This Week in Explainers: Blood money or Qisas… What's next for Nimisha Priya on death row in Yemen?

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19-07-2025

Indian nurse Nimisha Priya's life relies on Islamic laws – blood money or Qisas. The woman, who is on death row in Yemen for the murder of her business partner, got a temporary respite this week after her execution was postponed. However, she needs the pardon from the victim's family. All this and more in our weekly roundup read more
India is celebrating the return of its second national to go to space. Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is back on Earth after an 18-day stay at the International Space Station (ISS), as part of the Axiom-4 mission.
Efforts are on to save Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, who is on death row in Yemen. While her execution was postponed, her fate still hangs in the balance. Only 'blood money' can protect her from the gallows.
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US President Donald Trump's threat to impose 'secondary tariffs' on countries that have commercial ties with Russia spells bad news for India. The move could trigger turmoil for India's critical oil imports and derail its trade agreement with America.
Here's all this and more in our weekly wrap from India.
1. Indian Air Force (IAF) Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to go to the ISS, has returned to Earth. He and his three crewmates flew back onboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which made a splashdown in the Pacific off the Southern California coast on July 15.
The heartwarming pictures of Shukla's reunion with his family – wife, Dr Kamna Shukla, and their six-year-old son, Kiash – went viral. The Indian astronaut, who shared the moments on Instagram, captioned the post: 'Felt like home'.
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After adjusting to microgravity in space, Shukla is now readjusting to gravity on Earth. He is spending seven days in a rehabilitation programme. But why? We explain in this report.
2. Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya is hoping for a miracle. While her execution set for July 16 was postponed, it is only a temporary reprieve. The woman, in her late 30s, is lodged in a jail in Yemen for killing a Yemeni citizen and her business partner, Talal Abdo Mahdi, in 2017.
She was sentenced to death for the murder of the Yemeni national. After efforts from various quarters, her execution was deferred this week. Only _diyah_ or blood money – a monetary compensation to Mahdi's family – can save Nimisha. However, the victim's brother insists on Qisas, the Islamic law derived from the 'eye for an eye' principle. We take a look here.
3. US President Donald Trump's tariff threats have created chaos across the world. After pressuring nations to reach trade deals with America by August 1, he has now trained his guns on Russia.
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Trump has threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Russian trade partners unless Moscow ends its military offensive in Ukraine within 50 days. The threat has rung alarm bells in India and other Asian countries. India currently imports 1.6 to 1.7 million barrels of discounted Russian oil daily, nearly 35 per cent of its total crude demand. Here's our report on how Trump's proposed tariffs could disrupt its oil imports and harm a bilateral trade agreement with the US.
4. The preliminary report on the Air India Flight AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad in June has put a spotlight on the fuel switches of the Boeing planes. According to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) findings, seconds after take-off, both of the 787 Dreamliner's fuel-control switches moved to the 'cutoff' position.
As this is only a preliminary report, the cause of the crash remains unknown. However, days after the findings came out, airlines within India and abroad began examining fuel control switch locking mechanisms. We explain the reasons for these checks in this report.
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5. The world lost a major sporting icon this week. Fauja Singh, the world's oldest marathon runner, died at the age of 114 after being hit by a white Toyota Fortuner near his home in Punjab's Jalandhar. Amritpal Singh Dhillon, a Non-Resident Indian (NRI), has been arrested for allegedly killing Singh with his SUV.
Fauja Singh was the world's oldest marathon runner. File Photo/Reuters
Dhillon told the police later that he panicked and fled the scene after realising he had hit someone. Fondly called the 'Turbaned Tornado', Fauja Singh's death has spread grief across the sporting world. Here's a look at the life of the man who chose to run marathons well beyond the age of 100.
6. The death of a nine-year-old girl in Rajasthan due to a suspected heart attack has raised the question of whether such incidents are rising. Prachi Kumawat, a Class 4 student in Sikar, was opening her lunchbox when she collapsed. Despite efforts to save her, she was pronounced dead by doctors. While Prachi's family did not carry out an autopsy, she is suspected to have died of a heart attack.
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In recent years, multiple cases of children dying due to heart attacks or cardiac arrest have come to light. But do children have heart attacks? And has there been a surge in such cases? We take a look in this report.
7. The tale of a Russian woman who stayed in caves in Karnataka with her two daughters for eight years has gripped the nation. Nina Kutina and her two young daughters lived in a hillside cave near Gokarna, deep inside forests, surviving on instant noodles and without electricity or a phone.
She and her kids were discovered by the police during a routine patrol in the Ramatirtha forest area, which recently saw landslides. But why was the Russian woman living in a cave? Read our report to know more.
This is all we have for you this week. If you like the way we analyse news, you can bookmark this page.