rferl--2020-05-03--COVID-19: Russia Again Reports New Record In Cases; Many Iranian Mosques To Reopen

The global death toll from the coronavirus is more than 244,000 with 3.4 million infections confirmed , causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the new respiratory illness .
Russia on May 3 registered more than 10,600 new coronavirus infections , marking a fresh one-day record increase amid expanded testing .
New infections jumped by 10,633 to 134,687 cases , the seventh-highest number globally , Russian authorities said .
It is the second day in a row with a record number of infections after 9,623 were registered on May 2 .
Russia is now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new infections .
But the official fatality rate is low in comparison to countries like Italy , Spain , and the United States .
Fifty-eight people died over the past 24 hours , bringing the total death toll to 1,280 , according to official figures .
More than 15,000 people in Russia have recovered from the virus .
Among the infected is Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin , who announced on April 30 he had tested positive for the coronavirus .
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has said the Russian capital , which has emerged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was not yet past the peak of the outbreak and that he may further restrict the number of residents who can travel around the city .
“ If we see any threat , of course , we will not hesitate for a minute .
We will come out with a proposal to tighten these measures , ” he told state television on May 2 .
Muscovites can leave their homes to go to the grocery store , the pharmacy , throw out trash , and walk their dogs .
They need a government-issued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transport .
More than half of Russia 's newly recorded cases -- 5,948 -- are in Moscow , bringing the capital 's total to 68,606 .
Sobyanin said that about 2 percent of Moscow residents -- or more than 250,000 people -- have the coronavirus .
Officially , Moscow has a population of 12.7 million but the real figure is believed to be higher .
President Vladimir Putin has said the situation remains `` very difficult . ''
However , Moscow 's headquarters for monitoring of the coronavirus said the jump in registered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ testing and quicker turnaround of the results .
The city now has 14 centers analyzing samples compared with just one previously , it said in a statement on May 2 .
The headquarters also said that the greater testing is enabling the city to find people with the infection at an early stage and treat them before it becomes severe .
That has enabled the city to keep the number of hospitalized stable at 1,700 , even as the number of cases continues to grow , it said .
Despite the steady increase @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it could gradually lift restrictions from May 12 , but the easing will depend on the region .
Iranian President Hassan Rohani said on state television that mosques would reopen in many low-risk regions of the country on May 4 , after they were closed in early March as Iran was hit by the Middle East 's deadliest coronavirus outbreak .
Rohani , in a televised meeting of the country 's virus task force on May 3 , said 132 counties , around one-third of Iran 's administrative divisions , would `` reopen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Social distancing is more important than collective prayer , '' Rohani added , adding that Islam considers safety obligatory , while praying in mosques is only `` recommended . ''
The counties earmarked for reopening are `` low risk , '' Rohani said .
He said the committee was also considering reopening schools by May 16 to allow for a month of classes before the summer break .
The outbreak has killed more than 6,150 people and infected more than 96,440 in Iran since it announced its first cases in mid-February .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ daily toll of new infections since March 10 .
Experts and officials both in Iran and abroad have cast doubts about Iran 's officially reported figures , saying the real number of cases could be much higher .
Iran has shut universities , cinemas , stadiums , and other public spaces since March .
But it has allowed a phased reopening of its economy since April 11 , arguing that the sanctions-hit country can not afford to remain shut down .
Only `` high-risk '' businesses like gyms and barbershops remain closed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and gradually , '' Rohani said .
With reporting by AFP , TASS , and Reuters

The global death toll from the coronavirus is more than 246,000 with almost 3.5 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the new respiratory illness.
Here's a roundup of COVID-19 developments in RFE/RL's broadcast regions.
Russia
Russia on May 3 registered more than 10,600 new coronavirus infections, marking a fresh one-day record increase amid expanded testing.
New infections jumped by 10,633 to 134,687 cases, the seventh-highest number globally, Russian authorities said. It is the fourth day in a row with a record number of infections after 9,623 were registered on May 2.
Russia is now the European country with the most registered new infections. But the official fatality rate is low in comparison to countries like Italy, Spain, and the United States.
Fifty-eight people died over the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 1,280, according to official figures. More than 15,000 people in Russia have recovered from the virus.
Among the infected is Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who announced on April 30 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Mishustin’s spokesman, Boris Belyakov, said on May 3 that the prime minister feels fine and is regularly speaking with officials by phone.
President Vladimir Putin has said the situation inside the country remains "very difficult.”
St. Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Belgov said that 44 people have been infected with COVID-19 at a local psychiatric hospital, including 28 patients and 16 workers.
Meanwhile, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has said the Russian capital, which has emerged as the epicenter of the contagion, was not yet past the peak of the outbreak and that he may further restrict the number of residents who can travel around the city.
“If we see any threat, of course, we will not hesitate for a minute. We will come out with a proposal to tighten these measures,” he told state television on May 2.
Muscovites can leave their homes to go to the grocery store, the pharmacy, throw out trash, and walk their dogs. They need a government-issued digital pass to use public or private transport.
With the arrival of the May holiday season, Russian law enforcement are using drones to find quarantine violators in Moscow’s forested parks.
More than half of Russia's newly recorded cases -- 5,948 -- are in Moscow, bringing the capital's total to 68,606. Sobyanin said that about 2 percent of Moscow residents -- or more than 250,000 people -- have the coronavirus.
Officially, Moscow has a population of 12.7 million but the real figure is believed to be higher.
Moscow made the use of digital passes for travel mandatory on April 15, leading to huge lines at subway stations all around the city.
Some are now questioning whether the recent spike in the city's infection count is partially due to the crowded conditions on that day. The virus has an incubation period as long as two weeks.
However, Moscow's headquarters for monitoring of the coronavirus said the jump in registered cases is driven in part by greater testing and quicker turnaround of the results. The city now has 14 centers analyzing samples compared with just one previously, it said in a statement on May 2.
The headquarters also said that the greater testing is enabling the city to find people with the infection at an early stage and treat them before it becomes severe. That has enabled the city to keep the number of hospitalized stable at 1,700, even as the number of cases continues to grow, it said.
Despite the steady increase in cases, the government has indicated it could gradually lift restrictions from May 12, but the easing will depend on the region.
Belarus
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka said his nation will hold its annual Victory Day parade in the capital on May 9 despite concerns over the spread of the coronavirus inside the country.
“We cannot cancel the parade. We simply can’t,” Lukashenka said on May 3, adding that some of those who fought against the Nazis also died of viruses and other diseases.
“And think what people will say. Maybe not immediately, but the next day or two days later, they will say that we were afraid,” he said about canceling the parade.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that nations impose social-distancing measures and avoid large public gatherings to slow the spread of COVID-19, which is easily transmitted from person to person.
The WHO warned in late April following a visit to Minsk that COVID-19 had “entered the community transmission scenario" in Belarus and called on the government to take stronger measures.
Belarus currently has more than 16,705 registered cases of COVID-19 and 99 deaths.
However, Lukashenka has publicly dismissed concerns about the dangers of the virus several times.
Victory Day commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 and is the most important national holiday in Belarus and other former Soviet states.
Belarus lost about one-quarter of its population during the war.
The May 9 parade held in Minsk will feature a column of mechanized weaponry, troops, and aerial units. The parade is expected to include more than 3,000 military personnel and more than 180 pieces of military hardware.
Thousands of citizens are expected to line up to watch the hourlong parade, which is often followed by picnics and other activities at public locations such as parks.
Lukashenka said that many war veterans, now in their 90s, have expressed a desire to see the parade, though he warned against “dragging” people to the event. COVID-19 has proven to be particularly deadly among the elderly.
Russia has canceled its grand celebration of the 75th anniversary of Victory Day as it steps up its fight against the spread of the coronavirus. Russia now has the seventh-most registered cases in the world.
Lukashenka said that several Russian deputies and senators have expressed a willingness to attend the parade in Minsk and that Belarus is willing to help coordinate travel for Russians who want to visit.
Russia closed its border with Belarus in March and later halted passenger train service to its smaller neighbor.
“We welcome it. Let them travel. We will not close the doors to our friends and brothers,” Lukashenka said.
Serbia
Serbia will lift its state of emergency imposed over the COVID-19 pandemic, President Aleksandar Vucic said on May 3.
Vucic said on broadcaster TV Pink that parliament would vote on May 6 to end the state of emergency.
The Balkan nation has enforced since March 15 some of the strictest lockdown measures in Europe as part of the state of emergency, including border closures and nightly and weekend curfews.
Vucic said that two conditions for restrictions to end had been met: Infections declining to under 5 percent of tests for seven days in a row and significantly fewer people on respirators.
The country has confirmed 9,464 cases and 193 deaths from the COVID-19 disease.
From May 4, bus and rail services are allowed but passengers will be required to wear face masks and no air conditioning is allowed.
Shopping malls, cafes, and restaurants will also reopen with social distancing and hygiene measures in place.
Small shops were allowed to reopen in late April.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan could be bracing for a surge in COVID-19 cases after a random test of 500 people in the nation’s capital indicated one-third were infected with the coronavirus.
A spokesman for the nation’s Public Health Ministry, Wahid Mayar, called the results of the test carried out in Kabul “concerning.”
A nation of nearly 37 million, Afghanistan has performed only 12,000 tests to date with slightly less than one-quarter testing positive.
The number of registered infections is likely to spike once the nation begins rolling out testing on a broader scale, Mayar said.
The poor, war-torn country’s health-care system could become overwhelmed, some fear. Afghanistan only has 400 ventilators.
The country has imposed lockdowns in Kabul and other cities to contain the spread, but compliance has been weak.
The infection may have spread rapidly around the country after more than 250,000 Afghan migrants returned earlier this year from neighboring Iran, which has been among the worst-hit countries by the virus.
Iran has registered more than 96,000 cases since it announced its first cases in mid-February. The virus has killed more than 6,150 people in the country.
The Afghan migrants returning from Iran were not tested or quarantined.
Some reports describe migrants dying from COVID-19 upon their return, raising skepticism about the official mortality data.
The country has registered only 85 deaths from COVID-19.
The Afghan government has only recently begun testing for COVID-19 in western Herat, the province the migrants crossed upon their return from Iran.
Some have blamed the government, which is mired in crisis, for responding too slowly to the pandemic.
The U.S. Special Inspector-General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said in an April 30 report that the spread of COVID-19 could derail stalled peace efforts.
Iran
Iranian President Hassan Rohani said on state television that mosques would reopen in many low-risk regions of the country on May 4, after they were closed in early March as Iran was hit by the Middle East's deadliest coronavirus outbreak.
Rohani, in a televised meeting of the country's virus task force on May 3, said 132 counties, around one-third of Iran's administrative divisions, would "reopen their mosques as of tomorrow."
"Social distancing is more important than collective prayer," Rohani added, adding that Islam considers safety obligatory, while praying in mosques is only "recommended."
The counties earmarked for reopening are "low risk," Rohani said.
He said the committee was also considering reopening schools by May 16 to allow for a month of classes before the summer break.
The outbreak has killed more than 6,150 people and infected more than 96,440 in Iran since it announced its first cases in mid-February.
Iran on May 2 reported its lowest daily toll of new infections since March 10.
Experts and officials both in Iran and abroad have cast doubts about Iran's officially reported figures, saying the real number of cases could be much higher.
Iran has shut universities, cinemas, stadiums, and other public spaces since March.
But it has allowed a phased reopening of its economy since April 11, arguing that the sanctions-hit country cannot afford to remain shut down.
Only "high-risk" businesses like gyms and barbershops remain closed.
"We will continue the reopenings calmly and gradually," Rohani said.
With reporting by AFP, TASS, and Reuters


