BELGRADE -- Belarusian journalist and political activist Andrey Hnyot (aka Andrew Gnyot) on September 16 submitted an appeal to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's office -- signed by more than 780 international and Serbian creators, artists, and intellectuals -- requesting that he not be extradited to Minsk and calling for his release.

Among the signatories were French actress Juliette Binoche, Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, and Belarusian Nobel Prize-winning author Svetlana Alexievich.

Hnyot, speaking outside of the Serbian presidential building in Belgrade, said that if extradited to Belarus, he would face "torture" and "likely the death penalty."

"The regime is carrying out horrific repression against political dissidents, journalists, and activists, and it is worsening by the day. There is no justice left in Belarus," he added.

Hnyot was arrested at Belgrade's airport in late October 2023 on an Interpol warrant issued by Belarus, which has since been revoked. The critic of the Belarusian regime is accused of tax evasion by Minsk.

Since June, his detention has been replaced with house arrest, and he is awaiting Serbia's final decision on his extradition.

Hnyot announced he would also submit the appeal to other top Serbian officials in the coming days.

Several Serbian public figures who signed the appeal gathered in front of the presidency to show their support for Hnyot.

Writer Vladimir Arsenijevic told RFE/RL, "the fate of Andrey Hnyot concerns all of us."

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"We know the state of democracy in that country and the fate that awaits dissidents and those who oppose the regime. I believe it is shameful for our country to be involved in something like this," Arsenijevic said.

Film director Janko Baljak said that by signing the appeal with his colleagues, he aimed to make "a final cry against the threat to human freedoms" in Belarus and Serbia.

"I am here to support an unjustly imprisoned artist who has spent a year in a Kafkaesque nightmare, in which my country is partly complicit. As a citizen, I feel guilty," Baljak said.

On September 11, the Belgrade Court of Appeals annulled the Higher Court's decision to extradite Hnyot to Belarus and returned the case for reconsideration.

The Appeals Court explained that the objections raised in the appeal were valid, challenging the legality and correctness of the initial decision by the lower court.

In his first reaction to the decision, Hnyot said it was good news that he was not being extradited to Belarus for now but added that his status as a "prisoner" remained unchanged, as he is still under house arrest.

Numerous NGOs and activists have opposed Hnyot's extradition, pointing out that the regime of authoritarian Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka is "one of the most brutal and repressive in the world."

The Crisis In Belarus

Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.

They say that political prisoners in Belarus face long sentences in harsh conditions, with some having died in custody.

Hnyot has called the Belarusian charges against him by "false," describing them as part of a "systemic mechanism of persecution" of political opponents by the Minsk regime.

He was one of hundreds of thousands of Belarusians who participated in mass protests of 2020, contesting Lukashenka's victory in the presidential election.

Hnyot is also the founder of the Free Association of Athletes (SOS BY), which is considered an extremist organization in Belarus.

In an open letter signed by more than 2,000 Belarusian athletes and sports representatives, the organization demanded the annulment of the 2020 election results, Lukashenka's resignation, and freedom for all those arrested during postelection demonstrations.

Western countries do not recognize the results of the elections, and the European Union has imposed sanctions on Minsk for the repression of demonstrators.

Lukashenka, in power for 30 years, is accused of severe repression of political opponents.

More than 1,500 political prisoners are currently held in Belarusian prisons, including journalists, human rights activists, and politicians, according to rights groups.

Between 200,000 and 500,000 Belarusians have fled their homeland following the crackdown on protests since 2020.

The Swiss-based Doctors Without Borders (MSF) aid group on September 16 said it has been forced to close its operations in Russia. "It is with a heavy heart that we have to close our activities in Russia," said the head of the group's Russia program. "Our organization's work is guided by the principles of independence, impartiality, and neutrality, and medical ethics. We provide assistance based on the needs." MSF has been in Russia since 1992 but said it received notice in August from the Justice Ministry that its office was removed from the register of nongovernmental organizations. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Russian Service, click here.

In a September 16 call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed the "importance of a durable and dignified peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. He added that Blinken welcomed recent progress between the bitter rivals -- including agreement on a border-delimitation regulation that has angered some Armenian opposition figures. Blinken and Aliyev also discussed areas for regional and bilateral cooperation, including the importance of Azerbaijan’s "adherence to international human rights obligations and commitments," the U.S. spokesman added.

