German Woman Allegedly Took 6yo Daughter to Watch ISIS Stoning in Syria

German special police forces in Hildesheim, Germany, March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
German special police forces in Hildesheim, Germany, March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
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German Woman Allegedly Took 6yo Daughter to Watch ISIS Stoning in Syria

German special police forces in Hildesheim, Germany, March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
German special police forces in Hildesheim, Germany, March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

A German who allegedly took her young daughter to watch a woman being stoned while in ISIS-held territory in Syria has been charged with membership in the extremist group and other offenses, federal prosecutors said Friday.

The woman, identified only as Romiena S. in keeping with German privacy laws, was arrested at Frankfurt airport when she arrived on Oct. 7 among a group of women and children repatriated from a camp in northeastern Syria where suspected ISIS members were held.

She was charged at a court in the northern town of Celle with membership in a foreign terrorist organization, recruiting members for the group, a crime against humanity, the abduction of a minor, violating her duties of care and education, and approving of crimes, prosecutors said in a statement, The Associated Press reported.

The suspect traveled to Syria in late 2014 along with a 16-year-old girl she had persuaded to join her, prosecutors said. They said she took her 4-year-old daughter, against the wishes of the child’s father.

In Syria, she married several ISIS members, according to prosecutors. She brought up her daughter and two sons born in Syria in line with ISIS ideology, taking the girl — then age 6 — to the stoning of a woman and showing her execution videos, they said.

She also is accused of exploiting a Yazidi woman enslaved by the extremist group for a few days in 2016, ordering her to do household duties at the home of a slave trader in Raqqa and guarding her as she went into town.

The suspect also posted messages on Twitter supporting extremist attacks in Nice, France, and Wuerzburg, Germany, in 2016, prosecutors said.



Greta Thunberg Arrested at Pro-Palestinian Protest in London

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg walks out of City of London Police station after being arrested by police this morning at a pro‑Palestinian protest, in London, Britain, December 23, 2025. (Reuters)
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg walks out of City of London Police station after being arrested by police this morning at a pro‑Palestinian protest, in London, Britain, December 23, 2025. (Reuters)
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Greta Thunberg Arrested at Pro-Palestinian Protest in London

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg walks out of City of London Police station after being arrested by police this morning at a pro‑Palestinian protest, in London, Britain, December 23, 2025. (Reuters)
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg walks out of City of London Police station after being arrested by police this morning at a pro‑Palestinian protest, in London, Britain, December 23, 2025. (Reuters)

London police on Tuesday arrested Swedish activist Greta Thunberg at a demonstration in support of pro-Palestinian hunger strikers, Palestinian campaign groups said.

Thunberg's arrest makes her the highest profile person to be detained by police since the government banned the Palestine Action group under anti-terror laws.

Prisoners for Palestine, which organized the protest, said in a statement that Thunberg was arrested under the UK Terrorism Act.

Thunberg, 22, was holding a sign reading: "I support the Palestine Action prisoners. I oppose genocide."

City of London Police said several people were arrested.

They did not directly name Thunberg, but said "a 22-year-old woman... has been arrested for displaying an item (in this case a placard) in support of a proscribed organization (in this case Palestine Action) contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000".

Police said another three people were arrested at the protest, at a building in London's financial quarter, on suspicion of criminal damage.

The three were detained after "hammers and red paint were used to damage a building" and they glued themselves to fixtures nearby, police said.

Prisoners for Palestine said its protest had targeted the offices of Aspen Insurance because the company provided services to Israeli-linked defense firm Elbit Systems UK.

- 'Political prisoners' -

Thunberg on Monday described the detained hunger strikers as "political prisoners" in a video posted on Instagram.

The British government in July outlawed Palestine Action after activists broke into an air force base and caused an estimated £7 million ($9.3 million) of damage.

Some of the eight detainees who went on hunger strike had been charged over that incident.

The group, aged between 20 and 31, are facing trials relating to break-ins or criminal damage by Palestine Action.