rferl--2020-05-03--Russia To Adjust Spending On Putin's 'National Projects' As Economy Hit By Coronavirus

Russia may alter spending plans for a series of national goals promoted by President Vladimir Putin two years ago as the spread of the coronavirus slashes budget revenues .
Putin ’ s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 3 that the goals , known inside Russia as the National Projects , will still be a priority for the government and that the “ adjustments ” will not impact their implementation .
“ It is obvious that when drawing up the national plan for the development of the economy , those tasks , those budget expenditures that were planned in connection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into account , ” Peskov told state TV .
Russia ’ s economic growth is expected to tumble by more than 5 percent this year , according to the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) , as the spread of the coronavirus decimates oil demand .
The decline would be the steepest for the Russian economy since 2009 .
Oil exports account for a significant portion of Russia ’ s revenues , with the federal budget breaking even at an oil price of around $ 42 a barrel .
Russia ’ s Ural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ price .
As it faces lower budget revenues , the country will face rising social payments as unemployment spikes with the closing of shops , restaurants , and other businesses amid the pandemic .
Putin announced the National Projects -- a massive $ 400 billion spending plan -- at the start of his second six-year term in 2018 .
The National Projects aim to boost living standards by 2024 and focus on 13 key policy areas , such as health care , education , and infrastructure .
Russians have seen a decline in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oil prices and Western sanctions that were imposed in response to the Kremlin ’ s aggression against Ukraine and alleged interference in U.S. elections .
The Russian government led by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was criticized last year for slowly implementing the National Projects .
Putin in January tapped Mikhail Mishustin to replace Medvedev .
With reporting by TASS and RBC

Russia may alter spending plans for a series of national goals promoted by President Vladimir Putin two years ago as the spread of the coronavirus slashes budget revenues.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 3 that the goals, known inside Russia as the National Projects, will still be a priority for the government and that the “adjustments” will not impact their implementation.
“It is obvious that when drawing up the national plan for the development of the economy, those tasks, those budget expenditures that were planned in connection with national projects, will be taken into account,” Peskov told state TV.
Russia’s economic growth is expected to tumble by more than 5 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as the spread of the coronavirus decimates oil demand. The decline would be the steepest for the Russian economy since 2009.
Oil exports account for a significant portion of Russia’s revenues, with the federal budget breaking even at an oil price of around $42 a barrel. Russia’s Ural crude blend currently sells for half that price.
As it faces lower budget revenues, the country will face rising social payments as unemployment spikes with the closing of shops, restaurants, and other businesses amid the pandemic.
Putin announced the National Projects -- a massive $400 billion spending plan -- at the start of his second six-year term in 2018. The National Projects aim to boost living standards by 2024 and focus on 13 key policy areas, such as health care, education, and infrastructure.
Russians have seen a decline in living standards since 2014 due to falling oil prices and Western sanctions that were imposed in response to the Kremlin’s aggression against Ukraine and alleged interference in U.S. elections.
The Russian government led by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was criticized last year for slowly implementing the National Projects. Putin in January tapped Mikhail Mishustin to replace Medvedev.
With reporting by TASS and RBC


rferl--2020-05-03--Afghanistan Probes Reports Of Migrant Drownings By Iranian Border Guards

Afghan officials on May 3 launched an operation to locate and retrieve bodies of migrants from a river in western Herat Province after reports that Iranian border guards had thrown Afghans into the river to prevent their entry into Iran .
In a statement on May 2 , the Afghan Foreign Ministry said a probe had been launched into the reports .
It was not immediately clear how many migrants had been involved in the alleged incident , which was denied by the Iranian consulate in the region .
A senior official in the presidential administration said initial assessments suggested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to enter Iran from Herat were beaten and pushed into the Harirud River .
Doctors at Herat District Hospital said they had received the bodies of five Afghan migrants , some of whom had drowned .
`` Of these bodies , it 's clear that four died due to drowning , '' said Aref Jalali , head of Herat District Hospital .
Provincial council member Ahmad Karokhi said that 12 people were able to swim to safety , adding that seven bodies have been recovered from the river in the Gulran district of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reuters he was one of 57 Afghan citizens who were caught by Iranian border guards on May 2 when they were trying to cross into Iran from the Gulran district .
`` After being tortured , the Iranian soldiers threw all of us in the Harirud River , '' Mohammad told Reuters , adding that the group was in search of work .
Another man from the group , Shir Agha , said he also survived but that at least 23 of the 57 people thrown by Iranian soldiers into the river were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denied the allegations .
`` Iranian border guards have not arrested any Afghan citizens , '' the consulate said in a statement on May 2 .
Iranian Embassy officials in the Afghan capital , Kabul , were not immediately available for comment .
Afghan officials in the area say this was not the first time that Afghans had been tortured and killed by Iranian security forces guarding the 920-kilometer border .
The incident comes as the coronavirus outbreak has seen a mass return of Afghan migrants from Iran , one of the global @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positive for the virus .
Decades of conflict , extreme poverty , and high rates of unemployment force thousands of Afghans to illegally cross the border to Iran every year .
There are currently up to 1 million registered Afghan refugees in Iran , while the country hosts another 2 million undocumented Afghans , according to UN reports .
With reporting by Reuters and dpa