The United States has slapped sanctions on more than 60 Georgians, including two members of the government, who it said have "undermined" democracy and human rights in the country amid concerns in the West of Tbilisi's tilt toward Moscow.

"The United States has imposed sanctions on two Georgian government officials...for their involvement in serious human rights abuse during the violent response to peaceful protests against the foreign influence law," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on September 16 in a statement.

It identified the government officials as Interior Ministry Special Task Department chief Zviad "Khareba" Kharazishvili and one of his deputies, Mileri Lagazauri.

"We are also sanctioning two Georgian leaders of a violent extremist group, Konstantine Morgoshia and Zurab Makharadze, for serious human rights abuse, including violent attacks on Georgians exercising their freedom of peaceful assembly."

The ruling Georgian Dream party has come under fire from Georgia's Western allies following its move to introduce a "foreign agent" law that many fear will stifle media and independent voices.

Georgia's parliament in May gave final passage to the law, overriding a veto by President Salome Zurabishvili, who has split with legislators and party leaders in support of protesters who took to the streets en masse.

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The Georgian Dream party insists the new law was needed to ensure transparency in the country's political scene and to protect its sovereignty, while the government has denied heavy-handed tactics were used against demonstrators.

The law is modeled on a similar measure in Russia, which was initially passed in 2012 and has been gradually expanded and toughened to encompass civil society groups, human rights activists, media organizations, and others. The law has forced the closure of dozens of organizations and individuals in Russia, and forced activists and reporters to flee the country.

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In its statement, titled Promoting Accountability for Serious Human Rights Abuse And Anti-Democratic Actions In Georgia, the State Department said more than 60 others will also face new sanctions, including steps to impose visa restrictions on the individuals and family members "responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Georgia."

The individuals include senior government and municipal figures "who abused their power to restrict the fundamental freedoms of the Georgian people, business leaders involved in corrupt practices, persons who have spread disinformation and promoted violent extremism, members of law enforcement who were involved in the beating of protesters, and members of parliament who played a critical role in advancing undemocratic legislation and restricting civil society."

"The violence perpetuated...included the brutal beatings of many attendees of the nonviolent protests against the new foreign influence law, including Georgian citizens and opposition politicians," the State Department said.

"Kharazishvili is well known for his punitive actions against political opponents and has been personally involved in the physical and verbal abuse of protesters," it added.

The United States has said it is reviewing its bilateral relations with Georgia -- which has long received the support of Washington -- and the EU has also assailed the party's actions and has said moves such as the foreign agent law would negatively affect the country’s hopes of joining the bloc.

A court in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on September 16 sentenced a Russian man to eight years in prison for stabbing to death a 32-year-old postgraduate student from Gabon. The court found Daniil Fomin, 23, guilty of murder. The student at the Urals Federal University, Francois Ndjelassili, was stabbed to death in a cafe in August 2023, with witnesses calling it "a racially motivated attack." Two traffic police officers who witnessed the attack but did not interfere were later fired. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

Authoritarian Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka has pardoned 37 people, including six women, serving prison terms on extremism charges, his press service said on September 16. The statement claimed those pardoned had "repented and promised to conduct law-abiding lives," adding that the clemency was issued due to the Day of National Unity to be marked on September 17. This is the fourth mass-amnesty decree Lukashenka has signed this year to pardon people imprisoned for taking part in the 2020 mass protests against the official result of a presidential poll that named the long-ruling Lukashenka the winner. In all, 115 out of more than 1,300 political prisoners have been pardoned since July. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.

President Masud Pezeshkian claims that Iran has not transferred any weapons to Russia since he took office in late July and seemed to open the door for direct talks with the United States over nuclear issues, but only if Washington shows it is not "hostile" toward the Islamic republic.

The 69-year-old Pezeshkian, deemed a relative moderate by some observers, on September 16 also took a belligerent tone, declaring that his country will never give up its controversial missile program, despite Western sanctions aimed at limiting such activities.

Pezeshkian -- who assumed office on July 30 after winning an election to succeed hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi after his death in a helicopter crash in May -- was speaking in Tehran in his first official press conference.

The nationally televised event came at a time of high tensions, both inside Iran and throughout the Middle East.

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Iran is facing major economic difficulties, much of it brought on by Western sanctions, and growing anger among citizens, led by women's groups, over human rights violations at home.

