Russia

The Kremlin critic looked gaunt after a weeks-long prison hunger strike. He appeared as the head of his political network said it was being forced to shut down amid government pressure.

The jailed opposition leader's political network has been ordered to suspend its activities pending a court ruling on whether to label it and affiliated organizations "extremist."

The fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin began refusing food on March 31 to demand medical care for leg and back pain.

Russia says it will begin a phased reduction of troops from its border with neighboring Ukraine – apparently ending a standoff that had alarmed Kyiv and Western observers.

Demonstrators demanded the release from prison of Kremlin-critic Alexei Navalny, who has been on a hunger strike for three weeks. The marches swept across dozens of cities.

John Sullivan is returning for "consultations" after a new round of tit-for-tat sanctions between Moscow and Washington last week.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced new sanctions Friday. The U.S. imposed its new sanctions on Russia on Thursday in response to the SolarWinds cyberattack and interference in elections.

President Biden is ordering a new round of economic sanctions that include restrictions on dozens of Russian entities and the expulsion of some Kremlin diplomats.

The top U.S. intelligence officials detailed concerns to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, with many questions raised about cyberthreats and espionage targeting U.S. technology.

The conflict has not only pitted the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad against a band of rebels, but drawn the U.S., Iran, Russia and Turkey, among others, into a complex proxy war.

The country's Internet regulator says Twitter has ignored its requests to remove material it considers harmful to children. The move is part of a larger effort to rein in non-Russian social media.

The two countries' space agencies say the proposal, which sets no time frame, could include an orbiting station, a base on the surface, or both.