The education of girls and women is universally accepted in more than 200 countries and territories, including nearly 50 Muslim-majority nations.
But Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers have banned teenage girls from attending school after the sixth grade since they returned to power two years ago. The ban was extended in December to women in universities.
Countless protests by Afghans inside the country, pressure from the international community, and lobbying by Muslim scholars and clerics have failed to convince the fundamentalist Taliban leaders to reopen schools.
Experts are divided over whether the ban is rooted in how the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam is shaped by conservative Pashtun tribal customs and cultural practices or if it is prompted by how senior Taliban ideologues interpret Islamic teachings.
Most Taliban leaders are ethnic Pashtun, Sunni Muslim clerics. Many were educated in Deobandi madrasahs in neighboring Pakistan. Deobandism emerged as a puritanical Islamic revivalist movement in 19-century British Colonial India. Based on the Sunni Hanafi school of jurisprudence, it is a prominent strain among Islamists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Tribal Influences
Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator, argues that the Taliban restrictions against women are linked to social customs and cultural practices in eastern and southern Afghanistan.
Most Taliban leaders come from various Pashtun rural tribal communities in these regions bordering Pakistan.
"They believe that a woman's place is either inside a house or in a grave," Yousafzai said of the basic Taliban belief influenced by the status of women in the families of clerics and religious leaders in these Pashtun regions.
“Women living in the households of the current Taliban policymakers were never educated and never left their homes,” said Yousafzai, who has tracked the Islamist group since it emerged as a ragtag militia in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar in late 1994. “These women never performed any government or nongovernmental jobs.”
Yousafzai says the Taliban backs policies shaped by this worldview by leaning on Islamic teachings supporting such ideas. He says Taliban leaders rely on sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that discourage women from leaving their homes.
“Their primary belief is that pubescent girls should not leave home under any circumstance,” he said. “This is why they view women leaving home for education or work as engaging in moral corruption.”
In Afghanistan, a Muslim nation of some 40 million people, activists and rights advocates accuse the Taliban of implementing "gender apartheid" by denying women education, work, freedom of movement, and deciding how they can appear in public.
Most Muslims agree that Islam allows women to get an education. Yet the Taliban publicly says that it will allow girls access to education only after ensuring complete gender segregation and other unspecified conditions.
Almost all Afghan secondary schools were gender segregated and universities imposed a strict separation between men and women after the Taliban takeover.
Yousafzai says in conservative and traditional Muslim societies around the world, some clerics also favor restrictions on women's education, work, and their role in public life. But the governments in those countries usually oppose or limit such ideas.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia -- one of the most conservative Sunni Muslim nations -- has allowed women to drive and granted them freedom of movement without a male guardian. These steps are part of a reform and modernity drive by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
The Taliban ban on education has invited universal condemnation from Muslims globally.
“The Taliban's ban on women's education is not rooted in [the Islamic] Shari’a law but rather reflects cultural biases that contradict the teachings of Islam,” said Salam al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in the United States.
He said that contrary to Taliban practices, “Islam emphasizes the importance of seeking knowledge and encourages all individuals, regardless of gender, to acquire an education.”
Historical Conflict
But Islamic scholars and those who have attempted to convince the Taliban about reopening girls schools offer a different explanation.
John Mohammad Butt, an Islamic scholar and former BBC broadcaster who is the only Westerner to graduate from India’s Darul Uloom Deoband, argues that the Taliban's policy on girls' education is not tribal but shaped by the century-old conflict over modern education.
“The problem is that girls' education in Afghanistan -- indeed, contemporary education in general -- has generally been introduced in Afghanistan in line with a secular agenda,” he said.
In the 1920s, a coalition of conservative clerics and tribal and community leaders deposed reformist King Amanullah Khan. He wanted to modernize Afghanistan along Turkish leader Kamal Ataturk's secular lines and championed modern education and rights for women.
This opposition to modernity and secularism continued, and conservative clerics opposed women's education and work. It became a key part of the Islamist opposition to the pro-Soviet Afghan communist governments after the April 1978 military coup that ended the Afghan monarchy. The mujahedin accused the communists of spreading immorality by promoting women’s education and empowerment.
“This has led to particular wariness on the part of conservative circles in Afghanistan with regard to girls' education,” Butt said.
'Deep Ideological Conviction'
Obaidullah Baheer, a political science lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan, became part of an effort to rescind the ban by talking to the Taliban last year.
But he says the effort failed because “the ban is a matter of deep ideological conviction” for the current supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.
Baheer says that the most prominent Taliban leaders have studied in Pakistani madrasahs and were thus disconnected from village and tribal life.
“They have been indoctrinated by the Deobandi school of thought so that they now enforce the strictest version of Islam on the Afghan population,” he said.
He argues that the ban on girls’ schools is a deliberate policy championed by Akhundzada, who he says has endorsed Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani's Arabic language book The Islamic Emirate And Its System. In this book, Haqqani supports a fringe Islamic opinion of preferring the choice of one of the Prophet Muhammad's wives, Sawdah Bint Zam'ah, who chose to stay at home until her death.
Baheer says Haqqani ignores his other wives and other female companions that played an active role in many sectors of society and how they served as students and teachers for men.
“This fringe opinion is not held by all Taliban leaders but is one that the current absolute sovereign, the Taliban emir, seems to be convinced of,” he said.
Butt says that even Haqqani has acknowledged the principle that if there is something that women need to act upon, then that is also something that women need to learn about.
“I hope the Taliban authorities will come to realize in the not-too-distant future that education for women will make Afghan women into better Muslims,” he says. “It will enable them to make a stronger contribution to the well-being of their country.”
Two years after grappling with the issue, Western diplomats appear to be encouraging Afghan conservative and clerical circles to find ways to end the ban.
Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, recently tweeted that Afghan women must be educated and contribute to the economy to help their country stand on its own two feet.
“If change to policies is made, it will be because Afghans have asked for it, not a result of foreign requests,” he wrote.


rferl--2020-05-03--Uzbek Authorities Launch Probe Into Burst Dam That Prompted Mass Evacuation

Uzbek authorities on May 3 launched a criminal probe after a newly constructed dam burst , prompting the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from both Uzbekistan and neighboring Kazakhstan .
The dam of the Sardoba Reservoir in the eastern Uzbek region of Sidaryoin burst early on May 1 and at least 70,000 people have been evacuated , while more than 50 people were hospitalized .
Over 600 homes in southern Kazakhstan have also been flooded .
Uzbekistan 's State Prosecutor said on May 3 that a criminal probe had been opened into `` official negligence '' and construction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ completed in 2017 after seven years of construction work that began under the supervision of current President Shavkat Mirziyoev , who was prime minister at the time .
Mirziyoev on May 1 flew to the region to oversee the evacuation and cleanup operation .
The region had experienced strong winds and heavy rains prior to the collapse of the dam .
Officials in Kazakhstan 's southern Turkestan region , where more than 5,000 people have been evacuated so far , have criticized Uzbekistan for not providing timely information on the status of flood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of our correspondence with the Uzbek side , that as of ( 8 p.m. on May 1 ) the situation was stable and there were no problems , '' said Saken Kalkamanov , deputy governor of the Turkestan region , on May 2 .
`` They said that not a drop of water would reach Maktaraal district , '' he said , referring to the area where the flood hit .
`` Nevertheless , what happened has happened . ''
Kazakh officials say the floods caused crop damage worth more than $ 400,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has signed a $ 23 million contract with China for the construction of a hydroelectric power station at the site of the dam .
The Chinese hydroelectric project had been scheduled for completion in 2022 .
With reporting by RFE/RL 's Uzbek Service , and AFP

Uzbek authorities on May 3 launched a criminal probe after a newly constructed dam burst, prompting the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from both Uzbekistan and neighboring Kazakhstan.
The dam of the Sardoba Reservoir in the eastern Uzbek region of Sirdaryo burst early on May 1 and at least 70,000 people have been evacuated, while more than 50 people were hospitalized.
Over 600 homes in southern Kazakhstan have also been flooded.
Uzbekistan's State Prosecutor said on May 3 that a criminal probe had been opened into "official negligence" and construction rules violations.
The Sardoba Reservoir was completed in 2017 after seven years of construction work that began under the supervision of current President Shavkat Mirziyoev, who was prime minister at the time.
Mirziyoev on May 1 flew to the region to oversee the evacuation and cleanup operation. The region had experienced strong winds and heavy rains prior to the collapse of the dam.
Officials in Kazakhstan's southern Turkistan region, where more than 5,000 people have been evacuated so far, have criticized Uzbekistan for not providing timely information on the status of flood control.
"We have a copy of our correspondence with the Uzbek side, that as of (8 p.m. on May 1) the situation was stable and there were no problems," said Saken Kalkamanov, deputy governor of the Turkistan region, on May 2.
"They said that not a drop of water would reach Maktaraal district," he said, referring to the area where the flood hit. "Nevertheless, what happened has happened."
Kazakh officials say the floods caused crop damage worth more than $400,000 -- mostly to cotton.
Uzbekistan also has signed a $23 million contract with China for the construction of a hydroelectric power station at the site of the dam.
The Chinese hydroelectric project had been scheduled for completion in 2022.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, and AFP


rferl--2020-05-03--COVID-19: Russia Again Reports New Record In Cases; Belarus To Go Ahead With Victory Day Parade

