The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe said It “strongly recommends” that authorities in Georgia abandon efforts to introduce its planned “foreign agent” legislation that has been condemned in the West and led to massive street protests in the South Caucasus nation.
Hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz go abroad each year for work. At the same time, there are more and more South Asians working in Kyrgyzstan. Resentment at this influx of foreigners may be a factor behind the mob violence in Bishkek last week.
U.S. tourist Bryan Bingham speaks with RFE/RL about being detained by Georgian security forces at a demonstration in Tbilisi against the so-called foreign agent law. He says he was beaten by police wearing black masks. A pro-government media channel has reported that he came to Georgia to create unrest, a claim he denies. During the same protests, a Russian activist who escaped a "foreign agent" law in her own country is now trying to help Georgians in their battle against the controversial legislation.
Film director Mohammad Rasoulof, who made a dramatic on-foot escape from Iran, will attend the Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of his new movie, organizers told AFP on May 21.
Kyrgyz officials and experts fear that recent violence targeting South Asian students has damaged the country's image as a safe place for foreigners and will deprive Bishkek of a large source of revenue, with tens of thousands of foreign students annually adding some $180 million to the economy.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the authoritarian ruler of Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya, on May 21 said that the region's prime minister, Muslim Khuchiyev, had resigned to take to another unspecified job. Kadyrov named Highways Minister Isa Tumkhadzhiyev as acting prime minister.
The small Western Balkan nation of Moldova has signed a security and defense partnership with the European Union, the first country to ink such a pact, according to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
The families of the victims of the mass executions of political prisoners in the 1980s have expressed relief after the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who allegedly played a role in one of the darkest chapters of the Islamic republic.
As three days of funeral ceremonies began for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and others killed in a helicopter crash, a woman who lost 11 relatives in executions in 1988 told RFE/RL that she was celebrating his death. Raisi was accused of being on a "death committee," which ordered mass executions at the time. Later, his period in office was marked by a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests sparked by the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in custody.
EU and U.S. officials have expressed mounting concern at uncoordinated actions by Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti's government that threaten to further raise tensions with ethnic minority Serbs in the north of that Balkan country.
Paris has accused Baku of fomenting chaos in its Pacific territory of New Caledonia. Azerbaijan denies the claims but the country's flag has repeatedly been spotted amid protests that have escalated into deadly violence in recent days.
The former commander of Russia’s 58th army -- who had once complained about his forces' lack of support from Moscow -- has been arrested on fraud charges, state-run TASS news agency reported.
The Moscow City Court on May 21 rejected an appeal filed by imprisoned Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza against a lower court's refusal to consider his lawsuit against Russia's Investigative Committee for failing to fully investigate his suspected poisoning.
The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices is a Bulgarian female vocal choir that received global recognition and a Grammy award for best traditional folk album in 1990. Decades later, it continues to bring traditional Bulgarian folk songs to a global audience.
Donald Trump’s reelection campaign has called The Apprentice, a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, “pure fiction” and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
A court in St. Petersburg on May 21 sentenced Russian physicist Anatoly Maslov to 14 years in prison on a treason charge.
Pakistani students continue to leave Kyrgyzstan following last weekend's violent mob attacks targeting university students from the South Asian nation who were studying in Bishkek.
Belarusian activist Palina Sharenda-Panasyuk, who was expected to be released from prison on May 21 after serving 3 years and 5 months, remains in custody and may face an additional unspecified charge, her husband told RFE/RL.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has reiterated Beijing's readiness to "firmly support Kazakhstan's efforts to defend its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity."
Authorities in Pakistan on May 21 urged people to stay indoors as the country is hit by an extreme heat wave that threatens to bring dangerously high temperatures and yet another round of glacial-driven floods.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a televised interview on May 20 that his country's authorities had arrested nine people suspected of saboteur activities under the supervision of Russian secret services.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has accused the the International Criminal Court of trying to deny Israel the right to self defense after the court's chief prosecutor announced he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli leaders as well as senior figures in Hamas.
Several funeral ceremonies are taking place in Iran on May 21 to mark the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and others in a helicopter crash, as five days of mourning were announced by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
More than 1,200 foreign students, mainly Pakistanis, have fled Kyrgyzstan since a shocking mob attack targeted their university dorms on May 17-18. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov pledged that the government would take action, but also appeared to lend legitimacy to the anti-immigrant sentiment that fueled the attack. Meanwhile, university officials said they're working to ensure students can return to school safely and that Kyrgyzstan's reputation as an educational hub is not lost.