rferl--2020-07-07--Russian Prosecutor Seeks 15-Year Sentence For Rights Activist, Gulag Historian

PETROZAVODSK , Russia -- Prosecutors have asked a court in Russia 's northwestern Karelia region to sentence Yury Dmitriyev , a Russian historian and human rights activist , to 15 years in prison on charges of sexually assaulting his adopted daughter -- an allegation he and his supporters deny .
The prosecution argued its case in Petrozavodsk City Court against the 64-year-old head of the Karelia branch of the Moscow-based human rights group Memorial as the high-profile trial entered its final stage on July 7 .
Supporters of Dmitriyev , who is also a renowned gulag researcher , have said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of his research into a side of history that complicates the Kremlin 's glorification of the Soviet past .
Dmitriyev 's decades-long efforts to expose the extent of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin 's crimes have been viewed with hostility by the government of President Vladimir Putin .
In May , dozens of Russian scholars , historians , writers , poets , opposition politicians , artists , and actors signed an open letter asking the Karelia Supreme Court to release Dmitriyev , expressing concerns over the researcher 's health as cases of the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where he is being held .
The European Union has called on the Russian authorities to release Dmitriyev and reconsider the charges against him .
Dmitriyev was arrested in 2016 on child-pornography charges based on photographs of his adopted daughter that authorities found on his computer .
He has proclaimed his innocence , contending that the images were not pornographic and were made at the request of social workers concerned about the child ’ s development .
He says the case is an attempt to thwart his research into extrajudicial executions in Karelia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dmitriyev in April 2018 , but the Karelia Supreme Court subsequently upheld an appeal by prosecutors and ordered a new trial .
The historian was rearrested in June 2018 and is currently on trial on the more severe charge of `` violent acts of a sexual nature committed against a person under 14 years of age . ''

PETROZAVODSK, Russia -- Prosecutors have asked a court in Russia's northwestern Karelia region to sentence Yury Dmitriyev, a Russian historian and human rights activist, to 15 years in prison on charges of sexually assaulting his adopted daughter -- an allegation he and his supporters deny.
The prosecution argued its case in Petrozavodsk City Court against the 64-year-old head of the Karelia branch of the Moscow-based human rights group Memorial as the high-profile trial entered its final stage on July 7.
Supporters of Dmitriyev, who is also a renowned gulag researcher, have said the charges were brought against him because of his research into a side of history that complicates the Kremlin's glorification of the Soviet past.
Dmitriyev's decades-long efforts to expose the extent of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's crimes have been viewed with hostility by the government of President Vladimir Putin.
In May, dozens of Russian scholars, historians, writers, poets, opposition politicians, artists, and actors signed an open letter asking the Karelia Supreme Court to release Dmitriyev, expressing concerns over the researcher's health as cases of the coronavirus have been found in the detention center where he is being held.
The European Union has called on the Russian authorities to release Dmitriyev and reconsider the charges against him.
Dmitriyev was arrested in 2016 on child-pornography charges based on photographs of his adopted daughter that authorities found on his computer.
He has proclaimed his innocence, contending that the images were not pornographic and were made at the request of social workers concerned about the child’s development. He says the case is an attempt to thwart his research into extrajudicial executions in Karelia under Stalin.
A local court acquitted Dmitriyev in April 2018, but the Karelia Supreme Court subsequently upheld an appeal by prosecutors and ordered a new trial.
The historian was rearrested in June 2018 and is currently on trial on the more severe charge of "violent acts of a sexual nature committed against a person under 14 years of age."


rferl--2020-07-07--Russia's Arctic Sees Hottest June On Record, A 'Warning Cry' On Climate Change

A heat wave pushed temperatures in Siberia to record levels in June in what scientists say is a `` warning cry '' on global climate change .
The Copernicus Climate Change Service ( C3S ) said in a statement on July 7 that last month was the hottest June on record for Russia 's Arctic Siberian region , where temperatures averaged more than 5 degrees Celsius above normal , and more than a degree higher compared to 2018 and 2019 , the two previous warmest Junes . ''
`` The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , describing the trend as `` worrisome . ''
Scientists have known climate change is causing the Arctic to warm twice as quickly as the rest of the world , and the Siberian heat wave , which began in May , is typical of that trend .
The extreme heat has sparked an unusually high number of wildfires across the remote , boreal forest and tundra that blankets northern Russia , pushing snow cover and surface soil moisture in the Siberian Arctic to record lows for June , C3S , which his funded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Siberia , larger than the United States and Mexico combined , was already reeling from record wildfires last summer .
In mid-August , a record 5.5 million hectares was ablaze in Russia , mostly in Siberia , with smoke clouds covering more than 5 million square kilometers , more than the size of the entire EU .
Greenpeace said in late April that forest fires were already burning on more than 1.3 million hectares in Russia , which the organization said is unusually large for the spring season .
The Russian forestry agency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there were 246 forest fires covering 140,073 hectares , with seven regions already declaring emergency situations .
`` Last year was already by far an unusual , and record , summer for fires in the Arctic Circle , '' researcher Mark Parrington said in the statement .
`` This year has evolved in a very similar way , '' he added .

A heat wave pushed temperatures in Siberia to record levels in June in what scientists say is a "warning cry" on global climate change.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a statement on July 7 that last month was the hottest June on record for Russia's Arctic Siberian region, where temperatures averaged more than 5 degrees Celsius above normal, and more than a degree higher compared to 2018 and 2019, the two previous warmest Junes."
"The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world," program director Carlo Buontempo said, describing the trend as "worrisome."
Scientists have known climate change is causing the Arctic to warm twice as quickly as the rest of the world, and the Siberian heat wave, which began in May, is typical of that trend.
The extreme heat has sparked an unusually high number of wildfires across the remote, boreal forest and tundra that blankets northern Russia, pushing snow cover and surface soil moisture in the Siberian Arctic to record lows for June, C3S, which his funded by the European Union, said.
Siberia, larger than the United States and Mexico combined, was already reeling from record wildfires last summer.
In mid-August, a record 5.5 million hectares was ablaze in Russia, mostly in Siberia, with smoke clouds covering more than 5 million square kilometers, more than the size of the entire EU.
Greenpeace said in late April that forest fires were already burning on more than 1.3 million hectares in Russia, which the organization said is unusually large for the spring season.
The Russian forestry agency said that as of July 6, there were 246 forest fires covering 140,073 hectares, with seven regions already declaring emergency situations.
"Last year was already by far an unusual, and record, summer for fires in the Arctic Circle," researcher Mark Parrington said in the statement.
"This year has evolved in a very similar way," he added.


rferl--2020-07-07--Russian Authorities In Occupied Crimea Detain Tatar Activists, Search Their Homes

