Armed conflicts and attacks
Al-Shabaab militants briefly take over a mosque in Kenya's Garissa County. (BBC)
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Islamic State fighters enter the ancient ruins of Palmyra after capturing the Syrian city of Tadmur yesterday. A hundred pro-government fighters are believed to have died in fighting. (Reuters)
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that Islamic State now controls more than half of Syria dominating 95,000 square kilometres and controls settlements in nine provinces. (News Limited)
2014–15 Russian military intervention in Ukraine
Video interviews show that two Russians captured in Ukraine have publicly admitted to being soldiers in the GRU Russian special forces. The Donetsk People's Republic (separatists) authorities claim these men were official policemen in the self-proclaimed republic, publicized their ID badges, and claimed they retired from the Russian military last year. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Arts and culture
Robert Gates, the President of the Boy Scouts of America, calls on the movement to end the ban on gay adult leaders and says the movement will no longer revoke the charters of chapters that accept gay male leaders. (Yahoo! News)