ah, ah ah ah, this is dw, liable from berlin, a russian court to jails, us basketball star, brittany griner for 9 years on drug charges. the american athlete is convicted of smuggling cannabis oil into russia. u. s. president joe biden is calling on moscow

to release her immediately could a diplomatic deal to see her walk free. so coming up on the show, concerned over russia's treatment of ukrainian prisoners of war keeps as moscow is behaving illegally with prisoners being sentenced to death on spurious grounds. we meet the parents of one man being held by russia who they fear might face a similar fate. and china stepped up its military activity around taiwan, beijing puts on its biggest shovel force around the island in decades following a controversial visit y u. s. house speaker and see policy. and during world breastfeeding week we had to france to find out why so many women their prefer to feed their babies from the bottle. ah.

hello, i'm claire richardson. thank you so much for joining us. a russian court has found us basketball player, brittany griner, guilty of drugs, possession and smuggling. she has been sentenced to 9 years in jail. the sport star was arrested for carrying a vague pen and partridges in her luggage, which contained marijuana, oil. russian authority said the charges brought against her, were fully proven the u. s. and says she's been wrongfully detained before the sentence. and greiner pleaded with the judge for a favorable ruling law short while ago deputy chief of mission at the u. s. embassy in moscow. elizabeth brewed had this reaction outside the courtroom to day us citizen athlete. brittany greiner, who is admired by millions of fans in the united states, as well as here in russia, was sentenced to 9 years in prison for nothing more than an intentional oversight. this is a miscarriage of justice. the u. s. department of state has determined that miss

griner was wrongfully detained. nothing in today's decision changes sat determination. let's get more on the story from d. w's, russia. analysts, konstantin. i got konstantin. are you surprised by this verdict? clara, not at all. ah, according to statistics, only one percent of of sending in russian quotes and in a quit. so written griner is pretty much a standard case. secondly, it doesn't really matter, or whether these hash apples were planted on her, which is quite a frequent occurrence in russia, or she really carry them up. ever since she was detained, she became a valuable hostage for the crumbling, also a very high profile one. so this decision was predestined. you don't swap, do you don't exchange people in such circumstances without very, ah hi, but very, very, very sort of high profile sentence. so not yours is what i actually predicted. and

indeed, we know there have been high level diplomatic efforts between laugh rob and blink and discussing an exchange of russian and american prisoners. are you saying that this is what this case is all about? yes, although she was arrested just a week before i put in the 2nd invasion, or are you crying out on the 24th of every book ever since that day, the stakes are very high, and of course ah, of putin has a very long standing green. he wants to get up. victor booked a russian pilot who is serving a very long sentence. i think it's a life sentence in the u. s. full arm smuggling and he wants to get him back to become a kind of symbol in russia is a symbol of someone who's wronged by them by america. and i think that greiner, another american william who's also a serving a jail sentence in russia, may be the poems in this game. he mentioned victor, but he's convicted as you say on much more serious grounds than carrying cannabis

oil on. he's a convicted arms, traffic, or judge the merchant of death in the united states. he think this would be a fair swap. well, such, watson, never fair, should look at the history of the cold war. is that of dramatic exchanges of spies on the bridge of spies in berlin. i think it was never ah, there was never a measure of whether it's fair unlocked. it's always the fairness if you wish, is in the eyes of the exchanger. ah, i think if both sides think that their citizens well should be back, then it's satisfied with them it's. there's never an objective measure of fairness or not the crimes on not a comparable, of course, and russian quotes from corporate to american courts. but, well that's, that's a reality and one has to accept it. i mean, i'm sure joe biden wants the americans back, and i'm sure they'll put them on to another propaganda victory. which griner is exchange will probably grunting better,

so it does indeed bring back memories of the cold war with relations between russia and united states at such a low point. are we likely to see more of this kind of thing? yes, it does. i mean, i think it will be more difficult now with much fewer americans traveling to, to russia. i mean, how you can count county grabbed them. i mean, as a said greiner was, i was, was arrested a week before the invasion boss. i mean, putting, i think, in the least find a way of tickling the us in the us will always find a way of responding. this is indeed a bit like a cold war in the age of social media. right. is that the is russia analyst conference in ag? thank you so much for joining us with that updates. thank. meanwhile, ukraine's foreign ministry says russia is treating ukrainian prisoners of war illegally and using them for political purposes. that is strictly forbidden. under the geneva conventions, russia and proxy authorities in eastern ukraine have charged dozens of soldiers