The global death toll from the coronavirus is more than 246,000 with almost 3.5 million infections confirmed , causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the new respiratory illness .
Russia on May 3 registered more than 10,600 new coronavirus infections , marking a fresh one-day record increase amid expanded testing .
New infections jumped by 10,633 to 134,687 cases , the seventh-highest number globally , Russian authorities said .
It is the fourth day in a row with a record number of infections after 9,623 were registered on May 2 .
Russia is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ registered new infections .
But the official fatality rate is low in comparison to countries like Italy , Spain , and the United States .
Fifty-eight people died over the past 24 hours , bringing the total death toll to 1,280 , according to official figures .
More than 15,000 people in Russia have recovered from the virus .
Among the infected is Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin , who announced on April 30 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus .
Mishustin ’ s spokesman , Boris Belyakov , said on May @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and is regularly speaking with officials by phone .
President Vladimir Putin has said the situation inside the country remains `` very difficult.
” St. Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Belgov said that 44 people have been infected with COVID-19 at a local psychiatric hospital , including 28 patients and 16 workers .
Meanwhile , Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has said the Russian capital , which has emerged as the epicenter of the contagion , was not yet past the peak of the outbreak and that he may further restrict the number of residents who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If we see any threat , of course , we will not hesitate for a minute .
We will come out with a proposal to tighten these measures , ” he told state television on May 2 .
Muscovites can leave their homes to go to the grocery store , the pharmacy , throw out trash , and walk their dogs .
They need a government-issued digital pass to use public or private transport .
With the arrival of the May holiday season , Russian law enforcement are using drones to find quarantine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
More than half of Russia 's newly recorded cases -- 5,948 -- are in Moscow , bringing the capital 's total to 68,606 .
Sobyanin said that about 2 percent of Moscow residents -- or more than 250,000 people -- have the coronavirus .
Officially , Moscow has a population of 12.7 million but the real figure is believed to be higher .
Moscow made the use of digital passes for travel mandatory on April 15 , leading to huge lines at subway stations all around the city .
Some are now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city 's infection count is partially due to the crowded conditions on that day .
The virus has an incubation period as long as two weeks .
However , Moscow 's headquarters for monitoring of the coronavirus said the jump in registered cases is driven in part by greater testing and quicker turnaround of the results .
The city now has 14 centers analyzing samples compared with just one previously , it said in a statement on May 2 .
The headquarters also said that the greater testing is enabling the city to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ early stage and treat them before it becomes severe .
That has enabled the city to keep the number of hospitalized stable at 1,700 , even as the number of cases continues to grow , it said .
Despite the steady increase in cases , the government has indicated it could gradually lift restrictions from May 12 , but the easing will depend on the region .
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka said his nation will hold its annual Victory Day parade in the capital on May 9 despite concerns over the spread of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We can not cancel the parade .
We simply can ’ t , ” Lukashenka said on May 3 , adding that some of those who fought against the Nazis also died of viruses and other diseases .
“ And think what people will say .
Maybe not immediately , but the next day or two days later , they will say that we were afraid , ” he said about canceling the parade .
The World Health Organization ( WHO ) has recommended that nations impose social-distancing measures and avoid large public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which is easily transmitted from person to person .
The WHO warned in late April following a visit to Minsk that COVID-19 had “ entered the community transmission scenario '' in Belarus and called on the government to take stronger measures .
Belarus currently has more than 16,705 registered cases of COVID-19 and 99 deaths .
However , Lukashenka has publicly dismissed concerns about the dangers of the virus several times .
Victory Day commemorates the Soviet Union ’ s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 and is the most important national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states .
Belarus lost about one-quarter of its population during the war .
The May 9 parade held in Minsk will feature a column of mechanized weaponry , troops , and aerial units .
The parade is expected to include more than 3,000 military personnel and more than 180 pieces of military hardware .
Thousands of citizens are expected to line up to watch the hourlong parade , which is often followed by picnics and other activities at public locations such as parks .
Lukashenka said that many war veterans , now in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to see the parade , though he warned against “ dragging ” people to the event .
COVID-19 has proven to be particularly deadly among the elderly .
Russia has canceled its grand celebration of the 75th anniversary of Victory Day as it steps up its fight against the spread of the coronavirus .
Russia now has the seventh-most registered cases in the world .
Lukashenka said that several Russian deputies and senators have expressed a willingness to attend the parade in Minsk and that Belarus is willing to help coordinate travel for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closed its border with Belarus in March and later halted passenger train service to its smaller neighbor .
“ We welcome it .
Let them travel .
We will not close the doors to our friends and brothers , ” Lukashenka said .
Afghanistan could be bracing for a surge in COVID-19 cases after a random test of 500 people in the nation ’ s capital indicated one-third were infected with the coronavirus .
A spokesman for the nation ’ s Public Health Ministry , Wahid Mayar , called the results of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” A nation of nearly 37 million , Afghanistan has performed only 12,000 tests to date with slightly less than one-quarter testing positive .
The number of registered infections is likely to spike once the nation begins rolling out testing on a broader scale , Mayar said .
The poor , war-torn country ’ s health-care system could become overwhelmed , some fear .
Afghanistan only has 400 ventilators .
The country has imposed lockdowns in Kabul and other cities to contain the spread , but compliance has been weak .
The infection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after more than 250,000 Afghan migrants returned earlier this year from neighboring Iran , which has been among the worst-hit countries by the virus .
Iran has registered more than 96,000 cases since it announced its first cases in mid-February .
The virus has killed more than 6,150 people in the country .
The Afghan migrants returning from Iran were not tested or quarantined .
Some reports describe migrants dying from COVID-19 upon their return , raising skepticism about the official mortality data .
The country has registered only 85 deaths from COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ begun testing for COVID-19 in western Herat , the province the migrants crossed upon their return from Iran .
Some have blamed the government , which is mired in crisis , for responding too slowly to the pandemic .
The U.S. Special Inspector-General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said in an April 30 report that the spread of COVID-19 could derail stalled peace efforts .
Iranian President Hassan Rohani said on state television that mosques would reopen in many low-risk regions of the country on May 4 , after they were closed in early March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ East 's deadliest coronavirus outbreak .
Rohani , in a televised meeting of the country 's virus task force on May 3 , said 132 counties , around one-third of Iran 's administrative divisions , would `` reopen their mosques as of tomorrow . ''
`` Social distancing is more important than collective prayer , '' Rohani added , adding that Islam considers safety obligatory , while praying in mosques is only `` recommended . ''
The counties earmarked for reopening are `` low risk , '' Rohani said .
He said the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ May 16 to allow for a month of classes before the summer break .
The outbreak has killed more than 6,150 people and infected more than 96,440 in Iran since it announced its first cases in mid-February .
Iran on May 2 reported its lowest daily toll of new infections since March 10 .
Experts and officials both in Iran and abroad have cast doubts about Iran 's officially reported figures , saying the real number of cases could be much higher .
Iran has shut universities , cinemas , stadiums , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it has allowed a phased reopening of its economy since April 11 , arguing that the sanctions-hit country can not afford to remain shut down .
Only `` high-risk '' businesses like gyms and barbershops remain closed .
`` We will continue the reopenings calmly and gradually , '' Rohani said .
With reporting by AFP , TASS , and Reuters


rferl--2020-05-04--Election Of New Kazakh Parliamentary Speaker Sparks Talk Of Power Struggle

NUR-SULTAN -- The former deputy chief of the Kazakh presidential administration , Maulen Ashimbaev , has replaced as parliamentary speaker , Dariga Nazarbaeva , the daughter of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev , in a sign of a possible power struggle at the top of the country 's leadership .
Presidential spokesman Berik Uali wrote on Facebook on May 4 that members of parliament 's upper chamber , the Senate , had approved President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev 's proposal to elect Ashimbaev to the post of the Senate chairman , a position that is next in line to take power in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is incapable of performing their duties .
The vote was held just hours after Toqaev appointed Ashimbaev as a Senate member , two days after he unexpectedly dismissed Nazarbaeva from the post of Senate speaker .
The decision to remove 56-year-old Nazarbaeva from the post and her seat in parliament by Toqaev , her father 's handpicked successor , may be an indication of a political upheaval among power brokers in the Central Asian country .
Nazarbaeva had served as Senate chairwoman since March 20 , 2019 , a day after her father @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former Soviet republic for almost 30 years .
At the time her appointment raised concerns that her father had picked Toqaev as purely an interim leader and that Nazarbaeva would ascend to power .
Nazarbaev , 79 , is widely seen as the country 's top decision-maker despite leaving the presidency .
He continues to lead the ruling Nur-Otan Party and holds the lifetime post as chairman of the powerful Security Council .

The former deputy chief of the Kazakh presidential administration, Maulen Ashimbaev, has replaced as parliament speaker Dariga Nazarbaeva, the daughter of former President Nursultan Nazarbaev, in a sign of a possible power struggle at the top of the country's leadership.
Presidential spokesman Berik Uali wrote on Facebook on May 4 that members of parliament's upper chamber, the Senate, had approved President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev's proposal to elect Ashimbaev to the post of the Senate chairman, a position that is next in line to take power in the country if the president resigns or is incapable of performing their duties.
The vote was held just hours after Toqaev appointed Ashimbaev as a Senate member, two days after he unexpectedly dismissed Nazarbaeva from the post of Senate speaker.
The decision to remove the 56-year-old Nazarbaeva from the post and her seat in parliament by Toqaev, her father's handpicked successor, may be an indication of a political upheaval among power brokers in the Central Asian country.
Nazarbaeva had served as Senate chairwoman since March 20, 2019, a day after her father stepped down as president after ruling the former Soviet republic for almost 30 years.
At the time, her appointment raised concerns that her father had picked Toqaev as purely an interim leader and that Nazarbaeva would ascend to power.
Nazarbaev, 79, is widely seen as the country's top decision-maker despite leaving the presidency. He continues to lead the ruling Nur-Otan Party and holds the lifetime post as chairman of the powerful Security Council.


rferl--2020-05-04--Third Russian Doctor Mysteriously Falls From Hospital Window Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

A doctor at an ambulance unit in Russia 's western Voronezh region is in a serious condition after falling from a hospital window following complaints that he was forced to work even after testing positive for COVID-19 , the third such case in the country in recent days .
Colleagues of Aleksandr Shulepov and representatives of the regional coronavirus task force said over the weekend that on May 2 Shulepov fell out of a second-floor window at the hospital where he worked and was being treated for the coronavirus in the town of Novaya Usman .
He is currently in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ skull .
Shulepov was hospitalized on April 22 for the virus , but was scheduled to be released after his latest COVID-19 test came back negative .
On the same day he was admitted , Shulepov and his colleague Aleksandr Kosyakin issued a video complaining that even after testing positive , their boss was forcing Shulepov and his colleagues to work together .
Three days later , Shulepov retracted his initial statement , saying his video with Kosyakin was recorded while he was in `` an emotional state '' right after he learned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the third physician in Russia to fall out of a window amid mysterious circumstances during the coronavirus outbreak .
On May 1 , Yelena Nepomnyashchaya , the acting chief physician at a hospital for war veterans in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia , died after falling from a window of her fifth-floor office a week earlier .
Local media reported that Nepomnyashchaya had fallen out of the office window while talking on a conference call with regional Health Minister Boris Nemik about turning one of the buildings of the facility into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ According to the reports , Nepomnyashchaya was adamantly against the idea .
On April 24 , Natalya Lebedeva , the chief of the ambulance center in the town of Zvyozdny near Moscow , died in what a Moscow hospital called `` an accident . ''
She was treated at the hospital for COVID-19 .
REN TV and the daily Moskovsky komsomolets reported that Lebedeva fell from a window on a high floor at the hospital .
Moskovsky komsomolets quoted Lebedeva 's colleagues as saying that she might have committed suicide because she was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disease .
Russian health authorities said on May 4 that the number of coronavirus cases reached 134,687 , with 1,280 deaths and 16,639 recovered cases across the country .
With reporting by Meduza , TASS , TVK , Moskovsky komsomolets , RFE/RL 's Russian Service , and REN TV

