Hungary, led by right-wing nationalist and Russia-friendly Prime Minister Viktor Orban, takes over the EU's rotating presidency on July 1, raising concerns in much of the West amid signs of the rising strength of the far right throughout the continent.

"It's unbelievable. It's like the defendant in a trial has suddenly taken over the prosecution," Hungarian journalist and Orban biographer Paul Lendvai told the AFP news agency, referring to Orban's long-standing opposition to EU policies.

Orban, who has governed Hungary with a parliamentary supermajority since 2010, has angered many EU leaders with perceived attacks on democracy and the bloc's founding principles and inclusivity, his opposition to sanctions on Russia and military aid for Ukraine, and his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Orban Adopts 'MEGA' Trump-Like Motto For Hungary's EU Presidency

The Hungarian prime minister has talked openly about his plans to turn the country from a democracy into an "illiberal state," and the government has taken control of much of Hungary's print and broadcast media.

Despite Orban’s stated policies, one observer said the Hungarian leader is not likely to have a major impact over EU decision-making during the six-month presidency.

Dorka Takacsy, a research fellow at the Center for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy, told the Associated Press that the timing of the presidency will give Orban little opportunity to disrupt EU policies aside from the occasional controversial outburst. The term begins ahead of the long summer break and during the formation a new European Parliament and Commission.

"These six months are altogether not that long, which means that...Hungary cannot do potentially much harm, even according to the critics," she told AP.

Alongside allies from Austria and the Czech Republic, Orban on June 30 announced the imminent launch of a political alliance that he vowed would "quickly" dominate the European political right.

Speaking at a press conference in Vienna flanked by "Patriots For Europe" signs, the national populist and strident Brussels critic added that "This will happen within days, and after that the sky is the limit."

SEE ALSO:

Wider Europe Briefing: Unpacking The European Parliament Election Results

Elections in early June for the European Parliament showed big gains for Europe’s far right, although Orban’s own Fidesz party suffered a setback amid a challenge from party defector Peter Magyar's new movement at home.

Even with the far-right gains across Europe, the main takeaway from the European Parliament elections was that the three biggest political groups in the chamber are unchanged.

After EU citizens went to vote across the 27 EU member states, the center-right European People's Party (EPP) came in first -- as it has done in every European parliamentary election since 1999 -- with a projected 185 lawmakers in the 720-seat chamber.

With reporting by AP and AFP

Georgians are preparing to stay up late into the night as the national soccer team seeks another stunning upset at the Euro 2024 championships against Spain in Cologne, Germany, on June 30. City authorities have installed large-screen TVs and extended bus and subway services for those wishing to view the match, which begins at 11 p.m. Georgian time. Georgia defeated a highly fancied Portugal side 2-0 on June 26 to advance to the Group of 16. Portugal, which had already wrapped up a place in the Group of 16, played mostly reserve team playrers in the match. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Georgian Service, click here.

At least seven people were killed and 20 injured when a heavily loaded bus overturned in Karachi, Pakistan, on June 30. Martipur district police chief Zahid Khalid Mashal told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal that the cause was a high-speed collision with a tractor-trailer. The dead include women and children, police said. The head of the Seoul Hospital in Karachi said 14 more people were hospitalized following the incident.

A council of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has elected Metropolitan Daniil of Vidin as the church's new patriarch.

The election by 69 of 138 delegates puts a man seen as a pro-Russian who is close to Moscow at the head of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction, with some 6 million members in Bulgaria and 1-2 million more adherents outside the country.

The 52-year-old Daniil takes over after the death in March of Patriarch Neophyte.

Daniil has called Ukraine an aggressor alongside Russia in the current full-scale invasion by Russian troops of Ukraine.

He has also suggested that Ukraine is a creation of Vladimir Lenin's.

Daniil also criticized the closure of the Russian Church in Sofia last year and expressed outrage after the decision to expel its head, Archimandrite Vasian, and two other clerics on suspicion of espionage.

Daniil's main challenger in the election had been Metropolitan Hryhoriy of Vratsa, who was seen as more neutral on the war question.

Organizers have announced the awarding of the Austrian Ingeborg Bachmann Prize for literature to Sarajevo-born writer Tijan Sila for his "touching text about the trauma of a Bosnian family," according to the prize's official website. The award carries prize money of 25,000 euros ($26,800) donated by the city of Klagenfurt. The winning story is titled The Day My Mother Went Crazy. Sila, who has lived in Germany since 1994, fled with his family from the Bosnian capital during the infamous siege of Sarajevo by Serb forces during the Bosnian War.

Russian media, including a VKontakte social media account purporting to belong to Kanye West, said on June 30 that the always-controversial American rapper is in the Russian capital.