A female journalist told Pezeshkian during the news conference that she had to take alternative routes to reach the event to avoid so-called morality police officers, who enforce strict conservative dress requirements for women, often using brutal measures and drawing sharp rebukes from rights groups.

During the news conference, the president said he would use his authority to ensure that the morality police do not "bother" women.

"Morality police were not supposed to confront [women]. I will follow up so they don't bother" them, he said, although it remains unclear how much authority he would actually have to make changes.

Tehran has also faced Western condemnation and new sanctions over moves to send weapons to Russia that the Kremlin has used to attack Ukrainian forces and civilians, especially deadly Shahed drones.

More recently, media reports have suggested that Tehran has provided the Kremlin with powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles.

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"It is possible that a delivery [of some weapons] took place in the past...but I can assure you that since I took office, there has not been any such delivery to Russia," he said.

Asked whether Tehran would be open to holding direct talks with the United States to restart the 2015 nuclear deal with global powers, Pezeshkian said: "We are not hostile toward the U.S. They should end their hostility toward us by showing their goodwill in practice."

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"We are brothers with the Americans as well."

As president, Donald Trump in 2018 unilaterally pulled the United States out of the landmark nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and also signed by China, France, Russia, Britain, and Germany.

Trump also reimposed crippling financial sanctions against Tehran.

President Joe Biden has sought to restart the agreement, although Washington and Tehran -- meeting through third parties -- have disagreed on terms.

Pezeshkian insisted that Tehran was not seeking to enrich uranium at near-weapons-grade levels but that it was forced to by the U.S. withdrawal from the pact.

"I think, we said many times, we don't want to do this at all. We want to solve our technical and scientific needs We are not looking for nuclear weapons," Pezeshkian said in response to a question by AP.

"We adhered to the framework written in the [nuclear agreement]. We are still looking to maintain those frameworks. They tore them, they forced us to do something."

Tehran and Washington have not had diplomatic relations since 1980, when U.S. President Jimmy Carter broke off ties amid the Iran hostage crisis.

Pezeshkian claimed Iran will never give up its missile program, claiming it is needed for security in a troubled region and where, he said, Israel is able to "drop missiles on Gaza every day," referring to that country's war with Hamas movement, declared a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union.

Pezeshkian also denied that Iran had sent hypersonic missiles to Yemen's Huthi rebels that have been used to target ships in the Persian Gulf and as of September 15 have been launched at Israel.

With reporting by Reuters

Russian media reported on September 16 that a Moscow court agreed to proceed with the trial of French citizen Laurent Vinatier in a "special order" -- which guarantees a lighter sentence -- after he pleaded guilty to a charge of evading the responsibilities of a "foreign agent." After his plea was entered, investigators dropped espionage charges against the researcher after he was arrested in June. A trial in a "special order” means that a court cannot sentence a defendant to more than two-thirds of a maximum prison term. In Vinatier's case, he cannot be sentenced to more than two-thirds of the five-year sentence he faced, meaning that his possible prison term cannot exceed 40 months.

Jailed Russian anti-war activist and journalist Maria Ponomarenko has started a hunger strike to protest a new charge laid against her and a prison report saying she was reprimanded seven times for violating penitentiary rules. The RusNews Telegram channel, for which Ponomarenko worked before her arrest in 2022, said Ponomarenko announced her hunger strike after she had a nervous breakdown in a courtroom on September 16 during her trial on an additional charge of attacking two prison guards, which she denies. Ponomarenko was sentenced to six years in prison in February 2023 for protesting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.

Imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi issued a plea on September 16 to coincide with the second anniversary of the death in police custody of Iranian-Kurdish student Mahsa Amini for international institutions and people to act to end the oppression of women in Iran and under other theocratic and authoritarian regimes.

Mohammadi said in the letter from Tehran's notorious Evin prison -- published via her foundation -- that "on the second anniversary of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement, we reaffirm our commitment to achieving democracy, freedom, and equality and to defeating theocratic despotism."

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A mother of two and former journalist previously jailed for her criticisms, Mohammadi worked alongside fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi at the Defenders Of Human Rights Center for years before a series of detentions and convictions beginning in 2010 and continuing through her current lengthy sentence and reports of further prosecution for activities while in custody.

