One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.

The hours and minutes that dictate our days are determined by Earth’s rotation. But that rotation is not constant; it can change ever so slightly, depending on what’s happening on Earth’s surface and in its molten core.

These nearly imperceptible changes occasionally mean the world’s clocks need to be adjusted by a “leap second,” which may sound tiny but can have a big impact on computing systems.

Plenty of seconds have been added over the years. But after a long trend of slowing, the Earth’s rotation is now speeding up because of changes in its core. For the first time ever, a second will need to be taken off.

“A negative leap second has never been added or tested, so the problems it could create are without precedent,” Patrizia Tavella, a member of the Time Department at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in France, wrote in an article accompanying the study.

But exactly when this will happen is being influenced by global warming, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Melting polar ice is delaying the leap second by three years, pushing it from 2026 to 2029, the report found.

“Part of figuring out what is going to happen in global timekeeping … is dependent on understanding what is happening with the global warming effect,” said Duncan Agnew, professor of geophysics at the University of California San Diego and the study’s author.

Before 1955, a second was defined as a specific fraction of the time the Earth took to rotate once in relation to the stars. Then came the era of highly precise atomic clocks, which proved a much more stable way of defining a physical second.

From the late 1960s, the world started using coordinated universal time (UTC) to set time zones. UTC relies on atomic clocks but still keeps pace with the planet’s rotation.

But as the rotation speed is not constant, the two timescales slowly diverge. This means a “leap second” must be added every now and then to bring them back into alignment.

Changes in Earth’s rotation over the long term have been dominated by the friction of the tides on the ocean floor — which has slowed down its rotation. Recently, the impacts of melting polar ice, driven by humans burning planet-heating fossil fuels, have become a significant factor, Agnew said. As the ice melts into the ocean, meltwater moves from the poles toward the equator, which further slows the speed of the Earth’s rotation.

Ted Scambos, a glaciologist at the University of Colorado Boulder who was not involved in the study, describes the process like a figure skater spinning with their arms over their head. As they bring their arms down toward their shoulders, their spin slows.

Polar ice melt “has been large enough to noticeably affect the rotation of the entire Earth in a way that is unprecedented,” Agnew said. “To me, the fact that human beings have caused the rotation of the Earth to change is kind of amazing.”

But while melting ice may be slowing the Earth’s spin, there’s another factor at play when it comes to global timekeeping, according to the report: processes in the Earth’s core.

The planet’s liquid core spins independently of its solid outer shell. If the core slows down, the solid shell speeds up to maintain momentum, Agnew said, and that is what’s currently happening.

Very little is known about what’s going on roughly 1,800 miles below the Earth’s surface, and it’s not clear why the core’s speed is changing. “It’s fundamentally unpredictable,” said Agnew.

But what is clear, according to the study, is that despite polar ice melt exerting a slowing influence, overall the Earth’s rotation is speeding up. That means the world will soon need to subtract a second for the first time.

“A second doesn’t sound like much,” Agnew said, but computing systems set up for activities such as stock exchange transactions need to be accurate to a thousandth of a second.

Many computer systems have software enabling them to add a second, but few have the capability to subtract one. Humans will need to reprogram computers, introducing the potential for error.

“Nobody really anticipated that the Earth would speed up to the point where we might have to remove a leap second,” Agnew said.

Scambos, the University of Colorado Boulder glaciologist, said the “big deal” of the study is that it shows “changes from the Earth’s core are now trending bigger than the trends in loss of ice from the poles — even though ice loss has picked up in the last decade.”

For Agnew, the findings could be a powerful tool to connect people with the ways humans are changing the planet.

“Being able to say so much ice has melted that it’s actually changed the rotation of the Earth by a measurable amount, I think gives you the sense, OK, this is a big deal.”

India’s Ministry of External Affairs summoned a US State Department official after the department called for a fair legal process for opposition leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal following his arrest last week.

“We take strong objection to the remarks of the Spokesperson of the US State Department about certain legal proceedings in India,” the Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

“In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies,” the statement added.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday summoned Gloria Berbena, the State Department Minister-Counselor for Public Diplomacy, according to a diplomatic officer with knowledge of the matter.

