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Below is a summary of the current world news briefing.
Brittney Griner’s return reignites debate over prisoner swap
released on thursday us Basketball star Brittney Greener’s swap for a convicted Russian arms dealer revives an old question: Do prisoner swaps do more harm than good? At the celebrations following Griner’s return, some critics, including members of Congress and federal law enforcement, argued that such deals would only encourage foreign countries to target Americans to gain leverage over the United States.
Russian-installed Kherson official says hryvnia will be out of circulation in January
The Russian-established government of Ukraine’s Kherson region said on Saturday it had started exchanging the local currency, the Ukrainian hryvnia, into Russian rubles, with the hryvnia exchange rate in the region’s Moscow-controlled area ending on Jan. 1. In a video posted on Telegram, Andrei Peredonkin, head of the local branch of the Central Bank of Russia, said that the head of the Moscow-appointed administration of the region said: “For the convenience of the residents and the smoother integration of the region into the Russian economic space , this week the bank started currency exchange operations in the Kherson region.”
The Nobel Prize Ceremony will be held in Stockholm with unprecedented pomp
Nobel laureates gathered in the Swedish capital Stockholm on Saturday for the first fully in-person award ceremony since the COVID-19 pandemic, with a formal banquet that has curtailed events over the past two years. The ceremony began at 1500GMT and featured glamorous formal attire, with white ties and tuxedos for the men and flowing gowns and elegant hairstyles for the women. Reduced ceremonies for 2020 and 2021 with no banquet.
One dead, many missing in Jersey blast
One person was killed and several others were missing in an explosion at an apartment building in Jersey, off the coast of northern France, early Saturday morning. “Unfortunately, we have confirmed one fatality,” Jersey State Police Commissioner Robin Smith said in a video statement. The explosion occurred just before 0400 GMT and the fire had been extinguished.
Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai jailed for five years for fraud
Pro-democracy Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced on Saturday to five years and nine months in prison for fraud for breaching the lease of the headquarters of a liberal newspaper he once ran. Lai, 75, was found guilty of two counts of fraud for covering up the operations of a private company, Dico Consultants Ltd, at the headquarters of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, which was found to be in breach of its land lease.
Tunisians protest against president a week before parliamentary elections
Hundreds of Tunisians protested on Saturday against President Keith Saeed, who was elected a week ago to create a new parliament over his constitutional changes, accusing him of staging an undemocratic coup. Saeed shut down the previous parliament last year and ruled by decree before rewriting the constitution this year to give the president more powers, a move opposed by most political parties.
Police in Dresden, Germany lift alarm after hostage-taking
Police said they ended a suspected hostage-taking in the eastern German city of Dresden on Saturday after evacuating a shopping center in the historic city center and shutting down the famous Striezelmarkt Christmas market. “All clear! #Dresden hostage situation over!” police tweeted, adding that two people who did not appear to be injured were being treated.
Ukraine gets more us Russia-Iran ties have West worried about aid
The U.S. announced new military aid to Ukraine on Friday and vowed to damage relations between Russia and Ukraine Iran, a British envoy said, involved Moscow seeking hundreds of ballistic missiles and providing unprecedented military support in return. Tehran and Moscow have denied Western accusations that Russia is using Iranian drones to attack targets in Ukraine, which officials warned on Friday of winter-long power shortages after repeated Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure.
China tackles medical supply hurdles, price gouging coronavirus disease fear
China said on Saturday it would stop checking truck drivers and crews transporting goods domestically for COVID-19, removing a key bottleneck in its supply chain network as the country accelerates the rollback of COVID-19 policies.The country made a huge shift in reopening its economy this week, easing key parts of the coronavirus disease The policy shift has been welcomed by a weary public, but has now raised fears that infections could surge and cause further damage.
Taiwan’s commitment goes deeper Japan Security cooperation when senior lawmakers visit
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen pledged Saturday to deepen security cooperation with Taiwan Japan Securing freedom in the Indo-Pacific during a meeting with a senior member of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).Although Japan They have no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which China claims to be democratically ruled; they have close informal ties, and both have Chinaespecially the increased military activity in their vicinity.
(According to agency opinion.)
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