Middle East

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The U.S. death toll in Iraq has reached 4,000. More than 60 people were killed across the country Sunday and the Green Zone was struck by mortar and rocket fire.

Inflation in Saudi Arabia has reached a 27-year high.

Visiting Jerusalem and the West Bank, U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney called for "painful concessions" by Israelis and Palestinians in the pursuit of peace. Cheney's visit suggests the Annapolis process has the Bush administration's full backing.

Al Qaeda #2 Ayman al-Zawahiri has a purported new tape.

Asia

The New York Times profiles Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan's new president. Ma has promised to boost economic ties to mainland China and work toward a peace deal. His win has already boosted Taiwan's stock market.

We're slowly learning more about what happened in Lhasa, Tibet, earlier this month. China analysts expect the crackdown will only get harsher.

China is experiencing massive shortages of diesel and gasoline.

In a worrisome development, 25 fuel trucks headed for U.S. forces in Afghanistan were destroyed along the Pakistan border.

Europe

The head of the European Parliament is asking the EU to consider a boycott of the Beijing Olympics.

The Olympic torch was lit today in Athens despite protests from pro-Tibet groups. The torch is currently slated to traverse 20 countries and cross Mt. Everest into Tibet. More protests are in the works.

On Easter Sunday, the pope baptized a prominent Italian Muslim who converted to Christianity.

Decision '08

Barack Obama outlines his strategy for winning Pennsylvania.

Obama and Hillary Clinton have both embellished their resumes, according to the Washington Post.

As Paul Krugman notes, none of the presidential candidates has any convincing answers on the financial crisis.

Elsewhere

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is on a "spending spree" to win votes ahead of Saturday's elections, according to the Financial Times. The opposition accuses Mugabe of printing extra ballots in order to cheat.

JPMorgan is reportedly upping its bid for Bear Stearns.

The Economist applauds the Federal Reserve's intervention, noting that Bear "is a counterparty to some $10 trillion of over-the-counter swaps."

Today's Agenda

• Bhutanese citizens vote for the first time as their country makes a transition to a constitutional monarchy.
• Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visits Turkey.
• Pakistan's new prime minister will be Yousaf Raza Gilani, widely understood to be a placeholder for PPP chairman Asif Zardari. Zardari is currently inelegible for the job.