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SALE, Morocco — The appeal opened on Wednesday in the case of 24 men convicted over the beheadings of two young Scandinavian women on a hiking trip in Morocco's High Atlas mountains last December.

The appeal at the court in Sale, near Rabat, comes six weeks after three Daesh supporters were sentenced to death over the murders which have shocked the North African country.

The other defendants, including the only non-Moroccan, Spanish-Swiss Muslim convert Kevin Zoller Guervos, were handed jail terms ranging from five years to life.

The accused were transported to court in high security for the appeal, which was adjourned until September 11 after a brief hearing during which procedural issues were discussed.

While those convicted are seeking lighter punishments, the family of 24-year-old Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen are urging the court to uphold the July 18 sentences, lawyers said.

Jespersen and her hiking companion, 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland, nature lovers who were training to be guides, were on a Christmas holiday hiking trip when they were killed.

Their lives were cut short in the foothills of Toubkal, the highest summit in north Africa, some 80 kilometres from the city of Marrakesh, a tourist magnet.

Prosecutors and social media users had called for the death penalty for all three main suspects, despite Morocco having a de facto freeze on executions since 1993.

Alleged ringleader Abdessamad Ejjoud had appealed to God to "forgive" him during his trial.

The 25-year-old street vendor and underground imam has confessed to orchestrating the attack with two other radicalised Moroccans.

Younes Ouaziyad, a 27-year-old carpenter who admitted to beheading one of the tourists, also asked for "God's forgiveness".

Rachid Afatti, 33, had admitted to filming the grisly murders on his mobile phone.

All but three of those on trial had said they were supporters of the Daesh group, according to the prosecution, although Daesh  itself has never claimed responsibility for the murders.

Khaled El Fataoui, lawyer for Jespersen's family, aims to prove the state's moral responsibility for the killings and to seek financial compensation.

The court, for its part, has ordered the three main accused to pay 2 million dirhams ($200,000) in compensation to Ueland's parents, although El Fataoui has said they did not have the means.

The defence team of those convicted has argued there were "mitigating circumstances on account of their precarious social conditions and psychological disequilibrium".

Coming from modest backgrounds, with a "very low" level of education, the defendants mostly lived in low-income areas of Marrakesh.

Guervos, the Spanish-Swiss defendant, was accused of having taught the main suspects how to use an encrypted messaging service and to use weapons. He was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison for joining a "terrorist group".

ADEN — Yemen government forces reclaimed the interim capital Aden and its presidential palace on Wednesday, a minister said, pushing back separatists who seized the city and other parts of the south earlier this month.

The separatists' losses came nearly three weeks after the pro-independence Southern Transitional Council (STC) took control of Aden, the government's base since Houthi rebels took over the northern capital Sanaa in 2014.

Forces loyal to the internationally recognised government of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi were able "to secure the presidential palace in Aden and the surrounding areas", Information Minister Muammar Al Eryani tweeted.

"The national army and security services have full control over the province's districts."

The clashes between the STC and government forces — who for years have fought alongside each other against the Iran-aligned Houthis — have raised concerns that the famine-threatened country could break apart entirely.

The separatists' seizure of Aden was seen as a major gain allowing the Security Belt, a paramilitary force loyal to the STC, to press on to take other strategic areas. 

However, the Yemeni government drafted in reinforcements from the north and mounted a pushback that appears to have met little resistance.

An AFP correspondent in the east of the city witnessed shelling by advancing government forces who came fresh from their success in taking back control of Abyan province to the east on Wednesday.

A pro-government source told AFP that fighting had erupted in the streets of Aden as loyalist troops fanned out there.

Abyan was the second southern province to be retaken by government forces in southern Yemen in days following clashes with the Security Belt.

Earlier in the week, government forces also regained control of Shabwa province after beating back an attack by STC forces.

The Yemeni interior ministry issued a statement urging the separatists to "lay down their arms" and surrender. 

