American authorities returned around 65 stolen artifacts to Iraq after a very long investigation to retrieve the stolen items. The items were handed over at the Iraqi consulate in Washington, DC.
A Saudi Arabian court in Al-Qatif sentenced a 32-year-old woman to 70 lashes and a fine of 20,000 Saudi Riyals ($5,333.33) after she insulted her husband on the WhatsApp mobile app.
Baghdad museum director Fawzye al-Mahdi claims the “invaluable artifacts” at a Mosul museum that the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) destroyed in a video are in fact replicas.
Russian President Vladimir Putin finally emerged in public on Monday after a mysterious ten-day disappearance. Speculation grew as Putin canceled multiple public appearances over the weeks, though Putin indulged none of them on Monday, safe a remark that “it would be boring without gossip.”
Police in India released images of four men who allegedly gang-raped a 71-year-old nun inside her convent at the Convent of Jesus and Mary. Authorities arrested ten people possibly connected to the rape.
Nigerian troops reported this week that they discovered a facility they are describing as a “bomb factory” run by the radical Islamic group Boko Haram in northeast Borno state.
Deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken announced a plan to provide the Syrian opposition with $70 million in non-lethal aid. If Congress approves the aid, the grand total of aid to Syria in the past four years will amount to $400 million.
Serena Williams finally returned the prominent BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, CA, on Friday night for the first time in 14 years. It was a rough match, but the world’s best tennis player defeated No. 68 Monica Niculescu 7-5, 7-5.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s absence from the public eye this month has spawned a bevy of rumors about what could prevent him from being seen in public. One rumor gaining traction on social media and in Russia arrives via Switzerland tabloid Blink, which is reporting that Putin, 62, is attending the birth of the child of his alleged girlfriend.
A German court fined Nasser El-Ahmad’s father and two uncles after they attempted to kidnap and marry him off to a Lebanese girl against his will. He also claimed his relatives tortured him over his homosexuality.
Admiral William Gortney, the commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, warned the Senate Armed Services Committee that Russia is a threat to America’s safety.
Hamas, the Palestinian terror organization, announced that it would hold a Q&A session on Twitter using the hashtag #AskHamas today. It quickly turned into a disaster for Hamas when its feed was flooded “with negative comments”– and the session does not even start until 1PM ET.
A religious group in Malaysia has issued an official complaint against a young girl whose photo holding a dog at an adoption drive is now making the rounds on social media.
Russians on social media have begun circulating rumors that President Vladimir Putin is ill or dead, after Moscow postponed a meeting with Putin and the Kazakh and Belarusian presidents on March 12. Russian government spokesmen have denied all rumors, claiming Putin is doing well, but the rumors persisted after a Kazakh official also claimed Putin was ill.
Iran’s new family planning laws enraged the international community and human rights organizations. The regime has proposed a ban on vasectomies and cutting access to contraception and abortion in an attempt to grow the population.
A female Quran teacher is on the hot seat after she told some female students at a middle school they “deserve rape” when they attended class without a headscarf.
Russia and North Korea continue to develop increasingly close ties. The regimes announced a program this week titled the “year of friendship.” The deep links between the two countries could cause more strains in an already vulnerable relationship between Russia and the West.
Russian media went into a frenzy when former Chechen policeman Zaur Dadayev confessed to the murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, but now Dadayev claims authorities forced him to confess and tortured him in the process.
Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi joined others in calling for the destruction of Egypt’s Great Sphinx and Pyramids. In a statement out this week, said it is a Muslim’s “religious duty” to destroy the monuments. The monuments are the only one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World still in existence.
The Kurdish town of Kobane opened up the first school since the town was liberated from the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in January.
Former Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) hostage Nicolas Henin, 39, spoke out recently about his ten months with the jihadist group. He told the BBC the militants enjoyed Teletubbies and Game of Thrones. He also claimed there were some who could not come to terms with the blood the group spills on an almost daily basis.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claims he was not involved in the deaths of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko and opposition leader Boris Nemstov. However, in the span of two days, he bestowed special honors on the prime suspect in Litvinenko’s death, Andrei Lugovoi, and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who praised Nemtsov’s murderer.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un took time on March 8 to celebrate International Women’s Day with speeches and public events, handing out makeup to a crowd of pilots as gifts for their wives.
The persecution of individuals speaking ill of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues, as more stories surface of people silenced or punished for disagreeing with the president. In an incident this week, a young cleaning lady in a private firm was fired after allegedly posting insults against Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Facebook.
For the first time in the year since the conquest, Russian President Vladimir Putin explained in the documentary “Homeward Bound” the exact plan he concocted to capture Crimea out of Ukrainian possession. He also went into detail regarding how Russian soldiers prepared to rescue ousted pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
As the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) expands, members are reporting rifts in various factions of the group. Those who have fled the group and residents in areas the jihadist group controls claim that the more fighters the group recruits, the more problems ISIS leaders have begun to face.
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) reportedly destroyed Khorsabad, nine miles from Mosul, the third city over the weekend. Residents alerted Iraqi officials on Sunday about possible looting.
Russian soldiers and pro-Russian separatists have claimed this Sunday that they pulled all heavy weaponry from Donetsk in East Ukraine.
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) destroyed the archaeological site of Hatra in northern Iraq. As the terrorist group extends its caliphate, its jihadist soldiers exterminate anything that, in their eyes, promotes idolatry.
Boko Haram has once again pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) on their Twitter account.
Maiduguri, Nigeria, the capital of Borno State, faced at least five suicide bombings in four areas on Saturday, which left over 50 people dead and 139 injured. Authorities reported at least one suicide bomber was a female. The country rescheduled its February 14 presidential election to March due to violence.
Anna Duritskaya, girlfriend of slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, is currently under police protection in Ukraine after she received death threats.
Over 4,000 people broke into a high-security prison in India and dragged an alleged rapist into the street. They proceeded to beat to death the 35-year-old suspect.
Russian authorities have arrested two suspects in the death of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. The arrest did not cause celebration but doubt over the legitimacy of the announcement.
As the elite Kurdish female forces fighting the Islamic State become increasingly well-known, nations close to the struggle have expressed increasing interest in these women. Israeli television aired a popular special this week profiling the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection United (YPG), who are fighting the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL).
An Iranian court has sentenced a man to have his eye gouged out after being convicted of blinding another man by throwing acid on his face.
Members of the Afghanistan Volunteers Foundation organized a march through Kabul to protest for women’s rights, just days before International Women’s Day. The twenty men wore burqas, which is the traditional clothing for women in the country. https://twitter.com/trustlaw_women/status/573468380604334080 https://twitter.com/AntDeRosa/status/573854582184476672 The
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) has developed a significant volume of propaganda as they extend their caliphate through Iraq and Syria, based both on their military prowess and attempts to depict their civilians as living the good life. A tourism brochure advertising the alleged high quality of life in Mosul, Iraq is their latest effort to entice the world to join them.
A video recently surfaced that shows Iraqi soldiers executing a small child at close range in Tikrit in Anbar province, where the army launched an offensive against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). The Shiite soldiers accused the 9-year-old boy of fighting with the terrorist group.
An Assyrian hostage released by the Islamic State told the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) that the group has prohibited them from returning to their homes despite setting them “free.” The terrorist group kidnapped over 300 Assyrians in Syria the last week of February.
