We know you're busy and probably don't have the time to read all of our coverage each and every day. That's why we've put together The Week's Best. Here are some of the highlights produced in English by RFE/RL's team of correspondents, multimedia editors, and visual journalists over the past seven days.
Kazakhstan In Dubai: Will Ex-Officials Face Greater Scrutiny Over U.A.E. Holdings?
Leaked data obtained by an anti-corruption center showed more than 1,500 Kazakh citizens owned Dubai-based properties between 2020-22 worth hundreds of millions of dollars. RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service identified relatives of more than 100 former officials among them. By Manas Qaiyrtaiuly
From Neighbors To Power Partners: Romania's Deepening Ties With Ukraine
Romania's parliament has approved a two-year program to train Ukrainian marines, the latest in a series of moves by Bucharest to help Kyiv defend itself from Moscow's full-scale invasion. Romania has quietly become one of Ukraine's most indispensable allies. By Tony Wesolowsky
It Could Take '50 Years' To Rebuild Devastated Ukrainian City Of Izyum
Some 80 percent of the high-rise residential buildings were damaged in Izyum in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region during the Russian occupation of the city between April and September 2022. Rebuilding has now finally begun, but could still take decades, the head of the city's military administration told RFE/RL. By Current Time and Borys Sachalko
Taliban's 'Photo Ban' Will Be Impossible To Enforce, Afghan Photojournalist Says
The Taliban has just banned images of anything “with a soul,” meaning people and animals. One veteran Afghan photojournalist remembers what that was like when the same prohibition was enforced through the Islamist group’s reign over Afghanistan in the 1990s. By Amos Chapple
ALSO READ: Afghanistan, The Only Country Where Images Of Living Things Are Banned
For Wartime Russia, Rewards, Risks, And Limits In The Volatile Middle East
Russia has drawn closer to Iran and has tapped into widespread grievances against Israel and the West in a bid to bolster its global clout and blunt criticism of its war on Ukraine. Moscow is reaping rewards from the crisis in the Middle East, but it faces growing risks as violence escalates. By Steve Gutterman
'Feces Everywhere': Balkan Lake Must Clean Up Or Lose UNESCO Status
Lake Ohrid is among the oldest lakes in Europe and has UNESCO protected status due to its rich store of unique species -- but that is now in danger. Pollution from untreated wastewater in the lake, on the border between Albania and North Macedonia, is killing off local fish and has led the UN body to demand a cleanup. By Vladimir Kalinsky, RFE/RL's Balkan Service and Ray Furlong
1989: Hungary's Peaceful Revolution
Archival photos plot nearly every historic moment of Hungary throwing off the shackles of Soviet control 35 years ago. By Amos Chapple
The UN Says Crimea Is Ukrainian. So Why Did Its Nuclear Agency Fund Russian Research There?
Records obtained by RFE/RL show that the UN’s watchdog for peaceful nuclear energy sponsored studies by Russian research institutes in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that Moscow seized in 2014, in what Kyiv calls a violation of its sovereignty. By By Carl Schreck, Mark Krutov, and Sergei Dobrynin
An Uzbek Village's Long Wait For Drinking Water
Residents of the village of Guliston in Uzbekistan's Andijon Province have never had direct access to drinking water. They either rely on deliveries of fresh water or rainwater or have to walk 3 kilometers to the nearest supply. A plan to build the village its own reservoir and water supply has been delayed after the chosen contractor and local officials were convicted of misappropriating funds. By RFE/RL's Ferghana Valley Bureau
The Moment A Russian Shell Landed Next To An RFE/RL Crew In Ukraine
A Russian shell came close to directly hitting an RFE/RL crew on the front line in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Correspondent Roman Pahulych and cameraman Pavlo Kholodov were filming with a Ukrainian drone team on October 10 when the shell struck. They and injured Ukrainian Army personnel were evacuated to a stabilization point for medical checks and treatment and were later discharged. By By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, Roman Pahulych, and Pavlo Kholodov