A doctor at an ambulance unit in Russia's western Voronezh region is in serious condition after falling from a hospital window following complaints that he was forced to work even after testing positive for COVID-19, the third such case in the country in recent days.
Colleagues of Aleksandr Shulepov and representatives of the regional coronavirus task force said over the weekend that on May 2 Shulepov fell out of a second-floor window at the hospital where he worked and was being treated for the coronavirus in the town of Novaya Usman. He is currently in an emergency ward room with a fractured skull.
Shulepov was hospitalized on April 22 for the virus, but was scheduled to be released after his latest COVID-19 test came back negative.
On the same day he was admitted, Shulepov and colleague Aleksandr Kosyakin issued a video complaining that even after testing positive, their boss was forcing Shulepov and his colleagues to work together.
Three days later, Shulepov retracted his initial statement, saying his video with Kosyakin was recorded while he was in "an emotional state" right after he learned about his COVID-19 diagnosis.
Shulepov is the third physician in Russia to fall out of a window amid mysterious circumstances during the coronavirus outbreak.
On May 1, Yelena Nepomnyashchaya, the acting chief physician at a hospital for war veterans in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia, died after falling from a window of her fifth-floor office a week earlier.
Local media reported that Nepomnyashchaya had fallen out of the office window while talking on a conference call with regional Health Minister Boris Nemik about turning one of the buildings of the facility into a ward to treat coronavirus patients.
WATCH: St. Petersburg Doctor Quits Over Protective Equipment Shortages
According to the reports, Nepomnyashchaya was adamantly against the idea.
On April 24, Natalya Lebedeva, the chief of the ambulance center in the town of Zvyozdny near Moscow, died in what a Moscow hospital called "an accident." She was treated at the hospital for COVID-19.
REN-TV and the daily Moskovsky komsomolets reported that Lebedeva fell from a window on a high floor at the hospital.
Moskovsky komsomolets quoted Lebedeva's colleagues as saying that she might have committed suicide, because she was accused of infecting her subordinates with the disease.
Russian health authorities said on May 4 that the number of coronavirus cases reached 134,687, with 1,280 deaths and 16,639 recovered cases across the country.
With reporting by Meduza, TASS, TVK, Moskovsky komsomolets, RFE/RL's Russian Service, and REN-TV


rferl--2020-05-04--Taliban Claim Responsibility For Afghan Military Center Bombing

A truck-bomb attack at a military center in Afghanistan 's southern Helmand Province has killed at least five people and wounded several others .
The Taliban on May 4 claimed responsibility for the attack on the center where at least 150 members of the Afghan army and intelligence services were stationed .
`` Five members of the Afghan security forces and intelligence services were killed and seven others were wounded in a truck-bomb explosion in Grishk District , '' Omar Zwak , a spokesman for the regional governor , told RFE/RL .
The Taliban claimed the toll was much higher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Afghan soldiers had been killed and wounded in the attack , which occurred late May 3 .
`` Dozens of members belonging to the enemy forces have been killed and wounded in the attack , '' Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmedi said in a statement .
The Afghan Defense Ministry had earlier said only one member of the army was wounded .
In a separate incident , at least 20 people were injured when suspected Taliban militants threw a hand grenade into a mosque in the Khayerkot district of the southeastern Paktika Province @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Afghan security forces have suffered heavy losses across the country over the past two months .
The violence threatens to unravel a February peace deal between the United States and the Taliban , as the Afghan army is forced to fight the militants with less U.S. backup .
With reporting by Reuters and tolonews.com


rferl--2020-05-05--Three Indian Soldiers Killed In Renewed Fighting In Disputed Kashmir

Three Indian soldiers were killed in clashes with militants in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir , officials said , @ @ @ @ @ in which five were killed .
The flare-up comes amid a major offensive by India @ @ @ @ @ in the past month .
New Delhi said 20 Indian soldiers have been killed during @ @ @ @ @ biggest death toll since a militant suicide attack killed 40 paramilitary police in February 2019 @ @ @ @ @ five Indian soldiers , including a high-ranking army officer , were killed in India-administered Kashmir @ @ @ @ @ India have fought two wars over control of Kashmir , which is claimed in full @ @ @ @ @ Tensions in Indian-controlled Kashmir have been running particularly high since August 2019 , when India @ @ @ @ @ autonomy and implemented a months-long crackdown on militants and supporters of independence or unification with @ @ @ @ @ reporting by Reuters and AP

Three Indian soldiers were killed in clashes with militants in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, officials said, a day after a gunbattle in which five were killed.
The flare-up comes amid a major offensive by India that has killed 22 militants in the past month.
New Delhi said 20 Indian soldiers have been killed during the same period, the biggest death toll since a militant suicide attack killed 40 paramilitary police in February 2019.
On May 3, five Indian soldiers, including a high-ranking army officer, were killed in India-administered Kashmir.
Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-led India have fought two wars over control of Kashmir, which is claimed in full by both nuclear-armed countries.
India accuses Pakistan of funding militant groups fighting Indian troops, a claim Islamabad denies.
Tensions in Indian-controlled Kashmir have been running particularly high since August 2019, when India stripped the region of limited autonomy and implemented a months-long crackdown on militants and supporters of independence or unification with Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AP


rferl--2020-05-05--Israeli Missile Strikes Hit Suspected Iranian Targets in Syria

Israeli missile strikes targeted a research center and military base in the northern province of Aleppo , Syrian state media said May 4 , in the fifth such strike in two weeks on suspected Iranian positions .
The Syrian army said Israel struck a military barracks in Al-Safirah in the eastern Aleppo countryside .
Earlier , state media said a research center had been targeted .
Army air defenses “ confronted the hostile missiles ” and a damage assessment was being carried out , SANA state media reported .
Separately , the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hit Iranian forces and allied militia in eastern Syria near Albu Kamal on the border with Iraq .
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria in recent years targeting Iranian forces , Syrian government positions , and allied militias .
It generally doesn ’ t comment on specific operations .
Western and Israeli intelligence say Iranian forces and allied militias use the eastern Syrian desert bordering Iraq to transfer fighters and advanced weapons systems to support the Syrian government and Lebanese militant group Hizballah .
In Aleppo province , Iranian forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad during the country ’ s nearly nine-year civil war .
Russia , a key backer of Damascus that has close security ties with Israel , has largely looked the other way as Israel carries out a shadow war with Iran in Syria to prevent its archenemy from entrenching itself in the country .
With reporting by AFP , dpa , and Reuters

