MOSCOW—Roman Protasevich, the Belarusian opposition blogger arrested in 2021 after his Ryanair overflight was forced to land in Minsk, was pardoned on Monday, the Belarusian state news agency BelTA reported. “I have literally just signed all the relevant documents stating that I have been pardoned,” BelTA quoted Protasevich as telling reporters. “This is, of course,…

China has expressed “grave concern” over a scheduled U.S. hearing on the origins of COVID-19. According to an email sent by an official at the Chinese Embassy, China is in opposition to the investigation. Li Xiang,  a counselor at the U.S. Chinese Embassy sent the email to Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) on April 14 at…

MOSCOW—A lawyer for jailed Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. said Thursday that the prosecutor in Kara-Murza’s closed-door trial for treason and spreading false information about the Russian military in Ukraine has called for a sentence of 25 years in prison. Kara-Murza, a journalist and a prominent opponent of the Kremlin, has been behind bars…

Fluoridation of the U.S. public water supply has been a polarizing topic both academically and politically since its start in the 1940s. Debate over its benefits and health risks has raged on as the science has continued to unfold.   This series will explore the contentious findings surrounding this ubiquitous public health measure and answer the…

LOS ANGELES—The film “Navalny” about the poisoning that nearly killed Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, and his detention upon his 2021 return to Moscow, won the Oscar for best feature documentary on Sunday. Joining director Daniel Roher on stage, Navalny’s wife Yulia Navalnaya said: “My husband is in prison just for telling the…

MOSCOW—Russia has detained two allies of jailed Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny, a prominent opposition activist said on Tuesday, adding that they could face extremism charges that carry lengthy prison terms. Russian authorities have in recent months cracked down on groups affiliated with Navalny, 45, who is known as President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critic. He…

KYIV, Ukraine—Ukraine has indicted a top opposition figure who is a close ally of Russia’s president with treason and attempts to steal natural resources from Russia-annexed Crimea. Along with the Tuesday indictment of Viktor Medvedchuk, security service agents also searched his house in the capital Kyiv. Prosecutor-General Irina Venediktova said that charges under several articles…

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been removed from his position as chair of the New South Wales Net-Zero Emissions and Clean Economy Board, only a week after his appointment. Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that while she admired and respected Turnbull, his appointment “unfortunately for everyone concerned … was proving to be a distraction”. The…

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been removed from his position as chair of the New South Wales Net-Zero Emissions and Clean Economy Board, only a week after his appointment. Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that while she admired and respected Turnbull, his appointment “unfortunately for everyone concerned … was proving to be a distraction”. The…

TAIPEI—The leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT) said on Tuesday he is in no rush to travel to China to meet President Xi Jinping, and that Beijing’s proposals to get Taiwan to accept Communist rule had “no market” on the island. The KMT ruled China before retreating to Taiwan at the end…