Belarus opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova 'snatched from street' in Minsk
Kolesnikova on council calling for a peaceful transfer of power amid post-election protests
Unidentified masked men snatched the leading Belarusian opposition figure, Maria Kolesnikova, from the street in the centre of the capital, Minsk, on Monday and drove her away in a minivan, witnesses told local media.
Kolesnikova was one of the campaign partners of the opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who claimed victory against the long-ruling president, Alexander Lukashenko, in disputed elections on 9 August.
Kolesnikova was reportedly seized soon after 10am local time while walking close to Minsk’s national art museum. Three other members of the opposition coordination council have also vanished, in what appears to be a targeted attempt by the authorities to wipe out the protest movement.
Navalny wakes up from artificial coma in Berlin
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is now out of a coma and "responding to verbal stimuli." Germany claims he had been poisoned by a weapons-grade Novichok nerve agent.
Alexei Navalny has been taken out of an induced coma and is responsive, the Berlin hospital treating the Russian opposition leader said on Monday.
"He is responding to verbal stimuli," Charite hospital said in a statement, reporting that the 44-year-old's condition "has improved," allowing doctors to end the medically induced coma and gradually ease him off mechanical ventilation.
Philippines president pardons US marine in transgender killing
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has granted an absolute pardon to a US marine convicted of killing a transgender woman, officials said Monday, drawing condemnation from rights groups.
Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton has been in prison since the October 2014 killing of Jennifer Laude, whom he met at a bar while on a break from military exercises in the northern city of Olongapo.
A local court ruled last week that Pemberton qualified for early release due to good behaviour, but was still being held due to an appeal.
Saudi Arabia convicts 8 people charged in Jamal Khashoggi killing
Al Arabiya reports defendants handed between seven and 20 years in prison over the journalist's murder in Istanbul.
Saudi Arabia has convicted eight people charged in the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Al Arabiya reported on Monday.
A court handed 20-year sentences to five people charged in the murder case, and three others were sentenced to between seven to 10 years, it said.
Khashoggi went missing on October 2, 2018, while visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Turkish authorities later revealed he was murdered inside the consulate by a Saudi hit squad.
Trump Helped Himself To Art From Ambassador's Mansion In Paris For White House
President Donald Trump helped himself to art treasures he fancied in the U.S. ambassador’s historic 1842 mansion in Paris when he visited two years ago —and had them shipped to the White House with him on Air Force One, Bloomberg reported Sunday.
Trump had extra time on his hands during his visit to Paris to commemorate the centennial of the end of World War I when he controversially skipped a trip to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery outside the city. The cancellation is now causing a world of trouble for Trump since The Atlantic reported that he blew it off after calling the fallen heroes “losers,” according to their sources.
The White House has confirmed — but downplayed — Trump’s highly unusual art “caper,” Bloomberg noted.
China imposes new visa restrictions targeting US media
Updated 0956 GMT (1756 HKT) September 7, 2020
In the latest round of tit-for-tat between Beijing and Washington targeting each other's media outlets, Chinese authorities have imposed new visa restrictions on foreign journalists working for US news organizations in China amid growing bilateral tensions.
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