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Brittney Griner has had her detention in Russia extended

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Brittney Griner, an American basketball player, has had her pre-trial detention in Russia extended for another month. Ms Griner, 31, has been detained since February, when Moscow airport officials allegedly discovered cannabis oil in her luggage as she was returning to the United States after performing in Russia. 

Officials in the United States believe she was wrongfully imprisoned and should be released. If convicted, Ms Griner, one of the best female players in the world, faces up to ten years in prison. Ms Griner is seen in an Associated Press photo wearing an orange hoodie and looking down at the court hearing in Khimki, Russia, just outside of Moscow. 

A consular official from the US State Department attended the hearing and spoke with Ms Griner on the sidelines, according to the US State Department. Ms Griner was doing “as well as can be expected in extremely difficult circumstances,” according to a spokesman. Her lawyer told the Associated Press after the hearing that Ms Griner had not expressed “any complaints about the detention conditions.”

According to state-owned Russian news agency TASS, Russia is hoping to trade Ms Griner for Viktor Bout, an arms trafficker convicted in the United States. Bout, dubbed “the Merchant of Death,” was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and extradited to the United States, where he was found guilty of attempting to smuggle weapons to Colombian rebels for use against US citizens.

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Finland will apply for NATO membership “as soon as possible”

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Finland’s president and prime minister have urged the country to join NATO “as soon as possible.”

In a joint statement, Sauli Niinisto and Sanna Marin said they expected a decision within the next few days. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, public support for Nato membership has risen dramatically.

Finland and Russia share a 1,300-kilometer (810-mile) border. To avoid antagonising its eastern neighbour, it has stayed out of Nato until now.

After consideration by parliament and other senior political figures, Finland will formally announce its decision on Sunday.

Sweden has stated that it will make a similar announcement on the same day.

If the two governments abandon their long-standing policy of military non-alignment, Russia has threatened unspecified measures.

However, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has stated that he expects Sweden and Finland to join Nato “quite quickly.”

In their statement, President Niinisto and Prime Minister Marin stated that they wanted to give the Finnish public time to discuss the issue, but that the time for a decision was approaching.

It stated that joining NATO would strengthen Finland’s security. “Finland’s membership in Nato would strengthen the entire defence alliance. Finland should apply for NATO membership as soon as possible.”

Later, in an interview with journalists, Mr Niinisto addressed Russian concerns and blamed the move on Moscow’s invasion.

“Anyone would not be against joining NATO. This was your fault. Examine yourself in the mirror “he said.

Last week, a poll found that 76 percent of Finns support joining NATO, with only 12 percent opposed, marking a significant shift toward membership since the invasion.

During World War II, Finland and the Soviet Union were on opposing sides, with the Finns famously repelling a Soviet invasion in 1939-40.

However, Finland lost 10% of its land in the final peace agreement and remained a non-aligned country throughout the Cold War.

Russia’s borders with Nato would be more than doubled if it joined the alliance. Sweden shares no borders with Russia.

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Israel: Turkish flight aborted as passengers get plane crash pics

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After passengers received plane crash images on their phones, the captain of a Turkish AnadoluJet flight aborted its take-off at Israel’s main airport.

The plane was taxiing at Ben Gurion Airport when the incident occurred, according to Israel’s aviation authority. Passengers and crew were removed from the plane, and luggage was inspected again.

A number of young Israelis have been identified as suspects and are currently being interrogated. After being cleared to leave, the plane left five hours late.

The AnadoluJet Boeing 737, which carried 160 passengers, was on its way to take off when passengers informed the crew that they had received the photos. After being informed, the captain decided to return to the terminal.

The images were shared via AirDrop, an Apple service that allows users to send files from one Apple device to another over short distances, according to the Hebrew Ynet news site. According to the report, all of the images were received on iPhones.

Images from a Turkish Airlines plane that crashed in the Netherlands in 2009 and another plane that crashed in the United States in 2013, according to Ynet.

Passengers were given the option of reboarding the reinspected flight to Istanbul or staying in Israel.

