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Zaghari-Ashouri released 

Two British-Iranian nationals, who served whole and part of their jail sentences for espionage in Iran, are on their way to the UK after being released today. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in 2016, and subsequently sentenced to five years in prison for her involvement in espionage. Later, she was sentenced to one more year for anti-Iran propaganda. Anousheh Ashouri, another British-Iranian was also given conditional release because of his age and health. He was sentenced to ten years in jail on the charges of spying for Israel and acquiring illegal wealth. Ashouri served nearly half of his sentence. Meanwhile, London has settled a long-overdue debt of 530 million dollars to Tehran. Britain owed the amount it received from the former Pahlavi regime for military vehicles which were never delivered. Britain had been using different pretexts for the delay, including anti-Iran sanctions. Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has denied any links between the UK debt payment and the release of the Iranian-British prisoners. 

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Day 21

It is Day 21 of the Russian military operation in Ukraine and its forces are stepping up their attacks on the capital, Kiev. Early on Wednesday, several explosions were heard in the city's west. Several residential buildings were also damaged and two people were wounded in overnight bombardment of Kiev. A curfew is now in place there and is expected to last until Thursday. Meantime, battles continue in Mariupol, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv. Despite the raging conflict, an advisor to Ukraine’s president says Russian forces been using all resources, but their advances are being countered on several fronts. About 700 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict, including scores of children. Now, the UN refugee agency says it is preparing for many more people about to flee Ukraine. 

Yemen Humanitarian crisis

The British premier arrives in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to secure more oil flows from the Persian Gulf Arab states amid spiraling energy prices due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Boris Johnson will meet senior Saudi officials including Crown Prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman. Earlier, the UK prime minister was in the United Arab Emirates where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. They discussed stronger collaboration on energy security and trade. Johnson’s trips to the Arab states have been met with fierce criticisms over their human rights records. British opposition leader Keir Starmer has said "going cap in hand" from dictator to dictator is not an energy strategy. 

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