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DAKAR, June 1 (Reuters) - Nine people were killed in Senegal on Thursday in clashes between riot police and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko after a court sentenced him to two years in jail, casting serious doubt on his chances of running for president next year. The justice ministry said the opposition leader could now be taken to prison at any time. Police remained stationed around his home Dakar as unrest flared in the capital and elsewhere after the verdict. But Sall's second term has been particularly turbulent for a country usually viewed as one of West Africa's strongest democracies. Separately, Sonko is appealing against a six-month suspended prison sentence for libel - an offence he also denies.

Persons: Ousmane Sonko, Sonko, Bamba Ciss, Sonko's, Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome, Abdou Karim Fofana, Ndiack Fall, Macky Sall, Sall, Ngouda Dione, Bate Felix, Diadie Ba, Edward McAllister, Sofia Christensen, Alessandra Prentice, Matthew Lewis, Andrew Heavens, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Police, REUTERS, University, Thomson Locations: DAKAR, Senegal, Dakar, Dakar Senegal, West, Lincoln

☆ After a year of fighting in Ukraine, the brutal logic behind Russia's 'human wave' attacks is becoming clear
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

At the bottom of the hierarchy is what RUSI terms "disposable infantry." According to the RUSI report, the term "human wave attacks" has been misleadingly applied to the way Russia has employed these infantry forces. The assault troops attack in larger company-size formations, backed by tanks and artillery as they attempt to outflank Ukrainian defenses. Once their mission is complete, assault forces are replaced by line and disposable infantry, who begin preparing for the next attack. Disposable troops are fed into the meat-grinder and killed or wounded before they can gain enough experience to survive.

Persons: —, Wagner Group's, Arkady Budnitsky, Wagner, They're, Diego Herrera Carcedo, demographically, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Royal United Services Institute, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Wagner Group, Donetsk People's Republics, Russian, Soviet, —, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Russian, British, Rostov, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Forbes

Sonko, 48, was accused of raping a woman who worked in a massage parlour in 2021, when she was 20, and making death threats against her. "With this sentence Sonko cannot be a candidate," said one of his lawyers, Bamba Cisse. University law professor Ndiack Fall said Sonko could demand a retrial if he turns himself in to authorities. But Sall's second term has been particularly turbulent for a country usually viewed as one of West Africa's strongest democracies. Separately, Sonko is appealing against a six-month suspended prison sentence for libel.

Persons: Ousmane Sonko, Bamba Cisse, Ndiack Fall, Sonko's, Sonko, Macky Sall, Sall, Ngouda Dione, Bate Felix, Sofia Christensen, Estelle Shirbon, Christina Fincher, Matthew Lewis Organizations: University, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: DAKAR, Dakar, West, Dakar Senegal, Senegal

☆ Spanish football admits it has racism problem after Vinicius incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MADRID, May 22 (Reuters) - Spanish soccer has a racism problem, football federation chief Luis Rubiales said on Monday, after Real Madrid lodged a complaint following alleged insults hurled at their Brazilian star Vinicius Jr. It is "a serious problem that also stains an entire team, an entire fan base, an entire club, an entire country." "Probably Vinicius is more right than we think and we all need to do more about racism," Rubiales said. Real Madrid said on Monday they have lodged a hate crime complaint following the incident in Valencia. It is the 10th episode of alleged racism against Vinicius that has been reported to prosecutors this season, according to LaLiga.

CNN —Vice President Kamala Harris was among those celebrating the return of Brittney Griner to the WNBA on Friday, five months after the Phoenix Mercury star was released from a Russian penal colony. Harris met with players from both teams before the game and thanked them for their support while Griner was in Russian custody for almost 300 days last year. “A team is a team, that’s family.”Harris addressed the players in their locker room before the game. Mario Tama/Getty ImagesIn return, Los Angeles star and players’ union president Nneka Ogwumike thanked Harris and the Biden administration for securing Griner’s release. “Just appreciating everything because tomorrow is not guaranteed.”Griner scored 18 points on her WNBA return.