with crimes. 3 foreign born ukrainian soldiers have been sentenced to death on allegedly fabricated charges. are dw correspondent burger to show come met the parents of one man being held by the russians. they feared he could suffer a similar fate each morning if gania would kevin take some time for herself and quite to look at her son. she hasn't heard from maxime since russian forces captured him 2 months ago. she scared there might be torturing him, or that he might be dead. you know, cylindrical i sit in the kitchen and just cry while my husband is still sleeping. when he gets up, i wash my face in person lights and try to be strong for the day and not to cry anymore. only in the early mornings i allow myself to cry. what's it difference? does windows yeah, the couple invited us to their home because they want the world to know about their son. his parents say, maxine volunteered to join the army, even though he is

a pacifist. he had worked as a journalist and activist campaigning for refugees and human rights. but when russia invaded, he decided to take more direct action or to wish you use go. so she do need to, he told me, i'm joining the army because i have to defend the values i've been fighting for my whole life. yes, this is bruce. they only realized he had been captured when a video of maxine being interrogated was shown on russian state media with to boucher. it was horrible. the 1st thing i felt was just horror. i saw my early childhood listening through them. i thought that can't be true crow kremlin telegram tennis quickly called maxime and nazi a nationalist. they even said he was a british spy because he had worked as a local producer for the b, b. c. in 2003. maybe issues in the blue cross blue. my biggest concern is

that they might not recognize him as a prisoner of war like they have with others e and that they would fabricate a criminal case against him. so using all those lies and twisted evidence, leticia claim in some of a good, a storage. it was just when you free our domestic intelligence sources confirm that russia is holding more than 7000 ukrainian so just prisoner. but they won't talk about any of it on camera. because negotiations for prisoners swaps secret. a lawyer representing the families of more than 50 captured soldiers has agreed to talk with us. let us laugh. we cannot see. f works closely with domestic intelligence to try to get prisoners back. he expects that russia will fire more and more criminal cases against ukrainian prisoners of war. i think this is so this is done mostly for their political purposes. when you create search and you know,

important to person gray launch, you know, you can use it to in their political, you know, trait. but yes, gania and alexander, i don't want things to get that far. they fire the nurse into peer to the european court of human rights. they say they will fight with everything they have until maxine is friendly. that report was filed by my colleague brigitte. i shall go who i spoke to earlier. i asked her how ukrainians are reacting to the allegations made in that report. it is a huge topic. her and many are worried about the fate of the prisoners of war because many have family of friends in the military. and people here are not only worried, they are also furious because especially after dozens of prisoners of war were killed just last week in an attack on a detention facility in russian heard olenick sca,

russia and ukraine have played blamed each other for that. but the assessment here and keith is very clear, they say the russians have blown up this detention facility to destroy evidence of torture and killing. and satellite image from that side seem really to support this claim. that's what experts are also told us. so ukraine now was trying very hard to push for an investigation, but we just learned that the red cross still wasn't granted any access to the side by the russians. so for many here in ukraine, this is like an other indication that russia really has to hide something, and they really might have deliberately killed prisoners of war. forgot. or we heard in your report there that maxine's father says he's worried that the prosecution will fabricate charges against his son, or that he won't be recognized as

a prisoner of war. but he peered over. use can still be accused in court cafe. yes, absolutely. yeah. the geneva conventions as stayed very clearly that it's possible, but it's not possible to charge somebody only for the fact that he has been fighting in a war on one side of the conflict. it's only allowed, according to the geneva conventions, to charge somebody if you really committed severe crimes. and we have been seeing this here in ukraine or russian soldier was prosecuted for killing or murdering. let me put it like that at 62 a year old man, outside of, of combat and to their ukraine prosecutor is investigating thousands of alleged war crimes committed by a russian soldiers. as for russia, human rights organizations, they have criticized that russia often doesn't present any evidence or

a barely any evidence and for, for the severe crimes when they are charged people. and i, for instance. so in this case, you have mentioned of this 3 soldiers who were handed down a death verdict by the russian a proxy use in the don bus region. international organizations were shocked about this verdict because there were barely any evidence presented in that case. and the u. n human rights offers has also sharply criticized it, saying that such, such our triads against prisoners of war would. d or would amount to a, to a war crime itself. thank you so much for that, brigitte ashika reporting for us from keith. and bring it to speed now with some of the other stories making headlines around the worlds. the 1st ship carrying grain

from ukraine since the war began, is on its way to lebanon. after passing inspection in turkey, monitors from the us ukraine, turkey and russia checked the resume. it hoped further shipments will now be able to leave ukrainian fort un secretary general antonio good hash has urged governments to introduce special taxes on the profits of oil and gas companies. his comments come after some of the world's biggest energy firms posted record quarterly profits driven by surging energy prices. could tell her that it was immoral for companies to profit from the crisis. hundreds of people have protested in bay route on the 2nd anniversary of the explosion of grain silos that killed over 200 people. they are demanding an international prob, after investigations into the install during their protest. 2 more silos collapsing, if fire had burned through the structures for several weeks. will china has

