Eurotopics.net

The US professional basketball player Brittney Griner has been released from a penal colony and is heading back to the US. She was arrested in Russia on 17 February after a small amount of cannabis oil was found in her luggage, and sentenced to nine years in prison in August. The US secured her release by exchanging her for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer imprisoned in Illinois.

German police launched raids across Germany targeting members of the far-right Reichsbürger ["Citizens of the Reich"] movement on Wednesday. Around 3,000 officers searched 150 properties in several federal states and arrested 25 suspects. The group allegedly planned to abolish the current state order in Germany, if necessary by force, and represent a "significant threat". Commentators voice concern.

Mysterious explosions at Russia's Engels-2 and Dyagilevo military airbases on Monday: two bomber aircraft were damaged by drone attacks at the Engels airbase and one at the Dyagilevo, where three people were also killed. The two bases are well beyond the range of the drones Ukraine is officially known to have, but Russia is still blaming Ukraine. Europe's commentators also see this as likely.

China's government has reacted to the massive protests against its zero-Covid policy and announced that it will ease Covid regulations. Among other measures, infected people will be able to isolate at home rather than having to go to state quarantine facilities, and lockdowns will be limited and no longer affect entire cities or rural areas. But that won't solve Xi's problems, commentators predict.