LOS ANGELES, May 19 (Reuters) - Brittney Griner returned to the WNBA hardwood on Friday night in Los Angeles to cheers from a raucous crowd that included U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. "It felt good, it felt real good. U.S. officials said she was wrongly detained and was being used as a political pawn amid increasingly strained relations with Moscow. The two-time Olympic champion, 32, kicked off her 10th season with the Mercury on Friday after playing in a pre-season game one week ago. Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Griner, 'superteams' in focus as WNBA season kicks off
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Amy Tennery | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - Brittney Griner is back in action for the Phoenix Mercury while the New York Liberty and defending champions Las Vegas Aces are expected to usher in the WNBA's "superteam" era when a new season tips off on Friday. "It was cool, and then at the same time, I was sitting there looking around, zoned out a little bit," said Griner, who will open her season on the road against the Sparks on Friday. I mean, these are some of the best players in the league," head coach Sandy Brondello told reporters this week. She will join reigning MVP A'ja Wilson and All-Star Kelsey Plum, along with two-time champion Alysha Clark, who also signed as a free agent. Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Revealed: Vladimir Putin's secret Black Sea bunker
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | Anastasiia Carrier | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

You would think that the architects who designed Vladimir Putin's palace thought of everything. They failed to hide plans showing two elaborate tunnels running beneath the palace complex — plans that any competent state-security apparatus would fight tooth-and-nail to keep secret. The underground complex beneath Putin's palace consists of two separate tunnels connected by an elevator that descends roughly 50 meters below the surface. Gelendzhik is the town closest to the palace complex, a five-hour drive from the resort city of Sochi. "With the war in Ukraine," Kimmage said, "there's speechmaking, there's propaganda, there's exaggeration — there's this performative aspect that plays to Russia's domestic politics.

☆ Manhattan DA refuses Trump's demand for a lot more detail in his hush money records-fraud prosecution — for now
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

On Tuesday, lawyers for DA Alvin Bragg said Trump already has everything he's currently entitled to. Trump won't get more from prosecutors until he agrees not to weaponize the materials, the DA said. Under the protective order, Trump will be allowed to view the new discovery material only in the presence of his lawyers. Trump and his company misrepresented Cohen's reimbursement as "legal fees" in company books, the DA alleged last month. Bragg has alleged there were false entries in the records of the Trump Organization and the National Enquirer concerning the hush money payment to Daniels.

☆ Griner plays in WNBA for first time since Russia detention
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Amy Tennery | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"I didn't think I would be sitting here. I didn't think I would be playing basketball this quickly," Griner told reporters after the Sparks handed them a 90-71 loss. Griner was greeted to roars of celebration at Phoenix's Footprint Center on Friday as she exited the tunnel and strode onto the court. "I didn't feel like I was gassed or dying," said Griner, who offered a withering self-appraisal of her defensive performance. The two-time WNBA scoring champion has been subject to enormous media interest since her return to the United States, using her super-sized platform to champion the cause of other Americans detained abroad.

REUTERS/Andrew KellyNEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - American basketball star Brittney Griner stepped onto the red carpet at the star-studded Met Gala on Monday, embracing a larger spotlight months after returning home from detention in a Russian penal colony. The twice Olympic champion has pledged to advocate for the release of other Americans detained abroad after she was freed from Russia in a high-profile prisoner exchange after nearly 10 months of detention. "I was able to come home," Griner told Vogue at the gala. "It is everything, to be here with my wife able to be here it means so much," Griner said. Twenty-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer served as a co-chair of the event while China's twice Olympic champion freestyle skier Eileen Gu was also in attendance.

☆ Employee Monitoring and Surveillance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +50 min

Ensuring Employee Safety and Systems SecurityEmployers may use electronic workplace monitoring and surveillance to protect their:Worksites. Potential Liability for Electronic Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceEmployers that engage in electronic workplace monitoring and surveillance must comply with various federal and state laws, including:The Wiretap Act. Best Practices for Electronic Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceTo avoid violating relevant state and federal laws, before conducting workplace monitoring and surveillance, employers should:Consider the purpose and appropriate scope of their monitoring and surveillance activities and what methods will help them achieve their objectives. Determine the Purpose of Workplace Monitoring and SurveillanceBefore conducting any workplace monitoring or surveillance, best practice is for employers to identify the purpose and goals of these activities to:Ensure that there is a legitimate business purpose for the planned monitoring and surveillance activities. Determine the scope of monitoring and surveillance necessary to accomplish the business purpose, and conduct only the minimum monitoring and surveillance necessary to meet that business need.

