Activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla say one of their Gaza-bound vessels was hit by a drone attack off Tunisia’s coast on Tuesday, a day after another explosion damaged its main boat. Organisers say the mission, involving dozens of boats carrying aid to besieged Gaza, will continue despite the attacks.
A South Korean court has acquitted a woman previously convicted for defending herself against an act of sexual violence six decades ago.
Busan’s District Court overturned the previous ruling on Wednesday, saying Choi Mal-ja’s actions “constitute justifiable self-defence” under South Korean law.
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Choi’s actions at the time are now “deemed an attempt to escape an unjust infringement on her bodily integrity and sexual self-determination”, the court said in a statement.
The ruling overturns Choi’s 1965 conviction, when the court found her actions had “exceeded the reasonable bounds of legally permissible self-defence”.
Choi, who was 19 at the time of the incident, was attacked by a 21-year-old man in the southern town of Gimhae in 1964.
The man pinned her to the ground and repeatedly forced his tongue into her mouth, at one point blocking her nose to stop her from breathing, according to court records.
Choi managed to break free by biting off about 1.5cm (0.6 inches) of his tongue.
In one of South Korea’s most contentious rulings on sexual violence, the aggressor received only six months in prison, suspended for two years, for trespassing and intimidation – but not attempted rape.
But Choi, now 79, was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm and handed a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
Wearing a bright pink blazer, Choi beamed as supporters handed her multiple bouquets after the new ruling.
Women’s rights activists and her supporters celebrated, many visibly emotional, waving a placard that read, “Choi Mal-ja did it!”
“Sixty-one years ago, in a situation where I could understand nothing, the victim became the perpetrator, and my fate was sealed as a criminal,” Choi said in a news conference following the ruling.
“For the victims who shared the same fate as mine, I wanted to be a source of hope for them,” she said.
The Korea Women’s Hotline (KWH), one of the groups that supported Choi during the trial, said the verdict will pave the way for other victims of sexual violence seeking justice.
“Going forward, women’s defensive acts will be understood as legitimate. I expect this will mean fewer women will face unjust suffering,” says Song Ran-hee, head of the KWH.
Choi’s appeal gained momentum after the #MeToo movement, which took off globally in 2017, inspired her to seek justice.
In South Korea, huge women’s rights protests have led to victories on issues ranging from abortion access to tougher penalties for spycam crimes.
Choi filed for a retrial in 2020, but lower courts initially rejected her petition.
After years of campaigning and an appeal, South Korea’s top court finally ordered a retrial in 2024.
Her lawyers said they now plan to seek compensation from the state for the damages she suffered from her conviction six decades ago.
The Syrian government has blamed Israel for a series of attacks around the country.
The attacks early on Tuesday targeted sites in and around the city of Homs in western Syria and the coastal city of Latakia.
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The Syrian government called the attacks “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic”, according to Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.
Israel has attacked Syria hundreds of times since the regime of President Bashar al-Assad fell on December 8 and also conducted a land grab in the chaotic early hours after al-Assad fled to Moscow. Under the al-Assad regime, Israel waged a secretive campaign of aerial bombardment against Syria’s military infrastructure, but attacks have intensified since the war on Gaza began nearly two years ago and even more so since the fall of al-Assad.
In the first days after the fall of the al-Assad regime, Israel launched a devastating series of attacks that destroyed much of Syria’s military infrastructure in an attempt to create a “sterile zone” in southern Syria.
Israel and Syria have held direct talks in recent months, and while Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has ruled out normalisation, the talks are aimed at halting Israel’s aggressive actions towards Syria and reaching some kind of security deal.
So why then has Israel decided to reinitiate attacks? Here’s what you need to know:
The United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israeli warplanes attacked a Syrian air force base in Homs, causing huge explosions. No casualties were reported.
Israeli fighter jets also attacked a military barracks in Latakia although there were no reports of casualties there either.
These strikes came on the back of Israeli attacks near Damascus in late August that killed six Syrian soldiers.
The Saudi Arabian news channel Al-Arabiya reported that the site targeted in Homs held Turkish-made rockets and aerial defence equipment. Turkiye has been one of the biggest allies of the new Syrian government and has reportedly agreed to provide Syria with Turkish weapons systems and logistical tools in a military cooperation accord signed in mid-August.
But as relations between Turkiye and Syria grow stronger, tension has been building between Turkiye and Israel. As Israel continues its war on Gaza, which international scholars have called a genocide, Turkiye closed its airspace to Israel and banned Israeli ships from Turkish ports in protest against the war on Gaza.
Turkiye’s good relations with the new government in Damascus have drawn a reaction from Israel.
Israel has also been accused of trying to undermine Syrian stability by voicing support for Kurdish and Druze autonomy.
