Russian military Tu-154 crashes in the Black Sea killing all 92 on board

All 92 people on board the Russian military Tu-154 were killed after it came down into the Black Sea shortly after take-off near the resort town of Sochi. Terrorism has been ruled out as the cause of the crash. it could have been due to a technical malfunction or crew error.
The aircraft was a Tu-154, a Soviet-designed three-engine airliner and it disappeared minutes after taking off over the Black Sea.
The plane had departed from Adler, south of Sochi, where it had stopped to refuel after taking off from Moscow. It was headed for Russia's Hmeimim airbase outside the coastal Syrian city of Latakia.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 25 December 2016.

The plane was carrying 64 members of the renowned military choir and dance band, the Alexandrov Ensemble (better known as the Red Army Choir) and included its conductor Valery Khalilov. It was on its way to Syria to give a concert at a Russian air base.
Apart from them, there were nine members of the media and eight crew members.
President Vladimir Putin has ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash and declared one day of nationwide mourning.


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Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to bury the hatchet and work together to fight terrorism

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the two most powerful leaders in the world today, have agreed in principle to work together to tackle international terrorism and extremism. The two of them had spoken for the first time on the telephone since Donald Trump won the election.
He will be inaugurated as president on 20 January next year.
Kremlin has added that they will work towards "constructive co-operation" to improve "the extremely unsatisfactory state of Russian-US relations at present".
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 15 November 2016.

Moscow has indicated that the pair will continue contact by phone and that they are working towards meeting in person. Relations between President Barack Obama and President Vladimir Putin had become strained over a number of issues including the Syrian war, where the countries back different sides.
In addition, there had also been tension over the Ukraine conflict, apart from allegations of Russian cyber-attacks in the just concluded election campaign.
It seems the two leaders had discussed a range of issues including the threats and challenges facing the United States and Russia, strategic economic issues and the historical US-Russia relationship. The basic intention is to bring back Russian and American relations to a stable path of development.


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Discarded life jackets of migrants being converted to cash to help out the refugees

The staggering number of migrants that are arriving in to European countries from Syria, Iraq and other such locations has brought with them a new menace and, a couple of enterprising individuals have converted that into an opportunity to make some money. The migrants usually prefer the sea route and use life jackets for safety. And - once they reach land, they discard these jackets and they keep piling up on the beaches. These discarded jackets have been converted into a business by a couple of Americans.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 4 May 2016.

The two Americans are Xander Schultz (30) and fiancee Zoe Pappis (26) - they were holidaying in Europe when they decided to volunteer on the island of Lesbos to extend help to some of the thousands of refugees arriving on people smuggler boats from Turkey. It was then that they hit upon the idea of turning the abandoned life vests into a money-making initiative in order to to raise funds for those fleeing countries like war-torn Syria.
They created the "Zoe Bands" which are unisex bracelets and are created from the discarded vests of the refugees that they had worn during their dangerous journey across the Aegean Sea. Profits from the sale of these bands go towards providing refugees with basic necessities like clothing and food. (Zoe in Greek means Life.)
The bands are manufactured on Lesbos by locals, and are purchased locally to help the island's economy which has suffered since the crisis. There are a few local Greek men employed to clean up the beaches of Lesbos and another five local seamstresses who wash the vests and cut the material to make the bands.
The orange Zoe Band sells from $20.


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Syrian racing pigeons bred for competitions being smuggled out by breeders

Syrians are trading their beloved and valuable racing pigeons to wealthy Gulf and Lebanese buyers so they can buy food and, some of these birds are worth more than £10,000. These competition class pigeons are specially bred and are smuggled across front lines to Lebanon, where pigeon breeders grab the opportunity to snap up the expensive birds.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 16 March 2016.

Syrian breeders were famous for breeding the best pigeons specially bred to take part in competitions that judge the beauty of the birds and some of the collections are valued at an astonishing $1million. However, times are bad and the owners are being forced to part with their much loved pets at throwaway prices to buy food to feed their families.
It seems during the last five years, since the unrest in Syria has started, the Syrians have started to sell their pigeons so they could buy food to eat. The birds were dying in explosions anyway, hence the owners began to send them to Lebanon to sell.
Breeding pigeons used to be a popular Syrian hobby, but it has become yet another cultural casualty of the bloody five year war because ISIS has banned the practice - in their opinion, such practices are activities that distract people from religion. They have stated that the official penalty for breaking the rule is 'financial fine, imprisonment and flogging', and have reportedly killed boys just for feeding their birds.


