Brittney Griner was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in February after cannabis oil was found in her luggage.

She claimed the canisters were packed by mistake.

Griner pleaded guilty in July, but still faced trial under Russia's judicial system.

Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony for drug smuggling and possession.

The US government considers Griner's detention wrongful and will press for her release.

The Biden administration offered to swap Brittney Griner for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner was released from a Russian prison after nearly 300 days in exchange for Viktor Bout.

The prisoner swap was facilitated by UAE officials, including President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

Griner's case drew global attention due to her status as an openly gay Black woman and Russia's hostility towards the LGBTQ community.

Griner's detention has sparked safety concerns due to her status as a Black lesbian, potentially targeting her with Putin's exclusionary politics.

Griner was held in a facility with limited heat and hot water, and she cut her hair to avoid the cold of Russia's winters while in the Russian penal colony.

Griner's agent urged President Joe Biden to "do whatever it takes" to free her from Russian captivity, and believes she is a 'political pawn' due to her status as an American Olympian.

Griner testified that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport, and she was not given an interpreter and didn't understand the papers she signed.

Griner made her WNBA comeback with the Phoenix Mercury after 10 months in a Russian prison, and is writing a memoir about her Russian imprisonment, set for spring 2024 release.

The US government has seen an uptick in Americans being arrested in countries like Venezuela, Iran, China, and Russia, and is working to release other Americans held in Russia, including Paul Whelan, arrested in 2018 on espionage suspicion.

Brittney Griner was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in February after cannabis oil was found in her luggage.

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Content: Brittney Griner freed from Russian prison in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout

The US and Russia have exchanged jailed US basketball star Brittney Griner for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, once nicknamed “the Merchant of Death,” officials said.

The swap was confirmed by US officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations ahead of an expected White House announcement, the Associated Press reports.

Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist whose months-long imprisonment on drug charges brought unprecedented attention to the population of wrongful detainees.

She was arrested in February at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport after vape canisters containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage - but she maintained it was an honest mistake.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris confirmed on Thursday morning they had already spoken by phone with Griner and she is said to have been in good spirits.

In a celebratory tweet, Mr Biden said Griner, a native of Houston, Texas, is on a plane home and is safe.

The Russian foreign ministry said it traded Griner for Russian citizen Viktor Bout, a former Soviet Army lieutenant colonel whom the US Justice Department once described as one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers.

Bout, whose exploits inspired a Hollywood movie, was serving a 25-year sentence on charges that he conspired to sell tens of millions of dollars in weapons that US officials said were to be used against Americans.

The deal, the second such exchange in eight months with Russia, procured the release of the most prominent American detained abroad.

The dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, however, did not include the release of Paul Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges.

Mr Whelan's family and the US government say the accusations against him are baseless. He was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison.

Griner pleaded guilty in July, though still faced trial because admitting guilt in Russia’s judicial system does not automatically end a case. She acknowledged in court she possessed the canisters, but said she had no criminal intent and said their presence in her luggage was due to hasty packing.

Her status as an openly gay Black woman, locked up in a country where authorities have been hostile to the LBGTQ community, infused racial and gender dynamics into the picture and made each development a matter of global importance.

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She claimed the canisters were packed by mistake.

Griner pleaded guilty in July, but still faced trial under Russia's judicial system.

Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony for drug smuggling and possession.

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Brittney Griner Is Ready to Tell Her ‘Unfathomable’ Story in New Memoir

The two-time Olympic gold medalist will finally tell the story of her Russian detainment.

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Ahead of her return to the WNBA, Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner has confirmed that she will tell the true story behind her wrongful detainment in Russia. According to The Associated Press, on Tuesday, the eight-time all-star announced that she is working on a memoir about her imprisonment. It is currently scheduled for release in spring 2024.

In February 2022, Griner was stopped in a Moscow airport when the police said they found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. The WNBA champion was charged with drug smuggling and possession. After a short trial, the basketball star was found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison. Just as she was beginning her sentence in a labor camp, in December 2022 the U.S. and Russia conducted a prisoner exchange, with Griner coming home, while convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout was released into Russian custody.

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“That day (in February) was the beginning of an unfathomable period in my life which only now am I ready to share,” Griner said in a statement released by Alfred A. Knopf.

When she was arrested, Griner was headed back to Russia to join UMMC Ekaterinburg, the professional team she played for there. Most top WNBA stars play overseas the rest of the year, as they don’t earn much money competing in the United States.

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“The primary reason I traveled back to Russia for work that day was because I wanted to make my wife, family, and teammates proud,” she said. “After an incredibly challenging 10 months in detainment, I am grateful to have been rescued and to be home. Readers will hear my story and understand why I’m so thankful for the outpouring of support from people across the world.”

The two-time Olympic gold medalist went on to say that she hopes “her book would raise awareness of other Americans detained overseas.” In December 2022, the Baylor alum announced on Instagram that she planned to play during the upcoming season, writing, “I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon.”

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In February, Griner re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury for a one-year deal. She will make her 2023 season debut on the road on Friday, May 19 against the Los Angeles Sparks.

The US government considers Griner's detention wrongful and will press for her release.

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Content: - The Washington Times - Friday, July 1, 2022

As pressure mounts on President Biden to take more aggressive action to get Moscow to release jailed WNBA star Brittney Griner, the international chatter increasing points to a prisoner swap for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Russian media and Bout’s lawyer, Steve Zissou, say Russian officials want to secure Bout’s release and that Griner, who has been locked up in Russia since February, could be part of a deal.

“I would be surprised if any American was repatriated without Viktor Bout also being sent home to his family,” Zissou told The Washington Times.

Bout is serving a 25-year sentence in federal prison. He was convicted of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens, delivering anti-aircraft missiles, and providing aid to a terrorist organization, charges his lawyer disputes.

Another detained American, former Marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested in Russia on espionage charges in 2018, could also be part of a prisoner swap for Bout.

Mr. Zissou said the deal would likely have to include Bout. The lawyer met last month with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, who said that freeing Bout “was Russia’s number one priority,” according to Mr. Zissou.

Griner, meanwhile, made her first appearance in court on Friday and was accused of possessing “a significant amount of cannabis oil,” which is a banned substance in Russia. She faces likely conviction and a decade in prison when her trial resumes on July 7.

Griner, 31, was arrested at the airport in Moscow on Feb. 17 for allegedly carrying vape cartridges with hashish oil. She was visiting the country to play for a Russian basketball team after the conclusion of the WNBA season.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Griner is being held as a political pawn, The Associated Press reported.

“The facts are that the famous athlete was detained in possession of prohibited medication containing narcotic substances,” Peskov told reporters on Friday. “In view of what I’ve said, it can’t be politically motivated.”

Still, Russia’s desire to free Bout complicates matters for Mr. Biden, who is weathering intense criticism for failing to secure the release of Griner, a center for the Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Dozens of organizations, including women’s and LGBTQ groups, have pressed Mr. Biden to step up efforts to secure Griner’s release. They called on the president “to make a deal to get Brittney back home to America immediately and safely.”

While Bout’s lawyer disputes the charges against him, Bout was convicted of far more serious crimes than Griner’s drug charge, which could make it difficult for the Biden administration to agree to a swap.

Griner’s high-profile detainment comes at a historically difficult point in the diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and Russia. Griner was arrested just days before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine on February 24.

The U.S. has condemned the invasion and responded by providing Ukraine with weapons and other support to defend itself from Mr. Putin’s forces.

With Griner in detention, Russian officials are now intensifying efforts to secure the release of Bout, whose targeting and conviction by the United States has long been viewed as an attack on Russian sovereignty.

