Russia Removes Opposition Leader From Plane; Andrei Pivovarov Detained
The leader of the now-defunct opposition group Open Russia says he has been pulled off a plane and detained by Russian police in St. Petersburg late Monday.
World News
Report: ‘Denmark Helped US Spy On European Leaders’
European Union leaders expressed concern Monday about reports that Denmark’s military intelligence agency helped the United States spy on leading European politicians, including the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.
Russia Gives Massive Loan To Belarus Despite Western Outrage
Russia says it will continue with a massive loan of $1.5 billion to neighboring Belarus despite mounting international concern about the treatment of critical journalists and dissidents there.
France Threatens To Withdraw From Mali Over Coup And Islamist Influence
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that France will withdraw troops from Mali if political instability there leads to greater Islamist radicalization.
Syria’s Assad Wins 4th Term With 95% of Vote, in Election the West Calls Fraudulent
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won a fourth term in office with 95.1% of the votes in an election that will extend his rule over a country ruined by war but which opponents and the West say was marked by fraud.
New study claims China created COVID-19 in lab, then ‘retro-engineered’ to cover their tracks
A new study alleges that Chinese scientists developed COVID-19 in a lab and then sought to obfuscate by reverse-engineering virus versions to cause it to appear the illness evolved from bats.
Vietnam finds new virus variant, hybrid of India, U.K. strains
Vietnam has discovered a new coronavirus variant that’s a hybrid of strains first found in India and the U.K., the Vietnamese health minister said Saturday.
EU Drugs Agency Approves COVID Vaccines For Children
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved vaccinating children against the coronavirus despite concerns about side effects. Germany already said it plans to start in early June, Germany’s broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) reported Friday.
Hong Kong Jails Pro-Democracy Leader And Activists
Pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for participating in an unauthorized assembly in 2019.
U.S. tells Russia it won’t rejoin Open Skies arms control pact
The Biden administration informed Russia on Thursday that it will not rejoin a key arms control pact, even as the two sides prepare for a summit next month between their leaders.
Former nuclear inspector says ‘time is running out’ on Iran
A day after the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned that Iran’s uranium enrichment program was “very concerning,” a former inspector from the international nuclear watchdog agency cautioned that there might be “unforeseeable developments.”
BBC Presenter Dies After Taking AstraZeneca’s COVID Vaccine
A radio presenter of British broadcaster BBC presenter has died after she took the AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot, her family said Thursday.
Afghanistan Military Massively Surrenders To Taliban As US Withdraws
Many Afghan military units surrender to the Islamist militant Taliban group as American troops withdraw, a report said Thursday.
Russia Prohibits Austrian Airlines To Enter Moskou
Russia has prevented an Austrian Airlines flight from entering Moscow because it refused to cross over Belarusian airspace.
Belarus President Condemns Sanctions, Defends Detention Journalist On Plane
Belarus’ authoritarian president has condemned Western nations for imposing sanctions after he ordered a Ryanair flight to land in his country where an opposition journalist was detained.
US to move sole aircraft carrier in Asia-Pacific to the Middle East
In a rare move intended to facilitate the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier is expected to be redeployed from the Asia-Pacific region to the Middle East, Voice of America reports.
‘US Seeks To Resume Nuclear Talks With North Korea’
The United States has “signaled a desire” to resume stalled nuclear negotiations with North Korea, the South Korean president reportedly said Wednesday.
Nigeria Boat Tragedy Kills 150 Mainly Women And Children
More than 150 people, including many women and children, were feared drowned after an overloaded boat sank in a river in north-western Nigeria, officials said Thursday.
Russia deploys 3 nuclear-capable bombers to Syria
The Russian military said Tuesday it has deployed three nuclear-capable long-range bombers to its base in Syria, a move that could strengthen Moscow’s military foothold in the Mediterranean.
IAEA chief: Iran’s uranium enrichment now at levels of ‘countries making bombs’
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has said Iran is enriching uranium to levels that only countries seeking to make atomic weapons reach, and that the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program can no longer be returned to where it stood when a landmark 2015 deal was struck with world powers.