CNN
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A new photo of Prince George has been released from Kensington Palace to mark Young Royal’s 12th birthday.

On his final birthday before smashing the teenager, George can appear happy and relaxed with new images released on the palace’s official social media channels on Tuesday.

George can be seen posing at a wooden gate in a country-like environment, wearing a white checkered shirt and brown fleece gillette, and a friendship bracelet on his left wrist.

“Happy 12th birthday to Prince George!” Read the caption for X, followed by a birthday cake emoji.

The Prince and Princess of Wales also shared a short video montage of all three children, marking the opportunity. A clip posted on Instagram shows the kids laughing when they play outside. At one point, George and Charlotte are seen carrying their younger brother.

George’s birthday celebration comes more than a week after the prince and his 10-year-old sister Princess Charlotte are lined up on the throne, appearing in the men’s final at Wimbledon and accompanying his parents.

Their younger brother, Prince Louis, had not seen Italian Giannique Sinner defeat Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz from the royal box on the world-famous tennis grounds in south London.

For Prince and Princess Wales, marking children’s birthdays by sharing new images has become a tradition.

Many of the past portraits have been taken by avid amateur photographer Kate, who credits the British photographer Josh Sinner.

Other professional photographers whose family images were previously released include Mario Testino, Chris Jackson and Millie Pilkington.

CNN’s Jack Guy contributed to this report.

CNN
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The Oklahoma Americans were among eight men who were killed and killed by execution-style attacks during the sectarian violence that erupted in Syria last week.

Hosam Saraya, a 35-year-old Syrian-American, was identified by his friend Bahaa Imad and a US relative as one of eight men whose murder was captured in a video circulating on social media over the weekend.

The video, immersed in the earth by CNN, shows a group of armed men in military uniforms and face masks firing at eight prisoners, screaming “God is amazing.”

CNN cannot independently verify the identification of gunmans in the video. We have contacted the Syrian government for comment.

According to a US relative, Saraya’s brother Kareem and other family members were also executed. She spoke directly to her Syrian relatives. Syria said all male members of the family were killed.

The murder occurred on July 17 amid outbreaks of sectarian violence between the Syrian Druze Group and the Bedouin tribes of Druze Majoritisweida.

Salaya, who studied in Oklahoma before returning to Syria, belonged to the Druze community, an Arab religious group of around 1 million people living primarily in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. He had gone to Syria to care for his sick father, a US relative said.

A relative said the family of the woman who survived the massacre recalled the militants attacked the family’s multi-storey home early in the morning, urging residents to fight back in defense.

After one of the family was injured, the rest of the men surrendered their weapons, she said, and the man was taken outside.

Bahaa Imad, a 20-year-old friend of the Saraya family, confirmed these details and said he witnessed extremists attacking the house, forcing eight men to be removed and leaving the woman’s family inside.

A US relative was first to learn of the attack when one of the female survivors sent her a desperate message.

The family was desperately waiting for the news, so 12 hours had passed and they hoped their relatives would return safely. It wasn’t until they watched the circular video of their execution that another overseas relative realized that eight men had been killed.

Imad said that relatives later told him that prisoners of war had marched to the 200-meter Tishreen Square where they were lined up and executed there. One of the men sent a final message to a friend who read, “If possible, they would come and help. They were surrounding us.”

Imad identified Hosam Saraya’s body after watching the video.

“I don’t know how a monster can do that,” a US relative told CNN.

Asked about Saraya, the US Department of State confirmed that a US citizen had died in Sweida on Monday.

It did not provide details about death, but said that “I am very concerned when American citizens are harming abroad wherever they are,” and that it was called “for accountability in all cases where American citizens do harm abroad.”

Oklahoma Senators James Lankford and Mark Wayne Mullin also confirmed the murder of Americans from Syrian states.

“Hosam was an Oklahoman and a member of the Druze community, tragically executed along with other members of his family in Syria,” Lankford wrote about the X.

Mullin wrote in X that “American citizens of Oklahoma” were “brutally executed alongside Syrian families,” adding that he was working with local partners to learn more. His tweets did not name the Saraya family.

The widespread violence between the Druze minorities and Bedouins in southern Syria exploded on July 13, killing hundreds of people in the latest explosion of sectarian blood blood as Bashar al-Assad’s authoritative rule was collapsed by a coalition of Islamist rebels.

The violence sparked Israeli intervention to support the Druze, attracting international scrambles to stop the US denunciation and the swirl of combat.

The Syrian government said clashes in Sweida have halted after a ceasefire agreement was reached between the government, the Druze group and the Bedouins over the weekend.

Another ceasefire has been agreed between Syria and Israel. The contract was announced by the US Ambassador, Turkish Tom Barrack. Turkey Tom Barrack said it was “accepted” by Türkiye, Jordan and other neighbouring countries.

CNN
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Venezuela says it has launched a formal investigation into several Salvadoran officials, including President Naive Buquere, on alleged abuse of Venezuelan immigrants deported from the United States.

In exchange for 10 US citizens and dozens of Venezuelan political prisoners, around 252 Venezuelans who were incarcerated in the infamous CECOT prison in March were released on Friday and returned to their home countries, U.S. officials said.

Venezuela previously accused El Salvador of luring detainees after detaining them. El Salvador claimed that the detainees had connections with Venezuelan gangster Tren de Aragua, but immigration lawyers, supporters and families pushed it back, and in many cases the detainees had no criminal history.

Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab held a press conference Monday to show compiled footage of detainees dealing with alleged abuse and talking about their prison experiences. Saab said the authorities have collected 123 complaints of abuse, including reports of sexual assault, torture and assault by Salvador prison guards.

In one of the videos, the man says he was sexually abused.

In another, several detainees claiming they were beaten and shot with pellets and pepper spray, showing visible bruises and scars throughout their bodies.

CNN cannot independently verify the extent of the injury, when maintained, or whether a man is speaking under obsessive compulsion. It reached out to President Salvador for comment.

In the past, the Bukere regime has respected the human rights of people detained “without discrimination of nationality,” and said that its prison system meets standards of security and order.

Venezuela is facing accusations of prison abuse, but its government argues it respects the rights of prisoners.

The released immigrants have not yet reunited with their Venezuelan families. Officials say they have undergone health, immigration and criminal history checks, among other procedures. This is a daily process for developers returning to the country.

The two relatives of the former appellant told CNN they were still waiting for Venezuelan officials to hand them over to their families. One relative said her nephew could be handed over today. CNN was unable to access any of the released Venezuelans.

The migrants arrived at Simon Bolivar International Airport near Caraca on two flights departing from El Salvador, said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The family of the former appellant told CNN on Friday that they were excited about their return.

Mariyin Araujo, wife of Jerce Reyes, said she was “a joy.”

“My two daughters are so happy. They are really worried and can’t wait to see their dad,” she said Friday.

Blanca Martinez, partner of Miguel Angel Rojas, another former Venezuelan detainee, told CNN she was excited to hear from him for the first time in four months.

“When I think we can hear him…it excites me,” she said. “I am happy and happy to him, his son, his mom, his dad and his whole family.”