rferl--2020-06-27--Afghan Human Rights Body Staff Killed In Kabul Bomb Attack

Two people working for a human rights body in Afghanistan were killed in a bomb attack in Kabul on June @ @ @ @ @ .
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission ( AIHRC ) said the pair died when @ @ @ @ @ their vehicle exploded in the morning .
`` It is intolerable ; assassinating human rights @ @ @ @ @ in the context of armed conflict , '' the AIHRC said , adding that staff @ @ @ @ @ of attacks .
It comes less than a week after two prosecutors and three other @ @ @ @ @ 's Office were shot dead by gunmen on the outskirts of Kabul .
Violence had @ @ @ @ @ country after the Taliban offered a brief cease-fire to mark the Eid al-Fitr festival last @ @ @ @ @ the insurgents have stepped up attacks in recent weeks .
The Taliban and the Afghan @ @ @ @ @ into much-delayed peace talks aimed at ending the war in the country .
Based on @ @ @ @ @

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--2020-06-27--Pakistan Announces Record Rise In Fuel Prices

The hike -- ranging from 27 to 66 percent depending on the petroleum product -- was announced late on June @ @ @ @ @ weeks after Islamabad announced that GDP in fiscal 2019 will shrink by 0.4 percent .
@ @ @ @ @ grow by 2.4 percent .
Pakistan ’ s economy has witnessed a steady decline since @ @ @ @ @ Imran Khan ’ s government came into power .
Its economy has been affected by @ @ @ @ @ when Khan put the country under lockdown .
Restrictions were eased in May , causing @ @ @ @ @ and deaths .

Pakistan has announced a record increase in fuel prices.
The hike -- ranging from 27 to 66 percent depending on the petroleum product -- was announced late on June 26.
It comes two weeks after Islamabad announced that GDP in fiscal 2019 will shrink by 0.4 percent. It was originally expected to grow by 2.4 percent.
Pakistan’s economy has witnessed a steady decline since 2018, when Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government came into power.
Its economy has been affected by the coronavirus since March, when Khan put the country under lockdown. Restrictions were eased in May, causing a spike in coronavirus infections and deaths.
Pakistan has confirmed 198,883 virus cases, including 4,035 deaths.
Based on reporting by AP


rferl--2020-06-27--Report: Russian Military Intelligence Paid Afghan Militants To Target U.S. Troops

U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Russian military intelligence offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan , The New York Times reported .
The newspaper , citing anonymous U.S. officials briefed on the matter , reported on June 26 that a secret unit of Russia ’ s GRU military intelligence linked to assassination attempts in Europe and other activities offered rewards for successful attacks last year .
The Russian Embassy in Washington immediately slammed what it called “ baseless and anonymous accusations.
” “ In the absence of reasons to # BlameRussians , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stories , ” the Russian embassy tweeted .
Spokesmen for the National Security Council , the Pentagon , and the CIA declined to comment on the allegations that were later also reported by The Washington Post .
 The New York Times reported U.S. President Donald Trump was briefed on the intelligence in March , but the administration has not yet decided how to respond .
The Times said Taliban-linked militants , or “ armed criminal elements closely associated with them , ” collected some of the money .
But it reported that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ payments are linked to any of the 20 American soldiers killed in Afghanistan last year .
It claimed the intelligence was based partially on interrogations of captured Afghan militants and criminals .
The allegations come as the United States seeks to advance a nascent peace process in Afghanistan after signing a deal with the Taliban in February that could see U.S. troops leave the country next year .
The Times reported that U.S. officials were not sure how high in the Russian government the covert operation had been approved and what its goal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote the story “ obviously lack information on cooperation between Russia and # US on the Afghan peace process , on Syrian , North Korean , Venezuelan , Iranian agendas , ” the Russian Embassy tweeted .
Some U.S. officials speculated that Russia may seek to retaliate for a 2018 fight in Syria in which the U.S. military killed Russian mercenaries .
Another idea is that maybe Russia intended to bog down American forces in Afghanistan .
During the Soviet Union ’ s war in Afghanistan in the 1980s , the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down Russian soldiers .

U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Russian military intelligence offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan, The New York Times reported.
The newspaper, citing anonymous U.S. officials briefed on the matter, reported on June 26 that a secret unit of Russia’s GRU military intelligence linked to assassination attempts in Europe and other activities offered rewards for successful attacks last year.
The Russian Embassy in Washington immediately slammed what it called “baseless and anonymous accusations.”
A spokesman for the Taliban leadership said on June 27 that the group "strongly reject" the allegation. It insisted the Taliban "is not indebted to the beneficence of any intelligence organ or foreign country and neither is the [Taliban leadership] in need of anyone in specifying objectives."
Spokesmen for the National Security Council, the Pentagon, and the CIA declined to comment on the allegations that were later also reported by The Washington Post.
The New York Times reported U.S. President Donald Trump was briefed on the intelligence in March, but the administration has not yet decided how to respond.
The Times said Taliban-linked militants, or “armed criminal elements closely associated with them,” collected some of the money. But it reported that it was not clear whether the alleged payments are linked to any of the 20 American soldiers killed in Afghanistan last year.
It claimed the intelligence was based partially on interrogations of captured Afghan militants and criminals.
The allegations come as the United States seeks to advance a nascent peace process in Afghanistan after signing a deal with the Taliban in February that could see U.S. troops leave the country next year.
In its statement, the Taliban alleged that "these rumors are being circulated to create hurdles for the departure of American troops," among other goals.
The Times reported that U.S. officials were not sure how high in the Russian government the covert operation had been approved and what its goal could be.
The three reporters who wrote the story “obviously lack information on cooperation between Russia and #US on the Afghan peace process, on Syrian, North Korean, Venezuelan, Iranian agendas,” the Russian Embassy tweeted.
Some U.S. officials speculated that Russia may seek to retaliate for a 2018 fight in Syria in which the U.S. military killed Russian mercenaries. Another idea is that maybe Russia intended to bog down American forces in Afghanistan.
During the Soviet Union’s war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the United States backed Afghan and foreign militants that bogged down Russian soldiers.


rferl--2020-06-27--Pakistan Grounds 262 Pilots Over Fake License Scandal

Pakistan ’ s aviation authorities have grounded 262 airline pilots whose flying licenses may be fake or falsified in a widening scandal following a fatal plane crash in Karachi last month .
Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said June 26 the pilots are under investigation and five senior officials at the Civil Aviation Authority who were sacked over the scandal may be prosecuted .
The pilots include 141 at state-run Pakistan International Airlines ( PIA ) , which employs 450 pilots .
The remaining pilots worked for private airlines and charter services .
On June 25 , PIA said it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a license through cheating and began to terminate their contracts .
The scandal emerged this week when Khan announced in parliament the findings of an initial inquiry into a PIA Airbus A320 crash on May 22 that killed 97 people , including all crew members .
The initial investigation concluded the pilots were talking about the coronavirus while they attempted to land the aircraft in Karachi without putting its wheels down .
A first attempt to land the plane damaged the engines .
The plane then lost power and crashed near the airport @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Authorities have not said whether the pilot and co-pilot had fake licenses .
Khan said during the June 24 parliamentary session that another inquiry had found 262 pilots -- out of a total of 860 active pilots in the country -- had obtained their licenses through cheating and having others take exams for them .
He said there has been an investigation into collusion between pilots and civil aviation officials since late 2018 .
The disgrace has put the financial viability of PIA into doubt and cast a shadow over the credibility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ International Air Transport Association ( IATA ) voiced alarm over the issue , calling it “ a serious lapse in the licensing and safety oversight by the aviation regulator.
” Fahad Masood , a retired Pakistan Air Force officer and former employee of the International Flight Safety Foundation , told RFE/RL ’ s Radio Mashaal that the news will tarnish the image of the country ’ s aviation industry and result in massive financial losses at PIA .
PIA ’ s reputation has already suffered in recent years amid mismanagement , frequent cancellations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deflect the blame for the crisis from the current government .
Khan insisted that since Prime Minister Imran Khan 's government came to power two years ago , no pilot with a fake license received a job at the PIA .
`` These pilots against whom inquiries are being conducted were all recruited before 2018 , '' Khan said .
“ We are clearing up the mess that was created by the previous government , '' he said .
With reporting by AFP , AP , Reuters , Dawn , and Radio @

