VISUAL REPORTS
Russian LGBT Activists Detained In St. Petersburg
Russian police have detained around 30 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights activists who took part in an unsanctioned rally in St. Petersburg.
How Not To Pay For Electricity
For the last seven years, Voronezh resident Valeriy Shlapak has used the local electric grid only in extreme situations. Normally, he relies on a wind generator of his own invention. (Current Time TV,Facebook)
ICYMI: Things Are So Bad In Iran That Afghan Migrants Are Going Home
More than 400,000 undocumented Afghan migrants left Iran for Afghanistan so far in 2018, many of them in buses from Herat, near the Iranian border, to Kabul.
OTHER NEWS
U.S. Calls In Russian Embassy Official Over Moscow's ‘Aggressive Interference’
The U.S. State Department has called in Russia's chargé d'affaires in Washington over what it says are Moscow’s efforts to use social media to “promote violence” and divide U.S. society. Russia criticized the summons, calling it "megaphone diplomacy."
U.S. Calls On Moscow To Comply With UN Sanctions On North Korea
The United States has called on Russia to comply with UN sanctions on North Korea, citing "deeply troubling" reports that Moscow has granted new work permits to North Korean laborers that are barred under the sanctions.
Bodies Of Russian Journalists Slain In Africa Arrive In Moscow
The bodies of three Russian journalists killed in the Central African Republic have arrived in Moscow after being transported on an Air France flight from Paris.
Not So United: Russia's Ruling Party Rattled By Pension-Reform Crisis
The first major economic initiative of Putin's fourth term, pension reform has become a harsh test for the ruling United Russia party. Breaches in the party’s ordinarily watertight discipline are in evidence, exacerbated by the Kremlin's seemingly deliberate strategy of distancing Putin from the reform.
Putin Signs Measure To Raise Russia's VAT
In a controversial move, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a measure that will increase the country's value-added tax (VAT) from 18 to 20 percent, effective January 1, 2019.
Leader Of 'Shaltai-Boltai' Hacking Group Released From Russian Jail
Vladimir Anikeyev, the leader of a group believed to be behind the hacking of high-profile accounts including Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's feed, has been released from jail.
Russian Media Reports Moratorium On Abortion In Several Regions
The Russian newspaper Kommersant has reported that maternity hospitals in several regions across Russia are operating under a temporary moratorium on abortions, the result of a “Give me life!” campaign sponsored by a group run by Svetlana Medvedeva, wife of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. (in Russian, Current Time TV)
Action Film Actor Seagal ‘Humbled And Honored’ By Russia Appointment
Action film star Steven Seagal, who has been appointed Russia’s special envoy for humanitarian ties with the United States, said on Twitter that he hoped to “strive for peace [and] harmony” in the world.
Azerbaijan’s River Of Illegal Drugs
Officials in the energy-rich Caucasus country of nearly 10 million deny that Azerbaijan is experiencing a drug crisis, but residents of Astara and the Lankaran district, bordering Iran and the Caspian Sea, tell another story.
Serbian President Invokes Hitler To Blast 'Croatia Without Serbs' Policy
As Croatian leaders celebrated the 23rd anniversary of a victorious military operation at the end of the country’s 1991-95 war for independence, Serbia's president accused Croatia of intentionally expelling Serbs from the country because of their ethnicity."
POLL: Most Russians Blame Georgia And West For 2008 Russo-Georgia War
A Levada Center poll conducted on the 10th anniversary of the Russo-Georgian war finds that 60 percent of respondents believe that the leaders of Georgia, the U.S. and NATO countries are responsible for the conflict. Five percent blame Russia, and three percent blame leaders of the separatist republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. (in Russian, Current Time TV)
MAJLIS PODCAST: Tajikistan's Perplexing Response To An Act Of Terrorism