At a briefing later on Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller declined to discuss “private diplomatic conversations” when asked about Berbena’s summoning, but stood by the department’s previous comments.

“We encourage fair, transparent, timely legal processes. We don’t think anyone should object to that, and we’ll make the same thing clear privately,” Miller said.

Kejriwal was taken into custody on March 21 following a raid on his home by the federal financial crimes agency, members of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said, in the latest blow to an alliance of parties aiming to unseat Modi as he seeks a third consecutive term.

He is one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fiercest critics and Kejriwal’s allies have claimed the arrest was politically motivated.

His arrest comes as tensions run high ahead of a crucial nationwide election which begins on April 19, in which Modi is widely expected to leave the opposition languishing despite sharp criticism over his perceived erosion of the country’s democratic founding principles.

India’s main opposition, the Indian National Congress, has also accused the BJP of using the tax department to “cripple” their finances. The party claimed their bank accounts had been frozen by the tax department, leaving them unable to use some $20 million in funds.

Human Rights group Amnesty International warned following the arrest of Kejriwal that a crackdown on Indian opposition figures and parties by the government had reached a “crisis point” ahead of the national elections.

“The arrest of Arvind Kejriwal and the freezing of Indian National Congress’ bank accounts a few weeks before India holds its general elections show the authorities’ blatant failure to uphold the country’s international human rights obligations.”

For South Africans, normality is a sliding scale.

Record electricity blackouts and sustained water outages have crushed businesses, and caused havoc in hospitals and schools nationwide. It’s common to see car-sized potholes in the suburbs of Johannesburg as workmen weld burst pipes. Traffic light outages are a daily occurrence.

The privations are often treated with the nation’s trademark humor.

But now, even extraordinary, violent events have also become almost commonplace. In October, a heavily armed gang blocked off one of the busiest highways near Johannesburg as it blew up a cash-in-transit vehicle – a security van carrying cash.

Video of the heist was captured on cell phones in real-time. Bystanders can be heard giving running commentary from an overpass.

Cash-in-transit, or CIT, heists are one of the most dramatic illustrations of a crime wave that has shocked even the most hardened South Africans. Murder is at a 20-year high; someone is killed in the country roughly every 20 minutes, according to the most recent quarterly police crime statistics.

Other serious crimes are also on the rise. In 2022-23, recorded cases of kidnapping increased by 41.7%, attempted murders rose by 13.7%, while reported carjacking incidents increased by 8.5%, compared to the previous year, according to annual statistics. Meanwhile, CIT heists remained at the same level as the year before, with 238 incidents recorded.

South Africa is approaching a critical election and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) could lose its majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela led it to power 30 years ago — the crime crisis is front and center. And the social impact, of course, goes far beyond the shock value of viral videos.

Forgotten victims

TT Ngwenya, a father-of-four and former cash-in-transit guard, shuffled up the stairs to his apartment in downtown Johannesburg earlier this month, one hand gripping a crutch, the other holding the rail. The elevators were broken.

He recalled the incident in May 2021 in which the van he was guarding was targeted by a gang.

The CIT gang hit Ngwenya and his co-worker, who was driving, quickly and hard, crashing into their armored vehicle with a heavy sedan to disable it.

“I cannot stand for a long time. I can only stand for three minutes. I am always in pain,” said Ngwenya, who says he is currently on temporary disability allowance from his company’s insurers – but hopes to get a permanent payout from them.

He knows that he is one of the luckier ones. When CIT guards get killed — and they are frequently killed — the local news rarely mentions their names.

“It’s so bad because it seems that every day you lose a member. It’s so bad because every day you wonder whether you will come back,” said Petrus Mthembu, the president of the Motor Transport Workers Union, who works in the CIT industry and has been hit by gangs himself.

“You don’t know whether you will survive, which tells you there is no stability within the country,” he added.

