https://www.rferl.org/z/651 RFE/RL journalists report the news in 23 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. We broadcast in 27 languages to 22 countries, including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Russia. https://www.rferl.org/Content/responsive/RFE/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.rferl.org/z/651 en Copyright 2026 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Tue, 19 May 2026 04:18:08 +0200 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL Iran's appointment of parliament speaker and chief US negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf as special envoy for China signals Tehran is playing its most valuable political card on two fronts at once. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-qalibaf-envoy-china-us-talks/33759380.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-qalibaf-envoy-china-us-talks/33759380.html Mon, 18 May 2026 14:13:28 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown StoriesChina In Chechnya, defying authority or tradition can carry consequences beyond life. Activists say domestic violence victims, LGBT people, and political dissenters are increasingly denied Islamic burial rites -- a final act of control and humiliation. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-chechnya-killings-burial-opprssion-violence/33756653.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-chechnya-killings-burial-opprssion-violence/33756653.html Sun, 17 May 2026 09:39:01 +0200 North CaucasusFeaturesArmeniaRussiaThe Rundown Stories A major military museum in the western German city of Koblenz is denying entry to nationals from 26 countries, causing tense scenes with some visitors who arrive with children. https://www.rferl.org/a/germany-military-museum-bans-ukrainians-russians-security-risk/33756719.html https://www.rferl.org/a/germany-military-museum-bans-ukrainians-russians-security-risk/33756719.html Sat, 16 May 2026 13:28:17 +0200 FeaturesAfghanistanArmeniaAzerbaijanBelarusGeorgiaIranKazakhstanKyrgyzstanMoldovaRussiaTajikistanTurkmenistan UkraineUzbekistanTatar-BashkirPakistanPicksThe Rundown Stories A leaked EU threat assessment seen by RFE/RL warns that terrorism and violent extremism “pose a significant threat to the EU,” citing heightened risks from Afghanistan and Iran as well as negative spillover effects from the war in Ukraine. https://www.rferl.org/a/leaked-eu-report-rising-terror-risk-iran-afghanistan-russia/33758305.html https://www.rferl.org/a/leaked-eu-report-rising-terror-risk-iran-afghanistan-russia/33758305.html Sat, 16 May 2026 13:21:43 +0200 FeaturesAfghanistanIranRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown HeadlineEurope Iran's publishing industry is staging a virtual book fair amid compounding wartime crises: physical damage to bookshops from US-Israeli strikes, an Internet blackout, and a paper shortage worsened by sanctions. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-book-fair-publishing-industry-war/33758285.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-book-fair-publishing-industry-war/33758285.html Sat, 16 May 2026 12:55:37 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Stories In an interview with RFE/RL, Sam Brownback argued that Russia, China, and Iran are increasingly operating as part of a “dark alliance” of authoritarian states -- one built on surveillance technology, censorship, ideological control, and the suppression of religious and civil society groups. https://www.rferl.org/a/sam-brownback-religious-freedom-russia-iran-china/33757881.html https://www.rferl.org/a/sam-brownback-religious-freedom-russia-iran-china/33757881.html Fri, 15 May 2026 20:42:15 +0200 IranFeaturesRussiaRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown StoriesChina Iranian traders are smuggling over 6 million liters of fuel to neighboring Pakistan each day, traders and transporters in the South Asian country told RFE/RL. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-pakistan-smuggling-fuel/33757626.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-pakistan-smuggling-fuel/33757626.html Fri, 15 May 2026 15:48:04 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Stories If organizers’ hopes are fulfilled, thousands of devout Belarusians -- Baptists, Adventists, other Protestants – could jam a Minsk stadium for a 2-day religious festival, where famed preacher Franklin Graham is expected to speak. It’s an exceedingly rare event for Belarus’ authoritarian regime. https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-religion-protestant-graham-festival-prayer/33757689.html https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-religion-protestant-graham-festival-prayer/33757689.html Fri, 15 May 2026 15:04:08 +0200 FeaturesBelarusThe Rundown Stories Iran has executed at least 29 prisoners since the start of the war, including two on the same day on May 13, including a cybersecurity specialist hanged on espionage charges and a protester convicted of killing a security officer. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-executions-war-fear-human-rights/33756791.