Subscribe
Follow Us
All RFE/RL sites
PreviousNext
Breaking News
Swedish furniture giant Ikea has withdrawn some of its meatballs in 14 European countries after horse meat was discovered in the Swedish-made product in the Czech Republic.
On February 25, Czech inspectors said they had found horse DNA in meatballs made in Sweden for Ikea while testing samples collected at the company's branch in the city of Brno.
The meatballs were labeled as containing beef and pork.
Ikea spokeswoman Ylva Magnusson said meatballs from the same batch have been pulled from shelves in Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, France, Britain, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Cyprus, Greece, and Ireland.
She said other shipments of meatballs were not affected.
The scandal over mislabeled horse meat began in Europe last month, after horse DNA was found in frozen burgers labeled as beef in British and Irish supermarkets.
It has led to a series of product withdrawals and sparked government investigations into the food-processing industry.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
Read more
More News
- By RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service
Thousands of people gathered in central Sofia on June 22 for the annual LGBT Pride celebration in the Bulgarian capital. "I would define Pride as a celebration of freedom and acceptance. An opportunity and an invitation to be ourselves, not to judge, not to hate, and to love a little more," host Karina Okolies said during the opening of a concert at the event. The LGBT community in Bulgaria has been subject to frequent hom*ophobic attacks in recent years. Earlier this year, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) obliged Bulgaria to provide legal recognition for same-sex relationships. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service, click here.
Read more
- By Reuters
Carrying rainbow flags and dancing through the streets, thousands of Hungarians celebrated the annual Budapest Pride parade on June 22 and vowed to keep protesting the government's anti-LGBT policies. Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in power since 2010, promotes a Christian-conservative agenda and in 2021 banned the "promotion of hom*osexuality" among under-18s despite strong criticism from rights groups and the EU. Gay marriage is not recognized in Hungary and only heterosexual couples can legally adopt children. Orban's government has redefined marriage as the union between one man and one woman in the constitution and has limited gay adoption.
Read more
- By RFE/RL's Balkan Service
North Macedonia's parliament on June 22 began debates ahead of voting on the formation of a new government in the NATO-member nation. The right-wing nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party won a clear victory in both presidential and parliamentary elections on May 9, raising concerns of colder relations with Balkan neighbors and more difficult membership negotiations with the European Union. In line to become prime minister after voting concludes on June 23 is Hristijan Mickoski, 46, a former professor who has vowed to continue North Macedonia's efforts to join the EU, although he has suggested he might seek a renegotiation of terms over issues relating to the small nation's ethnic Bulgarian minority, moves that likely would anger Sofia. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Balkan Service, click here.
Read more
- By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service
One of two suspects wanted in connection with the attempted murder in Kyiv of Kazakh opposition activist and journalist Aidos Sadyqov was arrested by Kazakh authorities after turning himself in, Kazakhstan's Prosecutor-General's Office said on June 22.
Sadyqov, an outspoken critic of Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev and his government, was shot on June 18 while he was in his car in the Ukrainian capital and is currently in intensive care. His wife, Natalya Sadyqova, who is also a journalist, was in the vehicle during the attack but was unharmed.
Ukrainian police said investigators established that Sadyqov was shot by two Kazakh suspects -- Altai Zhaqanbaev, born in 1988, and Meiram Qarataev, born in 1991 -- who were added to an international wanted list.
The Kazakh Prosecutor-General's Office said in a statement on June 22 that Zhakanbaev on June 21 "contacted the internal affairs bodies of the Republic of Kazakhstan on his own and was questioned about the circ*mstances of the case. On the same day, he was arrested on suspicion of committing this crime."
The statement did not say where the arrest took place or in whose custody Zhakanbaev was, adding that it would not release more details "in the interest of the investigation."
It said investigations are under way "to determine the location" of the second suspect, Meiram Qarataev.
Sadyqova has said that Qarataev worked as a police officer in the northern Qostanai region. The Kazakh Interior Ministry, however, claimed that Qarataev had been sacked from the police force in 2019.
Ukraine's Interior Ministry said Zhaqanbaev and Qarataev arrived in Ukraine on June 2 from Poland, renting an apartment and buying a car in Kyiv, after which they surveyed Sadyqov's daily routines.
"On June 18, one of the suspects approached [Sadyqov's] car and shot him, while his accomplice was near the building to act as a lookout. After that, they fled the crime scene," the statement said, adding that the two suspects then left Ukrainian territory via the Ukrainian-Moldovan border.
