Middle East

PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

Visiting Baghdad, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said the Iraq war was a "successful endeavor." Not long afterward, a female suicide bomber killed 40 people in Karbala.

The main Sunni Arab political bloc has pulled out of a major reconciliation conference.

The number of Iraqi asylum seekers more than doubled in 2007.

Young Iraqis are growing disillusioned with their clerical leaders.

The United Nations is now heavily involved in Iraq.

A mortar shell landed near the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen.

2008 U.S. Elections

Florida will not rerun the Democratic primary, the state party's chairwoman announced.

Asia

The Dalai Lama says he will quit if "things become out of control" in Tibet. Chinese premier Wen Jiabao today accused "the Dalai Lama clique" of masterminding the violence. Jim Yardley of the New York Times has a great summary of how the situation got to where it is today.

A Pakistani spy chief accused of involvement in the Bhutto assassination is stepping down.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says he has been in touch with Asif Zardari, Bhutto's widower and likely the next prime minister. Zardari said Monday that "the days of dictatorship are over."

Europe

Rogue French trader Jérôme Kerviel has been released from prison.

As many as 20 Ukranian peacekeeping troops were injured in clashes with Serb protesters in northern Kosovo, and one Ukranian police officer working with the U.N. has died.

At last, Belgium's feuding political parties say they have reached a deal on a new government.

Elsewhere

Wall Street did not collapse yesterday, the New York Times informs us.

Can terrorists be deterred? Senior U.S. officials think they can be.

Human Rights Watch has released a new report assigning blame for the post-election violence in Kenya.

The Cuban government is making it easier for farmers to buy supplies.

Today's Agenda

• U.S.-Russia talks continue in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has endorsed some of U.S. President George W. Bush's proposals.
• President Bush plans to defend free trade at a speech in Jacksonville, FL.
• Barack Obama plans to give a major speech on race.
• John McCain visits Israel.
• The Federal Reserve will likely slash interest rates at today's meeting.
• China's legislature, the National People's Congress, wraps up its largely ceremonial annual session.

Yesterday on Passport

• What We’re Reading
• No wonder they call him Fast Eddie
• A little neo-Kremlinology