171618151920The Guardian Weekly 14 January 2022
(^11) SAUDI ARABIA
Dissident princess released
from jail after three years
Princess Basmah bint Saud bin
Abdulaziz Al Saud , a human
rights advocate, and her daughter,
Souhoud Al Sharif , were
released from state prison after
spending three years without
charge. Basmah, 57, had been a
staunch critic of her cousin and
Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader,
Mohammed bin Salman. Mystery
surrounds the pair’s detention and
release although Saudi dissidents
and rights activists say Basmah
had been vocal about a crackdown
on dissent and consolidation of
power led by Prince Mohammed.
She had also been critical of the
kingdom’s treatment of women.
12 SAUDI ARABIA
Rally team say bomb caused
blast that injured driver
French rally driver Philippe
Boutron , who was seriously
injured in an explosion in Jeddah
on 30 December, emerged from
a medically induced coma , but
his team have claimed Saudi
authorities are trying to cover up
the cause of the incident after they
said there was no evidence that
the explosion was criminal. The
blast damaged a vehicle Boutron
was driving for the Sodicars
Racing team that was competing
in the Dakar rally. French anti-
terrorism investigators have
opened a preliminary inquiry into
“multiple attempted killings as
part of a terrorist group”.
(^13) CHINA
Outbreaks of Omicron in
two provinces recorded
State media described outbreaks
of coronavirus in at least two
distant provinces as China’s “fi rst
real battle against Omicron”.
On Monday, health authorities
reported 97 new locally
transmitted cases for the preceding
24 hours, across several cities.
At least 30 cases were in Henan
province, while 21 new cases were
reported in the Tianjin district of
Jinnan, including 15 children aged
fi ve to 15. In response, Tianjin
authorities have tightened controls
on people’s movements.
Spotlight Page 21
14 AUSTRALIA
Border Force starts new
probe into Djokovic visa
The Australian Border Force was
this week investigating whether
Novak Djokovic incorrectly
declared he had not travelled and
would not do so for two weeks
before his fl ight to Australia, in the
latest twist in the tennis star’s visa
cancellation saga. Social media
posts seem to show he was in
Belgrade on 25 December before
fl ying to Australia from Spain on
4 January. Despite a win in court
restoring his visa , Djokovic’s fate
was due to be determined by the
immigration minister, Alex Hawke.
A ny decision to recancel the visa
would likely be met by a fresh legal
challenge from Djokovic.
Spotlight Page 20