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- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
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- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
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- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
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- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
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- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
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- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
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- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
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- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
Russia jails US-Russian woman for 12 years for 'high treason'
A Russian court on Thursday jailed US-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina for 12 years after she was found guilty of "high treason" for giving about $50 to a pro-Ukraine charity in a case slammed as "vindictive cruelty" by the US presidency.
The 32-year-old ballet dancer and spa worker from Los Angeles was detained in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg in January while visiting family.
"The court found Ksenia Karelina guilty of high treason and sentenced her to 12 years' imprisonment in a general regime colony," the Sverdlovsk Regional Court in Yekaterinburg said.
Karelina stood in a glass defendant's cage wearing a white top and jeans as the verdict was read out, a video posted by the court showed.
She donated $51.80 to New York-based charity "Razom for Ukraine" shortly after Russia launched its full-scale military offensive in February 2022, US media outlets reported, citing her family and employer.
Russia's FSB security service accused her of collecting money that was "used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces."
She pleaded guilty to the charges at a hearing last week, state media said.
The White House denounced the court verdict as "nothing less than just vindictive cruelty".
"We're talking about 50 bucks to try to alleviate the suffering of the people of Ukraine and to call that treason is just absolutely ludicrous," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
- 'Wrongly accused' -
Washington has accused Moscow of arresting its citizens on baseless charges to use them as bargaining chips to secure the release of Russians convicted abroad.
The sentence was ordered just over two weeks after Russia freed US reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US marine Paul Whelan and 14 others in its biggest prisoner swap with the West since the Cold War.
On Wednesday, an American man accused of violence against a Russian law enforcement officer in Moscow was sentenced to 15 days in custody for "hooliganism".
Karelina's employer, the Ciel Spa at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, wrote on Facebook in February that she had been "wrongly accused".
Her partner has also publicly petitioned for her release.
Karelina was first detained on 27 January while visiting family in Yekaterinburg, almost a month after flying to Russia, according to a Russian rights group.
Russian regional news agency URA.RU reported the charge was related to "swearing in a public place", an accusation she rejected in court, according to the Mediazona news outlet.
FSB officers may have discovered she made the payment to the pro-Ukraine charity on her phone, but it was not clear how, according to Russian media outlets.
She was initially held for 14 days after being detained for "petty hooliganism" but was never released, as authorities charged her with "treason" while she was in custody.
Russia often arrests foreigners on minor charges before accusing them of more serious offences like treason or espionage.
M.Thompson--AMWN