SIMFEROPOL , Ukraine -- Russian authorities have detained seven Crimean Tatar activists after searching their homes in different parts of Ukraine 's Moscow-controlled Crimea region .
Russia 's Federal Security Service ( FSB ) said in a statement that it had detained `` three leaders and four members of the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamic group '' in Crimea on July 7 .
Since Russia forcibly annexed Crimea in March 2014 , Russian authorities have prosecuted dozens of Crimean Tatars for allegedly belonging to the Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamic group , which is banned in Russia but not in Ukraine .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Crimea and other parts of Ukraine said on July 7 that FSB officers had detained Seyran Hayretdinov , Emil Ziyadinov , Ismet Ibragimov , Alim Sufyanov , Vadim Bektemirov , and a legally blind activist , Aleksandr Sizikov , after their homes were searched .
Ukrainian Ombudswoman Lyudmila Densyova said that the seventh man detained by the FSB in Crimea was Zekirya Muratov .
The house belonging to another Crimean Tatar activist , Dilyaver Memetov , was searched without his presence and Russia-controlled authorities are looking for him , the Crimean Solidarity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ukrainian regional authorities of Crimea condemned the searches and detainments and launched a probe into them .
The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine also voiced concern over the searches and detainments .
`` Russia has no right to harass and detain Ukrainians on Ukrainian soil .
Russia must free all Ukrainian political prisoners , '' the embassy wrote on Facebook .
Moscow ’ s takeover of the peninsula was vocally opposed by many Crimean Tatars , who are a sizable minority in the region .
Exiled from their homeland to Central Asia by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ World War II , many Crimean Tatars are very wary of Russia and Moscow 's rule .
Rights groups and Western governments have denounced what they describe as a campaign of repression by the Moscow-imposed authorities in Crimea who are targeting members of the Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatar community and others who have spoken out against Moscow 's takeover of the peninsula .
In its annual report on religious freedom worldwide , released in April 2019 , the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom ( USCIRF ) said that `` [ in ] Russian-occupied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kidnap , torture , and imprison Crimean Tatar Muslims at will . ''
Russia took control of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 after sending in troops , seizing key facilities , and staging a referendum dismissed as illegal by at least 100 countries .
Moscow also backs separatists in a war against government forces that has killed some 13,200 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014 .
With reporting by TASS and Interfax

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine -- Russian authorities have detained seven Crimean Tatar activists after searching their homes in different parts of Ukraine's Moscow-controlled Crimea region.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement that it had detained "three leaders and four members of the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamic group" in Crimea on July 7.
Since Russia forcibly annexed Crimea in March 2014, Russian authorities have prosecuted dozens of Crimean Tatars for allegedly belonging to the Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamic group, which is banned in Russia but not in Ukraine.
The Crimean Solidarity rights group that has members in Crimea and other parts of Ukraine said on July 7 that FSB officers had detained Seyran Hayretdinov, Emil Ziyadinov, Ismet Ibragimov, Alim Sufyanov, Vadim Bektemirov, and a legally blind activist, Aleksandr Sizikov, after their homes were searched.
Ukrainian Ombudswoman Lyudmila Densyova said that the seventh man detained by the FSB in Crimea was Zekirya Muratov.
The house belonging to another Crimean Tatar activist, Dilyaver Memetov, was searched without his presence and Russia-controlled authorities are looking for him, the Crimean Solidarity said.
The authorities of the exiled Ukrainian regional authorities of Crimea condemned the searches and detainments and launched a probe into them.
The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine also voiced concern over the searches and detainments.
"Russia has no right to harass and detain Ukrainians on Ukrainian soil. Russia must free all Ukrainian political prisoners," the embassy wrote on Facebook.
Moscow’s takeover of the peninsula was vocally opposed by many Crimean Tatars, who are a sizable minority in the region.
Exiled from their homeland to Central Asia by the Soviet authorities under dictator Josef Stalin during World War II, many Crimean Tatars are very wary of Russia and Moscow's rule.
Rights groups and Western governments have denounced what they describe as a campaign of repression by the Moscow-imposed authorities in Crimea who are targeting members of the Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatar community and others who have spoken out against Moscow's takeover of the peninsula.
In its annual report on religious freedom worldwide, released in April 2019, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said that "[in] Russian-occupied Crimea, the Russian authorities continued to kidnap, torture, and imprison Crimean Tatar Muslims at will."
Russia took control of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 after sending in troops, seizing key facilities, and staging a referendum dismissed as illegal by at least 100 countries. Moscow also backs separatists in a war against government forces that has killed some 13,200 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.
With reporting by TASS and Interfax


rferl--2020-07-07--UN Rights Rapporteur Calls U.S. Killing Of Top Iranian General 'Unlawful'

A UN expert has concluded that a U.S drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Iraq early this year constituted an `` arbitrary killing '' that was `` unlawful . ''
“ Major General Soleimani was in charge of Iran military strategy , and actions , in Syria and Iraq .
But absent an actual imminent threat to life , the course of action taken by the U.S. was unlawful , ” Agnes Callamard , the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial , summary , or arbitrary executions wrote in the report released on July 7 .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Quds force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps ( IRGC ) , in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad ’ s airport in the early hours of January 3 brought the United States and Iran close to a military conflict .
Several others died in the attack as well .
In retaliation for the killing , an Iranian ballistic-missile strike on January 8 targeted U.S. bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces , leaving some 110 U.S. troops suffering from traumatic brain injuries .
In her report , Callamard said the targeted killing is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a state invoked self-defense as a justification for an attack against a state-actor , in the territory of another state . ''
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump justified the killing by saying that Soleimani was in the process of orchestrating attacks on Americans and others in the region .
In a tweet , Trump said that Soleimani had `` killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time , and was plotting to kill many more ... but got caught ! ''
“ No evidence has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an imminent attack against U.S. interests , particularly in Iraq , for which immediate action was necessary and would have been justified , ” the independent rights expert said .
She added that the United States also provided no evidence that the harm caused to the country was “ proportionate to the harm allegedly averted.
” The report on targeted killings through armed drones , around half of which deals with the Soleimani case , is to be presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on July 9 .
Callamard called for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and for greater regulation of the weapons .
The United States is not a member of the council , having withdrawn in 2018 .

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--2020-07-07--UN: COVID-19 Setting Back AIDS Fight Amid 'Staggering' Surge In East European, Central Asian Infecti

UN: COVID-19 Setting Back AIDS Fight Amid 'Staggering' Surge In East European, Central Asian Infections

The United Nations says the coronavirus pandemic is disrupting treament for many and jeopardizing years of progress in the battle against HIV/AIDS , a stark warning for Eastern Europe and Central Asia , which together have seen `` a staggering '' increase in new HIV infections .
Restrictions imposed to stem the spread of the coronavirus could lead to more than half a million deaths as they hinder the fight against HIV infection in females by limiting their access to education and protection from sexual violence , the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS ( UNAIDS ) said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Such a situation could prove damaging for Eastern Europe and Central Asia , where a 72 percent rise in new infections has been recorded since 2010 .
The report , titled `` Seizing the Moment , '' said that with governments focusing on tackling the pandemic , attention and resources have also shifted away from protecting vulnerable populations from HIV , the virus that can lead to acquired immune deficiency syndrome , or AIDS .
`` Our progress towards ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 was already off track @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crisis has the potential to blow us even further off course , '' Winnie Byanyima , UNAIDS executive director , said in the report .
A six-month disruption in treatment against the virus could cause more than 500,000 additional deaths in sub-Saharan Africa alone over the next year , bringing the region back to 2008 AIDS mortality levels , the report warned .
'Urgent Need To Scale Up ' The report noted that Eastern Europe and Central Asia is one of only three regions where the HIV epidemic is growing , with an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ higher than in any other region in 2019 .
`` There is an urgent need to scale up HIV prevention services , especially in the Russian Federation , and there is a large gap between HIV testing and treatment initiation , '' it said..
The report said millions of lives have been saved by the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy that suppresses HIV and stops the progression of AIDS .
Still , 690,000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses last year and 12.6 million of the 38 million people living with HIV were not accessing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1.7 million people newly infected with the virus , the report said the world is `` far behind '' in preventing new HIV infections .
New HIV infections have also risen by more than 20 percent in the Middle East , North Africa , and Latin America .
Last year , funding for HIV fell by 7 percent from 2017 , meaning that financing fell one-third short of the $ 26.2 billion needed to effectively respond to HIV in 2020 , UNAIDS said .
With reporting by AP and Reuters