Russian media is reporting that a swap for Bout is on the table.

“Currently, talks are underway on exchanging Bout for Griner,” Tass news reported, citing an unnamed Russian source.

Nicknamed the “Merchant of Death,” Bout was convicted in 2011 in a U.S. government sting operation of planning to smuggle arms to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The witnesses hired to portray FARC told Bout the arms would be used to target U.S. military serving in Colombia.

Bout, 55, is about five years from completing his sentence and is in failing health, his lawyer said.

Mr. Zissou said he is trying to elevate the circumstances surrounding his client’s case to improve his appeal as a candidate for a prisoner swap.

The U.S. targeted Bout while he was living in Moscow and retired from running an air transport company that also smuggled arms from one country to another.

The U.S. government paid more than $10 million to criminals as part of the operation to catch Bout.

“Entrapment is exactly what happened,” Mr. Zissou said.

Mr. Zissou said exchanging Griner for Bout is “a no brainer,” because his client will be freed in a few years regardless.

Last week, Russian officials extended Griner’s pretrial detention by six months. With Russia’s acquittal rate in criminal cases at less than 1%, it’s unlikely she will be able to return to the U.S. without a prisoner exchange.

Pressure is also on Mr. Biden to also secure the release of Mr. Whelan, 52, who is serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian prison camp.

“It’s certainly conceivable that a swap for Whelan and Bout gets agreed to, and then at the end of Griner’s trial, if she’s convicted, she just gets pardoned and sent home,” Mr. Zissou said.

In a statement provided to The Times, the State Department declined to provide details about the talks to free Griner.

“We have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas,” a State Department spokesman said. “The Department of State has determined that the Russian Federation has wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Brittney Griner. The U.S. government will continue to provide appropriate support to Griner and her family. We will continue to press for her release.”

• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.

Copyright © 2022 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

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The Biden administration offered to swap Brittney Griner for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.

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Brittney Griner Involved In Possible Prisoner Swap With Russia

In an effort to free Brittney Griner, the pro basketball star detained in Russia, the Biden administration has offered to swap her for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout and send him back to Russia, Forbes has learned. Negotiations are in the early stages, according to a non-government source in a position to know.

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time WNBA all-star who also plays professionally in Russia, was arrested in Moscow Feb. 17 after customs police claimed they found vape cartridges with hash oil in her luggage. Bout, the so-called “Merchant of Death,” inspired Nicolas Cage’s gunrunner character in the 2005 film, “Lord of War.” He’s serving a 25-year sentence in federal prison since his 2011 conviction in New York federal court of conspiring to sell millions of dollars in weapons to FARC, the Colombian terror group.

The possibility of a Griner-Bout trade was reported on May 13 by Tass, Russia’s state-owned news agency, and confirmed for Forbes by the source. “Currently, talks are underway on exchanging Bout for Griner,” Tass reported, citing “a source in the Public Monitoring Commission.” A second Moscow-based news outlet, Gazeta.Ru, had earlier reported a Griner-Bout exchange was in the works.

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department declined to comment. Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, who leads the interagency team that’s working for Griner’s release, had no comment. The same was true for Bout’s New York attorney, Steve Zissou. Lindsay Kagawa Colas, Griner’s California agent, did not respond to requests for comment.

Despite the anti-Russian fervor in Washington sparked by President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked war in Ukraine, the White House a month ago struck a deal to free Trevor Reed, a former Marine who had been held in a Russian prison for two years for allegedly attacking a Moscow police officer. In exchange, President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was serving 20 years for conspiring to import $100 million in cocaine.

Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who’d been instrumental in Reed’s release, is also working on behalf of Griner’s family at their request, according to Mickey Bergman, vice president of the Richardson Center. He’s also working for the release of Paul Whelan, a former Marine detained in Moscow since 2018 on espionage charges. “The situation (as you might imagine) is sensitive,” Bergman said, declining to comment further.

Bout was a translator in the Soviet army before starting an air-freight company that transported tens of millions of arms he supplied during his heyday in the 1990s and early 2000s to sanctioned militias and rebels in conflicts throughout Africa and Asia. Soft-spoken, erudite, fluent in seven languages with an IQ of 170, Bout seemed more like a university professor than the world’s most notorious illegal arms trafficker. His 2008 arrest in Bangkok was part of a sting operation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

The U.S. government opposes the practice of wrongful detention as a bargaining chip because it represents a threat to the safety of everyone traveling, working and living abroad, a State Department official told Forbes. That disdain, however, didn’t stop the department from helping arrange the release of Reed and others.

Griner, 31, is by far the most high profile of the more than a dozen Americans detained by Russia in the last decade. That puts more pressure on the State Department, which is acutely aware that as a Black lesbian, Griner could be a target of Putin’s exclusionary politics. Since the maximum base salary in the WNBA is $228,094 — male stars can earn as much as Steph Curry’s $45 million annually — Griner and many other American women play during the WNBA off-season in Russia, where they can bring home more than $1 million. Griner has played several years for the team in Ekaterinburg.

Griner’s U.S. supporters were at first mostly silent over her plight. The government convinced them that Russia might deport her quickly only if her case did not become front-page news. Once it became clear that Russia planned to hold her, the State Department changed her status to “wrongfully detained,” opening the door to swap negotiations. Briner’s U.S. supporters have spoken out forcefully against her imprisonment.

One lingering question is whether a deal to swap Bout for Griner will get Biden’s approval. Given the president’s declaration that Putin is a “war criminal,” some on Griner’s team worry he might hesitate before freeing an infamous Russian arms trafficker.

“There’s a problem with releasing a convicted arms trafficker for Griner, whose drug possession would probably only be a fine in the U.S.,” says Shira Scheindlin, the retired federal judge who presided over the Bout trial and was required to sentence him to the 25-year mandatory minimum. “It would be better if Bout – who has already served too much time in my opinion – was exchanged for both Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan. Then there would be some moral equivalency about which few could complain.”

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Griner was released from a Russian prison after nearly 300 days in exchange for Viktor Bout.

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Content: Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was on The Shop‘s TNF broadcast as the Los Angeles Rams hosted the Las Vegas Raiders. The four-time NBA champ took an opportunity early in the game to share his thoughts on news pertaining to Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison facility after nearly 300 days in incarceration.

LeBron gave a heartfelt message as he discussed how significant this development is not only for the sports world but for the entire nation as well:

“I think it’s a great day for us as Americans having BG back,”  LeBron said. “In the sports world, just having her presence back. Her wife misses her. Her family misses her. Her club misses her here in Phoenix. To have her a part of the basketball brother and sisterhood once again, it’s a big day for us and what we do. Kudos to the President. Kudos (to) Kamala Harris and everyone who had something to do with it.

“Like Mav (Carter) said, there’s a lot of people that’s wrongfully detained right now. We hope we can get them all back.”

LeBron also touched on the fact that another American, Paul Whelan, was not included in the prisoner swap that was negotiated between the U.S. government and the Kremlin. It was only Griner’s release that was facilitated in exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Victor Bout, who also happens to go by the moniker “The Merchant of Death.”

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A video of Griner being escorted out of prison onto a van that took her to a Russian airport is currently makings its rounds on social media. The Phoenix Mercury star even spoke to the press while sitting inside a plane moments before takeoff. Griner was relieved to hear that she was finally headed back to the U.S.

LeBron James also thanked President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, as well as everyone and anyone who was involved in facilitating Brittney Griner’s release. As the Lakers superstar said, it’s a great day now that Brittney is finally heading home.

