Russia and the United States said on Friday they were ready to discuss a prisoner swap, a day after a Russian court sentenced basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison for a drugs offense. The case against Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star, plunged her into a geopolitical maelstrom after Russia sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden had previously agreed on a diplomatic channel that should be used to discuss potential prisoner exchanges. “We are ready…

Samantha Power won fame as a human rights advocate and was picked by President Joe Biden to lead the agency that distributes billions of dollars in U.S. aid abroad, including providing more food assistance than anyone else in the world. But since Russia invaded Ukraine, that job includes a new task with a Cold War feel — countering Russia’s messaging abroad. As administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Power is dealing now with a global food crisis, brought on by local conflicts, the pandemic’s economic upheaval, and drought and the other extremes typical of climate change. As the…

The Joint Coordination Center overseeing implementation of the U.N.- and Turkish-brokered deal to get commercial ships with Ukrainian grain to world markets said Thursday that three more ships are expected to sail Friday. The first ship, the Razoni, departed on Monday from Odesa and is en route to Lebanon with a cargo of corn. The Navistar will be the second vessel to sail from Odesa, carrying 33,000 metric tons of corn destined for Ireland. The JCC, which is made up of representatives from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations, has also authorized the departure of two ships Friday from…

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban received a warm reception Thursday in Texas, where he was a featured speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a major event on the calendar of the right wing of the Republican Party.     In remarks that ran for approximately 30 minutes, Orban demonstrated why he has become popular among American conservatives, rattling off a litany of claims and accomplishments that dovetailed with many American conservative voters’ priorities.     Orban touted his country’s low crime rate, its success at preventing immigrants from crossing its borders, its crackdown on the political left, its restrictions…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. A just-concluded deal on freeing up Ukrainian grain, along with Russian backing for a new Turkish offensive against Syrian Kurdish forces will be on the agenda. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Friday meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the Black Sea resort of Sochi will be the second time the two leaders have met in a month. The meeting comes just after the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain left the Black Sea under a Turkey-U.N.-brokered deal between…

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday the Western military alliance has the joint tasks of both supporting Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion and to prevent the conflict from spreading into a war between Russia and NATO. Speaking to a summer camp in his native Norway, Stoltenberg said NATO has a moral responsibility to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people who have been subjected to a war of aggression. “We are seeing acts of war, attacks on civilians and destruction not seen since World War II,” Stoltenberg said, according to a NATO release of his prepared remarks. …

Travelers heading from the United States to Europe this summer can also help transport relief supplies to Ukraine. Khrystyna Shevchenko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. …

Closing arguments are expected Thursday in American basketball star Brittney Griner’s drug trial in a Russian court. Griner is facing a potential sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted. She was arrested at a Moscow airport in February with what she has acknowledged were vape cannisters with cannabis oil in her luggage. Griner’s lawyers argued she had no criminal intent and had been prescribed the cannabis to treat pain. U.S. officials said she was wrongfully detained. Russian officials have said Griner violated Russian law. In a call last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Russian Foreign Minister…

A code red alert has been declared in Iceland after a volcano erupted Wednesday near the capital, Reykjavik, at a site that erupted last year, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said. The IMO said the eruption took place in an unpopulated area 30 kilometers from the capital city and that no lives were in danger.  The eruption is near the site of the Mount Fagradalsfjall volcano, which had been active from March to September of 2021. If Wednesday’s volcanic activity is confirmed to be similar to the fissures seen last year, the code red aviation alert could be lowered to…

From the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Jewish community in Russia has not explicitly supported the military actions of the Kremlin, thus undermining President Vladimir Putin’s claim that Russian forces are on a mission to denazify Ukraine. Russian Jews avoid talking about this issue, and many have chosen to leave the country. Marcus Harton narrates this report from the VOA Moscow Bureau. …

Voting by Britain’s Conservative Party members to pick the next prime minister has been delayed after a British spy agency warned that cyber hackers could change people’s ballots, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday. There was no specific threat from a hostile state, and the advice was more general and about the voting process and its vulnerabilities, report added. As a result of the concerns, the Conservative Party has been forced to abandon plans to allow members to change their vote for the next leader later in the contest, according to The Telegraph. Postal ballots are also yet to be issued…

The U.S. imposed new sanctions Tuesday targeting Russian elites, including oligarchs and a woman — one-time Olympic rhythmic gymnast champion Alina Kabaeva — often named in news reports as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s lover and mother of four of his children.  The Treasury Department froze the visa of Kabaeva, 39, and imposed other property restrictions on her. She is a former member of the Russian Duma, the country’s legislative body, and is also head of a Russian national media company that has promoted Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.   Kremlin opponents and Putin critic Alexey Navalny have called for sanctions against…

Tensions between Jerusalem and Moscow are rising over a Russian attempt to close the Jewish Agency office in Moscow. The quasi-governmental Jewish Agency helps Jews immigrate to Israel, but Russia says it violates local laws by gathering information on Russian citizens. Israeli officials say they believe it has more to do with growing Israeli support for Ukraine. Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem. Videographer: Ricki Rosen …

Thousands of Afghans took refuge in Turkey as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last year. Many of these Afghans say they are now worried about being sent back. VOA’s Mahmut Bozarslan and Soner Kizilkaya bring us one man’s story in this report, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. VOA footage by Mahmut Bozarslan and Ogulcan Bakiler. Ezel Sahinkaya contributed. …

American basketball player Brittney Griner was back in a Russian court Tuesday for her drug possession trial as the United States attempts to negotiate with Russia about her release.   Griner, who plays for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association, was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport in February as she was entering the country. She has played for the Russian UMMC Ekaterinburg women’s basketball team during the WNBA’s offseason since 2014.   Russian authorities accused Griner of carrying cannabis in vape cartridges, which is illegal in Russia. During the hearing Tuesday, the prosecution called a narcotics…

Almost 700 migrants and asylum seekers crossed the Channel to Britain in a single day this week, a new record for the year, the UK government said Tuesday. The latest arrivals suggest the government’s controversial policy to deport those attempting the dangerous crossing to Rwanda has so far failed to deter them. The Defense Ministry said 696 migrants arrived on 14 small boats on Monday, the highest daily tally in 2022 and only the second time this year it has topped 600. Large groups of people, including young children, were reportedly brought ashore at Ramsgate, on the Kent coast in…