Fast cash

Like anywhere in the world, there are push factors for crime, including inequality and a lack of jobs. South Africa has the highest unemployment in the world, at about 32% in the last quarter of 2023. Youth unemployment is more than 40%.

He admits that he was addicted to the fast cash, as he calls it, saying for one hit each gang member netted around R350,000 (about $18,500.)

The gang had spotters and shooters, he said, some with specialized military training. They used a team of 10 to 15 people and, he claims, they frequently got guns and intelligence from the police.

“There are many corrupt cops, too many,” he said.

“During this period, 46 CIT armed robberies took place, which is 11 counts lower than the previous crime reporting period,” the speech said. The police recovered firearms including rifles and AK-47s, it added.

Feeling the toll

Security and intelligence experts say that the CIT epidemic, and the crime crisis in general, come down to a lack of targeted policing and intelligence. They say there are good cops in the system, but that they are demotivated and underpaid. The police have also been struck by multiple corruption scandals over the years.

The South African police minister, Bheki Cele, recently highlighted what he called the successes of the Crime Intelligence division in tackling organized crime and rooting out corruption within the ranks of the force.

“Organized crime at this point is completely out of hand, you have corruption across the board from the lowest to the highest levels,” said Joe van der Walt, the founder and chief executive of Focus Group, a private intelligence company with corporate clients. “You need a strategy that is being followed in order to tackle crime.”

That strategy, for many companies and wealthier South Africans, is to turn to private intelligence, investigations and security. There are more than half a million active private security guards in the country, according to the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority.

It’s a fast-growing industry – and its members are equipped with manpower and gear far outgunning the police. But even they are feeling the toll.

“These companies are not investing in new products, research, and development to become better. But you are spending a hell of a lot of money to maintain your operations, so you don’t lose the war against crime,” said Gareth Newham, the head of justice and violence prevention at the Institute for Security Studies. “What’s driving the increase in murders is more related to organized crime or organized forms of crime.”

For Ngwenya, the crime crisis is deeply personal and life-changing. He knew the risks of guarding the CIT truck, he said, but he needed the money.

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, as his children started to file in from school, he lay nearly prone on his sofa. He struggles to afford their education fees, he said, and doesn’t have the money to buy airtime on his phone.

“When I went to work there, I knew I could be killed,” he said. “But you must not think about that, otherwise you will never work for your children.”

China has announced it is lifting punishing tariffs on Australian wines more than three years after imposing penalties that devastated the industry and were a major point of friction between the trading partners.

China’s Ministry of Commerce on Thursday said that “in view of the changes in the wine market conditions in China,” it was “no longer necessary to impose anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties on imported wines originating from Australia.”

The measure would come into effect on Friday, two days before the end of a five-month review period agreed on by Canberra and Beijing that saw Australia suspend a dispute on the issue at the World Trade Organization for that period.

The decision scraps duties as high as 218% on Australian wine exports to China, its largest overseas market once worth more than 1 billion Australian dollars ($653 million).

The Australian government said it welcomed Beijing’s decision “which comes at a critical time for the Australian wine industry.”

“Since 2020, China’s duties on Australian wine effectively made it unviable for Australian producers to export bottled wine to that market,” the statement read. “We acknowledge and thank Australian grape growers and wine producers for their fortitude and support during a challenging period.”

The wine tariffs were part of a raft of trade curbs Beijing slapped on key Australian exports starting in 2020 as punishment for political grievances.

Their removal comes amid a thaw in China-Australia relations that’s seen Chinese authorities steadily roll back a number of those barriers including on barley, timber, and coal.

Winemakers toast decision

Beijing’s move was embraced by the country’s hard-hit winemakers, who have been grappling with oversupply amid flagging broader global demand on top of years of major revenue losses from China.

“The loss of China over these last three years has caused a fair bit of damage to the industry and brought uncertainty. We don’t know what the Chinese market looks like after (the Covid-19 pandemic), but having access to it is a lot better than not,” he said.

Tariffs of up to 212% were originally introduced by China’s Ministry of Commerce in November 2020. A final ruling the following March set between 116% to 218% antidumping and countervailing duties for a five-year period.

