Morning Brief, Thursday, January 17

On the Hot Seat

SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies to the House Budget Committee at 10 a.m. EST on the state of the economy. He will reportedly support a fiscal stimulus package, but analysts don't expect him to advocate a particular strategy.

Asia

In Beijing, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte called on China to support another round of sanctions on Iran.

Water levels in certain areas of China's Yangtze River are at their lowest point in 142 years.

Sri Lanka's military launched an offensive against Tamil Tiger strongholds.

India's public schools have "sunk to spectacularly low levels," the New York Times reports. 

Europe

Facing pressure from the security apparatus that British Foreign Secretary David Miliband called "reprehensible," the British Council has temporarily closed up shop in Russia.

Another gaffe by British PM Gordon Brown?

A French court found oil company Total partially liable for a massive 1999 oil spill off the coast of Brittany.

Middle East

The International Monetary Fund predicts economic growth of 7 percent this year in Iraq.

The U.S. military is increasingly using airstrikes to fight Iraq's insurgents.

Escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza threatens to derail the peace negotiations.

Elsewhere

Peru is suing to reclaim a coastal area from Chile that Peruvians say is their maritime territory.

A new outbreak of protests in Kenya continued for a second day.

The World Bank's anti-fraud chief stepped down amid internal squabbles over her role.

Today's Agenda

• The Sundance film festival begins in Utah.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting Bulgaria to discuss gas pipelines and nuclear energy.

Yesterday on Passport

• New coup rumors in Iraq
• Fortune cookies are from Japan?
• The Democrats vs. Musharraf

Web Exclusive

Seven Questions: The De-Bremerification of Iraq
Iraq's parliament has finally passed a long-awaited new law aimed at allowing former Baathists to return to government jobs. Amb. Feisal al-Istrabadi, one of the “founding fathers” of the new Iraq, is optimistic about the legislation and says Iraqis are just undoing mistakes made by the United States.