Globe Trot: Mali matters, Dreamliners grounded, 'red line' in Syria, Chechen Bibles

The French defense minister says fighting in Mali will be “long,” as French forces today moved into towns just south of areas captured recently by Islamic militants. The United States is weighing lending significant military aid to French troops in Mali. So far the French have asked for airlift support and aerial refueling. Question for President Obama: Is this another “good war”?

Remember when Mitt Romney tried to make “Molly” an issue in a presidential debate, and no one knew what he was talking about? Here’s why Mali matters, as an alliance of significant jihadi groups have in the last 10 months conspired to take over the region.

The two largest Japanese airlines grounded new fleets of the Boeing Dreamliner after an All Nippon Airways flight made an emergency landing in western Japan yesterday. Concerns about the Boeing 787, perhaps hyped by media coverage, are growing just 15 months after the aircraft passed a lengthy certification process with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

A classified U.S. State Department cable concludes that Syria likely used chemical weapons against its own people last month. In an Aug. 20 statement, President Barack Obama said such use would be crossing a “red line,” but so far there’s been no acknowledgement or response from the Obama administration. This reportcites seven videos of the aftermath that, while graphic, appear convincing.

A triple car bombing in Syria today has killed at least 22 people—a day after explosions at the University of Aleppo as students were taking exams left 87 dead.

Throughout its wars with mother Russia, Chechnya has seen its churches destroyed and the predominantly Islamic region drained of believers. But last year, a milestone: The first full translation of the Bible into the Chechen language and along with it some mass baptisms. Now, worth watching, new believers fear a backlash as the church again grows amidst Islamic oppression.