It was not immediately known who may have ordered the attempt on Sadyqov's life.
The Sadyqovs, along with their children, moved to Kyiv in 2014 after Kazakh authorities launched a case against Sadyqova, who worked as a journalist for the independent Respublika newspaper at the time. She was accused of slander.
On June 19, Sadyqova told RFE/RL that, hours before the attack, she and her husband had issued a new video titled Toqaev Is Putin's Puppet on their YouTube channel.
The video criticizes Toqaev's "pro-Russian politics" and looks at the activities of Russian oligarchs and agents of influence in Kazakhstan, some of whom obtained Kazakh citizenship after Russia launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
She added that Toqaev would have stood to gain from her husband's killing but did not present any evidence that connected the president in any way to the shooting.
Toqaev's spokesman, Berik Uali, said on June 21 that the Kazakh president "had ordered law enforcement entities to find the two suspects' whereabouts and undertake corresponding measures."
"Kazakhstan's side is ready to cooperate with Ukraine's law enforcement structures, including via Interpol," Uali said.
Sadyqov used to lead a branch of the opposition Azat Social Democratic Party in his native Aqtobe region in Kazakhstan's northwest until 2010. He later headed a group that was a major force for establishing a union to defend the rights of Kazakh workers at the Chinese-owned CNPC-Aktobemunaygaz oil company.
Read more
- By RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Iran's Supreme Court has overturned popular rapper Toomaj Salehi's death sentence, his lawyer said on June 22.
In April, Salehi was sentenced to death by a court in Isfahan on a new charge, "corruption on Earth," as he was serving a six-year prison sentence for his involvement in the 2022 protests that rocked Iran for months.
"As expected, the Supreme Court avoided an irreparable judicial error," Salehi's lawyer, Amir Raisian, wrote on X. "The death sentence was overturned and, based on the appeal decision of the Supreme Court, the case will be referred to a parallel branch for reconsideration."
Salehi, 33, was initially arrested in October 2022 after making public statements in support of the protests that had erupted the previous month following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died while in police custody for allegedly wearing her head scarf improperly.
After spending much of his pretrial detention in solitary confinement, he was sentenced to six years in prison but released after the Supreme Court, on appeal, found "flaws in the original sentence." His case was sent back to a lower court for reexamination and possible retrial.
He was temporarily released on bail in November after spending over a year in prison, including 252 days in solitary confinement, but then was rearrested shortly after publicly talking about his alleged torture in prison in a video.
Raisian said on June 22 that the Supreme Court also annulled the previous six-year sentence because "it is in excess of legal punishment."
Salehi gained prominence for lyrics that rail against corruption, widespread poverty, executions, and the killing of protesters in Iran.
His songs also point to a widening gap between ordinary Iranians and the country's leadership, accusing the authorities of "suffocating" the people without regard for their well-being.
Read more
- By RFE/RL
Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year prison sentence in Russia on charges he and the U.S. government have rejected as politically motivated, has asked the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to step up pressure on Russia to secure his release and that of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Whelan, 54, was arrested in Moscow in December 2018 on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison in May 2020 following a trial that was condemned by the United States as a "mockery of justice.”
As he marked 2,000 days in Russian detention, Whelan on June 21 told CNN by phone from prison that the U.S. government should take more decisive action to secure his and Gershkovich's release, possibly in a prisoner exchange.
"The U.S. needs to go out and do something, fill up Guantanamo Bay [detention facility] with Russian officials, arrest Russian spies -- do something that makes the Kremlin sit up and take notice and say, 'OK, yeah, right. Now it's time that we're gonna get Evan [Gershkovich] and Paul back and then we want back what you've got of ours, and we'll call it a day,'" Whelan told CNN.
Gershkovich became the first U.S. journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War when he was detained in March 2023 and charged with trying to obtain military secrets. He and his employer have vehemently denied the charges as politically motivated.
Gershkovich, who like Whelan has been designated by the U.S. government as "wrongfully detained," is being held in pretrial detention and is due to go on trial on June 26.
Gershkovich is one of two American reporters currently being held by Russian authorities. The other is Alsu Kurmasheva, an RFE/RL journalist who holds dual Russian-American citizenship.
Kurmasheva, 47, was arrested in Kazan in October and charged with failing to register as a "foreign agent" under a punitive Russian law that targets journalists, civil society activists, and others. She’s also been charged with spreading falsehoods about the Russian military and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
RFE/RL and the U.S. government say the charges are reprisals for her work as a journalist for RFE/RL in Prague.