The wine duties were a sharp hit for the key Australian industry, with sales to China down 97% in 2021 from the previous year at a loss of nearly $1 billion in value and 90 million liters in volume, according to national industry group Wine Australia.

Global exports also dropped by 30% in value during that period.

Annual wine production hit its lowest point in more than 15 years during 2022-2023, Wine Australia said. The same year, the United Kingdom and the US became the country’s most valuable export markets.

Lee McLean, head of national association of grape and wine producers Australian Grape & Wine, said industry groups were working with the Australian government to “ensure a coordinated re-entry” into the market.

“We look forward to seeing Australian wines back on Chinese dining tables and rejuvenating our relationship with customers and business partners in that market,” McLean said.

“We will also, however, be maintaining our focus on diversifying our export footprint and growing demand here in Australia as well,” he added.

Diplomatic thaw

China imposed the wine tariffs and other trade controls amid a souring of relations between the two countries over issues of national security and foreign investment, which deteriorated further in 2020 following Canberra’s call for an international inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic in China.

China’s Foreign Ministry had blamed Australia for the trade issues, in 2020 accusing it of “violating the basic norms governing international relations,” though its commerce ministry has cited anti-dumping and other reasons for the raft of curbs.

Relations began to improve after the election of Anthony Albanese’s Labor government in May 2022 allowed for a reset of relations, but the wine tariffs had remained a sore point.

On Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry said the two countries “for some time” had “properly addressed each other’s concerns through dialogue and negotiations, and jointly pushed for the momentum for improvement in bilateral relations.”

Beijing’s decision comes as the country is facing a number of steep economic challenges and has sought to stabilize its relationships with key trade partners from Australia to Europe.

It also follows concerted diplomatic efforts between the two sides to repair ties, which culminated with a trip to China from Albanese last November, the first visit by an Australian leader in seven years.

Earlier this month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the first trip by China’s top diplomat to the Australia in the same period.

During that visit, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong raised ongoing points of stress between the two, including China’s sentencing to death last month of imprisoned writer and democracy activist Yang Hengjun, an Australian citizen detained in China since 2019.

Wong also said she stressed Canberra’s desire for the removal of remaining curbs on beef and lobster.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told a group of US members of Congress that “victory” in Gaza and “getting” Hamas’ senior leadership in the enclave are just “a few weeks away.”

Speaking to a bipartisan group from Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu said: “We’ve killed many senior leaders [of Hamas], including number four in Hamas, number three in Hamas. We’ll get number two and number one. That’s victory. Victory is within reach. It’s a few weeks away.”

Hosting the congressional delegation, which the Prime Minister’s Office said was organized by the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said it was “very important to maintain bipartisan support” but “especially in these trying times.”

Netanyahu said that Israel “had no choice” but to move into Rafah as the country’s “very existence is on the line.”

The prime minister said that since the October 7 Hamas attack, Israel had enjoyed a “remarkable alignment” with the Biden administration but had fundamentally different views on an Israeli move into Rafah.

Israel has faced criticism internationally ahead of its planned offensive on the southern Gaza city, in which more than one million people are currently sheltering.

Netanyahu had earlier told the delegation that displaced Palestinians in Gaza could “just move” out of Rafah and “move with their tents.”

“There’s all of the Gaza Strip north of Rafah,” Netanyahu said. “People move down, they can move up,” the prime minister added.

Disagreements over the impending invasion of Rafah and the worsening humanitarian disaster in Gaza have driven relations between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden to a low.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu cancelled a planned government delegation to Washington in protest of a US abstention from a UN Security Council vote, which had allowed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to pass.

The resolution, proposed by the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council, demanded an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages and “the urgent need to expand the flow” of aid into Gaza.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken all told Gallant that Israel needs to find an “alternative” option to a major assault on Rafah, which would endanger civilians and exacerbate the suffering there.

The White House said Wednesday that Netanyahu had agreed to reschedule the planned visit by the Israeli delegation to Washington to discuss the possible Rafah operation.

