rferl--2020-02-18--Russian Defense Minister Visits Serbia Amid Heightened Tensions In Balkans

Serbian-Russian military cooperation is on an “ upward trend ” and both countries are committed to “ further enhancing ” it , Serbia ’ s Defense Ministry said on its website after hosting a delegation led by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on February 17 .
Serbia wants a strong army , Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said , “ because it is a guarantee of stability and neutrality.
” Speaking in Belgrade , Shoigu said that “ for our part , we will make every effort to maintain the pace of our relations in the military sphere.
” Serbia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia despite a proclaimed goal of joining the European Union .
Belgrade has pledged to stay out of NATO and refused to impose sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine .
Russia doesn ’ t recognize the statehood of Kosovo , a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008 .
Moscow has sold Belgrade fighter jets , attack helicopters , and battle tanks over the years , raising concerns in a region that has experienced bloody wars over the past three decades .
In October , Serbia held joint air military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long-range S-400 and Pantsir-S systems were deployed .
It was the first time that an S-400 battalion and a Pantsir-S battery had appeared in military drills outside Russia , the Russian Defense Ministry stated at the time .
Amid the bloody disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s , Serbia fought wars against neighbors Croatia , Bosnia-Herzegovina , and Kosovo .
Serbia ’ s current nationalist leadership is believed to be behind tensions that have recently flared up in neighboring Montenegro and Bosnia .
A Serb pro-Russian leader in Bosnia on February 17 reiterated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , NATO ’ s 29th and newest member , minority Serbs have for months been protesting a law they say would force the Serbian Orthodox Church to relinquish property to the state .
Shoigu also invited Vulin to attend Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 20 , the day when Russia observes the anniversary of Nazi Germany ’ s defeat in World War II .
It was Vulin ’ s ninth meeting with Shoigu since the Serbian official was appointed as defense minister .

Serbian-Russian military cooperation is on an “upward trend” and both countries are committed to “further enhancing” it, Serbia’s Defense Ministry said on its website after hosting a delegation led by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on February 17.
Serbia wants a strong army, Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said, “because it is a guarantee of stability and neutrality.”
Speaking in Belgrade, Shoigu said that “for our part, we will make every effort to maintain the pace of our relations in the military sphere.”
Serbia maintains strong political and economic relations with Russia despite a proclaimed goal of joining the European Union. Belgrade has pledged to stay out of NATO and refused to impose sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
Russia doesn’t recognize the statehood of Kosovo, a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008.
Moscow has sold Belgrade fighter jets, attack helicopters, and battle tanks over the years, raising concerns in a region that has experienced bloody wars over the past three decades.
In October, Serbia held joint air military exercises with Russia in which the Russian-made long-range S-400 and Pantsir-S systems were deployed.
It was the first time that an S-400 battalion and a Pantsir-S battery had appeared in military drills outside Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry stated at the time.
Amid the bloody disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Serbia fought wars against neighbors Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo.
Serbia’s current nationalist leadership is believed to be behind tensions that have recently flared up in neighboring Montenegro and Bosnia.
A Serb pro-Russian leader in Bosnia on February 17 reiterated his call for secession.
In Montenegro, NATO’s 29th and newest member, minority Serbs have for months been protesting a law they say would force the Serbian Orthodox Church to relinquish property to the state.
Shoigu also invited Vulin to attend Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 20, the day when Russia observes the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat in World War II.
It was Vulin’s ninth meeting with Shoigu since the Serbian official was appointed as defense minister.
With reporting by AP


rferl--2020-02-17--Kyiv Airport Monument Unveiled In Memory Of Victims Of Iran Plane Shoot-Down

KYIV -- Ukrainian officials have unveiled a monument at Kyiv 's international airport to commemorate the victims of a Ukrainian airliner that was shot down by Iran 's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in Tehran last month .
The Ukraine International Airlines ( UIA ) Boeing 737-800 was shot down on January 8 just hours after Iran had launched a missile attack on U.S. forces in Iraq in response to the January 3 assassination of the IRGC 's Quds Force commander , Major General Qasem Soleimani , by a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad .
All 176 people aboard the civilian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the plane had crashed , but the IRGC admitted three days after the tragedy that Flight PS752 had been shot down `` unintentionally '' by the country ’ s air defenses .
A memorial stone with the inscription “ PS 752 , 08.01.2020 ” was unveiled on February 17 at Boryspil International Airport outside the Ukrainian capital .
The ceremony was attended by relatives of the victims , as well as by Ukraine 's Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko , the secretary of the Ukrainian Security Service , Oleksiy Danilov , and UIA President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which lost their citizens in the crash -- Afghanistan , Britain , Canada , Germany , Iran , and Sweden -- were also present .
Addressing reporters , Prystayko said the investigation into the crash was still under way .
`` The Prosecutor-General 's Office addressed the Iranian side with a request to create a joint investigation group which will result in punishing all those guilty -- not only the person who pressed the button , '' he said .
Prystayko said several options are being looked at concerning the flight data recorders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hand over .
International agreements stipulate that Iran -- without delay and in the shortest time period -- release the flight recorders for analysis , he added .
“ We believe , and all five countries believe , this term has expired , ” Prystayko said .
“ We need to move as fast as possible.
” France , he noted , has the technical capability to read the devices .
In an interview with NBC , Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif admitted that Iran can not analyze the flight recorder @ @ @

KYIV -- Ukrainian officials have unveiled a monument at Kyiv's international airport to commemorate the victims of a Ukrainian airliner that was shot down by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in Tehran last month.
The Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Boeing 737-800 was shot down on January 8 just hours after Iran had launched a missile attack on U.S. forces in Iraq in response to the January 3 assassination of the IRGC's Quds Force commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani, by a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.
All 176 people aboard the civilian airliner were killed.
Tehran initially claimed the plane had crashed, but the IRGC admitted three days after the tragedy that Flight PS752 had been shot down "unintentionally" by the country’s air defenses.
A memorial stone with the inscription “PS 752, 08.01.2020” was unveiled on February 17 at Boryspil International Airport outside the Ukrainian capital.
The ceremony was attended by relatives of the victims, as well as by Ukraine's Foreign Minister Vadym Prystayko, the secretary of the Ukrainian Security Service, Oleksiy Danilov, and UIA President Yevhen Dyhne.
Representatives of other countries which lost their citizens in the crash -- Afghanistan, Britain, Canada, Germany, Iran, and Sweden -- were also present.
Addressing reporters, Prystayko said the investigation into the crash was still under way.
"The Prosecutor-General's Office addressed the Iranian side with a request to create a joint investigation group which will result in punishing all those guilty -- not only the person who pressed the button," he said.
Prystayko said several options are being looked at concerning the flight data recorders, which Iran has so far refused to hand over.
International agreements stipulate that Iran --without delay and in the shortest time period -- release the flight recorders for analysis, he added.
“We believe, and all five countries believe, this term has expired,” Prystayko said. “We need to move as fast as possible.”
France, he noted, has the technical capability to read the devices.
In an interview with NBC, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif admitted that Iran cannot analyze the flight recorder data alone.