A former top FBI counterintelligence agent pleaded guilty to charges related to his work for notorious Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, changing his plea after federal prosecutors filed new, reduced charges of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Russia by working for the billionaire industrialist.
The move by Charles McGonigal, made on August 15 before a federal judge in New York City, ends a prosecution that had stunned the FBI, where McGonigal had investigated Russian influence operations for years while climbing the bureau’s ranks.
The 55-year-old also still faces a separate set of foreign agent charges in Washington, D.C., related to work he did for Albanian officials.
McGonigal, who retired as head counterintelligence in the FBI's New York bureau in 2018, was originally indicted in January by a grand jury on more serious charges of money laundering and violating U.S. sanctions.
Prosecutors alleged that McGonigal and a former Russian diplomat with whom he was associated, were paid more than $200,000 to do work for Deripaska, a wealthy Russian metals tycoon who has long been seen as a Kremlin insider. Deripaska was hit with sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2018.
U.S. authorities said McGonigal was hired to dig up negative information on Vladimir Potanin, a rival oligarch to Deripaska. McGonigal and the former diplomat, Sergei Shestakov, also worked to try and get Deripaska removed from U.S. sanctions lists.
Shestakov has pleaded not guilty to the more serious charges than had been originally filed against McGonigal.
They "attempted to conceal Deripaska's involvement by, among other means, not directly naming Deripaska in electronic communications, using shell companies as counterparties in the contract that outlined the services to be performed, using a forged signature on that contract, and using the same shell companies to send and receive payment from Deripaska," the Justice Department said in a press release after McGonigal entered his plea.
McGonigal could receive up to five years in prison when he is sentenced in December.
The separate case filed in Washington, D.C., by federal prosecutors centers on work McGonigal allegedly did on behalf of a former Albanian intelligence officer, for which he was paid $225,000.
McGonigal also allegedly lied to the FBI about his contacts with foreign nationals and foreign travel while he was still employed by the bureau.
Deripaska also faces charges of violating U.S. sanctions through real estate deals and a complicated scheme under which he allegedly arranged for his girlfriend to travel to the United States to give birth to two of their children.


rferl--2020-07-07--Russian Space Agency Aide, Former Journalist Pleads Not Guilty To High Treason

MOSCOW -- Ivan Safronov Jr. , an adviser to the chief of Russia 's Roskosmos state space agency and a former journalist , has pleaded not guilty after being detained on a charge of high treason for allegedly passing military secrets to a NATO government .
The court ordered him held behind bars until September 6 .
Prosecutors will officially charge him on July 13 , Safronov 's lawyer , Sergei Badamshin , told reporters .
Badamshin intends to аppeal the decision .
Safronov was arrested and searched by armed officers of the FSB security service outside his apartment on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said that the high treason charge that Safronov faces is not related to his position at the space agency .
The TASS news agency reported that because of the classified nature of some materials involved in the case , the court will hold proceedings behind closed doors .
It added that sources said Safronov denied the charges during his interrogation .
Safronov could face up to 20 years in prison , if convicted .
His arrest -- the latest in a series of law enforcement actions against Russian journalists and researchers -- prompted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protesting outside the FSB headquarters in Moscow .
“ The experience of the last few years shows that any citizen of Russia whose work is connected with public activities -- whether it is a human rights defender , scientist , journalist , or employee of a state corporation -- can face a serious charge at any time , ” Kommersant , the newspaper where Safronov worked for a decade until last year , said in a statement on its website following his arrest .
The newspaper called him a “ true Russian patriot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ absurd.
” It also called on prosecutors to make the case as open to the public as possible , saying it 's hard for people accused of treason in Russia to get a fair trial .
The RIA news agency quoted the FSB Security Service as saying that Safronov worked for the foreign intelligence service of an unspecified NATO country and had been handing over classified military information .
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on July 7 that Safronov 's detainment `` is not linked to his journalistic activities . ''
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of passing secret data to foreign intelligence .
As far as we are informed , the detainment has nothing to do with the journalistic activities Safronov was involved with in the past , '' Peskov said .
Pavel Chikov , a top human rights lawyer whose organization , Agora , provides legal support to Russians detained in politically motivated cases , wrote on Telegram that police also searched the apartment of journalist Taisia Bekbulatova , who is known as being a close associate of Safronov .
According to Chikov , after the search @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questioning as a witness in an unspecified case along with her lawyer Nikolai Vasilyev .
TASS and Interfax both quoted unidentified sources as saying that Bekbulatova is being questioned as a witness in the Safronov case .
As a journalist , Safronov mainly covered issues related to the activities of Russia 's military industrial sector .
His father , Ivan Safronov Sr. , also worked for Kommersant and focused mainly on the operations of the military industrial complex .
Safronov Sr. died at the age of 51 after he mysteriously fell out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Moscow in 2007 .
Police concluded the death was a suicide , though relatives and friends say they suspect foul play .
Safronov Jr. was fired from Kommersant last year after writing an article about the possible resignation of Valentina Matviyenko , the chairwoman of the Russian parliament 's upper chamber .
His firing led to a crisis at the newspaper after all of the journalists in Kommersant 's politics department resigned in protest .
He soon joined Vedomosti , then the nation ’ s leading business newspaper , before quitting following an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ editor .
In June 2019 , media reports surfaced saying that Kommersant might face administrative lawsuits for making state secrets public .
It was not clear which state secrets had been made public , but one of Safronov 's articles about Russia 's plans to deliver Su-35 military planes to Egypt was removed from the newspaper 's website .
At the time , U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo warned of possible sanctions against Egypt if Cairo were to purchase the planes from Moscow , The Bell website said at the time .
Kommersant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group on July 7 that there were no issues with authorities related to Safronov 's article published in his newspaper last year , adding that the article in question did not contain any data that might be classified as a state secret .
Following Safronov 's detention on July 7 , more than 20 journalists were held by police as they staged single-picket protests in front of the Federal Security Service 's headquarters in Moscow .
They were demanding `` transparency , openness , and detailed information '' on Safronov 's case .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ which do not require pre-approval from the authorities .
With reporting by MBKh Media , RIA Novosti , Open Media , TASS , and Interfax

BELGRADE -- President Aleksandar Vucic has called on Serbs to refrain from attending anti-government protests in order to curb the further spreading of the coronavirus infections.
Vucic's call on July 8 came after police said 24 people were detained and some 60 police officers and demonstrators were injured in clashes that erupted in Belgrade overnight as Serbs rallied to protest the decision to reimpose lockdown measures amid a new surge of coronavirus infections.
Several opposition parties have urged their supporters to protest again on later on July 8.
Serbian authorities have incrementally ramped up anti-pandemic measures amid a COVID-19 spike since rapidly reopening weeks before June 21 elections in which Vucic and his ruling Progressive Party allies scored a victory.
"There are no free beds in our hospitals, we will open new hospitals," Vucic said in his address to the nation on July 8.
The demonstrations late on July 7 turned violent when a group of protesters broke into the parliament building while others threw stones, bottles, and other projectiles at the officers, prompting officers to fire tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Footage showed police kicking and beating people with truncheons.
Police chief Vladimir Rebic said on July 8 that 43 police officers and 17 demonstrators were injured in the rioting, while five police vehicles were set on fire.
A right-wing independent member of parliament, Srdjan Nogo, was among those detained, with police blaming far-right nationalists for stirring up the violence.
The protests were prompted by Vucic's statement on July 7 that gatherings will be limited to five people from the following day, and that he will request that a government task force declare a nationwide weekend curfew.
"Be prepared for a curfew starting on [July 10], probably from 6 p.m., until [July 13], 5 a.m.," Vucic said. "I personally would like to have this for all of Serbia. But whether the task force and Prime Minister [Ana] Brnabic will listen to me, that we will have to see."
There was initial confusion when Vucic appeared to be asserting a lockdown only in the capital and not nationally, but he later clarified his remarks to say that he will propose both to the task force.
"All regulations will be announced after a task-force meeting" on July 8, he said.
Thirteen COVID-19 deaths were reported in Serbia in the previous 24 hours, Serbia's deadliest day so far in the coronavirus epidemic, with 299 new infections logged.
Speaking after the protests, Brnabic condemned "the violent attack on the parliament building, in a moment when our country and health system is facing the strongest blow from the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic," according to public broadcaster RTS.
Officials say 330 people have died of COVID-19, while the total number of registered cases since the first coronavirus infection was detected in Serbia on March 6 is 16,719.
After initially mocking the gravity of the global coronavirus outbreak in February and March, Vucic declared a state of emergency on March 15 and imposed a strict lockdown and reported case numbers stayed relatively low.
Lawmakers announced an end to the state of emergency in early May and gradually reopened most areas of society ahead of the June 21 elections.
But the government reimposed the obligation to wear face masks on city and intercity public transportation just two days after the elections.
They followed up with a state of emergency in the capital, including a mask requirement for all public transport and enclosed public spaces, on July 3.
With reporting by AFP


rferl--2020-07-07--COVID-19: Serbia Set To Impose Weekend Lockdown; WHO Finally Visits Turkmenistan