A polytechnic school in Russia’s Tatarstan, a region some 900 kilometers east of Moscow, is using manufacturing facilities that are part of a nearby special economic zone to assemble Iranian attack drones and are increasingly turning to underage students as laborers, many of whom often work in exploitative conditions.
The revelations at Alabuga Polytechnic University raise troubling implications about the lengths that Russian authorities are going to in order to boost the war effort and how the advanced Iranian weaponry -- which is increasingly used to bombard Ukrainian cities and has only recently begun to be manufactured inside Russia -- could contribute to escalating tensions and rising civilian casualties.
The use of underage students as drone factory workers and the details of the manufacturing facilities were first reported by Russian independent media outlets Protokol and Razvorot, which published a series of investigations in July.
Since then, RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities has spoken with students who describe grueling working conditions and interviewed dozens of parents whose children have been enrolled at Alabuga Polytechnic University -- some as young at 15 -- who say that their children were forced to work exceedingly long hours, often without proper breaks or meals, and under hostile conditions that have deeply affected their mental health.
“My son enrolled and 2 1/2 months later he called for me to take him away,” Zhanna, who asked to be identified only by her first name to protect against reprisals for speaking about the operation, told RFE/RL. “He said to me on the phone, ‘Come and get me or I’ll die,’ so I picked him up immediately.”
Zhanna, who asked that her underage son’s name also not be used, says that she sent him from Nizhny Novgorod to study at Alabuga Polytechnic University in 2022 because of its reputation as a leading technical institution inside Russia.
The school offered students -- often between the ages of 15-18 -- an opportunity to get vocational training as part of a dual program that combines a classroom education with practical work experience. Students were also promised an opportunity to work and earn a locally competitive salary of up to 70,000 rubles ($700) a month as part of the work experience program that could further their career growth.
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.
But, instead, those enrolled were encouraged and in some cases pressured into working at the drone facility, where the salaries of the mostly underage laborers are contingent on meeting tough production quotas.
“This is a textbook definition of what constitutes exploitation,” Sergei Podsytnik, an investigative journalist at Protokol who worked on the series of reports, told RFE/RL. “[Students] assemble drones, with the work taking priority over their studies.”
The pressure to fulfill these quotas has allegedly led to strenuous back-to-back days -- with some shifts lasting up to 15 hours -- with little time for sleep or adequate sustenance. Overtime work is often unpaid, further highlighting potential labor violations. Exhausted students also reported not always meeting their quotas, which led to them not earning the salary initially promised by the school. Many students came from disadvantaged backgrounds and relied on their earnings to cover costs for tuition, room, and board and would send the remainder home.
Other parents, such as Marina, said she decided to take her daughter out of the program when she discovered that she was working in apparent unsafe conditions and that staff from the school had instructed students not to tell their parents about the drone assembly work.
“This was the last straw for me,” Marina, who also asked for her identity to be concealed, told RFE/RL. “This is a dangerous production process that involves dangerous chemicals. They also forbid the kids from telling everything to their parents.”
RFE/RL sent multiple requests for comment to various staff and administrators at Alabuga Polytechnic University but received no replies.
Making Iranian Drones In Russia
The complicated and concerning dynamic at Alabuga Polytechnic University stems from growing military cooperation between Iran and Russia that has accelerated since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Iran has said it provided drones to Russia before the start of the war, but not since. However, U.S. intelligence officials have warned for months of continued deliveries and deepening cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, saying the two sides were exploring how to set up a manufacturing plant for Iranian drones inside Russia.
According to The Wall Street Journal, an Iranian delegation visited Yelabuga in Tatarstan on January 5, touring a potential site for such a factory at the Alabuga special economic zone close to Alabuga Polytechnic University. U.S. officials released satellite images in April of the plant being built.
Russia already possesses an array of unarmed aerial vehicles, or UAVs, which are used mainly for surveillance and artillery spotting, but has turned increasingly to Tehran for attack drones.
After being forced to abandon Ukrainian territory that its troops captured in the early stretches of the war, Moscow shifted to a strategy of relentless air assaults on Ukrainian cities. These attacks often rely on a combination of cruise missiles and self-detonating drones packed with explosives to knock out electricity and running water for the civilian population in Ukraine.
So far, Iran has provided Russia mostly with so-called "suicide" drones, known as the Shahed-136, that contain a modest amount of explosives that can detonate when the drones crash into targets, military experts say.
In acquiring its own domestic assembly line, Russia could dramatically increase its stockpile of the relatively inexpensive but highly destructive weapons systems.
WATCH: Russia has resorted to using Shahed-136 drones from Iran in its war on Ukraine. Ukraine says it's already downed many of the drones, which work by slamming into their intended target, laden with explosives. Ordinary Ukrainians say they can already recognize the sound of the drones, which use two-stroke engines like lawnmowers or motorbikes. Iran has denied supplying the drones to Russia.
The arrangement also offers substantial economic and political benefits for Iran, which has sought to portray itself as neutral in the Ukraine war. The appearance of Iranian-made drones over Ukrainian cities, however, has triggered threats of new economic sanctions from the West. The United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have also all issued rules in recent months designed to cut off the flow of drone components to Russia and Iran.
The Washington Post reported in November 2022, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, that the agreement to deliver Iranian drone schematics and materials for manufacture in Russia resulted from Iranian leaders believing that the arrangement would allow Tehran to avert new sanctions.
Foreign Recruitment And Patriotic Education
Alabuga Polytechnic University is formally not a college. All of its students are officially enrolled at nearby Yelabuga Polytechnic College, with the Alabuga institution existing on paper as a specialized program for students looking to break into high-tech industries.
Currently, about 1,000 students are studying at Alabuga Polytechnic University, with several hundred of them -- most of whom are between the ages of 15 and 17 -- involved in assembling the Iranian drones.
In addition to the work on the drones, there are other signs that point to blurred lines in Russia between the education system and the country’s military amid the war in Ukraine.
According to current and former Alabuga Polytechnic University students, team-building and organized extracurricular activities through the school often take on a “patriotic” character that may be designed to expose students to official government narratives of international events or echo talking points from state television.
Organized paintball games have become a mainstay for students, especially first-year arrivals, in which they are encouraged to compete against one another and then play together against more experienced outside players. Teachers and administration officials regularly refer to paintball as being part of a “patriotic” education needed to complement the technical aspect of their studies.
In one instance, a group of new students competed in paintball as Soviet soldiers against outside players who were dressed as troops from Nazi Germany in a capture-the-flag competition meant to simulate the World War II battle of Stalingrad. According to one student, the Nazi flag contained the compass symbol used by the NATO military alliance instead of the swastika used by Nazi Germany.
Other instances of political teachings from staff are more direct. In a recording obtained by RFE/RL from June 16, a senior administrator can be heard telling the teenagers that NATO launched a hybrid war against Russia back in 2011 and that it has slowly become more overt. The man then goes on to tell students that their hard work and exceeding long days at the drone factory are part of a nationwide struggle against the West and that their patriotism will be rewarded.
Several students and parents identified the man in the recording as Timur Shagivaleev, the director-general of the special economic zone where Alabuga Polytechnic University and the drone factory operate.
Shagivaleev did not respond to RFE/RL’s request for comment.
The man in the recording then goes on to tell students not to take holidays and to continue working “even if it's mom's birthday,” before ending his speech with, “Long live our great country.”
WATCH: Amid a new wave of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine, analysts in Kyiv are gaining useful intelligence from a collection of downed Russian aerial weapons. They have been studying the remains of Iranian Shahed drones and Russian Kinzhal missiles, among others.
Multiple current and former students told RFE/RL that students who work in the drone factory are often praised by staff, while those who have refused or asked to be reassigned due to the high workload are often publicly shamed. In some instances -- according to recordings heard by RFE/RL -- staff even encourage students to bully others who are not deemed “patriotic” enough.
According to Protokol and Razvorot’s investigations, Alabuga Polytechnic University has also turned toward recruiting foreign students to enroll. The majority of them come from African countries, but also from Central Asia and Azerbaijan, where they are promised “world class” salaries as part of the dual-track world experience program.
However, these foreign students are then given low-skill and menial tasks around the campus and the special economic zone, such as janitorial work, and are also paid lower salaries than initially promised.
Written by Reid Standish based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities


rferl--2020-05-04--U.S. Navy Operates in Barents Sea For First Time in Decades As Russia Increases Arctic Capabilities

Four U.S. Navy ships and a British Royal Navy frigate entered the Barents Sea north of Russia on May 4 to conduct Arctic security operations , the Pentagon said .
The move is the first time U.S. Navy surface vessels have entered the Barents Sea since the mid-1980s .
It comes as Russia in recent years has expanded its military capabilities in the Arctic , an area it views as geostrategic for its energy reserves , defense importance , and potentially lucrative northern shipping routes opening due to climate change .
China is also staking out an interest by claiming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” as it eyes shorter northern shipping routes to Europe .
“ Allied and partner navies must remain proficient in all operating environments to ensure the continued security and access to the seas , ” the U.S. Navy ’ s 6th Fleet said .
“ This is especially critical in the Arctic , where the austere weather environment demands constant vigilance and practice.
” The Russian Ministry of Defense was notified ahead of the operation to “ avoid misperceptions , reduce risk , and prevent inadvertent escalation , ” the U.S. Navy said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ includes new icebreakers and nuclear-powered ships and submarines , is tracking the naval vessels , the Russian Defense Ministry said .
The U.S. Navy vessels include three Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyers and a support ship .
The destroyers are armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles and the sea-based Aegis system , which is part of the U.S.-led NATO ballistic-missile defense system designed to protect Europe from a limited attack from the likes of Iran .
NATO ’ s ballistic-missile defense system has long antagonized Russia , which claims it is designed to alter the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forces .
The United States and arms experts say the ballistic-missile defense system does not alter the strategic balance .
Last week , two of the U.S. Navy 's destroyers , the support ship , a U.S. submarine , a Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft , and the British Royal Navy frigate conducted an anti-submarine warfare exercise in the Norwegian Sea above the Arctic Circle .
With reporting by AFP and Interfax .

Four U.S. Navy ships and a British Royal Navy frigate entered the Barents Sea north of Russia on May 4 to conduct Arctic security operations, the Pentagon said.
The move is the first time U.S. Navy surface vessels have entered the Barents Sea since the mid-1980s.
It comes as Russia in recent years has expanded its military capabilities in the Arctic, an area it views as geostrategic for its energy reserves, defense importance, and potentially lucrative northern shipping routes opening due to climate change.
China is also staking out an interest by claiming to be a “near Arctic state” as it eyes shorter northern shipping routes to Europe.
“Allied and partner navies must remain proficient in all operating environments to ensure the continued security and access to the seas,” the U.S. Navy’s 6th Fleet said. “This is especially critical in the Arctic, where the austere weather environment demands constant vigilance and practice.”
The Russian Defense Ministry was notified ahead of the operation to “avoid misperceptions, reduce risk, and prevent inadvertent escalation,” the U.S. Navy said.
Russia's Northern Fleet, which includes new icebreakers and nuclear-powered ships and submarines, is tracking the naval vessels, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The U.S. Navy vessels include three Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyers and a support ship.
The destroyers are armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles and the sea-based Aegis system, which is part of the U.S.-led NATO ballistic-missile defense system designed to protect Europe from a limited attack from the likes of Iran.
NATO’s ballistic-missile defense system has long antagonized Russia, which claims it is designed to alter the strategic balance against Moscow’s nuclear forces.
The United States and arms experts say the ballistic-missile defense system does not alter the strategic balance.
Last week, two of the U.S. Navy's destroyers, the support ship, a U.S. submarine, a Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, and the British Royal Navy frigate conducted an anti-submarine warfare exercise in the Norwegian Sea above the Arctic Circle.
With reporting by AFP and Interfax


rferl--2020-05-04--Fortieth Anniversary Of Tito's Death Marked With Small Tributes