rferl--2020-02-19--OSCE Urges Restraint In East Ukraine After Uptick In Fighting Leads To Casualties

Two high-ranking officials from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ( OSCE ) expressed deep concern over the recent upsurge in fighting in eastern Ukraine near a front-line town from which the warring sides withdrew forces in November .
OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Edi Rama and Secretary-General Thomas Greminger said they regretted reports of casualties , while calling for “ restraint and full respect ” for the latest cease-fire that was brokered in Paris in December , according to a February 18 news release .
“ This latest incident is not isolated , ” Rama said .
“ Every day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ undertakings set out in the Minsk agreements , and the explicit commitment to ‘ a full and comprehensive implementation of the ceasefire ’ agreed in Paris two months ago.
” Greminger , meanwhile , urged “ all sides to exercise maximum restraint , ” adding that “ the positive steps ” taken in recent months to deescalate the conflict “ should not be undone.
” Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists exchanged accusations over the latest deadly clashes in the country ’ s east on February 18 .
It was the most intense fighting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from when President Volodymyr Zelenskiy took office in May .
Kyiv said enemy ground forces launched a three-pronged attack on Ukrainian positions following an intense artillery barrage that started around 5 a.m. local time in the Luhansk region near the town of Zolote .
A leading separatist , however , said the fighting started after an advanced Ukrainian military unit tried to enter nongovernment-controlled territory and found itself in a minefield .
Fighting died down around 10 a.m. after the Moscow-backed separatists requested a cease-fire to recover their wounded and dead , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general staff of the Armed Forces .
One Ukrainian soldier was killed and four were wounded in the clashes .
Four separatist fighters were killed and four were wounded , said Yakov Osadchy , leader of the separatist militia in the Luhansk region .
There was concern that Ukrainian forces lost ground in the five-hour battle .
At a briefing later in the later with the Ukrainian president , Khomchak said three forward observation posts came under heavy attack from shelling , tank rockets , and infantry rounds .
Ukraine was forced to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the affected areas , the general said .
Fighting was the fiercest at the observation point code named “ the Bathhouse , ” from where Ukrainian forces withdrew .
“ We naturally gave the order for our people to withdraw from [ the Bathhouse ] because we had to deliver a strike upon it , including with artillery , ” Khomchak said .
Neither side controls the abandoned observation post now , he added .
More than 13,000 people have been killed in the war , and another 1.5 million people internally displaced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ identified as Maksym Khitalylov , a 22-year-old grenade launcher with the 72nd Mechanized Brigade .
At least 14 Ukrainian service members have been killed since the beginning of the year .

Two high-ranking officials from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) expressed deep concern over the recent upsurge in fighting in eastern Ukraine that killed at least five combatants and wounded at least eight others near a front-line town from which the warring sides withdrew forces in November.
OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Edi Rama and Secretary-General Thomas Greminger said they regretted reports of casualties, while calling for "restraint and full respect" for the latest cease-fire that was brokered in Paris in December, according to a February 18 news release.
Ukrainian officials say one soldier from the government's forces was killed and four were wounded.
Yakov Osadchy, leader of a Russia-backed separatist militia in the Luhansk region, says four separatist fighters were killed and four others wounded.
"This latest incident is not isolated," Rama said. "Every day the cease-fire is violated, despite the undertakings set out in the Minsk agreements, and the explicit commitment to 'a full and comprehensive implementation of the ceasefire' agreed in Paris two months ago.”
Greminger, meanwhile, urged "all sides to exercise maximum restraint," adding that "the positive steps" taken in recent months to de-escalate the conflict "should not be undone."
Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists exchanged accusations over the latest deadly clashes in the country's east on February 18. It was the most intense fighting the six-year war has seen in months and the heaviest since President Volodymyr Zelenskiy took office in May.
'Three-Pronged Attack'
Kyiv said enemy ground forces launched a three-pronged attack on Ukrainian positions following an intense artillery barrage that started around 5 a.m. local time in the Luhansk region near the town of Zolote.
A leading separatist, however, said the fighting started after an advanced Ukrainian military unit tried to enter nongovernment-controlled territory and found itself in a minefield.
Fighting died down around 10 a.m. after the Moscow-backed separatists requested a cease-fire to recover their wounded and dead, said General Ruslan Khomchak, chief of the general staff of the Armed Forces.
There was concern that Ukrainian forces lost ground in the five-hour battle.
At a briefing later in the day with the Ukrainian president, Khomchak said three forward observation posts came under heavy attack from shelling, tank rockets, and infantry rounds.
Ukraine was forced to swiftly mobilize a full-blown defensive operation in the affected areas, the general said.
Fighting was fiercest at the observation point code-named "the Bathhouse," from where Ukrainian forces withdrew.
"We naturally gave the order for our people to withdraw from [the Bathhouse] because we had to deliver a strike upon it, including with artillery," Khomchak said.
Neither side controls the abandoned observation post now, he added.
More than 13,000 people have been killed in the war, and another 1.5 million people internally displaced.
The Ukrainian soldier killed was later identified as Maksym Khitalylov, a 22-year-old grenade launcher with the 72nd Mechanized Brigade.
At least 14 Ukrainian service members have been killed since the beginning of the year.


rferl--2020-02-18--Crimean Journalist Semena Moves To Mainland Ukraine 'Indefinitely'

