Morning Brief, Wednesday, October 31

Asia

MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

China faces a massive fuel crunch caused by its heavy domestic subsidies of petrol and diesel.

More than 100 brave monks have hit the streets again in Burma.

Trust is breaking down between the U.S. and Pakistani militaries.

Think Chinese toys are dangerous? Try Chinese chemicals.

Middle East

An Iranian news outlet briefly picked up a satirical Maureen Dowd interview with Dick Cheney, in which the (fake) vice president says Iran has WMD.

Hillary Clinton became a punching bag for her rivals in Tuesday night's Democratic debate, who accused the New York senator of enabling a war with Iran.

The U.S. military will now oversee State Department convoys in Iraq.

Europe

Authorities are treating as terrorism an explosion on a bus in southern Russia that killed at least eight people.

Rallies breaking out in support of a third term for Russian President Vladimir Putin smack of orchestration by the Kremlin.

Bad housing news may have the British economy taking a turn for the worse, Bloomberg reports. 

Elsewhere 

In a proposed new constitution, Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez wants to slash the standard workday from 8 to 6 hours.

Climate change is freaking out the global tourism industry.

Can personal outsourcing of everyday tasks work? The International Herald Tribune takes a look.

Are women taking over Latin American politics?

Mexico's Catholic Church has condemned Halloween. 

Today's Agenda

• The World Toilet Summit kicks off in Delhi, India.
• British PM Gordon Brown meets Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah.
• The verdict is due today in the Madrid bombing case.
• The Washington Post calls upon the U.S. Senate to ratify the U.N. Law of the Sea Convention, which is up for a vote today.

Yesterday on Passport

• Turkey faces Tora Bora-like challenge in Iraqi Kurdistan
• Iran: I know you are but what am I?
• The dirty truth about Canada's tar-sands baby