Axios

WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty on Thursday in a Russian court to drug charges that carry up to 10 years in prison, Reuters and Russian state media report.

Why it matters: Griner's court appearance comes days after the basketball player wrote in a letter to President Biden that she is "terrified I might be here forever" and as the White House faces mounting public pressure to bring her home.

The U.K.'s next prime minister is likely polishing their campaign pitch after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced — belatedly, when all other options had evaporated — that he would be stepping down.

Driving the news: Two candidates to replace Johnson as Conservative Party leader and thus prime minister have already thrown their hats into the ring, with many more expected to follow. The man who led the campaign to take Britain out of the EU and appeared electorally untouchable after a landslide victory in 2019 will soon be yesterday's news.

The proportion of the global population experiencing undernourishment rose to 9.8% in 2021, according to an annual UN report on food security.

The big picture: The decline in hunger in recent decades had been a massive breakthrough for global development. That trend has slipped into reverse since 2018, according to the UN data.

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered a warning Thursday to those hoping Russia will be defeated militarily in Ukraine: "Largely speaking, we haven’t even yet started anything in earnest."

What he's saying: In a meeting with parliamentary leaders, Putin claimed western support for Ukraine would only prolong the war. Putin, who launched the war in February and has taken maximalist positions for any peace deal, said "the West wants to fight us until the last Ukrainian" because it wants to weaken Russia and "enforce its version of the global order."

The European Parliament voted 324-155, with 38 abstentions, to condemn the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade and demand that abortion rights be enshrined in the EU’s fundamental rights charter.

Why it matters: The Supreme Court's decision last month to end federal protections for abortion was widely denounced by world leaders and human rights organizations.

A New York grand jury on Wednesday indicted five people — including two current and former Department of Homeland Security officials — for their involvement in a transnational scheme to suppress critics of the Chinese government, the Justice Department announced in a press release Thursday.

Driving the news: Three of the defendants had perpetrated the operation, targeting people based in the U.S. "whose political views and actions are disfavored" by the Chinese government, such as advocating for democracy in China.

A U.S.-based LGBTQ+ suicide prevention organization hopes a recent expansion to Mexico will be the footprint for the rest of Latin America and the world.

Why it matters: One in 20 Mexicans identify as LGBTQ+, a majority of whom are between the ages of 15 and 29, according to data from the country’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography published last month.

Ukraine expressed sadness, while Russia welcomed the downfall of U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Driving the news: Johnson, who has championed military support for Ukraine and developed a strong bond with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, announced Thursday he was resigning as leader of the Conservative Party and would step down as prime minister once a new leader has been chosen.

One million Muslim pilgrims from around the world have started the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia.

The big picture: This year's hajj is the biggest Muslim pilgrimage since Saudi Arabia severely limited the number of people allowed to participate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Queen Elizabeth II will soon add another name to the list of British prime ministers who have served during her 70-year reign.

Driving the news: Boris Johnson resigned as head of the Conservative Party Thursday and said he would step down as prime minister once a new leader was chosen. He is the 14th British prime minister to have served the Queen.

The Chinese government on Thursday responded to accusations of espionage levied against it by the heads of U.S. and U.K.'s security agencies, saying they lack "factual basis" and are "completely far-fetched."

Driving the news: A day earlier, FBI director Christopher Wray and MI5 director-general Ken McCallum gave a joint press briefing to warn that the Chinese government was conducting spying campaigns aimed at stealing intellectual property from Western tech companies.

U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid in a phone call on Wednesday that the Biden administration wants to see accountability for the killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, U.S. and Israeli officials told me.

Why it matters: Israeli officials had hoped that Monday's State Department statement on the investigation into the death of Abu Akleh would have put the issue behind them, but Blinken's comments signal the U.S. wants the Al Jazeera journalist's case to stay at the forefront.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed Thursday that he will resign as leader of the Conservative Party and step down as prime minister once a replacement is selected.

How it happened: Dozens of ministers in Johnson's government resigned over the past 24 hours as a cascade of scandals finally caught up to the prime minister. In remarks outside 10 Downing Street, Johnson said this was a "painful" moment, and noted that he'd fought hard to avoid it.

Boris Johnson on Thursday announced his resignation as head of the U.K. Conservative Party, but promised to stay on as prime minister until a new party leader is chosen. A historic number of government resignations, triggered by a series of scandals, had made Johnson's position untenable.

Why it matters: It's a stunning fall for a prime minister who in 2019 won a historic 80-seat majority on the back of his pledge to take the U.K. out of the EU.

Boris Johnson resigned as Conservative Party leader Thursday, but said he'd stay on as U.K. prime minister until a new leader is chosen. The announcement came after his allies deserted him over his mounting scandals.

State of play: The race to replace him as both leader of the Conservative Party and as prime minister looks wide open. Top officials in Johnson's government, including recently-resigned Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, are likely to run, and Johnson rivals like former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt are also expected to enter the race.