Pakistan’s aviation authorities have grounded 262 airline pilots whose flying licenses may be fake or falsified in a widening scandal following a fatal plane crash in Karachi last month.
Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said June 26 the pilots are under investigation and five senior officials at the Civil Aviation Authority who were sacked over the scandal may be prosecuted.
The pilots include 141 at state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which employs 450 pilots. The remaining pilots worked for private airlines and charter services.
On June 25, PIA said it grounded 150 of its pilots for obtaining a license through cheating and began to terminate their contracts.
The scandal emerged this week when Khan announced in parliament the findings of an initial inquiry into a PIA Airbus A320 crash on May 22 that killed 97 people, including all crew members.
The initial investigation concluded the pilots were talking about the coronavirus while they attempted to land the aircraft in Karachi without putting its wheels down.
A first attempt to land the plane damaged the engines. The plane then lost power and crashed near the airport as the pilots attempted a second landing.
Authorities have not said whether the pilot and co-pilot had fake licenses.
Khan said during the June 24 parliamentary session that another inquiry had found 262 pilots -- out of a total of 860 active pilots in the country -- had obtained their licenses through cheating and having others take exams for them.
He said there has been an investigation into collusion between pilots and civil aviation officials since late 2018.
The disgrace has put the financial viability of PIA into doubt and cast a shadow over the credibility of the Civil Aviation Authority.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) voiced alarm over the issue, calling it “a serious lapse in the licensing and safety oversight by the aviation regulator.”
Fahad Masood, a retired Pakistan Air Force officer and former employee of the International Flight Safety Foundation, told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal that the news will tarnish the image of the country’s aviation industry and result in massive financial losses at PIA.
PIA’s reputation has already suffered in recent years amid mismanagement, frequent cancellations, and financial difficulties.
Khan sought to deflect the blame for the crisis from the current government.
Khan insisted that since Prime Minister Imran Khan's government came to power two years ago, no pilot with a fake license received a job at the PIA.
"These pilots against whom inquiries are being conducted were all recruited before 2018," Khan said.
“We are clearing up the mess that was created by the previous government," he said.
With reporting by AFP, AP, Reuters, Dawn, and Radio Mashaal


rferl--2020-06-27--PM Hoti Says Kosovo 'Committed' To U.S.-Led Talks With Serbia Despite Thaci Blow

Kosovo 's Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti on June 27 said his government remains `` committed to the process '' despite the sudden postponement of a U.S.-mediated Serbia-Kosovo presidential summit hoping to chip away at nearly two years of diplomatic deadlock .
Speaking to reporters after his return from Brussels , Hoti said he was in `` intensive communication '' with U.S. President Donald Trump 's special envoy to the Balkan peace talks and that they agreed on `` another date which will be soon '' for the continuation of negotiations .
`` Despite the changes of the agenda over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the dialogue [ with Belgrade ] , we , as the government , remain committed to the process , '' Hoti said .
Kosovar President Hashim Thaci abandoned plans to meet with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the White House this weekend after a special prosecutor 's office in The Hague announced indictments for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity against Thaci and other Kosovars on June 24 .
Led by special presidential envoy Richard Grenell , Washington had hoped to further their efforts to kickstart suspended talks on normalizing relations between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which declared independence in 2008 and is recognized by more than 110 countries .
But Washington 's plans appeared to depend heavily on Thaci 's ability to negotiate on behalf of Kosovo 's nearly 2 million people .
Vucic said from Brussels on June 26 that Belgrade would show restraint in its response to the news .
`` For us , the most important thing is to be restrained .
We know terrible crimes have happened .
In everything else , we have to show restraint and by it , we will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of violence , incidents , and attacks , '' Vucic said .
The charges date back to alleged activities during and after Kosovo 's war of independence in 1998-99 , when Thaci commanded guerrilla forces under the banner of the Kosovo Liberation Army ( UCK ) .
A pretrial judge still must determine whether there is sufficient evidence for a trial based on the 10-count indictment , according to the statement from the Special Prosecutor 's Office .
It alleges that he and another senior Kosovar politician , Kadri Veseli , are among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ murders '' and other wrongdoing involving `` hundreds of known victims of Kosovo Albanian , Serb , Roma , and other ethnicities and include political opponents . ''
Thaci and Veseli have proclaimed their innocence .
The topic of war crimes continues to bedevil relations in many Balkan countries since the fighting of the 1990s that accompanied the breakup of Yugoslavia .
`` The liberation war of the Kosovo people , of course , it is the biggest achievement of our efforts to win independence , '' Hoti told journalists on June 27 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Such a war is sacred for the Kosovo people . ''
Thaci and other Kosovar officials assented to the establishment of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Special Prosecutor 's Office five years ago to pursue serious crimes alleged in a Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly report from 2011 .
`` Nobody can rewrite the history of Kosovo , '' Thaci wrote in both English and Albanian in a post on Instagram on June 26 , his first public comments after the indictment was announced .

Kosovo's Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti on June 27 said his government remains "committed to the process" despite the sudden postponement of a U.S.-mediated Serbia-Kosovo presidential summit hoping to chip away at nearly two years of diplomatic deadlock.
Speaking to reporters after his return from Brussels, Hoti said he was in "intensive communication" with U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Balkan peace talks and that they agreed on "another date which will be soon" for the continuation of negotiations.
"Despite the changes of the agenda over the last days, when it comes to the dialogue [with Belgrade], we, as the government, remain committed to the process," Hoti said.
Kosovar President Hashim Thaci abandoned plans to meet with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the White House this weekend after a special prosecutor's office in The Hague announced indictments for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity against Thaci and other Kosovars on June 24.
Led by special presidential envoy Richard Grenell, Washington had hoped to further their efforts to kickstart suspended talks on normalizing relations between Serbia and its former autonomous province, which declared independence in 2008 and is recognized by more than 110 countries.
But Washington's plans appeared to depend heavily on Thaci's ability to negotiate on behalf of Kosovo's nearly 2 million people.
Serbia 'Restraint'
Vucic said from Brussels on June 26 that Belgrade would show restraint in its response to the news.
"For us, the most important thing is to be restrained. We know terrible crimes have happened. In everything else, we have to show restraint and by it, we will be protecting Serbs in Kosovo from any kind of violence, incidents, and attacks," Vucic said.
The charges date back to alleged activities during and after Kosovo's war of independence in 1998-99, when Thaci commanded guerrilla forces under the banner of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK).
A pretrial judge still must determine whether there is sufficient evidence for a trial based on the 10-count indictment, according to the statement from the Special Prosecutor's Office. It alleges that he and another senior Kosovar politician, Kadri Veseli, are among those "criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders" and other wrongdoing involving "hundreds of known victims of Kosovo Albanian, Serb, Roma, and other ethnicities and include political opponents."
Thaci and Veseli have proclaimed their innocence.
The topic of war crimes continues to bedevil relations in many Balkan countries since the fighting of the 1990s that accompanied the breakup of Yugoslavia.
"The liberation war of the Kosovo people, of course, it is the biggest achievement of our efforts to win independence," Hoti told journalists on June 27, after his return from Brussels. "Such a war is sacred for the Kosovo people."
Thaci and other Kosovar officials assented to the establishment of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Special Prosecutor's Office five years ago to pursue serious crimes alleged in a Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly report from 2011.
"Nobody can rewrite the history of Kosovo," Thaci wrote in both English and Albanian in a post on Instagram on June 26, his first public comments after the indictment was announced.
With reporting by AP


rferl--2020-06-27--Elevated But 'Not Harmful' Radioactivity Detected In Baltic Sea

