A 'frozen conflict' returns

January 27, 2015 - Daily News Briefing

Ukraine is the latest in a series of Russian-backed separatist operations. But the stakes in Ukraine are higher than elsewhere.

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A former CIA officer was convicted Monday of leaking classified details of an operation to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions to a New York Times reporter. Jurors convicted 47-year-old Jeffrey Sterling, of O'Fallon, Missouri, of all nine counts he faced in federal court. On the third day of deliberations, the jurors had told the judge that they could not reach a unanimous verdict. But they delivered guilty verdicts later in the afternoon after the judge urged them to keep talking.

Kurdish fighters backed by intense US-led airstrikes pushed the Islamic State group almost entirely out of the Syrian town of Kobane on Monday, marking a major loss for extremists whose hopes for easy victory dissolved into a bloody, costly siege that seems close to ending in defeat. Fighters raised a Kurdish flag on a hill in the border town near Turkey that once flew the Islamic State group's black banner. It represents a key conquest both for the embattled Kurds and the US-led coalition, whose American coordinator had predicted that the Islamic State group would "impale itself" on Kobane.

A Japanese diplomat emerged from talks in Jordan on Monday with no signs of progress in securing the release of a freelance journalist held hostage by the extremist Islamic State group. Japanese officials refused direct comment on the contents of the talks in Jordan, where Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Yasuhide Nakayama is coordinating regional efforts to save hostage Kenji Goto.

A Greek F-16 fighter jet crashed into other aircraft on the ground during NATO training in southeastern Spain Monday, killing at least 10 people, Spain's Defense Ministry said. Another 19 people were injured in the incident at the Los Llanos base, which sent flames and a plume of black smoke billowing into the air, the ministry said in a statement.

Previously sealed Boy Scout "perversion" files spanning 16 years could soon be in the public eye as part of a negligence lawsuit set for trial Monday that a victim of sex abuse filed against the organization. Opening statements were scheduled in Santa Barbara, California, where a man who is now 20 and was molested by a Boy Scout volunteer in 2007 is seeking punitive damages. He claims the Scouts failed to educate and warn parents and volunteers about the dangers of sex abuse.

Mattel Chairman and CEO Bryan Stockton has resigned after the struggling maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars reported fourth-quarter results that fell far short of analyst expectations. Shares of the El Segundo, California, company slipped in Monday morning trading. The company said longtime board member Christopher A. Sinclair will replace Stockton as chairman and interim CEO.

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

To send a comment to the Editor, email editor@csmonitor.com.

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

To send a comment to the Editor, email editor@csmonitor.com.

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