Supporters of late Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito held small gatherings on May 4 to mark the 40th anniversary of his death .
The former strongman has a mixed legacy in the former Yugoslavia , where many see him as a brutal dictator who stifled dissent and jailed political opponents , while others see his rule as a period of peace and prosperity .
The coronavirus pandemic prevented mass gatherings , but small groups paid tribute at sites in countries that emerged from Yugoslavia 's bloody collapse .
Dozens of people donning face masks visited Tito 's marble grave in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fewer than the hundreds who usually mark his death annually at the site .
In the Croatian village of Kumrovec , where Tito was born , a siren wailed at the exact time of his passing .
Several dozen people joined a ceremony to lay flowers in front of a statue that stands outside his former family home in the village .
In the Bosnian capital , Sarajevo , a group gathered at the same hour to sound a siren and hold a moment of silence before a statue of Tito .
Tito @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 87 , was both revered and feared as the leader of Yugoslavia , a country that unraveled without his unifying presence .
Born to Croatian and Slovene parents , he was admired for driving out Nazi German forces during World War II with his partisan fighters .
He later brought relative prosperity to Yugoslavia and successfully balanced it between the Soviet Union and the West during the Cold War .
But he also jailed political dissidents , enjoyed a lavish lifestyle , and was criticized for encouraging a personality cult .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ control Tito exercised devolved along ethnic lines , culminating with the violent conflicts that saw first Slovenia , then Croatia , and subsequently Bosnia-Herzegovina , Macedonia , Montenegro , and Kosovo break away to become their own states .
With reporting by Reuters and AFP

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that there can be no advancement in the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban rulers unless there is an improvement in the treatment of women in the country.
Speaking to reporters on August 15, the two-year anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of power in Kabul, Blinken said the United States continues to work to hold the Taliban accountable for the commitments that it's made, particularly when it comes to the rights of women and girls.
"We've been very clear with the Taliban -- and dozens of countries around the world have been very clear -- that the path to any more normal relationship between the Taliban and other countries will be blocked unless and until the rights of women and girls among other things are actually supported," Blinken said.
No country has recognized the Taliban-led government, and the United States has avoided direct economic engagement in part over the treatment of women and girls, who have seen their rights drastically curbed by the hard-line Islamists. This includes a ban on women working in local and international nongovernmental organizations and a ban on education beyond the sixth grade.
The Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021 after President Joe Biden withdrew U.S. troops under the terms of an agreement reached in February 2020 between the Taliban and the administration of then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Blinken defended the pullout and said the United States was not focused on other priorities.
"The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was an incredibly difficult one, but also the right one," Blinken said. "We ended America's longest war. For the first time in 20 years, we don't have another generation of young Americans going to fight and die."
A number of international human rights organizations earlier on August 15 called the Taliban's two years of rule shameful and worrying.
Amnesty International and several other international human rights organizations demanded in a statement an effective response to the situation, noting the Taliban's strict decrees against human rights in Afghanistan, especially against women and girls.
The organizations said in a statement that in the past two years, the Taliban has increasingly imposed harmful policies against women and girls and religious and ethnic minorities that clearly violate Afghanistan's obligations under international human rights law.
The Taliban has previously rejected reports on the treatment of women as propaganda of international organizations. The militant group's leaders have said they have strengthened all the rights of women in Afghanistan in light of Islamic principles.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban, said in an interview with the AP marking the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of the country that the Taliban views its rule of Afghanistan as open-ended and as drawing legitimacy from Islamic law. He also suggested a ban on female education will remain in place.
Female activist Soheila Yousefi calls the situation alarming and wants the world to pay attention.
"The international community should take serious action in this regard because the world chose to be silent in these two years and did not take any practical steps. Our request is that they should look at the current situation in Afghanistan, then take a serious and comprehensive review."
The Taliban did not respond to Radio Azadi's questions before the release of the report, but the rulers have spoken of strengthening human rights in Afghanistan, especially the rights of women and girls, according to Islamic principles.
With reporting by AP and AFP


rferl--2020-05-04--Uzbek Ministry Promises To Investigate Police Detention Of Journalists

TASHKENT -- Uzbekistan 's Interior Ministry has taken the unusual step of promising to investigate the temporary detainment of two independent journalists while they were covering the aftermath of a dam burst that forced tens of thousands of people from their homes in the Sirdaryo region and neighboring Kazakhstan .
The ministry said on Telegram that it will `` assess the legality '' of the actions taken by officers in holding the reporters on May 3 .
`` The Interior Ministry is always open to media outlets and does not meddle in their operations , '' the ministry statement said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hours after the independent online news organization Human.uz wrote on Telegram that police detained its reporter , Mavjuda Mirzaeva , and her cameraman while they were interviewing residents who were being temporarily housed at a college in the regional capital , Guliston , because of the accident .
In the video , posted by Human.uz , law enforcement officers , some of whom are in plainclothes , force the cameraman , whose name was not disclosed , into a minibus , while Mirzaeva films the situation and demands an explanation from an officer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says , `` You refused to follow lawful demands , '' but does not respond to Mirzaeva 's request to clarify which `` lawful demands '' she and her cameraman refused to follow .
The officer then instructs one of his colleagues inside the vehicle to `` delete all their video records after looking through them . ''
Until recently , the Interior Ministry investigating such an incident would have been seen as unthinkable .
Until 2016 , Uzbekistan was under the iron fist of President Islam Karimov , who ruled the Central @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Soviet Union in 1991 until his death in 2016 .
Since President Shavkat Mirziyoev took over , many imprisoned political opposition figures and journalists , some of whom were held for almost 20 years , have been released , while websites that were censored for years have become accessible .
Still , the watchdog Reporters Without Borders said in its assessment of press freedom in Uzbekistan that `` the road is still long '' for the country `` to fully restore press freedom without political pluralism and without justice for the dictatorship @ @ @ @

TASHKENT -- Uzbekistan's Interior Ministry has taken the unusual step of promising to investigate the temporary detainment of two independent journalists while they were covering the aftermath of a dam burst that forced tens of thousands of people from their homes in the Sirdaryo region and neighboring Kazakhstan.
The ministry said on Telegram that it will "assess the legality" of the actions taken by officers in holding the reporters on May 3.
"The Interior Ministry is always open to media outlets and does not meddle in their operations," the ministry statement said.
The statement came less than two hours after the independent online news organization Human.uz wrote on Telegram that police detained its reporter, Mavjuda Mirzaeva, and her cameraman while they were interviewing residents who were being temporarily housed at a college in the regional capital, Guliston, because of the accident.
In the video, posted by Human.uz, law enforcement officers, some of whom are in plainclothes, force the cameraman, whose name was not disclosed, into a minibus, while Mirzaeva films the situation and demands an explanation from an officer for the arrest.
The officer finally says, "You refused to follow lawful demands," but does not respond to Mirzaeva's request to clarify which "lawful demands" she and her cameraman refused to follow.
The officer then instructs one of his colleagues inside the vehicle to "delete all their video records after looking through them."
Until recently, the Interior Ministry investigating such an incident would have been seen as unthinkable.
Until 2016, Uzbekistan was under the iron fist of President Islam Karimov, who ruled the Central Asian state from before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 until his death in 2016.
Since President Shavkat Mirziyoev took over, many imprisoned political opposition figures and journalists, some of whom were held for almost 20 years, have been released, while websites that were censored for years have become accessible.
Still, the watchdog Reporters Without Borders said in its assessment of press freedom in Uzbekistan that "the road is still long" for the country "to fully restore press freedom without political pluralism and without justice for the dictatorship's crimes."


rferl--2020-05-04--Turkmen Prosecutors Visit Turkey Over Deadly Bootleg-Vodka Poisoning

Four Turkmen prosecutors have visited Turkey in connection with the deadly poisoning of dozens of Turkmen nationals from bootleg alcohol @ @ @ @ @ to law enforcement told RFE/RL on May 4 that the prosecutors returned from Istanbul early @ @ @ @ @ 1 .
They , along with nine crew members of the IL-76 airplane that transported @ @ @ @ @ a two-week coronavirus control quarantine .
According to the sources , the main goal of @ @ @ @ @ to focus on Turkmen citizens residing in Turkey and discuss the situation with them .
@ @ @ @ @ in Istanbul after they drank bootleg alcohol , Turkish media reported in March .
The @ @ @ @ @ police had arrested 11 people , including Turkmen nationals , suspected of selling the counterfeit @ @ @ @ @ sources in Turkmenistan , the prosecutors also held talks with Turkish officials on the possible @ @ @ @ @ detained in the case .
Turkmen authorities , including the Turkmen Embassy in Ankara , @ @ @ @ @ the reports .

Four Turkmen prosecutors have visited Turkey in connection with the deadly poisoning of dozens of Turkmen nationals from bootleg alcohol in Istanbul.
Sources close to law enforcement told RFE/RL on May 4 that the prosecutors returned from Istanbul early in the morning on May 1. They, along with nine crew members of the IL-76 airplane that transported them, are currently in a two-week coronavirus control quarantine.
According to the sources, the main goal of the prosecutors' trip was to focus on Turkmen citizens residing in Turkey and discuss the situation with them.
Some 58 Turkmen citizens died in Istanbul after they drank bootleg alcohol, Turkish media reported in March.
The reports also said that Istanbul police had arrested 11 people, including Turkmen nationals, suspected of selling the counterfeit alcohol.
According to the sources in Turkmenistan, the prosecutors also held talks with Turkish officials on the possible extradition of the Turkmen citizens detained in the case.
Turkmen authorities, including the Turkmen Embassy in Ankara, have not officially commented on the reports.


rferl--2020-05-04--Iran: U.S. Push To Extend Arms Embargo 'Illegitimate'

Iran has criticized what it calls the `` illegitimate '' efforts by the United States to prolong the UN Security Council arms embargo on Tehran and said it would react to them with `` proportionate '' measures .
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed on April 29 to use all means available to extend the ban on conventional arms sales to Iran beyond October and he was `` hopeful '' the UN Security Council would prolong the restriction before it expires .
`` Iran is not seeking to exit the 2015 nuclear deal with six powers ... .
America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be proportionate , '' Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Musavi said on May 4 in a televised weekly news conference , referring to an agreement with global powers that the United States left in 2018 .
`` The United States is not a member of the nuclear deal anymore ... .
Iran 's reaction to America 's illegal measures will be firm , '' Musavi said .
Security Council members China and Russia , which stand to win major new arms contracts with Iran , are certain to oppose an extension of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nuclear deal , U.S. President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions on Tehran that have hit its economy hard .
Iran has gradually rolled back its commitments under the accord since the United States quit , arguing that Washington 's actions justified such a course .
Under the 2015 deal , Iran agreed to halt its sensitive nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief .
Washington believes the nuclear program is secretly working toward military capabilities , while Tehran claims it is solely for civilian purposes .
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP


rferl--2020-05-04--Nine Georgians Seized By Pirates Off Nigerian Coast

Georgia 's Maritime Transport Agency says pirates have attacked a Panamanian-flagged ship off the coast of Nigeria and abducted 10 @ @ @ @ @ .
The agency 's director , Tamar Ioseliani , said on May 3 that four @ @ @ @ @ capture when the pirates boarded the vessel on April 30 and were expected to return @ @ @ @ @ Ioseliani , the agency is currently working with Georgia 's Foreign Ministry to find out @ @ @ @ @ the abducted Georgian sailors .