A global monitoring network this week detected unexplained `` higher than usual levels '' of radioactive isotopes at a station in Sweden that likely came from somewhere around the Baltic Sea .
But the group also said late on June 26 that the levels it saw were `` not harmful for human health . ''
The head of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization ( CTBTO ) , Lassina Zerbo , tweeted that the elevated levels of three radionuclides generally associated with civil nuclear activities -- caesium-134 , caesium-137 , and ruthenium-103 -- had been detected on June 22-23 .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia , seemingly including St. Petersburg , Estonia , southern Finland , and Sweden as a `` possible source '' of the radioactive particles at any point in the preceding 72 hours .
The Finnish , Norwegian , and Swedish nuclear safety agencies also said they 'd identified amounts of radioactive isotopes in the area , adding the levels did not appear harmful to humans .
The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment said on June 26 that its `` calculations show that the radionuclides come from the direction of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may indicate damage to a fuel element in a nuclear power plant , '' the Dutch said .
But Russia 's hydrometeorological and environmental monitoring agency , Roshydromet , said on June 27 that it had detected no increase in radioactive particles .
Russia has several operational nuclear power plants in its northwest , including near Kola , St. Petersburg , and Smolensk .
The CTBTO oversees hundreds of monitoring stations that use seismic , acoustic , and other technology to look out for weapons testing anywhere in the world .
But the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Radioactive particles can be carried long distances by the wind .
`` These are certainly nuclear fission products , most likely from a civil source , '' a spokeswoman for the Vienna-based CTBTO said , according to Reuters .
That would suggest the particles originated from the atomic chain reaction that powers a nuclear reactor .
`` We are able to indicate the likely region of the source , but it 's outside the CTBTO 's mandate to identify the exact origin , '' the source added .
The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` not possible now to confirm what could be the source of the increased levels '' of radioactivity .
“ The radionuclides are artificial , that is to say they are man-made , '' the Dutch safety watchdog said .
But `` a specific source location can not be identified due to the limited number of measurements . ''
Based on reporting by Reuters , AP , and Interfax

A global monitoring network this week detected unexplained "higher than usual levels" of radioactive isotopes at a station in Sweden that likely came from somewhere around the Baltic Sea.
But the group also said late on June 26 that the levels it saw were "not harmful for human health."
The head of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Lassina Zerbo, tweeted that the elevated levels of three radionuclides generally associated with civil nuclear activities -- cesium-134, cesium-137, and ruthenium-103 -- had been detected on June 22-23.
He highlighted an area including stretches of western Russia, seemingly including St. Petersburg, Estonia, southern Finland, and Sweden as a "possible source" of the radioactive particles at any point in the preceding 72 hours.
The Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish nuclear safety agencies also said they'd identified amounts of radioactive isotopes in the area, adding the levels did not appear harmful to humans.
The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment said on June 26 that its "calculations show that the radionuclides come from the direction of western Russia."
Their character "may indicate damage to a fuel element in a nuclear power plant," the Dutch said.
But Russia's hydrometeorological and environmental monitoring agency, Roshydromet, said on June 27 that it had detected no increase in radioactive particles.
Russia has several operational nuclear power plants in its northwest, including near Kola, St. Petersburg, and Smolensk.
The CTBTO oversees hundreds of monitoring stations that use seismic, acoustic, and other technology to look out for weapons testing anywhere in the world.
But the network can also spot other anomalies.
Radioactive particles can be carried long distances by the wind.
"These are certainly nuclear fission products, most likely from a civil source," a spokeswoman for the Vienna-based CTBTO said, according to Reuters.
That would suggest the particles originated from the atomic chain reaction that powers a nuclear reactor.
"We are able to indicate the likely region of the source, but it's outside the CTBTO's mandate to identify the exact origin," the source added.
The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority said on June 23 that it was "not possible now to confirm what could be the source of the increased levels" of radioactivity.
"The radionuclides are artificial, that is to say they are man-made," the Dutch safety watchdog said. But "a specific source location cannot be identified due to the limited number of measurements."
With reporting by Reuters, AP, and Interfax


rferl--2020-06-27--On Pride Day, Western Diplomats Urge Russia To Protect LGBT Rights

Ambassadors and other diplomats from the United States and other Western democracies called on Russia to protect the rights of all its citizens , including sexual minorities , as the world marked Global Pride Day 2020 on June 27 .
In a statement by representatives from Australia , Canada , New Zealand , the United Kingdom , and the United States , the diplomats said they `` affirm the inherent dignity of each individual as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and call upon the government of the Russian Federation to adhere to its stated commitment to protecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the lesbian , gay , bisexual , transgender and intersex ( LGBTI ) community . ''
They cited discrimination and violence against LGBTI communities around the world and condemned authorities turning `` a blind eye to the hate speech and hate crimes that are still prevalent in many countries . ''
The joint statement on Pride Month 2020 was posted on the U.S. Embassy in Moscow 's website and other places .
The British and U.S. embassies in the Russian capital both flew rainbow flags , drawing criticism from Russia as a violation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vladimir Putin and his allies against the public promotion of `` nontraditional '' lifestyles .
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the rainbow banners that `` any occurrence of propaganda of nontraditional sexual minorities in our country is prohibited by law . ''
`` This June , we celebrate Pride Month by applauding LGBTI activists and their allies , who are working to ensure that every individual , regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity , receives the full protection of the law .
Human rights are universal .
Everyone is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Western diplomats ' statement said .
Pride events on June 27 were severely curtailed in most places to avoid the risk of coronavirus infection but were going ahead in physical-distancing form in Berlin , Mexico City , New York City , and other major cities around the world .
A Russian media group linked to a close Putin associate produced an antigay political ad ahead of this week 's ongoing Russian vote on constitutional amendments that , among other things , include a passage defining marriage as a union between a man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's ban on same-sex marriage in the constitution .
Aleksei Navalny , a popular opposition figure , tweeted that Russian officials appeared to `` have gone completely crazy '' on the antigay theme .
The constitutional changes are headlined by an amendment that would open the door for the former KGB lieutenant colonel to remain in power until 2036 .