There was no official word from West of the visit.

Images shared on social media show the 47-year-old music and fashion superstar, born Kanye Omari West but now known as Ye, at the Four Seasons in Moscow and a handful of other places.

The VKontakte page and other media suggested the purpose of the visit was to celebrate the 40th birthday of street-fashion designer and reported acquaintance Gosha Rubchinsky.

It said it was a private visit and no concerts were planned.

"Kanye West is already in Moscow! This is great news, he is staying in the heart of the capital," Russian state news agency TASS quoted local music producer Yana Rudkovskaya as saying, in an allusion to rumors that spread weeks ago suggesting West would perform in Russia.

A mercurial pillar of the global hip-hop scene since his debut studio album in 2004, West has repeatedly surprised with political statements and appearances that have gotten him into trouble.

His statements, including praise of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and a seeming denial of the Holocaust, have contributed to the demise of collaborations with Adidas and others.

West has expressed praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past.

At least eight people have been confirmed killed in flooding and mudslides caused by heavy rainfall in a southern region of Kyrgyzstan.

Dramatic footage of rescue operations from the Nookat district of the southern Osh region showed Kyrgyz troops helping to evacuate residents, including small children, across makeshift barriers and bridges over racing floodwaters.

A state of emergency has been declared in the area.

The Kyrgyz Emergency Situations Ministry said six of the eight deaths were children or teens from a single family.

The Emergency Situations Ministry in neighboring Kazakhstan said two Kazakh minors were among the dead in Nookat, and two more Kazakh nationals were still missing.

The floods erupted late on June 29 following heavy rainfall.

Authorities said around 1,300 people who were stranded by the flooding in a tourist area in the region, known as Abshyr-Sai, have been evacuated to a safe location.

Sudden springtime rains and flooding have hit much of Central Asia and Russian regions hard this year, displacing thousands of residents.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on June 30 announced alongside allies from Austria and the Czech Republic the imminent launch of a new political alliance that he vowed would "quickly" dominate the European political right.

Speaking at a press conference in Vienna flanked by "Patriots For Europe" signs, the national populist and strident Brussels critic added that "This will happen within days, and after that the sky is the limit."

Orban's right-wing Fidesz party has dominated Hungarian politics with a supermajority since 2010, but it has appeared isolated since quitting the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) group in the European Parliament under a threat of expulsion in 2021.

Despite an apparent setback for Orban's own Fidesz party in early June's European elections amid a challenge from party defector Peter Magyar's new movement at home, many right-wing parties in the European Union rode a surge of popularity to boost their gains in the European Parliament.

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Reporter's Notebook: On The Campaign Trail With Peter Magyar, The New Star Of Hungary's Opposition

Orban was flanked at the announcement in Vienna by Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) President Herbert Kickl and the billionaire former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who heads the ANO party.

"Today we are creating a political formation that I believe will multiply and very quickly become the largest faction of the European right," Orban said in a video of the event shared on Facebook and other social media.

But the Patriots For Europe project must first win further support, since those three allies so far fall short of the 23 representatives from at least seven member states required to form an official grouping in the European Parliament.

Budapest's influence will be amplified this week and for the remainder of 2024 as Hungary holds the six-month rotating EU Presidency.

It has announced that its goals include giving more space to more critical perspectives of the EU's mission and work.

Orban has hammered Brussels as his government imposed controversial laws on LGBT speech and clashed with the bloc over perceived backsliding on democratic and media freedoms.

He has also cozied up to Moscow diplomatically and economically while resisting EU and other sanctions imposed on Russia to punish its unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and refusing to join NATO and other Western efforts to help arm Kyiv.

"I think everybody is more or less aware that we are a very characteristically right-wing government," longtime Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told a recent gathering. "We don't really like leaving doubts in this regard or any other."

Szijjarto added, "We serve as the evidence that, no, liberal mainstream is not the only way to go forward."

There is a "conservative, patriotic, right-wing, Christian Democratic way as well," that Fidesz represents, he said.

Hungary has been embroiled in rule-of-law and LGBT- and migrant-rights disputes with Brussels that have left tens of billions of euros in EU funds withheld despite an awkward compromise in January that released billions more in funds despite misgivings about judicial independence there.

Two days of UN-organized talks on international relations with Taliban-led Afghanistan were getting under way in the Qatari capital, Doha, on June 30, with the Taliban present for the first time -- but rights groups expressed anger over the hard-line fundamentalist regime’s exclusion of women and its refusal to discuss women's rights at the forum.

"The Taliban had a major role in creating the agenda of this meeting and who should be in this meeting,” Shahrazad Akbar, the former head of the Independent Human Rights Commission and currently executive director of the Rawadari rights organization, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, speaking from Britain.

