Morning Brief, Thursday, October 11

MANPREET ROMANA/AFP/Getty

Asia

Monks arrested in Burma were thrown into horrible prison conditions. One was told, "You are no longer a monk. You are just an ordinary man with a shaven head." One Burmese activist has died in custody, according to a Thailand-based human rights group.

U.S. authorities are turning to Japan for lessons on how to ensure that imports of Chinese food are safe.

Tensions are high across the Taiwan Strait after Taiwan showed off new military hardware at Wednesday's National Day parade, the first such event in 16 years.

Middle East 

Turkey's president condemned a U.S. resolution that recognizes the mass murder of Armenians in 1915 as genocide. The measure passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday by a 27-21 vote.

In the Palestinian territories, Fatah is ruling out reconciliation talks with Hamas.

The Washington Post profiles Gamal Mubarak, Hosni's son and Egypt's likely next president. 

Europe

The president of Belarus, the last dictator in Europe, wants to build a nuclear power plant.

Germany is pulling back from liberal reforms, Bertrand Benoit writes for the Financial Times.

The 2007 Nobel Prize for literature goes to British novelist Doris Lessing.

Elsewhere

Surprise, surprise: The Sudanese government is laying obstacles in the path of the nascent U.N.-African Union force for Darfur.

In a speech yesterday, Robert Zoellick defined the World Bank's role as a "catalyst" committed to multilateral, but "effective" action against poverty.

The United States ranks 14th in providing foreign aid, according to a new report by the Center for Global Development. 

A letter signed by 130 Muslim scholars calls for dialogue with the pope. 

Today's Agenda

• U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads to Russia, where she will tag-team with Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Kosovo and missile defense, followed by a trip to the Middle East.
• Paul McCartney meets with outgoing wife Heather Mills to discuss divorce arrangements.
• London's Royal Albert Hall hosts the 55th International Ballroom Dancing Championships.
• Today is National Coming Out Day.

Yesterday on Passport

• Rice's new strategy on Chávez: effective, but not much fun
• Who will win the Nobel Prize in economics?
• Turkish Prime Minister threatens attack against Kurds