Ambassadors and other diplomats from the United States and other Western democracies called on Russia to protect the rights of all its citizens, including sexual minorities, as the world marked Global Pride Day 2020 on June 27.
In a statement by representatives from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the diplomats said they "affirm the inherent dignity of each individual as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and call upon the government of the Russian Federation to adhere to its stated commitment to protecting the rights of all citizens, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community."
They cited discrimination and violence against LGBTI communities around the world and condemned authorities turning "a blind eye to the hate speech and hate crimes that are still prevalent in many countries."
The joint statement on Pride Month 2020 was posted on the U.S. Embassy in Moscow's website and other places.
The British and U.S. embassies in the Russian capital both flew rainbow flags, drawing criticism from Russia as a violation of a controversial law pushed by President Vladimir Putin and his allies against the public promotion of "nontraditional" lifestyles.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the rainbow banners that "any occurrence of propaganda of nontraditional sexual minorities in our country is prohibited by law."
"This June, we celebrate Pride Month by applauding LGBTI activists and their allies, who are working to ensure that every individual, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, receives the full protection of the law. Human rights are universal. Everyone is entitled to their full enjoyment," the Western diplomats' statement said.
Pride events on June 27 were severely curtailed in most places to avoid the risk of coronavirus infection but were going ahead in physical-distancing form in Berlin, Mexico City, New York City, and other major cities around the world.
A Russian media group linked to a close Putin associate produced an antigay political ad ahead of this week's ongoing Russian vote on constitutional amendments that, among other things, include a passage defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman to enshrine the country's ban on same-sex marriage in the constitution.
Aleksei Navalny, a popular opposition figure, tweeted that Russian officials appeared to "have gone completely crazy" on the antigay theme.
The constitutional changes are headlined by an amendment that would open the door for the former KGB lieutenant colonel to remain in power until 2036.
With reporting by dpa


rferl--2020-06-27--Nine More Kyrgyz Presidential Staffers Test Positive For Coronavirus

The chief of staff to the Kyrgyz president and eight other employees tested positive for the coronavirus on June 27 , bringing the number of infections to 17 within President Sooronbai Jeenbekov 's administration .
Jeenbekov traveled to Moscow on June 24 for a postponed commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II , but he was unable to attend after two members of his entourage tested positive for the virus .
Two subsequent tests of Jeenbekov have reportedly come up negative as the Kyrgyz head of state continues to work remotely while isolating since his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on June 26 rejected proposals to reimpose a state of emergency despite a rise in the number of cases in some cities .
The new infections in the presidential administration include its head , Dosaly Esenaliev , who confirmed his positive test via Facebook .
The presidential press service said all of the employees confirmed with the virus are in isolation , and are working from home under medical supervision .
Kyrgyzstan 's deputy health minister said on June 26 that Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov had recommended holding off on reimposing a state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would increase sanitary and epidemiology controls in public places .
Johns Hopkins University lists 4,513 confirmed coronavirus infections in Kyrgyzstan , with 46 COVID-19 deaths , lowest among Central Asia 's five post-Soviet republics aside from Turkmenistan 's improbable figures suggesting it has no infections .
WHO 's European director , Hans Kluge , on June 25 named Kyrgyzstan among 11 countries where “ accelerated transmission has led to very significant resurgence that if left unchecked will push health systems to the brink once again in Europe ” and beyond .
The 11 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Moldova , North Macedonia , Azerbaijan , Kazakhstan , Albania , Bosnia-Herzegovina , Ukraine , and Kosovo .

The chief of staff to the Kyrgyz president and eight other employees tested positive for the coronavirus on June 27, bringing the number of infections to 17 within President Sooronbai Jeenbekov's administration.
Jeenbekov traveled to Moscow on June 24 for a postponed commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, but he was unable to attend after two members of his entourage tested positive for the virus.
Two subsequent tests of Jeenbekov have reportedly come up negative as the Kyrgyz head of state continues to work remotely while isolating since his return from Russia.
Kyrgyzstan's government on June 26 rejected proposals to reimpose a state of emergency despite a rise in the number of cases in some cities.
The new infections in the presidential administration include its head, Dosaly Esenaliev, who confirmed his positive test via Facebook.
The presidential press service said all of the employees confirmed with the virus are in isolation, and are working from home under medical supervision.
Kyrgyzstan's deputy health minister said on June 26 that Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov had recommended holding off on reimposing a state of emergency, although officials said they would increase sanitary and epidemiology controls in public places.
Johns Hopkins University lists 4,513 confirmed coronavirus infections in Kyrgyzstan, with 46 COVID-19 deaths, lowest among Central Asia's five post-Soviet republics aside from Turkmenistan's improbable figures suggesting it has no infections.
WHO's European director, Hans Kluge, on June 25 named Kyrgyzstan among 11 countries where “accelerated transmission has led to very significant resurgence that if left unchecked will push health systems to the brink once again in Europe” and beyond.
The 11 also include: Armenia, Sweden, Moldova, North Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine, and Kosovo.


rferl--2020-06-27--Macron To Travel To Russia 'Soon' To Continue Dialogue With Putin

French President Emmanuel Macron said on June 27 that he plans to visit Russia `` soon '' to continue talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on key issues like security and climate change .
Macron has encouraged Europe and NATO to reexamine their strategic partnership with Moscow and suggested Europe 's defiant approach has failed .
The French and Russian presidents talked one day earlier by videoconference .
`` The trust-building dialogue initiated with President Putin at Fort Bregancon continue , '' Macron tweeted on June 27 , adding , `` We are moving forward and I will soon travel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` security in Europe , regional conflicts , [ and ] climate including the melting of permafrost in the Arctic '' as topics for discussion .
Relations between Moscow and the West are at post-Cold War lows over issues including Russia 's annexation of Crimea , its role in Syria ’ s conflict , its alleged meddling in elections in the United States and other democracies , and poisonings and alleged Russian assassinations in European cities .
Macron said after their videoconference on June 26 that “ all regional crises we ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ European space , in a broad sense , from Lisbon to Vladivostok , a real space of cooperation and peace . ''
On Ukraine , where fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed some 13,200 people since April 2014 , Macron reportedly stressed it was crucial to quickly relaunch a road map aimed at ending the conflict .
He also reportedly urged an end to foreign interference in Libya , including by the so-called Vagner group of mostly former Russian service personnel who have been involved in clandestine operations in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countries have backed Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar in his war against forces backing the UN-recognized Government of National Accord ( GNA ) , which is mainly backed by Turkey .
Macron planned to attend the events in Red Square last month to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the World War II victory over Nazi Germany , but that event was postponed until June 23 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the French president did not attend .
With reporting by Reuters , AFP , and AP

French President Emmanuel Macron said on June 27 that he plans to visit Russia "soon" to continue talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on key issues like security and climate change.
Macron has encouraged Europe and NATO to reexamine their strategic partnership with Moscow and suggested Europe's defiant approach has failed.
The French and Russian presidents talked one day earlier by videoconference.
"The trust-building dialogue initiated with President Putin at Fort Bregancon continue," Macron tweeted on June 27, adding, "We are moving forward and I will soon travel to Russia."
He specifically identified "security in Europe, regional conflicts, [and] climate including the melting of permafrost in the Arctic" as topics for discussion.
Relations between Moscow and the West are at post-Cold War lows over issues including Russia's annexation of Crimea, its role in Syria’s conflict, its alleged meddling in elections in the United States and other democracies, and poisonings and alleged Russian assassinations in European cities.
Macron said after their videoconference on June 26 that “all regional crises we’ve experienced shows the importance of making the European space, in a broad sense, from Lisbon to Vladivostok, a real space of cooperation and peace."
On Ukraine, where fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed some 13,200 people since April 2014, Macron reportedly stressed it was crucial to quickly relaunch a road map aimed at ending the conflict.
He also reportedly urged an end to foreign interference in Libya, including by the so-called Vagner group of mostly former Russian service personnel who have been involved in clandestine operations in foreign countries.
Russia and several other countries have backed Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar in his war against forces backing the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), which is mainly backed by Turkey.
Macron planned to attend the events in Red Square last month to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the World War II victory over Nazi Germany, but that event was postponed until June 23 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the French president did not attend.
With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP


rferl--2020-06-27--Human Rights Watch: Turkmenistan Risking Country's Health By Denying Coronavirus Cases