The global death toll from the coronavirus is more than 538,000 , with more than 11.6 million infections confirmed , causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the respiratory illness .
After a record daily COVID-19 death toll in Serbia , President Aleksandar Vucic has announced a return to strict limits on physical gatherings and plans to reimpose a three-day curfew in the Balkan country starting on July 10 .
He said on July 7 that the situation in the capital , Belgrade , was critical and that hospitals in the city of around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authorities have incrementally ramped up anti-pandemic measures amid a COVID-19 spike since rapidly reopening weeks before June 21 elections that gave a landslide victory to Vucic and his ruling Progressive Party allies .
Vucic told a press conference on July 7 that gatherings will be limited to five people from the following day , and he said he will request that a government task force declare a nationwide weekend curfew ahead of a reassessment of the situation .
`` Be prepared for a curfew starting on [ July 10 ] , probably from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] , 5 a.m. , '' Vucic said .
`` I personally would like to have this for all of Serbia .
But whether the task force and Prime Minister [ Ana ] Brnabic will listen to me , that we will have to see . ''
There was initial confusion when Vucic appeared to be asserting a lockdown only in the capital and not nationally , but he later clarified his remarks to say that he will propose both to the task force .
Thirteen COVID-19 deaths were reported in Serbia in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on July 7 , with 299 new infections logged .
`` We have to protect citizens , so I do n't care about political reactions and protests , '' Vucic said .
`` The anger should be directed to me , not doctors . ''
Officials say 330 people have died of COVID-19 , while the total number of registered cases since the first coronavirus infection was detected in Serbia on March 6 is 16,719 .
In Belgrade , where around 80 percent of the confirmed infections are reported , officials have transformed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospital .
Amid the curfew , Vucic said , officials would create possibilities of going outdoors for pet owners and `` mothers with children , '' along with separate hours for the elderly .
`` All regulations will be announced after a task-force meeting '' on July 8 , he said .
After the presumed weekend curfew , he said , `` on [ July 13 ] we will see what to do next . ''
Despite mounting cases in Serbia and many other parts of the Balkans , the European Council on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 15 countries from which it was lifting restrictions on nonessential travel into the EU .
But on July 6 , Greece banned the entry of tourists from Serbia because of the spike in coronavirus cases in the country .
After initially mocking the gravity of the global coronavirus outbreak in February and March , Vucic declared a state of emergency on March 15 and imposed a strict lockdown and reported case numbers stayed relatively low .
Lawmakers declared an end to the state of emergency in early May and gradually reopened most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 21 elections .
But as cases soared , the government reimposed the obligation to wear face masks on city and intercity public transportation just two days after the elections .
They followed up with a state of emergency in the capital , including a mask requirement for all public transport and enclosed public spaces , on July 3 .
Emergencies have also been declared in a number of western Serbian municipalities where spikes and complaints of insufficient medical equipment have prompted protests .
Vucic has rejected as `` not authentic '' a recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ database -- suggesting that Serbia 's infection and death figures are around twice what authorities are reporting .
A long-delayed mission from the World Health Organization ( WHO ) has arrived in Turkmenistan , the only Central Asian nation that has not officially registered a single coronavirus case .
Catherine Smallwood , the mission 's leader , said her group will work with Turkmen authorities on aspects of COVID-19 preparedness and response , namely coordination and control systems at the national level , epidemiology and surveillance , laboratory services , patient management , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communication .
The mission , which arrived late on July 6 , will be in Turkmenistan for 10 days .
The WHO has been trying to send a mission to Turkmenistan for more than two months to investigate Ashgabat 's claims that there are no coronavirus cases in the country .
Smallwood said that her group 's trip to the energy-rich , mostly desert country of some 6 million people , was postponed due to travel restrictions imposed over the pandemic .
`` Turkmenistan managed to establish a national multisectoral COVID-19 task force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Plan ; and developing COVID-19 guidelines for prevention , diagnosis , and treatment .
Reorganization of facilities and staff at all levels of the health system is a critical step the government has been taking : this includes repurposing facilities and training healthcare workers , '' Smallwood said , stressing that the WHO has helped , and will assist Ashgabat deal with the long-term impact of the pandemic .
Although Turkmen officials insist that there is no coronavirus in the country , multiple reports have quoted medical personnel , unnamed officials , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of people have been hospitalized with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 .
With reporting by RFE/RL 's Balkan and Turkmen services , and Turkmenportal

The global death toll from the coronavirus is more than 538,000, with more than 11.6 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the respiratory illness.
Here's a roundup of COVID-19 developments in RFE/RL's broadcast regions.
Serbia
After a record daily COVID-19 death toll in Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic has announced a return to strict limits on physical gatherings and plans to reimpose a three-day curfew in the Balkan country starting on July 10.
He said on July 7 that the situation in the capital, Belgrade, was critical and that hospitals in the city of around 1.3 million are almost full.
Serbian authorities have incrementally ramped up anti-pandemic measures amid a COVID-19 spike since rapidly reopening weeks before June 21 elections that gave a landslide victory to Vucic and his ruling Progressive Party allies.
Vucic told a press conference on July 7 that gatherings will be limited to five people from the following day, and he said he will request that a government task force declare a nationwide weekend curfew ahead of a reassessment of the situation.
RFE/RL's Coronavirus Crisis Archive Features and analysis, videos, and infographics explore how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the countries in our region.
"Be prepared for a curfew starting on [July 10], probably from 6 p.m., until [July 13], 5 a.m.," Vucic said. "I personally would like to have this for all of Serbia. But whether the task force and Prime Minister [Ana] Brnabic will listen to me, that we will have to see."
There was initial confusion when Vucic appeared to be asserting a lockdown only in the capital and not nationally, but he later clarified his remarks to say that he will propose both to the task force.
Thirteen COVID-19 deaths were reported in Serbia in the previous 24 hours, officials said on July 7, with 299 new infections logged.
"We have to protect citizens, so I don't care about political reactions and protests," Vucic said. "The anger should be directed to me, not doctors."
Officials say 330 people have died of COVID-19, while the total number of registered cases since the first coronavirus infection was detected in Serbia on March 6 is 16,719.
In Belgrade, where around 80 percent of the confirmed infections are reported, officials have transformed the Stark Arena venue into a makeshift hospital.
Amid the curfew, Vucic said, officials would create possibilities of going outdoors for pet owners and "mothers with children," along with separate hours for the elderly.
"All regulations will be announced after a task-force meeting" on July 8, he said.
After the presumed weekend curfew, he said, "on [July 13] we will see what to do next."
Despite mounting cases in Serbia and many other parts of the Balkans, the European Council on June 30 included Serbia on a list of 15 countries from which it was lifting restrictions on nonessential travel into the EU.
But on July 6, Greece banned the entry of tourists from Serbia because of the spike in coronavirus cases in the country.
After initially mocking the gravity of the global coronavirus outbreak in February and March, Vucic declared a state of emergency on March 15 and imposed a strict lockdown and reported case numbers stayed relatively low.
Lawmakers declared an end to the state of emergency in early May and gradually reopened most areas of society ahead of the June 21 elections.
But as cases soared, the government reimposed the obligation to wear face masks on city and intercity public transportation just two days after the elections.
They followed up with a state of emergency in the capital, including a mask requirement for all public transport and enclosed public spaces, on July 3.
Emergencies have also been declared in a number of western Serbian municipalities where spikes and complaints of insufficient medical equipment have prompted protests.
Vucic has rejected as "not authentic" a recent report -- purportedly leaked from a key database -- suggesting that Serbia's infection and death figures are around twice what authorities are reporting.
Turkmenistan
A long-delayed mission from the World Health Organization (WHO) has arrived in Turkmenistan, the only Central Asian nation that has not officially registered a single coronavirus case.
Catherine Smallwood, the mission's leader, said her group will work with Turkmen authorities on aspects of COVID-19 preparedness and response, namely coordination and control systems at the national level, epidemiology and surveillance, laboratory services, patient management, infection prevention and control, and risk communication.
The mission, which arrived late on July 6, will be in Turkmenistan for 10 days.
The WHO has been trying to send a mission to Turkmenistan for more than two months to investigate Ashgabat's claims that there are no coronavirus cases in the country.
Smallwood said that her group's trip to the energy-rich, mostly desert country of some 6 million people, was postponed due to travel restrictions imposed over the pandemic.
"Turkmenistan managed to establish a national multisectoral COVID-19 task force; approving a COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan; and developing COVID-19 guidelines for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Reorganization of facilities and staff at all levels of the health system is a critical step the government has been taking: this includes repurposing facilities and training healthcare workers," Smallwood said, stressing that the WHO has helped, and will assist Ashgabat deal with the long-term impact of the pandemic.
Although Turkmen officials insist that there is no coronavirus in the country, multiple reports have quoted medical personnel, unnamed officials, and local residents as saying that a significant number of people have been hospitalized with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Balkan and Turkmen services, and Turkmenportal


