Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Brittney Griner's return reignites debate about prisoner swaps

Thursday's release of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner in exchange for a convicted Russian arms dealer has resurfaced an old question: Do prisoner swaps do more harm than good? Amid the celebrations following Griner's return some critics, including members of Congress and federal law enforcement, argued such trades only encourage foreign states to target Americans to gain leverage over the United States.

Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai jailed over five years on fraud charge

Pro-democracy Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced on Saturday to five years and nine months in prison for fraud, convicted of violating a lease contract for the headquarters of a liberal newspaper he used to run. Lai, 75, was found guilty of two counts of fraud for covering up the operations of a private company, Dico Consultants Ltd, at the headquarters of the now shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, in what was ruled a breach of its land lease.

Russian arms dealer says he wished Griner good luck at prisoner exchange

Viktor Bout, the arms dealer freed in a prisoner swap for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, said he wished her good luck on the tarmac in Abu Dhabi where they were exchanged. Bout, who spent 14 years in U.S. jail for arms trafficking, money laundering and conspiring to kill Americans, was swapped on Thursday for the basketball star, jailed this year for bringing cannabis vape oil when arriving to play for a Russian team.

China's healthcare system put to the test as COVID curbs fade

When Li tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday in Baoding in northern China, he braced for a five-day quarantine at a makeshift local hospital as part of the country's strict pandemic controls. Instead, China the next day abruptly relaxed the policy that has made the world's most-populous country an outlier in a world largely learning to live with COVID.

Germany says Dresden hostage taker was likely "confused" lone wolf

German authorities said they had ended a suspected hostage-taking in the eastern city of Dresden on Saturday by what appeared to be a psychologically confused man acting alone, after evacuating a shopping mall in the historic city centre. The suspected hostage taker, a 40-year-old man, died of the injuries he sustained during the police operation to free the two hostages, who were unharmed, the police said.

China tackles medical supply snags, price gouging amid COVID fears

China said on Saturday it would stop checking truck drivers and ship crew transporting goods domestically for COVID-19, removing a key bottleneck from its supply chain network as a dismantling of the country's zero-COVID policy gathers speed. The country this week made a dramatic pivot toward economic reopening, loosening key parts of the COVID policy in a shift that has been welcomed by a weary public but also is now stoking concerns that infections could spike and cause further disruptions.

Senior U.S. delegation to visit China in coming days

A high-level U.S. delegation will travel to China next week to follow up on President Joe Biden's recent talks with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and prepare for Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit there early next year, the U.S. State Department said on Saturday. The U.S. announcement follows comments by a senior White House official that China wants stabilized relations with the United States in the short term as it faces domestic economic challenges and pushback in Asia to its assertive diplomacy.

Kosovo police exchange fire with local Serbs blocking roads

Kosovo Serbs and country’s police exchanged gunfire on Saturday after a flareup of tensions in the volatile northern part of the country. Earlier in the day Serbs from Kosovo's north blocked main roads in the region to protest against the arrest of a former member of the Kosovo police who quit his post last month along with other ethnic Serbs.

Ukraine says 1.5 million in Odesa region without power after Russia strikes

More than 1.5 million people in Ukraine's southern Odesa region are without power after Russian drone strikes on the electricity generating system, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address on Saturday.

Russia drones smash power network in Ukraine's Odesa, could take months to repair

All non-critical infrastructure in the Ukrainian port of Odesa was without power after Russia used Iranian-made drones to hit two energy facilities, officials said on Saturday, adding it could take months to repair the damage. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said more than 1.5 million people in the southern port city and surrounding region had no electricity, and he described the situation as very difficult.