On Sunday, November 8, more than a thousand people were detained at peaceful protests in Belarus.

According to the human rights center Viasna, among 1,023 detainees are journalists, athletes, actors, scientists and cultural figures.

Protesters were detained not only in Minsk, but also in Gomel, Bobruisk, Vitebsk and Grodno.

Most of them were taken to district police stations. Some were transferred to the pre-trial detention center, some were released.

Yesterday, the media reported on the …

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees dismissing three government ministers from the cabinet of Mikhail Mishustin.

Minister of Natural Resources Dmitry Kobylkin, Minister of Transport Yevgeny Dietrich, as well as the Minister of Construction Vladimir Yakushev lost their posts.

Yakushev, the former governor of the Tyumen region, will remain in the power vertical and will take up the post of President's representative in the Ural Federal District in place of Nikolai Tsukanov.

Under …

Russian President Vladimir Putin did not congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in the U.S. election and has no plans to do so in the near future.

According to Putin, it is "premature" to congratulate Biden, as the official results of the vote have not been finalized yet, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

In 2016, Putin was one of the first to congratulated Trump, two hours after U.S. media declared him the winner of the election based on preliminary vote counting data.

This …

On Friday, November 6, the European Union imposed sanctions against the incumbent President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.

Lukashenko " is responsible for the violent repression by the State apparatus carried out before and after the 2020 presidential election, in particular with the dismissal of key opposition candidates, arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment of peaceful demonstrators as well as intimidation and violence against journalists," the EU statement reads.

The updated sanctions …

Belarusian doctors who have left for work abroad will no longer be able to come back, said the acting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting on COVID-19 pandemic, BelTA news agency reports.

"They are specifically asking our doctors to come to Poland to help the population and the government in the fight against the COVID. I want to warn you that we don't have any extra doctors. We need to treat our people ourselves. But, following our principle, we will not keep anyone. However, …

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) is in talks with Google and Apple to impose a ban on mobile applications of Russian companies which are under Ukrainian sanctions, Radio Liberty reports, citing the SBU’s press service.

"As of today, discussions are continuing with Google and Apple regarding legal ways to block mobile applications developed by legal entities, which have been subject to special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions) and which provide access to the resources/ …

The head of the Ukrainian Presidential Administration Andrii Yermak announced that Kyiv plans to create a free economic zone not only in the Donbas, but also in one of the western regions of Ukraine.

According to him, the project of a free economic zone in western Ukraine is being developed and will be further discussed at the Ukrainain Parliament and among experts.

"Today, these two zones, these two economic opportunities should also work to unite the country," Yermak said on the air of the …

Amid deteriorating epidemiological situation in Russia, Beijing has decided to restrict access to Russians entering China. The restrictions apply to Russians holding valid Chinese visas or residence permits, said the Chinese Embassy in Moscow.

The entry to China will be prohibited also to Russian citizens who were going there for personal or family reasons. The measures will not affect persons with diplomatic and service visas, as well as category C visas.

On November 5, the daily increase of …