RFE/RL contributor Mykola Semena , who has been convicted of separatism in the Russian-controlled Crimea region , moved to mainland Ukraine on February 18 .
Semena , 69 , is expected to arrive in the Ukrainian capital , Kyiv , on February 19 to receive medical care that he needs to treat a heart condition and damaged spine .
The journalist said he was planning to stay in mainland Ukraine `` indefinitely , '' adding : “ As long as part of Ukraine is occupied , I can not consider it my home .
My family thinks the same.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Semena ’ s `` safety and security is long-awaited and joyous . ''
`` His arrest , almost four years ago , for publishing criticism of Russia 's annexation of Crimea , was always wrong and violated every basic human right and freedom , '' Fly added .
`` I ’ m glad Mykola is free and able to resume his writing career for the benefit of the people of Ukraine . ''
Semena , who has contributed to RFE/RL 's Krym.Realii ( Crimea Realities ) reporting project , was arrested by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ charged with acting against the `` territorial integrity of the Russian Federation . ''
In 2017 , a court handed him a 2 1/2-year suspended sentence and banned him from `` public activity '' for three years .
But a court in Crimea ’ s capital , Simferopol , last month ruled to prematurely terminate the probation period and expunge his criminal record .
Semena says the accusation against him was politically motivated .
The United States , the European Union , and international media watchdogs have all condemned the trial and verdict @

RFE/RL contributor Mykola Semena -- a journalist who has been convicted of separatism in Ukraine's Russia-occupied Crimea region before a court there expunged his criminal record -- has arrived in Kyiv following his release from detention in Simferopol.
Semena, 69, is seeking medical care in Kyiv for a heart condition and damaged spine.
In 2017, Semena was convicted of separatism and handed a 2 1/2-year suspended sentence together with a a ban from "public activity" for three years.
On January 14, a court in Crimea's capital, Simferopol, ruled to prematurely terminate Semena's sentence period and expunge his criminal record.
Last week, Semena received the court documents confirming the January 14 ruling.
The journalist said he was planning to stay in mainland Ukraine "indefinitely," adding: “As long as part of Ukraine is occupied, I cannot consider it my home. My family thinks the same.”
RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said the news of Semena’s "safety and security is long-awaited and joyous."
"His arrest, almost four years ago, for publishing criticism of Russia's annexation of Crimea, was always wrong and violated every basic human right and freedom," Fly added. "I’m glad Mykola is free and able to resume his writing career for the benefit of the people of Ukraine."
Semena, who has contributed to RFE/RL's Krym.Realii (Crimea Realities) reporting project, was arrested by Crimea's Russia-imposed authorities in 2016 and charged with acting against the "territorial integrity of the Russian Federation."
Semena says the accusation against him was politically motivated.
The United States, the European Union, and international media watchdogs have all condemned the trial and verdict.


rferl--2020-02-18--Putin Fires Longtime Aide, Ex-Ukraine Peace Negotiator Surkov

Russian President Vladimir Putin has fired influential longtime aide Vladislav Surkov following weeks of speculation that the 55-year-old was leaving the Kremlin amid a change in its Ukraine policy .
Putin 's decree dismissing Surkov was published on the Kremlin 's website on February 18 and is effective immediately .
Surkov had been Russia 's chief representative for peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow-backed separatists in Ukraine 's eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk , generally known as the Donbas , where more than 13,000 people have been killed during the nearly six-year war .
The role was part of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's ties with former Soviet states .
However , the Kremlin announced earlier this month that veteran official Dmitry Kozak would replace Surkov as Russia ’ s representative in the talks amid a new push by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to de-escalate tensions in the region .
Ukrainian negotiators reportedly had hard feelings toward Surkov , which some analysts said was an obstacle to progress on peace .
Aleksei Chesnakov , a political analyst and friend of Surkov 's , said on January 25 that the presidential aide had left his position due @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ukraine . ''
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time that there was no decree on Surkov 's resignation and no change in the Kremlin 's Ukraine policy .
But Zelenskiy and Putin in December held the first peace talks between the nation 's two leaders in more than three years and agreed to a second prisoner swap -- which was carried out later that month -- and a cease-fire .
Shortly before Putin 's decree ousting Surkov from his position was announced , clashes broke out between Ukrainian forces and rebels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ministry said one of its soldiers was killed and four were wounded in the February 18 fighting , while the rebels claimed they lost four men .
Widely known as the `` gray cardinal , '' Surkov helped craft the Kremlin 's domination of domestic politics and Russia 's expansionist policies in Ukraine and elsewhere in the former Soviet space .
Surkov helped build the Kremlin ’ s tightly controlled political process in the 2000s -- which he has called `` sovereign democracy '' -- and spearheaded the creation of youth groups to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in other post-Soviet states .
He was pushed from the Kremlin in 2011 after street protests against the system he helped create .
He spent a year in government as a deputy prime minister before quitting in May 2013 following a dispute with investigators looking into suspected fraud .
Four months later , in September 2013 , Putin appointed Surkov as an aide .
Surkov served as an adviser to Putin on aid to the Moscow-backed breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia , which Russia recognized as independent after a short @ @ @ @ @ @ @ performance there came under question after protests broke out in Abkhazia in January following September elections that many residents considered fraudulent .
The leader of Abkhazia agreed to step down days later following a visit by Surkov .

Russian President Vladimir Putin has fired influential longtime aide Vladislav Surkov following weeks of speculation that the 55-year-old was leaving the Kremlin amid a change in its Ukraine policy.
Putin's decree dismissing Surkov was published on the Kremlin's website on February 18 and is effective immediately.
Surkov had been Russia's chief representative for peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow-backed separatists in Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk where more than 13,000 people have been killed during the nearly six-year war.
The role was part of Surkov's larger portfolio overseeing the Kremlin's ties with former Soviet states.
However, the Kremlin announced earlier this month that veteran official Dmitry Kozak would replace Surkov as Russia’s representative in the talks amid a new push by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to de-escalate tensions in the region.
Surkov is widely seen in Kyiv as a hard-liner, and there has been little progress on several key steps toward peace set out in a 2015 agreement known as Minsk 2.
Aleksei Chesnakov, a political analyst and friend of Surkov's, said on January 25 that the presidential aide had left his position due to a "change of course on Ukraine."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time that there was no decree on Surkov's resignation and no change in the Kremlin's Ukraine policy.
But Zelenskiy and Putin in December held the first peace talks between the nation's two leaders in more than three years and agreed to a second prisoner swap -- which was carried out later that month -- and a cease-fire.
Shortly before Putin's decree ousting Surkov from his position was announced, clashes broke out between Ukrainian forces and rebels in the Donbas.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said one of its soldiers was killed and four were wounded in the February 18 fighting, while the rebels claimed they lost four men.
'Gray Cardinal'
Widely known as the "gray cardinal," Surkov helped craft the Kremlin's domination of domestic politics and Russia's expansionist policies in Ukraine and elsewhere in the former Soviet space.
Surkov helped build the Kremlin’s tightly controlled political process in the 2000s -- which he has called "sovereign democracy" -- and spearheaded the creation of youth groups to counter "colored revolutions" taking place in other post-Soviet states.
He was pushed from the Kremlin in 2011 after street protests against the system he helped create. He spent a year in government as a deputy prime minister before quitting in May 2013 following a dispute with investigators looking into suspected fraud.
Four months later, in September 2013, Putin appointed Surkov as an aide.
Surkov served as an adviser to Putin on aid to the Moscow-backed breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which Russia recognized as independent after a short war with Georgia in 2008.
His performance there came under question after protests broke out in Abkhazia in January following September elections that many residents considered fraudulent.
The leader of Abkhazia agreed to step down days later following a visit by Surkov.


