Mother of reporter begs for his life

Mother of reporter begs for his life

BEIRUT

The mother of a hostage American journalist pleaded for his release Wednesday in a video directed at the Islamic State group, while new images emerged of mass killings, including masked militants shooting kneeling men after the capture of a strategic air base in Syria.

Shirley Sotloff’s plea came as a U.N. commission accused the group, which dominates a broad swath of territory spanning the Syria-Iraq border, of committing crimes against humanity and President Barack Obama weighs options for targeting the extremists’ stronghold in Syria.

The Islamic State militants have threatened to kill 31-year-old Steven Sotloff unless the U.S. halts its airstrikes against it.

Sotloff, who freelanced for Time and Foreign Policy magazines, last had been seen in Syria in August 2013 until he appeared in a video released online last week by the Islamic State group showing the beheading of fellow American journalist, James Foley.

Diplomat suspected of beating daughter

WASHINGTON

The ambassador of Equatorial Guinea is suspected of beating his daughter with a wooden chair leg but won’t be arrested because he has diplomatic immunity, police said Wednesday.

Arlington County Police were called to the diplomatic residence Monday night for the report of a man beating a girl. Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said the girl suffered a “significant laceration” to her head, bruises and a swollen eye. She was taken to Virginia Hospital Center.

The diplomatic residence in the Washington suburb of Arlington, Va., is the home of Ambassador Ruben Maye Nsue Mangue. The news site ARLNow.com first reported the incident.

Battle for Ukraine’s coastline heats up

NOVOAZOVSK, Ukraine

Pushing west in a new offensive along Ukraine’s strategic coastline, heavily armed Russia-backed separatist forces captured new territory Wednesday far from their previous battles with government troops.

The bold offensive along a new southeastern front raised the prospect that the separatists are seeking to create a land link between Russia and Crimea, which also would give them control over the entire Azov Sea.

3rd top doctor dies from Ebola in Africa

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone

A third top doctor has died from Ebola in Sierra Leone, a government official said Wednesday, as a leading American health official warned that the outbreak sweeping West Africa would get worse.

The disease already has killed more than 1,400 people in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, and Doctors Without Borders warned that the tremendous influx of patients in Liberia, in particular, is overwhelming their treatment centers there.

La. governor sues over Common Core

BATON ROUGE, La.

In a move certain to bolster his national standing with conservatives, Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal sued the Obama administration Wednesday, hoping to strike a blow against the controversial Common Core education standards and raising his profile as he builds a likely presidential campaign.

Jindal’s lawsuit accuses the Department of Education of illegally manipulating federal money and regulations to force states to adopt Common Core by dangling $4.3 billion in grants and policy waivers that encouraged them to adopt uniform standards and testing.

Associated Press