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Western recruits deserting ISIS because of fears of being used as suicide bombers

#ISIS #Syria #jihadists #suicidebomber Disillusioned over their concept of Utopia under the ISIS, many western recruits are packing up their bags and leaving. These jihadists are defecting from after the failure of their "Islamist utopia" of luxury cars and ‘heroism’ never materializing. Many others have fled because of apprehensions that they were to be used as ‘cannon fodder’ or suicide bombers. Some other reasons cited are having to carry out ‘dull duties’ coupled with absence of frontline action.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 23 September 2015.

As per estimates of International Centre for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence, at least 58 people have left the group since January last year. However, the actual figures could be much more and is a fraction of ‘those disillusioned, ready to defect, and or willing to go public’. In the opinion of researchers, those defectors who have opted to go public represent just the tip of the iceberg – most of them have simply walked away.
In the United Kingdom, half of the 700 Britons who had left to join ISIS have returned to the UK.
Reasons attribute for leaving are – disappointment with the ‘quality of life’. Most of them had joined for material benefits and selfish reasons, and once they realized that none of the promises of luxury goods and cars would materialize, they left.
Moreover, power shortages and a lack of basic goods was also blamed apart from the fact that they could be used as suicide bombers.
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With 13000 migrants arriving at Munich in a single day, Germany plans to introduce controls

Germany is faced with a crisis – already more than 13,000 migrants have poured into Munich in a single day and it expects 800,000 migrants to arrive this year. Hence, Germany's vice-chancellor has admitted that it was "at the limit of its capabilities" and it was necessary to reintroduce some form of controls on its border with Austria to tackle the influx of migrants.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 13 September 2015.

However, specific measures proposed to be introduced have not yet been spelt out. As per information released by Germany's Bild newspaper and Austria's Kronen Zeitung, there would probably be controls in place on the Bavaria-Austria border.
Kronen Zeitung hints that Bavarian police could begin to check "to determine immediately who is entitled to asylum" – details have yet to be made public.
The problem of migrants arriving from Syria and also Afghanistan is one that Europe as a whole is facing and struggling to deal with this huge influx of people most of whom are fleeing from violence and poverty. These migrants are travelling from Greece, through Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary, to Austria and Germany.
Hungary has plans to complete erecting a 13ft high fence along the border with Serbia by 15 September. Subsequently, tougher measures, including arresting illegal immigrants, would come into force.
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Migrants from Syria and other countries who have been stuck at a Budapest railway station for days have now decided to walk to Austria in view of non-availability of trains. The Hungarian authorities are trying to prevent them but they are desperate to reach Western Europe.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 4 September 2015.
In the meantime, the EU states are trying to evolve a common strategy to deal with the crisis as the head of the UN refugee agency wants EU nations to mobilize "full force" and accept up to 200,000 refugees.

It is a real chaotic scene in Hungary which is a main transit country for migrants who are seeking to claim asylum in Germany and other countries in north and west Europe. Many of the migrants who had been waiting for days at Budapest's Keleti station have left and plan to walk to Vienna, in the absence of trains, a journey of 240-Km.
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#ISIS #CIA #drones #Syria #airstrikes In an effort to thwart the activities of the ISIS terror group, CIA and Special Operations groups have begun to target selected high value operatives by using drones. An example is the drone strike that killed the most notorious online recruiter of the ISIS – it was part of a stepped-up effort by the agencies to target and eliminate senior members of the terror group.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 2 September 2015.

These programs of the drone strikes is independent of regular airstrikes carried out in Syria by a U.S.-led coalition. Its aim is to dislodge ISIS from the swath of territory it has already captured in Iraq and Syria last year.
The targets of the drone strikes had been identified by the CIA's Counterterrorism Center (CTC) and the actual implementation was being undertaken by the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). These selective drone strikes are a fraction of over 2,450 strikes conducted in Syria over the past 12 months. In addition, another 4,000 airstrikes have targeted ISIS in Iraq.
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Another ancient Syrian monument bites the dust – ISIS destroys Temple of Bel in Palmyra

#ISIS #Palmyra #Syria #templeofbel ISIS continues in its rampage and has now severely damaged yet another ancient monument namely the Temple of Bel in the Syrian city of Palmyra. This monument is believed to be nearly 2,000-years old. This has been revealed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that monitors the conflict, citing contacts on the ground.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dared 31 August 2015.

