How Russia's Justice System Stalls Movement in Evan Gershkovich Case

Five months into his detention in a Russian prison, no date has been made public for the trial of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter caught in a justice system in which defendants can wait for a year or more before their cases are heard.

Gershkovich, a 31-year-old U.S. citizen, was detained by agents from Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB, while he was on a reporting assignment in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on March 29 and is now being held on a charge of espionage that he, the Journal and the U.S. government deny. His pretrial detention, at Moscow's Lefortovo Prison, was initially set to expire on May 29 but was prolonged to Aug. 30 following a request from the FSB.


Prigozhin's Life on the Run: Wagner Chief Used Jets to Evade Tracking for Years

Long before his private jet plunged from the sky, Yevgeny Prigozhin suspected it could be the stage for his assassination.

The Embraer Legacy 600 was one of several private jets the chief of the Wagner mercenary firm outfitted with equipment to detect surveillance, electronically tinted smart windows and white leather seats.


Gabon President Becomes Latest Western Military Ally to Fall in Coup

The images are now familiar. Fatigue-clad officers appear on state television declaring that they have ousted the country's president. Crowds pour into the streets in support of the coup plotters. Western governments denounce the military takeover and urge, without success, that the president be freed.

On Wednesday, it was the turn of Gabon, once one of France's closest allies in Africa and the sixth former French colony and Western military ally on the continent to experience a coup d'état over the past three years. The Gabonese officers' announcement that President Ali Bongo had been detained at his residence came five weeks after the ouster of Niger's Western-supported leader, Mohamed Bazoum, some 1,200 miles to the north.


Salesforce Earnings Show Rising Profit Margins Amid Cost Cuts

Salesforce reported a sharp increase in quarterly earnings and upgraded its projection for annual profitability as the benefits of cost cuts outweighed sluggish growth in sales of its business software.

Net profit rose nearly 19-fold in the three months through July, while revenue increased by 11%. Both numbers topped analysts' expectations, but the sales-growth figure was similar to that of the prior quarter, which was the lowest on record for the San Francisco-based company.


Baby Formula Makers Get Safety Reprimands from FDA

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent warning letters to three baby formula manufacturers on Wednesday, saying that they had not set up adequate safety procedures to prevent any chance of contamination.

The agency said in letters to ByHeart, Reckitt/Mead Johnson Nutrition and Perrigo Wisconsin that the formula makers didn't do enough to determine the underlying causes when some of their formula tested positive for cronobacter in instances that came after the height of last year's shortages.


DOJ, SEC Investigate Tesla Over Secret Glass House Project

Manhattan federal prosecutors are investigating Tesla's use of company funds on a secret project that had been described internally as a house for Chief Executive Elon Musk, people familiar with the matter said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has sought information about personal benefits paid to Musk, how much Tesla spent on the project-which called for a spacious glass structure to be built in the Austin, Texas, area-and what it was for, the people said.


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Expected Major Events for Thursday

04:30/NED: Jul Retail turnover

04:30/NED: Aug Flash Estimate CPI

05:00/FIN: 2Q GDP

06:00/NOR: 2Q Credit Indicator C3

06:00/DEN: Jul Unemployment

06:00/DEN: 2Q Preliminary GDP

06:00/GER: Jul Retail Trade

06:30/HUN: Jul PPI

06:30/SWI: Jul Retail Sales

06:45/FRA: Jul Household consumption expenditure in manufactured goods

06:45/FRA: 2Q GDP - detailed figures

06:45/FRA: Jul PPI

06:45/FRA: Aug Provisional CPI

07:00/TUR: 2Q GDP

07:55/GER: Aug Labour market statistics (incl unemployment)

08:00/POL: 2Q GDP

08:00/ICE: 2Q GDP

08:00/ITA: Jul Unemployment

09:00/MLT: Jul PPI

09:00/BEL: 2Q Final GDP

09:00/CYP: Jul PPI

09:00/GRE: Jun Turnover Index in Retail Trade

09:00/ITA: Aug Cities CPI

09:00/ITA: Aug Provisional CPI

09:00/LUX: Jul PPI

09:00/EU: Aug Flash Estimate euro area inflation

09:00/EU: Jul Unemployment

09:00/GRE: Jul Labour Force Survey

10:00/POR: 2Q GDP

16:59/SPN: Jun Monthly Balance of Payments

16:59/BEL: Jul PPI

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-31-23 0015ET