The prisoner swap was facilitated by UAE officials, including President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

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Inside Joe Biden’s Faustian pact with Russia to secure Brittney

Three weeks ago, the American basketball star Brittney Griner arrived at a Russian penal colony known for torture, beatings and slave labour to begin a nine-year sentence following her arrest at a Moscow airport in February for possession of vaping cartridges containing hashish oil.

But in a stunning twist on Thursday, Griner’s plight as an unwitting pawn in a high-stakes geopolitical struggle came to an abrupt end, as she arrived in Abu Dhabi from Moscow and boarded a plane home to reunite with her family. She landed in San Antonio, Texas, early Friday morning.

In exchange for Griner’s release, the US released Viktor Bout, a notorious arms trafficker who was serving a 25-year sentence for conspiring to kill US citizens and aiding a terrorist organisation.

The deal was met with jubilation from Griner’s family and supporters. But the controversial swap for Bout — as well as the exclusion of Paul Whelan, another US citizen imprisoned in Russia — also drew criticism and raised questions about how America’s adversaries might leverage arrests of its citizens in the future.

US officials began working toward Griner’s release as soon as she was apprehended in Russia in February, but the effort became more concentrated on prisoner swap negotiations once the State Department declared in May that she had been wrongfully detained.

In July, US secretary of state Antony Blinken and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on the phone for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. During the call, Blinken pressed Lavrov to accept a “substantial proposal” from Washington to release Griner and the former marine Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018 on what the US and his family say are trumped-up espionage charges.

Americans had offered to free Bout, people familiar with the discussions said, but the Russians said they also wanted the release of Vadim Krasikov, a former colonel from Russia’s domestic spy agency who was convicted of murder in Germany last year.

In the ensuing months, officials said, Washington made a number of offers to Russia in an attempt to secure the release of Griner and Whelan.

However, Biden administration officials said that in recent weeks it became clear that Moscow would only accept a one-for-one swap. According to one senior administration official, “the choice was bringing Brittney Griner home right now or bringing no Americans home from Russia right now”.

Despite the Biden administration’s insistence that they had no choice but to exclude Whelan from the deal, Republican lawmakers and others denounced the decision, as well as facilitating the release of Bout, who is also known as “the merchant of death”.

“The Biden administration has allowed Viktor Bout, a dangerous arms dealer who was convicted of conspiring to kill American law enforcement, to walk free,” said Mike Rogers, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee.

“This move to appease Vladimir Putin will only encourage further hostage taking by Russian security forces,” he added.

US officials described Biden’s choice as a painful one, adding that they would continue to work for Whelan’s release. Washington previously secured the release of Trevor Reed, another former marine, via a prisoner swap in April.

People familiar with Thursday’s prisoner exchange likened the episode to “a scene from the Cold War”, with Russian and American planes meeting on the tarmac at an airport in Abu Dhabi.

The Russian plane carrying Griner arrived first, one of the people said. American officials and people familiar with the events said the basketball star was upbeat on the tarmac, saying she was looking forward to returning home.

The Griner-Bout swap marks a rare instance in which the US and Russia have been able to find common ground since Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sending the west’s relationship with Moscow to its lowest ebb since the Cuban missile crisis.

According to people familiar with the matter, the Americans and Russians directly negotiated the details of the swaps, with UAE officials including president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan helping to facilitate the mechanics of the transfer.

It is not unusual for third countries to aid in brokering international diplomatic agreements such as prisoner swaps between hostile countries.

Sheikh Mohammed and Putin discussed the matter when they met in Russia in October, and they spoke on the phone on Wednesday, people familiar with the meetings said. Yousef al-Otaiba, UAE ambassador to the US, was present for the exchange on Thursday and had helped to co-ordinate details on the American side.

On Thursday, some pro-Kremlin commentators hailed the swap as a return to diplomacy. “Everyone sees through this exchange that Moscow and Washington are holding secret negotiations and can make a deal,” Sergei Markov, a political scientist and former member of Russia’s parliament, wrote on Telegram. “And everyone hopes that means Moscow and Washington can make a deal to end the war in Ukraine.”

However, analysts and US officials said that while the breakthrough was a sign that the two sides could get things done when their interests align, it was not evidence of any larger thaw in relations. Biden administration officials added that the recent conversations with Russia about Griner and other prisoners were limited to the release of wrongfully detained Americans.

“The exchange doesn’t do anything to change the situation for bilateral relations. There are lots of issues where they are in open confrontation,” said Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

He said the otherwise dire state of relations between Russia and the west was thrown into sharp relief last week, when Moscow abruptly pulled out of talks on renewing the New Start treaty, the only remaining agreement governing the countries’ nuclear arsenals.

“This is a global stability issue: the last remainders of arms control are falling apart, which could lead to an arms race and a higher risk of dangerous incidents,” he said. “The trajectory we’re on is making that all the more likely.”

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Griner's case drew global attention due to her status as an openly gay Black woman and Russia's hostility towards the LGBTQ community.

Griner's detention has sparked safety concerns due to her status as a Black lesbian, potentially targeting her with Putin's exclusionary politics.

Griner was held in a facility with limited heat and hot water, and she cut her hair to avoid the cold of Russia's winters while in the Russian penal colony.

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Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

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Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

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Griner's agent urged President Joe Biden to "do whatever it takes" to free her from Russian captivity, and believes she is a 'political pawn' due to her status as an American Olympian.

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Brittney Griner's agent calls on Biden and Harris to 'do whatever it takes' to free the WNBA star from Russian captivity

  • Brittney Griner's agent called on Biden and Harris to "do whatever it takes" to get the WNBA player out of Russian jail.
  • Griner's imprisonment was just extended to July 2, Russian state media reported.
  • "Today's extension is just further reinforcement that Brittney Griner — an Olympian and an American citizen — is being used as a political pawn," her agent said.

Brittney Griner's agent called on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to "do whatever it takes" to free the WNBA star from Russian captivity.

"Today's extension is just further reinforcement that Brittney Griner — an Olympian and an American citizen — is being used as a political pawn. Her detention is inhumane and unacceptable," Lindsay Kagawa Colas tweeted Tuesday, referring to Russian state media TASS's reporting that Griner's imprisonment has been extended until July 2.

She continued: "We call on @POTUS and @VP to act with urgency and do whatever it takes to bring Brittney home immediately."

Colas added that Griner has not had a phone call in "117 days of wrongful detention."

Tuesday's extension is the second time Russian officials extended Griner's detention.

She was first arrested at a Moscow airport on February 17 when officials found vape cartridges in her luggage, and she has been held in a Russian prison since.

"We must fight for BG like family because as an American, she is all of ours," Colas said.

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Griner testified that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport, and she was not given an interpreter and didn't understand the papers she signed.

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Griner testifies in Russia as U.S. offers deal

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STORY: U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner testified in a Russian court Wednesday that her rights weren't read when she was detained at a Moscow airport in February

"No, my rights were never read to me. No one explained any of it to me."

Griner is on trial for drug charges that could cost her up to 10 years in prison.

The 31-year-old WNBA star plays in Russia during the league's offseason. She was detained when agents found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.

Griner said in court Wednesday that she was not provided with an interpreter and did not understand what papers she was made to sign.

"I can only assume they were about the search and the cartridges. We had to use my phone and Google Translate for him to be able to tell me a little bit."

Griner pleaded guilty earlier in the trial but denied she intended to break Russian law.

She said on Wednesday that she still did not understand how the vape cartridges could have ended up in her luggage, saying she had packed hurriedly and could accidentally have included them.

Griner said she had been prescribed medical cannabis in the US to treat chronic injuries - but it is illegal in Russia.

The case against her has highlighted strained relations between Russia and the United States that have plunged to their lowest since the Cold War over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials say Griner has been wrongly detained and called for her immediate release.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the US had made a "substantial offer" to bring home Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of spying.