ISIS had dynamited the temple of Baal Shamin last week and there were apprehensions that the Temple of Bel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, would be their next target.
Baal Shamin was dedicated to the Phoenician god of storms and fertilizing rains and the UN has labelled its destruction as a war crime. The ISIS have also destroyed the treasured Lion of al-Lat – the 15-tonne, 3.5m-high piece made out of limestone early in the 1st Century AD.
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US-airstrikes against ISIS have killed 459 civilians in Iraq and Syria

#ISIS, #civiliancasualties, #airstrikes #Iraq #Syria It has now been revealed that US-led airstrikes against ISIS militants have killed at least 459 civilians in Iraq and Syria during last year. This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 4 August 2015.
This number of civilian casualties is the result of 57 airstrikes and 48 of the deaths are suspected "friendly fire" deaths. Of course, it is claimed that those same airstrikes have killed more than 15,000 IS militants.

The US had begun airstrikes against IS in Iraq on 8 August last year, and in Syria on 23 September. Subsequently, a coalition of countries has joined the operations and a total of more than 5,800 airstrikes have taken place in Syria and Iraq.
So far, the US has acknowledged killing two civilians in its airstrikes – they are two children who died during a strike against al Qaeda-linked militants in Syria in 2014. And, that particular airstrike is the subject of one of at least four ongoing investigations by the US military into allegations of civilian casualties.
Britain has announced that its RAF Tornados would extend airstrikes for another year.
The aim of these airstrikes is to cripple the ISIS outfits by targeting and destroying their ground installations and, in the course of such strikes, a certain of civilian casualties have to be treated as fait accompli, a necessary evil.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Planned airstrike by the US has eliminated a top leader of Khorasan Group

#Pentagon #BasharalAssad #KhorasanGroup #Syria The Pentagon has revealed that a planned airstrike by the United States has eliminated a senior al-Qaeda militant in north-western Syria. The person was Muhsin al-Fadhli and he was targeted two weeks ago while he was travelling in a vehicle near Sarmada.
He was killed on 8 July near Sarmada, only 7-Km from Syria's border with Turkey.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 22 July 2015.

Fadhli has been described as the leader of a network of veteran al-Qaeda operatives. They are also known as ‘Khorasan Group’ and had allegedly planning to carry out external attacks against the US and its allies. Fadhli is believed to have been close to Osama Bin Laden and one of the few al-Qaeda members who had received advanced warning of the 11 September 2001 attacks.
It seems before the US began air strikes on Islamic State (IS) across Syria in September, they had targeted areas near the northern city of Aleppo – the targets were not IS positions, but buildings that were supposed to be used by the Khorasan Group. This group consisted of about 50 veteran militants from Afghanistan and Pakistan, North Africa and Chechnya.
These militants had been sent to Syria by al-Qaeda's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Their mission was not to wage a war against the government of President Bashar al-Assad but embraced a whole of other activities like developing external attacks, constructing and testing improvised explosive devices and recruiting Westerners to carry out operations.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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WWII was all about a menace called Adolf Hitler and his Nazis – that was in the 1940s. Now, in 2015, it is a menace called Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, his dreams of a ‘caliphate’ and his ISIS. There is a lot of similarity – Hitler was ruthless in his murder of Jews and al-Baghdadi is equally ruthless in his murder of not only other Muslims but anyone else that he fancies. He has an added advantage over Hitler because, al-Baghdadi has at his disposal internet connectivity and is misusing it for propaganda.
Therefore, when Prime Minister David Cameron indicates that he will throw in the towel in the global fight against ISIS and says that Britain is committed to working with the US to destroy the "caliphate" set up by Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, one can sense that things are heading for a showdown.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 19 July 2015.

However, for Britain to really take the plunge, it must have the backing of its Parliament and, it may be recalled that MPs voted against proposed military action in Syria two years ago.
Of course, Prime Minister David Cameron on his part is trying to send out a message to young Britons who may be influenced by the ISIS propaganda and be tempted to join IS fighters. He wants to tell them that they will end up as little more than "cannon fodder". If a boy, they will brainwash you, strap bombs to your body and blow you up; if you are a girl, they will enslave and abuse you.
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#BarackObama #VladimirPutin #ISIS #Syria #Irannucleardeal #coldwar There appears to be some good news from the Cold War front. President Putin has rung up President Obama in the White House and expressed a desire to meet, sit down and try to find out a workable solution to solve the global problems that are being faced.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 26 June 2015.