"I urge the United Nations to end its silence and inaction in the face of the devastating oppression and discrimination by theocratic and authoritarian governments against women by criminalizing gender apartheid," Mohammadi said in the statement.

"The liberation of women from the grip of oppression and discrimination is essential for empowering the force that drives peace and democracy."

In a joint statement issued on September 16 to mark the anniversary, the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain, and New Zealand said: "We stand with women and girls in Iran, and Iranian human rights defenders, across all segments of society in their ongoing daily fight for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

"We call on the new Iranian administration to fulfil its pledge to ease pressure on civil society in Iran and to end the use of force to enforce the hijab requirement."

During a news conference on September 16, Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian claimed he would use his authority to ensure that morality police do not "bother" women.

"Morality police were not supposed to confront [women]. I will follow up so they don't bother" them, he said, although it remains unclear how much authority he would actually have to make changes.

The 22-year-old Amini died on September 16, 2022, in a hospital after eyewitnesses and her family alleged she had been beaten while in police custody.

Amini's death sparked some of the largest-ever street protests against Iran's clerical leadership since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The Women, Life, Freedom movement has persisted, despite the jailings of critics like Mohammadi and a harsh clampdown on dissent.

Sources close to Amini's parents told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that Iranian authorities had "surrounded" the family home in the town of Saghez ahead of the anniversary and ordered them to remain at home or face arrest, in addition to other reported measures to guard against public demonstrations of sympathy.

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Amini's father, Amjad Amini, on September 15 expressed gratitude for Kurdish, Iranian, and other efforts to mount labor strikes to mark the anniversary.

Iranian authorities, who cracked down on the family and others a year ago, have sought to avoid public acknowledgement of the anniversary.

"In these two difficult and agonizing years, although the wounds have left marks on the bodies of those exhausted and tormented by oppression, discrimination, and tyranny, and despite the challenging road ahead, we all know that nothing is as it was before," Mohammadi said in her statement.

Family members of some of those killed in the state crackdown on the protests have been also arrested in recent weeks, and others, especially in Iran's Kurdistan, have been summoned by authorities.

The Narges Mohammadi Foundation said on September 15 that 34 female prisoners at Evin went on hunger strike to commemorate Amini's death at the hands of the morality police and mark the birth of the related rights movement.

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Kazakh authorities have rejected an asylum request by jailed Karakalpak activist Aqylbek Muratov (aka Muratbai), who is wanted in Uzbekistan on charges that human rights activists say are groundless.

Muratov's sister, Fariza Narbekova, told RFE/RL on September 16 that Kazakhstan’s commission on asylum issues had made the decision three days earlier.

"The legal matter blocking the extradition [to Uzbekistan] is now lifted. Kazakhstan's Prosecutor-General's Office may order his extradition at any time now. Everything is up to the government's position," Narbekova said.

Kazakh authorities arrested Muratov in late February at Tashkent's request on a charge of undermining constitutional order and other charges.

Muratov is an Uzbek citizen who has legally resided in Almaty for 10 years. Kazakh officials in February granted his request for asylum-seeker status, a move that defendants sometimes use to delay possible extradition.

Muratov has been known for his activities defending the rights of Karakalpaks living in Kazakhstan. He also raised awareness among international audiences about the situation in his native Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan within Uzbekistan.

Several Karakalpak activists have been arrested in Kazakhstan following mass rallies in Karakalpakstan's capital, Nukus, in July 2022. Thousands of people protested Tashkent's plans to change the constitution in a way that they said would have undermined the republic's right to self-determination.

The protests were violently dispersed. Uzbek authorities said at the time that 21 people died during the protests, but the Austria-based Freedom For Eurasia human rights group said at least 70 people were killed during the unrest.

In January last year, an Uzbek court sentenced 22 Karakalpak activists to prison terms on charges including undermining the constitutional order for taking part in the protests.

In March 2023, another 39 Karakalpak activists accused of taking part in the protests in Nukus were convicted, with 28 of them sentenced to prison terms of between five years and 11 years. Eleven defendants were handed parole-like sentences.

The violence forced Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev to make a rare about-face and scrap the proposal to change the constitution.

Kazakh and international human rights organizations have called on Kazakhstan's authorities to release Muratov, saying that if extradited to Uzbekistan Muratov may face arbitrary detention and unfair trial.

