News of the day from across the globe, Feb. 9

Forces fighting the Islamic militants should be able to retake the Islamic State-held cities of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria within the next six months, according to the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

Pro-government forces shelled the city’s al-Waer neighborhood with tank and artillery fire in conjunction with the air strikes, the Local Coordination Committees, an activist network, reported.

Britain’s House of Commons gave its final approval Wednesday to a bill authorizing the government to start exit talks with the European Union, despite fears by opposition lawmakers that the United Kingdom is setting out on the rocky path to Brexit with a sketchy road map.

Romania’s center-left government survived a parliamentary vote of no confidence after mass protests.

Interior and defense ministers from 15 European countries agreed Wednesday at a summit in Vienna to come up with new measures to ensure that the overland route from Greece remains shut for refugees seeking new lives in other EU nations and those trying to bring them in illegally.

Tanzania’s government is considering legal action to force former colonizer Germany to pay reparations for alleged atrocities committed over a century ago, the country’s defense minister said Wednesday.

The government will seek compensation over tens of thousands of people who allegedly were starved, tortured and killed by German forces while trying to put down rebellious tribes, Defense Minister Hussein Mwinyi told lawmakers.