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The United States on Thursday expressed its concern that undeclared chemical weapons in Syria could be seized by extremist group Islamic State (IS). The concerns were raised by US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, as a joint UN and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons mission is about to end its drive to get rid of Syria’s chemical …

Iraqi soldiers regained control of part of an important highway connecting Baghdad to the northern part of the country, where human rights organization Amnesty International said extremists have been carrying out ethnic cleansing. Iraqi soldiers backed by militia have been on a push north after ending an extremist siege by fighters from the Islamic State (IS) in the Shi’ite Turkmen …

The head of the UN agency mandated to defend press freedom today expressed shock at the killing of American journalist Steven Sotloff and called for the immediate release of all civilian hostages held by militant groups in Syria. “I condemn deeply the execution of Steven Sotloff,” said UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova in a statement to the press in which she also expressed …

On Tuesday, Russia declared NATO to be a “threat” to its security after the Western military alliance earlier announced plans to reinforce defenses in Eastern Europe due to Russia’s alleged involvement in Ukraine. Russia’s surprise declaration came just ahead of a NATO summit to be held on Thursday in Wales, where Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is expected to lobby US …

Militants from the Islamic State (IS) on Tuesday released a video of a masked militant beheading an American journalist and threatened to kill a British national they have captive. The footage, found on private terrorism monitor SITE, shows 31-year-old freelance journalist Steven Sotloff clothed in orange and kneeling on his knees against the desert backdrop. Miami-born Sotloff had written for …

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Tuesday said that the five Syrian pro-government activists were arrested for criticizing the Defense Ministry and Intelligence services over the deaths of soldiers and loss of important military bases. Rami Abdel Rahman, the observatory’s director, said that they were arrested on Friday “aftercriticizing the role of the defense ministry and the intelligence services …

Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid on Tuesday warned that Israel was slowly destroying international support towards it, after the United States also joined the chorus of criticism it has come under after its recent expropriation of Palestinian territory, the biggest such land grab since the 80s. Lapid said that the Israeli cabinet was not consulted about Sunday’s announcement regarding the …

Ramallah, August 21, 2014—Israeli soldiers repeatedly used Ahmad Abu Raida, 17, as a human shield for five days while he was held hostage during Israel’s ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Ahmad, from Khuza’a, near the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, was just 16 years old when he was taken from his family on July 23. He was forced …

Advocacy Group Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday said that extremists from the Islamic State (IS) have been using clutter munitions in at least one location in war-ravaged Syria, and that the Syrian regime also continues to use the extensively banned weapon. The New York-based group cited reports and photographic evidence from local Kurdish officials, and said that IS extremists …

On Monday, Egypt denounced Israel’s plans to seize West Bank territory and said that the move would be in violation of international law and will be another obstacle to permanent Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. Israel had on Sunday announced that it will expropriate 988 acres of Palestinian territory around Bethlehem, and allowed for appeal within 45 days. “This is not a …