Loss -- but also gain -- for Ukraine

February 19, 2015 - Daily News Briefing

While Kiev has suffered setbacks on the battlefield over the past year, it appears to be making progress toward democracy.

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After weeks of relentless fighting, the embattled Ukrainian rail hub of Debaltseve fell Wednesday to Russia-backed separatists, who hoisted a flag in triumph over the town. The Ukrainian president confirmed that he had ordered troops to pull out and the rebels reported taking hundreds of soldiers captive.

President Barack Obama has chosen the former special agent he asked to temporarily run the troubled Secret Service to take over as director. The White House said Joe Clancy will fill the position after four months as acting director. Clancy, former head of the service's presidential protective division, was appointed on an interim basis in a hurry last year after then-Director Julia Pierson was forced out in the wake of a host of security breaches.

The U.S. military is launching its annual training exercise with armies from across Africa this week in Chad, as the countries of the region battle a growing threat from the Nigerian Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. Some 1,300 participants from 28 countries are joining in the Flintlock exercise that lasts until March 9. It includes counter-terrorism forces not only from the U.S. but from other Western countries and a number of African militaries including several of the armies who have pledged to support Nigeria in its battle against the jihadists.

Chairs flew and lawmakers traded punches. A brawl in Parliament over a new security bill has forced the spotlight on mounting suspicions that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's real goal is to hand himself more tools to crush dissent. Five lawmakers were injured early Wednesday in the fight that broke out as opposition leaders tried to delay a debate on the legislation.

US homebuilders slowed the pace of construction in January, breaking ground on fewer single-family houses ahead of the spring buying season. Housing starts slipped 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.07 million last month, down from 1.09 million in December, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Leading that decline was a sharp 6.7 percent monthly drop in starts for single-family houses. Still, a healing economy has caused building activity to move at a faster clip, with single-family starts climbing 18.7 percent over the past 12 months.

An explosion rocked an Exxon Mobil refinery on Wednesday morning, triggering a huge smokestack flare, raining down ash and leaving four with minor injuries, company and local officials said. Workers fled the area. The facility — a structure several stories tall — was shattered. Crews poured water onto the structure afterward, and a fire spokesman said at midday the situation was controlled. The blast happened in a recently installed processing facility and the material involved was gasoline, said Fire Department spokesman Steve Deuel.

Federal Reserve policymakers do not appear ready to start rising interest rates anytime soon, with officials expressing concerns about inflation and lingering weakness in the labor market. Minutes of the Fed's Jan. 27-28 meeting released Wednesday show that officials struggled to determine the appropriate timing for a rate hike. The Fed's benchmark interest rate has been at a record low near zero since December 2008.

“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.

Subscribe Now to read this post!

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