rferl--2020-07-08--Tajik Prosecutors Summon Journalist’s Family After His Coverage Of Coronavirus

The Prosecutor-General ’ s Office in Tajikistan has summoned for questioning close relatives of an independent journalist who has led critical coverage of the government ’ s response to the coronavirus pandemic , in a sign of the increased efforts by authorities to stifle free speech .
Mirzo Salimpur , a founder of the independent Akhbor news agency and a former RFE/RL journalist , said on July 7 that four days earlier , the officials questioned his relatives and demanded his eldest daughter and two sisters-in-law speak against him “ in a video.
” One of the women told RFE/RL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contact with Salimpur , who is based in Europe .
The Prosecutor-General ’ s Office declined to comment , but a source close to the agency confirmed to RFE/RL that the women were indeed questioned by officials .
The summons was aimed at “ clarifying some information and also warning the relatives that they shouldn ’ t send any information , photos , or video material to Akhbor , ” the official said on condition of anonymity , as they weren ’ t authorized to speak to the media .
In an open @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Salimpur described the incident as a “ cowardly ” attack on independent media .
He urged the office of the president to prevent such “ illegal acts ” by Tajik officials as they tarnish the country ’ s image .
The Akhbor website was blocked on April 22 following its extensive reporting about a suspicious rise in “ pneumonia ” cases in Tajikistan as the government insisted the country was free of the coronavirus , while police harassed journalists who questioned the spike in pneumonia cases .
Dushanbe finally admitted to having @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has long been criticized for clamping down on free speech and curbing independent media by arresting journalists , blocking access to websites , and denying accreditation to reporters .
Tajik authorities have also intensified pressure on the relatives of foreign-based journalists , activists , and opposition figures .
Some relatives were forced to speak on state television channels , condemning the actions of their family member or calling them “ terrorists ” or “ extremists.
” Reporters Without Borders ( RSF ) ranked Tajikistan 161st among 180 countries in its 2019 World Press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tajikistan in January , Alice Wells , principal deputy assistant secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs at the U.S. State Department , said that the issue of press freedom was among the topics she had discussed with top Tajik officials .
In April , two prominent U.S. congressmen addressed a bipartisan letter to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon about `` continued threats '' and other mistreatment of RFE/RL journalists and urged Tajik authorities to let RFE/RL 's operations `` continue unabated '' after issues arose over the press accreditations for RFE/RL journalists .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. Congress and overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media .

The Prosecutor-General’s Office in Tajikistan has summoned for questioning close relatives of an independent journalist who has led critical coverage of the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, in a sign of the increased efforts by authorities to stifle free speech.
Mirzo Salimpur, a founder of the independent Akhbor news agency and a former RFE/RL journalist, said on July 7 that four days earlier, the officials questioned his relatives and demanded his eldest daughter and two sisters-in-law speak against him “in a video.”
One of the women told RFE/RL that officials told them to halt all contact with Salimpur, who is based in Europe.
The Prosecutor-General’s Office declined to comment, but a source close to the agency confirmed to RFE/RL that the women were indeed questioned by officials.
The summons was aimed at “clarifying some information and also warning the relatives that they shouldn’t send any information, photos, or video material to Akhbor,” the official said on condition of anonymity, as they weren’t authorized to speak to the media.
In an open letter to the office of the president, Salimpur described the incident as a “cowardly” attack on independent media. He urged the office of the president to prevent such “illegal acts” by Tajik officials as they tarnish the country’s image.
The Akhbor website was blocked on April 22 following its extensive reporting about a suspicious rise in “pneumonia” cases in Tajikistan as the government insisted the country was free of the coronavirus, while police harassed journalists who questioned the spike in pneumonia cases. Dushanbe finally admitted to having COVID-19 cases on April 30.
Tajikistan has long been criticized for clamping down on free speech and curbing independent media by arresting journalists, blocking access to websites, and denying accreditation to reporters.
Tajik authorities have also intensified pressure on the relatives of foreign-based journalists, activists, and opposition figures. Some relatives were forced to speak on state television channels, condemning the actions of their family member or calling them “terrorists” or “extremists.”
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Tajikistan 161st among 180 countries in its 2019 World Press Freedom Index.
During a visit to Tajikistan in January, Alice Wells, principal deputy assistant secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs at the U.S. State Department, said that the issue of press freedom was among the topics she had discussed with top Tajik officials.
In April, two prominent U.S. congressmen addressed a bipartisan letter to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon about "continued threats" and other mistreatment of RFE/RL journalists and urged Tajik authorities to let RFE/RL's operations "continue unabated" after issues arose over the press accreditations for RFE/RL journalists.
RFE/RL is funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress and overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media.


rferl--2020-07-08--COVID-19: Uzbekistan Plans Second Lockdown Starting July 10

The global death toll from the coronavirus is approaching 547,000 , with almost 12 million infections confirmed , causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the respiratory illness .
Uzbekistan will impose a second lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus as cases spike in Central Asia 's most populous nation of 32 million people .
The government 's special commission on measures to curb the outbreak said on July 8 that the new lockdown will be start on July 10 and run until August 1 .
The new rules will take effect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its original lockdown on June 15 .
According to the commission , public transportation , including interregional links , will be restricted , and markets , large nonfood shops , parks , and entertainment and sports venues will be closed .
The measures will also ban family celebrations and ceremonies during the period .
Almost all employees at state companies and entities will work remotely , while meetings and conferences will be held via videolink .
Outdoor gatherings of more than three people will be prohibited and the movement of individuals over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Uzbekistan 's health authorities said on July 8 that the number of coronavirus cases in the country had reached 10,838 , including 41 deaths .
Austria has issued a travel warning for several Balkan countries after clusters of positive coronavirus tests were found in the Central European nation among people who had arrived from the region .
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told a news conference on July 8 that the warnings are for Bulgaria , Romania , and Moldova , and mean that anyone arriving from one of those nations must show a negative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for 14 days .
The Austrian government said it is also increasing checks at border crossings with Hungary and Slovenia to control the situation .
The announcement comes a day after Romania ’ s Foreign Ministry said 99 Romanian nationals tested positive for the coronavirus in the Austrian city of Linz .
Most of those with positive tests were migrant workers .
With reporting by RFE/RL 's Uzbek Service , Reuters , and Antena3.ro

