Morning Brief, Tuesday, June 26

Middle East

Peter McDiarmid/Getty Images

Tony Blair is getting serious consideration for the job of Middle East envoy, and he appears ready to take the position.

The Iraqi minister of culture is getting serious consideration for a prison stint for his alleged ties to terrorism. 

Seeking to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after Hamas's military takeover of Gaza, Israel promised to release 250 prisoners from Abbas's Fatah movement. 

Europe

Germany's defense ministry is barring Tom Cruise from filming at military sites on the grounds that he is "a member of the Scientology cult".

Keeping an election promise, French President Nicolas Sarkozy moved to block Turkey's negotiations to enter the European Union.

Europe must begin taking action now to mitigate the expected damage from climate change, according to a draft report by the European Commission. 

Asia

After a 5-year hiatus, nuclear inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency have returned to North Korea. 

China to U.S. farmers: How you like them apples? 

Booming India's got an enviable labor crisis on its hands: not enough stock analysts. 

Thailand's insurgency has "never been more deadly," according to the Army general who led last year's coup. 

Elsewhere

"The runaway train of drug addiction has slowed down," according to the head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, which released its annual World Drug Report today.

The New York Times looks at Robert Zoellick's task as he takes the reins at the World Bank. 

American Muslims need to engage in U.S. political and civic life, according to a new report by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, lest they become alienated.

The U.S. Department of Justice is looking into the dealings of BAE, Britain's largest defense contractor.

Today's Agenda

• U.S. First Lady Laura Bush visits Senegal and Mozambique.
• Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is in Paris to meet with Sarkozy, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
• Hugo Chávez hosts his lil' buddy, Bolivian President Evo Morales, as the Copa America soccer tournament kicks off in Caracas.

Yesterday on Passport

• What We're Reading
• Numbers: Copper goes to China
• Why are the Japanese so much faster than Americans?