A Greek compromise

July 14, 2015 - Daily News Briefing

There are no winners or losers in the Greek debt deal. But a deal is far better than the alternative.

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A draft nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers calls for United Nations inspectors to have access to all suspect Iranian sites, including military, based on consultations between the powers and Tehran, a diplomatic source said early Tuesday, Vienna time. Meanwhile, Iran and the six nations (the United States, Britain, Russia, France, and China plus Germany) are scheduled to hold a comprehensive meeting at 4 a.m. Eastern time (08:00 GMT) Tuesday to discuss the possible deal, which will curb the country's nuclear work in exchange for lifting sanctions, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The Pentagon's current regulations banning transgender individuals from serving in the military are outdated, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Monday, ordering a six-month study aimed at formally ending one of the last gender- or sexuality-based barriers to military service. Carter said he is creating a working group that will review the policies and determine if lifting the ban would have any impact on the military's ability to be ready for battle. But he said the group will begin with the presumption that transgender people should be able to serve openly "without adverse impact on military effectiveness and readiness, unless and except where objective, practical impediments are identified."

The Iraqi government began on Monday a long-awaited large-scale military operation to dislodge Islamic State militants from Iraq's western Anbar province, a military spokesman announced. The spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, said in a televised statement that the operation started at dawn Monday and that government forces are backed by Shiite and Sunni pro-government fighters. Rasool didn't clarify whether the US-led international coalition is taking part.

Romanian prosecutors indicted Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Monday as part of a wide-ranging corruption investigation and seized his assets, putting further pressure on him to resign. Prosecutors said Ponta has been indicted on charges including tax evasion, money laundering, conflict of interest and making false statements while he was working as a lawyer in 2007 and 2008. At the time, Ponta was a lawmaker. He denies wrongdoing.

US authorities said on Monday they have arrested a heavily armed Massachusetts man who was building bombs in his apartment and planned to attack a crowded university campus cafeteria on behalf of the Islamic State militant group. Alexander Ciccolo, 23, was arrested on July 4 for the unlawful receipt of multiple guns, the US Justice Department said in a news release. His indictment was unsealed on Monday. The college he intended to target was not disclosed. FBI agents put Ciccolo under surveillance after being alerted to some of his posts on social media.

New York City reached a settlement Monday with the family of Eric Garner for $5.9 million, almost a year after the 43-year-old died in police custody. Garner was stopped on July 17 outside a convenience store for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. A video shot by an onlooker shows Garner telling the officers to leave him alone and refusing to be handcuffed. Garner is taken to the ground in what appears to be a chokehold, banned by police policy. The officer, Daniel Pantaleo, says it was a legal takedown maneuver. Garner, who had asthma, is heard gasping, "I can't breathe!" 11 times before he loses consciousness. He was pronounced dead later at a hospital.

For years, Christian pilgrims have waded into the Jordan River from both its eastern and western banks to connect with a core event of their faith — the baptism of Jesus. The parallel traditions allowed Jordan and Israel to compete for tourism dollars in marketing one of Christianity's most important sites. But now UNESCO has weighed in on the rivalry, designating Jordan's baptismal area on the eastern bank a World Heritage site. The United Nations cultural agency declared this month that the site "is believed to be" the location of Jesus' baptism, based on what it said is a view shared by most Christian churches.

“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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