launched a live fire military drills around tie one as tensions rise after the visit of us. how speaker nancy pelosi, the chinese military has fired ballistic missiles into the waters, off taiwan. the government in ty pay says it's scrambled jets to warn off chinese aircraft that entered its air defense zone. and a number of taiwanese ministry websites have come under cyber attack. now nancy pelosi left taiwan pledging washington iron clad commitment to defending democracy . the people's liberation army released these images of china, launching its biggest show forth against taiwan in decades. navy and air force drills indicated in blue, have encircled the self governing island that china claims as its own. the drills included what beijing cold precision missiles strikes in the taiwan strait. this

new escalation comes as beijing hits back for u. s. house speaker nancy pelosi visit to ty pay. pelosi reaffirmed us commitment to defending ty, ones, democracy as the islands government scramble jets to ward of chinese aircraft encroaching on the air space. what was infill like? our government is even more resolute to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our nation. in light of the current situation, our government will not only actively strengthen its self defense capabilities, but will also maintain close ties with like minded countries. like the united states, what jap, taiwan has grown accustomed to chinese aggression for residents. these drills are just the latest in lives, lived under constant threat. go down drills a just like a show. the us china and taiwan will play their own roles in the show. and everything will be okay when the show ends at one long hoping they,

i want p santana doesn't did. but this is also a chance to get to let the world see. and the true colors of the chinese communist party. what you're the hama you down, that may foster some regional cooperation thing. the whole, all the issue has dominated a meeting of the association of southeast asian nations in cambodia is capital norm pen with china and the united states joining the summit in his opening remarks. china's foreign minister emphasized the political and security ties between china and asi on countries. la, we have guarded the peace facing the turbulence of the national security. the 2 sides of strength and strategic communication jointly tackled the challenges of various spillover effects and jointly maintained the uneasily achieved stability in the region. i see on is positioning itself as

a negotiator. it's called for all sides to de escalate. warning and miscalculation could lead to open conflict. earlier did elisa joan yon gave me an update on the military maneuvers around taiwan? well, one thing is for sure china is holding is largest ever a minister exercise. i wrong to taiwan on the eastern seattle command of the people's liberation army said long wrench armed life, fire, precision, missile strikes were carry out on the selected area. a took selected targets in the eastern area of the highlands. tried to draw is to test the precision strike and the area, the night capabilities and according to the chinese military. oh me says a currently heath their targets on most importantly the p. o. a claimed that the entire life fire training mission has been successfully completed. and they are lifting the relevancy and aerospace control right now. on the other hand,

time on these defense ministry just we have heard before said its force were on the alert and monitoring the situation while seeking to avoid escalating tensions. that's worth mentioning, that it's not uncommon for china to hold military drills in the taiwan strait and what we're seeing now though appears to be something else entirely. why exactly are these latest exercises so concerning? well, this is a 1st time debts chinese army contacted a military operation with life. i am a nation. i run the island of taiwan junior, which p o, a crossed a midline of thailand, street which day of course don't recognize officially. and the entire exercise was completed using life emanation, which means that this kind of drill can be converted to actual combat at any time adding the pressure to the child or to the terminus mandatory. and also it's

eileen around the region. and in the wake of nancy policies visit china's also turning up economic pressure on beijing is high ones biggest trading partner. it's already now move to ban imports of some guides. what consequences will that have 41? well, maybe let's just give you our right. let jimmy urge, i just let me give you a rough sides of numbers of to 2 or 3200 registrations by a time. and these companies in $58.00 foot categories in mainland china, a total of 2000 are currently listed as suspended imports. that is nearly 65 percent of the total amount of goods that taiwan is exporting to china and china. not only that, china has also announced a ban on the export of nature sent to taiwan. and mitchell sons is generally used

in production of concrete a to doing the street for the asphalt. and most of the sand and gravel imported into taiwan comes from china. so the whole impact on the whole economic impact on taiwan, while it's already very big, and we are expecting that it's getting bigger and bigger. okay, des, genuine, thank you so much for that update or health experts have long said that breastfeeding is the most beneficial way to feed a baby if the united nations says less than half of all infants are exclusively breastfed in their 1st 6 months of life. it's currently world breastfeeding week, and so the u. n. is trying to raise awareness of the issue. in this next report, we're going to take a look at france, which for years has had one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world's mullin . in moth, your has a very young visited work today. her 5 month old daughter boone, she's a 3rd child, moline still breastfeed so once or twice