Unlike Whelan and Gershkovich, Kurmasheva has yet to be designated as "wrongfully detained."
Such a designation would ensure that her case would be assigned to the office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs in the U.S. State Department, raising the political profile of her situation and allowing the Biden administration to allocate more resources to securing her release.
Read more
- By Current Time
Moscow's Prosecutor-General's Office has demanded that Russia's Investigative Committee open criminal cases against three women who have been on placed on the "foreign agent" register: singer Monetochka, actress Yana Troyanova, and historian Tamara Eidelman. Monetochka, whose real name is Elizaveta Gyrdymova, is accused of continuing to distribute materials on social networks without indicating that she is on the "foreign agent" list. Troyanova is accused of inciting hatred or enmity on the basis of nationality after giving an interview to Novaya Gazeta Europe. Eidelman is accused of “voicing clear disrespect" for Russia's military in her regular YouTube history program. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.
Read more
- By RFE/RL's Russian Service
The former governor of Russia's Kirov region, Nikita Belykh, was released from prison on June 21 after serving an eight-year prison term on a bribe-taking charge that he has rejected.
Belykh's lawyer, Andrei Grokhotov, said his client will attend a hearing in five days into an appeal filed by prosecutors and Belykh's defense team regarding a court ruling last year on a different case against the former governor.
In late December, a court in the Kirov region sentenced Belykh to an additional 2 1/2 years in prison on a charge of abuse of power but spared him from serving the punishment citing the statute of limitations.
Meanwhile, prosecutors sought an additional 12 years for Belykh on two charges of abuse of power, but the judge acquitted Belykh of the more serious of the two charges due to lack of evidence, handing him only a 2 1/2-year sentence on the lesser of the two charges. Statute of limitations deadlines also mean he won't serve that prison term.
The 12 years requested by prosecutors would have included the time Belykh had already served, meaning the additional charges filed against Belykh in 2021 would have added about four years to his prison time.
However, Belykh's eight-year prison term was not changed.
One of the highest-ranking officials to be arrested in office since President Vladimir Putin was first elected in 2000, Belykh maintained his innocence, saying he is the victim of a provocation by law enforcement authorities.
Once a leader of a liberal opposition party, the Union of Right Forces, Belykh was one of the few provincial governors in Russia not closely allied with Putin.
Before serving as Kirov governor, Belykh was a deputy governor of Perm Oblast and a lawmaker in the Perm Oblast Legislative Assembly.
He conducted several political campaigns in opposition to Putin's policies and was sharply criticized by liberals, such as former ally Boris Nemtsov -- who was assassinated in February 2015 -- when he accepted the appointment in 2009 by then-President Dmitry Medvedev.
Putin fired Belykh in July 2016, shortly after his arrest.
Read more
- By RFE/RL's Russian Service
Russia's Justice Ministry has added prominent film director Roman Kachanov, who has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to its "foreign agent" list, the ministry's website said. The ministry also added to the list St. Petersburg regional politician Nikita Kirillov, political strategist Sergei Antonov, and St. Petersburg municipal deputy Vladimir Volokhonsky, who had been previously included by Rosfinmonitoring on a list of “extremists and terrorists.” Another new name on the list is French political scientist Laurent Vinatier, who was arrested in Moscow earlier this month and is now in pretrial detention on a charge of violating the "foreign agent" law. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Read more
Updated
- By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Ukraine's Energy Ministry and the national grid operator Ukrenerho say the country's battered energy infrastructure was targeted again in a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack early on June 22.
Separately, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said that at least three people were killed and at least 38 injured in a Russian bomb attack on a civilian site in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city some 30 kilometers from the Russian border.
“There are dead and wounded. The strike hit a residential building,” Terekhov wrote on Telegram.
Regional Governor Oleh Synegubov said on Telegram that "doctors are fighting for the lives of four of the patients -- two women and two men, who are in serious condition."
The latest series of strikes damaged power transmission systems in the Zaporizhzhya and Lviv regions, Ukrenerho said in a statement on Telegram, adding that two employees needed hospitalization after sustaining injuries in the attack in the Zaporizhzhya region.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
The Energy Ministry said that, because of the attack, the overhead power lines in eastern Ukraine were disconnected, which led to a decrease in energy supply in the region.
Ukrenerho said the attack was the eighth large-scale strike targeting the country's energy grid over the past three months.
Ukraine's military, meanwhile, said its air defense systems shot down 12 of 16 missiles and all 13 drones launched by Russia overnight.