rferl--2020-02-18--Russia Temporarily Bans Chinese Citizens From Entry Amid Virus Fears

Russia says it will temporarily block Chinese citizens from entering its territory as authorities look to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus outbreak .
A February 18 statement from the office of Tatiana Golikova , Russia ’ s vice prime minister in charge of health , said the ban would begin on February 20 .
`` The entry of all Chinese citizens via Russia 's state frontiers will be suspended ... for work travel , private travel , study , and tourism , '' the statement said , adding that the ban would not apply to transit passengers .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the measure was expected to be in place .
The coronavirus , known as COVID-19 , has been mainly contained to mainland China , although cases have been detected in at least 30 other countries .
On February 18 , China reported its lowest number of new infections since January and its lowest daily death toll for a week , but the World Health Organization ( WHO ) said it was too early to say whether the outbreak had peaked .
The disease , which broke out in the central Chinese city of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people and infected 72,436 others in mainland China .
There have been more than 500 cases in other countries and territories .
Four people have died outside China -- one each in France , Hong Kong , the Philippines , and Japan .
A Russian woman aboard a quarantined cruise ship off the coast of Japan was found to have contracted the disease .
Two previous cases found in Russia -- one in the Siberian city of Chita and one the Tyumen region -- both involved Chinese nationals .
They have both recovered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Russian government previously announced the closure of the country ’ s 4,200-kilometer border with China , one of the longest in the world .
It has also halted most of Russian air traffic to China and suspended all trains connecting the two countries .
Dozens of Russian citizens have been evacuated from China and placed under quarantine in the Tyumen region .
China has placed cities with millions of residents in a virtual lockdown , while countries throughout the world have imposed restrictions on people who have recently visited China .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allow entry to Chinese nationals and other foreigners who have recently traveled to China , a move that angered Chinese officials who cited WHO comments against overreacting to the crisis .
With reporting by Reuters , AFP , and Interfax

Russia says it will temporarily block Chinese citizens from entering its territory as authorities look to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
A February 18 statement from the office of Tatiana Golikova, Russia’s vice prime minister in charge of health, said the ban would begin on February 20.
"The entry of all Chinese citizens via Russia's state frontiers will be suspended...for work travel, private travel, study, and tourism," the statement said, adding that the ban would not apply to transit passengers.
The statement did not say how long the measure was expected to be in place.
The coronavirus, known as COVID-19, has been mainly contained to mainland China, although cases have been detected in at least 30 other countries.
On February 18, China reported its lowest number of new infections since January and its lowest daily death toll for a week, but the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was too early to say whether the outbreak had peaked.
The disease, which broke out in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed at least 1,868 people and infected 72,436 others in mainland China.
There have been more than 500 cases in other countries and territories. Four people have died outside China -- one each in France, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Japan.
A Russian woman aboard a quarantined cruise ship off the coast of Japan was found to have contracted the disease.
Two previous cases found in Russia -- one in the Siberian city of Chita and one the Tyumen region -- both involved Chinese nationals. They have both recovered and have been discharged from hospital.
The Russian government previously announced the closure of the country’s 4,200-kilometer border with China, one of the longest in the world.
It has also halted most of Russian air traffic to China and suspended all trains connecting the two countries.
Dozens of Russian citizens have been evacuated from China and placed under quarantine in the Tyumen region.
China has placed cities with millions of residents in a virtual lockdown, while countries throughout the world have imposed restrictions on people who have recently visited China.
The United States has said it will not allow entry to Chinese nationals and other foreigners who have recently traveled to China, a move that angered Chinese officials who cited WHO comments against overreacting to the crisis.
With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and Interfax


rferl--2020-02-18--U.S. Sanctions Unit Of Russia’s Rosneft For Aiding Venezuela's 'Dictatorial' Leader

WASHINGTON -- The United States has imposed financial penalties on Rosneft Trading , a Russian-owned oil brokerage firm , for operating in Venezuela 's energy sector in violation of U.S. sanctions on the South American country .
In a statement on February 18 , Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said sanctions were also placed on the brokerage 's president , Didier Casimiro , for having `` acted or purported to act for or on behalf of Rosneft Trading . ''
`` As the primary broker of global deals for the sale and transport of Venezuela 's crude oil , Rosneft @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Nicolas ] Maduro , enabling his repression of the Venezuelan people , '' Pompeo said in the statement released by the State Department .
`` Maduro has destroyed Venezuela ’ s institutions , economy , and infrastructure , while enriching himself and his cronies , through his abuse of state power and his welcoming of malign support from Russia , as well as from Cuba , Iran , and China , '' he added .
Rosneft Trading is a Swiss-based unit of Russian state-owned energy giant Rosneft and was established in 2011 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ website .
Rosneft works with Venezuelan energy giant Petroleos de Venezuela in South America .
The sanctions generally block the firm and its president from operating in global financial markets .
Reacting to the U.S. announcement , Rosneft said its projects in Venezuela were `` in strict compliance with the norms of international and national laws , '' and that it `` does not pursue any political goals . ''
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the sanctions would not affect Russia ’ s `` interaction with the lawful authorities of Venezuela .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a months-long political standoff with opposition supporters .
Russia , Cuba , Iran , and China are the key backers of Maduro , who took office in 2013 and was sworn in for a second term in January 2019 following elections that were marred by an opposition boycott and claims of vote-rigging .
The opposition has accused the socialist Maduro of mismanaging the economy , sending the country into an economic crisis .
Maduro has blamed outsiders , including the United States , for creating the crisis .
The United States and more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leader and legislative speaker Juan Guaido as Venezuela 's leader and have demanded that Maduro step down .
`` While interim President Juan Guaido works with his coalition of international partners toward a better future for the people of Venezuela , Maduro is increasingly isolated and reliant upon the assistance of a small group of allied regimes that plunder Venezuela 's resources while he continues to repress Venezuelans , '' Pompeo said in his statement .