The new fighting comes despite repeated calls for a ceasefire by a Saudi-led coalition, which intervened in the war in 2015 in support of the government after the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of Yemen — the Arab world’s poorest nation.

Since then, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, in what the United Nations has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

While they have also fought against the Houthis, STC forces want to see South Yemen regain the independence it gave up with unification in 1990.

The separatists want to address what they say is a history of exploitation and marginalisation of their people.

“We will sail together towards the safe harbour chosen by our people who have fought for this for so long,” STC leader Aidarous Al Zoubeidi — a popular and charismatic figure in the south — said in a speech on Tuesday.

The separatists have received support and training from the United Arab Emirates, even though it is a key pillar in the Saudi-led coalition backing the Yemeni government against the Houthi rebels.

Analysts say the break between Hadi’s government and the separatists reflects a wider rift between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

But the UAE has rejected accusations it supported the separatists in their seizure of Aden and said it was “exerting all efforts to de-escalate the situation in Yemen”. 

In a joint statement this week, Saudi Arabia and the UAE called for cooperation with a coalition committee and for peace talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

KHARTOUM — After months of unrest, Sudan's newly-appointed prime minister is due on Wednesday to announce a Cabinet that will be the first since veteran ruler Omar Al Bashir was deposed more than four months ago.

Premier Abdalla Hamdok is set to name his key picks from a field put forward by the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) — a grouping born of a movement that initially took to the streets against Bashir's 30-year rule and then forced the military rulers who deposed him to share power. 

"I received on Tuesday afternoon the nominees for ministers provided by the FFC," Hamdok said, adding that it includes 49 nominees for 14 ministries.

The planned announcement comes after a joint civilian-military sovereign council was sworn in last week to steer the country through a three-year transition period. 

On Saturday, Hamdok told a local TV channel that he would select technocrats based on their "competence". 

"We are looking to create a homogeneous team to level up to these challenges," he said.

The Cabinet is expected to be selected largely by Hamdok, with key exceptions being the interior and defence ministers, who will be chosen by the military members of Sudan's ruling body.

The first meeting bringing together the new government and the joint ruling council is scheduled for September 1.

'Sustainable peace' 

Women's rights activist Tahani Abbas raised concerns about gender balance within the new government.

"I have mixed feelings towards the coming Cabinet. The leaked composition of the government suggests that it doesn't represent women to a satisfactory extent," she said. 

In his Tuesday statement, Hamdok said he would take into account a "fair representation of women".

Sudan’s 11-member sovereign council, which now rules the country, includes two women among six civilian appointees. The other five members are generals. 

Abbas has called for 50 per cent representation of women across transitional government structures. 

Earlier in August, the FFC and the generals officially signed a power-sharing deal outlining Sudan’s transitional period. 

The deal included forming a legislative body of no more than 300 people and allotted 40 per cent of the seats to women.

Sudanese analyst Osman Mirghani said “the coming Cabinet will enjoy a massive popular backing as it confronts the challenges ahead.” 

Mirghani, who is also the editor-in-chief of independent daily Al Tayyar, says the Cabinet should prioritise striking peace deals with armed groups across Sudan, especially those that rejected the transition roadmap. 

The landmark agreement included a pledge to forge peace with armed groups within six months. 

Hamdok has vowed to “end war and bring about sustainable peace” in Sudan. 

Rebel groups from marginalised regions including Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan state waged long wars against Bashir’s government forces. 

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the three conflicts and millions displaced, with hundreds of thousands still living in sprawling camps.

Bashir was indicted by The Hague-based International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide in the vast western region of Darfur.

Cautious optimism 

Another pressing challenge before the government is economic recovery. 

Sudan’s economy was dealt devastating blows by two decades of US sanctions, which were only lifted in 2017, and the 2011 secession of the oil-rich south. 

Spiralling inflation and acute hardship were the main triggers for the anti-Bashir protests that erupted in December. 