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-executions-war-fear-human-rights/33756791.html Thu, 14 May 2026 13:47:13 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Stories At the center of the congressional push is the Ukraine Support Act, legislation that would authorize more than $1 billion in direct security assistance for Kyiv, provide $8 billion in loans, tighten sanctions on Russia, and limit presidential authority to unilaterally lift existing sanctions. https://www.rferl.org/a/us-military-aid-ukraine-congress-bipartisan/33756628.html https://www.rferl.org/a/us-military-aid-ukraine-congress-bipartisan/33756628.html Thu, 14 May 2026 10:49:55 +0200 News AnalysisFeaturesRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Despite warm rhetoric and ceremonial pageantry, analysts say strategic rivalry between the United States and China is set to endure. https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-xi-summit-trade-iran-taiwan-minerals-nvidia-china/33756553.html https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-xi-summit-trade-iran-taiwan-minerals-nvidia-china/33756553.html Thu, 14 May 2026 06:44:02 +0200 News AnalysisFeaturesIranThe Rundown HeadlineChina The resignation of the UN High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, has exposed deep divisions among key international actors over the future of international oversight in the country more than three decades since the end of the 1990s Bosnian war. https://www.rferl.org/a/bosnia-eufor-un-christian-schmidt-/33756125.html https://www.rferl.org/a/bosnia-eufor-un-christian-schmidt-/33756125.html Wed, 13 May 2026 17:37:01 +0200 Bosnia-HerzegovinaFeaturesThe Rundown Stories The conflict involving Iran is revealing new lessons about how artificial intelligence is being weaponized in modern warfare and statecraft. https://www.rferl.org/a/lego-hip-hop-deepfakes-iran-ai-propaganda/33756098.html https://www.rferl.org/a/lego-hip-hop-deepfakes-iran-ai-propaganda/33756098.html Wed, 13 May 2026 17:14:34 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East Power has become increasingly decentralized in Iran following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the selection of his son as the new supreme leader. So, who holds power in the Islamic republic now? https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-irgc-khamenei-qalibaf/33756085.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-irgc-khamenei-qalibaf/33756085.html Wed, 13 May 2026 16:37:57 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East Iranian women have been disproportionately affected by the Internet blackout that authorities have imposed since the war broke out. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-internet-blackout-women-brunt-labor-market/33755949.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-internet-blackout-women-brunt-labor-market/33755949.html Wed, 13 May 2026 13:25:12 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown Stories A corruption scandal closes in on Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s former chief of staff Andriy Yermak. How badly could it hurt Ukraine’s wartime president? https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-yermak-corruption-gray-cardinal-graft/33755369.html https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-yermak-corruption-gray-cardinal-graft/33755369.html Tue, 12 May 2026 20:29:24 +0200 News AnalysisFeaturesUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories In an interview with RFE/RL, Ken Moriyasu, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, says Beijing may tactically help ease tensions between Washington and Tehran, but will resist any effort that could threaten the survival of Iran’s regime. https://www.rferl.org/a/china-regime-survival-iran-moriyasu-trump-xi-summit/33755145.html https://www.rferl.org/a/china-regime-survival-iran-moriyasu-trump-xi-summit/33755145.html Tue, 12 May 2026 12:49:55 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown StoriesChina The two leaders are expected to negotiate over rare earth exports and economic tensions while navigating growing friction over Tehran and security in Asia. https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-xi-summit-iran-war-trade-rare-earths-minerals-taiwan/33755104.html https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-xi-summit-iran-war-trade-rare-earths-minerals-taiwan/33755104.html Tue, 12 May 2026 11:30:28 +0200 ChinaFeaturesIranRussiaThe Rundown Stories Migrant workers from India, Bangladesh, and elsewhere are taking up manual labor jobs inside the warring countries as Moscow and Kyiv struggle to offset shortages in their labor forces. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-migrant-workers-india-demographic-crisis/33754530.html https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-migrant-workers-india-demographic-crisis/33754530.html Mon, 11 May 2026 18:44:06 +0200 FeaturesRussiaUkraineRussia Invades UkraineThe Rundown Stories Iranian outlets with ties to the IRGC have floated the idea that Tehran assert control over undersea fiber-optic cables running under the Strait of Hormuz. Experts say the proposal has little legal merit but warn that Iranian sabotage remains a threat. https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-undersea-cable-hormuz-toll-internet/33754408.html https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-undersea-cable-hormuz-toll-internet/33754408.html Mon, 11 May 2026 14:49:50 +0200 IranFeaturesThe Rundown StoriesMiddle East