A prominent scientist who helped develop Russia’s COVID vaccine, Sputnik V, was killed in his apartment in Moscow on Thursday, according to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. Andrey Botikov, who worked as a senior researcher at the Gamaleya National Research Center for Ecology and Mathematics, was found dead in his apartment on Thursday. His death is being investigated as a murder, the committee … Continue reading Russian COVID Vaccine Creator Found Strangled to Death With Belt

A police officer has died and 79 others taken hostage during protests in Colombia’s southern Caquetá province. Violence erupted on Thursday after residents blockaded the compound of the oil exploration company Emerald Energy. They were demanding its help to repair and build new roads in the area. A civilian was also killed and nine oilfield workers captured alongside the police officers. Video showed the hostages … Continue reading Colombia protests: Seventy-nine police officers taken hostage

At least two companies in British Columbia, Canada, say they’ve received exemptions from the federal government allowing them to produce and distribute cocaine, heroin, MDMA, or magic mushrooms.  But it’s not clear under what circumstances the companies will be able to sell the drugs, and B.C. Premier David Eby said he was “astonished” to hear the announcement.  On Thursday, Sunshine Earth Labs, a psychedelics manufacturer … Continue reading 2 Drug Companies Can Legally Start Selling Cocaine, Heroin, and MDMA

Concern is growing in Iran after reports emerged that hundreds of schoolgirls had been poisoned across the country in recent months. On Wednesday, Iran’s semi-official Mehr News reported that Shahriar Heydari, a member of Parliament, cited an unnamed “reliable source” in saying that “nearly 900 students” from across the country had been poisoned so far. The first reported poisonings happened in the city of Qom … Continue reading Alarm grows in Iran over reports that hundreds of schoolgirls were poisoned

Russian officials accused Ukrainian saboteurs of crossing into western Russia and attacking local villages Thursday, an accusation that Ukraine denied, warning that Moscow could use the claims to justify stepping up its own assaults in the ongoing war. The exact circumstances of the incident reported in the Bryansk region were unclear, including what the strategic purpose of such an attack might be. If confirmed, it … Continue reading Russia claims Ukraine crossborder sabotage raid; Kyiv denies

Demonstrators poured into the streets of Greece after a head-on collision between two trains killed dozens and left scores injured, amid anger over the country’s poor record on railway safety. Protesters clashed with police in the Greek capital Athens after a passenger train carrying more than 350 people collided with a freight train on Tuesday evening in Tempi, near the city of Larissa, leaving at … Continue reading Protests erupt in Greece following deadly train collision