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A British student has been freed from jail in the United Arab Emirates after a three-year campaign for his release.

Ahmad Zeidan was imprisoned in 2014 after 0.04g of cocaine was found in a car in which he was a passenger. He always claimed he was innocent.

His father Manal said his son was freed after a £4,000 fine was paid and added: “We are overjoyed… he is finally free and still can’t believe it’s real.”

The Foreign Office, which worked on the case, has been contacted for comment.

Mr Zeidan said his son has now left UAE and “wants to restart his education” after “recovering from his ordeal”.

Zeidan, now 23 and formerly from Reading, was studying at Emirates Aviation College when he was arrested.

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Zimbabwe’s long-time president Robert Mugabe is holding talks with South African negotiators over his future.

Envoys from the the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) are trying to reach a deal on the future of Zimbabwe and the man who has led the country for 37 years.

Mr Mugabe, 93, was put under house arrest on Wednesday after the army moved to take control.

Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai says Mr Mugabe must resign.

Sources suggest Mr Mugabe may be resisting pressure to step down, insisting he remains the legitimate president.

A Roman Catholic priest known to Mr Mugabe for years, Father Fidelis Mukonori, is trying to mediate a deal on his future with the military.

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A gunman who killed four people on Tuesday in rural California fired into an elementary school but was stopped from entering by teachers, police say.

Staff at Rancho Tehama Reserve School went into lockdown, securing school doors after hearing nearby gunshots.

Authorities praised the teachers’ actions as “monumental” in saving “countless” lives.

Police confirmed one child was shot at the school after the gunman fired into it. Others were hurt by broken glass.
Police later confronted the gunman in a stolen vehicle, shooting and killing him. He was named locally as 43-year-old Kevin Neal. It is believed the shooting spree began after a domestic row with the gunman’s neighbours in Rancho Tehama, a rural community about 120 miles (195km) from Sacramento, on Tuesday morning.

Police said they believed he went on a “bizarre and murderous rampage” after the dispute escalated and he killed a neighbour. Officials confirmed the gunman had “prior contacts with law enforcement”.

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Zimbabwe’s military has placed President Robert Mugabe under house arrest in the capital Harare, South African President Jacob Zuma says.

Mr Mugabe told Mr Zuma in a phone call that he was fine, the South African leader’s office said.

Troops are patrolling the capital, Harare, after they seized state TV and said they were targeting “criminals”. The move may be a bid to replace Mr Mugabe with his sacked deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Mr Mnangagwa’s dismissal last week left Mr Mugabe’s wife Grace as the president’s likely successor.

Heavy gun and artillery fire could be heard in northern parts of Harare early on Wednesday. Mr Mugabe, 93, has dominated the impoverished country’s political scene since it gained independence from the UK in 1980.

The UK Foreign Office advised Britons “currently in Harare to remain safely at home or in their accommodation until the situation becomes clearer”, while the US embassy in Harare advised US citizens in Zimbabwe to “shelter in place” until further notice.

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The lawyer representing a Scottish Sikh activist being held in India claims his client has been tortured by police.

Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, was taken from a street in the state of Punjab on 4 November. He has not been charged with any crime, and his period on remand has now been extended until Friday.

The Sikh Federation has criticised the UK government’s response and said Mr Johal had made allegations of “extreme police torture”.

His lawyer claimed his client had been given electric shocks and subjected to “body separation techniques”. The Indian authorities have not responded to requests for comment on the allegations.

Last week the chief minister of Punjab and the local police chief released a statement saying they were holding Mr Johal on grounds of financing the purchase of weapons used in the killing of prominent Hindu leaders in Punjab.

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