Headline

French Court Sentences Saudi Navy Officer To 10 Years For Rape

Published

9 months ago

September 5, 2025

A French court on Friday sentenced a Saudi navy officer to 10 years in prison for the 2021 rape of a woman in France.

Meshari Al Shamrani was tried in absentia. He had been released under judicial supervision during the investigation, but failed to check in with the police in January.

Al Shamrani, who was 24 at the time of the rape, attended an engineering school in the western French city of Brest.

He was known as being “gifted and disciplined” at the school, which he attended as part of a Saudi-French cooperation agreement, according to chief prosecutor Elsa Guyonvarch.

But in his personal life, he discovered “a freedom, a moral permissiveness that was unknown to him”, the prosecutor said, adding that this “culture shock” helped to explain his behaviour without justifying it.

Al Shamrani, who got married in Saudi Arabia in 2020, also had a girlfriend in Brest, where he regularly threw parties involving copious amounts of alcohol, the court heard.

After one such evening, a 22-year-old woman stayed over because she had no means of getting home, and woke up to find Al Shamrani penetrating her.

She fought him off, got away, and alerted the police.

“He completely omitted to seek her consent,” said the prosecutor, who had asked for eight years of prison for the accused.

DNA and gynaecological testing backed the woman’s version of events that night that she told the court still haunted her years later.

“I was devastated, I cried all the time and didn’t want to go out,” she said.

Al Shamrani, who at first denied the accusation but then admitted what had happened, told police that he had assumed the woman “wanted to make love because she took her trousers off”.

France has issued a European arrest warrant for the officer, without success so far.
AFP

Headline

Indian Court Denies Bail To Nigerian Man Over Drug Charges

Published

54 minutes ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

A court in India has denied bail to a 44-year-old Nigerian national, Cristian Soporuchukwu, who is currently facing drug trafficking charges in the country.

Cristian Soporuchukwu initially entered India on a business visa but was later arrested over allegations of involvement in the sale of hard drugs.

Reports indicated that after arriving in India, Soporuchukwu travelled through Goa, Delhi, and Mumbai, where he allegedly established links with suspected drug traffickers.

He was accused of purchasing MDMA crystals and distributing them to college students and information technology workers.

According to reports, operatives of the Beguru Police arrested Cristian Soporuchukwu in April 2025 for allegedly selling MDMA crystals around Begur Lake and the AECS Layout Road area.

The New Indian Express reported that the High Court of Karnataka subsequently dismissed the Nigerian’s bail application.

“The anti-narcotics wing seized about 1 kg of MDMA crystals, a pocket weighing machine, 10 zip-lock covers, a mobile phone and a scooter from him,” the report stated.

Justice V. Srishananda, while ruling on the bail application, reportedly held that errors relating to the grounds of arrest could not automatically justify bail in serious narcotics-related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, NDPS, Act.

The court further noted that Cristian Soporuchukwu had allegedly overstayed his visa in India, according to the report.

Headline

Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

1 hour ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

1 hour ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.