: How to Steal an Election Without Breaking a Sweat
From Abuja to Islamabad, autocratic regimes have become adept at manipulating “free and fair elections” to stay in power. Here’s how they do it—and how to stop them.

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