Morning Brief, Wednesday, August 8

Asia

Pool/AFP/Getty Images

For the first time in seven years and only the second time in history, a South Korean president will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. 

China is coyly threatening to wreck the U.S. economy if Congress passes punitive trade measures that the U.S. Treasury Department deems are misguided.

China's Yangtze river dolphins are probably extinct. 

Middle East

The United Nations plans to beef up its presence in Baghdad.

A top U.S. commander in Iraq says that a type of roadside bomb supplied by Iran is killing more and more U.S. troops in Iraq. It so happens that Iraq's prime minister is in Tehran today for talks with Iranian leaders.

On Tuesday, Iraq's central government pledged to stop attacks in Turkey by Kurdish militants, but it's not clear whether the Kurdish regional government is on board.

Europe

Russia's top aluminum magnate bought a nearly 5-percent stake in General Motors.

Retaliating against new U.S. rules for European travelers, Brussels is threatening to make it tougher for U.S. citizens to travel to Europe. 

A German court barred a planned strike by German rail workers. 

Nicolas Sarkozy's economic reforms are winning over Anglo-American investors. 

Elsewhere

Mexico, the new Colombia? Washington is planning to pour billions in anti-drug aid into what is an increasingly unstable country.

Although the Fed held interest rates steady Tuesday, many on Wall Street are fearing the worst.

Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's record by hitting home run number 756 last night. 

Today's Agenda

• One year from today, Beijing will host the 2008 Olympics. Activists are seizing the moment.
• Richard Branson's Virgin America airlines launches today, as does NASA's Endeavour space shuttle.
• World Bank President Robert Zoellick visits Tokyo, the final stop on his whirlwind Asia-Pacific tour.
• U.S. President George W. Bush talks about the economy with Neil Cavuto of Fox News.

Yesterday on Passport 

• That was fast
• What the Basra precedent says about Iraq
• Help stop global warming! (Republicans need not apply)