Karakalpaks are a Central Asian Turkic-speaking people. Their region used to be an autonomous area within Kazakhstan before becoming autonomous within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1930 and then part of Uzbekistan in 1936.

The governor of Russia's Astrakhan region, Igor Babushkin, appointed former Ukrainian lawmaker Andrei Derkach, who is wanted in Ukraine on treason and corruption charges, to the Russian parliament's upper chamber last week, media reports said on September 16. The 57-year-old Derkach, who served as a Ukrainian lawmaker for almost 25 years, fled his country shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Last year, his Ukrainian citizenship was suspended. Derkach is the son of the former chief of the Security Service of Ukraine, Leonid Derkach, who died at the age of 82 in January 2022. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Crimea.Realities, click here.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he has canceled all of his "international obligations" as his country braces for floodwaters that have already ravaged much of Central and Eastern Europe, where several people have died in the wake of torrential rains from Storm Boris.

Orban, who was scheduled to speak this week at the European Parliament, said in a social media post on September 16 that "due to the extreme weather conditions and the ongoing floods...I have postponed all my international obligations."

Days of relentless rainfall have unleashed catastrophic flooding in the region, forcing mandatory evacuations and causing widespread devastation.

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony took to Facebook to warn residents that the largest floods in a decade were expected to reach the city during the week, triggering a breach of the capital's lower quays on September 17 as water levels on the Danube River jump.

• RFE/RL
• Kurt Vinion
• AFP
• AP
• Reuters

The death toll in Central and Eastern European continues to climb after days of relentless rainfall unleashed catastrophic flooding, forcing mandatory evacuations and causing widespread devastation across the region.

Emergency crews have been filling hundreds of thousands of sandbags to help protect the city from the rising water levels.

In Romania, at least six people died and two more were missing as residents and authorities battled heavy rainfall and floodwaters over the weekend.

Around 20 municipalities in eight Romanian counties were severely affected by the flooding, with thousands of homes damaged and tens of thousands affected or evacuated. Floodwaters in some areas were 3 meters high.

Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced temporary shelters for people endangered by the floodwaters during a visit to one of the northernmost affected counties, Galati. The government will hold an extraordinary meeting to decide on aid measures for those affected by the floods in Galati and Vaslui.

Meanwhile, adding to the misery in Romania, the country was hit on September 16 by an earthquake measuring 5.2 on the USGS scale. The temblor was felt in the capital, Bucharest, although no injuries or damage have yet been reported.

Water management officials in neighboring Moldova on September 16 instituted a Code Red from 6 p.m. local time due to the risk of major flooding.

The Czech Republic and Poland have also seen rivers burst their banks over the weekend, with officials still warning of problems as they look to assess the damage.

The Polish government was due to meet on September 16 when it is expected to announce a state of disaster.

Towns along the Czech-Polish border have been particularly hard hit, with schools closed, tens of thousands of households left without electricity, and debris strewn about the streets.

"We need bottled water and dry provisions, because we have also set up a point for flood victims evacuated from flooded areas," Michal Piszko, mayor of the Polish town of Klodzko along the Czech border, told private broadcaster RMF FM.

Downstream from Klodzko, officials in the Polish city of Wroclaw, home to around 600,000 people, were still waiting for water levels to peak on the Oder River.

With reporting by Reuters and dpa

The Taliban has suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the UN said on September 16. Afghanistan is one of two countries in which the spread of the potentially fatal, paralyzing disease has never been stopped. The other is Pakistan. News of the suspension was relayed to UN agencies right before the September immunization campaign was due to start. No reason was given for the suspension, and no one from the Taliban-controlled government was immediately available for comment. A top official from the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was aware of discussions to move away from house-to-house vaccinations and instead have immunizations in places like mosques. The WHO has confirmed 18 polio cases in Afghanistan this year, up from six cases in 2023.

The leader of the unregistered Algha, Qazaqstan (Forward, Kazakhstan) political party, Marat Zhylanbaev, has launched a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment. Zhylanbaev's lawyer, Meiirzhan Dosqaraev, told RFE/RL on September 16 that his client had begun a 40-day hunger strike four days earlier. Zhylanbaev was sentenced to seven years in prison in November on a charge of taking part in the activities of the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement and its financing. International and domestic human rights organizations have urged Astana to release Zhylanbaev, who has held several hunger strikes during his detention. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

Belarusian journalist Andrey Myaleshka, who has been residing in Georgia since fleeing political persecution in 2021, was denied reentry into the South Caucasus country on September 16 while returning from vacation in Poland with his daughter. Myaleshka told RFE/RL that Georgian authorities did not specify the reasons for the barring of their entrance to Georgia. Myaleshka was told that he and his daughter will be deported to Poland. The two are currently in the deportation center of Kutaisi's airport. Georgia's Interior Ministry told RFE/RL's Georgian Service it will "look into the matter and respond if there is an update." To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.