Much-needed foreign investment remains hampered by Sudan’s designation by the US as a state sponsor of terrorism. 

Hamdok said he is holding talks with US officials to remove his country from Washington’s blacklist. 

Eager for change, Sudanese are eyeing the new government with cautious optimism. 

“I’m very optimistic especially after the new PM’s remarks that he would choose Cabinet members based on their competence,” said 32-year-old Mohamed Amin, who works for an import-export company.

“Their skills will be put to true test as they face the challenges ahead.” 

Mohamed Babiker, a 65-year-old farmer, agreed. 

For him, revamping the economy is tied to the government’s ability to tap into the country’s natural resources and agricultural potential. 

“If it manages to do so, it would go a long way towards stability,” he said.

QAMISHLI, Syria — The Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria said Tuesday their forces had started to withdraw from outposts along the Turkish border after a US-Turkish deal for a buffer zone there.

They said work had begun Saturday on "the first practical steps — in the Ras Al Ain area — in removing some earth mounds and withdrawing a group of [Kurdish] People's Protection Units and heavy weapons".

On Monday, they repeated the same steps in Tal Abyad, "showing the seriousness of our commitment to current understandings" on the buffer zone, the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration said in a statement.

The so-called "safe zone" agreed by Washington and Ankara earlier this month aims to create a buffer between the Turkish border and Syrian areas controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), a group Ankara sees as "terrorists".

Details of the safe zone are currently hazy, and no final date has been set for when it would be established. 

But on Monday, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish troops would soon enter northeast Syria.

"Our armed drones, drones and helicopters are in the region," he said.

"We expect our ground troops to enter the region very soon," he told supporters in eastern Turkey.

On Saturday, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said a US-Turkey operations centre aimed at creating the buffer area was at "full capacity".

He said the first joint helicopter flight took place on Saturday afternoon. 

Mazlum Abdi, the chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, on Saturday said his forces would support the implementation of the US-Turkey deal.

Turkey has repeatedly threatened to attack Kurdish-held areas in northeast Syria.

Ankara considers the YPG, which forms the backbone of the SDF, to be an extension the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) — a group that has fought a bloody insurgency inside Turkey for 35 years.

The “safe zone” was initially suggested by Washington to dissuade Ankara from carrying out another cross-border attack, after previous offensives in 2016 and 2018.

The YPG has been a key partner to Washington in the fight against the Daesh group in Syria.

But as the fight against Daesh winds down in the region, the prospect of a US military withdrawal has stoked Kurdish fears of another Turkish attack. 

Syria’s Kurds have largely stayed out of the country’s eight-year civil war, instead building their own autonomous institutions in areas they control.

RIYADH — With burger patties sizzling over a hot grill, a Saudi eatery did the unthinkable as a muezzin's call to prayer sent Muslim worshippers scrambling to lower their shutters: It stayed open.

The scene, amid a sweeping reform drive, was a striking contrast to the days when religious police wielded unbridled powers and drove people out of malls and shops to enforce the Islamic world's only mandatory prayer-time shutdown.

Last month Riyadh, keen to stimulate an economy hit by low oil prices, decreed that some businesses can stay open 24 hours a day for an unspecified fee.

But the decision triggered confusion over whether it includes the five daily Islamic prayer times.

Stores in some Riyadh malls saw it as a nod-and-a-wink approach to avert a conservative backlash, testing what could be one of the most sensitive of a string of reforms in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

The burger shop manager showed AFP a text from its Saudi owner, instructing him to stay open: "The [government] decides to allow shops, restaurants and markets to work for 24 hours and the decision includes... prayer times."

It was among a handful of eateries in Riyadh’s upscale Kingdom Centre mall openly catering to customers during the sunset Maghrib prayer.

At another leading Riyadh mall, Al Nakheel, a similar scene played out during the evening Isha prayer.

