- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
- India pile up World Cup high to rout Sri Lanka
- One year later, Israeli hostage family learns of loss
- Texans receiver Collins, Pats' safety Peppers out for NFL clash
Russian court resumes trial of US reporter Evan Gershkovich
US reporter Evan Gershkovich's espionage trial restarted on Thursday in Russia, a case that his employer and the White House have labelled a sham.
The 32-year-old became the first Western journalist in Russia to be charged with spying since the Soviet era when he was detained in March 2023 on a reporting trip to the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.
He has spent almost 16 months in Russian detention and faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years if found guilty.
The trial resumed behind closed doors in Yekaterinburg's Sverdlovsk Regional Court at around 11:00 am (0600 GMT), a spokesperson for the court told AFP without providing further details.
The hearing was moved forward by almost a month at the request of his defence team.
Moscow and Washington have both said they are open to exchanging the Wall Street Journal reporter in a deal, but neither side has given clues as to when this might be.
The Kremlin has provided no public evidence for the spying allegations against Gershkovich, saying only that he was caught "red-handed" and was working for the US Central Intelligence Agency.
Prosecutors accuse him of spying on Russian tank maker Uralvagonzavod.
Washington has said the claims are fabricated, and a United Nations expert panel declared in July that he was being held arbitrarily.
His last public appearance in court was on June 26, when he spoke only briefly to greet journalists and his head was fully shaven.
The Russian penitentiary service refused to disclose to AFP where he would be held after the proceedings or why his hair had been cut.
- 'The best way he can' -
Raised in New Jersey and a fluent Russian speaker, Gershkovich had reported from Russia for six years.
He carried on visiting the country on journalistic trips even after dozens of other Western reporters left in the wake of Russia's Ukraine offensive and the introduction of strict military censorship laws.
In 2017, he moved to the Russian capital to work for an English-language newspaper, The Moscow Times, where he produced some of the outlet's biggest stories on a shoestring budget.
He then worked for AFP before becoming a Moscow correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, weeks before the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine.
In the role, he covered how the conflict affected ordinary Russians, including by speaking to the families of dead soldiers.
There has been a major campaign to release Gershkovich, who spent almost 15 months in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison following his arrest.
"He is managing the best way he can," his mother, Ella Milman, told The Wall Street Journal in March.
Russia holds other American citizens in its jails, including marine Paul Whelan, in prison for more than five years on spying charges, and US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was detained last year while visiting family.
The White House has warned US citizens still in the country to "depart immediately" due to the risk of wrongful arrest.
P.Santos--AMWN