Saudi, UAE led mediation: Russia frees US basketball star in swap with arms dealer Viktor Bout

News Network
December 9, 2022

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The US and Russia have exchanged jailed US basketball star Brittney Griner for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, held in an American prison for 12 years.

UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud led mediation efforts that secured the release of Griner in a prisoner swap with Russia, a joint statement released by WAM said on Thursday.

President Joe Biden said Griner was safe and on a plane home from the United Arab Emirates.

"I'm glad to say Brittney's in good spirits... she needs time and space to recover," he said at the White House.

Bout - widely known as the "merchant of death" - has arrived back in Moscow, Russian media reports.

"In the middle of the night they simply woke me up and said 'Get your things together' and that was it," Bout said in brief remarks to a reporter from national television, after landing in Russia.

Bout reportedly came down the aeroplane steps carrying a bouquet of flowers before embracing his mother and his wife.

Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for possessing cannabis oil and last month she was sent to a penal colony.

The Biden administration proposed a prisoner exchange in July, aware Moscow had long sought Bout's release.

The elaborate swap involved two private planes bringing the pair to Abu Dhabi airport from Moscow and Washington, and then flying them home.

Footage on Russian state media showed them crossing on the tarmac with their respective teams. In the video, apparently provided by Russian security services, Bout is warmly greeted by two Russian officials as Griner, who is 6ft 9in (206cm), looks on. Part of the swap is then edited out before the two parties go their separate ways.

"The Russian citizen has been returned to his homeland," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Speaking in the Oval Office, Brittney Griner's wife Cherelle praised the efforts of the Biden administration in securing her release: "I'm just standing here overwhelmed with emotions."

According to a joint Saudi-UAE statement, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman played a leading role in mediation efforts, along with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

The heir to the Saudi throne has good relations with Russia's Vladimir Putin and in September he helped co-ordinate a complex swap of hundreds of prisoners held by Russia and Ukraine.

But the White House denied any mediation had been involved. "The only countries that negotiated this deal were the United States and Russia," said press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

When negotiations began to secure Griner's release during the summer, the US made clear it wanted ex-marine Paul Whelan to be included in an exchange.

Bout's lawyer, Alexei Tarasov, told Russian TV that from the start the US wanted two of its citizens returned, and Russia's foreign ministry complained that "Washington categorically refused to engage in dialogue".

But it became clear that Whelan, jailed in 2018 on suspicion of spying, would not be part of the Russian swap, dashing his family's hopes.

Paul Whelan told CNN he was "greatly disappointed" more had not been done to free him, as he had carried out no crime: "I don't understand why I'm still sitting here," he said.

President Biden finally signed the order for Bout's release, commuting his 25-year jail term, in a direct swap for Griner.

Bout's wife Alla told Russian TV she had spoken to him only two days ago: "He was supposed to call me tonight. Now we'll see each other and hug each other. That's better than any phone call."

Viktor Bout sold arms to warlords and rogue governments, becoming one of the world's most wanted men.

Dubbed the "merchant of death" for gun-running in the years after the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian's exploits inspired the 2005 Hollywood film Lord of War, which was loosely based on his life.

His secretive career was brought to an end by an elaborate US sting in 2008, when he was arrested at a hotel in the Thai capital Bangkok, to the anger of the Russian government.

He was extradited two years later and has spent the past 12 years in an American jail for conspiring to support terrorists and kill Americans.

Bout's circumstances could hardly be more different from that of his opposite number in the prisoner swap.

Brittney Griner, 32, is one of the best-known sportswomen in America. During the US basketball season the double Olympic champion is a star centre for Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA.

Her only reason for flying to Moscow was to play in Russia during the off-season in the US. She told her Russian trial that the cannabis oil found in her bag had been an "honest mistake".

Secretary of State Antony Blinken singled out the efforts of presidential envoy Roger Carstens, who accompanied Griner on the plane from the UAE.

Leading figures in US basketball welcomed her release, among them twice WNBA champion Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm. 

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News Network
November 11,2024

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Mangaluru: In a deeply tragic turn of events, a 28-year-old woman named Ranjitha, who had recently given birth but tragically lost her newborn, ended her life by suicide on Monday. She reportedly leapt from the fourth-floor window of Lady Goschen Hospital’s luggage room.

Ranjitha, whose strength and resilience had carried her through a difficult pregnancy, was scheduled for discharge on Monday. Her journey to Lady Goschen Hospital began on October 24, when she was transferred from Karkala. She was a high-risk patient, battling both hypertension and diabetes. At the time of her admission, she was just 27 weeks pregnant.

Due to the complexities of her health, doctors made the difficult decision to perform an emergency C-section on October 30. She delivered a baby girl, premature and weighing only 960 grams. The newborn was immediately moved to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where doctors did all they could. Despite these efforts, the baby passed away on November 3.

