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British student imprisoned for life in UAE for spying

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Kabul bombing death toll rises to 55, and the Leaning tower of Pisa has lost 4 centimetres of its tilt.

Durham University student sentenced to life in prison in UAE on spying charges

A British student has been sentenced to life in prison in the United Arab Emirates on accusations of spying for the UK government, reports The Washington Post.

Matthew Hedges, a 31-year-old student at Durham University in northern England, was arrested on 5 May at the Dubai International Airport and was handed the sentence at an Abu Dhabi court in a hearing that lasted less than five minutes, and with no lawyer present.

“Today’s verdict is not what we expect from a friend and trusted partner of the United Kingdom and runs contrary to earlier assurances,” British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in a statement.

He also said that the UAE, Britain’s fourth-largest export market outside the European Union, might face repercussions for this move.

“I am in complete shock and I don’t know what to do. Matthew is innocent. The Foreign Office know this and have made it clear to the UAE authorities that Matthew is not a spy for them,” Hedges’s wife Daniela Tejada said in a statement Wednesday.

Following the incident, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she was “deeply disappointed and concerned at the verdict and would raise the case with UAE authorities.”

Death toll rises in Kabul wedding hall bombing

The death toll from a bombing on a religious gathering of scholars celebrating the birthday of Prophet Muhammad in the Afghan capital Tuesday killed 55 people and wounded 94, the Afghan Health Ministry announced Wednesday.

The attack took place at the Uranus Wedding Hall, about two miles away from the Kabul airport, where US troops are stationed, reports The Washington Post.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion fell on the Islamic State.

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani called the attack unforgivable and declared Wednesday a national day of mourning.

US ambassador in Afghanistan John R. Bass said on Twitter that he was sickened and deeply saddened by the terrorist attack.

Maldives should make a wise choice with China

Maldives is garnering widespread attention for its move to consider pulling out of a free trade agreement (FTA) with China after the nation said it made a mistake striking a deal with the world’s second-largest economy, writes Hu Weijia for The Global Times.

The FTA between China and the Maldives will cut tariffs on 95 per cent of goods involved in bilateral trade to zero and thus reduce the price of many consumer goods, writes Weijia.

Maldives will face greater losses than China if it pulls out of the agreement, reads the piece.

Such politicisation of an economic issue is likely to deal a severe blow to the Maldives’ economy, it adds.

Leaning Tower of Pisa loses some of its tilt

The Leaning Tower of Pisa has lost four centimeters of its tilt over the past 17 years, reports CNN.

The movement comes after extensive consolidation work done between 1993 and 2001, as part of which workers removed some of the soil on the other side of the tower to help balance the weight of the structure.

“The reduction of the tilt will not last forever — but it’s very significant and now we have good reasons to hope that the tower can last for at least another 200 years,” says professor Salvatore Settis, who heads the surveillance group of the monument.

According to Gianluca De Felice, director of the Opera della Primaziale Pisana, this latest measurement shows the good health of the monument.

The tower is constantly monitored, and the data is examined by a surveillance committee which meets every three months, says the report.

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