French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the French campaign in Mali, which it launched in January after Islamist militants took over much of the country's north, succeeded in preventing terrorists from controlling that area.

WSJ: Militants, Chased From Mali, Pose New Threats

In scientific wars, the nuclear option is a quantitative summary all that is known about a particular area, controlling for the problems in any individual study.

FORBES: A Victor in the Science Wars

The villages are in an area critical to controlling a corridor between Syria's Mediterranean ports and Hezbollah's base in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.

WSJ: Strikes in Syria Raise Alarm

Other countries whose trade is mostly within the euro area point to the inflation-controlling benefits of a strong currency, when it comes to buying imports and above all oil (which is priced in dollars).

ECONOMIST: The lessons of German history haunt the single currency