This has led to a growing war of words between Turkiye and Israel with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the “biggest obstacle to regional peace” in June, shortly after Israel attacked Iran.
Meanwhile, regional newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Netanyahu has been holding security meetings over concerns of Turkiye’s growing influence in Syria and Netanyahu is leaning on Israeli media to portray a confrontation with Ankara as inevitable.
The official Syrian Arab News Agency quoted Syria’s Foreign Ministry as calling the attacks “a direct threat” to Syrian security and regional stability.
Israel’s continuing and unprovoked attacks on Syria are “part of a series of aggressive escalations pursued by Israel against Syrian territory”, and the government rejects “any attempts to undermine its sovereignty or harm its national security”, the ministry said.
The ministry called on the United Nations to take a “clear and firm stand to put an end” to Israel’s attacks, which it called a “flagrant violation” of international law.
Israel has not commented yet.
But Israeli forces have been busy with attacks in Syria, Qatar, Gaza and Lebanon, and have been conducting raids on the occupied West Bank. There was also an attack in Tunisia on one of the boats in the aid-carrying Global Sumud flotilla heading towards Gaza that volunteers on board suspect Israel of perpetrating.
Not necessarily.
Syrian officials have said many times that they do not want a war with Israel. Syria has enough internal troubles going on along its coast, in the south and with the Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast, not to mention clashes along the border with Lebanon. Syrian authorities are also painfully aware that Israel is technologically and militarily stronger and backed by a global superpower in the United States, which has been crucial to removing sanctions on Syria and giving the country a chance to revive its economy.
The European Union will implement new measures against Israel and further raise support for Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said.
In her annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, von der Leyen condemned the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic”, announcing plans to cut support for Israel and implement sanctions.
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She also noted plans to further raise support for Ukraine, urging EU members – some of which are likely to be unenthusiastic – to rally behind the measures on both issues.
“Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war. For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity, this must stop,” the EU chief declared.
The proposed “package of measures” includes sanctions on “extremist Israeli ministers” and settlers, a suspension of bilateral support for Israel, and a suspension of the EU’s association agreement with Israel, which gives it preferential access to European markets.
“Europe needs to do more,” said von der Leyen, adding that while she would attempt to move the bloc in unison, EU member states also needed to take “our own responsibility” on the issue.
“Europe’s goal has always been the same. Real security for Israel and a safe, present future for all Palestinians,” she said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was quick to slam the EU chief and claimed that she was offering support to Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas.
“The remarks made this morning by the President of the European Commission are regrettable. Some of them also echo the false propaganda of Hamas and its partners,” Saar wrote on social media. “Once again, Europe is sending the wrong message, which strengthens Hamas and the radical axis in the Middle East.”
Regarding Ukraine, von der Leyen said she was proposing a summit to coordinate international efforts to secure the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
The use of frozen Russian assets to fund a “reparations loan” for Ukraine was also put forward in the speech, although von der Leyen said the bloc would not seize the assets itself.
The address came shortly after Polish and NATO forces shot down Russian drones that had violated Poland’s airspace. The EU chief branded Moscow’s actions “reckless and unprecedented”.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the EU has imposed 18 rounds of sanctions on it, targeting its economy, individuals and key sectors such as fuel, as well as nearly 140 billion euros ($164bn) in support to Ukraine, including financial, humanitarian, and military assistance.
Von der Leyen said as the EU prepares its 19th package of sanctions against Moscow, it will seek to accelerate efforts to phase out all purchases of Russian fossil fuels, as well as sanctioning the shadow oil shipping fleet used to circumvent such measures and any third countries involved.
However, Brussels is likely to encounter obstacles to such ambitions. Unanimous agreement is required to impose sanctions, and Hungary and Slovakia remain dependent on Russian energy and have blocked previous actions.
The 27-member bloc also remains divided over action regarding Israel’s war on Gaza, which started after Hamas led deadly attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Sanctions and the suspension of the trade agreement would require the approval of all 27 states, and could meet resistance from the likes of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Germany.
Other member states, such as Spain or Ireland, have been calling for economic curbs and an arms embargo against Israel for some time.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said the “double standards” demonstrated by the West over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza threaten to undermine its global standing.
However, other member states have obstructed efforts to take action and continue to supply the Israeli military with arms and equipment.
Ranging into other topics, von der Leyen defended the much-criticised tariffs deal she agreed recently with Washington, saying it stabilised ties with the United States at a time of soaring global tensions and averted trade war “chaos”.
She also asserted that the EU needs a new sanctions system targeting people smugglers and traffickers, adding it should be part of measures allowing the bloc to manage migration “effectively”.
Polish and NATO forces scrambled to intercept Russian drones which entered Poland’s airspace early on Tuesday night and early on Wednesday, marking their first direct military engagement with Moscow since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
Both Polish and NATO jets responded to the violation of Polish airspace, which occurred during a Russian aerial attack on Ukraine. “There was an unprecedented violation of Polish airspace by drone-type objects,” the Polish military operational command said in a statement. “This is an act of aggression that posed a real threat to the safety of our citizens.”