Russia's Defense Ministry has not commented on the attack, which was the second one in as many days.
In the June 21 attack, five residents of the Donetsk region were killed and seven others were wounded, the head of the regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin, announced on June 22 on Telegram.
Over the past several months, Russia has systematically targeted Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure, causing enormous damage and triggering rolling blackouts affecting the civilian population.
According to estimates, about half of Ukraine's power-generating capacity has been destroyed.
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address of June 22 that Russia has fired 2,400 guided bombs against Ukraine this month, including some 700 against Kharkiv alone.
The president repeated his constant plea for additional air defenses from his Western allies.
"We need strong decisions from our partners so that we can destroy Russian terrorists and Russian combat aircraft where they are," he said. "We are grateful for the approved [weapons] packages, but we need them in full supply and on the battlefield – without delays."
Zelenskiy said during a June 20 meeting with senior Ukrainian military officials that he hopes to develop a renewable energy infrastructure to offset the energy crisis caused by the Russian attacks.
In return, Ukrainian drones have struck deeper inside Russia, damaging energy facilities critical for Moscow's military effort, mainly oil installations.
On June 22, Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defense systems downed five Ukrainian drones over the Sea of Azov and the Bryansk and Smolensk regions. It did not say if the Ukrainian attack had caused any damage or injuries.
On June 21, Ukraine's military said its long-range attack drones had struck four oil refineries and radar stations inside Russia.
The claim could not be independently verified.
Read more
- By RFE/RL's Balkan Service
Authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and Albania are working to stabilize electrical supplies following a major power outage on June 21. Montenegrin Energy Minister Sasa Mujovic said the shutdown was caused by a sharp increase in electricity consumption due to high temperatures, but also by the heat itself. Electricity distribution systems are interconnected in countries across the Balkans. Enver Kreso, the former director of the Electric Power Industry of Bosnia-Herzegovina, told RFE/RL that "if the problem persists, there will be big consequences. Hospitals are switching to generators, traffic is in trouble, the consequences can be very big. There will be problems with communications, but also with water supply," Kreso said. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Balkan Service, click here.
Read more
- By RFE/RL's Balkan Service
A Russian citizen has been detained in Montenegro at the request of U.S. authorities on suspicions of having illegally interfered in the 2020 U.S. election, according to Russian and Montenegrin media on June 21. The person detained was identified only as "A.M." Montenegro’s Justice Ministry declined to comment on the matter when contacted by RFE/RL. The DAN media portal of Montenegro reported that Justice Minister Andrej Milovic approved the "temporary detention" of the Russian citizen for alleged illegal interference in the U.S. election and unlawful financing in the United States.
Read more
- By RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal
Pakistan's military said at least five soldiers in a troop convoy were killed by a roadside bomb in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province near the Afghan border in an attack claimed by the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a longtime ally of the Afghan Taliban. The attack comes after the group announced a unilateral cease-fire on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr holiday from June 17-19. The region has seen an increase in the number of deadly attacks in the past year attributed to the TTP. Relations between Afghanistan's Islamist rulers and Pakistan have been tense since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, with Islamabad blaming the Taliban for sheltering the TTP. Residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have protested against the lack of security provided by Islamabad and against the actions of extremists. To read the original story by Radio Mashaal, click here.
Read more
- By AFP
Restrictions on women's rights continue to prevent Afghanistan's "reintegration" into the international community, a senior UN official said on June 21, adding that the Taliban's participation in talks in Doha on June 30-July 1 is not legitimization of the isolated hard-liners' government. Since their 2021 return to power, Taliban authorities have not been formally recognized by any nation and apply a rigorous interpretation of Islam, leading to suppression of women's freedoms that the UN has described as gender apartheid. Restrictions on women and girls, particularly in education, "deprive the country of vital human capital" and lead to a brain drain that undermines the impoverished country's future, Roza Otunbayeva, head of the UN mission in the country, UNAMA, told the Security Council.
Read more
- By RFE/RL
The United States imposed sanctions on 12 members of the Kaspersky Lab leadership team on June 21, a day after announcing plans to bar sales of antivirus software made by the Russian firm, citing cybersecurity risks. The U.S. Treasury targeted the company’s chief operating officer, Andrei Tikhonov, although the chief executive and the company itself weren’t directly sanctioned. The action "underscores our commitment to ensure the integrity of our cyber domain and to protect our citizens against malicious cyber threats," the Treasury said. A State Department statement said the company is “subject to jurisdiction, control, or direction of the Russian government, which could exploit the privileged access to obtain sensitive data." Kaspersky denied it is a threat to U.S. security.