There are “reasonable grounds” to believe Israel is “committing the crime of genocide against the Palestinians as a group in Gaza,” the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories has said.

Francesca Albanese made the remarks Wednesday following the submission of her latest report called “Anatomy of a Genocide” to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference, Albanese said: “Israel has committed three acts of genocide with a requisite intent: killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, and deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

Israel said it “utterly rejects” the report, which it said “brings shame” on the Human Rights Council.

It is “no surprise, that the premise of this report is that the creation of the Jewish State in 1948 was an act of ‘settler colonialism,’ and genocide is an ‘inherent part’ of that act,” the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva said in a statement on X on Monday.

The statement also blamed the UN expert for “delegitimising the very creation and existence of the State of Israel.”

Albanese said there had been “flagrant and systematic slaughter of Palestinian civilians,” as well as “the deployment of unlawful weaponry, the utter obliteration of vital civilian infrastructure including the deliberate targeting of all Gaza’s hospitals, and the man-made starvation of the Palestinian people.”

“The monstrosity unfolding is accompanied by a pervasive anti-Palestinian narrative and dehumanization emanating from the uppermost tiers of Israeli society, including high-ranking officials with command authority and frequently reflected in soldiers’ actions on the ground,” Albanese told the press conference, before adding that this reflected intent “to destroy in whole or in part, which is what distinguishes genocide from other atrocity crimes.”

The UN special rapporteur concluded the “only reasonable inference that can be drawn” is an “Israeli state policy of genocidal violence toward the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

She said one of the report’s “key findings” was that “Israel’s executive and military leadership and soldiers have intentionally distorted ‘jus in bello’ principles, subverting their protective functions, in an attempt to legitimize genocidal violence against the Palestinian people.”

“Jus in bello” (justice in war) is the Latin term that refers to international laws that govern the way warfare is conducted.

Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva in its response also said, “the very attempt to level the charge of genocide against Israel is an outrageous distortion of the Genocide Convention.”

“Israel’s war is against Hamas, not against Palestinian civilians,” it added.

Germany’s beloved sausage dog, the dachshund, could be under threat in the country, its national kennel club said Wednesday, citing a new draft law that looks to prohibit the breeding of dogs with “skeletal anomalies.”

The draft bill, published in February and currently being considered by the authorities, was introduced as part of the Animal Protection Act, which seeks to strengthen existing laws on so-called “torture breeding,” the German government said.

The document said it could ban the reproduction of breeds prone to particular problems, such as the frequent spinal issues seen in dogs with short legs and a long back.

According to the German Kennel Club (VDH), other national favorites like the German shepherd and schnauzer, and even Snoopy himself, the beagle, could also be affected.

History has seen many famous lovers of the low-slung but feisty dachshund, or “dackel” as it’s known in German.

Napoleon Bonaparte owned several dachshunds, and Germany’s last emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, had a headstone erected for his dackel, “Erdmann.”

The painter Pablo Picasso was photographed with his dachshund, Lump, who inspired the artist’s famous line drawing “Le Chien.”

A dachshund even became the first official mascot for the Olympic Games – in Germany, of course – when organizers unveiled Waldi the Dachshund for the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Michelet added that she believes “the new draft law is exaggerated… and is aimed against breeding as a whole.”

The VDH has launched a petition to save “our favorite dogs,” arguing the reform would leave too much room for interpretation in determining what constitutes a genetic defect.

As of Wednesday, the petition had attracted more than 15,000 signatures.

On its website, the VDH said that “many of the proposed changes, such as regulating the online trade in animals or taking action against illegal puppy trade, make sense.”

“However, the animal protection law contains requirements that could mean the end of many healthy dog breeds in Germany,” it added.

Germany’s agriculture ministry denied that the new draft bill would amount to a ban on particular breeds, including the sausage dog.

The ministry said the new regulation seeks to prohibit breeding practices that inflict long–term suffering on the animals.

“We want to consistently protect animals from pain, suffering and damage,” the ministry said, adding that details of how the new regulations would work are still under discussion.

