From ISIS trials to Yemen ceasefire: the non-coronavirus news you may have missed

Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a form of punishment and 17 people, including 12 rangers have been killed in an attack in a DR Congo national park

The Iraqi defendant Taha Al Jumailly, who is believed to have belonged to ISIS, hides his face before the start of his trial in Germany. He is accused of genocide and murdering a young Yazidi girl he Show more

Iraqi man goes on trial in Germany for killing Yazidi child

Alleged ISIS members Taha Al Jumailly, 27 and his German wife Jennifer Wenisch have gone on trial in Frankfurt for genocide and the murder of a Yazidi child. They are believed to have allowed five-year-old Rania to die of thirst while chained outside in the hot sun as punishment for wetting the bed.

Prosecutors allege that the couple purchased Rania and her mother Nora at an ISIS slave market in 2015, after they were kidnapped when the militants invaded Sinjar in 2014. According to the indictment, the pair were given insufficient food and beaten regularly. Rania's mother has repeatedly testified in Munich about the torment visited on her child.

Saudi-led coalition extends Yemen ceasefire by one month

The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognised government has extended its unilateral ceasefire by one month. An earlier two-week ceasefire to allow the country to focus on containing a coronavirus outbreak, expired on Thursday.

"The ceasefire will give an opportunity for negotiations to continue between Yemen's two parties to establish a permanent truce," coalition spokesman Turki Al Malki said in a statement. The ceasefire extension, announced on Friday, comes at the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

Saudi Arabia to abolish flogging as punishment

The top judicial authority in Saudi Arabia has issued a directive to abolish flogging and replace it with jail time and fines as the country modernises its judicial system, according to sources and documents cited by local media.

"The decision is an extension of the human rights reforms introduced under the direction of King Salman and the direct supervision of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman," Al Arabiya quoted the document as saying.

Virunga attack: 12 rangers among 17 killed in attack in DR Congo national park

An attack in Virunga National Park on Friday has killed at least 17, including 12 rangers dead and left others fighting for their lives.

The park, which is a Unesco World Heritage site, is located in the restive east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was one of the deadliest attacks in the park, Africa's oldest and most biologically diverse protected area.

No person or group has claimed responsibility, the governor of the Nord Kivu province said in a statement.