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Leeds student jailed in Saudi Arabia for 34 years over tweets is released

Campaigners have welcomed the release of a Saudi PhD student at Leeds University who was sentenced to 34 years in prison for posting tweets in support of women’s rights.

Salma al-Shehab, 36, is understood to have left the prison in Saudi Arabia where she was being held and has been reunited with her two young children.

“It is fantastic news,” said Lina al-Hathloul, head of monitoring and advocacy at the Europe-based Saudi rights group ALQST. “She has not seen her children during her whole four years of imprisonment.”

Al-Shehab was arrested while on holiday in Saudi Arabia in January 2021. Campaigners say she was kept in solitary confinement for more than nine months before she was brought before Saudi Arabia’s specialised criminal court.

She was initially sentenced to serve three years in prison for the “crime” of using a website to “cause public unrest and destabilise civil and national security”.

An appeals court later handed down the new sentence – 34 years in prison followed by a 34-year travel ban – after a public prosecutor asked the court to consider other alleged crimes.

The additional charges included the allegation that al-Shehab was “assisting those who seek to cause public unrest and destabilise civil and national security by following their Twitter accounts” and by retweeting their tweets.

Amnesty International said her “crime” was no more than “posting tweets in support of women’s rights”.

Last March an open letter was signed by more than 300 academics, students and employees at Leeds University calling for al-Shehab’s immediate release. It said she had been jailed “on the basis of peaceful tweets”.

Al-Hathloul said al-Shehab had had a hard time in prison. “It has been difficult for her,” she said. “Not seeing her kids, not knowing whether she could complete her PhD. She was originally sentenced to six years, then it was increased to 34 years and then it was reduced to 27 years and then 4 years. It has been a nightmare really not to even be able to trust the judiciary and its decisions

“She is very strong. Salma is a very brave woman. She went on hunger strike to complain about the conditions.”

In June 2023 the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) found her detention to be arbitrary and called for her immediate release.

Al-Hathhoul said al-Shehab was not an exception. “She is symbolic of a pattern. She was released because of this pressure but many more others still remain in prison for the same charges.”

The battle now was to get al-Shehab’s travel ban lifted so she could return to Leeds where she is a dental student, al-Hathhoul said. (Guardian)

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Supreme Court reserves ruling on appeal seeking to nullify Rivers LG polls

The Supreme Court, yesterday, reserved judgment in the appeal the All Progressives Congress, APC, filed to nullify the outcome of the Local Government elections that held in Rivers State on October 5, 2024.

A five-member panel of the apex court, headed by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, okayed the matter for judgment, after parties adopted their final briefs of argument.

The court had earlier in the day dismissed an appeal Governor Siminialayi Fubara filed to challenge another judgment that sought to compel him to re-present the 2024 budget of the state before the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State Assembly, which he argued had been overtaken by event.

Meanwhile, the Opposition Coalition has clarified that no Supreme Court judgment was issued against Fubara, despite speculations to the contrary, adding that Oko Jumbo remains the legitimate Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

While the APC, through its team of lawyers, led by Mr. J. Daudu, urged the Supreme Court to set-aside the November 21, 2024, judgment of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which declined to invalidate the election, Mr. Yusuf Ali, who announced appearance for Fubara, as well as Chris Uche, who represented the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, sought the dismissal of the appeal.

Recall that the appellate court vacated the judgment that barred the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from releasing voters register to the RSIEC for the conduct of the LG polls.

The Justice Onyekachi Otisi-led panel, in a unanimous decision, held that the high court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain suit against the Rivers State LG elections.

According to the appellate court, section 28 of the Electoral Act does not cover elections conducted by states but only Federal elections, governorship and Area Council Elections in the Federal Capital Territory.

Meantime, the Supreme Court adjourned the case for judgment on a day it dismissed an appeal Fubara filed to challenge another judgment that sought to compel him to re-present the 2024 budget of the state before Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State Assembly.

When the appeal was called up for hearing, yesterday, Fubara’s lawyer applied to withdraw it, saying it had been overtaken by events.

Neither Wole Olanipekun, who stood for the Amaewhule-led Rivers State lawmakers, nor Mr. Daudu, who represented the 3rd to 12th defendants, challenged the withdrawal, though they persuaded the apex court to award N2million cost to each of them.

The respondents further convinced the Justice Abba-Aji-led panel to dismiss the matter instead of striking it out, noting that they have already exchanged processes with the Appellant.

Maintaining that Fubara’s loss was “self-inflicted,” the appelate court held that since his counter-affidavit was withdrawn, “the appellant is deemed to have admitted the rather weighty facts that were presented by the respondents.”

The Supreme Court, yesterday, also reserved its verdict on seven consolidated appeals that are trailing the Appeal Court judgment that vacated the order that initially stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, from releasing monthly statutory allocations to Rivers State.

Factional members of the Rivers State Assembly loyal to the immediate past governor of the state and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mr. Nyesom Wike, had insisted that all federal monthly allocations meant for Rivers state, should be withheld.

