News

After several years of the value of the Swiss franc being capped against the euro, “The euro lost nearly 20 percent of its value against the Swiss franc on Thursday [January 15] after the central bank abandoned the cap on the franc’s value against the single currency” (EU Observer, January 15, 2015). “The value of the Swiss franc increased by around 30 percent in the hours following the announcement… The euro also fell to new lows against the dollar and sterling.

“An underwater volcano off Tonga was spewing ash high into the air on Tuesday, causing several carriers to suspend air travel to the South Pacific island nation and turning the surrounding ocean blood red, residents and officials said” (The Guardian, January 12, 2015). “The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano… was sending volcanic ash up to 4,500m into the air...

“Over 2,000 people were killed by Boko Haram fighters during the massacre [last week]... Hundreds of bodies - too many to count - remain strewn in the bush in Nigeria from an Islamic extremist attack that Amnesty International suggested Friday is the ‘deadliest massacre’ in the history of Boko Haram” (Sydney Morning Herald, January 13, 2015).

Last week’s terrorist shooting of 17 civilians in Paris shocked France and the world (FoxNews, January 11, 2015). Following this tragedy, 40 world leaders joined 3.7 million people in rallies in Paris and throughout France on Sunday in a show of solidarity against terrorism (CNN, January 11, 2015).

“Israel on Saturday froze NIS 500 million ($127 million) in Palestinian tax revenues collected on Ramallah’s behalf, in response to the Palestinian Authority [PA] filing a request to join the International Criminal Court earlier this week”—a move intended to allow the PA to prosecute Israel for war crimes (Times of Israel, January 3, 2015).