a day. the world health organization says breast moved is the ideal food for infants providing essential nutrients that help protect against illness. brutal also drinks formula since melinda, a lawyer had to go back to work 3 months after her booked. but juggling works, she says, isn't the only challenge when it comes to breastfeeding her daughter in france, all citizen cuz people are surprised that i still breastfeed her. i came back from hospital after her birth and was really exhausted. people would say, why are you torturing yourself by breastfeeding? take it easy. your husband should take her. now. i did feel a bit java torn lower. there are more whistle till monday. this is her decision to nurse starting with the 1st child 6 years ago, was not an easy one. i felt a bit alone. i was surprised when staff at the maternity hospital gave my son a feeding bottle without my consent. i really wanted to breastfeed him. it was the 1st sign that something was wrong. they have come out with mother phony. mullins

experience is not unusual in france. statistics showed that less than 70 percent of mothers would start breastfeeding at all. and the number drops to just 22 percent of the 6 months. experts see a big reason is francis vince to be shot maternity leave to 16 weeks after baby's book. but the aversion to nothing. once deeper than that, i don't envy is a private lactation consultant. in law than paris, she helps future mothers prepared to breastfeed and helps troubleshoot. when does a problem have printer let me have i have to dishes advising a client over the phone, and i got all says women wanting to breastfeed in france. fis, an uphill battle because of the lack of awareness across society. but it's a great lack of support support from the community in general, the health care professional, or just talk with help know much,

much about breastfeeding. so as soon as there's some kind of issue, they will say, well, then you can go home, you know, making maybe you can drop right, breastfeeding and, and use a bottle. then a french feminist in the seventy's weren't really in breastfeeding. in comparison to the swedes or the region mothers, our mothers didn't breast feed. so we don't have a culture that supports breastfeeding. despite its look, breastfeeding weights, france is far from being the only country, but mothers switch early to infant formula. the world health organization says that across the globe, less than half of all newborns are breasted within the 1st, i will flip or drink breastmilk exclusively for the recommended 6 months and share in germany. emergency services are at the scene of a large fire in berlin's green involved forest. the blaze broke out at a police munitions depot with the fire service reporting a number of explosions,

authority say some 15000 square meters of wooded area is burning uncontrollably. with a heat wave complicating firefighting efforts, a perimeter has been set up in case of further explosions and flying debris, the detonation side houses, munitions, and fireworks among other explosives. if firefighting helicopter has been requested and the german army is also on site, the fire has disrupted road and rail traffic, or correspond, manuel shop is at the site and she sent us this report with an update on how the emergency services are coping day has been on 5 since 330 this morning, the belling 5 parties that you see behind me are responding to a fire that is still ongoing about shows no sign of winding down in the early hours of the day. explosions could be heard here by the nabi tons of these, a west suburb of berlin, glue, nevada,

they heard detonations that came from and ammunition their post that exploded. we don't know yet. explosions took place. first of all, the fire started. what we do know is this over a 100 people trying to respond to that fire, not just firefighters. so police officer, the armies are so there does also a ton medical center body army to help in the effort of trying to, you know, a court or not the fire and because of the risk of further determinations of further explosions. well, firefighters cannot even respond to the fire just yet. there is a cordon. there is a security zone of a 1000 me to asserting the fire helicopters. drones are being used to try to deter mean just how far the fire already went so far. already. 15000 square meters of forest pop burned manual. chaz reporting there will volcano has

a rapid near iceland capital. rachel vick offer. days of earthquake activity. dozens of people went to check out the scene. the 300 meter crevice is much longer than the fisher opened by a nearby eruption last year. at became a major tourist attraction, drawing thousands of visitors. iceland has interruption every 5 years on average. this is the 7th and 21 years. as he has obtained our stay tuned for dw asia with my colleague parish energy that's coming up next after a short break. ah ah, with

is the end of the pandemic in sight. we show what it could look like. return to normal. and we visit those who are finding it difficult

with success in our weekly coven, 19 special. in 60 minutes on d. w. a . a journey across the entire continent with a variety of cars. so what on this? so the focus, the mover shake is he's, i mean, when bonnie, the meaning of modern efficacy is actually starts august. the 5th on d, w. indian lead of contrasts of ambitions of inequality. 75 years ago, mahatma gandhi peacefully led the country to independence,

full of ideals. what is remained of his vision? what's the status of human rights and social justice in what's called the world's largest democracy? wally cindy ahead. it is the pulpit tour unleash on non violent bass and re imagine these teachings for relevance to gandhi's legacy. stuart to august 6th on the w they say state of the nearest aisha coming up to dave, she lumpkins determined to continue their fight for change. the government has brought down on puffing protests, but people remain defiant. would have fought from colombo on the nation in the midst of a crisis.