Two weeks ago, another security scare occurred at Ben Gurion Airport. It happened when a family from the United States showed up at check-in with a live artillery shell that they had planned to take home as a souvenir.

As people fled the area, chaos ensued, with one person requiring hospital treatment after falling over a conveyor belt in the haste to flee.

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News Trending War

Dozens feared dead after Russian bomb hits school

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The bombing of a school where villagers had sought refuge is tragically just one of many attacks this weekend as the war in Ukraine continues.

A sustained Russian assault has resulted in fierce fighting around Popasna in Luhansk in recent days. Serhiy Haidai, the local governor, said Ukrainian forces were retreating and that the town had been completely destroyed.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced that his troops had taken control of the majority of the town.

Meanwhile, Russian-backed separatists in the neighbouring Donetsk region claimed that Ukrainian shelling hit the city of the same name and another town, Holmivskyi, on Sunday.

Both sides had previously stated that the other would suffer significant losses. According to the Ukrainian government, 400 enemy soldiers were killed, eight tanks and 28 other armoured vehicles were destroyed, a ship and a helicopter were destroyed, and 27 drones were shot down.

According to Russia’s military, its air force alone killed around 420 Ukrainian soldiers and disabled 55 military vehicles. It also claims to have shot down two attack planes and a helicopter near the port of Odesa, as well as destroying a warship with a missile. Since the Russian invasion began, the Ukrainian government has accused Moscow of targeting educational establishments, including schools and colleges, completely destroying more than 20 sites.

Daria Herasymchuk, a presidential advisor, called the invasion “a war against children.”

Officials said on Sunday that the Russian invasion has killed 225 children and injured 413 others, though these figures are likely to be higher because they do not include casualties in occupied areas or areas where hostilities are still taking place.

Children were suffering the most, according to Ms Herasymchuk, in the eastern Donbas region, where the government has requested international assistance to repatriate children from orphanages in Russian-occupied territory.

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Belarus Ryanair plane arrest student Sofia Sapega jailed for six years

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A Belarusian court sentenced a Russian student to six years in prison, one year after she and her dissident journalist partner were detained and arrested on a Ryanair flight. Sofia Sapega and Roman Protasevich were on their way to Lithuania when their flight was forced to land in Minsk.

The case prompted widespread condemnation and new sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko’s government. She was found guilty of inciting social enmity and discord by the court.She was also found guilty of illegally gathering and disseminating information about an unnamed person’s private life without his permission.The anger was sparked by Mr Lukashenko’s election to a sixth term in office in a rigged presidential election, according to the opposition.

Mr. Lukashenko denied the election was rigged and retaliated against the opposition, whose leaders were imprisoned or forced to flee the country.

Mr. Lukashenko denied the election was rigged and retaliated against the opposition, whose leaders were imprisoned or forced to flee the country.

Mr Protasevich had fled Belarus in 2019 and had only known Ms Sapega for about six months when they were apprehended.

He has yet to stand trial, and the status of the investigation into him is unknown.

The opposition activist was on Belarus’s “most wanted” list. However, the decision to declare a bomb threat on board his flight across Europe in May 2021 stunned the world.

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Britain’s Got Talent star Jonathan Goodwin paralysed

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Jonathan Goodwin, an escapologist, has been paralysed following an accident, according to his fiancee Amanda Abbington.

After an accident during rehearsals for America’s Got Talent: Extreme last year, the Sherlock actress said he nearly died twice.
 She revealed that the stunt performer, who competed on Britain’s Got Talent in 2019, now uses a wheelchair.

He was supposed to break free from a straight jacket while suspended 30 feet in the air between two cars.

Instead, as they caught fire, Mr Goodwin was crushed between them. “He fell 30 feet and lost a kidney, broke both shoulder blades, shattered both legs,” Ms Abbington, 48, said on Jay Rayner’s Out To Lunch podcast.

“He had third-degree burns, which broke his spine and severed his spinal cord, and he was on the verge of death.” Then he nearly died again on the operating table.”

