Axios

An American citizen and his brother who were detained in Afghanistan since Dec. 18 have been released and are heading home to the United States via Qatar, the State Department confirmed Friday.

The big picture: Safi Rauf, the U.S. citizen, and his brother Anees Khalil, a British citizen with an American green card, were detained by the Taliban while engaged in licensed humanitarian aid work. They have been held in Afghanistan for 105 days as a result of what Rauf called a "misunderstanding."

The International Atomic Energy Agency's top official said Friday he will lead a mission to Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant "as soon as possible" after some Russian troops left the area Thursday.

Why it matters: The power plant — the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster — fell under Russian control in the first day of its invasion of Ukraine. While the plant is inoperative, the site still houses and processes nuclear waste.

The ruble is back. Russia's currency bounced back this week to roughly its pre-invasion value — but that doesn't mean everything's fine and dandy in the Russian economy.

Why it matters: Even if the West doesn't impose stricter sanctions, Russia's GDP is expected to contract by as much as 15% over the next year as the country enters a steep recession, according to a projection from the Institute of International Finance, which is tracking the country's economy.

President Biden has said Russia is “isolated from the world,” but the rest of the world doesn't necessarily see it that way.

Driving the news: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s friendly visits to the world’s two biggest countries — India and China — suggest that Russia is hardly a pariah.

Pope Francis apologized on Friday for abuses that Indigenous children suffered while in Canada’s residential schools ran by the Catholic Church and other Christian sects from the 19th century until the 1970s.

Why it matters: Nearly 150,000 Indigenous children are believed to have been forced away from their families into the schools, which were set up to convert them to Christianity and assimilate them into mainstream society.

Hungary's foreign minister this week accused Ukraine of coordinating with opposition parties to interfere in parliamentary elections on April 3, further straining relations between Kyiv and the most pro-Russian government in the European Union.

Why it matters: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an icon for the global right who has transformed Hungary into a self-styled "illiberal democracy," faces his toughest election bid since returning to power in 2010.

COVID vaccine supply struggles are easing, but in 44 countries — most of them in Africa — less than 20% of the population is fully vaccinated. In 19, the rate is under 10%.

The big picture: Those countries "have doses now, and they know that there are more doses available," says Seth Berkley, CEO of the Gavi vaccine alliance and point person for the global COVAX initiative. After a year of waiting for vaccine doses, the primary concern is now delivery.

Ivanka Trump has helped virtually organize CEOs, industry leaders and nonprofit groups to deploy medicine, medical supplies and hospital equipment to Ukraine and Poland, an aide tells me.

Driving the news: After donating 1 million meals to be distributed in Ukraine, she spoke with the Polish ambassador to the UN, Krzysztof Szczerski, who said Ukraine was in dire need of medical supplies.

China's state-run TV network will resume airing NBA games after a blackout that has stretched since 2019, an NBA spokesperson confirmed to Axios.

Driving the news: The network CCTV has not televised NBA games in China consistently since October 2019, after then-Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey tweeted an image supporting protests in Hong Kong.

More Nicaraguans are fleeing their country than in past years, seeking refuge in neighboring Costa Rica as well as in the U.S. and Mexico.

Why it matters: The Nicaraguan exodus has ramped up as President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, have again cracked down on dissent.

Russian troops occupying Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant have begun to leave and move toward Belarus, Ukraine's nuclear power operator, Energoatom, said in a Telegram post Thursday.

Driving the news: Russian troops seized control of the Chernobyl power plant, located about 80 miles north of Kyiv, late last month, in the early stages of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Although Latinos and other people of color are avid moviegoers, they are deeply underrepresented on-screen, two recent reports show.

The big picture: The first year of the pandemic ravaged the movie industry, with a 72% drop in ticket sales, but research shows that Latino, Black and Asian Americans helped keep it afloat.

The U.S. on Thursday imposed new sanctions on Russia's technology sector and a sanctions evasion network in response to the country's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, said the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Driving the news: "We will continue to target Putin’s war machine with sanctions from every angle, until this senseless war of choice is over," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

Left-leaning Latina political consultants tired of being underrepresented in their field have formed a coalition to leverage their influence.

Why it matters: Latinos are one of the nation's fastest-growing voting blocs, with around 30.6 million eligible voters in 2020. But congressional campaigns historically have looked to few Hispanic political consultants — and even fewer Latinas — as both parties scramble to reach these voters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened on Thursday to cut gas exports to countries that do not open a ruble account with a Russian bank starting April 1, according to Reuters.

Why it matters: Russia holds significant leverage over some European countries because it is the source for a large percentage of their natural gas supplies, and any disruption to gas exports would make Europe's energy crisis much worse.

A Turkish prosecutor on Thursday requested that the trial of Saudi suspects accused of killing journalist Jamal Khashoggi be moved to Saudi Arabia, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: If granted, the surprise request would suspend the trial of 26 Saudi nationals who were charged in the 2018 slaying of Khashoggi, a contributing columnist for the Washington Post, and transfer the proceedings to Saudi Arabia, whose Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was linked to the murder.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order Thursday that will add 134,500 conscripts between the ages of 18 and 27 to Russia's army as part of the country's annual spring draft, according to Reuters.

Why it matters: The order comes five weeks after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier this week that none of the new conscripts would be sent to any "hot spots," though Moscow has previously attempted to conceal use of conscripts in Ukraine.

U.S. and U.K. officials say intelligence indicates Vladimir Putin has been "misinformed" about how badly the Russian military is performing in Ukraine, in part due to "yes-men" advisers who are "too afraid to tell him the truth." The Kremlin later dismissed the claims.

Why it matters: The Western allies have repeatedly declassified and publicized sensitive intelligence about Russia as a tool to undermine Putin's strategy. The latest example comes as Russia claims to be pulling back from its offensive near Kyiv, which ended in failure thanks to a stiff Ukrainian resistance.

Five Ukrainian women, all members of parliament, left Kyiv this week for Washington — but only long enough to ask in person for more help before heading back into danger.

Driving the news: "We are mothers. We are MPs. We are volunteers. We are coordinators. And we are fighters," Ukrainian MP Maria Ionova told a group of journalists on Wednesday after meetings with lawmakers and Pentagon and State Department officials. "We do not have time to be diplomatic and must be very direct with you."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday night that Russia's invasion has reached a "turning point," as Russian forces launch attacks in the Donbas region of Ukraine while bombarding Kyiv and other key cities.

Driving the news: Zelensky said during his televised address that he had spoken with President Biden about Ukrainian forces needing more military help, as he noted there's an "ongoing negotiation process" with Russian officials but added "these are still words."

U.S. and British intelligence officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin has "massively misjudged" the economic and military consequences of his forces invading Ukraine.

State of play: The head of British intelligence agency GCHQ said in a rare address Thursday that Putin was trying to follow through on his plan, but "it is failing." So Putin's "Plan B has been more barbarity against civilians and cities," GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming said in his address in Canberra, Australia.

President Biden met Wednesday with the parents of Trevor Reed, a former Marine who has been wrongfully detained in Russia since 2019, the White House said in a news release.

Driving the news: Biden in the meeting told Joey and Paula Reed he's committed to securing the release of their son, along with other Americans wrongfully held in Russia and elsewhere, per the White House.

Here's a big reason to study the people of Ukraine: The war is showing in real-time the power of democracy, amid growing global clout for dictators.

Why it matters: Free people live better lives, a mountain of data shows. And sometimes it takes an aspiring democracy to remind us why governments of the people are worth fighting for.