WASHINGTON -- The United States has imposed financial penalties on Rosneft Trading, a Russian-owned oil brokerage firm, for operating in Venezuela's energy sector in violation of U.S. sanctions on the South American country.
In a statement on February 18, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said sanctions were also placed on the brokerage's president, Didier Casimiro, for having "acted or purported to act for or on behalf of Rosneft Trading."
"As the primary broker of global deals for the sale and transport of Venezuela's crude oil, Rosneft Trading has propped up the dictatorial [President Nicolas] Maduro, enabling his repression of the Venezuelan people," Pompeo said in the statement released by the State Department.
"Maduro has destroyed Venezuela’s institutions, economy, and infrastructure, while enriching himself and his cronies, through his abuse of state power and his welcoming of malign support from Russia, as well as from Cuba, Iran, and China," he added.
Rosneft Trading is a Swiss-based unit of Russian state-owned energy giant Rosneft and was established in 2011, according to the company’s website.
Rosneft works with Venezuelan energy giant Petroleos de Venezuela in South America.
The sanctions generally block the firm and its president from operating in global financial markets.
Reacting to the U.S. announcement, Rosneft said its projects in Venezuela were "in strict compliance with the norms of international and national laws," and that it "does not pursue any political goals."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the sanctions would not affect Russia’s "interaction with the lawful authorities of Venezuela."
Energy-rich Venezuela has been embroiled in a months-long political standoff with opposition supporters.
Russia, Cuba, Iran, and China are the key backers of Maduro, who took office in 2013 and was sworn in for a second term in January 2019 following elections that were marred by an opposition boycott and claims of vote-rigging.
The opposition has accused the socialist Maduro of mismanaging the economy, sending the country into an economic crisis. Maduro has blamed outsiders, including the United States, for creating the crisis.
The United States and more than 50 other countries have recognized opposition leader and legislative speaker Juan Guaido as Venezuela's leader and have demanded that Maduro step down.
"While interim President Juan Guaido works with his coalition of international partners toward a better future for the people of Venezuela, Maduro is increasingly isolated and reliant upon the assistance of a small group of allied regimes that plunder Venezuela's resources while he continues to repress Venezuelans," Pompeo said in his statement.


rferl--2020-02-18--RSF Condemns Pakistan Attempt To 'Censor' Social Media

Reporters Without Borders ( RSF ) is urging Pakistani federal authorities to rescind newly adopted rules for regulating social-media content , saying they pose a `` major threat '' to journalists ' work .
The Paris-based group on February 18 joined other media freedom watchdogs , both inside and outside Pakistan , in saying that the new set of regulations would give the authorities unchecked powers to stifle free speech and press freedom .
`` The vague and ambiguous wording used in these regulations testifies to the arbitrary nature of the measures planned by the government , '' Daniel Bastard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Asia-Pacific desk , said in a statement .
Bastard said that the regulation of social media was `` necessary , but should not become a disguised form of censorship . ''
Prime Minister Imran Khan ’ s cabinet approved the new rules in late January amid accusations that it has sought to censor the media , and intimidate and silence its opponents .
The government has rejected the allegations .
According to the new rules , reported by the media last week , the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications would appoint a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' demand the removal or blocking of any content deemed to be harmful , RSF said .
The rules provide for other measures designed to `` step up government '' control over social media companies , the watchdog said , citing the requirement for such companies to open offices in Pakistan .
They could also be fined up to 500 million rupees ( $ 3.24 million ) if they fail to remove or block content within a stipulated deadline .
Online platforms could also be required to surrender all information , private or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has said `` these stringent but vague rules ... threaten the ability of journalists to report the news and communicate with their sources . ''
Pakistan is ranked 142nd out of 180 countries in RSF 's 2019 World Press Freedom Index .

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is urging Pakistani federal authorities to rescind newly adopted rules for regulating social-media content, saying they pose a "major threat" to journalists' work.
The Paris-based group on February 18 joined other media freedom watchdogs, both inside and outside Pakistan, in saying that the new set of regulations would give the authorities unchecked powers to stifle free speech and press freedom.
"The vague and ambiguous wording used in these regulations testifies to the arbitrary nature of the measures planned by the government," Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk, said in a statement.
Bastard said that the regulation of social media was "necessary, but should not become a disguised form of censorship."
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet approved the new rules in late January amid accusations that it has sought to censor the media, and intimidate and silence its opponents. The government has rejected the allegations.
According to the new rules, reported by the media last week, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications would appoint a so-called national coordinator empowered to "arbitrarily" demand the removal or blocking of any content deemed to be harmful, RSF said.
The rules provide for other measures designed to "step up government"control over social media companies, the watchdog said, citing the requirement for such companies to open offices in Pakistan.
They could also be fined up to 500 million rupees ($3.24 million) if they fail to remove or block content within a stipulated deadline.
Online platforms could also be required to surrender all information, private or public, about any user.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has said "these stringent but vague rules...threaten the ability of journalists to report the news and communicate with their sources."
Pakistan is ranked 142nd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2019 World Press Freedom Index.


rferl--2020-02-18--Kosovo Cop Commits Suicide After Killing Parents And Brothers

A police officer in Kosovo shot her parents and two brothers to death and then killed herself in the southeastern @ @ @ @ @ say .
Prosecutors on February 18 identified the officer only by the initials V.B .
@ @ @ @ @ working at the local police station in Gjilan , about 50 kilometers southeast of the @ @ @ @ @ Colonel Remzi Azemi and case prosecutor Arben Kadriu told RFE/RL that the officer used her @ @ @ @ @ .
`` It is a serious and sensitive event and we can not provide more @ @ @ @ @ ] , '' Azemi said .
Authorities said all five were discovered dead at the @ @