“He’ll be like that forever unless there’s some kind of stem cell surgery or that thing Elon Musk is designing with the little chip,” she said. Mr. Goodwin, a Pembrokeshire native, has remained “positive and upbeat, and so strong,” she said.

“I just aspire to be like him in terms of courage and strength.” “He’s just incredible, honestly, like a very happy, positive human being, just liquid sunshine,” she says. He’s incredible.”

The stuntman, according to the actress, left a voice message before his surgery saying there was a 50% chance he wouldn’t make it.

He expressed his love for her and thanked her for sharing the last few months of his life with him.

For about ten years, the couple had been friends on social media. Joe, Abbington’s son, thought his act was “amazing,” so Abbington followed him. She claimed they met after she divorced Martin Freeman, a fellow Sherlock actor, and he divorced his wife.

They spent hours on the phone each day at first, Ms Abbington said, before he flew to Vienna to meet her for the first time. Mr. Goodwin proposed within 30 minutes. The couple plan to marry this summer.

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A four-year-old Dutch boy enjoys a joyride in his mother’s car

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After driving his mother’s car in the Netherlands, a four-year-old boy may have a future in Formula One.

On Saturday, the child crashed into two parked cars in Utrecht’s central city before fleeing the scene in his pyjamas and bare feet, according to police. After seeing him walking down the street alone in the cold, concerned bystanders called the cops. No one was injured in the incident, and police claimed on Instagram that they had discovered a “new Max Verstappen.”

When his father went to work on Saturday, the child awoke and took his mother’s car keys “to go for a drive,” according to police.

A report of an abandoned vehicle near-by, which appeared to have hit two parked cars, came in after officers were dispatched to pick him up.

According to the police, it was registered to the boy’s mother, and officers contacted her. When police handed the phone to the child, he allegedly imitated driving and made steering wheel gestures. “We then realised that the child could have been the driver,” continued the Instagram post.

Before being reunited with his mother, the four-year-old was given some hot chocolate and a teddy bear at the police station.

They went to the accident scene together, and he was asked if he could demonstrate how the car worked.

According to police, the child opened the car with the key, put it in the ignition, and moved his foot to the clutch and gas pedals. His mother described him as “resourceful.”

Officers advised the parents to keep their car keys hidden from their children in the future. Police wrote in the post, “New Max Verstappen found in (the Utrecht suburb of) Overvecht,” referring to the current Dutch Formula One world champion driver. “Fortunately, this mini driver’s adventure came to a satisfying conclusion,” police said.

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News Trending War

Volunteers deliver emergency contraception pills during the Ukraine conflict

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As reports of rape rise, charities are working to get emergency contraception into Ukrainian hospitals.

Nearly 3,000 packets of morning-after pills have been delivered to areas of the country hardest hit by the Russian invasion. The pills were provided by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), and volunteers are delivering them.

Caroline Hickson, a member of the group, says that when it comes to distribution, timing is crucial. “[The morning-after pill] is effective in preventing pregnancy for a window of five days,” she told.

“If you’ve been a victim of gender-based violence, it’s critical that you get help as soon as possible, because becoming pregnant as a result of rape is extremely traumatic.”

Medical abortion pills, which can be used up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, have also been sent by the organisation.

Ms Hickson explained that the pills are available to assist women in a variety of situations, including those who are having consensual sex but believe it is not the right time to start a family.
“Emergency contraception was available in Ukraine prior to the war, but supply chains have been disrupted, and it’s critical for women to have access to this,” she said.

Because there are so many people displaced across Ukraine, it’s difficult for aid workers to determine how many supplies are needed in which areas.

Last week, Ukrainian troops pleaded for food and medicine for Mariupol, which has been cut off from humanitarian aid by Russian troops.

The IPPF has been collaborating with the UN Population Fund and the International Medical Corps to bring tablets into Ukraine.

“The UN agencies, civil society organisations, and the Ministry of Health have come together to identify the needs, and they’ve been communicated to all of us working in support,” Ms Hickson said.