"We want to see those who are wrongfully detained be released and be able to return home. At the same time, it's important that we work to reinforce the global norm against these arbitrary detentions."

The Kremlin has said the case against her has nothing to do with politics and that she should be tried for violating Russian law.

Griner made her WNBA comeback with the Phoenix Mercury after 10 months in a Russian prison, and is writing a memoir about her Russian imprisonment, set for spring 2024 release.

The US government has seen an uptick in Americans being arrested in countries like Venezuela, Iran, China, and Russia, and is working to release other Americans held in Russia, including Paul Whelan, arrested in 2018 on espionage suspicion.

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Content: Joey Reed and Paula Reed, the parents of Trevor Reed demonstrate in Lafayette Park near the White House on March 30, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
April 27, 2022 10:55 PM EDT

President Joe Biden waited until former Marine Trevor Reed was out of Moscow, had been successfully exchanged for a Russian prisoner in Turkey, and was safely on a plane bound for the U.S. before calling Reed’s family.

Reed had spent nearly 3 years in a Russian jail after being arrested in 2019 on charges of assaulting police in Moscow. But Biden had been concerned about contacting his family too soon and risking upsetting the sensitive deal before Reed was securely out of Russia’s reach.

When Reed was finally airborne, Biden told his family the good news and released a statement saying Reed’s return was “a testament to the priority my Administration places on bringing home Americans held hostage and wrongfully detained abroad.” He promised to continue pressing for the release of other Americans being held in Russia, including Paul Whelan, who was arrested on suspicion of espionage in a Moscow hotel in 2018. Reed was freed in exchange for the release of Russian citizen Konstantin Yaroshenko, who had been sentenced in the U.S. in 2011 to 20 years on drug smuggling charges.

While other U.S. citizens captured abroad have been released during the Biden Administration, Reed’s was the first case in which Biden was willing to hand over a prisoner being held in the U.S. as part of the terms of the release, a step previous administrations had taken. Biden’s deliberate approach to freeing Americans held overseas has been marked by a cautious and bureaucratic decision-making process, according to two people involved in the negotiations, and a slow pace that has been frustrating to some families whose loved ones are held in foreign prisons.

“We continue to press for the release of Paul and we’re not done. We’ve not given up. It’s not over until every American who is wrongly detained is back home,” says a White House official. “It’s never fast enough for the people waiting for their loved ones and we get that. We understand their pain.”

While Biden decided to keep President Donald Trump’s lead hostage negotiator Roger Carstons in place, Biden’s careful tactics have stood in stark contrast to the free-wheeling and sometimes capricious way Trump went about bringing U.S. citizens home. Trump prided himself on pressing to get Americans released from prisons overseas, and relished the photo-ops that followed. But Biden and his advisors worry that prisoner swaps could exacerbate other points of friction and create more incentive for adversaries to capture Americans.

“It is night and day—with Trump, it was clearly something he saw as a gain for him, especially the way he did it very publicly,” says Vice President and Executive Director of the Richardson Center for Global Engagement Mickey Bergman, who worked with the Biden Administration on Reed’s release. In the previous Administration, getting a message directly to Trump was the key. “Trump had little to no policy process: if you can get in front of the President and if he likes it, he’ll do it,” Bergman says.

The Biden Administration though, “They’ve taken their time. They are a process-oriented administration,” Bergman says. “There’s a lot of these things that take an excruciating amount of time for people like me and for the families who are arguing for their release.”

Bergman traveled to Moscow at the end of February with former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson to meet Russian officials about Reed’s and Whelan’s cases, just before the Russian military launched its most recent invasion in Ukraine. It was on that trip that Russian officials made clear they would release Reed if the Americans handed over Yaroshenko. There was added urgency to Reed’s case because he was showing possible symptoms of tuberculosis. Richardson and Bergman brought the terms back to the Biden Administration and offered to manage the swap themselves, without official U.S. involvement, Bergman says. Biden decided to go ahead and have the U.S. government manage the exchange. “The credit is to Biden for actually making the decision and getting it done,” Bergman says.

But Reed’s detention was part of a broader global problem the U.S. faces. The arbitrary detention of Americans “for completely bogus crimes designed to gain leverage” has become a more common practice among a number of foreign governments, says a former senior State Department official who was recently involved in high-level negotiations for the release of Americans. “It reflects the changing global dynamics, the changing power relationships, as countries are circling each other trying to figure out how to get an advantage,” the former official says.

Reed’s release comes at a time when experts involved in helping negotiate the release of Americans detained overseas are seeing an uptick in Americans being arrested and held as bargaining chips, including in Venezuela, Iran, China. Venezuela recently released some Americans, after a visit from a high-level U.S. delegation, and holds several others. Iran is holding four American citizens. In Russia, addition to Whelan—who American officials say was not involved in spying—Russian authorities arrested WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner in February on suspicion of traveling with cannabis oil in vape cartridges. A person familiar with the talks around Griner’s case said that, at this point, U.S. officials are concerned that raising too much attention to her detention could play into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hands by turning her into an even more high profile hostage, making it harder to get her released.

“Using wrongful detention as a bargaining chip represents a threat to the safety of everyone working, traveling and living abroad,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said April 27, the day Reed was released. “Our objective continues to be to bring Paul Whelan home and any American who is not with their family and is being detained overseas.”

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EDIT POST


Overtourism refers to the phenomenon of a destination receiving more tourists than it can handle, resulting in negative impacts on the local community, environment, and economy.

The primary drivers of overtourism include increased accessibility, social media, and low-cost travel options.

The consequences of overtourism include strain on local infrastructure, housing shortages, and degradation of natural resources.

In Europe, popular destinations such as Barcelona and Venice have implemented measures to manage overtourism, including tourist taxes and limits on visitor numbers.

In Asia, countries such as Thailand and Indonesia have introduced sustainable tourism initiatives, including eco-tourism and community-based tourism.

In the Americas, destinations such as Costa Rica and Peru have implemented measures to protect sensitive ecosystems and cultural heritage sites.

Responsible tourism practices, such as reducing waste and respecting local customs, can help mitigate the impacts of overtourism.

Overtourism refers to the phenomenon of a destination receiving more tourists than it can handle, resulting in negative impacts on the local community, environment, and economy.

Title:

Content: Venice: Venice’s famed Rialto Bridge was jammed with tourists on Monday, the same day Unesco recommended the watery city be put on its endangered list citing overtourism and other concerns.

Taking selfies, licking gelato and wheeling suitcases, the hordes of visitors seemed happily oblivious to the possible downgrade Unesco said was due to the risk of “irreversible” damage.

New York tourist Ashley Park, 28, said she knew it would be crowded in Venice, but it wasn’t ruining her vacation.

“Obviously if we lived here with all these tourists it wouldn’t be fun,” she acknowledged.

Among the crowds on the historic bridge was city worker Diego Nechifrovo, 23, wearing an #EnjoyRespectVenezia T-shirt, who was busy keeping an eye out for misbehaving tourists.

“Sometimes I see someone throwing away his cigarette or walking around without a T-shirt,” he said, noticing a bag of potato chips discarded on the doorstep of a jewellery shop.

The worst? One time a family “sat down right in front of the Doge’s Palace and started to set up a picnic.”

A few weeks ago, a distracted tourist fell into the water, Nechifrovo said.

“He was trying to get a good photo”.

Please don’t come

Not far away, a seller of watercolours had a sign on his stand pointing to St. Mark’s Square.

“That’s all they want to know,” said the native Venetian, Claudio, who declined to give his last name. “They come to Venice because it’s Venice. That’s all.”

The days of educated tourists visiting and enjoying the city’s many churches and museums were over, he said.