A police officer in Kosovo shot her parents and two brothers to death and then killed herself in the southeastern city of Gjilan, officials say.
Prosecutors on February 18 identified the officer only by the initials V.B. and said she had been working at the local police station in Gjilan, about 50 kilometers southeast of the capital, Pristina.
Lieutenant Colonel Remzi Azemi and case prosecutor Arben Kadriu told RFE/RL that the officer used her official weapon in the killings.
"It is a serious and sensitive event and we cannot provide more information [at this time]," Azemi said.
Authorities said all five were discovered dead at the scene.


rferl--2020-02-18--Last 'Moscow Case' Defendant Handed Suspended Sentence

MOSCOW -- A Moscow court has given an activist arrested over an unsanctioned rally on July 27 a three-year suspended sentence .
Andrei Barshai , a student at the Moscow Aviation Institute is the last defendant in what has been dubbed the `` Moscow Case . ''
Earlier on February 18 , prosecutors had asked the Meshchansky District Court to find the 21-year-old Barshai guilty of assaulting a police officer during the pro-democracy rally , and to sentence him to 3 1/2 years in prison .
The alleged victim , riot police officer Andrei Kozlov , called for punishment that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ personally has no problems with the defendant .
The accused did not plead guilty to the charges , but he apologized to the officer , admitting that he was `` wrong . ''
More than 100 people gathered inside and outside the courtroom to express support for Barshai , Interfax reported .
In an open letter , 140 Russian scientists and scholars have called for Barshai ’ s release , saying that the country `` needs such young people.
” “ It is necessary to teach them and take care of them , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' the letter reads .
Several sanctioned and unsanctioned rallies were held in Moscow over the summer in protest at a decision by authorities to ban independent and opposition candidates from running in September municipal elections .
Dozens of protesters have been fined or given jail sentences for organizing and participating in the unsanctioned rallies .
The Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center has declared Barshai and several other activists arrested in the case political prisoners .
Russian security forces have been criticized for their heavy-handed tactics during the rallies .

MOSCOW -- A Moscow court has given an activist arrested over an unsanctioned rally on July 27 a three-year suspended sentence.
Andrei Barshai, a student at the Moscow Aviation Institute is the last defendant in what has been dubbed the "Moscow Case."
Earlier on February 18, prosecutors had asked the Meshchansky District Court to find the 21-year-old Barshai guilty of assaulting a police officer during the pro-democracy rally, and to sentence him to 3 1/2 years in prison.
The alleged victim, riot police officer Andrei Kozlov, called for punishment that does not involve incarceration, saying he personally has no problems with the defendant.
The accused did not plead guilty to the charges, but he apologized to the officer, admitting that he was "wrong."
More than 100 people gathered inside and outside the courtroom to express support for Barshai, Interfax reported.
In an open letter, 140 Russian scientists and scholars have called for Barshai’s release, saying that the country "needs such young people.”
“It is necessary to teach them and take care of them, but not to frighten and imprison them," the letter reads.
Several sanctioned and unsanctioned rallies were held in Moscow over the summer in protest at a decision by authorities to ban independent and opposition candidates from running in September municipal elections.
Dozens of protesters have been fined or given jail sentences for organizing and participating in the unsanctioned rallies.
The Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center has declared Barshai and several other activists arrested in the case political prisoners.
Russian security forces have been criticized for their heavy-handed tactics during the rallies.


rferl--2020-02-18--At Least 14 People Killed By Apparent Toxic Gas Leak Near Karachi

Authorities in Pakistan 's southern port city of Karachi say at least 14 people have been killed by an apparent toxic gas leak .
Officials said hundreds of others have been hospitalized with breathing difficulties and burning eyes following the deadly incident , which began on February 16 in the coastal neighborhood of Kamari .
`` Most of the patients were suffering from choking and breathlessness , '' Pakistani emergency services official Seemin Jamali said .
Local authorities said residents of Kamari began falling sick and rushing to hospitals on the night of February 16 .
The Associated Press quotes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they had treated about 650 people .
Authorities said an evacuation of Kamari residents was planned for February 18 and that they would be taken to safer areas .
The cause of the leak remains uncertain , but officials said there was no evidence of sabotage .
`` We are still clueless to find out the possible cause of the incident , '' Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon told Pakistan 's Dawn newspaper on February 17 .
One official noted that a ship at the port was offloading soybeans or a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could have been the cause toxic gas leak .
Nasir Shah , the provincial information minister , said local officials have sought assistance from the navy 's chemical and biological department to help determine the source of the leak .
Karachi is Pakistan 's largest city , with numerous oil refineries situated nearby , along with a key naval installation .
Based on reporting by AFP , Dawn , and AP

Authorities in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi say at least 14 people have been killed by an apparent toxic gas leak.
Officials said hundreds of others have been hospitalized with breathing difficulties and burning eyes following the deadly incident, which began on February 16 in the coastal neighborhood of Kamari.
"Most of the patients were suffering from choking and breathlessness," Pakistani emergency services official Seemin Jamali said.
Local authorities said residents of Kamari began falling sick and rushing to hospitals on the night of February 16.
The Associated Press quotes hospital officials who said on February 18 that they had treated about 650 people.
Authorities said an evacuation of Kamari residents was planned for February 18 and that they would be taken to safer areas.
The cause of the leak remains uncertain, but officials said there was no evidence of sabotage.
"We are still clueless to find out the possible cause of the incident," Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon told Pakistan's Dawn newspaper on February 17.
One official noted that a ship at the port was offloading soybeans or a similar cargo at the time, which could have been the cause toxic gas leak.
Nasir Shah, the provincial information minister, said local officials have sought assistance from the navy's chemical and biological department to help determine the source of the leak.
Karachi is Pakistan's largest city, with numerous oil refineries situated nearby, along with a key naval installation.
Based on reporting by AFP, Dawn, and AP


