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July 10, 2019
Moscow Sisters' Patricide Case Casts Light On Domestic Abuse In Russia

A murder case against three sisters who killed their abusive father in Moscow has sparked a nationwide debate over Russia's treatment of domestic violence.
July 06, 2019
Russia Buries Submariners Killed In Deadly Fire

Mourners gathered at the Serafimovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg on July 6 for the funerals of 14 Russian Navy officers killed in a submarine fire. A convoy of hearses was seen to enter the guarded cemetery.
July 04, 2019
France Hands Looted Bronze Age Artifacts Back to Pakistan

In 2006, French customs agents seized several illegal shipments containing antiquities stolen from the Pakistani province of Balochistan, some dating back as far as 5,000 years. On July 2, officials in Paris handed the treasures back to Pakistan.
June 21, 2019
Afghan Polio Cases Increase Amid Conspiracy Theories

Health officials in Afghanistan say polio cases are on the rise amid conspiracy theories about international vaccination programs.
June 16, 2019
Slovakia Inaugurates New President

Lawyer and environmental activist Zuzana Caputova has been inaugurated as Slovakia's first female president. The June 15 ceremony in the capital, Bratislava, came after Caputova's victory in the March 30 presidential runoff.
June 14, 2019
Intrusive Tourists Threaten Ancient Spring Ritual In Pakistan

In remote valleys in northern Pakistan, the Kalash minority celebrates spring's arrival with colorful dance and festivities, but locals say an influx of mostly male, camera-wielding visitors is threatening their unique traditions.
June 13, 2019
She's Gotta Drive It: Emirati Money Funds Female-Only Taxi Service In Chechnya

In Russia's conservative Muslim republic of Chechnya, women have launched their own taxi service to avoid the discomfort and cultural pitfalls of riding with male drivers. An Emirates-based fund hopes the service will promote Islamic "norms and traditions."
June 12, 2019
Serbia's Pups-For-Prisoners Program

Serbian prisoners and stray dogs have been teamed up in a novel rehabilitation program. The men train the dogs and help prepare them for new homes. Prison staff say working with the animals has helped boost empathy and decrease aggression among the inmates.
June 09, 2019
Heaps Of Trouble: Moscow Dumps Waste On Russia's Provinces

Moscow's garbage dumps are overflowing, but plans to transfer waste to Russia's provinces have infuriated local residents. Some Muscovites are taking the trash troubles into their own hands.
May 23, 2019
Medieval Warriors Storm Ukrainian Battlefield

More than 1,000 men and women from dozens of countries took part in a world championship in medieval-style combat in Ukraine, beating their armored opponents with blunt swords and battle-axes.
May 20, 2019
Doctor Blamed For HIV Outbreak In Pakistan

Hundreds of people in a Pakistani village have allegedly been infected with HIV by a doctor using contaminated syringes. Officials say over 400 people, many of them children, have tested positive. Experts are blaming unsanitary equipment and malpractice for a surge in infection rates in the country.
May 14, 2019
It's Like 'Living In A Cage,' Say Pakistan's Besieged Hazara

The Hazara minority in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta live in two enclaves surrounded by army checkpoints to protect them from attacks by sectarian militants. A local security source estimates 500 Hazara have been killed in Quetta in the last five years.
May 13, 2019
Russians Dig Deep For Their War Dead

Each spring, volunteers head to a hilly area named Sinyavino near St. Petersburg to unearth the remains of Soviet soldiers killed during fighting on the World War II front line. The volunteers have excavated thousands of bodies in recent years, amid renewed interested in Russia's wartime campaign.
May 06, 2019
High (Tech) Hopes For Tirana's Crumbling Pyramid

Plans have emerged to transform a 1980s pyramid built in the middle of the Albanian capital, Tirana, into an IT hub. It was built as a museum to dictator Enver Hoxha and has since served as a NATO base, TV studio, and nightclub. But it now stands abandoned and crumbling.
April 17, 2019
Veteran Says Afghan War Film 'Blackens' Soviet History

Russian veterans want to ban a film about Soviet troops in Afghanistan they say is unpatriotic. "Leaving Afghanistan," by the Russian director Pavel Lungin, depicts the chaotic withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1989, following a 10-year war.
April 15, 2019
Crude Cure? Taking The Plunge In A Petroleum Spa

For more than a century, people have been going to an oil producing town in Azerbaijan to soak in tubs of petroleum. Locals say it helps cure various ailments, but research shows the crude treatment might be more dangerous than it's worth.
April 10, 2019
Brexit Uncertainty Weighs On Bulgarian-Staffed British Farm

A farm in southern England is the largest employer for a small Bulgarian village, which sends roughly a third of its population to work there each summer. As negotiations over Brexit drag on, migrant workers and farm managers alike are wondering what impact it might have on their livelihoods.
April 09, 2019
Critics Say Azeri Petrodollars Mask Poverty And Oppression

Gleaming, tall buildings dominate the skyline in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku -- a city flush with oil money. As the country's leaders boast of economic success, opposition figures say poverty remains rampant, corruption is endemic, and political freedoms are repressed.
April 07, 2019
Sarajevo Honors British Metal Star For Siege Solidarity

Sarajevo's city council has granted honorary citizenship to Bruce Dickinson, the frontman of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Local leaders thanked Dickinson for coming in December 1994 to give a concert in the city as Bosnian Serb troops were holding it under siege.
April 05, 2019
Russian 'Whale Jail': Cousteau Says Freeing Them Will Take Time

French oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau has arrived in Russia to help free dozens of whales captured for a failed business venture.

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