“Those who come now don’t even know what a museum is. It’s not cultural tourism,” he said.

“They need to go to the beach, or the mountains, but not here!” he lamented. “Please don’t come anymore!”

The list of Venice’s challenges are many, from environmental damage to its lagoon to its fleeing residents - with only about 50,000 left - leaving what many critics charge is now a city without a soul.

Two years ago, Venice narrowly avoided being placed on the same Unesco list - which is intended to spur governments into action to preserve places deemed of “universal value to humanity” - after the city imposed a ban on massive cruise ships travelling past the centre.

Environmental groups warned the ships, carrying thousands of day-trippers and sailing exceptionally close to shore, caused large waves eroding Venice’s foundations and harming the lagoon’s fragile ecosystem.

But the rerouting of the ships to the more distant industrial port of Marghera did not address the issue of overtourism itself.

Some 3.2 million tourists stayed overnight in Venice’s historic centre last year, according to official data, a number that does not include the thousands of daily visitors who do not spend the night.

“It’s pretty beautiful - it’s a draw!” justified US tourist Mike McWilliams, 53, who had just arrived in the city for a two-day visit with his family.

Managing the masterpiece

Unesco, the UN’s cultural wing, put Venice on its heritage list in 1987 as an “extraordinary architectural masterpiece”, but it has warned of the need for “more sustainable tourism management”.

On Monday, it said progress had been insufficient while citing “a lack of overall joint strategic vision” by authorities.

Critics say measures put in place to check tourism are ineffective and have come too late.

A long-discussed plan to introduce a paid booking scheme for day-trippers has been repeatedly postponed, now until 2024, over concerns it will seriously dent tourist revenue and compromise freedom of movement.

Back at St. Mark’s Square, city worker Lorenzo Seano, 21, was struggling to keep tourists from sitting on the steps of the surrounding arcades.

The problem of too many tourists invading cities went well beyond Venice, Seano said, but no one in government had tried to tackle the problem “on a structural level”.

“After all, there’s a ton of money coming in,” he said.

The primary drivers of overtourism include increased accessibility, social media, and low-cost travel options.

Title:

Content: Point of view
Lin Chi-yin
Lin Chi-yin: "Traveling Everywhere" and "Over-Travel"
Earlier, the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Hsia Baolong, advocated the concept of “travel everywhere ” to fully explore Hong Kong ’ s tourism resources.
To speed up the implementation of the concept, the authorities are planning to set up a "special class" to bring together people inside and outside the Government for in-depth discussions.
In recent days, officials and legislators have expressed their views on the development of "red tourism", exploring new spots in the community, beautifying the streets, and presenting some scenes in the movies.
Simply put, it may be the story behind the attraction, or the accumulated word of mouth on social media, and every tree and grass anywhere can become a tourist attraction.
Of course, the author hopes that the "class" can launch various new ideas; and since the task of the class is to implement the concept of "travel everywhere", then how to implement the concept is the best for Hong Kong, the industry, the community and the public, the class can not ignore.
The University of Hong Kong campus has been forced by tourists, and the school has implemented reservation measures this month.
HKU itself has a complete management structure, and the university can still implement crowd control according to the situation. However, if some scenic spots that go deep into the community or even close to residential buildings are really "red hot", it may not be easy to implement crowd control.
“Everywhere travel ” is a concept, the key to implementation lies in the ability of the authorities to foresee problems. If you rely only on“ see and see ”, it is very likely that good things will turn into bad things.
“Aggressive ” Travel
In 2018, the word “overtourism ” was chosen as the Oxford English Dictionary ’ s word of the year, referring to the negative effects of overloading the area, declining quality of life and environmental damage caused by the influx of tourists to tourist attractions.
For example, Venice, Italy, which has long been affected by “overtourism ”, is not a“ once in a lifetime ” – the local population is only 50,000, and the number of daily tourists has exceeded the local population; during peak season, the number of daily visitors has even doubled.
I have friends who visited the place more than a decade ago, and they all agreed to say that people are crowded and will not go again.
In addition to Venice, some European cities or small islands with a tourism-led economy (such as the Canarias in Spain) also face the problem of job opportunities, high prices, and a homogenization of shops. Multinational companies invest heavily in hotels and holiday cottages, which also lead to higher rents, which locals can ’ t afford.
Even if tourism brings a lot of jobs to the region, it does not mean that the average person can earn a living wage.
People in these places understand the importance of tourism to the local economy, but they do not want the tourism industry to be unlimited, resulting in the resources of the whole place are only for the service of tourists.
"Tourism Hazards" and How to Deal with them
In Japanese society after the epidemic, a similar term, "tourism nuisance", has also appeared to describe problems such as traffic, noise, nuisance, and garbage pollution caused by too many tourists.
This phenomenon, in addition to the popularity of exchange rates, affordable air tickets, and people's desire to travel after the epidemic, social media will also have the effect of focusing on specific hot spots.
In the era of image-led, everyone can follow the picture, some places that were not originally planned as tourist attractions have begun to face sudden overcrowding.
Hong Kong people who love to visit Japan will not be unfamiliar with two “attractions ”: the Daokou near Enojima Electric Railway ’ s Kamakura University Station, and a Lawson convenience store in Kawaguchi-cho.
The former is the "holy place" of the popular manga "When Men are in the bottle". In recent years, the crossing has been congested with traffic due to frequent visits by tourists to "punch", local people can not get on the electric train, and some tourists are dangerous for taking good photos. Lawson is also a "punch" attraction, and the picture is a convenience store with a beautiful view of Mount Fuji. of tourists are constantly crossing the road and parking without permission, causing local residents to feel troubled.
Too many tourists can also lead to a decline in the quality of service, even in Japan, which values the spirit of “work people ”.
When I visited Japan last year, I saw some shops find ways to deal with “tourism hazards ” on their own, such as not allowing diners to take photos in the store, so that after the photos are uploaded to social media, it will cause more people to come and see them; limiting the number of diners to the number of people that the staff can serve, even if the seats are not full.
However, some tourists always find it difficult to understand the intentions behind these arrangements, and I have heard some tourists complain: "Obviously there is still a place, why not let us sit?"
When these conflicts can no longer be handled by businesses and residents themselves, how to strike a balance between “tourism ” and“ public nuisance ” will gradually become a policy issue.
The most extreme way to deal with it is to “eliminate ” popular attractions – coincidentally, the authorities of Kawaguchiko recently erected a 20-meter-long and 2.5-meter-high“ black curtain ” in front of Lawson to drive away tourists who came to take photos.
The reason why the authorities have to take extreme measures is that management alone can not prevent tourists from rushing out of the road, which is actually to "play the spot".
In addition, there are more and more tourist cities and hotspots charging tourists "admission fees" or "admission fees", but this method can not play a large role.
In Venice, for example, the city has been charging a 5 euro entry fee (about HK $42) to “overnight ” travelers since last month.
However, these fees simply cannot curb the huge demand for tourists, and the revenue is mainly used as a financial source to cope with "excessive travel", which can only cure the symptoms, not the root cause.
The Real Meaning of “Travel Everywhere ”
At this point, some people may point out that the above problems will only become problems if we succeed in attracting tourists to Hong Kong; what we have to focus on is how to get more people to come to Hong Kong.
However, how much tourism can bring to a city depends on the management and policies of the city, not on the remedial measures that can be taken.
Although the share of tourism industry in Hong Kong's economy is far less than that of the "tourist city" mentioned above, Hong Kong can't wait to see that other places are looking for countermeasures for the "tourism nuisance", and even start to turn to attack, redefine the tourism industry from the planning level and actively promote tourist education.
In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for example, the government announced last month that it would ban new hotels and limit the number of cruise ships to return the city to a livable and tourism-friendly city. In Kamakura, Japan, people are no longer concentrated at certain points by decentralizing transportation (such as the launch of electric tricycle rental business) and proactively promoting multiple circumnavigation routes (such as the travel routes at 13 locations of Kamakura Shogunate).
The main disadvantage of post-event remediation is that the difficulty and cost of solving the problem are greatly increased, which will also affect the experience of tourists. More than 10 years ago, the North District of Hong Kong also experienced a pharmacy every few steps, and the situation of residents in the North District driving out water consignors on their own, which hurt the feelings of the people of the two places.
In particular, there are many policy issues that can be foreseen in advance, and we do not have to go through them personally before we know what the problem is (for example, the legal problems faced by cleaners under the garbage levy will not be known until the moment of trial).
Since there is a great deal of experience and policy measures in various places to refer to, the “Special Class ” must also strike a balance between tourism and city operations when formulating tourist routes and supporting packages, otherwise the attraction will only lead to losses. After the city of Kamakura solved the problem of overcrowding of tourists, the tourism industry representative of Kanagawa Prefecture (that is, the seat of Kamakura City) pointed out:“ Attraction is not tourism. ” The amount of time it takes to win is certainly not appropriate.
“Travel Everywhere ” is not just about adding tourist attractions, but promoting quality tourism in a more nuanced and proactive way to avoid problems.
The author is a public policy consultant.
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[Lin Chi-yin]
Previous / Next News

