Morning Brief, Thursday, February 21

2008 U.S. Elections

Scott Olson/Getty Images

The controversy du jour: The New York Times runs a long-delayed story that alleges untoward ties between John McCain and a female telcommunications lobbyist. The McCain camp slammed the story as part of “a smear campaign,” and the senator is holding a news conference later today to respond to the charges.

Asia

Can Pervez Musharraf hang on? Pakistan’s winning parties lack the numbers to oust the Pakistani president outright. If the parliament reinstates the Supreme Court, however, that body may well reject Musharraf. Pakistan People’s Party chairman Asif Zardari has been coy about whether he will join Nawaz Sharif in calling for the court’s reinstatement. Musharraf may have Zardari over a barrel — Pakistan’s representatives in Switzerland are reportedly pushing the Swiss to prosecute Zardari for taking bribes.

U.S. payments to Pakistan for services rendered in the war on terrorism are getting greater scrutiny these days.

NATO claims to have killed two Taliban commanders in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

A federal panel appears to have blocked a bid by a Chinese company to acquire 3com, a U.S. manufacturer of Internet hardware.

Middle East

Good news: Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr plans to extend his militia’s ceasefire by another six months, according to Reuters.

Peace Now, an Israeli group opposed to settlements, issued a new report saying that only 6 percent of Palestinian requests to build in the West Bank were approved in the last seven years. The Israeli government called the report misleading.

Europe

French bank Société Generale has concluded that rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel acted alone in making huge, unauthorized trades.

Scotland Yard allegedly bugged a British member of Parliament without his knowledge.

Russian presidential front-runner Dmitry Medvedev has spent about 4.5 percent of his campaign warchest.

Elsewhere

The U.S. Navy says it successfully shot down a spy satellite, hazardous fuel tank and all, that had gone haywire. The Chinese swiftly criticized the move.

Meanwhile, two Air Force F-15s collided over the Gulf of Mexico, killing one U.S. pilot.

The U.S. Federal Reserve confronts rising inflation and slowing growth — the spectre of stagflation.

The Washington Post looks at Cuba’s young generation of leaders.

Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan sees “light at the end of the tunnel” in the Kenya talks he is brokering.

Today’s Agenda

• Liberia is the last stop for U.S. President George W. Bush on his tour of Africa.
• Serbs are gearing up for massive protests against Kosovo.
• Ukraine PM Yulia Tymoshenko heads to Moscow to negotiate over the price of gas.
• Zimbabwe’s dictator Robert Mugabe’s celebrates his 94th birthday.
• Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama debate in Austin, Texas.
• The U.N. observes International Mother Language Day. I plan to celebrate by speaking only English.

Yesterday on Passport

• Quotable: “The embargo has been working all along”
• Navy teaches old missiles new tricks
• Sudanese official tells Condi to lick her elbow