The recent unrest in Ukraine over the annexation of Crimea by Russia coupled with the increasing clout and influence of the Islamic State, the civil war in Syria and Iran’s nuclear deal, are a few problems that has landed the world in a chaotic situation.
The face-off between the United States and Russia on Ukraine has led to the precipitation of a Cold War and, both sides want to have control of the northern areas - NATO has indicated that it would step up its military presence in eastern Europe, while Russia is trying to prevent that.
Already several sanctions have been slapped on individuals and organizations because of the Ukraine affair. President Putin has, all along, denied siding with the pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine and, the phone call with Obama, had been initiated by him.
The crisis in Ukraine has taken the lives of at least 6,500 people in a little over a year and a peace deal was struck in Minsk, Belarus.
The two leaders have also reportedly discussed Syria, where the self-proclaimed Islamic State group has made rapid gains, apart from the historic negotiations between world powers and Iran over its disputed nuclear program. They have also underscored the importance of continued P5+1 unity in ongoing negotiations to ensure that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon.
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Italian coastguard rescues 4200 migrants in 24 hours from 22 boats in the Mediterranean Sea

#ItalianCoastGuard #Libya #mediterraneansea #Syria In one of the largest rescues in recent days, the Italian coastguard has coordinated the rescue of about 4200 migrants based on distress signals from 22 boats sailing across the Mediterranean Sea. During the rescue, they discovered 17 corpses on three inflatable dinghies.
300 other migrants were rescued alive from the three inflatable dinghies where the 17 corpses were recovered. This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 30 May 2015.

The distress calls originated from 22 different boats, many of these were off Libya but some were off the southern Italian coast.
The rescue operations were led by the Italian coastguard and included the assistance of Italian, German and Irish naval ships that were working under the auspices of the EU's Frontex border agency. Migrants fleeing from the troubled locations in Syria, Libya have to be rescued on humanitarian grounds and taken care of till rehabilitation is arranged. Till now, more than 40,400 boat migrants have landed up in Italy since the start of the year.
On a rough estimate, the total number of migrants rescued in a period of 24 hours is believed to be one of the highest in recent years. The previous numbers were 3791 migrants on April 12 and 3690 on May 2.
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ISIS on a destruction spree of ancient monuments, shoots children dead near Palmyra

#ISIS #Palmyra #Syria #UNESCO #WorldHeritage The ISIS is determined to destroy all ancient monuments in Iraq, Syria and other locations, monuments that had been standing there for centuries as symbols of a glorious past and not content with killing ordinary citizens, the militant outfit is filming videos of what they are destroying and how. They have already been filmed destroying artefacts in the Iraqi cities of Nimrud and Hatra.
In the latest spate of violence, Islamic State fighters have shot dead 23 civilians near the city of Palmyra – nine of them were children. This has been reported by Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The dead were family members of government employees.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 15 May 2015.

The jihadi fighters have their eyes focused on Palmyra, a UNESCO world heritage site. The city, nicknamed "the pearl of the desert", is home to millennia-old tombs, colonnades and Roman temples. In the opinion of Irina Bokova, the head of UNESCO, it would be a shame to destroy these treasures. She has called on Syrian troops and extremists to spare Palmyra because it "represents an irreplaceable treasure for the Syrian people, and the world".
In the latest offensive, more than 138 combatants - 73 soldiers and 65 jihadists - have been killed. Before that, there were reports of at least 26 civilians being killed by IS. Ten of them were beheaded for collaborating with the Syrian regime.
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More than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped last year by Boko Haram have vanished

Journey to freedom – 5800 migrants rescued from the Mediterranean

Indonesian smugglers stuff yellow-crested cockatoos into plastic bottles to get past customs

Engineering graduate of Hyderabad goes astray, dies because of links with ISIS

Dozens of corpses found in bamboo cages in Thai human trafficking camp

Quick tour of Delhi by ITDC bus

ISIS sets fire to crates of Halal chicken in Aleppo because they were from the United States

#aleppo #ISIS #syria It was another example of depravation when ISIS militants have deliberately set fire to hundreds of crates of Halal chicken produced in the United States even though there are hundreds of thousands of hungry mouths who are facing starvation in war-torn Syria.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 2 April 2015.

They released photos showing the crates of chicken being set alight in a field near the city of Aleppo – incidentally, the meat being was slaughtered according to Islamic law and was perfectly fit for consumption.
AS per the apparent label on the crates, the meat had been produced by an Illinois-based company and inspected by the U.S. food standard agency.
The two vehicles carrying the food were stopped by ISIS' religious police force - known as Al-Hesbah - at a checkpoint in Aleppo province because they had deemed the cargo to be unlawful.

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Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

Nashik transforms from a place of pilgrimage to an industrial hub


Teenage girl of Brighton sat on a needle in a bus and is now getting her blood tested for HIV

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ISIS seizes Yarmouk refugee camp, home to over 18000 – Assad threatened

#ISIS #jihadists #yarmoukcamp #syria #damascus #alnusra The Islamic State militants are knocking at the doors of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and are believed to have infiltrated a refugee camp that is home to nearly 18000 refugees. The camp is the Yarmouk camp and this has happened even as Jordan has closed its only functioning border crossing with the country.
This was due to heavy clashes on the Syrian side between rebels and government forces, as has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 2 April 2015.