rferl--2020-02-18--Iran Says It Freed German Citizen In Prisoner Swap

Iran says a German held in Iran has been released after a detained Iranian accused of violating U.S. sanctions had returned home from Germany .
A German national , who was arrested in Iran for photographing and filming in a number of banned and unauthorized areas and sentenced to three years in prison , has been released , judiciary spokesman said in a weekly news conference on February 18 .
The spokesman , Gholamhossein Esmaili , did not give further details .
On February 17 , the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that Ahmad Khalili returned home the previous day with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who had been in Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference .
Khalili was arrested in Germany on a U.S. request and subject to extradition to the United States .
`` We insisted that first the Iranian citizen should return home ... then the German citizen was allowed to leave Iran on Monday , '' Esmaili said .
The German government did not immediately comment on the apparent prisoner swap .
Iranian authorities have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual citizens over recent years , mostly on espionage charges .
Rights activists have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to win concessions from other countries - a charge dismissed by Tehran .
In December , a U.S. citizen and Princeton University graduate student detained in Iran in 2016 and later charged with spying was freed and an imprisoned Iranian stem cell expert was released by Washington in return .
In other news , Iran says two French academics who have been detained for eight months on charges of plotting acts against national security will go on trial next month .
Esmaili told the news conference on February 18 that French-Iranian academic Fariba @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will appear in court on March 3 .
Adelkhah and Marchal , both researchers at Sciences Po University in Paris , were detained in Tehran in June 2019 and are being held in Tehran ’ s Evin prison .
Their lawyer , Said Dehghan , said Adelkhah faces charges of `` propaganda against the system '' and `` colluding to commit acts against national security . ''
Marchal was accused of `` colluding to commit acts against national security . ''
Last week , Dehghan said Adelkhah , an expert on Iran and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hunger strike .
Marchal , an expert on East Africa , was reportedly arrested when visiting her .
Iran , which does not recognize dual citizenship , has repeatedly rejected calls from Paris to release the two .
`` We do not recognize dual nationality .
[ Adelkhah ] is Iranian .
We do not let other states interfere in our judiciary matters , '' Esmaili said .
The two French researchers are not the only foreign academics behind bars in Iran .
Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert , a lecturer in Islamic Studies at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sentence after being found guilty of espionage .
With reporting by AFP and Reuters

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


rferl--2020-02-18--Abdullah Contests Final Official Afghan Results Showing President Ghani Elected To Second Term

Afghanistan 's election authorities have declared incumbent President Ashraf Ghani the winner of last year 's polls , but his main rival , Abdullah Abdullah , has contested the final official results .
The country 's Independent Election Commission ( IEC ) said on February 18 that final official results from the September 28 presidential election show incumbent President Ashraf Ghani has been elected to a second five-year term with 50.64 percent of the vote .
By winning more than 50 percent of the vote , he has avoided a second-round runoff ballot .
The results come nearly five months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recount of the ballots that was launched after Ghani 's main rival , Abdullah Abdullah , raised allegations of fraud in the vote-counting process .
Abdullah , who has been serving as Afghanistan 's chief executive officer as part of a national unity government , took second place with 39.52 percent of the vote , according to the IEC .
However , he later in the day contested the final official results and declared victory , vowing to form `` an all-inclusive government . ''
After announcing the results , which show Gulbuddin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notorious former warlords , finishing in a distant third place with 3.85 percent of the vote , IEC head Hawa Alam Nuristani said : `` May God help him in serving the people of Afghanistan .
I also pray that peace comes to our country . ''
Ghani ’ s spokesman Daud Sultanzoy told RFE/RL that `` the [ electoral ] system worked well . ''
`` Unfortunately , the pointless delay [ in the announcement of the results ] due to meaningless interferences put the Afghan people on hold and made them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's campaign spokesman Faraidoon Khwazoon said the results announced by the IEC have `` no legitimacy . ''
`` This announcement is unacceptable , '' Khwazoon tod RFE/RL .
`` We stand against it . ''
The election was mired by a record low turnout and bickering between Ghani and Abdullah during the campaign .
The official turnout was 1.8 million votes out of about 9 million eligible voters .
The final official results were delayed by months while election officials launched a ballot recount -- including recounts in provinces where Abdullah 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a month .
By winning more than 50 percent of the vote , Ghani has avoided a second-round runoff .
Widespread allegations of fraud in Afghanistan 's 2014 presidential election led to a political crisis between the top candidates , Ghani and Abdullah .
That crisis was resolved by a U.S.-brokered power-sharing agreement that created a fragile national unity government .
Under that deal , Ghani became president while a new office of chief executive officer was created for Abdullah .

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--2020-02-18--EU's Enlargement Chief 'Very Encouraged' By Reforms In North Macedonia, Albania

The European Union 's top enlargement official has voiced optimism that North Macedonia and Albania can deliver on the reforms required to join the bloc .
`` I am very encouraged by my visits to both countries , '' Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said on February 18 in Brussels .
`` They do not give up on reforms ... and you will see that they will deliver , and if they do that , you can be confident that there should be an opening of negotiations , '' said Varhelyi , who earlier this month visited the region .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' he added .
Varhelyi 's remarks came after French President Emmanuel Macron , who blocked the opening of accession talks with Skopje and Tirana in October , said last week that he was willing to allow the two Western Balkan countries to begin membership talks if the European Commission gave them a positive review next month .
A green light from the commission would then set the stage for a summit in May in Croatia with EU leaders and all six Western Balkan candidate countries : Serbia , Kosovo , Montenegro @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Macedonia .
The latest developments come amid concerns in the EU over increasing Chinese and Russian influence in the region and a sense that the 27-member bloc is not doing enough to support the six countries ' transition to becoming full-fledged democracies and market economies after the wars of the 1990s .
Macron 's comments on February 15 at the Munich Security Conference were also likely to reassure other European leaders that France still backs expanding the EU .
The commission suggested reforms to the accession process along the lines of a French @ @ @ @ @ @ @ refused to approve the start of membership negotiations at a summit in October , saying the process of admitting new members needed to change .
Varhelyi earlier this month proposed giving EU members the power to delay or reverse the accession process or to force candidates to restart entry talks in some policy areas .
France , the Netherlands , and Denmark are concerned about the EU 's ability to bring in a region struggling with crime and corruption .
With reporting by Reuters and AFP

