Morning Brief: Devastation Returns
Guang Niu/Getty Images Top Stories A powerful aftershock hit earthquake-devastated China. The total death toll is now expected to exceed 50,000. Torrential rains are compounding cyclone damage in Burma. Asia Hu Jintao is visiting Sichuan province to personally inspect earthquake damage. In a rare move, the Chinese government is inviting international aid. Several cholera cases ...
Guang Niu/Getty Images
Top Stories
A powerful aftershock hit earthquake-devastated China. The total death toll is now expected to exceed 50,000.
Torrential rains are compounding cyclone damage in Burma.
Asia
Hu Jintao is visiting Sichuan province to personally inspect earthquake damage. In a rare move, the Chinese government is inviting international aid.
Several cholera cases have been confirmed in Burma.
Indian police suspect a Bangladeshi militant group in the investigation of Tuesday’s terrorist attack in Jaipur.
Pakistan appears to have no interest in stopping militants from crossing into Afghanistan.
Afghanistan may be on the brink of food riots.
Middle East
Osama bin Laden issued an audio tape in honor of Israel’s 60th anniversary, vowing to wipe the Jewish state off the map.
A suicide bombing killed 20 at a funeral west of Baghdad.
President Bush was warmly received as Israel’s Knesset, but his speech has generated some controversy.
U.S. Politics
Congressional Democrats blocked a $162.5 billion war funding bill.
California’s supreme court ruled that gay couples have the right to marry. The historic ruling could become a campaign issue in November.
Barack Obama has fired back at what he calls a “false political attack” in Bush’s Knesset speech.
Africa
A massive oil pipeline explosion tore through a heavily populated area in Lagos, Nigeria.
Zimbabwe has set June 27 as the date for its runoff election between President Robert Mugabe and challenger Morgan Tsvangirai.
Women are key to Rwanda’s economic revival.
Europe
French civil servants staged a nationwide strike to protest public sector job cuts.
Russia has accused Georgia of aiding rebel groups in the North Caucasus.
The last members of the Russian doomsday cult have left their cave.
South America
Leaders of 50 European and Latin American countries are meeting in Peru to discuss global food prices.
The captured files linking Colombian Farc rebels to Venezuela appear to be real.
Today’s Agenda
- Rival Lebanese leaders will head to Qatar for peace talks.
- Bush will meet with the king of Saudi Arabia.
- Ukraine joins the world trade organization.
- The Dominican Republic holds presidential elections.
Yesterday on
Passport
- Bush plays the Nazi card at the Knesset
- Where have all the iPhones gone?
- China’s shoddy school construction could destabilize regime
Joshua Keating is a former associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating
More from Foreign Policy
Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.
Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage
The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.
The West’s False Choice in Ukraine
The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.
The Masterminds
Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.
Sign up for World Brief
FP’s flagship evening newsletter guiding you through the most important world stories of the day, written by Alexandra Sharp. 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.