Sectarian violence erupts in Syria despite U.S.-backed ceasefire
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Daily Record
3 hours ago
- Daily Record
Royal Caribbean crew member 'jumps overboard to his death after stabbing colleague'
The horror incident is understood to have happened shortly before 7.30pm on Thursday. A Royal Caribbean cruise crew member jumped overboard to his death after stabbing another crew member on the ship, authorities in the Bahamas have confirmed. The horror incident is understood to have happened shortly before 7.30pm local time on Thursday, July 24. The Royal Bahamas Police Force told NBC News that a 35-year-old South African man who worked on the ship allegedly stabbed a 28-year-old South African woman several times onboard the Icon of the Seas. According to reports the ship was in the waters off the coast of San Salvador Island in the Bahamas at the time. The man fled the scene of the stabbing and jumped overboard, police said. He was later found dead by onboard medical staff. Officers confirmed the woman, who suffered stab wounds to her upper body, was in stable condition. The two crew members, who have not been named, were involved in "a personal dispute," a Royal Caribbean spokesperson told NBC News. The spokesperson said: "One of the crew members was injured, was attended to by the onboard medical team, and she is now in stable condition. "Unfortunately, the other crew member is deceased after he went overboard and was recovered in a search and rescue operation." As reported by the Mirror, neither of the crew members have been identified. An autopsy will take place to determine the man's cause of death. After the incident, the ship reportedly dropped life preservers into the water near where the man fell to mark his location and aid in his rescue. Shortly thereafter, a rescue boat was deployed, WSVN reported, and the man's body was pulled from the sea. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The ship had been en route to the Bahamas' Coco Cay at the time of the incident, and it continued its planned trip itinerary afterward. It's scheduled to return to Miami on Saturday, the outlet reported. The Icon of the Seas is the world's largest cruise ship. It has 20 decks (18 guest decks) and has 2,350 international crew members. It was built by Meyer Turku in Turku, Finland and measures 1196 feet (364 meters) long and 219 feet (66 meters) wide. It has a gross tonnage of 250,800 and can carry up to 7,600 passengers at maximum capacity. It has dozens of restaurants and bars to choose from and has lots of activities to do, including; laser tag, mini golf, sports courts, an escape room, a theatre and much more. The Mirror has contacted Royal Caribbean Cruises and Royal Bahamas Police Force for comment.
Daily Mirror
9 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Royal Caribbean crew member 'stabs colleague then jumps overboard to his death'
The 35-year-old man reportedly stabbed his 28-year-old female colleague multiple times before jumping off the Icon of the Seas cruise ship, according to officials Authorities in the Bahamas have said a Royal Caribbean cruise crew member jumped overboard to his death after stabbing another crew member on the ship. The horrific stabbing is alleged to have happened on Thursday July 24 shortly before 7:30pm local time. A 35-year-old South African man who worked on the ship allegedly stabbed a 28-year-old South African woman several times onboard the Icon of the Seas, the Royal Bahamas Police Force told NBC News. The ship was reportedly in the waters off the coast of San Salvador Island in the Bahamas at the time. The man then reportedly fled the scene of the stabbing and jumped overboard, police said. The man was later found dead by onboard medical staff. Police confimed the woman suffered stab wounds to her upper body but is in stable condition. The two crew members, who have not been named, were involved in "a personal dispute," a Royal Caribbean spokesperson told NBC News. The spokesperson said: "One of the crew members was injured, was attended to by the onboard medical team, and she is now in stable condition. "Unfortunately, the other crew member is deceased after he went overboard and was recovered in a search and rescue operation." Neither of the crew members have been identified. An autopsy will take place to determine the man's cause of death. After the incident, the ship reportedly dropped life preservers into the water near where the man fell to mark his location and aid in his rescue. Shortly thereafter, a rescue boat was deployed, WSVN reported, and the man's body was pulled from the sea. The ship had been en route to the Bahamas' Coco Cay at the time of the incident, and it continued its planned trip itinerary afterward. It's scheduled to return to Miami on Saturday, the outlet reported. The Icon of the Seas is the world's largest cruise ship. It has 20 decks (18 guest decks) and has 2,350 international crew members. It was built by Meyer Turku in Turku, Finland and measures 1196 feet (364 meters) long and 219 feet (66 meters) wide. It has a gross tonnage of 250,800 and can carry up to 7,600 passengers at maximum capacity. It has dozens of restaurants to bars to chose from and has lots of activities to do, including; laser tag, mini golf, sports courts, an escape room a theatre and much more.
