Momentum shifts in Iraq

January 16, 2015 - Daily News Briefing

Islamic State's aggressive attacks drew attention last year. But it is increasingly on the defensive.

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Belgian security forces killed two terror suspects in a fierce shootout in the eastern city of Verviers on Thursday and arrested another, foiling a major attack against police buildings, authorities said. The suspects immediately opened fire on police when they closed in on them near the city's train station, Magistrate Eric Van der Sypt said in Brussels. He said there was no link at this stage to the Paris attacks, and that the raid is the result of an investigation that has been underway for a few weeks.

The Obama administration is putting a large dent in the US embargo against Cuba as of Friday, significantly loosening restrictions on American trade and investment. The new rules also open up the communist island to greater American travel and allow US citizens to start bringing home small amounts of Cuban goods after more than a half-century ban.

Pope Francis said Thursday there are limits to freedom of expression, especially when it insults or ridicules someone's faith. Francis spoke about the Paris terror attacks while en route to the Philippines, defending free speech as not only a fundamental human right but a duty to speak one's mind for the sake of the common good. But he said there were limits.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is alarmed that Israelis and Palestinians are engaged in a downward spiral of actions and counter actions and calls on both sides not to exacerbate existing divisions, a senior UN official said Thursday. Israel is withholding critical tax revenue and seeking ways to prosecute Palestinian leaders for war crimes in retaliation for Palestinian moves to join the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Mexican government on Thursday started issuing birth certificates to its citizens at consulates in the United States, seeking to make it easier for them to apply for US work permits, driver's licenses and protection from deportation. Until now, Mexico has required citizens to get birth certificates at government offices in Mexico. Many of those living in the US ask friends and relatives back home to retrieve them, which can delay their applications for immigration or other programs.

Bowing to the inevitable, Switzerland has ditched an increasingly expensive policy to limit the export-sapping rise of the Swiss franc – a decision that propelled the currency a whopping 30 percent higher against the euro within minutes. Thursday's decision by the Swiss National Bank, or SNB, to end its efforts to keep the euro from trading below 1.20 francs came amid mounting speculation that the European Central Bank will next week back a big stimulus program that will put more euros in circulation, which would further dilute their value.

A healthier US housing market and economy helped to winnow foreclosures in 2014 to levels not seen since before the housing bust. The decline is the latest evidence of how foreclosures have diminished in recent years from a national crisis to a largely market-specific concern. While foreclosures remain elevated in many populous metropolitan areas, such as New York, Philadelphia and San Diego, they have declined annually overall in recent years, and 2014 was no exception.

Show business satire "Birdman" and colorful caper "The Grand Budapest Hotel" led the Academy Awards nominees on Thursday with nine nods apiece, including best picture, in the quest for Hollywood's top film prize. The other best picture nominees are "American Sniper," "Boyhood," "The Imitation Game," "Selma," "The Theory of Everything" and "Whiplash." The Academy chose only eight films, although it can nominate up to 10.

“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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