☆ Brittney Griner Expresses Hope for Her Basketball Future, Concern for Americans Still Held Overseas
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Louise Radnofsky | Robert O Connell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Basketball star Brittney Griner landed in the U.S. after being released from a Russian penal colony in a negotiated prisoner swap, a U.S. official said. WSJ examines the events that led to Griner’s detainment, sentencing and release, and what comes next. Illustration: Adele MorganAt a press conference that was styled more as a triumphant homecoming, the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday celebrated the return of its star player Brittney Griner after a 10-month detention in Russia. In her first extensive media availability since being released from a Russian penal colony in December, Griner pledged to fight for the return of other American detainees, without explicitly naming two in Russia whom she was specifically asked about.

☆ In This Satire, Televised Blood Baths Offer Prisoners a Path to Freedom
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Giri Nathan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

What all these fighters seek is freedom, a word that appears capitalized throughout the book, like a term of art or faith. It comes in two types: Low Freedom (death, however it might find them) and High Freedom (pardon, commutation or clemency after three years survived on the circuit). If you recoil at that unholy fusion, that’s kind of the point; and the author keeps pulling off this shock, page after page. Adjei-Brenyah has a fine intuition, an almost spatial sense for what we need to see and what we don’t. His names are crisp, like Sunset Harkless (a man) and Spinifer Black (a spear), and his compact euphemisms a gift.

☆ Scores of world figures urge Putin to free Navalny in open letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 28 (Reuters) - Scores of famous figures, including writers and actors, have signed an open letter urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to free opposition politician Alexei Navalny and to end what they called his torture in prison. Russian authorities say Navalny and his supporters are extremists with links to the U.S. CIA intelligence agency intent on trying to destabilise Russia. They have outlawed his movement and Navalny himself is facing new charges that could add years to his prison sentence. Navalny's supporters have grown increasingly worried about his health in recent weeks, saying they fear he could die in jail. The Kremlin denied trying to kill him and said there was no evidence he was poisoned with a nerve agent.

☆ Griner says she held onto hope in first news conference after Russian detention
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who was detained in Russia, tears up as she holds a news conference ahead of return to court with Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., April 27, 2023. The two-times Olympic gold medallist was released from one of Russia's most notorious penal colonies in a high-profile prisoner exchange with the United States late last year after she was arrested in February 2022. "I'm no stranger to hard times," said Griner, at an emotional news conference. She said she was prescribed medical cannabis in the United States for a chronic injury and never intended to break the law. Griner pledged to dedicate herself to bringing home other Americans detained abroad and announced she and the Phoenix Mercury would partner with Bring Our Families Home to champion the cause.

☆ Putin's political enemies and Kremlin critics face an 'extremely dangerous' situation in Russia right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"All of the opposition political leaders are either in jail or under restrictive measures or outside of the country. The oppression of political opposition figures in Russia is nothing new. Some accuse the Russian state of trying to poison them, while others have died in suspicious circumstances. Evgenia Novozhenina | ReutersThe persecution of political opposition figures attracted global attention in 2020 when the high-profile Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent. Russian political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya agreed that "it's extremely dangerous" to be a critic of the Kremlin now, no matter what your background is.

☆ Navalny, Top Kremlin Critic, Says New Charge Could Jail Him for Life
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Aleksei A. Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader, said on Wednesday that Russian authorities had initiated “absurd” new terrorism charges against him that could lead to life in prison. Mr. Navalny’s comments, which were posted on his team’s Twitter account, came as he appeared via video link at a court hearing over separate extremism charges that are widely seen as politically motivated. Mr. Navalny, who started as an anticorruption activist before becoming one of the Kremlin’s most prominent critics, is already serving a sentence in a penal colony for fraud and contempt of court. Since returning to Russia after recovering in Germany from a poisoning attempt that the West has blamed on the Kremlin, he has repeatedly faced new charges from Russian authorities. The Russian authorities did not confirm the charges.