Read more
- By RFE/RL
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on June 21 congratulated the country's national soccer team's victory over Slovakia at the Euro 2024 championships in Germany, drawing parallels to the country's fight against Russia's full-scale invasion. "Believe in each other! Support each other! Fight for each other! This is what should unite each of us. And now each of us in his place must fight: for freedom, life, and for the correct perception of Ukraine in the world," he wrote on Telegram. "This is exactly what the Ukrainian national team is doing today. Keep it up, men!" he added following the team’s 2-1 win, it's first of the tournament, over Slovakia in Dusseldorf.
Read more
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned deepening military cooperation between the North Korea and Russia, including the transfer of arms in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, the State Department said on June 21. In a call with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, the top U.S. diplomat also reaffirmed the vital importance of the "ironclad" U.S.-South Korea alliance in "promoting peace, security, and prosperity around the world," spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. Blinken also thanked the South Korean minister for his country’s continued support for Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this week signed a defense deal during Putin's visit to Pyongyang.
Read more
- By Rikard Jozwiak
Hungary, led by the Donald Trump-friendly Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has announced a new motto for when it takes over the European Union's rotating presidency next month: "Make Europe Great Again."
The decision by Budapest to use the motto that emulates Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan, has been met with incredulity among EU officials, who see it, as one told RFE/RL, as "jaw-dropping."
"We know them, and we are not stupid, so we see it for what it is: trolling, by lack of any substantive policy," said another diplomatic source from a Western EU nation.
In announcing the slogan, the Hungarian presidency made no mention of Trump or the motto emblazoned on the red hats of almost every one of his supporters, saying it was inspired by the "world-famous Hungarian invention, the Rubik's cube," a puzzle created by Erno Rubik half a century ago.
But Trump and Orban enjoy a close political relationship that both have played up over the years.
In March, the Hungarian politician known for his populist, right-wing views visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago U.S. compound where the former president said there's "no better leader" than Orban.
Countries are allowed to adopt a slogan for their EU presidency -- Hungary officially takes its seat on July 1 -- and they rarely consult with the other 26 EU member states if they do.
One official from the European Parliament admitted to RFE/RL that "everyone was first shocked. We thought it was a joke but then everyone said the same: classic Orban."
"Classic Orban" has come to mean a thorn in the side of Brussels in recent years.
Orban, who has governed Hungary with a parliamentary supermajority since 2010, has angered many leaders in the EU with perceived attacks on democracy and the bloc's founding principles and inclusivity, his opposition to sanctions on Russia and military aid for Ukraine, and his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
His Fidesz party campaigned heavily during European parliamentary elections earlier this month on Hungarians' fears of being drawn into the war in neighboring Ukraine.
Fidesz won 11 of Hungary's 21 European Parliament seats, but that is one fewer than it previously held as Peter Magyar, a former Orban loyalist mounted a more EU-friendly challenge with a new party, Respect and Freedom (Tisza), that took seven seats.
These days the EU presidency is largely symbolic. Since 2009 there is a permanent President of the European Council, currently held by the Belgian Charles Michel, who chairs the important EU summits of leaders.
Officials from the presidency holder are essentially tasked with chairing ministerial meetings and diplomatic working groups in Brussels.
While a country often tries to add a certain "accent" to its presidency by pushing a particular political file, the main task tends to be one of an honest broker, trying to forge compromises between EU member states.
Many diplomats have said they doubt Budapest will be able to impact policy too much since the agenda for the second half of 2024 will be dominated by filling the bloc's tops jobs and getting a new European Commission, the EU's executive body, in place by the end of the year.
One official told RFE/RL that while the Hungarian motto "is of course provocative...luckily, Hungary doesn't have the influence in the EU that Orban thinks and wants."
Read more
- By RFE/RL's Tajik Service
DUSHANBE -- The former chairman of Tajikistan's parliament, which was known as the Supreme Council until the early 1990s, has reportedly been detained on unspecified charges.
Several sources told RFE/RL on June 21 that Akbarshoh Iskandarov was summoned to the Prosecutor-General's Office for questioning on June 13 and 14 and has been held in custody since the second visit.
They added that about 50 people in total were summoned to the Prosecutor-General's Office at the time, all of whom were released but ordered not to leave Dushanbe.
Neither Tajik officials nor Iskandarov's relatives would comment on the situation.