The ISIS militants already control large swaths of territory in northern Syria and have apparently made their entry from the Hajar Aswad neighborhood in southern Damascus. It was a coordinated attack with their rivals in the Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has revealed that the ISIS took control of large parts of the Yarmouk camp following clashes with a Palestinian group. Observers feel that once ISIS gains full control of Yarmouk, the jihadis can make use of the camp as a base from which to threaten not only the heart of the capital but also Assad himself.

A few more interesting stories –
Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

Nashik transforms from a place of pilgrimage to an industrial hub


Nine medical students go to Syria, their families try to bring them back

First Russian woman cosmonaut returns to Earth after six-month stay in ISS

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Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Ramblings

Nine medical students go to Syria, their families try to bring them back

#ISIS #sudan #syria #homeoffice #whatsapp News keep coming out from strongholds of the ISIS about the pathetic condition of youngsters who join up with the ISIS in the fond hope of a future that glitters with promises. They soon get disillusioned and try to escape – some of them succeed and once free try to explain to others that it’s all nothing but a mirage that they are chasing.
Therefore, it seems strange that in spite of knowing the fate that awaits them once they land up in Syria, a total of nine medal students have fled from Sudan to Syria and their families are trying to make them see reason and bring them back.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 22 March 2015.
The nine are British medics and they have travelled from Sudan to Syria to work in hospitals in areas that are controlled by Islamic State. They are four men and five women and they have crossed into Syria without informing their parents.
One of the women had informed her family of the trip via Whatsapp and that is how the remaining parents came to know of their designs.
The students have been born and brought up in Britain but had been studying in Sudan since their parents wanted them to experience and grow up in a more Islamic culture.
The Home Office has advised against all travel to Syria and parts of Iraq and has cautioned that anyone who does travel to these areas, even on humanitarian grounds could mean danger.

A few more must reads -

Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

Nashik transforms from a place of pilgrimage to an industrial hub


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Bloodbath in Syria – ISIS has executed nearly 2000 people in six months

#ISIS #Syria #SOHR It is revealed that ISIS has killed nearly 2000 people in Syria during the past six months, the majority of them civilians. It has killed 1878 civilians plus 120 of its own members most of who are foreign fighters who wanted to leave and return home. This is for the period of the last two months, as per the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
These statistics depict the barbarism of the Islamic State jihadist group and has come to light through a report of a British-based Syrian monitoring organization.
It may be recalled that this jihadist group has taken vast parts of Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate in territory under its control in June and, ever since then, it has been engaged in barbaric bloodshed and fought the Syrian and Iraqi governments, other insurgents and Kurdish forces.
The extent of atrocities perpetrated by Islamic State has been publicized by them through beheadings and stoning of people in areas that is controlled by it in Syria and Iraq. These are believed to be punishment for actions that, in its opinion, amounts of violation of its interpretation of Islamic law, such as adultery, homosexuality, stealing and blasphemy.
The group is an offshoot of al-Qaida and it has also released videos of executions of captured enemy fighters, activists and journalists. Some of these are two US journalists, and one American and two British aid workers - this is seen to be its attempts to put pressure on a US-led international coalition, which has been carrying out airstrikes in Syria since September.

Glimmer of hope in 2015 for Syria – peace talks possible in Moscow in January

#Syria #peacetalks #BasharalAssad An official of the Syrian government has indicated that Syria was ready to take part in preparatory, advisory meetings in Moscow which could, in turn, pave the way to answer the aspirations of Syrians and help to find an exit from the present crisis.
This is against the backdrop of Russia's Foreign Ministry’s indication that it hoped to host peace talks after Jan. 20 between the Syrian government and its fractured opposition.
It may be recalled that the nearly four-year-old conflict has claimed over 200,000 lives, displaced a third of Syria's population, and nurtured an extremist group, the Islamic State, which now rules over vast swaths of Syria and neighboring Iraq.
Syrian state-run TV has remarked that the government is prepared to take part in peace talks hosted by Russia next month, and the scope of the negotiations would be limited to "preliminary" talks which could form a basis for a conference in Syria itself.
It is no secret that Russia is a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Hadi Bahra, the head of the Syrian National Coalition, the main Western-backed opposition group, has revealed that it had not yet taken any decision on the talks.
The Western-backed Syrian opposition has been insisting that any negotiated settlement should include the formation of a transitional governing body with full executive powers but this demand has been rejected by Assad's government.