Sweden Charges Man over 2014 Killing of Jordan Pilot in Syria

A police operation is underway on Polhemsgatan street in connection with a search of the home of a suspected perpetrator shooting at the Risbergska education center in Orebro, Sweden, 04 February 2025. (EPA)
A police operation is underway on Polhemsgatan street in connection with a search of the home of a suspected perpetrator shooting at the Risbergska education center in Orebro, Sweden, 04 February 2025. (EPA)
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Sweden Charges Man over 2014 Killing of Jordan Pilot in Syria

A police operation is underway on Polhemsgatan street in connection with a search of the home of a suspected perpetrator shooting at the Risbergska education center in Orebro, Sweden, 04 February 2025. (EPA)
A police operation is underway on Polhemsgatan street in connection with a search of the home of a suspected perpetrator shooting at the Risbergska education center in Orebro, Sweden, 04 February 2025. (EPA)

Swedish prosecutors pressed charges on Tuesday against a man on suspicion of war crimes and terrorism over the murder of a Jordanian air force pilot who was burned to death in Syria a decade ago.

The Swede, named in court documents as Osama Krayem, 32, has previously been convicted of involvement in attacks in Paris in 2015 and in Brussels in 2016.

The ISIS militant group, which once imposed a reign of terror over millions of people in Syria and Iraq, captured Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh in December 2014 and later published a video of him being burned alive in a cage.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority charged Krayem with gross war crimes and terrorism, the indictment showed, Reuters reported.

"Krayem, together with and in agreement with other perpetrators belonging to ISIS, killed/deprived Muath al-Kasasbeh of his life," the authority said in the indictment.

It said Krayem had forced the pilot to the cage and that he also posed for a camera, knowing the footage would be dispersed as a manifestation of a plan and ideology advocated by ISIS.

Krayem has been temporarily transferred to Sweden from France to stand trial at the Stockholm district court.

ISIS controlled swathes of Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017, and was defeated in its last bastions in Syria in 2019.

Under Swedish legislation, courts can try people for crimes against international law committed abroad.



NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
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NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File

Ukraine is still getting essential defense equipment despite the war in the Middle East, which is depleting stockpiles in Europe and the United States, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Thursday.

"The good news is that essential equipment into Ukraine continues to flow," he told reporters. That included American-made Patriot missile interceptors, which Ukraine desperately needs, he added, AFP reported.

The PURL program, launched last year, allows Ukraine to receive US equipment financed by European countries.

Some 75 percent of the missiles used by Patriot batteries in Ukraine have been supplied through the program, and 90 percent of the munitions used by other air-defense systems, Rutte added.

Rutte called on European countries to increase their own production capacity.

"They need to produce more extra production lines, extra shifts, opening new factories. The money is there," he said.


Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
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Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)

Germany's foreign minister Thursday said it was encouraging if the United States was talking directly to Iran to end the war in the Middle East, but Washington should make its intentions clear.

"I hear that there are signs that the US is speaking directly to Iran. I think that this is encouraging and this is welcome," Johann Wadephul told reporters before heading into the meeting of G7 foreign ministers outside Paris, AFP reported.

With US Secretary of State Marco Rubio set to join the discussions from Friday, he added: "For the German government it is of great importance to know precisely what our American partners are intending."


US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The United States has sent Iran a "15-point action list" as a basis for negotiations to end the current conflict, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday, adding that there are signs that Tehran was interested in making a deal.

 

Witkoff, speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House, said that the nascent talks could be successful if the Iranians realize there were no good alternatives - a realization Tehran might be coming to, he argued, Reuters reported.

 

"We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction," Witkoff told reporters.

 

"We have strong signs that this is a possibility."

 

Witkoff said Pakistan had been acting as a mediator, confirming statements from Pakistani officials.