Headline

Israel Identifies Body Of Hostage Recovered From Gaza, Days After Father’s Remains Were Found

Published

1 year ago

January 13, 2025

The Israeli military said Friday it had identified the body of a hostage recovered from a tunnel in southern Gaza as the son of Yosef Al-Ziyadnah, a hostage whose body was recovered earlier this week.

Hamza Al-Ziyadnah, 23, was found dead in a tunnel in the Rafah area, a joint statement from the Israel Defense Forces and Internal Security Agency, known as Shin Bet, said on Friday.

The Israeli military said Wednesday it had recovered the body of Yousef Al-Ziyadnah, 53, from a tunnel in the Rafah area and had discovered evidence that raised “grave concerns” for his son’s life.

Hamza and his father were kidnapped during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and had been held in the Gaza Strip.

“Hamza and Yosef were abducted alive on October 7 and were killed while in Hamas captivity,” the statement said.

The Al-Ziyadnah family are part of the Bedouin Muslim-Arab community that lives in southern Israel’s Negev desert.

Yousef and three of his children – Hamza, Bilal, and Aysha – were taken from Kibbutz Holit in southwest Israel, where they used to work. Bilal and Aysha were among the dozens of hostages returned in the short-lived ceasefire deal in November 2023.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum expressed grief at the news of Hamza’s death and again called for a deal to release the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

“Yosef and Hamza, who survived a period in the hell of Gaza captivity, could have been saved through an earlier agreement,” the statement said.

“The time and conditions are ripe for all the hostages to return – bringing the living home for rehabilitation and the deceased for proper burial,” it said. “The negotiations must be expedited to secure an immediate deal for their return. This historic window of opportunity stands before us and must not be lost.”

No breakthrough in hostage talks
Talks over a potential hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza appear deadlocked, with Hamas claiming that Israel has introduced new conditions and Egyptian mediators sounding downbeat about progress.

A Hamas official told CNN on Friday that Israel has demanded holding on to a 1-kilometer strip of territory along the eastern and northern borders of the enclave.

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The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was responding to a report by Reuters citing an unnamed Palestinian official about the alleged new condition.

“Israel still insists on keeping a 1 km landscape along the eastern and northern borders of the Gaza Strip, which will restrict the return of residents to their homes and represent a retreat from what it (Israel) had agreed upon in July,” the official told Reuters.

The Hamas official who spoke to CNN said Israel’s conditions included “much more” but did not offer further details.

CNN says it reached out to Israel about the claims.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian official and another diplomat briefed on the matter told CNN on Friday that the indirect talks between Hamas and Israel in Qatar have yet to reach a breakthrough, despite statements from United States officials indicating that they were progressing.

“There is a clear appetite on the part of the Americans to get a deal done for the incoming Trump administration,” the diplomat said. But the diplomat sounded a note of caution: “Things are going well but there is still a lot of work to do.”

The comments come a day after US President Joe Biden said he met with negotiators and added that his assessment was that there was “real progress” being made.

We’re making some real progress. I met with negotiators today,” Biden said. “Hope springs eternal, but I think I’m still hopeful that we’ll be able to have a prisoner exchange. Hamas is the one getting in the way of that exchange, right now.”

US President-elect Donald Trump warned in a press conference this week that if the hostages Hamas is holding in Gaza are not released by his inauguration on January 20, “all hell will break out in the Middle East.”

Ninety-eight hostages are still being held in Gaza, including 36 who are presumed to be dead, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s pick for special envoy to the Middle East, told reporters Wednesday he will be travelling to Qatar for the talks, saying negotiators are “making a lot of progress,.” and appeared to suggest that a deal before January 20 was realistic.

However, a senior Biden administration official struck a more cautious tone, telling CNN that the negotiations remain “difficult.”

US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators are in the Qatari capital Doha in their latest push to close a deal between Hamas and Israel after more than a year of failed negotiations.

Headline

Woman Passes Out After Receiving 100 Strokes Of Cane

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

A woman has passed out after she and her partner were each flogged 100 times in public for engaging in sex outside marriage under strict Sharia laws in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was later carried away after the punishment was carried out in Banda Aceh, located at the northern tip of Sumatra island on Thursday.

A masked official dressed in brown robes administered the caning before members of the public who gathered to witness the punishment.

Her partner was also seen wincing in pain while receiving the lashes.

The pair were among several individuals punished for violating Sharia regulations in the province.

Authorities from the Banda Aceh Sharia Court and the Prosecutor’s Office handed down punishments ranging from 25 to 100 lashes for offences including extramarital sex allegedly arranged through online applications.

Aceh remains the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia operating under Sharia law, where unmarried couples are prohibited from having sexual relations.

