Cricket, soccer, and mountain biking are all popular in Afghanistan, but another sport is getting a grip on local athletes. In Kabul, a growing number of men, and a few women, are playing a new European import: rugby.
White-clad followers of a Bulgarian theologian welcomed their "spiritual new year" with an annual dance performed in concentric circles high in the mountains. Believers say the ritual helps them connect to nature and one another.
Yakutia in northeastern Siberia is home to huge diamond deposits where the precious stones are mined in massive pits which have been dug deep into the permafrost. The Mir mine in Mirny is 525 meters deep and one of the biggest man-made holes in the world.
Iran is set to allow women to attend men's soccer matches, lifting a decades-long ban following pressure from FIFA. But women will still not be given completely free access to stadiums, with Iranian officials saying there would be separate entrances and seating areas.
At a farm near St. Petersburg, 18 residents with intellectual disabilities share their daily work, meals, and leisure time. It's part of a program that provides educational and employment support to people with special needs, and it offers a different model of care from Russian institutions.
At a festival in rural Serbia, retired construction worker Zoran Lazarevic has been crowned the mustache king with white whiskers measuring 140 centimeters.
Pakistan is fighting a rising tide of plastic waste, including an estimated 55 billion plastic bags each year. The capital, Islamabad, is implementing a ban on single-use bags. But other Pakistani districts have had little success in enforcing similar measures.
Beekeepers in Russia's central Tula region are reporting mass deaths in their bee colonies. They're blaming the overuse of an insecticide no longer used within the European Union. Tula is just one of 30 Russian regions that have seen mass bee deaths this summer.
Explosions at an arms depot sent balls of fire into the sky near the Siberian city of Achinsk on August 5, forcing thousands to evacuate. One person was reported missing and at least six wounded. The blasts had died down by the following day, but officials warned that it was not safe to return.
Moscow's Romen Theater opened in 1931 as a showcase for Romany performers and a symbol of the Soviet Union's "friendship of the peoples." While Russia's 200,000 Roma continue to face poverty and isolation, the emphasis here remains on song and dance.
A roadside bomb explosion hit a bus in the western Afghan province of Farah on July 31, killing at least 35 civilians and wounding dozens of others, officials say.
Ukrainian authorities have seized a Russian tanker that Moscow allegedly used to block Ukrainian vessels in the Kerch Strait last November. Russia has been holding 24 Ukrainian sailors since the November 25, 2018, incident.
As Iran's economy continues to suffer the impact of U.S. sanctions, many ordinary workers are struggling to get by. A growing number of Iranians have gone abroad in search of work, heading to neighboring Iraq's Kurdish region for temporary jobs that provide some relief from poverty.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, joined other voters in Kyiv to cast ballots in Ukraine's snap parliamentary election. The July 21 vote came after Zelenskiy dissolved parliament early in a bid to get legislative mandate in order to push through reforms.
State television channels in Iran have aired what appears to be footage of the British-flagged tanker Stena Impero anchoring off the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. The shots were shown on July 20, a day after Iranian forces seized the tanker.
Foodies with fat wallets may want to head to Serbia for a rare variety of cheese. It's purportedly the most expensive in the world and comes with a bit of a kick.
French President Emmanuel Macron hosted German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European Union leaders for an annual military review on July 14. The parade down the central Champs Elysees boulevard marked the anniversary of the French Revolution, which started on July 14, 1789.
A rocket-propelled grenade has been fired at the building that houses the Kyiv office of Ukrainian television Channel 112.
In Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, flaunting big furry felines has become a major status symbol, but wildlife activists want a change in the law on keeping exotic animals like white lions as pets.
In Russia, a few male bloggers have earned online followers and a source of income in conventionally female territory: offering makeup and beauty advice. Two such beauty pros say they've angered some viewers by challenging gender roles, but they also see Russian audiences opening up to new ideas.
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