U.S. Air Force vet one of first to face trial for IS support
A U.S. Air Force veteran charged with trying to join the Islamic State group is set to go on trial in New York today, one of the first of more than 75 IS-related cases brought against Americans to reach trial, Reuters report.
Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh, 48, was detained by Turkish authorities in Istanbul in January 2015 after he returned from a year-long stint living in Egypt.
First UN aid delivery since start of Syria truce
Some good news -- the Red Crescent says it has delivered its first consignment of humanitarian aid since the truce began on Feb. 26.
First aid since truce delivered to Syria's Moadamiyah al-Sham
AFP has more on the reports that the first aid deliveries since the Syrian ceasefire came into effect at the weekend have been delivered to besieged areas of Syria.
Syrian Arab Red Crescent official Muhannad al-Asadi said that 10 trucks of aid including blankets, sanitary pads, soap and laundry detergent had been delivered to the besieged rebel-held town of Moadamiyah al-Sham southwest of Damascus.
Another 41 trucks are set to enter the town today, al-Asadi said.
Russia says Syria could become a federal state
Syria could become a federal state, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said.
"I cannot judge the chances of the creation in Syria of a federal state, because the process that should lead to the definition of the parameters of a future Syria has not yet begun," Ryabkov said.
"If as the result of negotiations and consultations discussing the future structure of Syria, the participants in the discussions -- which we hope [Staffan] de Mistura will renew in the near future -- come to a united view that this model is suitable for them and will safeguard the task of maintaining a unified, secular, independent and sovereign Syria, then who could argue against that?"
Russia thinks Syria crisis can't be resolved without Assad
Russia believes that the crisis in Syria cannot be resolved without Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said.
"Syria's future must be decided by the Syrians themselves," Ryabkov said.
"Russia, as we know, has sought to launch a political process since 2012, despite efforts to derail our attempts. We regret that Washington time and time again has signaled that there is no place for the current President of Syria. We think that this place should be decided by the Syrian people themselves."
Russia 'trying to create conditions for normalization of Syria' -- Ryabkov
Russia's airstrikes in Syria are intended to create the conditions for the normalization of the situation in Syria and the start of a political process run by the Syrian people themselves, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said.
"We are now at a stage where many in the international community are aware that all Moscow's actions, including the start and the conducting of an anti-terrorism and military operation by the Russian air force, was in fact intended to create the conditions for the normalization of that country, to crush the terrorist threat and the create the conditions for that country to start a political process, the owners of which would be the Syrians themselves, without attempts to dictate any kind of plans from the outside," Ryabkov said.
Turkey strikes IS inside Syria: report
The Turkish military has struck IS positions to the north of Aleppo inside Syria with artillery, Turkish broadcaster NTV reports.
Turkey's Erdogan says Syria ceasefire doesn't cover all of Syria, should be expanded
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the Syrian ceasefire covered only one third of the country and he hoped it would be expanded to encompass all of it.
Bomb kills 18 at Iraq funeral
At least 18 people have been killed in a suicide bombing at a funeral north east of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, officials have said.
There has as yet been no claim of responsibility for the attack or further details about the victims.
U.S. warns citizens to be ready to leave Iraq if IS-controlled Mosul dam collapses
The United States warned its citizens to be ready to leave Iraq in the event of what it has said could be a catastrophic collapse of the country's largest hydro-electric dam near Mosul.
The United States said the IS-controlled dam faces "unprecedented" risk of a "catastrophic failure" that would unleash a wave of water which could flatten cities and kill hundreds of thousands within hours.
The IS group, which controls Mosul, captured the dam in August 2014, raising fears they might blow it up. If the dam is breached, U.S. officials estimate that Mosul could be inundated with up to 21 meters of water within hours.