“This in itself is a big problem and is giving power and legitimacy to the Taliban," she said.

This is the third such UN-sponsored meeting on Afghanistan in Doha, but the first in which the Taliban has been involved. Along with UN officials, delegations from some two dozen nations, including the United States, are expected to attend.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said organizers refused to accept the Taliban’s conditions for attendance at the previous gathering in February, including demands that Afghan civil society members be excluded and that the group be considered as Afghanistan’s legitimate rulers.

Afghan women’s rights groups and supporters have held protests inside Afghanistan and in Europe over the Taliban’s participation and its exclusion of women at the gathering.

SEE ALSO:

'A Big Betrayal': Afghan Women Sound The Alarm Ahead Of Key International Event That Will Include Taliban

Zahid Mustafa, who has organized a protest in Amsterdam, told Radio Azadi that "our goal by these protests is that the United Nations has invited the Taliban to this meeting on behalf of Afghans. But we are protesting this and calling for a boycott of the Doha meeting."

Shukriya Barakzai, a women's rights activist and Afghanistan's former ambassador to Norway -- who was invited to the previous meeting -- expressed frustration with the UN organizers of the summit.

"The United Nations’ looking down upon Afghan women and representatives of civil society shows that, despite the fact that this meeting was organized by the United Nations, they are acting against their own procedures and values," she told Radio Azadi from London.

She did not say if she was invited to the current gathering in Doha.

Roza Otunbaeva, the head of the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), has defended the failure to include Afghan women at the meeting, saying that women’s rights are certain to be raised with the Taliban. She said the group's inclusion in the talks does not represent a legitimization of its government.

The Taliban government, which took over after the U.S.-led international coalition left the country in mid-2020, is not recognized internationally, although Beijing has accepted credentials from a Taliban ambassador.

SEE ALSO:

Afghan Women Accuse Taliban Of Torture And Extortion Amid Dress Code Crackdown

The United Nations has accused the Taliban of waging "gender apartheid" on women and girls since returning to power nearly three years ago, closing girls' schools and forcing women out of the workplace and out of public spaces.

Women's rights groups and civil society activists are expected to meet with international diplomats and UN officials on July 2, after the close of the official two-day talks.

With reporting by AP

China's Foreign Ministry announced on June 30 that President Xi Jinping will attend the 24th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana and pay state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan from July 2 to July 6.

The announcement, on the ministry's official website, quotes spokesperson Hua Chunying as saying the Kazakh and Tajik visits will come at the invitation of those Central Asian states' respective leaderships.

"From July 2 to 6, President Xi Jinping will attend the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana and, at the invitation of President [Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev] of the Republic of Kazakhstan and President Emomali Rahmon of the Republic of Tajikistan, pay state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan," the ministry said.

The SCO, a political and security grouping, was launched by China and Russia in 2001.

Its July 3-4 summit comes with SCO members -- which include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan but not Turkmenistan among the post-Soviet Central Asian republics -- expected to focus in part on economy and energy issues but also grappling with fallout from Russia's war on Ukraine and other geopolitical issues.

Beijing has continued and intensified cooperation with Moscow since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, days after Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed a new "no limits" partnership in part to counter Western power and influence.

Russia was Astana's largest trading partner when the war broke out, and the attack on Ukraine and the international backlash have posed additional challenges for Kazakh diplomacy, society, and the economy as Astana has sought to maintain neutrality.

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Is China Exporting Its Political Model To The World? A New Report Says Yes.

A recent report by the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank, alleged that China was experimenting with spreading its authoritarian model to other countries.

The gunning down of a Kazakh opposition activist and journalist in Ukraine earlier this month raised fresh questions about possible authoritarian trends and dissent in Kazakhstan.

Natalya Sadyqova, the wife of Aidos Sadyqov, who remains hospitalized in Kyiv, has called his June 18 shooting an attempt to silence him over reporting she and Sadyqov have done on Russian influence in Kazakhstan.

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In January 2022, Kazakh President Toqaev allowed Russian troops to help quell deadly unrest that he suggested was part of an internal power struggle against people connected to Kazakhstan's former leadership, in a move that raised concerns of tighter security and military reliance on outside powers including Moscow.

China and Tajikistan pledged in May to boost bilateral cooperation as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with President Rahmon in Dushanbe, following up on Rahmon's to China visit a year earlier.

China has pledged billions of dollars to megaprojects in some of Central Asia's poorest areas, including a major China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) highway that is among Beijing's most ambitious there.

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Chinese Megaprojects Back In Fashion In Central Asia's Poorest States

A Chinese company is also said to have committed itself to a major solar power plant in Tajikistan, near that country's border with Afghanistan.