Their hunger strike is to protest their treatment and call for their release on bail.

The first two prisoners going on the hunger strike were on their 52nd day, Prisoners for Palestine said on Tuesday. The Guardian newspaper reported that three of the eight had ended their hunger strike.

Asked about it in parliament last week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said "rules and procedures" were being followed.

The government's ban on Palestine Action -- which makes being a member of the group or supporting it a serious criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison -- has resulted in at least 2,300 arrests of demonstrators, according to protest organizers Defend Our Juries.

According to London's Met Police in late November, so far 254 out of the more than 2,000 arrested have been charged with a lesser offence which carries a sentence of up to six months.

Thunberg has maintained a high profile in protests supporting Palestinians.

In October, she was among hundreds of people who boarded a flotilla that tried to break through the Israeli blockade of Gaza.


Australia PM to Invite Israeli President to Visit

 15 August 2025, Australia, Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Martin Place cenotaph during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific, which commemorates Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender and the end of World War II for Australia. (dpa)
15 August 2025, Australia, Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Martin Place cenotaph during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific, which commemorates Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender and the end of World War II for Australia. (dpa)
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Australia PM to Invite Israeli President to Visit

 15 August 2025, Australia, Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Martin Place cenotaph during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific, which commemorates Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender and the end of World War II for Australia. (dpa)
15 August 2025, Australia, Sydney: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at the Martin Place cenotaph during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific, which commemorates Japan's acceptance of the Allied demand for unconditional surrender and the end of World War II for Australia. (dpa)

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday said his government would invite Israel's president to visit, after a mass shooting in Sydney targeting the Jewish community.

"Prime Minister Albanese advised President (Isaac) Herzog that, upon the recommendation of the Australian government, the Governor-General of Australia will issue an invitation in accordance with protocol to President Herzog to visit Australia as soon as possible," said a post on the leader's X account.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens injured in a mass shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi on December 14.


Trump Says It Would Be 'Smart' for Venezuela's Maduro to Leave Power

US President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navy's "Golden Fleet" at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak
US President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navy's "Golden Fleet" at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak
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Trump Says It Would Be 'Smart' for Venezuela's Maduro to Leave Power

US President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navy's "Golden Fleet" at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak
US President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navy's "Golden Fleet" at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak

US President Donald Trump said on Monday it would be smart for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to leave power, and the United States could keep or sell the oil it had seized off the coast of Venezuela in recent weeks.

Trump's pressure campaign on Maduro has included a ramped-up military presence in the region and more than two dozen military strikes on vessels allegedly trafficking drugs in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near the South American nation. At least 100 people have been killed in ‌the attacks, reported Reuters.

Asked ‌if the goal was to force ‌Maduro ⁠from power, Trump ‌told reporters: "Well, I think it probably would... That's up to him what he wants to do. I think it'd be smart for him to do that. But again, we're gonna find out."

"If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it'll be the last time he's ever able to play tough," he said.

During the press conference, Trump ⁠also took aim at Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who he has also feuded with throughout ‌the year.

"He's no friend to the ‍United States. He's very bad. ‍Very bad guy. He's gotta watch his ass because he makes ‍cocaine and they send it into the US," Trump said when asked about Petro's criticisms towards the Trump administration's handling of the tensions with Venezuela.

In addition to the strikes, Trump has previously announced a "blockade" of all oil tankers under sanctions entering and leaving Venezuela. The US Coast Guard started pursuing an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela ⁠on Sunday, in what would be the second such operation this weekend and the third in less than two weeks if successful.

"Maybe we will sell it, maybe we will keep it," Trump said when asked what would happen with the seized oil, adding it might also be used to replenish the United States' strategic reserves. Without directly referring to Trump's statements, Maduro said every leader should attend to the internal affairs of their own country.

"If I speak to him again, I will tell him: each country should mind its own internal affairs," Maduro ‌said, referring to an initial phone call between the two leaders last month.