Georgia's Maritime Transport Agency says pirates have attacked a Panamanian-flagged ship off the coast of Nigeria and abducted 10 sailors, including nine Georgians.
The agency's director, Tamar Ioseliani, said on May 3 that four Georgian sailors managed to escape capture when the pirates boarded the vessel on April 30 and were expected to return home soon.
According to Ioseliani, the agency is currently working with Georgia's Foreign Ministry to find out more on the situation of the abducted Georgian sailors.


rferl--2020-05-04--HRW Calls For Investigation Into 'Shocking' Allegation Of Iranian Border Guards Drowning Afghan Migr

HRW Calls For Investigation Into 'Shocking' Allegation Of Iranian Border Guards Drowning Afghan Migrants

Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) has called for a `` thorough investigation '' into `` shocking '' allegations that Iranian border guards beat and then forced a group of Afghan migrants into a river .
Afghan officials said up to 70 migrants last week illegally crossed into Iran , where they were beaten , tortured , and then forced into a river by Iranian border guards .
Authorities in the western province of Herat , located along the border with Iran , said they had retrieved 12 bodies from the Harirud River that crosses both countries .
Dozens of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authorities have launched an operation to locate and retrieve the bodies .
`` The allegations are indeed shocking , '' Patricia Gossman , an associate director for the Asia division at HRW , told RFE/RL on May 4 .
`` It really requires a very thorough investigation into what exactly happened . ''
Gossman said that if proven , the actions of the Iranian border guards would amount to `` a very serious human rights violation . ''
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Musavi said the `` incident '' took place on Afghan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Islamic Republic of Iran denied the occurrence of any events related to this on the soil of our country , '' he said in a statement on May 3 , adding that Tehran would launch an investigation into the incident .
Abdul Ghani Noori , governor of Herat 's Gulran district , where the migrants crossed , accused Iranian security forces of throwing the group of Afghan migrants into the Harirud River .
Afghan officials said it was not the first time that Afghans had been tortured and killed by Iranian security forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have n't heard of a case like this in recent memory , although we have previously documented abuses by Iranian border officials against Afghans for some time , '' Gossman said , adding that there had been past incidents of Iranian border guards beating and firing on Afghan migrants .
Decades of conflict , extreme poverty , and high rates of unemployment force thousands of Afghans to illegally cross the border into Iran every year .
There are currently up to 1 million registered Afghan refugees in Iran , while the country hosts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the United Nations .
With reporting by Reuters and AFP


rferl--2020-05-04--Iranian OPEC Official In Coma After Suffering 'Severe' Brain Hemorrhage

Iran 's OPEC governor , Hossein Kazempur Ardebili , is in a coma after suffering a `` severe '' brain @ @ @ @ @ on May 3 , the country 's Oil Ministry said Ardebili was hospitalized on May @ @ @ @ @ provide further details .
Ardebili is a key figure in Iran 's energy industry and @ @ @ @ @ minister and deputy oil minister in the 1980s .
He was ambassador to Japan in @ @ @ @ @ at the same time serving as OPEC governor .
Iran has the world 's fourth-biggest @ @ @ @ @ reserves .
But its economy has been battered by sanctions imposed by the United States @ @ @ @ @ pulled Washington out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 .
Washington 's imposition of @ @ @ @ @ in November 2018 targeted key Iranian economic spheres -- including the banking and oil sectors @ @ @ @ @ its main source of revenue while making international trade increasingly difficult .
Based on reporting @ @ @ @


rferl--2020-05-04--Turkmen In Storm-Devastated East Say Left Without State Assistance

TURKMENABAT , Turkmenistan -- Residents in several towns and districts in Turkmenistan 's eastern regions of Lebap and Mary say the government has left them without assistance after being hit by several deadly storms last week .
RFE/RL correspondents on the scene said they counted at least 30 people , including many children , killed in the Lebap region only by the storms and heavy rains that destroyed houses and automobiles on April 27 .
As heavy rains resumed on May 4 , many of those whose houses and cattle shelters were destroyed in the initial wave of storms said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as food prices rocketed amid `` the chaos . ''
Some residents accused local authorities of forcing them to sign papers saying that they `` did not have any complaints '' regarding the local government 's response to the storms .
In the capital of the Lebap region , Turkmenabat , authorities are offering owners of damaged houses some construction materials at reduced prices , but people said they did n't have cash to pay even those rates .
Electricity , water , and gas supplies have not been fully restored in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Meanwhile , media in the tightly controlled Central Asian country have not reported anything about the storms and the aftermath , a week after they hit .
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has established a pervasive cult of personality since becoming Turkmenistan 's leader in 2006 after the death of his authoritarian predecessor , Saparmurat Niyazov .
Berdymukhammedov has hot commented publicly on the storms .

TURKMENABAT, Turkmenistan -- Residents in several towns and districts in Turkmenistan's eastern regions of Lebap and Mary say the government has left them without assistance after being hit by several deadly storms last week.
RFE/RL correspondents on the scene said they counted at least 30 people, including many children, killed in the Lebap region only by the storms and heavy rains that destroyed houses and automobiles on April 27.
As heavy rains resumed on May 4, many of those whose houses and cattle shelters were destroyed in the initial wave of storms said they faced "severe food shortages" as food prices rocketed amid "the chaos."
Some residents accused local authorities of forcing them to sign papers saying that they "did not have any complaints" regarding the local government's response to the storms.
In the capital of the Lebap region, Turkmenabat, authorities are offering owners of damaged houses some construction materials at reduced prices, but people said they didn't have cash to pay even those rates.
Electricity, water, and gas supplies have not been fully restored in the province and its capital since the storms.
Meanwhile, media in the tightly controlled Central Asian country have not reported anything about the storms and the aftermath, a week after they hit.
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has established a pervasive cult of personality since becoming Turkmenistan's leader in 2006 after the death of his authoritarian predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov.
Berdymukhammedov has hot commented publicly on the storms.


rferl--2020-05-04--Iran To Cut Four Zeros From Currency To Fight Hyperinflation

Iran 's parliament has voted to slash four zeros from the national currency , the rial , to fight hyperinflation caused by crippling U.S. sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic .
Lawmakers also decided on May 4 that the rial , which has been Iran 's national currency since 1925 , wiil be replaced by the toman , which will be equal to 10,000 rials , according to the IRNA and ISNA news agencies .
President Donald Trump in May 2018 withdrew the United States from a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers under which Tehran pledged to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sanctions relief .
Washington then reimposed most sanctions on Iran , dealing a hard blow to the Islamic republic 's economy .
In recent months , the rial has shed more than 60 percent of its value , with hyperinflation also accelerated by the economic consequences of the coronavirus outbreak .
Iran is one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic .
The law must be ratified by the Guardians Council , a powerful hard-line constitutional watchdog .
State television said Iran 's Central Bank will have two years to `` pave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the toman . ''
The Iranian currency was trading at about 156,000 rials per dollar on the unofficial market on May 4 , according to foreign-exchange websites .
Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa


rferl--2020-05-04--Election Of New Kazakh Parliament Speaker Sparks Talk Of Power Struggle

The former deputy chief of the Kazakh presidential administration , Maulen Ashimbaev , has replaced as parliament speaker Dariga Nazarbaeva , the daughter of former President Nursultan Nazarbaev , in a sign of a possible power struggle at the top of the country 's leadership .
Presidential spokesman Berik Uali wrote on Facebook on May 4 that members of parliament 's upper chamber , the Senate , had approved President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev 's proposal to elect Ashimbaev to the post of the Senate chairman , a position that is next in line to take power in the country if the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their duties .
The vote was held just hours after Toqaev appointed Ashimbaev as a Senate member , two days after he unexpectedly dismissed Nazarbaeva from the post of Senate speaker .
The decision to remove the 56-year-old Nazarbaeva from the post and her seat in parliament by Toqaev , her father 's handpicked successor , may be an indication of a political upheaval among power brokers in the Central Asian country .
Nazarbaeva had served as Senate chairwoman since March 20 , 2019 , a day after her father stepped down as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for almost 30 years .
At the time , her appointment raised concerns that her father had picked Toqaev as purely an interim leader and that Nazarbaeva would ascend to power .
Nazarbaev , 79 , is widely seen as the country 's top decision-maker despite leaving the presidency .
He continues to lead the ruling Nur-Otan Party and holds the lifetime post as chairman of the powerful Security Council .