Mass protests were held for the sixth straight Sunday in Belarus following the detention of a grandmother, who became a symbol of resistance against longtime President Alexander Lukashenko. As many as 100,000 people rallied in Minsk amid mounting pressure on Lukashenko to step down and allow fair and free elections.
Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has spoken to the United Nations Human Rights Council despite Belarussian efforts to prevent her and other critics from giving speeches. During Friday’s turbulent session of the Geneva-based U.N. body, she demanded that the country’s authorities end violence against protestors and organize a free and fair presidential election.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense has announced it is deploying additional troops to the nation’s eastern border with China because it says there are rising tensions in the wider Asia-Pacific region, the Epoch Times reports. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the announcement on the ministry website on Thursday, but did not specify the nature of the new threats or where the additional troops would be stationed.
As the US believes Iran has continued to develop nuclear weapons, and as the United Nations arms embargo on Iran expires next month, the State Department announced Wednesday that it is pressing forward with “snap back” sanctions that are provided for under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Iran Nuclear deal, Fox News reports. Under the terms of the JCPoA, snapback sanctions can be re-imposed if Iran is perceived to be violating the terms of the agreement. However, as the Trump administration withdrew from the JCPoA in 2018, UNSC members Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia have unequivocally stated the US has no authority to unilaterally enforce snapback sanctions once the current embargo is lifted on October 18.
Political and social unrest is rising in Belarus after a protest organizer was charged with undermining national security. Authorities in have linked Maria Kolesnikova to what they view as attempts to destabilize the former Soviet nation.
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen has given her first State of the Union speech with angry words about Britain’s plans to renegotiate its divorce deal with the EU.
Turkey and Russia have moved closer to an agreement on a ceasefire and political process in Libya during their latest meetings in Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told an interview with broadcaster CNN Turk late on Wednesday.
Supporters of Russia’s stricken opposition leader Alexei Navalny made rare gains in weekend regional elections. However, the ruling United Russia party still secured a landslide in weekend local elections.
As talks were underway between the Vatican and Belarus, reports emerged that Belarusian authorities detained dozens of pro-democracy protesters.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was allegedly poisoned, has been removed from a medically induced coma in a German hospital and plans to return to Russia, officials said Monday.
People across Russia were casting ballots in dozens of local elections that are seen as a significant test for the ruling pro-Kremlin United Russia party. The three-day-elections, which ended Sunday, came just weeks after the alleged poisoning of an influential critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Newly released records from the Department of Justice show that multiple high-ranking members of Robert Mueller’s special investigation into the Russia conspiracy theory wiped their phones before handing them over to the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General.
Microsoft said Thursday it’s detected an increase in cyberattacks related to the November presidential election coming from China, Iran and Russia.
China, Russia, Iran and a handful of other nations will hold massive joint military drills later this month in what Beijing dubs a “comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in a new era.”
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are working toward forming a “strong foundation” for future, high level “cooperation,” the leaders’ respective national media have reported. The Turkish and Iranian media reports followed a video conference the two leaders held on Tuesday, the Jerusalem Post said.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said he has seen “additional” documents that are pertinent to U.S. Attorney John Durham’s criminal inquiry into the Russia investigation.
An opposition leader says an increasing number of critical activists opposing Belarusian President Alexander Lukanhesko are detained, kidnapped, and sometimes expelled from the country. The statement by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya comes amid dramatic scenes at the borders of the former Soviet republic.
The NATO military alliance demands that Russia reveals its Novichok nerve agent program to international monitors, after the poisoning of activist Alexei Navalny.
Police have tried to disperse demonstrators in the Belarusian capital where some 100,000 people demanded the resignation of long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko. Sunday’s rallies in Minsk and other cities came as a police crackdown on dissidents and activists intensified.
The team of exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya says she will address the United Nations Security Council. Her address later this week comes amid mounting pressure in longtime Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko to step down.