Prisoner Swap, Gaza Strikes, and Tariff Exemptions

An American-Russian ballerina, Ksenia Karelina, has been released in a prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia. She was arrested in January 2024 while visiting Yekaterinburg and subsequently sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony. The charges stemmed from a $51 donation she made to a Ukrainian aid group, which was deemed "financing extremism." Karelina was exchanged for Alexei Temnikov, a Russian pilot convicted of smuggling charges in the US.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, reported that in numerous Israeli strikes on Gaza between March 18 and April 9, women and children were the only fatalities recorded. She highlighted a specific incident on April 6, where a strike on a residential building in Deir al Balah, belonging to the Abu Issa family, resulted in the deaths of one girl, four women, and a four-year-old boy.

The Trump administration has announced exemptions from steep tariffs on smartphones, laptops, chips, and related electronics. This change aims to alleviate pressure on major US tech companies. US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that items such as smartphones, hard drives, flat-panel monitors, and certain chips would be eligible for the exemption, avoiding the current 145 percent tariffs on China and the 10 percent baseline tariffs elsewhere.

Two Israeli air strikes have devastated al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, rendering it unusable. Israel has claimed the hospital was used by Hamas, but has not provided any evidence to support this claim. Reports indicate that a child died outside the hospital due to the cold weather.