☆ Navalny says he faces 30 more years in Russian jail after terrorism case opened
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Yulia MorozovaSummary Navalny says he faces 30 more years in jailNavalny says Russia opens terrorism caseHe is now serving sentence for fraud, contempt of courtApril 26 (Reuters) - Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said on Wednesday that investigators had opened what he called an "absurd" terrorism case against him that could see him sentenced to an additional 30 years in jail. Navalny said it was absurd to argue he had committed terrorism while in prison. He said the case would be tried by a military court. His supporters cast him as a Russian version of South Africa's Nelson Mandela who will one day walk free from jail to lead his country. Separately on Wednesday, Russian investigators said that 11 people had been put on an "international wanted list" in a case linked to Navalny, state-owned news agency TASS reported.

Lavrov, who flew from Moscow to New York to preside over the Security Council, defended his country's "special military operation" in Ukraine in opening remarks before the international forum. Lavrov then blamed the United States for exacerbating geopolitical challenges around the world, including tensions between China and Taiwan. "Today it's Ukraine, but tomorrow it could be another country, another small nation that is invaded by its larger neighbor," she added. In direct remarks to Lavrov, Thomas-Greenfield reiterated calls for the immediate release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, whose sister attended the meeting. "I want minister Lavrov to look into her eyes and see her suffering.

☆ Alleged former Wagner fighters claim they killed young children in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Two men claiming to be ex-Wagner fighters have made harrowing claims about their actions in Ukraine. The men claim they killed dozens of children, civilians, and some of their comrades. The group is known to recruit from Russian prisons, offering inmates freedom once they complete six months of fighting in Ukraine. Savichev said that Wagner fighters were ordered to "execute any men who were 15 years or older" and were told when sweeping houses to ensure all civilians found were killed, CNN reported. Ukrainian prosecutors have started to investigate the Wagner fighters' testimonies.

☆ Nima Momeni was cited with assault against a woman less than a year before he was arrested and charged in the fatal stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Lloyd Lee | Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Nima Momeni faces a murder charge in connection to Cash App founder Bob Lee's death. Less than a year before, he was cited for simple assault of a woman, records show. Momeni had a few prior run-ins with police, including for driving with a suspended license and a DUI. Nima Momeni, 38, the tech consultant who was arrested on a murder charge in the stabbing of Cash App creator Bob Lee, was previously cited on suspicion of assault and battery, according to police records obtained by Insider. Records state that Momeni was subsequently cited and released on PC 242, the California penal code for assault and battery.

Then on Monday, opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza was jailed for treason and spreading "false information" about Russia's war in Ukraine. loadingThe Kremlin says it has no say over court decisions and Navalny's treatment is a matter for the prison service. Putin has told Russians that the West is seeking to use traitors as a "fifth column" to sow discord and ultimately destroy Russia. ARREST WARRANTThe trend has accelerated since March 17, when Putin was accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court. Russia's prison service did not reply to a request for comment.

☆ A fifth of Russian prisoners recruited to fight in Ukraine are HIV positive, with convicts promised anti-viral drugs if they agreed to fight: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A fifth of recruits in Russian prisoner units are HIV positive, says Ukraine, per The New York TImes. Prisoners were recruited to join the Wagner Group in Ukraine with promises of anti-viral medication. Captured soldiers said they agreed because Russian prisons deprived them of effective HIV treatment. "I understood I would have a quick death or a slow death," he said, referring to the high death toll among Wagner Group soldiers. Last year he was bedridden with pneumonia, and later became sick while at a training camp for the Wagner Group, according to the newspaper.

☆ Russia's Navalny faces new charges after prison 'provocation' - lawyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, April 18 (Reuters) - Russia's leading opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, faces the prospect of new criminal charges after in effect being forced to break the rules of the maximum security penal colony where he is being held, one of his lawyers said on Tuesday. He had then been told he would be charged with thwarting prison authorities, which carries a maximum sentence of five years, Kobzev said. The penitentiary service, which has in the past denied allegations of mistreatment, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Navalny first came to prominence by drawing attention to the wealth of senior officials in a series of widely watched videos. For a time he was able to channel public dissatisfaction with Vladimir Putin, Russia's unchallenged leader for the last 23 years.

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