Poland temporarily shut down at least three of its airports, including Warsaw’s Chopin Airport, the country’s largest, and advised people to stay at home while the operation continues. People in risk-prone areas in eastern regions of Poland bordering Ukraine, including the capital of Warsaw, have been told to take shelter.
“There is no reason to claim that we are in a state of war… but the situation is significantly more dangerous than all previous ones,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. He added that the prospect of a large military conflict is “closer than at any time since the Second World War”.
The Russian drone incursion comes just three days after Moscow hit the main government building in Ukraine’s Kyiv. That attack also damaged the European Union and British Council buildings in the Ukrainian capital.
So, is NATO now inching towards a war with Russia?
On Wednesday morning, the Polish military said it had shot down “drone-like objects” which entered its airspace during a Russian aerial attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
According to Polish officials, the drones crossed the border amid a wave of Russian aerial strikes targeting western Ukraine, triggering an immediate military response, which was joined by Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35, and Italian AWACS surveillance planes.
One of the drones struck a residential building in Wyryki, eastern Poland. Nobody was injured, according to the Reuters news agency.
This is the first time that NATO-allied forces have engaged Russian military assets since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Tusk called Russia’s violation of Polish airspace by a “huge” number of Russian drones a “large-scale provocation”. He added that the NATO forces had shot down the ones that posed any threat.
Later in the day, Tusk informed Poland’s parliament that the first violation of Polish airspace occurred at about 11:30pm (21:30 GMT) on Tuesday, and the last was reported at 6:30am (04:30 GMT) on Wednesday.
He added that preliminary reports suggest there were 19 airspace violations in total, with a “significant number” of drones crossing into Poland.
“We are ready to repel such provocations. The situation is serious, and no one doubts that we must prepare for various scenarios,” Tusk said in his statement. “All our allies are taking the situation very seriously. We have not recorded any casualties.”
Tusk also convened an emergency meeting with his top cabinet ministers and stated that his office was in contact with NATO officials.
The incident has thrust NATO’s collective defence principles into the spotlight. Being a NATO member, a drone attack on Poland could trigger Article 5 of the NATO treaty.
That article forms the cornerstone of the alliance’s collective defence strategy. It states that an “armed attack” against one or more members in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against all, obligating allies to take action, including the use of armed force, to restore security.
Article 5 is not triggered automatically by such an attack, but can be initiated by an affected nation. It requires a consensus among NATO’s 30 member states that the incident meets the threshold of an attack warranting collective action.
Since the treaty was first signed in 1949, Article 5 has been invoked only once, following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.
Not quite yet. Tusk said Poland will invoke Article 4 of the treaty, under which a nation can request a formal consultation within the alliance if it believes its security has been threatened. This would serve as a political precursor to Article 5 deliberations.
Historically, Article 4 has been invoked only seven times since NATO’s creation; the last time was by Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia in 2022 immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
While Tusk said he appreciates expressions of solidarity, “the words are not enough” and Poland will request “much greater” support from its allies.
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, vice president of the European Commission, said the incident marked an escalation of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We must raise the cost on Moscow, strengthen support for Ukraine, and invest in Europe’s defence,” she said in a statement posted on X. “The EU plays a major role and we will support initiatives like the eastern border shield defence line.”
Kallas said the EU stood in “full solidarity with Poland” and called the Russian drone intrusion “the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began, and indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental”.
EU’s defence commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, also emphasised the need for a “drone wall” along its shared borders. “Once again Russia tests frontier states, EU & NATO,” Kubilius wrote in a post on X. “We shall work together with member states, frontier countries and Ukraine. Russia will be stopped.”
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, warned that Moscow was continuing to “push the boundaries of what is possible” by aiming drones at Poland.
“If [Russia] does not encounter a strong reaction, it remains at the new level of escalation,” Zelenskyy said, adding that 15 regions of Ukraine had been targeted overnight in a “massive” attack by 415 drones of various types and more than 40 cruise and ballistic missiles.
“The Russians must feel the consequences. Russia must feel that the war cannot be expanded and will have to be ended,” said the Ukrainian president.
The violation of Polish airspace by the Russian drones comes as Moscow ramps up its attacks on Kyiv, stalls ceasefire talks and plans military exercises in neighbouring Belarus.
Poland said it would close its border with Belarus on Thursday, at midnight (22:00 GMT), in advance of an upcoming military drill.