She argued that the kennel club she belongs to has adhered to the same breeding standards since 1888. “For 136 years we have not changed our standard breeding practices.”

“If the breeding ban happens it would have a significant impact” on dog breeders like her, she said, adding: “I hope it won’t come to that.”

The final death toll from the Moscow concert hall attack last week could be higher than the 143 confirmed dead, as Russian investigators said they have received more than 100 reports of missing people.

Russia’s Investigative Committee on Wednesday published a list of names identifying the 143 people confirmed dead so far.

Russia was rocked last week by the deadliest terror attack on its soil in two decades, when gunmen stormed Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow, shooting civilians at point blank with assault weapons before setting the building on fire, causing the roof to collapse while concert-goers were still inside.

Thousands of people had traveled to the venue to watch the Soviet-era rock group Picnic. Russian social media channels have since been filled with appeals from friends and relatives to help find the victims still missing.

“Friends are looking for relatives, but still cannot find them. They are looking for their mother and brother. Please help!” read one message on the “Crocus Help Center” Telegram channel.

Many of the victims are thought to have been killed by inhaling smoke from the fire. While the roof was still burning, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack and shared a video by the men as they stormed the building, where thousands of Russians had arrived to watch the rock group.

Despite ISIS sharing video evidence, Russian President Vladimir Putin has baselessly claimed that Ukraine was in some way responsible for the attack.

In his first national address after the attack – 19 hours after it began – Putin on Saturday claimed, without evidence, that a “window” had been prepared for the attackers to escape to Ukraine. Senior Kremlin figures, including the head of Russia’s security services, the FSB, have doubled down on the accusation.

Ukraine has vehemently denied the “absurd” claims. President Volodymyr Zelensky accused “miserable Putin” of waiting a whole day to address the public only to “try to turn such a situation to his personal advantage again.”

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, one of Putin’s most loyal allies, contradicted Putin’s claim that the attackers had bolted for Ukraine. He said the gunmen tried initially to flee to Belarus, and only headed for Ukraine after realizing that Belarus had tightened its security – which Lukashenko said was done at the Kremlin’s request.

In trying to promote Belarus’ standing as a reliable partner of Russia, Lukashenko may have inadvertently weakened Putin’s allegations.

Russia has so far arrested 11 men in connection with the attack. Four of the suspects – all citizens of the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan – appeared battered and bruised in a Moscow court on Sunday, with one in a wheelchair appearing unresponsive. They were charged with terrorism and face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Videos shared widely on Russian social media appeared to show some of the men being violently interrogated. One video appeared to show the use of electrocution. Another showed a suspect having his ear cut off and stuffed in his mouth.

A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.

Chioma Okoli, a 39-year-old entrepreneur from Lagos, is being prosecuted and sued in civil court for allegedly breaching the country’s cybercrime laws, in a case that has gripped the West African nation and sparked protests by locals who believe she is being persecuted for exercising her right to free speech.

What did she say?

Her post, accompanied by a photo of an opened can of Nagiko Tomato Mix, produced by local company Erisco Foods Limited, sparked varied reactions from commenters, one of whom replied: “Stop spoiling my brother’s product. If (you) don’t like it, use another one than bring it to social media or call the customer service.”

Okoli responded: “Help me advise your brother to stop ki***ing people with his product, yesterday was my first time of using and it’s pure sugar.”

A week later, on September 24, she was arrested.

According to the police, Okoli was charged with “instigating Erisco Foods Limited, knowing the said information to be false under Section 24 (1) (B) of Nigeria’s Cyber Crime Prohibition Act.”

If found guilty, she could face up to three years in jail or a fine of 7 million naira (around $5,000), or both.

Okoli was separately charged with conspiring with two other individuals “with the intention of instigating people against Erisco Foods Limited,” which the charge sheet noted was punishable under Section 27(1)(B) of the same act. She risks a seven-year sentence if convicted of this charge.

Okoli is also being sued in a separate civil case brought by Erisco, which said in a statement issued on January 19 that it was defending its reputation after her comments “resulted in several suppliers deciding to disassociate themselves from us.”

