Russia Frees US-Israeli Woman Jailed in Drug Bust After Putin Pardon

Markets Tumble Worldwide as Fears Over Deadly Viral Outbreak Grow

WASHINGTON—The outbreak of a new coronavirus in China has raised concerns about the disease’s potential impact on the Chinese economy, causing volatility in global stock markets and oil prices. The epidemic that originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and spread across the country is expected to hit China’s economic growth, as the panic has weighed on tourism, consumption, and manufacturing. The virus also has spread to other countries, including the United States, rattling investors further. Mounting fears and uncertainty sent major stock markets lower on Jan. 27, with travel, luxury goods, and mining sectors leading the drop. London’s FTSE 100 index slid 2.3 percent while Germany’s DAX index was down 2.6 percent. U.S. shares also lost at the start of the week with the Dow Jones and the S&P…

Russia freed a U.S.-Israeli woman on Jan. 30 who had been jailed on drugs charges after President Vladimir Putin granted her a pardon following a high profile lobbying campaign championed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Naama Issachar was released ahead of talks in Moscow between Putin and Netanyahu, who had flown in from Washington to pass on details of a U.S. peace plan for the Middle East.

Netanyahu thanked Putin for what he said was a “swift” decision to pardon Issachar. The prime minister later met Issachar in Moscow. Footage showed them hugging.

“We’re excited to see you. Now we go back home,” he told Issachar, according to a statement from his office. She was expected to fly to Israel later on Thursday aboard Netanyahu’s plane.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, meet Naama Issachar and her mother, Yaffa, in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 30, 2020. (Courtesy of Kobi Gideon/Government Press Office/Handout via Reuters)

The release of the New Jersey-born 26-year-old is seen as a boost for Netanyahu and as confirmation in both countries that Israeli-Russian ties remain strong. The Kremlin, before the meeting, said it was analyzing the U.S. peace plan, which Palestinians have denounced as an Israeli wishlist.

Netanyahu, currently under a criminal corruption indictment, faces an election on March 2 and has campaigned on his ability to protect Israel’s interests abroad.

Israeli media have suggested that the pardon deal may have been eased by promises made by the Israeli government over the ownership of a building in Jerusalem which is important to the Russian Orthodox Church. The Alexander Courtyard, situated in Jerusalem’s Old City, has been contested for years and an Israeli court recently ruled in Russia’s favor.

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Yaffa Issachar, the mother of US-Israeli Naama Issachar who was jailed in Moscow on drug charges, during a meeting in Jerusalem, Israel, on Jan. 23, 2020. (Alexey Nikolsky/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

TASS news agency reported earlier this month that Israel had told Russia it had begun the legal process of handing over the building to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Issachar was jailed for seven-and-a-half years after being arrested last April when police found nine grams of cannabis in her bags during a stopover at a Moscow airport on her way from India to Israel.

Her family called her treatment disproportionate and the case caused rare tensions between Russia and Israel.

“It has been a long journey that I would not wish upon anyone,” Yaffa Issachar, Naama’s mother, was quoted as saying by the Jerusalem Post, having traveled to Moscow for her daughter’s release. “Now, all I want is to hug my daughter Naama.”

By Vladimir Soldatkin and Dan Williams

This article is from the Internet:Russia Frees US-Israeli Woman Jailed in Drug Bust After Putin Pardon

Fed Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged Amid Concern for Below-Target Inflation

The Federal Reserve’s interest rate-setting body decided Wednesday to keep the benchmark Federal Funds target rate unchanged within the 1.5 to 1.75 percent range. Members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met on Jan. 28-29 to consider economic data before issuing a policy decision on an interest rate hold, cut, or hike. Citing labor market strength, in particular solid job gains and low unemployment, as well as economic activity that “has been rising at a moderate rate,” participants decided to keep rates steady. “The Committee judges that the current stance of monetary policy is appropriate to support sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation returning to the Committee’s symmetric 2 percent objective,” the FOMC said in a statement. Still, the Committee expressed some concern that…