TOP OF THE AGENDA

Waiting for Evan

There have been few opportunities to see the journalist since he was detained a year ago. Credit: Reuters

It has been a year since Evan Gershkovich was detained in Russia. He is the first American journalist to have been charged with espionage in the country since the Cold War. But his status as a bargaining chip for a Russian detainee in the West could hardly be more clear, writes our Russia editor Steve Rosenberg. "Russia is stockpiling Americans in its jails in order to be able to trade them at a later date," says Mr Gershkovich's boss, Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker. The journalist, still in pre-trial detention, has rarely appeared in court for the media to see him. This week, the Moscow City Courthouse released a six-second video of him in a glass box. But people who know him say he seems in good health. In a special report, Steve hears from the US ambassador to Russia, while Mr Gershkovich’s sister, Danielle, explains how exchanging letters with her brother has brightened “a really difficult year”.

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• Americans jailed in Russia: Evan is not the only US citizen to be held by Moscow. Here's a piece shedding light on two other prisoners, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva. 

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• At the UN: Russia used its Security Council veto to shut down a panel of experts that has for years monitored sanctions against North Korea.

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• Russian network: A Russian-backed "propaganda" website has been broken up for spreading anti-Ukraine stories and paying unnamed European politicians, according to authorities in several countries.

WORLD HEADLINES

• In South Africa: Forty-five people have died after the bus they were in plunged some 50m (165ft) off a bridge into a ravine, authorities say. Only one eight-year-old girl has survived. Footage shows forensics inspect the scene of the crash.

• Israel-Gaza: The UN's top court has ordered Israel to enable the unhindered flow of aid into Gaza in order to avert a famine.

• Baltimore: Maryland's governor has provided early details of his plan to clean up wreckage from the collapse of the landmark Francis Scott Key Bridge, which killed six people. Here's more from Madeline Halpert.

• Cash for data: Legal and consumer experts have expressed concerns about a cash giveaway by e-retailer, Temu. Its participants have to agree to permanently hand over considerable amounts of personal data.

• Hairy situation: Soldiers and officers are now allowed to grow beards while serving in the British Army.

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