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.
Members of the Hindu Temple Cultural Center in Bothell, 36 km from Seattle, in Washington state were shocked to find a red swastika spray-painted on the temple wall along with the words "Get Out" scrawled in large letters on Sunday.
A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 was recorded off northeastern Japan on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning.
The alleged perpetrator of the double terrorist attack in the Danish capital Copenhagen was identified as a 22-year-old man born in Denmark, who was known to have a criminal past.
Several US lawmakers condemned the police assault on an Indian grandfather who was slammed to the ground by a police officer in Alabama - while he was out for a walk in the neighbourhood - leaving him partially paralysed as donations poured in for the victim.
At least 26 Americans of Indian or South Asian origin figure in this year's Forbes 30 Under 30 list or what the US business magazine calls "today's greatest gathering of young game changers, movers and makers."
