Israeli jets hit Syrian forces seeking to quell sectarian clashes in the south
The Syrian government did not immediately comment on the Israeli strikes on its military, and it was not clear how many troops were killed. In the months since Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa came to power in December, Israel has sought to cast itself as the protector of the Druze faith in Syria — capitalizing on a sense of mistrust among members of minority sects toward the new Islamist-run government.
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CNN
22 minutes ago
- CNN
An Indian family's fight to save this mother from execution in war-torn Yemen
Relatives of an Indian nurse on death row in war-torn Yemen are racing against time to commute her death sentence, with her execution set for Wednesday, in a case that has gripped India's media. Nimisha Priya was sentenced to death for the murder of her former business partner, a Yemeni national, whose body was discovered in a water tank in 2017. She was given the death penalty by a court in capital Sanaa in 2020 and her family has been fighting for her release since, complicated by the lack of formal ties between New Delhi and the Houthis, who have controlled the city since the country's civil war broke out in 2014. With her execution looming, India's media has devoted significant coverage to the case and human rights groups have called on the Houthis not to carry it out. Amnesty International on Monday urged the Houthis to 'immediate establish a moratorium on all executions and commute (Priya's) and all existing death sentences as first steps.' It added: 'The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.' In accordance with Yemen's Islamic laws, Priya could be given clemency if the victim's family pardon her and accept her family's donation of 'diyah', often dubbed blood money, according to Samuel Joseph, a social worker assisting her family in the case. 'I am optimistic,' said Joseph, an Indian who has lived in Yemen since 1999. 'I'm spiriting the efforts here, and by god's grace, we got people who are helping. The government of India is directly involved and there's nothing more I can say at this point of time,' he told CNN. Priya allegedly injected her business partner with a fatal overdose of sedatives, Joseph said. Her family maintain she was acting in self-defense and that her business partner was abusive and kept her passport from her after the country's civil war broke out. Her trial was held in Arabic and she was not provided with a translator, Joseph said. A group of activists and lawyers founded the Save Nimisha Priya Action Council in 2020 to raise money for Priya's release and negotiate with the victim's family. 'Negotiations have been a challenge,' said Rafeek Ravuthar, an activist and member of the council. 'The reality is that there is no Indian embassy, there is no mission in this country.' Rafeeq said about five million rupees (nearly $58,00) has been raised so far. In recent days, politicians from her home state of Kerala have requested India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and help secure Priya's release. 'Considering the fact this is a case deserving sympathy, I appeal to the Hon'ble Prime Minister to take up the matter,' Kerala's chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote in a letter to Modi. In February, Kirti Vardhan Singh, India's Minister of State for External Affairs told the upper house of parliament that the government 'accords the highest priority for the welfare of Indians abroad and provides all possible support to those who fall in distress including in the instant case.' He added: 'Government of India is providing all possible assistance in the case. The matter regarding any consideration towards the release of Ms. Nimisha Priya is between the family of the deceased and Ms. Nimisha Priya's family.' CNN has contacted India's foreign ministry for comment. Priya first arrived in Yemen in 2008, joining the ranks of more than two million people from Kerala who have sought better livelihoods across the Middle East. She found work as a nurse in a local hospital, nurturing hopes of establishing her own clinic and building a more secure future for her young daughter and husband, according to campaigners from the Save Nimisha Priya Council. Yemeni regulations, however, required foreign nationals to partner with a local to open a business. With the support of her husband, Priya borrowed from family and friends and in 2014 opened a clinic in Sanaa. 'We lived a normal happy married life,' her husband Tomy Thomas told CNN. 