China has already invested major sums in power and other infrastructure projects in Tajikistan just as Dushanbe's debt payments are on the rise to China's Exim Bank.

The SCO's membership also includes India, Iran, and Pakistan.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service has raised the number of injured to more than 30 after an alleged Russian rocket attack that killed seven people in the city of Vilnyansk, in the southern Zaporizhzhya region, on June 29.

It reported that building and car fires had been put out at the scene, where Governor Ivan Fedorov said two children were believed to be among the dead and eight more children among the dozens of injured.

Initial reports had put the number of injured at around 10.

The attack in Vilnyansk came with Russian forces putting heavy pressure on Ukrainian defenders along the 1,000-kilometer front line and with increased air strikes in the 28-month-old full-scale invasion.

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Late on June 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy cited a huge Russian strike that gutted four floors of an apartment building in the central city of Dnipro on June 28 as further evidence that his country needs more air-defense systems from its allies.

"There are ways to overcome the daily Russian terror from which Ukrainian cities and communities suffer," Zelenskiy said. "For this, it is necessary to destroy Russian terrorists and launchers where they are, as well as increase the number of modern air-defense systems in Ukraine."

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

The previous night, Kyiv had reported thwarting 10 aerial drone attacks, and said Russian forces had dropped anti-tank missiles on the city of Derhachi, in the central Kharkiv region.

Russia has stepped up air strikes this year in a bid to drain Ukraine’s resources, often targeting energy facilities and other vital infrastructure, and deal psychological blows to the population.

Ukrainian officials have said that half of the nation's power system has been damaged by Russian strikes.

Russia said that Ukraine launched attacks on Sevastopol in Crimea as well as Kursk on June 29.

The Ukrainian General Staff said late on June 29 that the "hottest" combat situation continued to be in the area of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donetsk region.

Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry meanwhile said four of its employees had been injured in what it said was Ukrainian shelling in Donetsk.

Russia said on June 29 that it had captured Shumy, a settlement located about 7 kilometers southeast of the mining town of Toretsk in the Donetsk region.

RFE/RL cannot confirm claims by either side in areas of the heaviest fighting.

President Aleksandar Vucic said on June 30 that Serbia's heightened security alert will likely stay in place for at least two more days after a "well-trained" attacker was killed after shooting a police officer with a crossbow in a presumed terrorist incident in front of the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade.

Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic called it a "heinous terrorist attack."

Police in Serbia have detained two further individuals and are continuing related operations all over the country following the midday incident 0n June 29, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic told Serbian state broadcaster RTS on June 30.

Dacic had previously said the entire country had been put on red alert with an increased police presence.

He identified the slain suspect as a religious convert to Islam named Milos Zujovic and said the man had moved to Novi Pazar, a southern city near the border with Kosovo with a long tradition in both Orthodox and Muslim history.

Dacic said the dead attacker was a member of the radical Wahhabi movement.

Dacic said another individual who was nearby at the time of the incident had been arrested on suspicion of being connected with the attack.

He identified the second person of interest as a man arrested two years ago for "being the administrator of several militant groups on the Internet that called for jihad," including against police.

Vucic later said "the attacker was extremely well-trained" and had fired the crossbow while it was still inside a sack "so the attack would be completely unexpected." He also said authorities were searching for at least a third individual who is known to be in Serbia.

"I think we will resolve everything by Tuesday [July 2] and everything will be fine by then," Vucic said in a June 30 appearance on TV Prva.

Police were carrying out searches at multiple locations in Novi Pazar in first hours after the attack.

The injured police officer, who reportedly fired multiple shots at the attacker after he was hit in the neck by an arrow from a crossbow, was not said to be in life-threatening condition.

Dacic said the suspect had approached the officer multiple times asking about a museum before returning and opening the door of a building in front of the embassy grounds. He then "shot the gendarme in the neck" with the crossbow. The attacker was pronounced dead about half an hour later, Dacic said.

President Vucic visited the recovering officer, Milos Jevremovic, and said he was in "very good condition."

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called it an "attempted terror act on the Embassy of Israel" and thanked the Serbian government and those involved for their "prompt response" and cooperation. "Terrorism cannot be tolerated!" Katz added via social network X.

Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic said it was a "heinous terrorist attack" and "an act of insanity, which cannot be attributed to any religion or any nation." Writing on X, Vucevic said "the State of Serbia will be able to resolutely respond to the threat of terrorism."

"Anyone who thought that they could destabilize us with such inactions was mistaken," he said.