Ranjitha’s sorrow was profound. She stayed under hospital care even after her initial recovery and was preparing to go home on November 9. She had even requested a couple more days at the hospital, seeking time perhaps to cope with her unimaginable grief.

On the day of her discharge, a discharge card ready and her family eagerly waiting to take her home, Ranjitha reportedly made her way to the luggage room in the early hours. There, standing on a cot placed for patients' family members, she climbed to a window and fell from the fourth floor. Despite the attempts of another visitor to intervene, tragedy was inevitable. She was rushed to Government Wenlock Hospital, where doctors confirmed the worst—she was no more.

Dr. Durgaparasad M R, the Medical Superintendent at Lady Goschen Hospital, shared his grief and spoke of the ongoing investigation. A post-mortem is to be conducted, and the local Tahsildar will complete the necessary inquest procedures. Ranjitha’s exact reasons for taking this step are yet to be confirmed, though the weight of her recent losses paints a sorrowful picture.

If you or anyone you know is struggling emotionally, please remember that help is available. Reach out to mental health experts who can provide support and guidance. The toll-free helpline number 9152987821 is available to assist anyone in distress.

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News Network
November 18,2024

Advisors to US President-elect Donald Trump have instructed his allies and associates to refrain from using the inflammatory language they previously employed when discussing issues related to migrants and the deportation of asylum seekers, in a bid to avoid “looking like Nazis.”

US media reports said that Trump’s associates had been asked to stop using the word “camps” to describe potential facilities that would be used to accommodate migrants rounded up in deportation operations across the country.

The reports said the US president-elect’s allies had been ordered to stave off such charged terms as they would bring to mind “Nazis,” and be used against Trump.

“I have received some guidance to avoid terms, like ‘camps,’ that can be twisted and used against the president, yes,” one Trump ally told American monthly magazine Rolling Stone.

“Apparently, some people think it makes us look like Nazis.”

The presidential advisers also cautioned surrogates and allies to keep racist terms, which have dogged Trump’s campaign, out of their remarks.

They said with Trump’s heated rhetoric that used to compare undocumented immigrants to “animals” and his slight that they are “poisoning the blood of our country,” detractors did not need to reach too far to find parallels to Nazi Germany.

Stephen Miller, who Trump tapped to be his deputy chief of staff of policy, specifically used the word “camps” to describe holding facilities that he hoped the military could put together for immigrants.

Tom Homan, who served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is chosen by Trump to be in charge of the US borders, was no stranger to such language.

“It’s not gonna be a mass sweep of neighborhoods,” he said in an interview earlier this week. “It’s not gonna be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.”

Becoming a little more forthright about the new government’s aggressive deportation plans, Homan likened the early days of the Trump administration to the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“I got three words for them – shock and awe,” he said. “You’re going to see us take this country back.”

Trump made immigration a central element of his 2024 presidential campaign but unlike his first run, which was mainly focused on building a border wall, he has shifted his attention to interior enforcement and the removal of undocumented immigrants already in the United States.

People close to the US president and his aides are laying the groundwork for expanding detention facilities to fulfill his mass deportation campaign promise.

The businessman-turned-politician deported more than 1.5 million people during his first term.

The figure do not include the millions of people turned away at the border under a Covid-era policy enacted by Trump and used during most of Biden’s term.

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News Network
November 21,2024

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant over war crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The court’s Pre-Trial Chamber I issued warrants of arrest for Netanyahu and Gallant "for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest”, it confirmed in a statement Thursday.

It is the first instance in the court's 22-year history it has issued arrest warrants for Western-allied senior officials.

In its statement, the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I, a panel of three judges, said it has rejected appeals by Israel challenging its jurisdiction. 

The chamber said it has decided to release the arrest warrants because "conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing", referring to Israel's ongoing onslaught on Gaza.

Netanyahu and Gallant, it said, “each bear criminal responsibility” for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts,” as well as “intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”

All 124 states that signed the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court, are now under an obligation to arrest the wanted individuals and hand them over to the ICC in the Hague. 

The court relies on the cooperation of member states to arrest and surrender suspects. The Netherlands' foreign minister quickly said his country was prepared to enforce the warrants while 93 nations earlier reiterated their support for the ICC.

Triestino Mariniello, a lawyer representing Palestinian victims at the ICC, called the warrants "a historic decision".

He noted that the court had endured "pressure and threats of sanctions" from the US government, but acted nonetheless.

As expected, the Tel Aviv regime rejected the rulings, with its security minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling the warrants “anti-Semitic through and through.”

The ICC said Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required.

Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court. 

Israel unleashed its bloody Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023. So far, it has killed at least 43,985 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 104,092 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel faces an ongoing South Africa-led genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

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