Asia
KOICHI KAMOSHIDA/Getty
Japanese voters won't have Shinzo Abe to kick around anymore: The deeply unpopular prime minister has resigned after less than a year in office.
Breaking: a huge earthquake struck Sumatra, Indonesia, and it may trigger a tsunami.
A leading pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong is vowing to run for the local legislature, heralding a possible future showdown with Beijing.
Would U.S. President George W. Bush hold a bilateral summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Il?
Many of China's state secrets have been stolen via the Internet, according to the country's minister of information industry.
Middle East
On Thursday, President Bush plans to announce a drawdown of some 30,000 troops by next summer, subject to conditions on the ground. In their report to Congress, Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker portrayed the situation in their country accurately, according to nearly two dozen Iraqis interviewed by the New York Times. A major subtext of Tuesday's Senate hearings on Iraq: presidential contenders preening for the cameras. For its part, Iran says the Petraeus/Crocker report won't "save America from Iraq's swamp."
Israel attacked targets in Syria last Thursday, U.S. officials confirm to the New York Times. But views differ on the likely targets: Iranian military supplies to Hezbollah or North Korean nuclear material sold to Syria. Syria has protested the Israeli action to the U.N. Security Council.
Libya goes green?
Europe
Russia tested a huge new fuel-air bomb whose "efficiency and power is commensurate with a nuclear weapon," according to the Russian deputy armed forces chief of staff.
In a reshuffle likely tied to next year's presidential election, Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted the resignation of his cabinet.
Elsewhere
In a bid to ease oil prices approaching $80 a barrel, OPEC announced a supply increase of 500,000 barrels per day. The commodities markets, seeing depleted U.S. inventories, were unimpressed, but the International Energy Agency lowered its forecast for global demand.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warned that the credit crunch in the markets will last longer than previous financial crises of the past 20 years.
President Bush is reportedly considering Theodore B. Olson to replace Alberto Gonzales as U.S. attorney general. If that happens, expect a fight in the Senate.
Today's Agenda
- In a rare coincidence of interfaith unity, Rosh Hashanah and Ramadan could begin on the same day.
- At 9 a.m. this morning, Gen. Petraeus and Amb. Crocker face their toughest challenge yet: answering questions from journalists. Watch it live here.
Yesterday on Passport
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