04/30/09 | Breaking Tweets

April 30, 2009

Eight-year-old Saudi girl’s marriage annulled

Per BBC, a young Saudi girl who was married to an older man in his 50s has been granted a divorce in an out-of-court settlement.

A judge had earlier rejected the girl’s mother’s appeal in the town of Unaiza. He was replaced by a new judge who decided to nullify the case after the marriage was confirmed illegal by the girl’s husband, per BBC.

Twitterers had these reactions when the legal news first penetrated worldwide:

Donnette (South Africa) a Saudi marriage officiate declared that a girl can be married at the age of one if sex is postponed http://tinyurl.com/cev327 14 Apr 2009 from TwitterFox

danie_d (San Francisco, Calif.) 8 year old girl married to a 47 year old man in Saudi Arabia. U.S. doesn't allow it to affect trade. But mention trade w/ Cuba and "OH NO." 15 Apr 2009 from web

quantifyme (Undisclosed) A 8 yr old Saudi girl married to a 50 yr old Saudi man is a shame. Not only is a violation of human rights, it is "child slavery" 16 Apr 2009 from TwitterFon

newbert (Cape Town, South Africa) RT @geekstats 8: age of Saudi Arabian girl married by father to settle debts. (http://bit.ly/WrvB). This world can be hideous. 24 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck

governancefocus (Undisclosed) A Saudi girl of 8 was married to a man in his 50's and now they want to annul it. What do you expect from a country without democracy. 30 Apr 2009 from web

Following the most recent media reports, Twitterers noted these reactions today:

michou83 (New Jersey) http://tinyurl.com/cwrmxa- Young Saudi girl's marriage ended.... THANK GOD. Now they just need a real policy. 30 Apr 2009 from web

forakin (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Young Saudi girl's marriage ended but not by the courts and hidebound religious judges http://is.gd/vEqY 30 Apr 2009 from twhirl

macleans (Undisclosed) Out-of-court settlement allows Saudi girl, 8, to divorce 50-year-old husband http://tinyurl.com/cqbcmk 30 Apr 2009 from twitterfeed

No immediate reaction could be found within Saudi Arabia itself. Tweets were searched for in both Arabic and English.

Featured TwitPic: Prague commemorates 1945 liberation

"American jeeps and flags spotted in Wenceslas Square today in honor of the American liberation of Plzen in 1945" (Posted by @acensky)

Great Britain Ends Military Operations in Iraq

Per BBC, the British military officially ended their combat operations in Iraq as 20 Armored Brigade took part in a flag-lowering ceremony accompanied by an American brigade on Thursday.

The ceremony was held in Basra to commemorate the fallen British soldiers.

From London, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said a new chapter in relations between the two countries had begun, as reported by BBC News.

Twitter users across the UK lament and rejoice for their soldiers' return:

M1TZY (London, England) RT @bbcbreaking: British troops to formally end combat operations in Iraq marking the end of a 6yr military campaign <<< Finally! 30 Apr 2009 from twhirl

nick_reeve ( London, England) Hoorah! About bloody time, some would say... RT @bbcbreaking British troops to end combat operations in Iraq http://bit.ly/pXq0H 30 Apr 2009 from web

doberama (England, Midlands) yeah... Heard on the news they are bringing back our troops. Can't happen quick enough 30 Apr 2009 from web

jw_smith (London, England) Rejoice! British troops have officially ended combat operations in Iraq. Shouldn't have been there anyway, but at least we're out. 30 Apr 2009 from TwitterFox

ICAWarwick (University of Warwick, UK) The end of British troops in Iraq. Hope the US can cope alone and it's not too soon. 30 Apr 2009 from web

NickJSmith (Burnley, England) Watching news at 1. The transfer of control in Basra to the US, about time we brought our troops home. 179 is too many in this day an age. 30 Apr 2009 from Tweetie

iaingriffin (Eastbourne, East Sussex) So, we're finally done with Iraq. What other country can we go and exploit now? All deaths are sad; troops, civilians. Shame it was needless 30 Apr 2009 from TwitterFon

Apparent attack on Dutch Royal Family fails at parade on Queen's Day

Per NOS.nl, an apparent attack on the Dutch royal family at a parade in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, has failed, but not before a car drove through a crowd, injuring at least a dozen. The vehicle was headed in the direction of Queen Beatrix before it crashed; the royal family watched in awe.

Radio Netherlands reported earlier Thursday that joyous festivities were set for Apeldoorn to celebrate Queen's Day. The remainder of the celebration has been canceled, according to NOS.nl.

