A Taiwanese human rights activist who served five years in jail in China said that international pressure and the tireless advocacy by his wife worked to ensure his safe return to Taiwan. “With your help, I know that I was not excessively abused in China and was able to return home successfully after I was…

CARACAS/WASHINGTON—Venezuela released two jailed U.S. citizens on Tuesday in an apparent goodwill gesture toward the Biden administration following a visit to Caracas by a high-level U.S. delegation. One of the freed prisoners was Gustavo Cardenas, among six Citgo oil executives arrested in 2017 and convicted on charges the U.S. government says were fabricated. The other…

FREDERICTON—An American who has spent nearly 35 years in prison for the murder of a New Brunswick police officer was denied full parole on Wednesday. Anthony Romeo, 58, is serving a life sentence in a New Brunswick prison for the shooting of highway patrol Const. Emmanuel Aucoin during a traffic stop in March 1987, southwest…

ALMATY, Kazakhstan—With about 12,000 people arrested after anti-government protests in Kazakhstan last week, friends and relatives of those held by police waited outside a jail Wednesday, hoping to learn their fate. Some even went to morgues to see if a loved one was among the scores killed in the unprecedented violence in the Central Asian…

Thank you for putting them back in the ocean. Well done!

MELBOURNE/SINGAPORE—Oil prices edged down on Thursday with investors waiting to see how major producers respond to the emergency crude release by major consuming countries designed to cool the market, even as data pointed to healthy U.S. fuel demand. Brent crude futures slipped 7 cents to $82.18 a barrel at 0726 GMT, after losing 6 cents…

Kroger Co. is looking into the publication of a fake press release, claiming the acceptance of bitcoin cash at its stores, the grocer said on Friday, after becoming the second major retailer in recent weeks to get entangled in a crypto hoax. The release, which said the grocer would accept the cryptocurrency this holiday season,…

CINCINNATI—A judge has ordered a man accused of planning to kill sorority members at an Ohio university to remain behind bars. Magistrate Judge Stephanie Bowman on Friday cited a parole violation and the “serious nature of the charges” as reasons to keep 21-year-old Tres Genco in custody. The Hillsboro, Ohio, resident appeared in federal court…

LAGOS—Police and government authorities have secured the release of 100 people, including women, children, and nursing mothers, who were kidnapped from their village in northwestern Nigeria over a month ago, a local police spokesperson said. Nigeria is battling an increase in armed robberies and kidnappings for ransom, mainly in northwestern states, where thinly deployed security…

Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) has introduced a bill to prohibit the transfer or release into the United States of individuals detained at the U.S. facility in Guantanamo Bay, which is used to house suspected and convicted terrorists, and others believed to pose a major security risk. Duncan’s bill comes after the White House said President…