1. IS in Syria abducts 150 Christians

    Islamic State militants have abducted* at least 150 people from Assyrian Christian* villages in northeastern Syria they had raided*, Christian Syrian activists said on February 24.

    A Syrian Christian group representing several NGOs inside and outside the country said it had verified at least 150 people missing, including women and the elderly, who had been kidnapped by the militants.

    Earlier the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 90 were abducted when the militants carried out dawn raids on rural villages in Hasaka, a city mainly held by the Kurds*.

    2. Gunman kills 8 in Czech restaurant

    A gunman has opened fire at a restaurant in the Czech Republic, killing eight people before shooting himself dead, officials said on February 24.

    The man burst into the Druzba restaurant in the eastern town of Uhersky Brod on February 24 and started “shooting indiscriminately*,” Mayor Patrik Kuncar said.

    Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec said it was not a terrorist attack.

    Some 20 people were thought to have been in the restaurant at the time.

    3. NY man finds stolen iPhone in China

    Like so many other iPhones, a Manhattan man’s phone ended up overseas after it was taken.

    Matt Stopera was scrolling through the photo stream on his iPhone last month when he saw hundreds of pictures that he didn’t take.

    Stopera quickly realized the pictures were taken in China, on his iPhone that was stolen in January 2014. His stolen iPhone somehow made its way from the East Village across the world, and now he was getting a glimpse of the new owner.

    After the odd news was reported in the United States, a Web user Hereinuk posted it on microblog Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter, on February 19. Chinese netizens soon succeeded in locating the owner in Meizhou, Guangdong Province.

    On February 21, the Chinese man invited Stopera to China in both English and Chinese. “Matt, welcome to our country,” he said. “I am looking forward to seeing you and inviting you to taste our Meizhou cuisine.”

    4. Russians march in memory of Nemtsov

    Opposition supporters marched through Moscow on Sunday in memory of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, whose murder has increased concern about Russia’s future among opponents of President Vladimir Putin.

    Thousands of people laid flowers and lit candles on Saturday on a bridge near the Kremlin where the opposition politician and former deputy prime minister was shot dead on February 27.

    National investigators say they are pursuing several lines of inquiry, including the possibility that Nemtsov, a Jew, was killed by radical Islamists or that the opposition killed him to blacken the president’s name.

    5. U.S. could reopen embassy in Cuba

    The United States and Cuba said they made progress on February 27 in talks on restoring diplomatic ties and Washington could reopen its Havana embassy before a key April summit if differences are overcome.

    After a second round of historic meetings, negotiators from both countries appeared optimistic about the road ahead.

    6. Hunt for MH370 jet may be called off

    The search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 cannot go on forever, Australia’s deputy prime minister said on Monday, and discussions are already under way between Australia, China and Malaysia as to whether to call off the hunt within weeks.

    No trace has been found of the Boeing 777 aircraft, which disappeared a year ago carrying 239 passengers and crew, in what has become one of the greatest mysteries in aviation* history.

    The search will likely be finished by May.

    (SD-Agencies)

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