Human Rights Watch is warning that Turkmenistan is putting the country ’ s health in jeopardy by denying an apparent outbreak of the coronavirus in the Central Asian state .
The rights watchdog on June 27 urged the Turkmen government to gather and publicize data about the infection in the country , make testing widely available , and stop silencing health workers .
Turkmenistan is one of very few countries worldwide that claims it has no cases of COVID-19 .
“ Every minute that Turkmenistan ’ s government conceals the truth about COVID-19 in the country , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” said Rachel Denber , deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch .
“ The authorities should stop this reckless denial and urgently adopt appropriate public health measures.
” The World Health Organization ( WHO ) is expected to send representatives to Turkmenistan in early July , after seeking since at least April to visit the country .
Turkmenistan should allow the WHO to conduct its visit fully in line with the organization ’ s terms of reference and should immediately start carrying out WHO recommendations and guidelines for COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Watch said .
In February and March , Turkmenistan introduced some measures against the spread of the virus , including limiting entry to the country and raising awareness about handwashing and other hygiene measures .
But until April , state media and high-level government officials were mostly silent about the situation .
The authorities have not promoted any social-distancing measures and instead have held mass public events .
They have sought to silence medical workers and others from speaking out about the impact of the virus in the country .
The Turkmen Foreign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ published on the U.S. embassy ’ s website that acknowledged there were “ no official reports of positive COVID-19 cases , ” but noted “ reports of local citizens with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
” The Foreign Ministry called the statement “ distorted , ” “ baseless , ” and “ fake .
”

Human Rights Watch is warning that Turkmenistan is putting the country’s health in jeopardy by denying an apparent outbreak of the coronavirus in the Central Asian state.
The rights watchdog on June 27 urged the Turkmen government to gather and publicize data about the infection in the country, make testing widely available, and stop silencing health workers.
Turkmenistan is one of very few countries worldwide that claims it has no cases of COVID-19.
“Every minute that Turkmenistan’s government conceals the truth about COVID-19 in the country, it’s putting lives and health in danger,” said Rachel Denber, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should stop this reckless denial and urgently adopt appropriate public health measures.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) is expected to send representatives to Turkmenistan in early July, after seeking since at least April to visit the country.
Turkmenistan should allow the WHO to conduct its visit fully in line with the organization’s terms of reference and should immediately start carrying out WHO recommendations and guidelines for COVID-19 prevention and data collection, Human Rights Watch said.
In February and March, Turkmenistan introduced some measures against the spread of the virus, including limiting entry to the country and raising awareness about handwashing and other hygiene measures.
But until April, state media and high-level government officials were mostly silent about the situation. The authorities have not promoted any social-distancing measures and instead have held mass public events. They have sought to silence medical workers and others from speaking out about the impact of the virus in the country.
The Turkmen Foreign Ministry publicly repudiated a June 24 alert published on the U.S. embassy’s website that acknowledged there were “no official reports of positive COVID-19 cases,” but noted “reports of local citizens with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.”
The Foreign Ministry called the statement “distorted,” “baseless,” and “fake.”


rferl--2020-06-28--Deleted Report Places Iranian Quds Force Commander In Syria

A semiofficial Iranian news agency issued a rare public announcement on June 27 of a visit to war-torn Syria by the commander of Iran 's elite Quds Force , Ismail Qaani , before deleting the report .
Reuters reported that the hard-line Tasnim news outlet initially said Qaani had traveled to Abu Kamal , a Syrian town near the border with Iraq , in the past several days .
It said Tasnim offered no explanation of the deletion , and other Iranian media never reported it .
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad 's forces are supported by Russian and Iranian forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forces .
Qaani 's predecessor , Qasem Soleimani , was killed along with several other people by a U.S. air strike in January at Baghdad airport during a visit to Iraq .
The Quds Force is believed to be providing significant assistance to Assad as his forces and its allies battle a yearslong insurgency .
The force is also thought to be arming and aiding anti-Western militias in Iraq .
The U.S. State Department recently said in its annual report on terrorism that Tehran has continued to allow an Al-Qaeda `` facilitation network @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sending money and fighters to conflict zones in Afghanistan and Syria , and it still allowed [ Al-Qaeda ] members to reside in the country . ''
It also said the `` Iranian regime continued to foment violence , both directly and through proxies , in Bahrain , Iraq , Lebanon , Syria , and Yemen . ''
Israel has conducted numerous military strikes on what it says are positions of Iran and its allies inside Syria .
On June 23 , Assad 's forces said they had responded to Israeli strikes that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ several parts of Syria .

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--2020-06-28--White House Denies Trump Was Briefed On Reported Intelligence That Russia Offered Bounties

The White House has denied that President Donald Trump was briefed on a reported finding that Russian military intelligence offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan .
Neither Trump nor Vice President Mike Pence was briefed on the alleged Russian bounty intelligence , White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement , referring to a report on June 26 in The New York Times .
`` This does not speak to the merit of the alleged intelligence but to the inaccuracy of The New York Times story erroneously suggesting that President Trump was briefed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Former Vice President Joe Biden reacted to the report by attacking Trump for his reported failure to take action .
Biden said the shocking revelation -- if true -- is that Trump “ has known about this for months ” and had done “ worse than nothing.
” Biden , the Democratic Party 's presumptive presidential nominee , said not only has Trump failed to impose any kind of consequences on Russia , he “ has continued his embarrassing campaign of deference and debasing himself before Vladimir Putin.
” He promised that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Putin will be confronted and we ’ ll impose serious costs on Russia.
” The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence officials concluded months ago that Russian military intelligence offered the bounties to Taliban-linked militants .
The newspaper , citing anonymous U.S. officials briefed on the matter , reported that a secret unit of Russia ’ s GRU military intelligence linked to assassination attempts in Europe and other activities offered rewards for successful attacks last year .
A spokesman for the Taliban leadership said on June 27 that the group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It insisted the Taliban `` is not indebted to the beneficence of any intelligence organ or foreign country and neither is the [ Taliban leadership ] in need of anyone in specifying objectives . ''
Spokesmen for the National Security Council , the Pentagon , and the CIA declined to comment on the allegations that were later also reported by The Washington Post .
The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed the report .
`` This unsophisticated plant clearly illustrates the low intellectual abilities of the propagandists of American intelligence , who instead of inventing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this nonsense , ” the Russian Foreign Ministry said .
The Times claimed the intelligence was based partially on interrogations of captured Afghan militants and criminals .
It said Taliban-linked militants , or “ armed criminal elements closely associated with them , ” collected some of the money .
But it reported that it was not clear whether any of the 20 American soldiers killed in Afghanistan last year are linked to the alleged payments .
The newspaper , citing unidentified officials familiar with the intelligence , said the findings were presented to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Council in late March .
Officials developed potential responses , starting with a diplomatic complaint to Russia , but the White House has yet to authorize any step , the report said .
At least two members of Congress demanded answers .
Senator Lindsey Graham ( Republican-South Carolina ) said in a tweet it was `` imperative '' that Congress get to the bottom of the news reports .
Senator Bob Menendez ( Democrat-New Jersey ) said Congress must act `` if Trump refuses to hold Putin accountable for funding terrorism against U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proposed calling for sanctions against Russia passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in December 2019 and awaits a vote by the full Senate , he said on Twitter , urging Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to `` act this week . ''
The allegations come as the United States seeks to advance a nascent peace process in Afghanistan after signing a deal with the Taliban in February that could see U.S. troops leave the country next year .
With reporting by Reuters and AP