"Our country was and will remain peaceful, stable and prosperous, and interfaith harmony will continue to adorn our society," Vucevic added.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces captured a village in the Donetsk region near the town of Toretsk as Ukraine reportedly struck the occupied peninsula of Crimea and inside Russia.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

Russia announced on June 29 the capture of Shumy, a settlement located about 7 kilometers southeast of the mining town of Toretsk. The open-source intelligence group DeepState UA had already confirmed Russia’s capture of Shumy on June 21.

Moscow intensified its attack in the direction of Toretsk on the night of June 18 after having been inactive on this section of the front for most of the year, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, said in its June 27 update on the war.

Toretsk is part of a Ukrainian salient that gives Ukrainian forces the possibility of striking in the rear of Russian forces attacking in the direction of Chasiv Yar and northeast of Avdiyivka, ISW said in the report.

“Russian offensive operations near Toretsk likely aim to reduce the threat posed by this Ukrainian salient while Russian forces continue to pursue gains in the Avdiyivka and Chasiv Yar directions,” the ISW said.

Russia has yet to commit significant forces in the direction of Toretsk, limiting its chances of making major gains in the area. Moscow may also be seeking simply to tie up Ukrainian forces in the Toretsk direction, preventing it from reinforcing other parts of the Donetsk front, the ISW said.

Deadly Air Strikes

Also on June 29, Russia struck the town of Vilnyansk in Zaporizhzhya region, killing seven civilians, including two children, and injuring 18, Ukrainian authorities said. Five more civilians were killed in other attacks along the front the same day.

A day earlier, a Russian strike on the city of Dnipro killed at least one person died and wounded 12, including a 7-month-old girl.

Russia has stepped up airstrikes this year in a bid to drain Ukraine’s resources, often targeting energy facilities and other vital infrastructure, and crush morale.

Ukrainian officials have said that half ot the nation's power system has been damaged by Russian strikes, leading to shortages that are constraining the economy and testing citizens' reslience.

"Our cities and communities suffer from such Russian strikes every day," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a June 29 post on X that included photos of the strike on Vilnyansk.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine must strike Russian missile launchers with long-range weapons and strengthen its air defenses. The United States on June 28 said it will provide Ukraine with $150 million worth of weapons and ammunition, including HAWK air defense interceptors.

Kursk Governor Aleksei Smirnov said a Ukrainian drone hit a house in a Russian border village, killing five people, including two children. The June 29 incident occurred in Gorodishche, located just meters from the border with Ukraine. Smirnov said the incident appeared to come from a "copter"-style drone, fitted to carry explosives that are then dropped over targets.

Ukraine's domestic drone industry has made major advancements over the past two years, turning out an ever larger number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that can fly further and carry greater payloads, putting a significant portion of Russian military targets within striking distance.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and Kommersant

The European Union has imposed new restrictions on trade and other operations with Belarus in order to curtail Russian sanctions evasion.

Following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU slapped multiple rounds of sanctions on Russia, including a ban on the import of dual-use technologies and other goods.

Russia has used its neighbors, including ally Belarus, as an intermediary to get around Western sanctions. The latest EU restrictions aim to close that loophole.

“The close integration of the Russian and Belarusian economies has substantially facilitated the circumvention of existing sanctions against Russia. This new set of sanctions against Belarus mirrors several of the measures already imposed on Russia, making EU sanctions against Russia more effective,” the European Commission said in a June 29 statement.

The EU has expanded its ban on the export of dual-use goods and advanced technology to Belarus to include items that enhance the country’s industrial capacity. The bloc has also banned maritime navigation equipment, oil refining technology, and certain luxury goods. The new measures also ban the transit of such goods through Belarus.

The EU has also banned the import of goods that allow Belarus to diversify its source of revenue as well as the import of gold and diamonds. The EU had previously banned the import of gold and diamonds from Russia, which is one of the world’s biggest miners of the both natural resources.

The measures urge EU companies to prevent their foreign subsidiaries from engaging in activities that undermine sanctions. The European Council can now impose targeted measures against individuals or entities that circumvent the sanctions or that significantly undermine their purpose or effectiveness.

Belarus has deployed additional air defense forces to its border with Ukraine, claiming its southern neighbor poses threats to its "critical infrastructure facilities."

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

Meanwhile, Ukraine dismissed Belarus's concerns over its movement of troops and equipment, saying it was forced to do so because Minsk continues to support Russia's invasion.

Belarus on July 29 accused Ukraine of moving forces, weapons, and military equipment toward their joint border and also claimed Kyiv was stepping up drone activity in the area.

Belarus, an ally of Russia in its war with Ukraine, said earlier this week that it had shot down a quadcopter, which had illegally crossed the border from Ukraine "to collect information about the Belarusian border infrastructure."

Ukraine and Belarus share a nearly 1,100-kilometer-long border.

