Testing the 'Obama Doctrine'

April 07, 2015 - Daily News Briefing

Iran is the biggest test of a foreign policy that emphasizes diplomatic engagement and military disengagement.

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Pitched fighting intensified Monday in Yemen's second-largest city, Aden, as Shiite rebels and their allies waged their strongest push yet to seize control of the main bastion of supporters of their rival, the country's embattled president. The fierce fighting in the southern port city on the Arabian Sea raises doubts over the possibility of landing ground forces from a Saudi-led coalition backing President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to try to carve out an enclave to which Hadi, who fled the country two weeks ago, could return.

The U.N. Security Council called Monday for life-saving assistance and safe evacuation for up to 18,000 Palestinians facing escalating fighting in a refugee camp in the Syrian capital and what the U.N. official in charge described as "a completely catastrophic" humanitarian situation. The council, after an emergency meeting, condemned "the grave crimes" committed by the Islamic State extremist group and Al Qaeda-linked al-Nusra against civilians in the Yarmouk camp and said their crimes must not go unpunished. It called for protection of the refugees, humanitarian access to the camp, and safe passage and evacuation of the civilians — and said it will look into further measures to help achieve this.

Pope Francis on Monday again pressed the international community to do something about the killing of Christians in several parts of the world and not "look the other way." He has been increasingly vocal about the fate of Christians being targeted by Islamic extremists in parts of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Addressing pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square, Francis praised those who were "sensitizing public opinion about the persecution of Christians in the world."

Expectations that the Federal Reserve will be slow to raise interest rates following a weak jobs report last week helped send the stock market up on Monday. A jump in the price of crude oil set off a rally in energy stocks. The stock market was closed Friday when the Labor Department reported that employers added just 126,000 workers to their payrolls in March, the smallest increase since December 2013. It was another sign of weaker economic growth in the winter months and added more pressure on the Federal Reserve to put off raising rates from near zero. Historically low rates have helped stocks soar over the past six years.

A group of protesters called Monday for the United Nations to conduct an independent investigation of a white Wisconsin police officer who killed an unarmed biracial man because they feel the US government can't be trusted. Members of Young, Gifted and Black along with 19-year-old Tony Robinson's family held a news conference in front of the Dane County courthouse to call on the U.N.'s Human Rights Council to investigate Robinson's death last month. The Wisconsin Department of Justice wrapped up its investigation of the incident a little more than a week ago. The findings haven't been made public but the protesters insisted there's no way the probe could have been fair. They said the state agents who led it used to be police officers and police protect each other. They added they don't have faith that any U.S. government agency could conduct an objective probe because it's all one prejudiced system.

Defense attorneys for ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez rested their case on Monday in his murder trial after calling three witnesses including a drugs expert and two forensics analysts. The drugs expert, Dr. David Greenblatt of Tufts University School of Medicine, said that PCP - a drug an earlier witness said may have been used by people who were with Hernandez at the time of the murder - could trigger violent behavior. The forensics analysts said Hernandez's DNA was found on a piece of chewing gum stuck to a shell casing retrieved from the trash by investigators, with one saying the DNA could have been transferred to the shell from the gum. The testimony played into the defense team's arguments that Hernandez's friends may have committed the killing, and not the former New England Patriots tight end himself. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Odin Lloyd, a semiprofessional football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancée. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

“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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