The Islamic State (IS) militants on Sunday released 19 Christian Assyrians they had kidnapped last month, a monitoring group reported.
The 19 people are the first batch of 29 Assyrians the sharia court of the IS exonerated on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, Xinhua reported.
On February 23, the IS abducted 220 Christian Assyrians during an assault it had waged on predominantly Assyrian areas, mainly in the area of Tal Tamr and its countryside in Syria's northeastern province of al-Hasakah.
The fate of the other abductees is still unknown amid reports that the rest of the Assyrians are awaiting trials in the IS courts.
There is no clear reason why would the IS even put the Assyrians on trial.
Also on Sunday, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV said the Syrian troops captured as many as 33 towns in the eastern countryside of Hasaka after clashes with the IS.
A group of Indian-origin academics in Britain has slammed the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for his authoritarian nature which they said can only weaken India's democracy.
Survivors of the Rana Plaza building collapse one year ago in Bangladesh are still suffering from their injuries and loss of income, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.
British television series Top Gear's producer has apologised for broadcasting a "light-hearted" joke by its host Jeremy Clarkson that sparked a complaint of racism by an India-origin actress, media reported Wednesday.
An Indian-American community organisation has sought the intervention of US lawmakers for securing the release of about 100 Punjabi youths detained by US immigration authorities in Texas for entering the US illegally.
