Tags: Syria

A 30-year old Chechen who Austrian authorities accuse of fighting with Islamic State jihadists in Syria in 2013 and sending them money pleaded not guilty when the country's first such trial opened on Thursday.

Iran said on Tuesday it was ready for "straight talks" with Saudi Arabia over contentious issues that have kept the rival Gulf powers at loggerheads for more than three decades.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday condemned as "unacceptable" the threat to the lives of two Japanese purportedly taken captive by Islamic State militants, and said the international community should not give in to terrorism.