While many retailers rolled down their shutters, several cafes and restaurants teeming with customers kept their cash registers ringing, while children continued to bounce around in an indoor amusement park.

“Most of the time stores here are [now] open during prayer time,” Francis, an Asian coffee shop manager, told AFP.

Two other shop managers said they had paid no government fee to stay open, but were cautiously testing the waters, as officials appeared to be looking the other way.

“Those [workers] who want to pray can pray, those who want to work can work,” one of them said, pointing out that many were non-Muslim and had previously been obliged to idle away time.

The other manager, who also requested anonymity due to the issue’s sensitivity, said he would still shut shop if confronted by the religious police.

Until three years ago, the religious police elicited widespread fear, chasing men and women out of malls to pray and berating anyone seen mingling with the opposite sex.

But the bearded enforcers of public morality, whose powers have been clipped in recent years, are now largely out of sight.

Retailers could take advantage of “vague government statements to stay open, especially with the relative absence of the religious police that was responsible for enforcing the system”, Eman Alhussein, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told AFP.

Pillar of Islam 

Following the pre-dawn Fajr prayer, shops in the kingdom typically have to close four times daily, with workers often out of action for more than 30 minutes.

But it is too soon to know the financial impact of easing a restriction that members of the advisory Shura Council say costs the Saudi economy tens of billions of riyals a year.

“The ability to make closing for prayer more optional would increase worker productivity and possibly overall business activity” as the kingdom seeks to boost non-oil revenue and tackle high youth unemployment, said Karen Young from the American Enterprise Institute.

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has rolled out a series of reforms over the past two years, including allowing women to drive, reopening cinemas and reining in clerical power as he seeks to project a business-friendly image.

The reaction of arch-conservatives has so far been muted, given his parallel crackdown on dissent.

But in a series of tweets last year, the religious police, officially known as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, said it was forbidden to keep stores open during prayer, calling it “one of the most important pillars of Islam”.

‘Testing reactions’ 

Last month, Saudi state media reported that the kingdom will allow round-the-clock trading — for what some local media said was a fee of up to 100,000 riyals ($27,000). 

But nothing was said about prayer times.

Confusion reigned after Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television first tweeted that the decision included prayers, but quickly deleted it after a government official rejected the claim on air.

Saudi Arabia’s media ministry and the mall operators did not respond to requests for comment.

Not all shops are staying open, however. One Turkish eatery said it preferred to close during prayers as the vague government ruling offered “no guarantees” it would not be penalised.

Beyond large malls, shops also appear to be observing the shutdown, even as some operate on the quiet after rolling down their shutters.

“Give it time,” said Amer, a Saudi pharmacist in his 40s, buying a coffee and dessert at Al Nakheel during Isha prayer.

“The government is testing reactions. If there is no [backlash] they might make it official.”

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories — Israel launched an air strike against Gaza's Hamas rulers on Tuesday after the Israeli army alleged a mortar round was fired from the strip across the border.

Witnesses in the coastal enclave told AFP that fire from an Israeli drone hit Hamas facilities east of Al Bureij refugee camp.

No injuries were reported.

"A short while ago a mortar shell was identified as having been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory," an Israeli army statement claimed in English.

"In response, an Israel Defence Forces aircraft targeted a Hamas military post in the northern Gaza Strip."

Tuesday’s events were the latest in a string of cross-border incidents which have raised concerns of further escalation before Israel’s September 17 elections.

On Monday Israeli warplanes hit what the military said were “targets in a Hamas military compound in the northern Gaza Strip, including the office of a Hamas battalion commander”.

Israel also announced it was slashing by half the fuel it pipes to the strip’s main power station, meaning a cut to Gaza’s already meagre electricity supply. 

Israel and Gaza have fought three wars since 2008.

August has seen several threats to a fragile ceasefire.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting for reelection in the September polls, with political opponents calling for tougher action against Islamist movement Hamas.