Emergency contraception is included in UN kits sent to women and girls involved in conflicts around the world.

In Ukraine, they’ve done the same thing, as well as sending supplies for family planning and childbirth.

The BBC has discovered evidence of Ukrainian women being raped by invading soldiers in villages just outside of Kyiv during the war.

Similar stories have been reported by other media outlets from Bucha, a city north-west of Kyiv.

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Olivia Wilde: Actress given custody papers on stage

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Olivia Wilde, an actress and director, appeared unfazed after receiving child custody documents while performing on stage in Las Vegas. On Tuesday, she was giving a presentation when she was handed a brown envelope.

When she opened it, she discovered custody papers from her ex-boyfriend Jason Sudeikis. According to sources close to Sudeikis, he had no prior knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the letter’s delivery.

Wilde is best known for her role as Remy ‘Thirteen’ Hadley in the medical drama House and for directing the US high school teen film Booksmart.

In 2011, she met Sudeikis, who is best known for his comedy series Ted Lasso. Before divorcing in 2020, they were engaged and had two children together. At a CinemaCon conference in a theatre, Wilde was interrupted while introducing footage from her upcoming thriller Don’t Worry Darling.

“Is this for me?” Wilde inquired. An unknown woman handed her an envelope marked “private and confidential.”

She scanned the contents of the letter during her presentation before continuing on with her speech.
The letter was never mentioned again, leading to speculation that Wilde had received a new screenplay.

However, it was revealed on Wednesday that the letter actually contained custody papers for her and Sudeikis’ children. A source close to Sudeikis told Variety that “papers were drawn up to establish jurisdiction relating to Ms. Wilde and Mr. Sudeikis’ children.”

“Mr. Sudeikis had no prior knowledge of the time or location at which the envelope would have been delivered as this would have been solely up to the process service company involved, and he would never condone her being served in such an inappropriate manner,” they continued.

After questions arose about how the letter ended up being delivered to Wilde on stage, the event’s organiser, CinemaCon, said in a statement to Variety that it would “re-evaluate” its security protocols.

“Because it’s the right thing to do, we’ll act accordingly. We want to act in a responsible and safe manner.”

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It’s official: Elon Musk has paid $44 billion for Twitter

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Elon Musk, a billionaire, has taken control of Twitter in one of the biggest tech deals in history. Musk will pay approximately $44 billion for the social network, with shares valued at $54.20. On April 14, Musk announced his takeover bid, calling it his ‘best and final offer.’

“Free speech is the foundation of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where important issues affecting humanity’s future are discussed.” I also want to make Twitter better than it has ever been by adding new features, opening up the algorithms to increase trust, defeating spam bots, and authenticating all humans.However, Twitter initially put in place a “poison pill defence” against the hostile takeover. However, after Musk announced that he had secured funding, the Tesla board entered into negotiations with the co-founder of the company. Musk met “privately with several shareholders of the company to extol the virtues of his proposal” on Friday, according to the Wall Street Journal, and also made video calls to them to press his case.

“I hope that even my harshest critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Musk said earlier today on Twitter. It’s also worth noting that Musk sent out a rather obnoxious tweet about Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Saturday, ostensibly in response to Gates shorting Tesla. More than a million people have liked the tweet. He then joked that his tweet was being reviewed by the’shadow ban council.’

On the platform, he has been a staunch supporter of ‘free speech.’ “I invested in Twitter because I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” Musk wrote in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. “Twitter has extraordinary potential,” he wrote in the filing. “I’ll get it unlocked.”

Musk has already floated the idea of privatising Twitter. “If our twitter bid succeeds, we will defeat the spam bots or die trying!” he tweeted recently. Then came another post in which he stated that all humans on the platform should be authenticated.

The Tesla co-founder has previously spoken about the need for a ‘Edit Button’ on the platform, and even held a poll in which he purposefully misspelt yes and no, presumably to emphasise the need for an edit button given the frequent typos that people make while tweeting. It’s worth noting that Twitter has already confirmed that an Edit button will be introduced.

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