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Brittney Griner released from Russian prison
Brittney Greener, the American basketball star jailed in Russia on drug charges, was released yesterday after nearly 10 months in captivity in a prisoner exchange for Victor Bout, a convicted Russian arms dealer. President Biden announced her release in a short statement. She is returning to the US and was scheduled to be examined at a military hospital in Texas.
Griner, 32, a WNBA All-Star center with the Phoenix Mercury and two-time Olympic gold medalist, served a nine-year prison sentence. In February, she was stopped at an airport near Moscow after customs officials found two vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.
Her case became an international cause. She was seen as a hostage held by the Russian government as she faced international sanctions in response to the invasion of Ukraine, which began a week after her arrest. Efforts by the Biden administration to negotiate a prisoner exchange stalled for months while she was sent to a penal colony outside Moscow.
“The Merchant of Death”: The trade freed Booth, one of the most notorious arms dealers of modern times. Accused of supplying weapons to al Qaeda, the Taliban and militants in Rwanda, he was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and convicted in New York in 2011 on charges that included conspiring to kill Americans.
Context: Celebrations for Griner’s release were overshadowed by the failure to secure the release of Paul Whelan, an American who remained in Russian custody despite months of efforts by American diplomats to include him as part of the deal.
The slow closing of Ebola in Uganda
The initial decision not to impose quarantines during the Ebola outbreak in central Uganda this fall has come back to haunt the country. The disease has spread to nine districts, including the capital Kampala. WHO has reported 142 confirmed cases and 55 confirmed deaths, with an additional 22 deaths possibly linked to the outbreak.
Officials feared a backlash to tough measures like quarantines because of lingering anger over restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic, they said. They now admit they acted too late to contain the epidemic, the country’s deadliest in more than two decades.
The Ugandan public’s lack of confidence in the government’s response to Ebola has created fertile ground for misconceptions, including the belief that Ebola does not exist, that the disease is caused by witchcraft, and that burials of Ebola victims are kept closed—not to prevent infection, but to preserve their organs. could take and sell.
Details: Ebola, a highly contagious disease most commonly seen in Africa, causes fever, fatigue, and bleeding from the eyes and nose. The virus kills about half of those it infects. Vaccines exist to prevent the disease, but there is no approved vaccine or drug treatment for the Sudanese strain of the virus, which caused the recent outbreak.
China’s leader is courting the Arab world
Saudi Arabia and China signed a strategic partnership agreement yesterday during Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to the kingdom, underscoring growing ties between Beijing and a longtime US ally seeking greater self-reliance.
Xi spoke with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. During the three-day visit, Xi is expected to attend summits with leaders of Gulf, Arab and African countries, including Egypt, Djibouti and Iraq. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to join.
Prince Mohammed has stepped up efforts to diversify Saudi Arabia’s alliances, trying to overcome reliance on the US for security and weapons. There is a growing perception in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East that the US — seen as a superpower in long-term decline — has lost interest in the region.
Context: Saudi Arabia’s ties with China have grown rapidly, transforming what was once a largely oil-based relationship into a more complex one involving arms sales, technology transfers and infrastructure projects.
China’s Covid HQ:
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As China ditches many of the Covid rules, it also downplays the threat of the coronavirus. The move could help ease the burden on hospitals, but carries risks.
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After easing restrictions and restarting the economy, Beijing faces twin challenges: rising cases and wary consumers.
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Qatar has spent $220 billion preparing for the World Cup, creating new buildings, new neighborhoods and even an entirely new city, says Sarah Lyall, a writer for The Times, in an essay.
It’s hard to separate the magnificence from the folly, she notes: “Grass that is laden and ornamental trees in places where these things don’t grow; the feeling that the infrastructure, rich in details and high design, is intended to create future needs, not to satisfy those of the present.
SPORTS NEWS FROM ATHLETICS
How Dutch players (finally) learned to love each other: Kisses at the press conference, family on the training grounds and Uno on the boats — this World Cup has been one long love fest for the Dutch.
This is Maradona’s Argentina: Diego Maradona has been synonymous with Argentina and the World Cup for decades. Even after his death, his presence looms over the team.
The biggest soccer miracle you’ve never heard of: Jan Gueho was a Chelsea and France player who was better than Kylian Mbappe. Now? There is little sign of the 28-year-old after spells in prison and a late diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Harry and Meghan ‘personal and raw’
The Netflix series “Harry and Meghan” is one of the most anticipated television spectacles of the year – more of a media event than a documentary.
Encouraged by friends to document their dramatic decision to “step away” as senior members of the British royal family, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, recorded more than 15 hours of personal video in the early months of 2020 as they finalized their plans to leaving Buckingham Palace.
In the first three episodes, released on Thursday, the couple complain about the British media, reveal details of Meghan’s difficult relationship with relatives and claim that some members of the royal family view the harassment as a “rite of passage”. Three new episodes will be released next week.
Here are the main takeaways. (The villain, surprisingly, isn’t royalty.)
The answer: Critics on both sides of the Atlantic found common ground in the negative reviews of the first episodes of the series.
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