Morning Brief, Thursday, September 20

Asia

In a new video yet to be released, Osama bin Laden apparently addresses the people of Pakistan and declares war on Pervez Musharraf. And al Qaeda's number two man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is calling forth the "mujahedin" with his own fiery message.

Musharraf will stand for reelection on October 6, according to Pakistani officials.

Battling inflation, the Chinese government put a freeze on state-controlled prices.

In a third straight day of activism, Burma's monks held a protest at one of the country's holiest temples.

Middle East

The West has been given an "exceptional opportunity" to resolve its nuclear standoff with Iran, a senior Iranian official said.

Former Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says he gave his blessing to a September 6 raid on Syria by Israeli jet fighters.

A large gap is emerging between Israeli and Palestinian expectations for an upcoming peace conference sponsored by the United States.

For the second time, Senate Republicans blocked a measure that would have required U.S. troops to have equal amounts of rest and deployment time. 

A car bomb struck a Christian suburb of Beirut, killing an anti-Syrian lawmaker.

Europe

Russia's new prime minister is no fun.

Switzerland is building huge tunnels in order to protect the Alps.

Europe moved to protect its energy markets from Gazprom.

Elsewhere

The U.S. envoy to Darfur credited China as being helpful in trying to solve that conflict.

The U.S. dollar plunged to record lows against the euro. Gold and oil are up as a result.

A plan to build Latin America's highest tower is running into obstacles in Mexico City.

Today's Agenda

• The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing is to unveil its new $5 bill.
• The Tokyo Game Show, one of the world's biggest video gaming conventions, gets underway in Japan.

Yesterday on Passport

• Blackwater's gift to Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki
• Daniel Pearl's father criticizes "A Mighty Heart"
• Job opening: some travel required