South Wales Guardian
17 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
France's highest court upholds some of Bashar Assad's legal protections
The Cour de Cassation upheld Assad's head-of-state immunity, but added that since he is no longer in office, 'new arrest warrants may have been or may be issued against him for acts that may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity'. The decision is a blow to activists who had hoped the court would set aside the immunity, a decision that could have had far-reaching consequences for other leaders accused of atrocities. 'From our side as a victim, this is a huge mistake. This will support another dictatorship to keep doing this kind of crime, they know they will enjoy immunity,' said Mazen Darwish, president of the Syrian Centre for Media, which collected evidence of war crimes. 'It is a sad day for us,' Mr Darwish said. ⚖️[Press release] Scope of immunity of foreign officials and Heads of State👓Press release and rulings > — Cour de cassation (@Courdecassation) July 25, 2025 The president of the Cour de Cassation, Christophe Soulard, said in the ruling that 19 judges had declined to lift Assad's immunity, which could have paved the way for his trial in absentia in France over the use of chemical weapons in Ghouta in 2013. Human rights lawyers had said that it was high time to enable prosecution of leaders linked to atrocities while they are in power, not just when they leave. But international law forbids it. 'Under current international law, crimes against humanity and war crimes are not exceptions to the principle of jurisdictional immunity for sitting foreign heads of state,' Mr Soulard said. Assad, the former leader of Syria now in exile in Russia, retained no lawyers for these charges and has denied that he was behind the chemical attacks. 'The court's ruling is a missed opportunity for justice,' said Mariana Pena, a lawyer with the Open Society Justice Initiative, which helped bring the case to the court. But she said that the ruling 'leaves the door open to the prosecution of Assad'. The court also ruled on a case against a former Syrian government finance minister in Assad's government, allowing that he could be prosecuted. Adib Mayaleh's lawyers have argued that he had immunity under international law. For more than 50 years, Syria was ruled by Hafez Assad and then his son Bashar. During the Arab Spring, rebellion broke out against their tyrannical rule in 2011 across the country of 23 million people, igniting a brutal 13-year civil war that killed more than 500,000 people, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights. Millions more fled to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Europe. The Assad dynasty manipulated sectarian tensions to stay in power, a legacy driving renewed violence in Syria against minority groups, despite promises that the country's new leaders will carve out a political future for Syria that includes and represents all of its communities. The International Criminal Court is not bound by head of state immunity and has issued arrests warrants for leaders accused of atrocities – like Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza, and Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines. The Syrian government denied in 2013 that it was behind the Ghouta attack, an accusation that the opposition rejected, because Assad's forces were the only side in the brutal civil war to possess sarin. The United States subsequently threatened military retaliation, but Washington settled for a deal with Moscow for Assad to give up his chemical weapons' stockpile. Assad survived in power more than a decade longer, aided militarily by Russia and Iranian-backed proxies. Activists and human rights group accuse him of using barrel bombs, torture and massacres to crush opponents. But then in late 2024, a surprise assault by rebels swept into Aleppo and then Damascus, driving Assad to flee to safety to Russia on December 8, 2024. New warrants after Friday's ruling in France could lay the groundwork for the former leader's trial in absentia or potential arrest, if he travels outside Russia. Any trial of Assad, whether in absentia or if he leaves Russia, would mean this evidence could then 'be brought to light', Ms Pena said, including an enormous trove of classified and secret evidence amassed by the judges during their investigations. Syrians often took great personal risk to gather evidence of war crimes. Mr Darwish said that in the aftermath of a chlorine gas attack in Douma, for example, teams collected witness testimonies, images of devastation and soil samples. Others then tracked down and interviewed defectors to build a 'chain of command' for the Syrian government's chemical weapons production and use. 'We link it directly to the president himself, Bashar al-Assad,' he said. Syrian authorities are now investigating nearly 300 people for crimes during several days of fighting on the coast earlier this year. T The interim authorities in Damascus have pledged to work with the United Nations on investigating further war crimes of the Assad government and the civil war.