The 73-year-old veteran politician briefly served as the acting president of the Central Asian nation in the wake of uprisings in the early 1990s that led to a devastating five-year civil war that started in 1992.
Recently, Iskandarov worked at the Tajik Science Academy's Institute of Philosophy, Political Sciences, and Law.
In the past, he served as Tajikistan's ambassador to Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Turkmenistan.
RFE/RL's Tajik Service sent an official query to the Prosecutor-General's Office asking for comments regarding the case but did not receive a response.
A day earlier, several other sources told RFE/RL that Tajik authorities had detained former Foreign Minister Hamrohkhon Zarifi on unspecified charges last week.
One source close to law enforcement said Zarifi was suspected of financial crimes related to the construction of the Foreign Ministry's new building.
Zarifi served as the tightly controlled former Soviet republic’s foreign minister from 2006 to 2013. From 2015 until his retirement in 2018, Zarifi served as Tajikistan's ambassador to Japan.
Last week, investigators also arrested lawmaker Saidjafar Usmonzoda on a charge of "usurping power." No further explanation of the charge was given, and it remains unclear if the arrests are linked.
On June 14, Tajik Prosecutor-General Yusuf Rahmon publicly said that "Usmonzoda and other individuals" are suspected of attempted power seizure.
Rahmon did not specify who the "others" were.
Read more
- By RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service
SOFIA -- Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev and Russia-friendly President Rumen Radev will jointly represent Bulgaria at the NATO summit in Washington next month that is likely to discuss plans for further aid to Ukraine in its fight against the Kremlin's forces.
The announcement appears to be somewhat of an awkward compromise of a dispute between Bulgaria's Council of Ministers and the presidency just ahead of the June 21 deadline for delegations to register for the July 9-11 NATO gathering.
As a parliamentary republic, Bulgaria traditionally would be represented by the head of government, the prime minister.
However, Glavchev, serving in a caretaker role, asked parliament to decide whether he or the president should go to the summit.
The parliament, led Boyko Borisov's GERB party, declined to make a decision in the dispute, leading Glavchev to announced that both will attend.
"It was decided that the National Assembly will not take a position. Glavchev should decide for himself what he intends to do -- whether he should go, whether the president should go," said Tsoncho Ganev, deputy chairman of the parliament, according to BTA.
Radev has long taken what critics say is a Kremlin-friendly position following Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
He has argued that sending military aid to Kyiv only prolongs the conflict and that those supporting further aid to Ukraine are "warmongering."
Radev's attendance was supported by the pro-Russia Socialist and Revival parties.
The president's backers say Radev, as commander-in-chief of the military, should represent Bulgaria at a NATO summit, while opponents say that role is only effective during time of war.
Delyan Peevski, head of the liberal Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party, said Glavchev should represent Bulgaria to prevent Radev from pressing any pro-Russia positions at the summit.
"Radev should not be allowed to use this highest NATO forum to spread Russian propaganda and instill fear in Bulgarian society, which we have witnessed in scandalous cases," said Peevski, who has been sanctioned by the United States and Britain for alleged corruption but positions himself as a guarantor of "Bulgaria's unwavering value of belonging to Euro-Atlanticism."
Former Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov of the reformist We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria coalition, also called for Glavchev to represent the country at the summit.
Read more
- By RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities
A court in Russia's Sakha-Yakutia region in Siberia fined blogger Pyotr Shepelev 10,000 rubles ($117) on June 21 for taking part in an unsanctioned rally in January. Shepelev was detained three days earlier, hours before a visit to the regional capital, Yakutsk, by President Vladimir Putin. Shepelev's lawyer said his client faced five administrative charges related to disobeying police orders and participating in unsanctioned rallies. It is not clear if the court's ruling was related to all or some charges against the blogger. Hours before his detention, Shepelev said two people appeared to be surveying his apartment block. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.
Read more
- By RFE/RL's Armenian Service
Armenia has recognized Palestinian statehood, the latest country to do so amid a backlash to an ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza that has claimed thousands of civilian victims. Yerevan supports a UN resolution on an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and is in favor of a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on June 21. Several Western countries have recognized a Palestinian state since the start of Israel's offensive after an October attack by fighters from Hamas -- designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and EU -- on southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people and resulted in about 250 being taken hostage. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Armenian Service, click here.
Read more
- By RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service
BISHKEK -- A court in Bishkek has sentenced Kyrgyz activist and Social Democratic Party member Alga Kylychev to 10 years in prison on a charge of hostage-taking, which he vehemently denies, calling it politically motivated.
