The Russian government on May 13 approved a bill allowing it to label any foreign organization, including those established by a government, as an "undesirable organization."
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof on May 13 said he had left Iran in secret after being informed that he had been sentenced to flogging and eight years in prison on security-related charges.
Former Kazakh Economy Minister Quandyq Bishimbaev has been found guilty of murdering his wife and sentenced to 24 years in prison. A court in Astana delivered the verdict on May 13 in a high-profile trial that put domestic violence in the spotlight in Kazakhstan.
Flash floods have swept through the northern Afghan province of Baghlan, leaving hundreds dead and thousands of homes destroyed. Survivors say they are struggling to access food, medicine, and shelter.
The Georgian parliament's Legal Committee took just 67 seconds to advance a controversial "foreign agent" bill on May 13. Some lawmakers said they could not make it to the chamber in time due to the massive police operation outside. Earlier, security forces clashed with demonstrators, beating some of the protesters. Opposition groups say the proposed bill could endanger both civil liberties and the country's bid for European Union membership.
Emergency crews continue scrambling to rescue victims of massive flash floods in remote areas of northern Afghanistan, where hundreds have died. Torrents caused by heavy rainfall have struck communities in Baghlan Province, the worst-hit area, and thousands of homes have been destroyed in Badakhshan, Takhar, Ghor, Faryab, and other provinces.
A court in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, on May 13 fined journalist Zhamila Maricheva for an online article she wrote supporting RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, known locally as Radio Azattyq.
Wild gas fires that have burned for millennia still sputter in isolated forests and hillsides of eastern Romania.
A court in Astana on May 13 sentenced former Economy Minister Quandyq Bishimbaev to 24 years in prison for the "violent beating" to death of his wife, Saltanat Nukenova, in November 2023 in a local restaurant.
The lowdown on the EU's latest sanctions.
