American woman jailed for trying to leave Saudi Arabia with her daughter is freed, but travel ban remains
CBSN
Saudi Arabia has released an American woman it took into custody early this week after she tweeted and otherwise spoke out about her efforts to leave the country with her young Saudi-American daughter, according to a U.S. official and a U.S.-based advocacy group Thursday.
Carly Morris was released early Wednesday, after being summoned and taken into custody by Saudi authorities in the north-central city of Buraidah on Monday, according to the Freedom Initiative. The Washington-based group advocates for prisoners it deems wrongfully detained in the Middle East.
Morris, who the group says was shackled in front of her 8-year-old daughter, was questioned while in custody about her tweets and contacts with news organizations and rights groups over her three-year effort to leave the kingdom with her child, Freedom Initiative said.
Tokyo — In North Korea, the release of Taylor Swift's new double album was completely eclipsed by the surprise drop of another brand-new song, complete with an elaborately produced music video. There were no tortured poets in sight for the release of "Friendly Father," an energetic pop-style piece of state propaganda praising North Korea's dictatorial leader Kim Jong Un.
Berlin — German authorities say they have arrested two people suspected of spying for Russia. The suspects, identified as German-Russian nationals, are accused of scouting targets for potential attacks, including U.S. military facilities in Germany, the Federal Public Prosecutor General for Karlsruhe said in a statement released Thursday.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Heavy rains lashed the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, flooding portions of major highways, leaving vehicles abandoned on roadways across Dubai and grinding traffic at the city-state's huge international airport briefly to a complete halt. Meanwhile, the death toll from separate heavy flooding in neighboring Oman rose to 18, with others still missing as the sultanate prepared for the storm.
Paris — Five years have passed since Notre Dame cathedral in Paris was engulfed in flames. The iconic spire and timber roof were destroyed in the blaze. People around the world were shocked at the scale of the fire and the damage it caused, but work to restore the iconic landmark to its former glory continues.