Title:

Content: Global News
The world today - spraying with water guns..
Are tourist expulsions spreading in Europe?
You are now following the news of spraying with water guns.
Are tourist expulsions spreading in Europe?
From the World News section and now we leave you with the full details
SAHAD MOHAMMED - Abu Dhabi on Friday 19 July 2024 04: 25 PM - Spain's tourism unrest has reached its peak in the past few days, with some locals in Barcelona spraying tourists with water guns and canned drinks, asking them to go back to where they came from.
Angry residents, numbering about 3,000, blocked the entrances to hotels and cafes in the Barceloneta neighborhood in a symbolic attempt to express their indignation at the excessive tourist overcrowding in their city.
This is not the first time tourism has been highlighted as a problem in Spain, where the country, which attracted 85 million visitors in 2023, has seen a series of protests against excessive tourism in the country, especially in the city of Barcelona with a population of 1.6 million, which received more than 7.8 million visitors in 2023, leaving many locals unable to afford to live there due to high rental prices.
Fear of Protests in Europe
Spain ’ s overcrowding problem, and the decision to confront it by locals, has highlighted the potential for anti-tourist protests to spread to the rest of Europe ’ s heavily tourist-ridden cities, as UNESCO ’ s Sustainable Tourism Project chief Peter Debrin warned.
The protests will certainly spread if European officials fail to address the negative impact of mass tourism on the lives of the local population, DeBrin says, noting that the situation in Spain has become very volatile, as the coming of civil society and its attempt to bring about change is critical, after all elected officials must respond to what the residents of their cities want.
He cited the 2021 ban on large cruise ships in Venice, Italy, which was passed after protests by residents, as cruise ships no longer pass through the Grand Canal, but are now docked away from Venice, helping to preserve the city ’ s structural and environmental integrity.
But despite the decision to ban large cruise ships in Venice, passengers continue to flock to its narrow lanes in the thousands, with Venice expected to attract about 540,000 cruise passengers this year, an increase of 9 percent compared to 2023, according to the North Adriatic Ports Authority.
In a bid to reduce crowds, Venice has imposed a 5 euro ($5.45) tourist tax on peak days this year, a measure that has so far failed to rein in tourist numbers, Euronews reported.
Quality rather than quantity tourism
Like Venice, Barcelona residents have long struggled with the global popularity of their city: every year, fewer locals say tourism benefits the city, while more people feel it is harmful, according to a survey conducted by the Barcelona City Council in 2023.
UNESCO ’ s Sustainable Tourism Project Chief Officer Peter Debrin believes that Barcelona, which handles too many travelers, could join cities and countries that rely on a “quality over quantity ” tourism strategy – prioritizing high-spending travelers, rather than budget ones – a strategy that gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic, when safety and employment concerns pushed destinations around the world to take in fewer affordable travelers. Instead of a lot of budget travelers.
Debrin said Barcelona ’ s reliance on a “quality rather than quantity ” tourism strategy helps correct another problem plaguing the city: tourists who behave badly, noting that for Barcelona residents, it ’ s not just about visitor numbers, but also how people behave, with Spaniards complaining for years about tourists drinking too much, throwing garbage and cigarettes on the streets.
Debrin called on tourists to be more aware in their travel decisions, suggesting focusing on beautiful cities with fascinating tourist and cultural attractions, which are in need of more tourists.
Civil Society Demands
Civil society groups are calling on Barcelona officials to implement a number of policies aimed at “declining tourism growth, ” such as increased tourism taxes, restrictions on cruise ships, and restrictions on short-term rental housing, just like the steps being explored in Amsterdam to crack down on buses, boutiques, new hotels and short-term rentals. In 2023, it asks some visitors, especially young British tourists, to“ stay away ” if they are travelling to the city for drugs or partying.
The most popular Spanish cities with tourists
The General Coordinator of the Association of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Mediterranean States (ASCAME) Anwar Zebawi, said in an interview to the site "Economy dot Gulf", that some tourist destinations in Spain already suffer from the problem of overcrowding, and these destinations are Barcelona, Malaga, Madrid and Valencia, as these four cities attract tourists more than their capacity, and the problem is that the largest number of these tourists, come in specific months of the year. Sixty percent of all tourists who visit Barcelona each year do so during the months between July and September, creating severe congestion, while the other 40 percent is spread over the rest of the year.
Amplify for protests
Zibawi stressed that what everyone should realize, is that there is a kind of amplification of the recent protests in Barcelona,   the city has not witnessed "major" demonstrations against tourists, as the problem of the local population is never with tourists, and the people who have been sprayed with water, very few and may not exceed the fingers of one hand, pointing out that what happened was directed against those who rent houses as hotel houses. Real estate, largely, deprived the local population, especially young people, of the possibility of obtaining apartments at an appropriate rental price.
Causes of tourist overcrowding in Barcelona
Zibawi explains that one of the reasons that contribute to excessive tourist congestion in Barcelona,   is to allow tourists to stay in tourist houses and chaos in this area, the city contains about 10 thousand houses that have a license to do these works, while there are about 30 thousand hotels operating without a license and in a way contrary to the law, the offer of houses for rent at competitive prices, in addition to cheap flights available in Europe make the cost of travel to Barcelona tourist destinations. This has exacerbated the phenomenon of excessive tourism.
European cities where protests could spread
According to Zibawi, the European cities that can witness objections from the local population because of their suffering from excessive tourism, are Rome, Venice, some Italian islands, Crete in Greece, and some other Greek islands, while Amsterdam in the Netherlands, suffer from the problem of excessive tourism only, in some weeks of the year, especially at the end of the year. year.
Paris found a solution.
Zibawi pointed out that Paris had a major problem with the subject of overcrowding of tourists, and therefore prevented the work of hotel houses and raised the prices of hotels, where she saw that these steps contribute to making the cost of travel high, which prevents the tourist who does not have enough money to come, and this limits the phenomenon of overcrowding, pointing out that if the principle of quality tourism instead of quantity in Barcelona, this may solve the problem of overcrowding and contribute to the distribution of tourists in other areas. Spain.
Solutions that can be resorted to
For his part, Amer Daboussi, executive partner of Eagle Travel Travel, said in an interview with Eqtisad.al-Khaleej that cities suffering from tourist congestion can face this phenomenon by adopting a policy of "quality rather than quantity", where this policy focuses on imposing high standards of hospitality to attract rich or well-resourced tourists, and get rid of the large numbers of tourists from the middle category. h its reception, which reduces the negative effects on the local community.
Dabbousi believes that cities can also resort to the solutions of imposing tourism taxes on foreign visitors, raising hotel prices, restricting the work of hotel house rental applications by imposing financial fees on these apartments and using the revenues collected to improve infrastructure in tourist areas, in addition to the need for affected countries to market new tourist destinations within them, which contributes to attracting visitors to areas outside the main tourist centers.
Excessive damage from tourism
Cities facing the challenges of overcrowding, such as Bangkok in Thailand, Paris in France and New York in the United States, as well as some Greek and Spanish cities, must take measures to manage tourism sustainably and distribute tourism pressure in a way that preserves the quality of life of local residents and respects local culture. Eat and drink, making life more expensive for local residents.
We hope that we have succeeded in conveying the full details of the spraying with water guns..
Are tourist expulsions spreading in Europe?
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You may also read.

