Zelenskyy, Poroshenko Look Set For Second-Round Showdown In Ukraine Election
Voters in Ukraine are almost certainly headed for a presidential election runoff pitting comedian and political newcomer Volodymyr Zelenskyy against incumbent Petro Poroshenko in a country struggling with a war against Russia-backed separatists, Moscow’s seizure of a key chunk of its territory, a sluggish economy, and rampant corruption.
VISUAL REPORTS
Over 1,000 Jews Murdered By Nazis Unearthed In Belarus
Construction workers in the Belarusian city of Brest have unearthed a World War II-era mass grave thought to contain the remains of over a thousand murdered Jews from the city's ghetto.
Living In A Dump Called 'Dallas': Romanian Outcasts Look To EU
Residents of a slum in Romania hope the European Union will force the government in Bucharest to improve their lives. But they also fear what might happen if the huge landfill --- where they live and earn a meager living -- is closed.
Slovakia Gets First Woman President
Liberal lawyer Zuzana Caputova was elected president in Slovakia’s March 30 runoff, becoming the country’s first female head of state.
OTHER NEWS
Tymoshenko Claims Election 'Falsified' But Won't Challenge Result
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who failed to qualify for a presidential runoff election after official results put her in third place in the first round, has said that she believes the vote was "rigged" but will not contest the results in court.
Russian State Media Mocks Ukraine Election As 'Dirty And Dishonest'
As Ukrainians voted for a new president, Russians keeping track of the election on state TV were bombarded with coverage of Ukraine's failures as an independent state and reports of alleged electoral fraud.
Russian Internet Bill To Require Use Of State-Approved Encryption Tools
Newly proposed amendments to a bill creating a “sovereign” Russian internet would require internet companies to use domestic encryption tools approved by the Russian government. The bill currently lists over 170 internet enterprises that would fall under the bill’s purview, including Telegram, Yandex, Sberbank, Mail.Ru Group, and Opera. Encryption tools would also be integrated into state information systems, including those administering public procurement, public services, and state and municipal payments. (Russian Service)
Russian Man Sentenced In Treason Case Linked To FSB Cyberscandal
A Russian Internet businessman has been sentenced to seven years in prison for state treason, in a case that shed light on the murky overlap between computer hackers and the country’s Federal Security Service.
Former Russian Military Officer Jailed For 19 Years For Fighting Alongside IS
A Russian court in the southern city of Rostov-on Don has convicted a former military officer of fighting alongside Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria and sentenced him to 19 years in prison.
Russian Court Finds Another Jehovah’s Witness Guilty On Extremism Charge
A Russian court has found a Jehovah’s Witness guilty of being a member of the now-banned religious group -- the second such ruling against the group’s believers this year.
Moscow Court Prolongs Director Serebrennikov's House Arrest
A Moscow court has extended until July 4 the term of house arrest for theater director Kirill Serebrennikov and two associates in an embezzlement trial that the defendants and their supporters contend is politically motivated.
Jailed Human Rights Defender Titiyev Will Not Appeal His Sentence
Human rights activist Oyub Titiyev will not appeal the four-year penal colony sentence he was handed by a court in Russia's Chechnya region, but will instead continue to maintain his innocence and seek early release. He is reportedly eligible for parole next month.
Kommersant Newspaper's Offices In Yekaterinburg Ransacked
One of Russia's leading newspapers, Kommersant, says that its offices in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg have been ransacked and the local branch's director threatened. The attackers left a written message on the desk of the director of Kommersant-Ural, Sergei Plakhotin, saying: "You will die, schmuck."
Russia’s Sole Orbital Telescope No Longer Functional
Russian media reports that the country’s sole orbital telescope has stopped working, and that Russian scientists lost connection with the Spektr-R satellite because of a communications failure back in January. The state-owned Roscosmos has disclosed that the warranty period for the apparatus on which the telescope was mounted expired in 2014. (Russian Service)
Bosnia To Hold First Gay Pride March In September
Bosnia’s first-ever gay-pride parade will take place in September in the capital, Sarajevo, and will gather members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community from all over the country, activists and organizers say.
'Mother Of Tajik Theater,' Musharrafa Qosimova, Dies At 100
Prominent Tajik actress Musharrafa Qosimova, known as "the mother of Tajik theater," has died at the age of 100 in Dushanbe.
MAJLIS PODCAST: Water And Central Asia
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