On his part, governor Fubara argued that the Amaewhule-led group had since ceased to be lawmakers in the state, having decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which sponsored their election, to the All Progressives Congress, APC. (Vanguard)

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Lula pushes mega-oil project as Brazil prepares to host COP30

Brazil’s president this week amped up pressure for a major oil project to go ahead at the mouth of the Amazon River, despite criticism from environmentalists as the country prepares to host UN climate talks in November.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 79, aspires to make Brazil a leader in the fight against global warming, but has fiercely defended oil exploration as key to the growth of Latin America’s biggest economy.

“We want oil because it will be around for a long time,” Lula said Wednesday, arguing that the windfall from the black gold should be used “to finance the energy transition, which will be very expensive.

He was speaking as Brazil’s environmental protection agency IBAMA, an autonomous public body, is mulling whether to grant state-owned oil giant Petrobras an exploration license in an offshore area known as the Equatorial Margin.

That maritime area extends over 350,000 square kilometers (135,000 square miles) across northern Brazil and lies some 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the mouth of the Amazon River.

Petrobras estimates the potential reserves in the basin at 10 billion barrels.

Brazil’s proven reserves amounted to 15.9 billion barrels in 2023, according to the government.

However, the project has been highly criticized, given that fossil fuels such as oil are the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming.

The first two years of Lula’s third presidential mandate saw multiple environmental successes, with a sharp reduction in deforestation and the upward revision of greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

But experts say the looming oil project tarnishes Lula’s environmental ambitions, just a few months before COP30 — the 30th session of the UN climate change conference — is held for the first time in the Amazon, in the city of Belem.

“You can’t be a climate leader and at the same time aim to increase the production of fossil fuels,” said Suely Araujo, from Brazilian NGO Climate Observatory.

Araujo, a former IBAMA president, said the argument that the energy transition can be financed with oil revenues “is tantamount to saying that we want to wage war to obtain peace.”

“Opening the Amazon to fuel exploration goes against the (government’s) discourse on preserving the Amazon to help regulate the climate,” said Ilan Zugman, Latin America director of the 350.org climate NGO.

Almost half of the energy consumed in Brazil comes from renewable sources, more than three times the global average, according to official data.

But the country is also Latin America’s largest oil producer and the eighth largest in the world, producing an average of 3.4 million barrels of oil per day in 2024.

Lula has pointed out that countries like Guyana and Suriname were already “exploring oil very close to our Equatorial Margin.”

“We need to find a solution in which we guarantee the country, the world and the people that we will not blow up any trees, nothing in the Amazon River, nothing in the Atlantic Ocean,” Lula said this week.

Toya Manchineri, from the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon, warned that the project also threatened Indigenous peoples and could cause “irreversible environmental damage, destroying forests and polluting rivers.” (Vanguard)

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Sony’s PlayStation Network reports major global outage


Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN), which connects gamers online on its systems, experienced a massive outage that lasted about 24 hours.

PlayStation Support posted an update on X that users “should be able to access online features without any problems now,” following reports of outages on Friday.

The service issues began on Friday at 7 p.m. ET, according to PlayStation’s status website. The outage had made it difficult for many users to access account management, gaming, video, the PlayStation Store and Direct services on the internet and their console devices, like the PlayStation 5.

The outage was among the longest the platform has experienced.

In April 2011, almost all of PlayStation Network’s subscribers lost access to its services for nearly a month following a data breach.

Sony and PlayStation did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment. PlayStation has not stated what caused the outage.

Some users had posted to TikTok and X that they were regaining access on Saturday afternoon, though some claimed the functioning service was only temporary. PSN has an estimated 116 million monthly users, according to Sony Interactive Entertainment estimates from September 30.

On Friday night, the services team for Marvel Rivals — a game released in December on platforms including PlayStation — posted to X that users “might have difficulty launching games, apps, or network features.”

The post also said that they were “actively communicating with the PlayStation team.”

“We’re seeing players able to log-in and play again on PlayStation platforms, but not all game services may be back online,” Fortnite’s services team posted to X on Saturday afternoon. (CNN)

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Saudi Arabia slams Netanyahu’s suggestion it should host Palestinian state

Saudi Arabia has condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s suggestion that the kingdom’s land be used to establish a Palestinian state.

In a statement on Sunday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry accused Netanyahu of attempting to “divert attention” from Israel’s ongoing “crimes” in Gaza, including “ethnic cleansing”.

“The kingdom affirms that the Palestinian people have a right to their land, and they are not intruders or immigrants to it who can be expelled whenever the brutal Israeli occupation wishes,” said the Foreign Ministry.

On Thursday, Netanyahu responded to an interviewer on Israel’s Channel 14 who misspoke by saying “Saudi state” instead of “Palestinian state”.

“The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there,” Netanyahu said.

The interviewer replied that it was an idea worth exploring.

The exchange drew angry reactions from Arab states, including Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq, as well as the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

“These dangerous and irresponsible statements confirm the approach of the Israeli occupation forces in their disrespect for international and UN laws and treaties and the sovereignty of states,” said GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry thanked the “brotherly countries” for denouncing Netanyahu’s remarks.

