Andy Heil

Coronavirus Comeback? China Braces For Possible Second Wave Of COVID-19

Mainland China has reported its first locally transmitted infection in days as it ordered the closing of its international borders to virtually all foreigners.

Has China Really Stamped Out Its Coronavirus Crisis?

A major breakthrough in China's three-month epidemiological battle against the coronavirus came on March 18 when no local infections were reported.

Depopulation Disaster: The Balkans And Its Creeping Demographic Crisis

No Joke! Serbian President Makes Light Of Coronavirus As One More Reason To Hit The Bottle

Even if the novel coronavirus hasn't reached Serbia, a global pandemic is no joke. But that hasn't dissuaded senior officials in Belgrade from floating the odd conspiracy theory or making light of COVID-19 as one more reason to have a shot.

Breaking Down Barriers: Being The 'First Serb' On Kosovo National Team Brings Trouble For Teen Soccer Star

Sixteen-year-old Ilija Ivic is a rangy, neatly coiffed defender and the first ethnic Serb to be called up to play on a national soccer team for Kosovo. But the immediate impact of that promotion has been fairly ugly.

Sign Of The Times: Name Quarrel In North Macedonia Hints At Fractious Vote To Come

A nationalist in North Macedonia's caretaker government has reignited a confrontation ahead of snap elections by using the country's old name. It signals trouble ahead.

Perfect Match: Tajik Moms Donate Livers To Save Each Other's Dying Daughters

Ruhshona Akhmedova and Zarnigor Sangova were cautiously introduced last month by doctors from a Tajik organ-transplant center. They hit it off immediately. They had to.

Ready Or Not, Albin Kurti Is Kosovo's Man Of The Moment

Kosovo's new prime minister spent years challenging powerful elites in Belgrade, Pristina, and the international community. Now it's his time to lead. 

An Azerbaijani Diplomat, A Russian Song, And A Georgian Fistfight

A pair of musicians are urging Azerbaijan to recall a diplomat after they say he attacked them in a restaurant in Georgia after confusing a Russian hit for a song from rival Armenia.

Russia Sees Some Of Itself In 'Ring Of Fire' Volcanic Eruptions

Recent eruptions in New Zealand and the Philippines have been bad. But Russia's Far East, also on the Pacific "ring of fire," has its own fair share of active volcanoes.

Montenegro's Not-So-Merry Legal Challenge To The Serbian Orthodox Church Riles Society

A century after a bitterly disputed episode in Serbian and Montenegrin religious history, Podgorica is trying to take the Serbian Orthodox Church back down a peg.

Supreme Court Power Play 'Raises Stakes' On Tense Georgian Landscape

The scale of the judicial picks, and lingering questions surrounding their qualifications, feed fears about a dangerous consolidation of power in the hands of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili and his Georgian Dream party.

Moscow, Serbian Media Appear To Mislead With Claims About Cancer Fight, NATO Bombings

Russia's ambassador to Belgrade used a medical-cooperation agreement to revive cancer fears stemming from NATO's bombing of the former Yugoslavia. There's nothing about it in the text.

Look What's Bubbling Up From Russia's Melting Permafrost

Dog-wolves, woolly rhinos, and other beasts: Siberia is the gift that keeps on giving.

It's No 'Mini-Schengen,' But Balkan Scheme Could Still Abolish Nagging Barriers

As the leaders of Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia press on with plans to ease cross-border traffic, getting their other Western Balkan neighbors on board could make all the difference.

Win, Lose, Or Drone, Kosovo Soccer Team Eager To Focus On The Field, Not Politics

A surprising run in its first three years of international play put Kosovo on the cusp of a UEFA European Cup invite. But politically charged incidents, including a would-be drone disruption two months ago, mean security concerns dog them and other Balkan teams.

Nonstop Nepotism: Uzbek President's Son-In-Law Named MMA Chief In Latest Sign Of Creeping Family Control

Otabek Umarov, who is married to the Uzbek president's younger daughter, gets control over the rapidly burgeoning combat sport's new federation. He already has a senior role in the president's security detail and heads another Uzbek sports federation.

Rite Turn: 'First Baptism' For Transgender Man In Montenegro's Serbian Orthodox Church

The 19-year-old victim of a hate attack on his own doorstep is thought to be the first transgender person baptized by the vocally anti-LGBT Serbian Orthodox Church after a hushed private ceremony earlier this week.

Ethical Red Flags Fly As Russian Biologist Pushes Boundaries Of Gene Editing

Moscow biologist and DNA specialist Denis Rebrikov has been kicking a scientific and ethical hornet's nest for nearly a year. Three prominent experts help parse the ethical dilemma over gene-editing work like his.

1989: Unpacking A Revolution

All over the Eastern Bloc, repressive governments thought they were molding youngsters into the communist citizenry of the future. They were wrong.