Four people wearing masks attacked journalist Devid Gobechia and activist Lia Agrba in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia. Abkhazia's de facto Interior Ministry said on September 15 that police are investigating the incident. The statement came shortly after Gobechia said the attackers used pepper spray against him and Agrba, seriously injuring their eyes. He added that the attackers filmed him being beaten and took away a bag that Agrba was carrying. Gobechia said he had been followed for days before the attack. Earlier in September, Agrba filed a complaint with the de facto Prosecutor-General's Office, accusing a member of an advisory body to the region's leader of slander. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Echo of the Caucasus, click here.

Veteran Afghan warlord and former politician Abdul Rashid Dostum has urged groups that oppose the fundamentalist Taliban to unite to form a government-in-exile for Afghanistan to challenge that extremist group's unrecognized leadership.

Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek and longtime kingmaker who along with his private army has been accused of past rights abuses, was speaking to a virtual gathering of a Turkish-based Afghan resistance group on September 15.

Dostum said last year that his fighters were prepared to take on the Taliban once the international community concluded that it cannot deal with the hard-line extremist group.

The chameleonic Dostum formerly served under the UN-backed former Afghan government as a deputy defense minister.

He also held other party and military posts in Afghanistan before the U.S.-led international forces withdrew in mid-2021.

Dostum, whose historical power bases were in northern and western Afghanistan, ran unsuccessfully for the Afghan presidency in 2004.

He was also widely thought to be a major figure in factional fighting that plagued the country for decades and sometimes pitted ostensibly allied armed forces against each another.

In 2019, when he was first vice president, Dostum was said to have narrowly escaped when his convoy was attacked by Taliban forces in a northern province.

A day later, the Taliban, which was waging a fierce insurgency against the central government in Kabul, said Dostum remained on its hit list.

The Taliban raided homes and summarily executed many perceived enemies as the group swept into de facto power after capturing most of the country in 2020-21.

The subsequent Taliban-led government has waged a campaign of discrimination and abuse against women and been accused of persecuting minority groups in Afghanistan, among other alleged wrongdoing.

The Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek said on September 16 that it placed former Prime Minister Duishenbek Zilaliev in pretrial detention over the weekend until at least November 4 on corruption charges. Zilaliev and former Geology Agency chief Melis Satybekov were detained on September 13. The exact charges against the two former officials remain unknown. Sources close to the State Committee for National Security told RFE/RL earlier that the two are suspected of issuing illegal licenses to private businesses. Media reports said the probes against Zilaliev and Satybekov were linked to activities that allegedly took place in 2017. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan granted bail on September 16 to 10 deputies from imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party, an AFP journalist witnessed. At least 30 people from Khan's party, including the 10 MPs, were remanded in custody last week, two days after they led a major rally in the capital, Islamabad. The anti-terrorism court granted them bail of 30,000 rupees ($100). PTI has faced a sweeping crackdown since Khan was jailed in August last year on a series of charges he says are politically motivated and designed to keep him from power. The 10 MPs, some detained at their offices in the National Assembly, were charged under a new protest law and the anti-terrorism act.

The Islamic State (IS) extremist group claimed responsibility for a weekend bombing that killed two police officials in restive southwestern Pakistan, officials said on September 16. Analysts say the latest violence is a sign of increasing coordination between Islamic militants and separatists who for years have been targeting security forces and civilians in the oil- and gas-rich Balochistan Province bordering Iran and Afghanistan. IS said in a statement that it had detonated an explosive device a day earlier targeting a Pakistani police vehicle in Kuchlak town, near Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. Pakistani officials say the attack killed two officers and wounded two others on a highway. The Balochistan Liberation Army has previously claimed such attacks, but the Islamic State has carried out similar attacks in recent months.

