A court has extended the detention of WNBA star Brittney Griner in Russia through at least July 2, Russian state news agency Tass reported on Tuesday.
This was the latest extension handed down by Russia, where Griner was arrested in February.
While at an airport near Moscow, she was reportedly found to have been illegally transporting cartridges of hashish oil, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
US officials have classified her arrest as “wrongful detainment”.
As such, it is being overseen by the office of the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens.
On Monday, officials from the State Department and Mr Carstens's office met members of the Phoenix Mercury while they were in town to play the Washington Mystics.
Sheila Jackson Lee and Greg Stanton, US representatives from Texas and Arizona, respectively, were also present. Griner is from Houston, Texas.
“We are on day 116 since [Griner] has been wrongfully detained,” Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard said on Twitter.
“It was great to hear from the State Department that we should continue to amplify that message and that we should continue to press all those who have any influence or power to help bring [her] home.
“She's our teammate, she's an American and we want her back home.”
Griner was arrested while on her way back to the US for the start of a training camp with the Mercury. She has played for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia during her offseason for six years.
She and many other WNBA players participate in foreign leagues for financial reasons.
Griner has won two Olympic gold medals, an NCAA title and a WNBA championship.
Jetour T1 specs
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Torque: 390Nm
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The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm
Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
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On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
How Voiss turns words to speech
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