"We are ready to decisively use all available forces and means to protect our territory and the population of the Republic of Belarus from possible provocations in the airspace," Andrey Severinchik, commander of the Belarusian Air Defense Forces, said on June 29 in a statement published on the Defense Ministry's Telegram channel.

Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, dismissed Minsk’s fears of an alleged buildup near the border, noting it was Minsk that allowed Russia to use its territory as a launching pad for its invasion of Ukraine.

Thousands of Russian troops stationed in Belarus poured over the border into Ukraine on February 24, 2022 seeking to move southwest toward Kyiv, the capital. They were stopped and later driven back.

“It is pleasant, of course, that they haven’t forget about our state, but they shouldn’t worry -- Ukraine does not pose a threat. On the contrary, we are forced to defend ourselves, including in the Belarusian direction, because Belarus continues to support terrorists, and at one time opened its border to Russian invaders,” Demchenko told Ukrayinska Pravda.

Following a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive in September 2022 that recaptured large swaths of territory in the northeast, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the mobilization of up to 300,000 men, many of whom were sent to Belarus to train.

With reporting by Reuters and Ukrayinska Pravda

BELGRADE -- A man wielding a crossbow shot and wounded a police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy, before being fatally shot in return by the guard officer, officials said.

The incident, which occurred in the Serbian capital on June 29, was being treated as an act of terrorism, Interior Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic told reporters at a Belgrade hospital where the guard was being treated.

Dacic identified the attacker as Milos Zujovic, a resident of Mladenovac, a city located 50 kilometers southeast of the capital Belgrade. Zujovic, who is 24 or 25, is a "convert" who goes by the religious name Salahuddin, Dacic said, without giving any more detail.

Salahuddin was a Sunni Muslim general who defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin in 1187, capturing Jerusalem and reestablishing Muslim control of the Holy Land.

It was unclear if the embassy itself, or its employees, were targets of the attack, which occurred around 11 a.m. when Zujovic approached the guard to ask about a museum and other nearby sites.

The officer replied that there was no museum nearby.

Zujovic then left, and returned a short while later. He opened a gate door in front of the embassy and pulled the crossbow out of a bag, shooting the guard in the neck, officials said.

The guard then opened fire at Zujovic, who died shortly after, according to officials.

Dacic told reporters that it is not yet known whether Zujovic acted alone or was part of an organized group, and that the Special Prosecutor's Office was now overseeing the investigation.

The Israeli Embassy had no immediate comment on the incident.

Tehran has warned that "all Resistance Fronts," a grouping of Iran and its regional allies, would confront Israel if it attacks Lebanon. The comment from Iran's mission to the UN in New York on June 29 comes amid fears of a wider regional war involving Israel and Iran-backed Hizballah movement in Lebanon. The two sides have engaged in near-daily exchanges of fire since the war in Gaza began. Israel's military said plans for a Lebanon offensive had been "approved and validated", prompting Hizballah to respond that none of Israel would be spared in a full-blown conflict. The war in Gaza began in October when militants from the U.S.- and EU-designated terror group Hamas attacked southern Israel.

Preliminary final results showed that reformist lawmaker Masud Pezeshkian and hard-liner Saeed Jalili will head to a second-round, runoff vote in Iran’s presidential election.

Mohsen Eslami, a spokesman for Iran’s election commission, said in comments on state TV on June 29 that the two candidates will face off on July 5, with Pezeshkian garnering 42.5 percent of ballots cast, and Jalili 38.6 percent.

Voter turnout, meanwhile, reached only 40 percent, he said, a record low.

The results knocked out of the race two other candidates: Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, a conservative speaker of parliament, and Mostafa Purmohammadi, a former justice and interior minister.

The early election was called after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in May in a helicopter crash along with several other top officials.

All four candidates were vetted and approved by the Guardians Council, an unelected constitutional watchdog whose members are directly and indirectly appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The outcome of the election is unlikely to result in major policy shifts, but it could affect the succession to 85-year-old Khamenei, who has been the country’s supreme leader since 1989.

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Last-ditch efforts to rally behind a consensus conservative candidate failed on the eve of the election, with neither Qalibaf nor Jalili willing to drop out in favor of the other.

Conservatives have expressed concern that the lack of unity could split the vote to the benefit of reformist Pezeshkian, who has been a member of parliament since 2008. He served as deputy speaker from 2016 to 2020, when moderates and reformists had a majority in the legislature.

He has questioned Iran’s methods of enforcing the hijab, the Islamic head scarf for women, and spoken in favor of negotiating with the West. But he has said he will follow Khamenei’s policies if elected.

Jalili, who has never held elected office, serves as Khamenei’s personal representative on the Supreme National Security Council. During his 2007-13 term as the council’s secretary, he led the a delegation in failed talks with the West on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Iran’s political establishment has long maintained it derives its legitimacy from strong voter turnout, but poor participation in recent elections and popular protests have challenged the legitimacy of the current leadership.