KYIV -- Ukraine on September 16 invited the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit territory it has captured in its six-week-old military incursion into Russia's Kursk region to demonstrate its adherence to humanitarian law, in a move the Kremlin called a "provocation" even as it ordered that Russia's army beef up its ranks.

The Kremlin also expressed confidence through President Vladimir Putin's spokesman that the UN and the Red Cross would decline the Ukrainian invite.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry published the open invitation for the humanitarian missions to Kursk hours after Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said he had requested the invites during a weekend visit to the northeastern Sumy region, which borders Russia.

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"Ukraine is ready to facilitate their work and prove its adherence to international humanitarian law," Sybiha said.

In an apparent attempt to contrast Ukrainian actions with accusations of widespread abuses by Russian troops since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, Sybiha claimed that "[s]ince the first day of the Kursk operation, Ukraine’s Defense Forces demonstrated full adherence to international humanitarian law as a professional army with high standards and values of freedom and human life. They ensured humanitarian assistance and safe passage to civilians."

"We expect that such provocative statements will not be accepted by the addressees," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying. "This is a pure provocation."

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhiy countered that the Kremlin reaction "shows Russia’s disregard for its own people and their humanitarian needs, as well as fear of allowing international observers to see the real situation. Quite telling."

Since its incursion began in Kursk in early August, Kyiv claims to have gained control of more than 1,200 square kilometers of Russian territory. Kyiv has hinted that the operation was intended to better position it in the event of peace talks amid some calls for more intense efforts to end the war.

On September 16, Kursk regional Governor Aleksei Smirnov ordered residents in two districts -- Ryisky and Khomutovsky -- to evacuate settlements within 15 kilometers of the Ukrainian border.

Nearly 31 months into the full-scale invasion with Russian regular and mobilization forces reporting gains in eastern Ukraine and international debate mounting to better equip Ukrainian forces and lift restrictions on Kyiv's long-range attacks on Russian territory, Putin on September 16 reportedly ordered an increase in troop numbers in the Russian military by 180,000 individuals, to a total of 1.5 million soldiers.

Earlier on September 16, Ukraine's air force said it shot down 53 of 56 Russian drones it detected overnight that were targeting a handful of regions and said the "main direction" of a "massive" overnight bombardment was Kyiv that was the eighth attack on the capital this month.

Kyiv's regional military administration head, Ruslan Kravchenko, said one woman was hospitalized after being injured by fragments of a downed drone.

City military administration chief Serhiy Popko said Kyiv had been under attack for more than three hours overnight as air defenses shot down "almost two dozen enemy UAVs...around the capital."

Farther east, Ukrainian officials said the body of a woman was found under rubble late on September 15 at the scene of a Russian air strike on the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said before dawn on September 16 that rescue operations were ongoing at the scene in Kharkiv of the bombardment by at least four missiles or other explosives, which struck a multistory residential building.

He said the latest information suggested 35 people were injured, including three children.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov has said that 42 people were injured.

Zelenskiy said 128 Russian guided bombs had targeted Ukraine in the past 24 hours.

In Russia, officials said eight residents of the southern Belgorod region that borders Ukraine were injured by shelling and drone attacks by Ukrainian forces.

Belgorod regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov also said a gas pipeline was damaged during the shelling, which he said affected at least 10 settlements over the past 24 hours.

RFE/RL cannot independently corroborate claims of battlefield developments by either side in areas of the heaviest fighting.

Russia has bombarded Ukraine with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), rockets, and various kinds of missiles for much of the 36-month-old full-scale invasion.

Many of the most recent attacks have targeted power and other infrastructure, but bombs have frequently also struck hospitals, schools, and residential buildings, despite Moscow's assertion that it is not targeting civilians.

The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on September 15 that Russia is seeking "to achieve a decisive victory in Ukraine by 2026 before likely medium- to long-term economic and force generation constraints begin to significantly degrade Russia's ability to sustain its war effort in Ukraine."

It also said that, amid "growing challenges" in production and procurement of military equipment and munitions, "the Kremlin will likely become increasingly reliant on foreign partners to meet its materiel needs."

Zelenskiy recently urged the United States and other allies to "promptly implement" agreements on weapons and other supplies to help fight the invasion, underscoring Western debates on the extent and current restrictions on military aid to Kyiv.