The global death toll from the coronavirus is approaching 547,000, with almost 12 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the respiratory illness.
Here's a roundup of COVID-19 developments in RFE/RL's broadcast regions.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan will impose a second lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus as cases spike in Central Asia's most populous nation of 32 million people.
The government's special commission on measures to curb the outbreak said on July 8 that the new lockdown will be start on July 10 and run until August 1.
The new rules will take effect almost a month after the government eased its original lockdown on June 15.
According to the commission, public transportation, including interregional links, will be restricted, and markets, large nonfood shops, parks, and entertainment and sports venues will be closed.
The measures will also ban family celebrations and ceremonies during the period.
Almost all employees at state companies and entities will work remotely, while meetings and conferences will be held via videolink.
Outdoor gatherings of more than three people will be prohibited and the movement of individuals over the age of 65 will be restricted.
Uzbekistan's health authorities said on July 8 that the number of coronavirus cases in the country had reached 10,838, including 41 deaths.
Balkans
Austria has issued a travel warning for several Balkan countries after clusters of positive coronavirus tests were found in the Central European nation among people who had arrived from the region.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told a news conference on July 8 that the warnings are for Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova, and mean that anyone arriving from one of those nations must show a negative test for the virus or isolate themselves for 14 days.
The Austrian government said it is also increasing checks at border crossings with Hungary and Slovenia to control the situation.
The announcement comes a day after Romania’s Foreign Ministry said 99 Romanian nationals tested positive for the coronavirus in the Austrian city of Linz. Most of those with positive tests were migrant workers.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Uzbek Service, Reuters, and Antena3.ro


rferl--2020-07-08--Three Police Officers Killed In Car Bomb In Southern Afghanistan

At least three Afghan police officers have been killed in a car bombing in the southern province of Kandahar , @ @ @ @ @ people were reported wounded in the July 8 attack in the Shah Wali Kot district @ @ @ @ @ chief and civilians .
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the predawn blast @ @ @ @ @ police headquarters and the nearby administrative office , according to provincial governor spokesman Ahmad Bahir @ @ @ @ @ was prior intelligence information about a plot to attack the police headquarters .
The suicide @ @ @ @ @ forces before he could reach his target , but the explosives detonated , the spokesman @ @ @ @ @ the Taliban are preparing to engage in direct negotiations aimed at putting an end to @ @ @ @ @ Afghanistan .
But officials have blamed the Taliban for killing hundreds of security personnel and @ @ @ @ @ following a three-day cease-fire at the end of May .
The Taliban has denied responsibility @ @ @ @ @ acknowledged targeting Afghan security forces in rural areas .

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--2020-07-08--U.S. Commander 'Not Convinced' Russian Bounties Led To Killing Of U.S. Soldiers In Afghanistan

The head of U.S. Central Command says he is “ not convinced ” that any Russian bounties paid to Taliban militants resulted in the deaths of U.S. troops in Afghanistan .
Marine General Frank McKenzie spoke to reporters on July 7 about the alleged bounties , which were the subject of U.S. news reports last week .
`` I 'm very familiar with this material and I 'm a theater commander and I 've had an opportunity to look at it .
I found it very worrisome .
I just did n't find that there was a causative link there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a transcript of McKenzie ’ s comments released by Central Command .
The general said whether the Russians are paying the Taliban or not , the Taliban has `` done their level best to carry out operations against us ” over the past several years , and that has meant there has been little change in terms of force protection .
U.S. officials quoted in the media reports said the United States acquired intelligence suggesting that Russia may have paid bounties to Taliban-affiliated militants to kill U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not conclusive .
The Pentagon has said it had `` no corroborating evidence '' to validate the allegations .
The Washington Post reported that the bounties were believed to have led to the deaths of several service members in Afghanistan , and The New York Times said investigators were focused on two attacks , including an April 2019 bombing outside an air base that killed three Marines .
Though McKenzie said he was not convinced Russian payments led to U.S. deaths , he added that battlefield intelligence was often inconclusive .
`` But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't enough there , '' McKenzie said during the session with reporters , which took place at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa , Florida .
`` I sent the intelligence guys back to continue to dig on it .
And I believe they 're continuing to dig right now . ''
McKenzie noted that the Russians were `` not our friends in Afghanistan and they do not wish us well . ''
He said it ’ s important to remember that Russia suffered a humiliating defeat in Afghanistan a few decades ago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russian psyche , ” and there are therefore a “ variety of competing sort of impulses that are active there when the Russians think about Afghanistan.
” While Russia has a genuine concern about the spread of Islamic extremism from Afghanistan toward the north , “ the Russians generally want to have the opportunity to throw sand in our gears when they can and make life uncomfortable for us.
” U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not told about the reported Russian effort to get the Taliban to kill U.S. soldiers because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ true .
Democrats in the U.S. Congress who were briefed on the matter said U.S. sanctions on Russia should be beefed up if the allegations , which Russia and the Taliban deny , are true .

The head of U.S. Central Command says he is “not convinced” that any Russian bounties paid to Taliban militants resulted in the deaths of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Marine General Frank McKenzie spoke to reporters on July 7 about the alleged bounties, which were the subject of U.S. news reports last week.
"I'm very familiar with this material and I'm a theater commander and I've had an opportunity to look at it. I found it very worrisome. I just didn't find that there was a causative link there," McKenzie told reporters, according to a transcript of McKenzie’s comments released by Central Command.
The general said whether the Russians are paying the Taliban or not, the Taliban has "done their level best to carry out operations against us” over the past several years, and that has meant there has been little change in terms of force protection.
U.S. officials quoted in the media reports said the United States acquired intelligence suggesting that Russia may have paid bounties to Taliban-affiliated militants to kill U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, but they stressed that the intelligence was not conclusive.
The Pentagon has said it had "no corroborating evidence" to validate the allegations.
The Washington Post reported that the bounties were believed to have led to the deaths of several service members in Afghanistan, and The New York Times said investigators were focused on two attacks, including an April 2019 bombing outside an air base that killed three Marines.
Though McKenzie said he was not convinced Russian payments led to U.S. deaths, he added that battlefield intelligence was often inconclusive.
"But in this case, there just wasn't enough there," McKenzie said during the session with reporters, which took place at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. "I sent the intelligence guys back to continue to dig on it. And I believe they're continuing to dig right now."
McKenzie noted that the Russians were "not our friends in Afghanistan and they do not wish us well."
He said it’s important to remember that Russia suffered a humiliating defeat in Afghanistan a few decades ago, and “that weighs on the Russian psyche,” and there are therefore a “variety of competing sort of impulses that are active there when the Russians think about Afghanistan.”
While Russia has a genuine concern about the spread of Islamic extremism from Afghanistan toward the north, “the Russians generally want to have the opportunity to throw sand in our gears when they can and make life uncomfortable for us.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not told about the reported Russian effort to get the Taliban to kill U.S. soldiers because many U.S. intelligence officials doubted it was true. Democrats in the U.S. Congress who were briefed on the matter said U.S. sanctions on Russia should be beefed up if the allegations, which Russia and the Taliban deny, are true.
With reporting by AP


rferl--2020-07-08--Russia Accuses Former Military Reporter Of Supplying Arms-Trade Data To Czech Republic