U.S. lawmakers are demanding more information from the White House after a newspaper report said that Russian military intelligence offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
President Donald Trump has denied ever being briefed on the intelligence, though The New York Times, which reported on the alleged bounties, said he was told of the matter in March.
Representative Liz Cheney (Republican-Wyoming) said on June 28 that if the allegations in the newspaper report are true, lawmakers need to know “who did know and when?” The White House must explain why the president and vice president weren’t briefed, Cheney said on Twitter.
She also demanded to know what has been done in response to protect U.S. forces and what has been done to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable.
The New York Times, citing anonymous U.S. officials briefed on the matter, reported that a secret unit of Russia’s GRU military intelligence linked to assassination attempts in Europe and other activities offered rewards for successful attacks last year. The newspaper reported on June 26 that U.S. intelligence officials concluded months ago that Russian military intelligence offered the bounties to Taliban-linked militants and briefed Trump.
Trump tweeted on June 28 that he was never briefed on the matter.
“Nobody briefed or told me” or Vice President Mike Pence or chief of staff Mark Meadows about “the so-called attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by Russians,” the president said on Twitter.
"Everybody is denying it & there have not been many attacks on us,” he wrote.
The White House and the director of national intelligence have denied the report. The Russian Foreign Ministry also dismissed the report and a spokesman for the Taliban leadership said on June 27 that the group "strongly rejects" the allegation.
The newspaper published additional information on June 28 saying U.S. intelligence and special operations forces in Afghanistan alerted superiors as early as January to the suspected Russian plot to pay bounties, citing officials briefed on the matter.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi said June 28 that she was not aware of the assessment and called for Congress to be briefed.
She said the report and Trump's denial is more evidence of the president ignoring allegations against Russia to accommodate Putin.
"There is something very wrong here. But this must have an answer," the top Democrat in the House said on ABC News, adding that Trump has already supported Putin by diminishing U.S. leadership in NATO, reducing U.S. forces in Germany, and inviting Russia back into the Group of Seven (G7). Moscow was a member of the group for a few years, making it the G8, but it was excluded from the club over its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
“You would think the minute the president heard of it, he would want to know more, instead of denying that he knew anything,” Pelosi said.
Pelosi and Representative Adam Schiff (Democrat-California), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, also questioned why Trump was not told about the bounty offer.
"If he was briefed and still wanted Russia back in the G-8, it's even worse," Schiff tweeted.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urged tough sanctions against Russia in the defense bill that the Senate will debate this week.
With reporting by Reuters, ABC News, and AP


rferl--2020-06-28--Six Afghan Civilians Killed In Roadside Bomb Blast

KABUL -- A roadside bomb has killed at least six Afghan civilians and wounded two others in the southern province of Helmand , officials say .
The explosion took place in Washer district on June 28 , according to provincial police spokesman Zaman Hamdard .
He said those killed and wounded including women and children .
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack , but Hamdard blamed the Taliban .
Violence had dropped across much of the country after the Taliban offered a brief cease-fire to mark the Eid al-Fitr festival last month , but officials say the insurgents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
On June 27 , two people working for the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission ( AIHRC ) were killed when a homemade device attached to their vehicle exploded in Kabul .
It came less than a week after two prosecutors and three other employees from the Attorney General 's Office were shot dead by gunmen on the outskirts of the Afghan capital .
Earlier this month , an Afghan-based affiliate of the Islamic State extremist group took credit for a bombing at a mosque in Kabul that killed two people , including @ @ @ @


rferl--2020-06-28--Russian Metallurgical Giant Admits Waste 'Violations' At Arctic Plant

A Russian metallurgical giant has admitted one of its plants had pumped wastewater into the fragile Arctic environment and that it suspended the responsible employees .
Citing a `` flagrant violation of operating rules , '' Norilsk Nickel said on June 28 that the employees were responsible for dumping wastewater from a dangerously full reservoir into the tundra .
The company said employees of the Talnakh enrichment plant near the industrial city of Norilsk had pumped out `` purified water '' and that there is no threat of waste leakage .
Norilsk Nickel said an internal investigation was under way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an enquiry after receiving reports of `` unauthorized dumping of liquid waste into the tundra '' on the site of the facility .
Interfax news agency quoted an unidentified source that around 6,000 cubic meters of liquid used to process minerals at the facility had been dumped .
The incident occurred near the industrial city of Norilsk , one month after a massive fuel leak at a plant in the area owned by a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel , the world 's leading nickel and palladium producer .
The independent newspaper Novaya gazeta @ @ @ @ @ @ @ latest incident showing pipes carrying wastewater from the reservoir and dumping liquid into nearby trees .
The journalists claimed the factory removed the pipes when officials arrived on the scene .
They also reported that machinery used to clear the pipes crushed a car carrying the officials to the scene .
No one was injured in the incident which was also being investigated , according to Interfax .
In May , around 21,000 tons of diesel fuel spilled into the soil , two rivers , and a downstream lake after a storage tank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or sank due to thawing permafrost soil .
President Vladimir Putin declared a state of emergency after the incident and Norilsk Nickel promised to pay the costs of the cleanup , estimated at 10 billion rubles ( $ 145 million ) .
With reporting by AP and AFP

A Russian metallurgical giant has admitted one of its plants pumped wastewater into the fragile Arctic environment and that it has suspended the responsible employees.
Citing a "flagrant violation of operating rules," Norilsk Nickel said on June 28 that the employees were responsible for dumping wastewater from a dangerously full reservoir into the tundra.
The company said employees of the Talnakh enrichment plant near the industrial city of Norilsk had pumped out "purified water" and that there is no threat of waste leakage.
Norilsk Nickel said an internal investigation was under way.
The Investigative Committee said it opened an enquiry after receiving reports of "unauthorized dumping of liquid waste into the tundra" on the site of the facility.
Interfax news agency quoted an unidentified source that around 6,000 cubic meters of liquid used to process minerals at the facility had been dumped.
The incident occurred near the industrial city of Norilsk, one month after a massive fuel leak at a plant in the area owned by a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, the world's leading nickel and palladium producer.
The independent newspaper Novaya gazeta published videos from the scene of the latest incident showing pipes carrying wastewater from the reservoir and dumping liquid into nearby trees.
The journalists claimed the factory removed the pipes when officials arrived on the scene.
They also reported that machinery used to clear the pipes crushed a car carrying the officials to the scene.
No one was injured in the incident, which was also being investigated, according to Interfax.
In May, around 21,000 tons of diesel fuel spilled into the soil, two rivers, and a downstream lake after a storage tank at a Norilsk Nickel-operated power plant collapsed or sank due to thawing permafrost soil.
President Vladimir Putin declared a state of emergency after the incident and Norilsk Nickel promised to pay the costs of the cleanup, estimated at 10 billion rubles ($145 million).
With reporting by AP and AFP


rferl--2020-06-28--Russian Election Commission: Turnout Passes 28 Percent On Third Day Of Constitutional-Amendments Vot

