VISUAL REPORTS
Police Confront Armenian Opposition Protesters In Yerevan
Armenian riot police have cordoned off a major government building in Yerevan, pushing back opposition supporters and detaining several of them on the seventh day of protests against the election of longtime former President Serzh Sarkisian as prime minister.
Novichok Creator Says Substance Has No Antidotes
In an interview with Current Time TV, Vladimir Uglev, a Russian scientist credited as being among the creators of Novichok, the substance that is believed to have been used in the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal, said there are no effective antidotes to Novichok, which differentiates it from Zaman, Sarin and other nerve agents. Uglev said it could have been transported in gel form, and to be deployed must be brought into physical contact with the target or inhaled. (Current Time TV)
Bugs For Dinner In Belarus
This Belarusian entrepreneur hopes that eating crickets will be the next food fad -- and make him rich.
Afghan Girls Want A (Cricket) League Of Their Own
Two years after Afghanistan’s Cricket Board quietly disbanded the country's fledgling national women's team in 2014, Ogai Wardak, 14, decided to start a team on her own.
OTHER NEWS
British Media Regulator Probes RT's Impartiality After Salisbury Poisoning
Britain's media watchdog is investigating whether Russian news channel RT broke impartiality rules in its programs after a former Russian double agent and his daughter were poisoned in the English city of Salisbury last month.
OPCW Head Rejects Russian Claim About Presence Of Second Nerve Agent In Salisbury
The head of the global chemical-weapons watchdog has rejected Russian claims that traces of a second nerve agent were discovered in the English city where a former Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned last month.
Putin’s Internet Advisor Calls On Roskomnadzor To Apologize
As of 8:00 am on April 19, almost 18 million IP addresses had been disabled in Russia in connection with the blocking of the Telegram messenger app by Roskomnadzor. Herman Klimenko, an advisor to the Kremlin on internet affairs, has called on the media regulator to “act more carefully” and apologize to the companies that were affected. (in Russian, Current Time TV)
Pussy Riot's Alyokhina Sentenced For Pro-Telegram Protest
A Moscow court has ordered Maria Alyokhina, a leading member of the punk protest band Pussy Riot, to perform 100 hours of community service for a protest against Russia's ban on the messaging app Telegram at the headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB) on Moscow's Lubyanka Square.
Siberian Indigenous Activists Flee Russia Fearing For Safety
Vladislav and Yana Tannagashev, two prominent activists for the rights of Siberia's indigenous peoples, have had to leave Russia with their children for fear of their safety, the Memorial human rights center says.
Russian Director Serebrennikov’s House Arrest Extended
A Moscow court has extended the house arrest of theater and film director Kirill Serebrennikov for three months, until July 19, 2018, state-run media reports.
In Crimea, Citizenship Is Given -- And Taken Away
Crimean official Maksim Balitski is the latest among several officials on the peninsula to be stripped by court order of his Russian citizenship. Crimean Cossack leader Sergei Akimov believes that Moscow is using the procedure to punish discontent. (Crimea Realities website)
EU Lawmakers Deplore Harassment Of Independent Media In Belarus
The European Parliament has overwhelmingly approved a resolution deploring the harassment of independent media before and after the February 2018 local elections in Belarus.
Warsaw Commemorates 75th Anniversary Of Ghetto Uprising
Commemorations are being held to mark the 75th anniversary the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, when thousands of young Jewish fighters took up arms against occupying Nazi German forces during World War II.
Croatian Lawmakers Curtail Serbia Visit In Response To Seselj
A Croatian parliamentary delegation has cut short a visit to neighboring Serbia after nationalist politician Vojislav Seselj, recently convicted of war crimes by a United Nations court, stamped on the Croatian national flag and cursed the visitors.
Kyrgyz President Fires Government Following No-Confidence Vote
Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov has dismissed the government, hours after lawmakers passed a no-confidence motion against the cabinet of Prime Minister Sapar Isakov, amid an apparent power struggle between Jeenbekov and his predecessor, Almazbek Atambaev.
Berdymukhamedov To Tap Uzbekistan For TAPI Support
As Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov prepares to visit Uzbekistan, sources say his agenda includes a request to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to provide “moral and financial” support to the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. (in Russian, Turkmen Service)
MOST READ/RUSSIA: ‘We Were Slaves For A Cookie’ - One FSB Officer’s Account
An active duty officer with Russia’s Federal Security Service has spoken to RFE/RL about the agency’s role in suppressing dissent, including among the “non-systemic opposition, Jehovah's Witnesses, fascists and anti-fascists,” and the continuing relevance of Hannah Arendt's 1951 treatise, “The Origins of Totalitarianism.” (over 201k views on Russian Service website)
FURTHER AFIELD: With Telegram In Trouble, Tehran Turns To Homegrown Messaging Apps
In response to an April 18 announcement that government bodies are now banned from using foreign messaging apps, including Telegram -- and amid fears that the app could be blocked entirely -- authorities in Tehran have been promoting domestic alternatives to fill the void.