Briefing
World Iraqi Forces Advance Against ISIS With Mosul on the Horizon A force of 30,000 Iraqis launched a large-scale offensive on March 2 to push ISIS out of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown 80 miles (130 km) northwest of Baghdad. The approach was slowed by roadside bombs and snipers, but by March 4 the Iraqi army said it had seized a key ISIS supply route as it aimed to encircle the city. The battle carries political as well as military risks, with Iran-backed Shi‘ite militias operating in a Sunni area where some welcomed ISIS. If sectarian passions are held in check, the Tikrit campaign could be a model for a later, far larger battle to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city.
Volunteer Shi‘ite fighters backing Iraqi forces fire a cannon near the city of Tikrit
Jackie Chan and Lin Peng, stars of the hit Chinese movie Dragon Blade
Mosul is ISIS’s key Iraqi redoubt, and as long as it controls the city it will hold sway over much of northern Iraq. Tikrit is an important transit center between Baghdad and Mosul and would give the central government an important logistical hub from which to fuel its Mosul offensive. The battle will not be easy. The Iraqi military was driven out of both Mosul and Tikrit by ISIS last summer, and two previous attempts to retake the smaller city have failed, even as U.S.-led air strikes have helped halt ISIS’s momentum. But Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi communicated a new urgency when he visited Iraqi forces on the eve of the operation, saying “zero hour” for taking back the city had arrived. For some the operation will be personal, as ISIS massacred hundreds of Iraqi recruits at a nearby base last summer. The U.S. has so far stayed out of the fight for Tikrit, as reports suggest its antagonist Iran is helping steer the offensive with airpower, artillery and commanders on the ground advising Shi‘ite militias. But Pentagon officials know the city must be retaken if the planned assault on Mosul is to go ahead. With the future of Iraq hinging on participation of its angry Sunnis, Tikrit will be a crucial test.
DATA
THE COST OF LIVING The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked more than 130 cities from most to least expensive, according to a survey of prices across 160 goods and services. Here’s a sampling:
1
Singapore
2
Paris
9
Seoul
U.S.
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CONAN O’BRIEN, host of the TBS late-night talk show Conan,
speaking to reporters after a trip to Cuba to film an episode that aired March 4; Washington and Havana moved to restore ties in December, and President Barack Obama said on March 2 that he hopes the U.S. will open an embassy in Cuba ahead of an Americas summit in Panama in April.
14
22
New York City
3 ESSENTIAL FACTS
&KLQD V %R[ 2èFH Boom China’s box-office revenue in February hit $650 million, exceeding the monthly total in the U.S. for the first time, according to research firm Entgroup. Here’s a look at how China’s domestic box office is growing at a rapid pace: IT’S HIGH SEASON Because of the
Chinese New Year holiday, the country’s biggest month at the box office is typically February, when revenue reached $318 million in a single week this year. The U.S. usually sees among the lowest tallies in February. DOMESTIC FILMS ARE HITS China
restricts foreign films during the holiday season, so the record numbers were fueled by domestic hits like Dragon Blade, a period action flick that made $95 million in February. Last year, Chinese-made films took in $2.6 billion, making up more than half of total receipts in the country and around $1 billion more than all box-office revenue in movie-loving India. Fifteen film screens go up in China every day, and total revenue surged by 34%, to $4.7 billion, in 2014. That figure is expected to surpass $10 billion by the end of the decade.
A ROSY FUTURE
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Bangalore
By Nikhil Kumar, Noah Rayman and Mark Thompson