Caning is commonly used in the province as punishment for offences such as gambling, alcohol consumption, same-sex relations and sex outside marriage.

Under Aceh’s Sharia regulations, child rape offenders face some of the harshest penalties, including up to 200 strokes of the cane, a prison sentence of as long as 200 months or fines equivalent to two kilograms of gold.

The punishments are usually carried out publicly as a way of shaming offenders in addition to inflicting physical pain.

Such canings are often conducted outside mosques or in open public spaces, with residents watching and taking photographs during the exercise.

Human rights organisations have continued to condemn the practice, arguing that it causes emotional trauma and violates international human rights standards.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly criticised the punishments, saying they conflict with Indonesia’s constitution and global legal obligations.

Amnesty said in a statement: “Caning contravenes Indonesia’s constitution and is in clear violation of international human rights law and standards.

‘It constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can amount to torture in violation of the UN Convention against Torture and other international covenants, to which Indonesia is a State Party.’”

Despite the criticism, local authorities have defended the punishments as part of Aceh’s religious and cultural identity, insisting they serve as a deterrent against immoral behaviour.

Earlier in January, another couple in the province reportedly received 140 lashes each after being found guilty of drinking alcohol and engaging in sex outside marriage.

(Daily Mail)

Headline

Senegal’s President Sacks Prime Minister After Months-long Feud

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government following months of rising political tension between the two former allies.

The decision was announced in a surprise decree read on national television by a presidential aide, stating that Faye had “ended the duties” of Sonko and “consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government”.

Sonko, who remains a highly influential figure among Senegal’s youth, responded on social media, saying he would “sleep with a light heart”.

The political fallout comes at a time of growing economic strain in the country, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) putting Senegal’s public debt at 132% of its GDP.

His removal followed a tense parliamentary session on Tuesday, where Sonko openly criticised President Faye’s handling of the debt situation.

The development is striking given that Faye’s rise to power was largely tied to Sonko’s popularity and political backing.

Sonko would almost certainly have contested the presidency himself in 2024, but was barred from the race due to a defamation conviction. Instead, he threw his support behind Faye, rallying voters with the slogan “Diomaye is Sonko, Sonko is Diomaye”.

The alliance helped unseat former President Macky Sall in a dramatic electoral victory, despite both men having been released from prison only days before the vote.

Tensions between the two leaders had been building for months, with Faye reportedly accusing Sonko of excessive dominance within the ruling Pastef party, while Sonko accused the president of weak leadership and failing to defend him against critics.

(BBC News)

Headline

Six Nigerians Arrested In Thailand Over AI-Powered Romance Scam

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Six Nigerian nationals have been arrested by the Thailand Police Force for allegedly operating an AI-powered deepfake romance scam syndicate from a luxury condominium along the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi Province, following a cocaine trafficking investigation that exposed their activities.

Thai authorities said the operation began after police arrested a Nigerian suspect identified as Patrick and three associates in April over alleged drug trafficking offences. During the raid, officers reportedly seized assets valued at about 2.5 million baht.

Investigators said financial transactions linked to the suspects led them to several foreign nationals living in a high-end riverside condominium near Phra Nangklao Bridge in Nonthaburi. Police discovered that many of the occupants were staying in groups of five or six per apartment under student visas despite not being enrolled in any educational institution or engaged in lawful employment.

According to Thai police, officers executed search warrants on three condominium units on May 22. The suspects allegedly refused to open their doors, forcing authorities to break into the apartments.

Videos circulating on X captured the moment police officers forcefully gained entry into one of the apartments before arresting the suspects.

During the operation, one suspect reportedly attempted to escape by climbing over a balcony, while another was found hiding on the bathroom floor while allegedly sending warning messages to occupants in neighbouring units.

Police recovered 18 mobile phones, three laptop computers and three bank passbooks from the apartments. Authorities said some of the phones were still logged into active conversations with victims at the time of the raid.

Investigators alleged that the syndicate specialised in romance scams targeting older Thai women by using AI-generated faces and manipulated video calls to create fake online identities.

The suspects allegedly posed as pilots, United States military officers, doctors and engineers to gain the trust of victims before requesting money under false pretences.

Police said the fraudsters typically claimed that valuable packages or gifts sent to victims had been withheld by customs officials and required payment of clearance fees before release.

Authorities also said they recovered scripts for sexually explicit conversations allegedly used to emotionally manipulate victims into transferring funds. Investigators claimed the group relied heavily on artificial intelligence technology to generate realistic Western faces for fake video interactions.

Thai police said all six suspects are currently facing preliminary charges bordering on illegal association and immigration overstay, while additional fraud and romance scam charges are expected to follow as investigations continue.