Outrage after Covid-era Chinese journalist Zhang sentenced to prison for second time

A Chinese journalist who reported on the Wuhan lockdown in February 2020 has been sentenced to a second prison term. As the Guardian reports, citizen journalist Zhang Zhan was released last year after serving a first four-year term. Zhang travelled to Wuhan in February 2020 and was one of a number of independent reporters who were detained for broadcasting reports about a severe lockdown in Wuhan. It's believed she stood trial again last week on charges of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" – a charge often used to target critics. The trial – which Western journalists were not allowed to attend – and the verdict have been slammed by the UN, human rights groups and media freedom watchdogs. Reporters Without Borders called the verdict a "symbol of the continued repression against freedom of the press in China", while Amnesty International said this second trial was founded on baseless claims and expressed concern about Zhang's wellbeing after a prolonged hunger strike.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s president has pardoned Alaa Abdel Fattah, the country's best known political prisoner. He was pardoned on Monday alongside several others. The move comes after years of struggles, dashed hopes, diplomatic pressure and hunger strikes. Abdel Fattah, described as a software developer and intellectual, was known for his biting commentary of the 2011 Arab Spring revolution. When President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took power in a military takeover, he imprisoned tens of thousands of political opponents, including Abdel Fattah, who spent nearly 12 years in prison. In the Egyptian press, there is not much in the way of opinions, but Egyptian daily Al Masry al Youm republished joyful photos of Abdel Fattah coming home.  

Let's move now to the Ballon d'Or, football's night of nights that took place here in Paris on Monday. Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembélé picked up his first Ballon d'Or, while Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati picked up her third Ballon d'Or. L’Equipe celebrates Dembélé's win, noting that he is the sixth French player to win the prize. Le Parisien says this title cements Dembélé as "one of the giants" while the Spanish paper Sport hails Bonmati's "hat-trick". 

Turning to the UK, the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, has been dropped by several charities over her past comments on Jeffrey Epstein. An email from 2011 revealed that she called late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein "her supreme friend" and appeared to apologise for public criticism against him. Fergie was married to Prince Andrew, King Charles's brother, and Andrew has been accused of sex abuse involving his very close ties to Epstein. Will the king now banish Fergie, the Daily Mail asks, calling the move by charities humiliating for her. A columnist from the London Evening Standard says that after initially distancing herself from Epstein in 2011, she then reached out to him, accepting £15,000 to pay off a debt. Her banishment in the light of that email is her own doing, this writer says, a result of her "profligacy".

Finally, a University of Sunshine Coast researcher has discovered leopard sharks mating in the wild, something that was previously only seen in sharks in captivity. Even more astonishingly, they discovered that two males and a female shark were seen in what can only be described as a shark orgy, a ménage à trois in the crystal blue waters off the coast of New Caledonia. The randy males lasted all of about 110 seconds before losing their energy and laying immobile on the bottom, while the sated female swam away. This shark sex tape was caught on video!