Russia and Belarus’s large-scale military exercises, called the “Zapad” drills – meaning “west” in Russian – typically involve thousands of troops, tanks, aircraft and live-fire operations across western regions. The drill is a particular security concern for neighbouring NATO member states Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
“On Friday, Russian-Belarusian manoeuvres, very aggressive from a military doctrine perspective, begin in Belarus, very close to the Polish border,” Tusk told a government meeting in Poland.
Belarus’s defence minister said this year’s Zapad would include drills for the possible use of nuclear weapons and the Russian-made, intermediate-range hypersonic Oreshnik missile.
Past Zapad drills have prompted concerns in the West, most notably in 2021, when Russian troops deployed in Belarus for exercises stayed for longer than expected and then spearheaded one part of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
India, which has been hit by United States President Donald Trump with additional trade tariffs for buying Russian oil, is also expected to join the seven-day military drill. Trump is now also pushing the EU to levy a 100 percent trade tariff on India – and has reportedly offered to match this if it agrees.
Israel’s September 7 drone attack in Doha, Qatar, apparently aimed at killing top Hamas leaders, was not just another strike in a region where Israeli aggression has become routine. The location made it extraordinary: The capital city of the major United States ally mediating the ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. Yet in its intent and effect, the attack echoed Israel’s familiar pattern of using assassinations and military force to derail negotiations and block any path to peaceful coexistence.
Israel has long disregarded international law, struck targets across the region, assassinated Palestinian and other leaders who resist it, and collapsed ceasefire or peace negotiations with its Palestinian foes, always in the name of protecting its security. In 1948, members of the Israeli Stern Gang assassinated the first UN mediator, Count Folke Bernadotte. Since then, Israel has killed dozens of Palestinian, Lebanese, and other leaders who opposed its occupation, apartheid policies, and military aggression – but rather than weakening its enemies, such assassinations have only strengthened resistance to Israel’s rule and actions.
The Doha attack is a continuation of this history. Over the past 22 months, Israel has aborted every serious discussion of a ceasefire, sometimes after securing the release of its citizens held by Hamas or Islamic Jihad, while continuing to starve Palestinians in Gaza and dismantle their society. By striking Hamas leaders in the very country mediating the negotiations, Israel has underlined that it is not interested in peace, only in the capitulation of its foes.
This raises an intriguing question: Why did Israel choose to carry out such an operation in Qatar, which not only mediates the negotiations but also hosts the US Central Command military base – the largest in the region?
How Qatar and its GCC partners react could reshape relations with Washington for years, especially if it emerges that the US knew about the attack or even facilitated it – by pretending that serious ceasefire talks were under way that required the Hamas leadership to gather, thereby making them an easy target.
Such a scenario would mirror the US role in the joint Israeli and US attack on Iran earlier this year, which took place even as Donald Trump spoke of progress towards a deal with Tehran – while preparing to attack it.
Perhaps the most significant consequence of the attack will be its effect on Israeli-US relations and on the standing of the US in the region and beyond.
Virtually the entire world has denounced the attack, including the GCC and Arab League states, as well as Iran, the UN, many Europeans, and even the pope. President Donald Trump also offered mild criticism, while still backing Israel’s goal of destroying Hamas. Israel, however, routinely dismisses such condemnations of its aggressive militarism in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran, making them largely meaningless, with one exception.
If Washington were eventually to conclude that Israel’s militarism had become a strategic burden, or a drag on Republican election victories in the coming years, Trump could compel Israel to end its war in Gaza and accept a long-term truce. He remains the only figure in the world with the power to force a change in Israeli policy, as he demonstrated upon taking office in January, when he pushed Israel to accept the initial ceasefire and prisoner exchange with Hamas. But so far, he has shown no sign that he believes pressuring Israel to end its militarism would serve either his interests or those of the US.
This is why the response to the attack by Qatar, the GCC, and the Arab League states is so vital and must be watched closely, because, in theory, it could create a new dynamic in the region. If Arab leaders conclude that they cannot trust the US to safeguard their interests and security, they could move to join a broader global coalition to rein in Israel’s US-enabled militarism, while also reasserting that international law, treaties, and UN conventions must be applied to protect weaker states from stronger aggressors.
There are no signs of such a shift for now, but one indication of how US policy might evolve came late on Tuesday, when Trump instructed his secretary of state to complete the defence cooperation agreement with Qatar, after “promising” the Emir that Israel would never attack Qatar again. If Washington wants to deepen its defence relations and expand arms sales to Arab partners, it will have to make its promises of protection credible.
Qatar’s response to the Israeli attack could also determine whether the US and Israeli “Abraham Accords” between Israel and four Arab states expand to include others. The UAE last week warned Israel that if it annexed large parts of the West Bank, it would freeze or withdraw from its normalisation of ties under the Abraham Accords. How Washington handles intensifying Israeli attacks against Arab states, including close partners like Qatar, could therefore shape the future of US and GCC relations, which Trump signalled early in his term that he wanted to expand significantly.