Russian Election Commission: Turnout Passes 28 Percent On Third Day Of Constitutional-Amendments Vote

Russia 's Central Election Commission ( CEC ) says overall turnout was nearly 28.5 percent on the third day of a weeklong vote for constitutional amendments that could pave the way for an extension of President Vladimir Putin ’ s rule by 12 years .
Almost 31 million people have cast ballots , including remote online voting , CEC chairwoman Ella Pamfilova said on June 28 .
Pamfilova also said that the CEC has received 113 complaints of irregularities .
Some 110.5 million people are eligible to cast ballots in the nationwide vote , which ends on July 1 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ criticism from opposition members and human rights groups who see them as an attempt at a power grab by President Vladimir Putin .
The 67-year-old Russian leader has already been in power as president or prime minister for the past two decades .
If the constitutional changes are approved , his presidential term-limit clock will be reset to zero -- opening the way for him to run for reelection when his current term expires in 2024 , and again in 2030 .
Under the current rules , Putin is forbidden from seeking a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no minimum turnout required to make the vote valid .
But analysts say the Kremlin fears a low turnout could undermine the perceived legitimacy of the constitutional changes .
Voting stations opened on June 25 for a week to help avoid crowds on July 1 , the day designated for the vote , as Russia continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic .
The vote was postponed from its originally scheduled date of April 22 due to the outbreak .
Early voting has been allowed since June 10 for people who do n't @ @ @ @ @ @

Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) says overall turnout was nearly 28.5 percent on the third day of a weeklong vote for constitutional amendments that could pave the way for an extension of President Vladimir Putin’s rule by 12 years.
Almost 31 million people have cast ballots, including remote online voting, CEC chairwoman Ella Pamfilova said on June 28.
Pamfilova also said that the CEC has received 113 complaints of irregularities.
Some 110.5 million people are eligible to cast ballots in the nationwide vote, which ends on July 1.
The sweeping constitutional reforms has sparked sharp criticism from opposition members and human rights groups who see them as an attempt at a power grab by President Vladimir Putin.
The 67-year-old Russian leader has already been in power as president or prime minister for the past two decades.
If the constitutional changes are approved, his presidential term-limit clock will be reset to zero -- opening the way for him to run for reelection when his current term expires in 2024, and again in 2030.
Under the current rules, Putin is forbidden from seeking a third consecutive six-year term.
There is no minimum turnout required to make the vote valid. But analysts say the Kremlin fears a low turnout could undermine the perceived legitimacy of the constitutional changes.
Voting stations opened on June 25 for a week to help avoid crowds on July 1, the day designated for the vote, as Russia continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.
The vote was postponed from its originally scheduled date of April 22 due to the outbreak. Early voting has been allowed since June 10 for people who don't have access to polling stations.


rferl--2020-06-28--Iran To Require The Wearing Of Masks At Indoor Gatherings

Iran has announced that it will make the wearing of masks mandatory at indoor gathering places as the number of coronavirus fatalities recorded in a single day rose by the highest number in nearly three months .
The measure announced by President Hassan Rohani on July 28 was accompanied by news that hard-hit provinces would be allowed to reimpose restrictions aimed at countering the impact of the virus .
Rohani said the new mask requirement would be in force until July 22 .
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier warned the country ’ s economic problems could worsen if the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down nonessential businesses , closed schools and cancelled public events in March , but the government gradually lifted restrictions from April to try to reopen the country 's sanctions-hit economy .
Iran reported 144 new fatalities owing to the coronavirus on June 27 , its highest death toll for a single day in almost three months .
The country is among the top 10 in the world in terms of the number of coronavirus infections , with more than 222,600 infections recorded , and over 10,500 deaths .
The Islamic republic had refrained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic 's spread , and the use of masks and protective equipment was optional in most areas .
Based on reporting by AFP and AP


rferl--2020-06-28--Trump Denies Being Briefed On Reported Russian Bounties On U.S. Troops

U.S. President Donald Trump denies he has been briefed on a reported finding that Russian military intelligence offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan .
“ Nobody briefed or told me ” or Vice President Mike Pence or chief of staff Mark Meadows about “ the so-called attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by Russians , ” Trump tweeted on June 28 .
`` Everybody is denying it & there have not been many attacks on us , ” he wrote , referring to a report on June 26 in The New York Times .
Responding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take action against Moscow , Trump said in a separate tweet that “ nobody ’ s been tougher on Russia ” than his administration .
The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence officials concluded months ago that Russian military intelligence offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants .
The newspaper , citing anonymous U.S. officials briefed on the matter , reported that a secret unit of Russia ’ s GRU military intelligence linked to assassination attempts in Europe and other activities offered rewards for successful attacks last year .
A spokesman for the Taliban @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group `` strongly reject '' the allegation .
It insisted the Taliban `` is not indebted to the beneficence of any intelligence organ or foreign country and neither is the [ Taliban leadership ] in need of anyone in specifying objectives . ''
The Russian Foreign Ministry also dismissed the report , saying : `` This unsophisticated plant clearly illustrates the low intellectual abilities of the propagandists of American intelligence , who instead of inventing something more plausible have to make up this nonsense.
” The White House said neither Trump nor Pence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bounty intelligence .
`` This does not speak to the merit of the alleged intelligence but to the inaccuracy of The New York Times story erroneously suggesting that President Trump was briefed on this matter , '' White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement .
Trump 's director of national intelligence , John Ratcliffe , said the White House statement was “ accurate ” and that neither the president nor vice president was “ ever briefed ” on the allegations that were later also reported by The Washington Post .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ was based partially on interrogations of captured Afghan militants and criminals .
It said Taliban-linked militants , or “ armed criminal elements closely associated with them , ” collected some of the money .
But it reported that it was not clear whether any of the 20 American soldiers killed in Afghanistan last year are linked to the alleged payments .
The newspaper , citing unidentified officials familiar with the intelligence , said the findings were presented to Trump and discussed by his National Security Council in late March .
Officials developed potential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Russia , but the White House has yet to authorize any step , the report said .
Former Vice President Joe Biden , the Democratic nominee for the November 3 presidential election , reacted to the report by attacking Trump for his reported failure to take action .
Biden said on June 27 the shocking revelation -- if true -- is that Trump “ has known about this for months ” and had done “ worse than nothing.
” Biden said not only has Trump failed to impose any kind of consequences @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his embarrassing campaign of deference and debasing himself before Vladimir Putin.
” He promised that if elected “ Putin will be confronted and we ’ ll impose serious costs on Russia.
” Members of Congress demanded answers , with House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi , saying : `` There is something very wrong here .
But this must have an answer . ''
“ You would think , the minute the president heard of it , he would want to know more , instead of denying that he knew anything , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Party , told ABC .
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham ( South Carolina ) said in a tweet it was `` imperative '' that Congress get to the bottom of the news reports .
Senator Bob Menendez , a Democrat from New Jersey , said Congress must act `` if Trump refuses to hold Putin accountable for funding terrorism against U.S. troops in Afghanistan . ''
Legislation he proposed calling for sanctions against Russia passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in December 2019 and awaits a vote by the full Senate , he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McConnell to `` act this week . ''
The allegations come as the United States seeks to advance a nascent peace process in Afghanistan after signing a deal with the Taliban in February that could see U.S. troops leave the country next year .
With reporting by Reuters and AP


rferl--2020-06-29--Mortar Attack On Afghan Market Kills At Least 23

A mortar attack on a market in southern Afghanistan has killed at least 23 people and injured dozens of others @ @ @ @ @ governor of the southern province of Helmand said the June 29 attack occurred close to @ @ @ @ @ children were among the dead .
The spokesman immediately pinned the attack on the Taliban @ @ @ @ @ the government .
While violence had dropped across much of the country after the Taliban @ @ @ @ @ mark the Eid al-Fitr festival last month , officials say the insurgents have stepped up @ @ @ @ @ On June 28 , a roadside bomb killed at least six civilians and wounded two @ @ @ @ @ .
The Taliban and Afghan government are preparing to enter into much-delayed peace talks aimed @ @ @ @ @ the country .
Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa


rferl--2020-06-29--COVID-19 Disinformation From Russia, China More Influential Than Domestic News Sources, Study Finds