Zelenskiy told CNN that he expects to present Joe Biden with a four-point plan to win the war when he meets with the U.S. president later this month.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on September 10 expressed hope for a second major peace summit to build on a similar gathering in Switzerland three months ago aimed at ending the war.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's allies are seemingly growing more receptive to loosening restrictions on the use of long-range weapons to allow Kyiv to hit targets deep inside Russia.

NATO, of which Ukraine is not a member, is also facing growing calls to do more to fend off Russian missiles and drone strikes, some of which have violated NATO members' airspace.

With reporting by Reuters and AP

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian is set to make an official visit to neighboring Georgia on September 16, media reports in Georgia stated, although no official announcement has yet been made. Pashinian is expected to hold a meeting with Georgian counterpart Irakli Kobakhidze, after which public statements will be made, the reports said. Kobakhidze visited Armenia in March, declaring that both countries recognize both nations' territorial integrity in the tense south Caucasus region. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, click here.

Team McLaren and its driver Oscar Piastri claimed victory at the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 15, an event marred since its launch eight years ago by ongoing complaints of rights problems in the Caucasus state, and this year by a spat with France.

The race through the Baku City Circuit on a mostly sunny day in the capital was tightly contested by Ferrari pole-sitter Charles Leclerc before the Australian Piastri outpaced the Monacan for the checkered flag.

Rights groups questioned Formula 1 organizers for allowing dynastic President Ilham Aliyev to host an annual grand prix when the event arrived there in 2016 despite what they called a dire rights situation that included arrests and harassment of dissidents that have continued in many cases in the intervening eight years.

This year, the competitors in Baku had to abandon a weather radar usually used to plan strategy due to the French system's provider's absence after French nationals were warned against traveling to Azerbaijan, which has been accused of waging a disinformation campaign and stoking violent unrest in the French-ruled Pacific island of New Caledonia.

Sixty-two-year-old Aliyev has tightened his grip on the oil- and gas-rich Caucasus nation since taking over from his ailing father in 2003.

Two decades into his rule, Azerbaijan ranks near the bottom of Transparency International's latest Corruption Perception Index.

The chief executive of Anglo-American mining company Rio Tinto has alleged via local media that his company and its controversial multibillion-dollar plans to create Europe's largest lithium mine in Serbia are the target of a "carefully designed and well-organized" disinformation campaign.

Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm used the text reportedly prepared for the online Serbian outlet Politika to push back against widespread public protests at the recently revived project, which has enflamed fears of further environmental damage in one of the Balkans' most polluted regions.

"The topics of the project's development confuses, disturbs, and divides people," he wrote, according to a Beta news agency report of the forthcoming letter, adding, "Our employees are exposed to threats and intimidation on the Internet."

The report did not include details regarding any alleged threats.

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic has long backed the 250-hectare Rio Tinto mine project in the western Jadar Valley, saying it will create jobs.

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Vucic and Rio Tinto representatives met and took public questions at a forum last week in Ljubovija designed to address some of the Serbian public's concerns.

Vucic ally and recently appointed Prime Minister Milos Vucevic then vowed his government would insist on written guarantees about the safety of the project before allowing it to go ahead.

Rio Tinto says the mine's potential capacity of 60,000 tons per year of lithium could supply nearly one-fifth of the continent's needs for a budding market for batteries for electric cars.

It has repeatedly said it will operate the mine safely and maintain high environmental standards.

Protests across Serbia erupted after the Constitutional Court nullified a previous government's nixing in 2022 of some initial permits, clearing the path for fulfillment of Vucic's pledge to ensure the Jadar mine complex's completion.

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Protests Flare Up In Serbian Towns Over Reversal On Huge Lithium Mine

Environmental and other local groups quickly accused Rio Tinto and the government of ignoring their concerns.

But German and EU officials visited Serbia after that decision to ink a document signaling support for "a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains, and electric vehicles."

"This is the first time in the company’s long history that it is facing such a situation," Stausholm reportedly said.

But Rio Tinto has faced a local backlash before, including against operations in western Australia that destroyed part of a sacred Aboriginal site.

Stausholm, who took the Rio Tinto helm in 2021 following the Australian scandal, said in the Politika contribution that all environmental impact assessments include a review period in which citizens are informed and can ask questions and comment.

Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said recently that "we have already lost two years" but added it could take another two years for Rio Tinto to secure the proper permits for construction of the mine.

Lithium is also used to power computers and smartphones.