Syria

The Afghan militant group that sheltered Osama bin Laden before the Sept. 11 attacks is closing the door to the Islamic State.

The Taliban is giving up on holding talks with the group and will prevent it from gaining a foothold in Afghanistan, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said by e-mail. He accused the media and intelligence agencies of inflating the Islamic State’s strength.

Unless the Syrian refugee emergency is treated as a truly global responsibility, we can't expect hard-pressed countries to maintain the generosity they have demonstrated since the crisis erupted.

Read the full Open Democracy article Syria’s refugees: a global responsibility

The UN embarked this week on a renewed bid to negotiate a political transition in Syria.

During his speech at the opening session of the UN General Assembly as well as when advocating for the binding resolution on foreign fighters, US President Barack Obama shifted some attention from the short-term threat posed by ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) to the longer-term goals of attacking extremist ideology at its source.

Read the full Asia News Network article US making strategic use of UN to build case

Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, Ukraine and Russia in conflict and the Ebola virus are all continue grabbing headlines as the 69th UN General Assembly gets underway this week. Earlier this week, NY1's Michael Herzenberg got a preview of the session from Richard Gowan of the NYU Center on International Cooperation.

Watch the full NY1 video here