WATCH: Speaking with RFE/RL's Radio Farda from inside Iran, some listeners said they would boycott the vote, while others said they hoped their participation would bring about reforms.

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'Not Free At All': Iranians Voice Need For Change Amid Snap Presidential Election

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The estimated 40 percent turnout in the June 28 vote signaled apathy among many Iranians tired of the country’s persistent economic woes and international isolation.

Dissidents at home and abroad called for a boycott, arguing that past voting has failed to deliver change.

Iran’s supreme leader has the final say on all state matters and the president does not have much sway on many key issues.

Raisi died along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several other officials when their helicopter crashed on May 19.

Many Iranians refer to him as the Butcher of Tehran for his alleged role in the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988 when he was Tehran's deputy prosecutor.

With reporting by RFE/RL correspondent Kian Sharifi

A Russian official said a Ukrainian drone hit a house in a Russian border village, killing five people, including two children. The June 29 incident occurred in Gorodishche, located just meters from the border with Ukraine. Aleksei Smirnov, governor of the Kursk region, said the incident appeared to come from a "copter"-style drone, fitted to carry explosives that are then dropped over targets. Both the Russian and Ukrainian sides have used drones, including larger self-detonating copters that can fly hundreds of kilometers. Ukraine had no immediate comment on the incident.

Unidentified gunmen attacked a vehicle carrying election boxes in Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan Province, killing two security force members and injuring several others, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported early on June 29. Quoting an "informed source," IRNA said the attack occurred in the village of Jakigor just minutes after voting ended in a presidential election being held to replace Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash last month. Authorities did not immediately comment on the report. IRNA did not say whether the ballot boxes were damaged or taken.

LOZNICA, Serbia -- Thousands of demonstrators gathered on June 28 in western Serbia to protest the opening of a lithium mining project that has been stalled for years over environmental concerns.

The protesters gathered in Loznica to demand that the government adopt a law banning mining within 40 days or face a blockade of the railway in Serbia.

One of the leaders of the protest, Marijana Petkovic, said a letter will be sent on July 1 to the government with the request for a ban on geological research and the mining of minerals used in lithium batteries.

"If they don't fulfill the request, we will block the railways. The railway is just the beginning,” Petkovic said, telling fellow demonstrators in Loznica that they must “push this to the end."

She added that representatives of certain farmers' associations offered help if a blockade of the railways take place.

Among the protesters were citizens and activists from many parts of Serbia, members of opposition parties, and members of the informal civil initiative ProGlas.

The protest comes after an announcements by the authorities that they will approve the mining of ore by Rio Tinto despite an earlier promise to abandon the project.

President Aleksandar Vucic was quoted by the Financial Times this month as saying that mining could begin as early as 2028 following new guarantees from Rio Tinto.

The demonstrators oppose the mining project that the Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto wants to launch to mine jadarite ore, which is crucial for the production of lithium batteries. The ore, a combination of lithium and boron, was discovered by Rio Tinto in Serbia.

The company said the area holds one of Europe's largest reserves of the ore. Rio Tinto also has said the project would provide thousands of jobs and secure Serbia's position in emerging energy markets.

The deposits were discovered in 2004, but the Serbian government halted the mining project in 2022 after weeks of protests sparked by fears over the environment and public health.

Protesters who spoke with RFE/RL said their concern for the effect of the mining on the environment was the main reason they participated.

"If we stop the source of pollution here, we will stop it everywhere in Serbia,” Vladimir Radosavljevic said.

Milisav Stanimirovic, a protester from Loznica, said that if there is no nature, there is no chance for people to live in the area either.

"We have to preserve what little we have so that we can continue to be born here, to grow here. Clean nature, healthy food, water, everything -- if there is no such thing, there is no us either," he said.

With reporting by AFP

The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) voted on June 28 to approve a $2.2 billion payout for Ukraine under an existing loan program and lowered its growth outlook following "devastating" Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure. The IMF said in a statement that the funds bring the total amount disbursed under the loan agreement to around $7.6 billion. The international lender said it expects Ukraine's economy to grow by between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent this year and reach 5.5 percent in 2025, down sharply from the earlier projection of 6.5 percent. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that, despite the war, macroeconomic and financial stability has been preserved through "skillful policymaking by the Ukrainian authorities as well as substantial external support."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on June 28 announced the return of 10 Ukrainian civilians who had been held captive by Russia.

"We managed to return 10 more of our people from Russian captivity. Despite all the difficulties," Zelenskiy said on Telegram. He added that five of the civilians had been "detained on the territory of Belarus."

