The number of foreign fighters who have flooded into Syria throughout the past three years now exceeds the total number of jihadists who fought invading Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s, according to a report by the Soufan Group.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group that has seized large parts of Iraq and drawn the first American air strikes since the end of the occupation in 2011 has warned the United States it will attack Americans “in any place” if the raids hit its militants.

European Union foreign ministers met in a emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Iraq. EU leaders welcomed the resignation of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, saying it paved the way for a potential political solution in that country. The Czech Republic and the Netherlands joined France in agreeing to send military equipment to aid Kurdish forces.

The United Nations has warned that a mass atrocity or genocide of refugees in the Mount Sinjar region of northern Iraq could still happen “within days or hours”.  The UN's special rapporteur who has been investigating the plight of 40,000 mainly Kurdish-speaking Yazidis who fled to the mountain fearing attacks from the extremist militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), said the world urgently needed to recognise the severity of the humanitarian crisis.

The Coordination Agency of Public Diplomacy (KDK) published some briefings on the humanitarian aid work carried out in Iraq and Palestine. Data is presented in an info-graphic prepared by the institution and is published in English, French and Arabic.

From the Israeli perspective, there’s some public diplomacy benefit here. The world is being somewhat distracted from what’s going on in Gaza, and now Israel is not the only country bombing Islamic extremists. But these are small comforts at best. Europe, in particular, seems to have gotten fed up with the IDF’s operations in Gaza, even as it declares its understanding for Israel’s right to defend itself. And despite the renewal of rocket fire, even the United States is expecting Israel to come to some long-term agreement with Hamas.

As U.S. airstrikes pound Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant-held positions in Iraq, Americans and supporters of the radical group have begun trading threats on social media.  Under the hashtag #AmessagefromISIStoUS on microblogging site Twitter, ISIS fans shared photos of dead U.S. army soldiers, and the burning twin towers of 9/11.

One photographer's global travels recently captured a glimmer of hope within an otherwise bleak landscape in Iraq.  Brandon Stanton, known for his successful blog and best-selling book, "Humans of New York," partnered with the United Nations to venture on a 50-day tour of 10 countries and expand his storytelling series worldwide.