Coronavirus disinformation published by Chinese and Russian state media outlets in France , Spain , and Germany is in some cases reaching a greater audience on social media than news coverage of the global pandemic produced by major domestic media outlets in those countries , according to a study by the Oxford Internet Institute ( OII ) .
The study , released by OII on June 29 , found that the Russian international news network RT has achieved up to five times the number of engagements per article share on Twitter and Facebook with its French-language coronavirus coverage than the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Radio International ( CTI ) , meanwhile , has generated four times the number of engagements per shared article than the leading Spanish newspaper El Pais .
`` Many of these state-backed outlets blend reputable , fact-based reporting about the coronavirus with misleading or false information , which can lead to greater uncertainty among public audiences trying to make sense of the COVID-19 pandemic , '' OII research assistant Katarina Rebello said in a press release .
The co-author of the study , OII Director Philip Howard , said that along with Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Turkey were also targeting `` French , German , and Spanish-speaking social-media users around the world with news on coronavirus . ''
OII researchers found that the disinformation varied depending on the language and source country .
For example , Russian outlets disseminating coronavirus coverage in French and German `` consistently emphasized weak democratic institutions and civil disorder in Europe . ''
Russian and Iranian media produced `` polarizing content '' intended for Spanish-speaking social-media users in the United States and Latin America .
And Chinese and Turkish outlets promoted their countries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic '' in disseminating Spanish-language content .
The OII studied output from Russia 's RT and Sputnik news agency , China 's Global Television Network , China Radio International , and the Xinhua News Agency for its study , along with content from Iranian and Turkish media outlets .
It covered each outlet 's 20 most popular stories from May 18 to June 5 .
A previous OII study found that heavily politicized news stories from some state media from Russia , China , Iran , and Turkey could have 10 times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the BBC .

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


rferl--2020-06-29--Protesters Urge Kyrgyz President To Veto Bill Seen As Impacting Free Speech Online

BISHKEK -- Hundreds of protesters have rallied in Bishkek urging Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov to veto new legislation that they say would curtail press freedom in the Central Asian nation .
The protesters gathered near the railway station in the Kyrgyz capital on June 29 wearing medical masks , many of which had a large red `` X '' to symbolize the `` muzzling of freedom of speech . ''
They also held posters with slogans such as `` We Are Not Slaves , '' and `` You Ca n't Stop Us Talking , '' as they marched toward the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ manipulating information , approved by parliament last week , would allow the blocking of websites without a court order and compel companies to store and possibly hand over private user data if requested to do so by authorities .
Some of the protesters held portraits of lawmakers who initiated the controversial law with large signs saying `` Fake Lawmaker '' and called on lawmakers Gulshat Asybaeva and Ainura Osmonova , to resign .
The demonstrators also chanted `` No Quorum , Means No Law , '' referring to allegations by rights activists that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behalf of colleagues absent from the June 25 session at which the media bill was passed .
The protesters attempted to practice social distancing during the march and rally to comply with the Health Ministry requirements aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus .
Under the bill , which will come into force after Jeenbekov signs it into law , authorities will not be required to get court backing to shut down or block websites containing information deemed to be “ inaccurate ” or “ false ” and to shut down social-media @ @ @ @ @ @ @ real-name registration for website owners and social-media account owners .
Internet service providers ( ISPs ) would be required to store user data , including photos , audio , and video , for up to six months and share them with government agencies upon request .
Several domestic and international organizations last week urged Jeenbekov to reject the bill .

BISHKEK -- Hundreds of protesters have rallied in Bishkek urging Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov to veto new legislation that they say would curtail press freedom in the Central Asian state.
The protesters gathered near the railway station in the Kyrgyz capital on June 29 wearing medical masks, many of which had a large red "X" to symbolize the "muzzling of freedom of speech." They also held posters with slogans such as "We are not slaves," and "You can't stop us talking," as they marched toward the parliament building.
The draft law on manipulating information, approved by parliament last week, would allow the blocking of websites without a court order and compel companies to store and possibly hand over private user data if requested to do so by authorities.
Some of the protesters held portraits of lawmakers who initiated the controversial law with large signs saying "Fake lawmaker" and called on lawmakers Gulshat Asybaeva and Ainura Osmonova, to resign.
The demonstrators also chanted "No quorum, means no law," referring to allegations by rights activists that several lawmakers had been caught voting on behalf of colleagues absent from the June 25 session at which the media bill was passed.
The protesters attempted to practice social distancing during the march and rally to comply with the Health Ministry requirements aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
Under the bill, which will come into force after Jeenbekov signs it into law, authorities will not be required to get court backing to shut down or block websites containing information deemed to be “inaccurate” or “false” and to shut down social-media accounts deemed misleading.
It also requires real-name registration for website owners and social-media account owners.
Internet service providers (ISPs) would be required to store user data, including photos, audio, and video, for up to six months and share them with government agencies upon request.
Several domestic and international organizations last week urged Jeenbekov to reject the bill.


rferl--2020-06-29--Three Environmental Activists Die Fighting Wildfires In Western Iran

Three environmental activists have died in western Iran while trying to extinguish wildfires in a mountainous area close to the border .
The three -- Mokhtar Khandani , Yasin Karimi , and Balal Amini -- died on June 28 in the Hawraman region in Kermanshah Province , Iranian media reported .
“ [ The three men ] were surrounded by fire and due to heavy winds their lives could not be saved , ” Jalil Balayi , the director of the provincial crisis management office in Kermanshah , told the official government news agency IRNA .
Earlier , the head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Unit , Jamshid Mohabatkhani , told the semiofficial Mehr news agency that it wasn ’ t clear whether the three men had died due to fire in the region or land mines left from the 1980-88 war with Iraq .
Reports said hundreds of residents in Paveh city took to the streets on the evening of June 28 to say farewell to the three men .
Footage posted on social media showed ambulances carrying the remains of the three surrounded by residents , some of whom were chanting “ martyrs don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Zhiway Pawa Society , a nongovernmental organization working to raise environmental awareness .
Amini worked with the same group , while Karimi was also involved in protecting the environment as a volunteer .
Iran has been hit by wildfires in recent weeks in the Zagros mountain range that runs along the western side of the country .
The provinces of Ilam , Kurdistan , Khuzestan , and Bushehr have been affected as well .
Volunteers have been reportedly involved in attempts to extinguish the fires amid criticism that authorities were not doing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month , Iranian media reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps ( IRGC ) had dispatched helicopters to Zagros to contain forest fires .
Army helicopters were reportedly also assigned to extinguish fires in a protected area in Kohgiluyeh in the southwest .
Officials have suggested that some of the recent fires across Iran have been caused by arson .