War and remembrance

November 06, 2013 - Daily News Briefing

Every so often a war criminal is unmasked, an unexploded bomb is unearthed, or an anniversary reawakens the central trauma of the 20th century, World War II.

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The UN’s top Syria envoy says diplomats have failed to agree on a date for a new Syria peace conference this year. Lakhdar Brahimi said at a news conference in Geneva that diplomats “are still striving to see if we can have the conference before the end of the year.” After talks that lasted all day Tuesday, President Bashar al-Assad’s entrenched government signaled it is not ready to negotiate handing over power.

The brother of a man who police say killed himself after firing several shots inside a New Jersey mall says he’s not sure what led to his brother’s actions. Kevin Shoop says his brother, 20-year-old Richard Shoop of Teaneck, acted in a selfish manner. Authorities say Richard Shoop fired at the ceiling of the Garden State Plaza in Paramus on Monday night. No one was injured, and police later found Shoop’s body in a back corridor of the mall.

US and German officials say their top intelligence officials are meeting in Washington to devise new guidelines on how the allies share intelligence - including whether they spy on each other. A spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Tuesday that German and US intelligence officials are meeting this week, trying “to further intensify and strengthen cooperation,” as directed by President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

A mortar round slammed into a Damascus building that houses the Vatican’s embassy on Tuesday, eyewitnesses and a spokesman said, the latest in a string of attacks that have hit foreign diplomatic missions in the Syrian capital. It was not clear if the diplomatic mission near the upscale Abu Roummaneh district was specifically targeted in the early morning shelling, which damaged the roof. No casualties were reported and no one claimed responsibility for the attack. Rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad have frequently fired mortars into the capital, where the government tries to portray life as normal despite the country’s civil war, which is raging well into its third year.

The Pentagon is preparing top-to-bottom changes, including a push to limit the growth of military pay, as it adjusts to steep budget cuts and the winding down of war in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Tuesday. In a speech on US defense priorities, Hagel said that as the Obama administration preserves the military’s strength it will make it a less prominent tool of foreign policy. That’s not a new goal but one Hagel said is more achievable now that the US is ending more than a decade of foreign conflict and the public is weary of war.

The Senate moved forward Tuesday on the first major bill barring workplace discrimination against gays in nearly two decades as Americans’ shifting views about homosexuality have significantly changed the political dynamic. The progress welcomed by gay rights advocates stood in contrast to the strong opposition from conservative groups that challenge legislation based on sexuality and House Republicans led by Speaker John Boehner, who insists that the bill would lead to costly, frivolous lawsuits and undermine job creation.

Five years after the financial crisis dampened enthusiasm for initial public offerings, investors are again eager to buy shares when companies start trading. Twitter is the star this week, but the number of offerings shows that it’s not just social media darlings that are seeking and attracting investors. There have been 190 offerings this year, and momentum has built as market indexes have set new highs. October’s 33 offerings made it the busiest month since November 2007, according to data provider Dealogic. And a dozen expected offerings this week tie it for the busiest week of the year.

They work hard, sniffing out crime with only the occasional pat on the nose in gratitude. But police dogs deserve better, according to the police and crime commissioner in the English county of Nottinghamshire, who wants to reward them with “pensions” on retirement. Paddy Tipping says the idea for a canine pension fund came about because officers were picking up the costs for retired police dogs. Handlers normally take dogs home upon retirement. Tipping, however, says he doesn’t “think it’s fair that they have to pay all the bills.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry is vowing that a review into NSA surveillance activities will ultimately result in the “right” balance between security and privacy and says outrage over alleged espionage and eavesdropping should not disrupt key trade talks between Europe and the US. Speaking in Warsaw after the talks, Kerry said Tuesday that Europeans and others have “legitimate” questions about the surveillance and that those would be answered in private diplomatic discussions.

Compiled from wire service reports

“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.

Compiled from wire service reports

“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.

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