Russia has arrested a former journalist on a charge of high treason for allegedly passing military secrets to a NATO government in what some are calling a clear attack on press freedom .
Ivan Safronov , who since May has been working as an adviser to the chief of Russia 's state space agency Roskosmos , was detained and searched by armed officers of the FSB outside his Moscow apartment on July 7 before being taken to court , where he entered a plea of not guilty .
The court ordered him held behind bars until September 6 .
Prosecutors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Czech Republic in 2017 about the sale of Russian arms to the Middle East and Africa , his lawyer , Ivan Pavlov , said .
Safronov was working as a journalist at the time covering issues related to the activities of Russia 's military industrial sector .
Russia claims the United States was the final beneficiary of the information , Pavlov said .
Safronov could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted .
His arrest -- the latest in a series of law enforcement actions against Russian journalists and researchers -- @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dozens to protest outside the FSB headquarters in Moscow .
“ The experience of the last few years shows that any citizen of Russia whose work is connected with public activities -- whether it is a human rights defender , scientist , journalist , or employee of a state corporation -- can face a serious charge at any time , ” Kommersant , the newspaper where Safronov worked for a decade until last year , said in a statement on its website .
Kommersant called Safronov a “ true patriot of Russia ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ absurd.
” It also called on prosecutors to make the case as open to the public as possible , saying it 's hard for people accused of treason in Russia to get a fair trial .
Andrei Soldatov , a respected journalist who has written extensively about Russia ’ s security services , called Safronov ’ s arrest “ a new level of repression ” against reporters .
“ I can only think of one reason why this is happening : We are being told what other topics of importance for society are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those who should know , ’ ” he said in a Facebook post .
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Safronov ’ s arrest was linked to his work as a reporter .
`` He is accused of high treason , of passing secret data to foreign intelligence .
As far as we are informed , the detainment has nothing to do with the journalistic activities Safronov was involved with in the past , '' Peskov said .
Pavel Chikov , a top human rights lawyer whose organization , Agora , provides legal support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , wrote on Telegram that police also searched the apartment of journalist Taisia Bekbulatova , who is believed to be close to Safronov .
According to Chikov , after the search she was questioned as a witness in an unspecified case along with her lawyer , Nikolai Vasilyev .
TASS and Interfax both quoted unidentified sources as saying Bekbulatova is being questioned as a witness in the Safronov case .
As a journalist , Safronov mainly covered issues related to the activities of Russia 's military industrial sector , including an accident last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nation ’ s military exercises .
His father , also named Ivan Safronov , worked for Kommersant , too , focusing mainly on the military industrial complex 's operations .
He died at the age of 51 after he fell out of a corridor window in his apartment block in Moscow in 2007 .
Police concluded the death was a suicide , though relatives and friends say they suspect foul play .
Safronov was fired from Kommersant in May 2019 after writing an article about the possible resignation of Valentina Matviyenko , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chamber .
Matviyenko continues to serve as its chairwoman .
Safronov ’ s firing led to a crisis at the paper after all of the journalists in Kommersant 's politics department resigned in protest .
He soon joined Vedomosti , then the nation ’ s leading business newspaper , before quitting following an ownership change that installed a Kremlin-friendly chief editor .
In June 2019 , media reports surfaced saying that Kommersant might face administrative lawsuits for making state secrets public .
It was not clear which state secrets had been made public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about Russia 's plans to deliver Su-35 military planes to Egypt was removed from the newspaper 's website .
At the time , U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned of possible sanctions against Egypt if Cairo purchased the planes from Moscow , The Bell website said .
Kommersant Director-General Vladimir Zhelonkin told the Open Media group on July 7 that there were no issues with authorities related to Safronov 's article published last year in his newspaper , adding that the article in question did not contain any data that might be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Safronov 's detention on July 7 , more than 20 journalists were held by police as they staged single-picket protests in front of the Federal Security Service 's headquarters in Moscow .
They were demanding `` transparency , openness , and detailed information '' on Safronov 's case .
Other journalists continued the single-picket protests , which do not require preapproval from the authorities .
Safronov ’ s arrest is at least the third of a current or former journalist in the past 13 months that has garnered national attention and raised fears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ivan Golunov , an investigative reporter for Meduza , was arrested in Moscow in June 2019 on drug charges that were later dropped following street protests .
Police later admitted to planting the drugs on the reporter , who worked on stories about corruption at the highest echelons of the government and security services .
Svetlana Prokopyeva , a freelance contributor to RFE/RL 's Russian Service , was found guilty this month of “ justifying terrorism ” for a commentary she gave to a radio station .
Prosecutors sought a six-year prison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suicide bombing with the country 's political climate .

Russia has arrested a former journalist on a charge of high treason for allegedly passing military secrets to a NATO government in what some are calling a clear attack on press freedom.
Ivan Safronov, who since May has been working as an adviser to the chief of Russia's state space agency Roskosmos, was detained and searched by armed officers of the FSB outside his Moscow apartment on July 7 before being taken to court, where he entered a plea of not guilty.
The court ordered him held behind bars until September 6.
Prosecutors accuse him of passing information to the Czech Republic in 2017 about the sale of Russian arms to the Middle East and Africa, his lawyer, Ivan Pavlov, said.
Safronov was working as a journalist at the time covering issues related to the activities of Russia's military industrial sector. Russia claims the United States was the final beneficiary of the information, Pavlov said.
Safronov could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
His arrest -- the latest in a series of law enforcement actions against Russian journalists and researchers -- sparked outrage among former colleagues and prompted dozens to protest outside the FSB headquarters in Moscow.
“The experience of the last few years shows that any citizen of Russia whose work is connected with public activities -- whether it is a human rights defender, scientist, journalist, or employee of a state corporation -- can face a serious charge at any time,” Kommersant, the newspaper where Safronov worked for a decade until last year, said in a statement on its website.
Kommersant called Safronov a “true patriot of Russia” and said the FSB allegations were “absurd.” It also called on prosecutors to make the case as open to the public as possible, saying it's hard for people accused of treason in Russia to get a fair trial.
Andrei Soldatov, a respected journalist who has written extensively about Russia’s security services, called Safronov’s arrest “a new level of repression” against reporters.
“I can only think of one reason why this is happening: We are being told what other topics of importance for society are now off-limits for all except ‘for those who should know,’” he said in a Facebook post.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Safronov’s arrest was linked to his work as a reporter.
"He is accused of high treason, of passing secret data to foreign intelligence. As far as we are informed, the detainment has nothing to do with the journalistic activities Safronov was involved with in the past," Peskov said.
Pavel Chikov, a top human rights lawyer whose organization, Agora, provides legal support to Russians detained in politically motivated cases, wrote on Telegram that police also searched the apartment of journalist Taisia Bekbulatova, who is believed to be close to Safronov.
According to Chikov, after the search she was questioned as a witness in an unspecified case along with her lawyer, Nikolai Vasilyev.
TASS and Interfax both quoted unidentified sources as saying Bekbulatova is being questioned as a witness in the Safronov case.
As a journalist, Safronov mainly covered issues related to the activities of Russia's military industrial sector, including an accident last year on an atomic submarine and the nation’s military exercises.
His father, also named Ivan Safronov, worked for Kommersant, too, focusing mainly on the military industrial complex's operations.
He died at the age of 51 after he fell out of a corridor window in his apartment block in Moscow in 2007. Police concluded the death was a suicide, though relatives and friends say they suspect foul play.
Safronov was fired from Kommersant in May 2019 after writing an article about the possible resignation of Valentina Matviyenko, the chairwoman of the Russian parliament's upper chamber. Matviyenko continues to serve as its chairwoman.
Safronov’s firing led to a crisis at the paper after all of the journalists in Kommersant's politics department resigned in protest. He soon joined Vedomosti, then the nation’s leading business newspaper, before quitting following an ownership change that installed a Kremlin-friendly chief editor.
In June 2019, media reports surfaced saying that Kommersant might face administrative lawsuits for making state secrets public.
It was not clear which state secrets had been made public, but one of Safronov's articles about Russia's plans to deliver Su-35 military planes to Egypt was removed from the newspaper's website.
At the time, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned of possible sanctions against Egypt if Cairo purchased the planes from Moscow, The Bell website said.
Kommersant Director-General Vladimir Zhelonkin told the Open Media group on July 7 that there were no issues with authorities related to Safronov's article published last year in his newspaper, adding that the article in question did not contain any data that might be classified as a state secret.
Following Safronov's detention on July 7, more than 20 journalists were held by police as they staged single-picket protests in front of the Federal Security Service's headquarters in Moscow. They were demanding "transparency, openness, and detailed information" on Safronov's case.
Other journalists continued the single-picket protests, which do not require preapproval from the authorities.
Safronov’s arrest is at least the third of a current or former journalist in the past 13 months that has garnered national attention and raised fears of a further curtailment of media freedom.
Ivan Golunov, an investigative reporter for Meduza, was arrested in Moscow in June 2019 on drug charges that were later dropped following street protests.
Police later admitted to planting the drugs on the reporter, who worked on stories about corruption at the highest echelons of the government and security services.
Svetlana Prokopyeva, a freelance contributor to RFE/RL's Russian Service, was found guilty this month of “justifying terrorism” for a commentary she gave to a radio station.
Prosecutors sought a six-year prison term for Prokopyeva, who linked a suicide bombing with the country's political climate.