The consequences of overtourism include strain on local infrastructure, housing shortages, and degradation of natural resources.

In Europe, popular destinations such as Barcelona and Venice have implemented measures to manage overtourism, including tourist taxes and limits on visitor numbers.

In Asia, countries such as Thailand and Indonesia have introduced sustainable tourism initiatives, including eco-tourism and community-based tourism.

In the Americas, destinations such as Costa Rica and Peru have implemented measures to protect sensitive ecosystems and cultural heritage sites.

Responsible tourism practices, such as reducing waste and respecting local customs, can help mitigate the impacts of overtourism.


Language policy and legislation on linguistic borrowings from English.

Government interventions in linguistic borrowing: case studies of language purification efforts.

Regulation of English loanwords in non-English speaking countries: sociolinguistic and political perspectives.

Language policy and legislation on linguistic borrowings from English.

Title:

Content: city news Yelets, news Yelets, Yelets news, Yelets newspaper, Red banner
Better than any passport.
0 0
The Russian government has submitted to the state Duma a bill to protect the Russian language from excessive use of foreign words.
The document implies control over the observance by officials and citizens of the norms of the Russian literary language and the inadmissibility of the use of foreign words, with the exception of those that do not have common analogues in the Russian language.
"Wet feet"
by "toptalische"
Fighters for the purity of the native language waited, because the discussion about it among linguists, writers, scientists goes on constantly, then quiet, then flaring up with renewed vigor.
The initiative of the Government of Russia, which decided to wedge itself into the disputes of professionals, is quite understandable and understandable.
Today, when the United States and the entire Western world are in a rush to destroy, eradicate, wipe out all Russian, the frequent use of Anglicisms in everyday life is at least unpatriotic.
In fairness, it should be noted that borrowing from other languages is a constant process.
Lenin also proposed "to declare war on the use of foreign words unnecessarily", and the intricacies of relations and mutual accusations of Slavophiles and Westerners entered the textbooks, as well as the textbook proposals to replace other people's "galoshes" with their "wet feet", and "sidewalks" - with "toptalisches".
In the 1940s, a new wave: the struggle against cosmopolitanism suggested “for everything Russian against foreign ”, including in the language.
A printer is a printer?
Meanwhile, all – both supporters and opponents – agree that there are concepts in their native language that came after the phenomena, realities created in other countries, and therefore the words denoting them, well, not ours, but they can not do without them.
A striking example is the computer, IT technologies and everything related to them.
The word “printer ” cannot be replaced by a Russian translation from English, since“ printer ” does not mean a device for printing, but a person engaged in this process.
By the way, this phenomenon is not new: even under Peter I, who “cut through the window to Europe ”, dozens of Dutch and German words for technologies and mechanisms poured into Russia.
And in opera, many terms are borrowed from Italian and have long been part of the Russian language.
And we calmly use such words as “federation ”,“ sphere ”, “national ”,“ commission ” and many others that came from foreign languages, but are firmly entrenched in our own.
How to be
in one bow
Meanwhile, one cannot but agree with the authors of the bill: recently, the speech of deputies of different ranks, officials, political and economic experts, heads of federal and regional, and sometimes local authorities is simply replete with foreign words that have simple and understandable analogues in their native language.
And if we are almost reconciled with merchandisers (commodity scientists in our own way), then what do you think of the expression from the fashion world “in one bow ”?
The well-known vegetable has nothing to do with it: in English look - look, therefore, in Russian it is an image, appearance, look, etc. In texts related to business, "marketplace" (literally from the English place of trade), as well as "startup" (start, start, take the first steps) or "webinar" (training video conference live).
In the field of education, they like to talk about “bullying prevention ”: this word means ridicule, bullying of children at school by peers.
Increasingly, “campus ” sounds, while the translation from Latin is a familiar campus for many of us, or“ coach ” instead of the usual “coach ”,“ mentor ”.
Abilympics
with WorldSkills
I will also swing at my favorite “quest ” recently: again with the English“ game, search ”.
I do not like the sequestered budget, because it is “cut ”, but transparent is more to my liking, because it is“ open ”, “transparent ”.
And who will prove to me that “exchange of practices ” is better than the usual“ exchange of experience ”?
Or for days on TV reported about the participation of Russians in the championship "Abilympics".
You will break the language by pronouncing, although this is only a competition in professional skills among the disabled, in another way they are also called the “Olympics of opportunities ”.
From the same series, the widely distributed “WorldSkills ” (WorldSkills) is also a competition, but students studying a particular profession.
We have such competitions took place in the times of the USSR, then they were safely forgotten, and now they are back again, only in a Western manner.
And here is another illustrative example: the all-Russian social project “Agrofoodsharing ”.
We divide abracadabra into parts: agro - of course, something related to agriculture.
In English, food – food, share – share.
As a result, we get a movement of agricultural producers who want to share with other people the surplus of their crops.
The idea, of course, is good, right, but why break the language?
And finally from the sore: "solving cases." Brilliant!
In English, the word “case ” has two meanings: a briefcase, a suitcase and the second – circumstances.
Therefore, in Russian literally "the decision of circumstances" or, as the know-it-all Internet interprets, "the study of the situation and the choice of a suitable solution."
They will leave themselves
on your own?
Most likely, the desire to cleanse the language by introducing a law at the state level is an attempt to distance oneself from the West, its influence, to isolate oneself from someone else ’ s and alien mentality, lifestyle and dubious values.
However, it is not very clear what it will look like in practice: will there be lists of prohibited words and expressions or just recommendations, and addressed to high-ranking officials and other “persons in the TV ” – after all, it is with their filing that all sorts of newfangled borrowings from foreign languages often go“ to people ”.
However, a few decades ago, our teachers at the Yelets Pedagogical Institute hammered us, students, that the language is a self-cleaning system, and all harmful, fake after a while will simply disappear.
It has always been so, and I want to believe it will be so.
KSTATI:
I assume that all borrowings are from our haste, eternal saving of time even on pronunciation and writing of words.
We usually write in sms a short, indifferent “OK ”.
While in the native language for this almost a dozen words: “good ”,“ okay ”, “agree ”,“ give ”, “let ”,“ good ”, etc. No wonder there is a catch phrase: “Speech is better than any passport ”...
Tatyana SHCHERBATYKH
VRF News

Government interventions in linguistic borrowing: case studies of language purification efforts.