'My wife was very loving, hardworking and faithful in all that she did.' But her aspirations were soon overshadowed by the political conflict and turmoil that has beset Yemen for decades. That same year, Houthi rebels seized the capital, ousting the internationally recognized Saudi-backed government. By 2015, the unrest had escalated into a devastating civil war, leaving the country fractured and unstable. For foreign nationals, the deteriorating security situation made Yemen an increasingly perilous place to live and work. Many chose to evacuate, but Priya decided to remain. Those supporting her family say that she stayed on, determined to salvage the life and business she had worked hard to build. India does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with the Houthis, nor does it have an operational embassy in Yemen. All consular and diplomatic affairs related to the country are instead handled through the Indian Embassy in Djibouti, across the Red Sea. CNN has contacted the Indian embassy in Djibouti. For those working to save Priya, that meant navigating complex communication channels and facing additional hurdles in seeking help, legal aid, or protection while stranded in a nation still wracked by conflict and instability. Yemen was among the top five countries in 2024 with the highest number of executions, according to Amnesty International. Amnesty said it confirmed the Houthis carried out at least one execution in areas they control in 2024 but added that it was possible more took place. Priya's mother, a domestic laborer from Kerala, who sold her home to fund her daughter's legal fees, has been in Yemen for more than one year to facilitate negotiations for her release, according to Jerome. Priya's husband and daughter remain in Kerala, hopeful for her release. 'My wife is very good, she is very loving,' Thomas said. 'That is the sole reason I am with her, supporting her and will do so till the end.' CNN's Deepak Rao contributed reporting
News24
2 hours ago
- News24
EU mulls Israel sanctions over Gaza, but action seems unlikely in divided Europe
EU minister will discuss proposals for action against Israel. But it unlikely they will agree on any. The is anger in the EU over Israel's handling of the Gaza war. EU foreign ministers on Tuesday will discuss a raft of options for action against Israel over the war in Gaza - but likely will not agree on any. The bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has put forward 10 potential steps after Israel was found to have breached a cooperation deal between the two sides on human rights grounds. The measures range from suspending the entire accord or curbing trade ties to sanctioning Israeli ministers, imposing an arms embargo and halting visa-free travel. But despite growing anger over the devastation in Gaza, EU states remain divided over how to tackle Israel and diplomats say there appears to be no critical mass for any move. 'I was asked to give the inventory of the options that could be taken and it's up to the member states to discuss what do we do with these options,' Kallas said on Monday. READ | 'Window of opportunity' in Gaza truce talks between Hamas and Israel closing amid sticking points The tone of discussions will be shaped strongly by how Israel is implementing a promise to the EU to improve humanitarian access to Gaza. Kallas said on Thursday she had struck a deal with her Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, to open more entry points and allow in more food. Gaza's two million residents are facing dire humanitarian conditions as Israel has severely limited aid during its devastating war with Palestinian militant group Hamas. 'We see some good signs of more trucks getting in,' Kallas said on Monday. 'But of course we know that this is not enough and we need to push more (so) that the implementation of what we have agreed also happens on the ground.' At a meeting of EU and neighbouring countries in Brussels on Monday, Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi said the situation in Gaza remained 'catastrophic'. Israel's Saar, speaking at the same meeting, sounded confident his country would avoid further EU action. 'I'm sure not any of them will be adopted by the EU member states,' said the foreign minister. There's no justification whatsoever. Gideon Saar While the EU appears unable for now to take any further moves against Israel, just getting to this stage has been a considerable step. The bloc only agreed to review the cooperation deal after Israel relaunched its devastating operation in Gaza following the collapse of a ceasefire in March. Until then, deep divisions between countries backing Israel and those more favourable to the Palestinians had hamstrung any move. The war was sparked by Hamas' 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which led to 1 219 deaths, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP Of the 251 people taken hostage by militants that day, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry says that at least 58 386 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel's retaliatory campaign. The UN considers those figures reliable.
Bloomberg
2 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Turkey's Opposition Under Fire as Erdogan Rival Goes on Trial
His portrait has been removed from the public buildings from which it used to hang. His Turkish X account has been blocked. But on Wednesday, Ekrem Imamoglu is expected back in public view. The Istanbul mayor, who was suspended after he was detained by the authorities on March 19, is scheduled to appear in court facing charges of threatening the city's chief public prosecutor. If found guilty, he faces up to seven years in prison and a ban from politics. Before his arrest, Imamoglu, 55, was widely seen as the strongest threat to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's efforts to extend his hold on power, but the outcome of Wednesday's trial could end any last hope of him being the opposition's candidate at the 2028 presidential election.