Bailiffs immediately arrested Kylychev after a judge at the Alamudun district court in the northern Chui region pronounced the ruling on June 21.
The charge against Kylychev stems from 2019 events in a Bishkek suburb, where former President Almazbek Atambaev and his supporters clashed with law enforcement officers at Atambaev's Koi-Tash compound.
The violence broke out after the former president refused to obey three summons to appear at the Interior Ministry for questioning about the 2013 release of notorious crime boss Aziz Batukaev.
Kylychev told RFE/RL after he was arrested that none of the prosecutors' witnesses confirmed that he was in the Koi-Tash compound during the deadly clashes.
"I consider it as a political ruling," Kylychev said, adding that if his life is in danger while he is in custody, the authorities should be held responsible for that.
According to Kylychev, his incarceration is retaliation by authorities for his refusal to take part in the "illegal exoneration" of another former president, Kurmanbek Bakiev, who fled the country in 2010 following deadly anti-government protests and was sentenced to life in absentia in 2014.
The standoff between security forces and Atambaev's supporters in 2019 resulted in the death of a senior security officer and more than 170 injuries -- 79 of them sustained by law enforcement officers.
Authorities launched a probe into the deadly standoff and charged Atambaev and 13 of his supporters with murder, attempted murder, threatening or assaulting representatives of the authorities, hostage-taking, and the forcible seizure of power.
In 2020, Atambaev was sentenced to 11 years in prison for his role in the illegal release of Batukaev.
In February last year, Atambaev was released due to his deteriorated health and allowed to travel to Spain to receive treatment. He has not returned.
Read more
Updated
- By RFE/RL's Moldovan Serviceand
- RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
The European Union will start accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova next week, the EU's Belgian presidency announced on June 21, a move that will mark a watershed moment for the two countries' aspirations to eventually join the bloc.
"The EU Council adopted the general EU positions, including negotiating frameworks, for accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, it said in a message on X, adding, "This opens the way for launching the negotiations on Tuesday, June 25, in Luxembourg.
The EU Council groups representatives of the governments of the 27 states that make up the bloc.
The official opening of the negotiations with Ukraine will take place first, at 3:30 p.m., followed by Moldova at 6 p.m., the message said.
The announcement comes two weeks after the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, recommended opening the process, saying the two countries are sufficiently prepared to engage in negotiations with the EU -- an arduous journey that could take years.
Ukraine and Moldova submitted their candidacies shortly after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and obtained candidate status in June 2022, gaining the conditional green-light for the start of negotiations in December.
Shortly after the announcement by the Belgian EU presidency, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed the move, saying on X that he was "grateful" for the bloc's "robust political will."
"Millions of Ukrainians, and indeed generations of our people, are realizing their European dream. Ukraine is returning to Europe, where it has belonged for centuries, as a full-fledged member of the European community," he said, while also hailing Moldova's inclusion in the accession talks.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on X that she had signed the document that envisaged the opening of membership talks with the bloc.
Shortly after the announcement by the Belgian EU presidency, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on X that she had signed the document that envisaged the opening of membership talks with the bloc.
"Today, I signed the Decree on initiating Moldova's EU accession negotiations. Becoming an EU member is our path to peace, prosperity, and a better life for all citizens," Sandu wrote.
"Wishing our delegation every success as they officially launch negotiations in Luxembourg next week."
Pro-Western Sandu, under whom Moldova made an abrupt U-turn from Russia to Europe, is up for reelection later this year after handing an upset defeat to Moscow-backed incumbent Igor Dodon in 2020.
With Sandu at the helm, neutral Moldova also strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, firmly aligning itself with Kyiv while tightening its ties with its Western neighbor, EU and NATO member Romania, with whom Moldova shares a common language and history.
Sandu has said Moscow plans to undermine the former Soviet republic's stability and throw it off its path toward European integration ahead of the presidential elections and a referendum on membership in the European Union scheduled simultaneously in the fall.
In reaction to Brussel's announcement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on June 21 that pursuing EU integration was a sovereign matter for Chisinau, but said there were "many Moldovans" who also desired close ties to Russia.
Read more
Updated
- By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service
Ukraine's National Police said on June 21 that two Kazakh nationals are suspected of shooting a noted Kazakh opposition activist and journalist Aidos Sadyqov in Kyiv earlier this week.
According to a statement from the National Police, the suspected attackers are Altai Zhaqanbaev, born in 1988, and Meiram Qarataev, born in 1991. The two suspects were added to the international wanted list, with a Kyiv court issuing arrest warrants for them.