Title:

Content: news _ header _ top _ 970 _ 100
news _ header _ bot _ 970 _ 100
The State Duma adopted a law on the protection of the Russian language from the excessive use of foreign words
news _ top _ 970 _ 100
The state Duma in the final reading adopted a bill that should protect the Russian language from excessive foreign borrowing.
The document was submitted at the end of October last year.
It is noted that the project “emphasizes the unifying role of the Russian language as the state language of the Russian Federation in a single multinational state, expands and specifies the areas in which the use of the state language of the Russian Federation is mandatory. ”
The law introduces such concepts as normative dictionaries, grammars and reference books that fix the norms of the modern Russian literary language when it is used as a state language.
Exceptions will be only those foreign words that do not have common analogues in the Russian language and the list of which is contained in the normative dictionaries.
Also, now there will be a mandatory linguistic examination of draft regulations for their compliance with the norms and rules of the Russian language.
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Regulation of English loanwords in non-English speaking countries: sociolinguistic and political perspectives.


Language policy and legislation on linguistic borrowings from English.

Government interventions in linguistic borrowing: case studies of language purification efforts.

Regulation of English loanwords in non-English speaking countries: sociolinguistic and political perspectives.

Language policy and legislation on linguistic borrowings from English.

Title:

Content: city news Yelets, news Yelets, Yelets news, Yelets newspaper, Red banner
Better than any passport.
0 0
The Russian government has submitted to the state Duma a bill to protect the Russian language from excessive use of foreign words.
The document implies control over the observance by officials and citizens of the norms of the Russian literary language and the inadmissibility of the use of foreign words, with the exception of those that do not have common analogues in the Russian language.
"Wet feet"
by "toptalische"
Fighters for the purity of the native language waited, because the discussion about it among linguists, writers, scientists goes on constantly, then quiet, then flaring up with renewed vigor.
The initiative of the Government of Russia, which decided to wedge itself into the disputes of professionals, is quite understandable and understandable.
Today, when the United States and the entire Western world are in a rush to destroy, eradicate, wipe out all Russian, the frequent use of Anglicisms in everyday life is at least unpatriotic.
In fairness, it should be noted that borrowing from other languages is a constant process.
Lenin also proposed "to declare war on the use of foreign words unnecessarily", and the intricacies of relations and mutual accusations of Slavophiles and Westerners entered the textbooks, as well as the textbook proposals to replace other people's "galoshes" with their "wet feet", and "sidewalks" - with "toptalisches".
In the 1940s, a new wave: the struggle against cosmopolitanism suggested “for everything Russian against foreign ”, including in the language.
A printer is a printer?
Meanwhile, all – both supporters and opponents – agree that there are concepts in their native language that came after the phenomena, realities created in other countries, and therefore the words denoting them, well, not ours, but they can not do without them.
A striking example is the computer, IT technologies and everything related to them.
The word “printer ” cannot be replaced by a Russian translation from English, since“ printer ” does not mean a device for printing, but a person engaged in this process.
By the way, this phenomenon is not new: even under Peter I, who “cut through the window to Europe ”, dozens of Dutch and German words for technologies and mechanisms poured into Russia.
And in opera, many terms are borrowed from Italian and have long been part of the Russian language.
And we calmly use such words as “federation ”,“ sphere ”, “national ”,“ commission ” and many others that came from foreign languages, but are firmly entrenched in our own.
How to be
in one bow
Meanwhile, one cannot but agree with the authors of the bill: recently, the speech of deputies of different ranks, officials, political and economic experts, heads of federal and regional, and sometimes local authorities is simply replete with foreign words that have simple and understandable analogues in their native language.
And if we are almost reconciled with merchandisers (commodity scientists in our own way), then what do you think of the expression from the fashion world “in one bow ”?
The well-known vegetable has nothing to do with it: in English look - look, therefore, in Russian it is an image, appearance, look, etc. In texts related to business, "marketplace" (literally from the English place of trade), as well as "startup" (start, start, take the first steps) or "webinar" (training video conference live).
In the field of education, they like to talk about “bullying prevention ”: this word means ridicule, bullying of children at school by peers.
Increasingly, “campus ” sounds, while the translation from Latin is a familiar campus for many of us, or“ coach ” instead of the usual “coach ”,“ mentor ”.
Abilympics
with WorldSkills
I will also swing at my favorite “quest ” recently: again with the English“ game, search ”.
I do not like the sequestered budget, because it is “cut ”, but transparent is more to my liking, because it is“ open ”, “transparent ”.
And who will prove to me that “exchange of practices ” is better than the usual“ exchange of experience ”?
Or for days on TV reported about the participation of Russians in the championship "Abilympics".
You will break the language by pronouncing, although this is only a competition in professional skills among the disabled, in another way they are also called the “Olympics of opportunities ”.
From the same series, the widely distributed “WorldSkills ” (WorldSkills) is also a competition, but students studying a particular profession.
We have such competitions took place in the times of the USSR, then they were safely forgotten, and now they are back again, only in a Western manner.
And here is another illustrative example: the all-Russian social project “Agrofoodsharing ”.
We divide abracadabra into parts: agro - of course, something related to agriculture.
In English, food – food, share – share.
As a result, we get a movement of agricultural producers who want to share with other people the surplus of their crops.
The idea, of course, is good, right, but why break the language?
And finally from the sore: "solving cases." Brilliant!
In English, the word “case ” has two meanings: a briefcase, a suitcase and the second – circumstances.
Therefore, in Russian literally "the decision of circumstances" or, as the know-it-all Internet interprets, "the study of the situation and the choice of a suitable solution."
They will leave themselves
on your own?
Most likely, the desire to cleanse the language by introducing a law at the state level is an attempt to distance oneself from the West, its influence, to isolate oneself from someone else ’ s and alien mentality, lifestyle and dubious values.
However, it is not very clear what it will look like in practice: will there be lists of prohibited words and expressions or just recommendations, and addressed to high-ranking officials and other “persons in the TV ” – after all, it is with their filing that all sorts of newfangled borrowings from foreign languages often go“ to people ”.
However, a few decades ago, our teachers at the Yelets Pedagogical Institute hammered us, students, that the language is a self-cleaning system, and all harmful, fake after a while will simply disappear.
It has always been so, and I want to believe it will be so.
KSTATI:
I assume that all borrowings are from our haste, eternal saving of time even on pronunciation and writing of words.
We usually write in sms a short, indifferent “OK ”.
While in the native language for this almost a dozen words: “good ”,“ okay ”, “agree ”,“ give ”, “let ”,“ good ”, etc. No wonder there is a catch phrase: “Speech is better than any passport ”...
Tatyana SHCHERBATYKH
VRF News

Government interventions in linguistic borrowing: case studies of language purification efforts.

Title:

Content: news _ header _ top _ 970 _ 100
news _ header _ bot _ 970 _ 100
The State Duma adopted a law on the protection of the Russian language from the excessive use of foreign words
news _ top _ 970 _ 100
The state Duma in the final reading adopted a bill that should protect the Russian language from excessive foreign borrowing.
The document was submitted at the end of October last year.
It is noted that the project “emphasizes the unifying role of the Russian language as the state language of the Russian Federation in a single multinational state, expands and specifies the areas in which the use of the state language of the Russian Federation is mandatory. ”
The law introduces such concepts as normative dictionaries, grammars and reference books that fix the norms of the modern Russian literary language when it is used as a state language.
Exceptions will be only those foreign words that do not have common analogues in the Russian language and the list of which is contained in the normative dictionaries.
Also, now there will be a mandatory linguistic examination of draft regulations for their compliance with the norms and rules of the Russian language.
autoscroll _ news _ right _ 240 _ 400
news _ bot _ 970 _ 100

Regulation of English loanwords in non-English speaking countries: sociolinguistic and political perspectives.