Updating your news feed...
NEWS EXPRESS is Nigeria’s leading online newspaper. Published by Africa’s international award-winning journalist, Mr. Isaac Umunna, NEWS EXPRESS is Nigeria’s first truly professional online daily newspaper. It is published from Lagos, Nigeria’s economic and media hub, and has a provision for occasional special print editions. Thanks to our vast network of sources and dedicated team of professional journalists and contributors spread across Nigeria and overseas, NEWS EXPRESS has become synonymous with newsbreaks and exclusive stories from around the world.
Loading banners
Loading banners...
Jailed US basketball star Brittney Griner
A Russian court has sentenced US basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on drug charges.
She was also ordered to pay a fine of one million roubles (£13,430; $16,300).
Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges but has denied deliberately breaking the law.
The 31-year-old Olympic gold medallist was detained in February at an airport near Moscow when vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage.
Cannabis is illegal in Russia.
Griner's defence team said they would appeal against Thursday's verdict by the court in Khimki, near Moscow.
It is unclear how long she will actually spend behind bars, as the US and Russia have been discussing a potential prisoner swap that could involve the basketball player, the BBC's Russia editor Steve Rosenberg says.
Reports in US media suggest imprisoned Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout - known as the Merchant of Death - could be transferred by Washington to the Russian authorities as part of the deal. (BBC)