Public apology required

“I was put in the cell around 6 p.m. (on September 24). There were no seats, so I stood all through till the next day. My legs were inside the water (that came in from the leaking roof). Sometimes, I squatted to reduce the pressure on my legs. I was thinking about my children who were at home. I was talking to myself. I would think, I would pray, I was messed up,” she said.

The following day, Okoli was flown to the Nigerian capital, Abuja, and held at a police station until her release on administrative bail was finalized a day later, she said.

The police filed their case against Okoli in an Abuja court on October 5.

The first court hearing took place on December 7. She was represented by her lawyer but did not attend in person.

“They stayed in my building from 6:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. My children couldn’t go to school that day and we couldn’t go out to get food because the cooking gas was finished,” she said. Eventually, she said, the police left.

“We will comment on the case when the court decides,” Adejobi said.

Countersuit against police and food company

“In this case, we believe that David is right, and Goliath is wrong,” Effiong said.

In October, he filed a 500 million naira ($361,171) countersuit on behalf of Okoli against both Erisco and the police at a Lagos court, challenging her arrest and detention, which he said violated her constitutional rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement.

In court papers relating to the countersuit, Effiong argued that his client’s arrest was also a breach of her constitutional right to freedom of expression. He said that he would also ask the Abuja court where she is being tried for cybercrime violations to transfer the case to Lagos, where she lives, at the next hearing, set for April 18.

Hard to prove

“No law guarantees absolute freedom,” he said. “While we have our freedom of expression, there are limitations. You can’t defame or malign someone.”

However, he added that “cybercrime is difficult to prove in court. You have to prove actual harm when the post was made. Erisco must prove that the Facebook post (by Okoli) affected its business as at the point it was made.” He noted that in Okoli’s post, she used a word with three asterisks, which could be open to interpretation.

“Harassment and intimidation of Chioma Okoli must end now,” Amnesty International Nigeria said earlier this month, as Nigerians began crowdfunding online to support her legal fees.

Okoli’s case has sparked protests at Erisco’s Lagos facility as many on social media called for a boycott of its products. The company’s founder, Eric Umeofia, refused to budge, however, saying in a recent documentary on the local Arise Television channel that he won’t drop the lawsuit against Okoli and that he would “rather die than allow someone to tarnish my image I worked 40 years to grow.”

Argentina on Tuesday accused Venezuela of cutting the electricity supply to its embassy in Caracas after the diplomatic mission hosted a meeting with the country’s opposition leaders, the latest sign of souring relations between the two South American nations’ ideologically opposed governments.

In a statement, the Office of Argentine President Javier Milei claimed the embassy’s power was turned off Monday in a “deliberate action that endangers the safety of Argentine diplomatic personnel and Venezuelan citizens under protection.”

Argentine diplomats had invited the Venezuelan opposition leaders, who were not named in the statement, to the mission out of concern stemming from “the deterioration of the institutional situation and the acts of harassment and persecution directed against political figures in Venezuela,” it added.

Venezuela’s opposition has accused Maduro’s government of repressing its leaders and stifling any free and fair campaigning ahead of the country’s presidential elections on July 28.

Maduro, who has ruled Venezuela since the death of his mentor President Hugo Chavez in 2013, announced on March 17 that he’s running for re-election for another six-year term. It is unclear whether he will face any real challenge, as his main rival, María Corina Machado, has been barred from standing over corruption allegations, which she denies.

Under Maduro’s rule, Venezuela has suffered hyperinflation and an unprecedented economic collapse, deepened by sanctions imposed by the United States in 2017 against its vital oil and gas sector.

The US partially rolled back punitive measures on Caracas in late 2023 but in January reinstated economic sanctions against a Venezuelan state-owned mining company following the barring of Machado from the election.

Colombia and Brazil issued statements Tuesday expressing concern over the opposition’s ability to fairly compete in the upcoming presidential contest.

Maduro on Tuesday criticized foreign governments which he claimed, “seek to intervene in the internal affairs of Venezuela.”