RFE/RL journalists in Romania found Chinese-made surveillance equipment installed at some 28 military sites in the country -- including the NATO base that is home to the Aegis Ashore missile-defense system. The cameras are also used by hundreds of other public institutions.
Throughout Iran, protesters called for change and chanted "Freedom" on March 12 during traditional bonfires for Chaharshanbe Suri. The annual fire festival, held ahead of Persian New Year, or Norouz, has become an outlet for protest.
Petro Konoplya, a celebrated Ukrainian stage and film actor, once just played soldiers onscreen. Now, after treating wounded fighters as a medic in scores of tense frontline situations, he confesses, "Today, I'd play it differently."
Demonstrators in Vilnius protested the treatment of political prisoners in Belarus, decrying at a March 8 rally the policy of holding them incommunicado for extended periods. Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya says brutal prison conditions are "not a political issue."
A missing monument to martial arts star Bruce Lee has residents of Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, wondering: Who could have swiped the shiny tribute to this fighter for justice? The statue went up in a city park in 2005 in the spirit of uniting citizens on all sides of Balkan politics.
Archaeologists in Belgrade have unearthed new segments of an aqueduct -- part of a 2,000-year-old water supply system built by the Romans. The find in the city, known in ancient times as Singidunum, was made while digging out land for an underground parking garage.
Anton Smetskiy was a professional dancer in Kyiv before fighting against Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A mine took his right foot in combat, but he's determined to once again perform onstage.
Russian shelling has reduced the eastern Ukrainian city of Lyman to ruins, but a handful of residents are holding out, living in underground shelters. Some continue maintaining the local church as Ukrainian soldiers remain watchful. Lyman's location on key roads makes it an important prize.
Ben Rhodes, who was a top adviser and speechwriter for U.S. President Barack Obama, argues that Russian President Vladimir Putin faces numerous, still-unknown threats despite his efforts to silence the opposition.
The last chance at free electricity in northern Kosovo is ending. For years now, in the wake of Kosovo's 1990s war for independence from Serbia, some electricity customers were getting no power bills. So in moved cryptocurrency mining operations. But power bills are finally in the mail.
RFE/RL reporters were pursued by a drone and questioned by police after getting close to a $700 million superyacht believed to be owned by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 140-meter Scheherazade was seized by Italy in May 2022 as part of EU sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Persecuted and prosecuted in their home country, some members of Russia's LGBT community have been driven abroad -- and hundreds have moved to Argentina, where their civil rights are legally recognized. But some worry that Argentina's new president, Javier Milei, may roll back legal protections.
Karolina Shiino, a naturalized citizen of Japan who was born in Ukraine, has ignited arguments since winning the Miss Japan 2024 title on January 22. Shiino has lived in Nagoya since age 5 and speaks fluent Japanese. She set out to challenge widely accepted views of who is considered Japanese.
In February 2022, Ukrainian Army medic Yuriy Armash was trying to reach his unit as the Russian invasion was advancing fast. He was caught in Kherson, tortured, and held for months. While in captivity, he used his medical training to treat other Ukrainian prisoners. Some say he saved their lives.
Russian opposition candidate Boris Nadezhdin, running for President Vladimir Putin's job in the March elections, says the war on Ukraine has been a disaster. Nadezhdin has collected the legally required 100,000 signatures for his nomination as a candidate, he says.
Dozens of Russian missiles rained down on civilian areas of Kharkiv and Kyiv early on January 23, killing at least seven and injuring more than 50 people while destroying buildings. Ukrainian air-defense officials said many of the missiles fired were shot down.
It took years for Jelena Riznic to get Serbian police to take action against a former classmate who began stalking her in 2019. He eventually threatened violence and a large cache of weapons was discovered at his home when he was arrested. Authorities have provided Riznic no further information.
Russian air strikes hit apartments in the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv late on January 16 and Odesa hours later. In Kharkiv, at least 17 were wounded in a missile attack. More than a dozen buildings were reportedly damaged by two S-300 missiles fired from the Russian region of Belgorod.
Hundreds of trucks, many loaded with perishable goods, were blocked at a key Pakistan border crossing with Afghanistan on January 16. Citing security concerns, Islamabad has been demanding that Afghan truckers have visas before passing the Pakistan checkpoints.
Residents of northern Kosovo, an ethnic Serb-majority area, will finally be forced to pay electricity bills under an agreement years in the making. The plan will end 25 years of free power -- and is likely to put the bite on energy-intensive cryptocurrency "mining" in the region bordering Serbia.
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