World
Extensive Russia-US prisoner swap under way: Sources
![Extensive Russia-US prisoner swap under way: Sources Extensive Russia-US prisoner swap under way: Sources](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Turkey-1722520663.jpg?resize=1200%2C675)
BREAKINGBREAKING,
The deal taking place in Turkey includes 24 adults and two children, security sources say.
An extensive prisoner swap believed to be carried out between Russia and the United States and its Western allies is taking place in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, according to security sources.
The deal involves seven different countries and includes 24 adults and two children, the sources told Al Jazeera on Thursday.
Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported that US journalist Evan Gershkovich and ex-US Marine Paul Whelan are part of the deal, which is one of the largest prisoner swaps between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
“A [prisoner] exchange operation will take place today under the coordination of our organisation,” the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) said in a statement.
“Our organisation has undertaken a major mediation role in this exchange operation, which is the most comprehensive of the recent period.”
Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was arrested in 2023 and charged with spying. Whelan was detained in 2022 and subsequently sentenced to 16 years on espionage charges, as well. The US has deemed both prisoners “wrongfully detained”.
The Reuters news agency reported on Thursday that a Russian military plane, believed to be linked to the prisoner swap, had landed in Ankara.
More to come…
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World
Donald Trump's gag order remains in effect after hush money conviction, New York appeals court rules
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court on Thursday denied Donald Trump’s bid to end a gag order in his hush money criminal case, rejecting the Republican former president’s argument that his May conviction “constitutes a change in circumstances” that warrants lifting the restrictions.
A five-judge panel in the state’s mid-level appellate court ruled that the trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, was correct in extending parts of the gag order until Trump is sentenced, writing that “the fair administration of justice necessarily includes sentencing.”
The ruling came a day after Trump’s lawyers tried to file papers asking the appellate court to immediately lift the gag order. With its ruling imminent, the court rejected the filing, which called the restrictions an “unconstitutional, election-interfering” muzzle on Trump’s free speech.
In a copy of the prospective filing provided to the Associated Press, Trump’s lawyers wrote that Vice President Kamala Harris’ entry into the presidential race gives the matter new urgency as she pits herself as an ex-prosecutor taking on a “convicted felon.”
“It is unconscionable that Harris can speak freely about this case, but President Trump cannot,” Trump lawyer Todd Blanche wrote.
Blanche declined to comment on Thursday’s ruling.
Merchan imposed the gag order in March, a few weeks before the trial started, after prosecutors raised concerns about Trump’s habit of attacking people involved in his cases. During the trial, he held Trump in contempt of court and fined him $10,000 for violations, and he threatened to jail him if he did it again.
The judge lifted some restrictions in June, freeing Trump to comment about witnesses and jurors but keeping trial prosecutors, court staffers and their families — including his own daughter — off limits until he is sentenced.
Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, was originally scheduled to be sentenced July 11, but Merchan postponed it until Sept. 18, if necessary, while he weighs a defense request to throw out his conviction in the wake of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling.
A Manhattan jury convicted Trump on May 30 of falsifying records to cover up a potential sex scandal, making him the first ex-president convicted of a crime.
Trump’s conviction, on 34 felony counts, arose from what prosecutors said was an attempt to cover up a hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. She claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier, which he denies.
Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels and was later reimbursed by Trump. Prosecutors said Cohen disguised the reimbursements with Trump’s knowledge by submitting monthly invoices for retainer payments as his personal lawyer. Trump’s company logged the payments to Cohen as legal expenses.
Prosecutors said the Daniels payment was part of a broader scheme to buy the silence of people who might have gone public during the 2016 campaign with embarrassing stories alleging Trump had extramarital sex.
Trump denies any wrongdoing and has pledged to appeal his conviction, but he would not be able to do so until he is sentenced.
World
First round of US-made F-16s land in Ukraine as war with Russia rages on
![First round of US-made F-16s land in Ukraine as war with Russia rages on First round of US-made F-16s land in Ukraine as war with Russia rages on](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/08/f16-jets.jpg)
The long-awaited arrival of U.S.-made F-16s have allegedly landed in Ukraine, officials said Wednesday, a move that will help Kyiv revive its air capabilities in its war against Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly emphasized his country’s need for superior air support and aircraft since Russia invaded more than two years ago.
Despite international willingness to provide warplanes to Kyiv, the U.S. previously refused its F-16 technology over concerns it could escalate the war beyond Ukraine’s borders – a similar position it took with other wartime capabilities like long-range ATACMS missile systems and Abrams M1 tanks before Washington again capitulated.
A Belgian F-16 jet fighter takes part in the NATO Air Nuclear drill, “Steadfast Noon,” at the Kleine-Brogel Air Base in Belgium on Oct. 18, 2022. (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)
KAMALA HARRIS’ FOREIGN POLICY CHOPS QUESTIONED: WHAT HAS SHE DONE, WHERE HAS SHE BEEN?
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, an ardent supporter of Kyiv, took to X to confirm the delivery and said, “F-16s in Ukraine. Another impossible thing turned out to be totally possible.”
Despite multiple reports citing U.S. intelligence officials, neither the Pentagon nor Ukrainian defense officials have officially confirmed that the sorely needed warplanes have been delivered.
Kyiv’s push to keep the F-16 arrival a secret is not a surprising decision given the security challenges the planes will prove for the war-torn state.
Ukrainian pilots have been training on F-16 systems in the U.S. and in Europe as they look to roll out a new defense with the modern warplanes.
However, Ukraine will also need to secure the planes while they remain on the ground as they are expected to be a top target for Russian forces looking to destroy the F-16s.
![Zelenksyy f-16](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/08/1200/675/F16-zel.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
From left to right, Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Belgium Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder listen as they meet with Belgian F-16 pilots, instructors and technical staff during an inspection visit at the Melsbroek Military Airport in Steenokkerzeel, northeast of Brussels, on May 28, 2024. (Photo by ERIC LALMAND/Belga/AFP via Getty Images)
RUSSIA HAS OVERRUN 2 MORE EASTERN DONETSK VILLAGES, UKRAINIAN TROOPS REPORT
When asked about the arrival of the F-16s by reporters Wednesday, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said, “I’m certainly not going to talk about weapons capabilities.”
“We have said, and said at the NATO summit, that the process of providing F-16s to Ukraine continues to move forward,” he added. “We said that they will be operational by the end of the summer. We have no reason to doubt that.”
Zelenskyy has long emphasized the important role F-16s would serve in bolstering Ukraine’s air defenses as Russia continues to pummel the country with drone and missile strikes.
![Russian airstrikes on Kyiv](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2022/03/1200/675/demolished-building-in-kyiv.jpeg?ve=1&tl=1)
Wreckage and debris outside a damaged shopping center in the Podilskyi district of Kyiv from Russian air strikes in Kyiv, Ukraine, 21 March 2022. (Ceng Shou Yi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“Last night alone, almost 90 ‘Shahed’ drones were shot down,” Zelenskyy said in a Wednesday address to the nation. “This is a serious result. I thank everyone for their precision: our mobile fire groups, fighter aircraft crews, anti-aircraft gunners, electronic warfare specialists — everyone.”
“You have done an excellent job in the skies across many of our regions,” he added. “It is also crucial to increase Ukraine’s skies defense capabilities.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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