Discussions of the fate of Palestinians in Gaza had already been upended by an earlier shock proposal from United States President Donald Trump for the US to “take over” and “own” Gaza, resettling Palestinians elsewhere in a move that would amount to ethnic cleansing. That suggestion, amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, has also been roundly condemned by Arab leaders.

Trump has also said Saudi Arabia would not require the formation of a Palestinian state as a precondition to normalise ties with Israel, a claim Riyadh has repeatedly denied.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 61,700 Palestinians including about 18,000 children, and wrecked much of the enclave’s infrastructure. More than 14,000 more people are missing and are presumed to be dead.

The Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 that sparked the war killed 1,139 people and seized more than 250 captives, dozens of whom are still believed to be in the enclave. (AlJazeera)

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Man, 22, faces motorcycle theft charge

A 22-year-old man, Muhammed Abdulazeez, on Wednesday appeared before an Ojo Magistrates’ Court in Lagos for allegedly stealing a TVS Motorcycle.

The defendant is standing trial before Magistrate Mr. L.K.J Layeni, on a count charge of stealing.

He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The prosecutor, ASP Simon Uche, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on Jan. 22, at the Alaba Rago area of Ojo.

He alleged that the defendant stole a red colour of TVS Motorcycle with registration number KSF 704 QH.

According to him, the motorcycle belongs to one Mr. Mohammed Sanni and is valued at N800,000.

The offence contravene the provision of Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The court granted the defendant bail in the sum of N500,000 with one surety in like sum.

The magistrate adjourned the case until March 5 for mention. (Guardian)

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Four lawmakers suspended after fight erupts in Ghana’s Parliament

The Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has suspended four lawmakers for two weeks following a violent altercation during a ministerial screening session on Thursday.

The suspended lawmakers, Rockson Dafeamakpor, Frank Annor-Dompreh, Alhassan Tampuuli, and Jerry Shai, were on Friday penalised for what Bagbin described as a “gross affront to the dignity of parliament and a blatant contempt of the House”.

It was gathered that the speaker also announced a two-week suspension of four lawmakers for “contemptus parlamenti in facie parlamenti”.

The clash occurred during the vetting of ministerial nominees from the ruling National Democratic Congress.

Lawmakers from the opposition New Patriotic Party accused the vetting committee of rushing the process, while NDC members alleged that the opposition was deliberately stalling proceedings with prolonged questioning.

Tensions reached a breaking point when NPP’s leader in parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, questioned Samuel George, the nominee for communications minister, for over five hours.

The prolonged interrogation led to frustration among committee members, triggering the brawl.

Furniture was overturned, microphones were destroyed, and lawmakers exchanged blows.

A special seven-member committee has been tasked with investigating the incident and is expected to submit its report within 10 days.

Additionally, the cost of repairs for damaged parliamentary property will be deducted from the allowances of those found responsible.

This marks the third time in four years that Ghana’s lawmakers have resorted to physical confrontations during legislative proceedings.

Similar incidents occurred in 2021 during the election of a new speaker and later that year during debates on the electronic transaction levy bill. (Punch)

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Merkel criticises her party leader after far-right vote

Germany’s former Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticised her own party leader for passing a motion in parliament with support from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

In a statement, Merkel accused CDU leader Friedrich Merz of turning his back on a previous pledge not to work with AfD in the Bundestag.

The parliament descended into heckles on Wednesday after votes from the far-right party meant a non-binding CDU motion on tougher immigration rules was passed.

This is a highly unusual intervention by the woman who led Germany for 16 years, stepping in to criticise the actions of her former political rival.

Merz, who is tipped to be Germany’s next chancellor due to CDU’s lead in the polls, said on Wednesday that a policy was not wrong just because the “wrong people back it” and that he had not sought nor wanted AfD’s support.

But Merkel accused him of breaking a pledge he made in November to work with the Social Democratic Party and the Greens to pass legislation, not AfD.

This was to ensure “neither in determining the agenda nor in voting on the matter here in the House will there be a random or actually brought about majority with those from the AfD,” read a quote from Merz in Merkel’s statement.

The former chancellor said she fully supported this earlier “expression of great state political responsibility”.

“I think it is wrong to no longer feel bound by this proposal and thereby knowingly allow the AfD to gain a majority in a vote in the German Bundestag on 29 January 2025 for the first time.”

She said “all democratic parties” needed to work together “to do everything they can to prevent such terrible attacks in the future as those that took place shortly before Christmas in Magdeburg and a few days ago in Aschaffenburg”.

This is a rare intervention from Merkel.

To openly criticise her own party’s candidate for chancellor – just weeks out from an election – is a big move and will add rocket fuel to a an already explosive story in German politics.

Merkel and Merz go back a long way – and not as the best of friends.

He was famously side-lined by Merkel in the early 2000s after she won out in a CDU power struggle.

Merz would go on to quit front-line politics for many years before making his return. (BBC)