Local tweets in Dutch were all over this event, utilizing Twitter to share information in the breaking news situation:

brillie_nl (Apeldoorn, Netherlands) Auto rijdt door menigte heen in Apeldoorn. Aaanslag??? (Drive by going crowd in Apeldoorn. Attack?) 30 Apr 2009 from web

Marinus (Apeldoorn, Netherlands) WTF !!!! auto breekt door en ramt bijna bus met koningin. (WTF! Car breaks through and almost rams bus with the queen.) 30 Apr 2009 from Nambu

brillie_nl (Apeldoorn, Netherlands) Koningshuis in de bus zagen het gebeuren, geschokt natuurlijk (Monarchy in the bus saw the event, naturally shocked) 30 Apr 2009 from web

edwinkuipers (Apeldoorn, Netherlands) ernstig ongeval tijdens optocht apeldoorn, mogelijk doden (serious accident during parade apeldoorn, possibly dead) 30 Apr 2009 from Twitstat Mobile

Emmaspek (Zutphen, Netherlands) er is volgens mij net een aanslag geweest op de koninklijke familie.. (I think there's just been an attack on the royal family ..) 30 Apr 2009 from web

Ennodewitt (Deventer, Netherlands) pffffff.... auto-ongelukje. Gewoon doorlopen mensen. (pheeww .... car accident. Just through people.) 30 Apr 2009 from web

brillie_nl (Apeldoorn, Netherlands) De optocht op het loo is stopgezet, of deze nog doorgaat is niet bekend. (The parade is on the loo stop put, if they can continue is unknown.) 30 Apr 2009 from web

Some Twitterers were adamant that it was not an accident.

mennodijk (Netherlands) #apeldoorn ik stond er naast zag de auto gas geven vol in de menigte, mensen in de lucht, het was een AANSLAG geen ongeluk HIJ GAF GAS (#apeldoorn I stood next saw the car full of gas in the crowd, people in the air, it was not an accident he did ATTACK GAS) 30 Apr 2009 from web

mennodijk (Netherlands) #apeldoorn hij ging voor de bus van de koningin WAS EEN AANSLAG!!! beveiliging was BAR SLECHT, hij ging meer dan 100km (#apeldoorn he went for the bus from the Queen WAS AN ATTACK! security was poor, he was more than 100km) 30 Apr 2009 from web

JasperSuijten (Voorschoten, Netherlands) People on the scene are 100% sure this was no accident. #apeldoorn 30 Apr 2009 from Tweetie

Were you at this event? Please leave a comment with information on what you saw, plus links to any pictures or videos you may have taken.

17 killed in school shooting in Azerbaijan

Per Russia Today, at least 17 students were killed and 13 injured after a gunman began shooting at Baku Oil Academy in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Thursday morning. Some students jumped out windows to escape the incident, per RT. Syrian and Turkish citizens are reportedly among the victims.

Twitterers in the region have been exchanging information.

onewmphoto (Armenia) Friend in Baku informs via IM that Azerbaijan incident has ended. However, no official announcement 30 Apr 2009 from web

onewmphoto (Armenia) Friend in Baku says ANS reports "15 people are in morgue" after Azerbaijan State Oil Academy shooting 30 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck

onewmphoto (Armenia) Interfax reports Azerbaijan shooting possibly result of argument between foreign students. BTW: Tasteless photo. -- http://bit.ly/U1baI 30 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck

gridpulse (Bucharest, Romania) back in Romania, glad to escape from Baku (I was on my way home when I heard about the university shooting - http://bit.ly/Ht2l9) 30 Apr 2009 from web

suavekhmer (Moscow, Russia) Azerbaijan's ANS TV reports 17 dead in oil school shooting, 13 wounded. Lonely gunman, 25, reportedly kills himself. 30 Apr 2009 from web

A Twitterer in Baku posted these updates on the news:

ppouyaa (Baku, Azerbaijan) some students of oil university of baku, recently died.. 30 Apr 2009 from web

ppouyaa (Baku, Azerbaijan) all of universities are closed now... 30 Apr 2009 from web

ppouyaa (Baku, Azerbaijan) those students were killed by gun...
it's so Bad.. 30 Apr 2009 from web

ppouyaa (Baku, Azerbaijan) i'm so sad... 30 Apr 2009 from web

Explosions injure more than 100 in Tanzania

Per ThisDay in Tanzania, "a series of powerful explosions" at the Mbagala military facility in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killed at least four people and injured more than 100 others on Wednesday. The coastal city of Dar es Salaam is about 250 miles from the East African nation's capital, Dodoma.

Twitterers in Tanzania provided unique accounts of the news, with @kitindamimba providing the "breaking tweet" about three hours before it was picked up by most wire services and international media outlets.

kitindamimba (Tanzania) bombs are going off, Dar es Salaam Tanzania 29 Apr 2009 from web

a24media (Africa) Ammunition dump explodes in Tanzania.. watch out for the dramatic images & Video on A24 Media 29 Apr 2009 from web

mhmariner (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) There were 3 large explosions, later heard it was from military arsenal. We're advised not to stay in high raised building! 29 Apr 2009 from mobile web

gillsaint (Tanzania) Therethe bomb have explode in my city Dar es salaam its scary.. http://jijr.com/hyEo 29 Apr 2009 from web

iAlen (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) Army ammo and bomb armoury explodes in Dar Tanzania causing panic in the city. Scanty details! Many injured! City evacuated. 29 Apr 2009 from TwitterFon