VISUAL REPORTS
U.S. Intel Chiefs Warn Russia Intending To Meddle In Midterm Elections
The heads of the lead U.S. intelligence agencies warned that Russia intends to use cyberattacks, propaganda, and other tactics to try and influence upcoming elections for the U.S. Congress and in some European countries.
'Poroshenko Hasn't Much Time Left,' Banished Saakashvili Says
Mikheil Saakashvili was defiant in remarks he made in Warsaw one day after he was seized in Kyiv and banished to Poland, vowing to push ahead with his struggle against Ukraine's leadership.
Fight Erupts At City Council Meeting In Armenian Capital
City councilors traded blows at a meeting in Yerevan after an official tried to show the mayor a bottle of waste water as evidence of some neighborhoods' overflowing sewers.
First Lady Of Femen
Anzhelina Diash, a member of the Femen activist group, has protested against three presidents already. She’s facing prison time, and has lost her job as a kindergarten teacher.
OTHER NEWS
7:40am -- Good Morning!
[Excerpt from Current Time TV’s daily, first-read for Russian-speaking audiences.]
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declined his entitlement to free air time on federal TV channels during the election campaign. At the same time, the First Channel, the country’s leading network, has scheduled a prime-time slot to air, for a second time, Oliver Stone’s film about the president. Presidential candidates Grigory Yavlinsky and Ksenia Sobchak have accused the channel of illegal campaigning.
The Kremlin Distances Itself From Reports Of Mercenary Deaths In Syria
In remarks on February 14, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov continued to distance the government from reports that several Russian mercenaries -- and possibly dozens -- died after staging an attack on U.S. forces and their allies in Syria on February 7.
U.S., NATO Urge Hungary, Ukraine To Settle Language-Law Dispute
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and the United States are urging Hungary and Ukraine to resolve their differences over Ukraine's new minority language law, which prompted Hungary to block a NATO ministers' meeting with Ukraine this week.
Chess Federation’s Accounts Shut Over Ilyumzhinov’s Syria Sanctions
The Lausanne-based World Chess Federation (FIDE) disclosed on February 13 that Swiss bank UBS closed its accounts more than two years after the organization’s president, Russian millionaire Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, was added to a U.S. sanctions list.
Russian Court Declares Mom A 'Man'
A Russian court has concluded that Yulia Savinovskikh, a 40-year-old mother in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, wants to be a man, despite the fact that she was born a woman, her passport says she’s a woman, she is married to a man, has never had sex-reassignment surgery, and publicly insists she is a woman.
Russians Are Borrowing At Record Levels As Savings Decline
Growth in lending exceeded growth in savings in Russia in 2017 for the first time in several years, as people seek to maintain their standard of living by taking on more debt. Polls show that those who have either personal or family savings fell from 39 to 31 percent, and those who have no savings at all increased from 59 to 67 percent over the course of the year. (Russian Service)
Odesa Mayor Detained At Airport In Embezzlement Probe
The mayor of the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, Hennadiy Trukhanov, was detained on February 14 upon arrival from abroad on suspicion of embezzlement.
U.S. Transfers $5.8 Million Worth Of Night Vision Devices To Ukraine
The U.S. government has transferred 2,500 night vision devices, worth $5.8 million, to the Ukrainian military. Ukraine’s defense ministry told the media earlier this month that the country’s military has received almost $247 million in international technical and humanitarian assistance since 2014. (Ukrainian Service)
Uzbek Tax, Customs Agencies Raided In 'Major Investigation'
RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service is reporting that Uzbekistan's top tax and customs agencies are being searched, their documents seized, and employees questioned in a large-scale operation in Tashkent. In addition, military trucks have been deployed to restrict entry and exit from the compound that houses the Tax Committee.
Uzbek Crime Boss Tapped To Reform Olympic Boxing
The future of Olympic boxing hangs on Gafur Rakhimov -- a controversial sports administrator blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department as “one of Uzbekistan’s leading criminals” and an alleged key figure in the heroin trade.
Kyrgyz Journalist Charged Over Report On Luxury Homes
Kyrgyz journalist Elnura Alkanova has been charged with illegally obtaining commercial secrets and making them public as a result of an investigative report about a luxury housing compound.
Flour Power: Turkmenistan Mulling 'Surplus Confiscation' Amid Shortage
Authorities in northern Turkmenistan are reported to be considering the confiscation of "surplus" flour from people amid severe shortages of the staple.