rferl--2020-07-07--Dozens Injured After Protesters Storm Serbian Parliament Over Return Of Coronavirus Restrictions

BELGRADE -- Serbian police say 24 people were detained and some 60 police officers and demonstrators were injured in clashes that erupted in Belgrade overnight as Serbs rallied to protest a decision to reimpose lockdown measures amid a new surge of coronavirus infections .
The demonstrations late on July 7 turned violent when a group of protesters broke into the parliament building while others threw stones , bottles , and other projectiles at the officers , prompting officers to fire tear gas to disperse the crowd .
Police Director Vladimir Rebic said on July 8 that 43 police officers and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , while five police vehicles were set on fire .
A right-wing independent member of parliament , Srdjan Nogo , was among those detained , with police blaming far-right nationalists for stirring up the violence .
Another demonstration is expected in Belgrade later on July 8 .
Serbian authorities have incrementally ramped up anti-pandemic measures amid a COVID-19 spike since rapidly reopening weeks before June 21 elections in which Vucic and his ruling Progressive Party allies scored a victory .
Vucic told a press conference on July 7 that gatherings will be limited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and he said he will request that a government task force declare a nationwide weekend curfew ahead of a reassessment of the situation .
`` Be prepared for a curfew starting on [ July 10 ] , probably from 6 p.m. , until [ July 13 ] , 5 a.m. , '' Vucic said .
`` I personally would like to have this for all of Serbia .
But whether the task force and Prime Minister [ Ana ] Brnabic will listen to me , that we will have to see .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ appeared to be asserting a lockdown only in the capital and not nationally , but he later clarified his remarks to say that he will propose both to the task force .
`` All regulations will be announced after a task-force meeting '' on July 8 , he said .
Thirteen COVID-19 deaths were reported in Serbia in the previous 24 hours , Serbia 's deadliest day so far in the coronavirus epidemic , with 299 new infections logged .
`` We have to protect citizens , so I do n't care about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
`` The anger should be directed to me , not doctors . ''
Speaking after the protests , Brnabic condemned `` the violent attack on the parliament building , in a moment when our country and health system is facing the strongest blow from the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic , '' according to public broadcaster RTS .
Officials say 330 people have died of COVID-19 , while the total number of registered cases since the first coronavirus infection was detected in Serbia on March 6 is 16,719 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ global coronavirus outbreak in February and March , Vucic declared a state of emergency on March 15 and imposed a strict lockdown and reported case numbers stayed relatively low .
Lawmakers announced an end to the state of emergency in early May and gradually reopened most areas of society ahead of the June 21 elections .
But the government reimposed the obligation to wear face masks on city and intercity public transportation just two days after the elections .
They followed up with a state of emergency in the capital , including a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enclosed public spaces , on July 3 .


rferl--2020-07-08--Facebook Takes Down 'Inauthentic' Social Media Pages Connected To Ukraine Ad Agency

Facebook said it has taken down a network of “ coordinated , inauthentic ” Ukrainian social media pages tied to a digital advertising agency in the nation ’ s capital as it seeks to combat the spread of disinformation .
The U.S.-based social media giant said in a July 8 statement that the Ukrainian network aimed its work at a domestic audience and was “ particularly active ” during the nation ’ s 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections .
Facebook tied the inauthentic activity to Postmen DA , whose clients have included the European Union Advisory Mission , Ukraine ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ energy company owned by Rinat Akhmetov , Ukraine ’ s richest man .
However , Facebook did not indicate that the network favored certain candidates or parties , saying its work both criticized and supported presidential candidates Volodmyr Zelenskiy , Petro Poroshenko , and Yulia Tymoshenko .
Zelenskiy won the April 2019 election in a landslide , defeating incumbent Poroshenko .
Tymoshenko did not qualify for the April runoff .
The network ran a Facebook page called “ Stop Yulia , ” that featured a post of the politician relaxing on a couch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behind her .
A post on the “ Goat ” page showed a picture of Zelenskiy ’ s face being flushed down a toilet .
The Kyiv-based Postmen DA did not immediately respond to a request for comment .
Facebook said it removed 72 Facebook accounts , 35 pages and 13 Instagram accounts belonging to the network .
It said about 766,000 accounts followed at least one of the pages and about 3,800 people followed at least one of the Instagram accounts .
Postmen DA spent nearly $ 2 million to advertise its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of four that Facebook said it had taken down .
The U.S. company has come under intense pressure from governments , political parties and civil organizations to fight disinformation and hate on its platform , which has more than 2 billion members .

Facebook said it has taken down a network of “coordinated, inauthentic” Ukrainian social-media pages tied to a digital advertising agency in the nation’s capital as it seeks to combat the spread of disinformation.
The U.S.-based social-media giant said in a July 8 statement that the Ukrainian network aimed its work at a domestic audience and was “particularly active” during the nation’s 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections.
Facebook tied the inauthentic activity to Postmen DA, whose clients have included the European Union Advisory Mission, Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Bureau, and DTEK, an energy company owned by Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man.
However, Facebook did not indicate that the network favored certain candidates or parties, saying its work both criticized and supported presidential candidates Volodmyr Zelenskiy, Petro Poroshenko, and Yulia Tymoshenko.
Zelenskiy won the April 2019 election in a landslide, defeating incumbent Poroshenko. Tymoshenko did not qualify for the April runoff.
The network ran a Facebook page called “Stop Yulia” that featured a post of the politician relaxing on a couch with five dark-skinned men in white underwear behind her.
A post on the “Goat” page showed a picture of Zelenskiy’s face being flushed down a toilet.
The Kyiv-based Postmen DA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Facebook said it removed 72 Facebook accounts, 35 pages, and 13 Instagram accounts belonging to the network. It said about 766,000 accounts followed at least one of the pages and about 3,800 people followed at least one of the Instagram accounts.
Postmen DA spent nearly $2 million to advertise its posts.
The Ukrainian network was one of four that Facebook said it had taken down.
The U.S. company has come under intense pressure from governments, political parties, and civil organizations to fight disinformation and hate on its platform, which has more than 2 billion members.