Russia cuts natural gas to Poland and Bulgaria

Moscow’s move comes a day after the US promised more weapons to Ukraine. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Russia cuts natural gas to Poland and Bulgaria [Bulgargas' Chiren gas station in Chiren. Bulgaria, March 17, 2003.] Credit: AP/ BTA Lubomira Filipova/File photo Russia Russia has [cut off its flow of gas]( to NATO members Poland and Bulgaria, threatening to do the same to other European nations. The move comes a day after the US and its Western allies promised fresh military supplies to Ukraine. Now countries like Austria — which says Russian natural gas supplies are still flowing unrestricted — are [rushing to find alternatives]( as a precaution. Meanwhile, the US and Russia have [agreed to a prisoner swap](. The Biden administration has confirmed that US marine veteran Trevor Reed has been freed from prison, where his health was rapidly declining, and is on his way back to the United States. He’s being exchanged for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a pilot jailed in the US, sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2011 for conspiring to import more than $100 million worth of cocaine into the US. Myanmar A court in Myanmar has sentenced ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to five additional years in prison, saying it found her guilty of corruption for [accepting around $1.3 million in gold bars and cash]( from a close political ally. Suu Kyi has refuted the claim, and the court has forbidden her lawyers from speaking publicly about the case. She was arrested in February of last year when the military staged a coup, and she’s been charged with 17 criminal counts, convicted earlier on five lesser charges which sentenced her to six years in prison. Suu Kyi’s defenders say her [prosecution is unfair]( and is meant to discredit her, while legitimizing the military’s rule. Singapore Singapore has executed a Malaysian national on a drug trafficking conviction, despite pleas for his life to be spared. The move [prompted an outcry]( from international rights groups, and campaigners have described it as a "tragic miscarriage of justice." Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam was arrested in 2009 for attempting to carry 43 grams of heroin — about three tablespoons — into the country, and was sentenced to death the following year, spending more than a decade on death row. Nagaenthran maintained that he was coerced into carrying the package and didn’t know what was inside. Calls for his clemency were based on the fact that he had [an intellectual disability](, with an IQ of 69, as well as an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [At the mouth of the Black Sea, a ship spotter watches for clues amid Ukraine war]( [Yörük Işık, an independent Istanbul-based geopolitical analyst, is among a small group of ship watchers who observe ship traffic in Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait.]( Credit: Durrie Bouscaren/The World Turkey’s ship watchers observe traffic in the Bosphorus Strait to understand geopolitics — including the [comings and goings of Russian ships]( amid war in Ukraine. [No Z allowed: Some European countries move to ban the symbol used to promote Russia’s war in Ukraine]( [A woman walks past painted letter Z's, which has become a symbol of the Russian military, on bridge piers in St. Petersburg, Russia, April 15, 2022.]( Credit: AP The letter Z has been used to glorify Russia's war in Ukraine. Now, countries like Lithuania and Latvia are moving to [ban the letter]( as one step toward stemming Russia’s pro-war propaganda. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot Are you a procrastinator and often in need of a little push to get things done? Well, a coffee shop in Japan is trying to provide a remedy. ☕📝 The [Manuscript Writing Cafe]( in Tokyo doesn’t let customers leave until they’ve finished their work. They write down their goals, and then ask for progress checks, choosing the level of pressure they want from staff to ensure they’re getting their work done. The cafe’s owner Takuya Kawai, who is a writer himself, came up with the idea to help people focus. [Screenshot of The Jakarta Post tweet] Credit: Twitter --------------------------------------------------------------- [In case you missed it from The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.