The statement added that investigators found Zhaqanbaev and Qarataev arrived in Ukraine on June 2 from Poland. They rented an apartment and bought a car in Kyiv, after which they surveyed Sadyqov's everyday routine.
"On June 18, one of the suspects approached [Sadyqov's] car and shot him, while his accomplice was near the building to act as a lookout. After that they fled the crime scene," the statement said, adding that the two suspects then left Ukrainian territory via the Ukrainian-Moldovan border.
Embed
Ukrainian Authorities Seeking 2 Kazakh Suspects In Journalist Shooting
Embed
The code has been copied to your clipboard.
The URL has been copied to your clipboard
No media source currently available
0:000:02:260:00
Investigations are underway to find out who ordered the attempt on Sadyqov's life.
Sadyqov, an outspoken critic of Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev and his government, is currently in intensive care fighting for his life.
His wife Natalya Sadyqova, who is also a journalist, was in the vehicle during the attack but was unharmed.
Sadyqova said in a video statement on YouTube on June 21 that one of the suspects, Qarataev, is a police officer serving in Kazakhstan's northern Qostanai region.
The Kazakh Interior Ministry issued a statement right after Sadyqova's YouTube video was published, saying that "Qarataev was dismissed from the organs attached to the ministry in January 2019 and currently is not a police officer."
Embed
Wife Of Kazakh Journalist Says Husband In 'Grave Condition' After Shooting
Embed
The code has been copied to your clipboard.
The URL has been copied to your clipboard
No media source currently available
0:000:01:580:00
Earlier on June 19, Sadyqova told RFE/RL that, hours before the attack, she and her husband had issued a new video titled Toqaev Is Putin's Puppet on their YouTube channel.
The video criticizes Toqaev's "pro-Russian politics" and looks at the activities of Russian oligarchs and agents of influence in Kazakhstan, some of whom obtained Kazakh citizenship after Russia launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
She added that Toqaev stands to be a beneficiary of the shooting "because the Kazakh opposition has been fully cleansed." She did not present any evidence that connected the president in any way to the shooting.
Toqaev's spokesman Berik Uali said on June 21 that the Kazakh president "had ordered law enforcement entities to find the two suspects' whereabouts and undertake corresponding measures."
"Kazakhstan's side is ready to cooperate with Ukraine's law enforcement structures, including via Interpol," Uali said.
The Sadyqovs, along with their children, moved to Kyiv in 2014 after Kazakh authorities launched a case against Natalya, who worked as a journalist for the independent Respublika newspaper at the time. She was accused of slander.
Sadyqov used to lead a branch of the opposition Azat Social Democratic Party in his native Aqtobe region in Kazakhstan's northwest until 2010.
He later headed a group that was a major force for establishing a union to defend the rights of Kazakh workers at the Chinese-owned CNPC-Aktobemunaygaz oil company.
Read more
Load more
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
Editors' Picks
- The Week's Best: 10 Stories And Videos You Shouldn't Miss
- How Russia Exports Ukrainian Grain As Its Own: An Investigation
- The Week In Russia: A Performance In Pyongyang
- The Azadi Briefing: Sharp Rise In The Number Of Afghans Executed In Iran
Top Trending
1Tajik Parliament's Upper Chamber Approves Bill Banning Hijab2Ukrainian Command Says Russian Air Defenses Damaged In Crimea3Mob In Pakistan Drags Burning Body Of 'Blasphemer' Through Streets In Swat Valley4Ukrainian Prosecutor Says Russian Troops Beheaded Ukrainian Soldier5Live Briefing: Russia Invades Ukraine6Several Dead In Russian Strikes On Ukraine; Kyiv Launches Counterattacks7Romania Now Last Hurdle For Rutte As NATO Chief After Hungary, Slovakia Sign On8Ukraine's Military Chief Says Russia Is Upping Attacks Ahead Of More Western Aid9NATO Chief: West Should 'Impose A Cost' On China For Its Support Of Russia10How A Serb Accused In High-Profile Italian Jailbreak Ended Up At Russia's North Pole Camp
Banner: The Rundown Newsletter Right Region Snippet
Listen
Latest episode
What China's Xi Learned From The Soviet CollapseTalking China In EurasiaSubscribe
Subscribe
Apple PodcastsSpotifyRSS Feed
Latest episode
On The Battlefield And BeyondThe Week Ahead In RussiaSubscribe
Subscribe
Apple PodcastsSpotifyRSS Feed
Back to top