The Ukrainian leader noted that the returning captives include Crimean Tatar leader Nariman Dzhelyal, deputy chairman of Crimean Tatar's self-governing assembly, the Mejlis, which was banned by pro-Moscow representatives in Crimea after the peninsula was illegally annexed in 2014.

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Ukrainians Return From Captivity In Russia And Belarus

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Dzhelyal was arrested in September 2021 on suspicion of involvement in an attack on a gas pipeline.

Two others among the 10 who were released had been in captivity for about six years.

To read the original story on RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.

Russia has protested to Japan about Tokyo's plans to hold joint military exercises on the island of Hokkaido and accused Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of placing his country "on a path to dangerous escalation." The Russian Foreign Ministry on June 28 said a protest had been issued to the Japanese Embassy in connection with the announcement that drills would be held with Germany and Spain later this month. The ministry said Tokyo was told it was "categorically unacceptable" to engage in military activity off Russia's Far Eastern coast, particularly taking into account the participation of NATO members located far from the region. "We view such activity as a potential threat to the security of the Russian Federation," the ministry said.

As Ukrainians marked Constitution Day on June 28, Moscow unleashed a fresh wave of drone and artillery strikes on southern and eastern regions for the second day in a row, killing at least four people in a village in the Donetsk region, one person in Dnipropetrovsk, and injuring others in Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials in the regions said.

At attack by Russian troops on Toretsk in the Donetsk region hit an apartment building, destroying the entrance of the five-story building, the regional prosecutor's office said. Four civilians, ages 43 to 76, died. Among the injured are a 39-year-old woman and her 8-year-old daughter, who was in serious condition.

The attack in the Dnipropetrovsk region hit a nine-story apartment building in the city of Dnipro, killing one person and injuring six others, including a 7-month-old baby, said Dnipropetrovsk regional Governor Serhiy Lysak. Several floors were destroyed, the governor said.

The attack in Kharkiv occurred in the village of Tsyrkuny, Governor Oleh Synyehubov said. Russian troops fired at least three anti-aircraft missiles at the settlement, Synyehubov said on Telegram.

"At this moment, there are eight victims," he said.

He added that two houses and smaller buildings caught fire. Another 10 houses were damaged.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the attacks were another reminder that Ukraine needs better air defense.

"'That's why we keep reminding all our partners: Only sufficient quantity and quality of air defense systems, only sufficient determination of the world, can stop Russian terror," he said on Telegram. "We need these solutions. We need a reliable air shield for Ukraine."

In a video message posted earlier on Telegram, Zelenskiy congratulated his compatriots on Constitution Day, which is marked on June 28, and highlighted the importance of national solidarity in times of war.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

"The 17th article of the constitution: The protection of Ukraine is the most important function of the state and the cause of the entire Ukrainian people. Millions of Ukrainians prove their devotion to this every day. Heroes on the front lines and those who work hard to strengthen the state. Ukrainians who changed their lives, changed their profession, but did not change their choice in favor of freedom, Ukraine, Europe," Zelenskiy said.

Zelenskiy's message came as Russia targeted Nikopol, a city that lies on the right bank of Dnieper River, for a second day on June 28.

"From very early in the morning, the Russian military struck the city of Nikopol again, targeting the district center with kamikaze drones," Dnipropetrovsk regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram, without specifying the number of drones.

"There are no dead or wounded," Lysak said, adding that several houses and industrial facilities in the city had been damaged in the attack.

On June 27, Russia launched a massive artillery attack on Nikopol, causing extensive damage to several schools.

Another southern Ukrainian region, Kherson, was also targeted by a fresh round of Russian strikes, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on June 28.

Prokudin said in a message on Telegram that 28 settlements across Kherson were targeted in the attack that wounded a total of six people and damaged a critical infrastructure facility. He did not elaborate.

Meanwhile, a suspected Ukrainian drone attack set an oil depot on fire in Michurinsk, in Russia's Tambov region, some 400 kilometers southeast of Moscow, regional Governor Maksim Egorov reported on June 28.

Egorov said the fire was small and it was under control.

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Ukrainian Soldiers Fighting To Hold Key Supply Lines In Donetsk Region

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Aleksandr Bogomaz, the governor of Russia's Bryansk region, reported that five drones had been shot down over his region on June 28.

The governor of Smolensk region, Vasily Anokhin, said nine drones had been downed over a military facility in the Pochinovsk district.

Russia's Defense Ministry said a total of 25 drones had been downed over five regions. The claim could not be independently confirmed.

Ukraine, whose energy infrastructure has been devastated by constant Russian attacks, has over the past several months increasingly targeted fuel-production sites inside Russia, mainly oil-refining facilities that work for the Russian military.