Morning Brief, Friday, April 11

Middle East

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images

President George W. Bush gave a speech in which he described a "major shift" in Iraq and announced that he was freezing troop reductions. This means it is now certain that Bush's successor will inherit the war in Iraq.

American commanders see the violence in Sadr City as a test for Iraqi forces.

Israel has sent tanks into Gaza in retaliation for an attack earlier this week.

A new World Bank report says the Middle East is on the verge of a water crisis.

Asia

Nepal's historic election was mostly peaceful. Results are expected within 10 days.

The U.S. is prepared to ease sanctions on North Korea, which is on the verge of famine.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will not attend the Olympics.

A court sentenced Shanghai's former Communist Party boss to 18 years in prison on corruption charges.

2008 U.S. Elections

John McCain now favors government aid for struggling U.S. homeowners.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell had strong praise for Barack Obama but would not explicitly endorse him.

The campaign's next battleground: Guam.   

Europe

A senior Russian general said his country would consider the use of force to keep Ukraine and Georgia out of NATO.

France plans to boost its troop presence in Afghanistan to 3,000.

At least 19,000 students and teachers demonstrated against school reform in France. 

Elsewhere

Southern African leaders, including Robert Mugabe and challenger Morgan Tsvangirai, will meet on Saturday to discuss Zimbabwe's election.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, will step down in a few months.

Pirates released the crew of the French luxury yacht they had been holding hostage off the coast of Somalia. 

Today's Agenda 

• G7 finance ministers meet in Washington to discuss the state of the world economy.
• The Olympic torch is in Buenos Aires.
• It's the tenth anniversary of Northern Ireland's Good Friday peace agreements.

Yesterday on Passport

• Bush's Olympic precedent
• I'll see you next year in Jerusalem...I guess...
• How Bulgarian drug traffickers fund Islamic terrorists