The European Union's top enlargement official has voiced optimism that North Macedonia and Albania can deliver on the reforms required to join the bloc.
"I am very encouraged by my visits to both countries," Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said on February 18 in Brussels. "They do not give up on reforms...and you will see that they will deliver, and if they do that, you can be confident that there should be an opening of negotiations," said Varhelyi, who earlier this month visited the region.
"There is nothing but membership on offer," he added.
Varhelyi's remarks came after French President Emmanuel Macron, who blocked the opening of accession talks with Skopje and Tirana in October, said last week that he was willing to allow the two Western Balkan countries to begin membership talks if the European Commission gave them a positive review next month.
A green light from the commission would then set the stage for a summit in May in Croatia with EU leaders and all six Western Balkan candidate countries: Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and North Macedonia.
The latest developments come amid concerns in the EU over increasing Chinese and Russian influence in the region and a sense that the 27-member bloc is not doing enough to support the six countries' transition to becoming full-fledged democracies and market economies after the wars of the 1990s.
Macron's comments on February 15 at the Munich Security Conference were also likely to reassure other European leaders that France still backs expanding the EU.
The commission suggested reforms to the accession process along the lines of a French proposal made in November, after Macron refused to approve the start of membership negotiations at a summit in October, saying the process of admitting new members needed to change.
Varhelyi earlier this month proposed giving EU members the power to delay or reverse the accession process or to force candidates to restart entry talks in some policy areas.
France, the Netherlands, and Denmark are concerned about the EU's ability to bring in a region struggling with crime and corruption.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP


rferl--2020-02-18--Afghan Government Says Taliban To Reduce Violence Within Five Days Under Peace Deal

KABUL -- Afghanistan ’ s Interior Ministry says a reduction in violence agreed to between Taliban fighters and the United States is due to start within the next five days .
The announcement on February 18 comes a day after Afghanistan ’ s Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah told a meeting of government ministers that the Taliban had agreed to a seven-day reduction of violence ahead of a peace deal with the United States that had been “ finalized ” a week earlier and may be signed as soon as February 29 .
A Taliban spokesman based in Qatar , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been under way , also said an agreement had been reached and “ will be signed ” before the end of February .
`` According to the agreement , all foreign troops will leave Afghanistan , '' Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on February 17 .
`` We will not allow anyone to use Afghanistan 's land [ to launch attacks ] against another country . ''
Some 5,000 Taliban prisoners are to be released following the signing of the agreement and before the beginning of intra-Afghan negotiations , Shaheen said .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. President Donald Trump had given his “ conditional ” approval of a peace deal .
The newspaper reported that Washington wants the Taliban negotiators in Qatar to prove they hold sway over Taliban fighters in remote parts of Afghanistan by ordering the seven-day reduction in militant violence before the peace deal is formally signed .
With reporting by AP , Reuters , AFP , dpa , tolonews.ro , and The New York Times


rferl--2020-02-18--France Charges Russian Artist, Girlfriend Over Leaked Sex Video

Russian artist Pyotr Pavlensky and his girlfriend have been charged for their alleged roles in leaking a sex video that helped upend the Paris mayoral race and bring down a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron , their lawyers say .
Yassine Bouzrou , the lawyer for Pavlensky , said on February 18 that the Russian man was released from custody and placed under judicial supervision .
Pavlensky 's girlfriend , Alexandra de Taddeo , was also charged , released , and placed under judicial supervision , her lawyer , Noemie Saidi-Cottier , said .
Pavlensky , 35 , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with invasion of privacy and publishing images of a sexual nature without consent over the leaking of the video that forced Benjamin Griveaux to end his mayoral campaign .
Reports in the French media said the videos are believed to have been sent in May 2018 by Griveaux , then the government spokesman , to de Taddeo before she became Pavlensky 's girlfriend .
Pavlensky has claimed responsibility for posting the video online , saying he was `` glad to have done this '' to denounce “ hypocrisy '' and `` lies ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were taken into custody on February 15 and questioned for two days before being brought before the magistrate on February 18 .
His lawyer said the artist refused to answer questions posed by investigators during his detention .
De Taddeo admitted she was the recipient of sex videos allegedly sent to her by Griveaux , but she denies being involved in their being uploaded to the Internet , her lawyer said .
Pavlensky is also being probed in a separate case over a knife fight at a New Year 's Eve party in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and was granted political asylum in France .
The artist is known for attention-grabbing protests aimed at breaking through public indifference to perceived oppression .
In the past , he has nailed his scrotum to Moscow 's Red Square , sewn his lips together , wrapped himself naked in barbed wire , and chopped off part of his ear .
Griveaux , a married father of three and member of Macron ’ s centrist La Republique En Marche ( LREM ) party , pulled out of the running for Paris mayor after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Buzyn took his place as the Paris mayoral candidate of the LREM .
With reporting by AP , AFP , and dpa

Russian artist Pyotr Pavlensky and his girlfriend have been charged for their alleged roles in leaking a sex video that helped upend the Paris mayoral race and bring down a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, their lawyers say.
Yassine Bouzrou, the lawyer for Pavlensky, said on February 18 that the Russian man was released from custody and placed under judicial supervision.
Pavlensky's girlfriend, Alexandra de Taddeo, was also charged, released, and placed under judicial supervision, her lawyer, Noemie Saidi-Cottier, said.
Pavlensky, 35, and de Taddeo, 29, are charged with invasion of privacy and publishing images of a sexual nature without consent over the leaking of the video that forced Benjamin Griveaux to end his mayoral campaign.
Reports in the French media said the videos are believed to have been sent in May 2018 by Griveaux, then the government spokesman, to de Taddeo before she became Pavlensky's girlfriend.
Pavlensky has claimed responsibility for posting the video online, saying he was "glad to have done this" to denounce “hypocrisy" and "lies” by Griveaux.
Pavlensky and de Taddeo were taken into custody on February 15 and questioned for two days before being brought before the magistrate on February 18.
His lawyer said the artist refused to answer questions posed by investigators during his detention.
De Taddeo admitted she was the recipient of sex videos allegedly sent to her by Griveaux, but she denies being involved in their being uploaded to the Internet, her lawyer said.
Pavlensky is also being probed in a separate case over a knife fight at a New Year's Eve party in Paris.
Pavlensky fled Russia in 2017 and was granted political asylum in France.
The artist is known for attention-grabbing protests aimed at breaking through public indifference to perceived oppression.
In the past, he has nailed his scrotum to Moscow's Red Square, sewn his lips together, wrapped himself naked in barbed wire, and chopped off part of his ear.
Griveaux, a married father of three and member of Macron’s centrist La Republique En Marche (LREM) party, pulled out of the running for Paris mayor after the scandal broke.
Former Health Minister Agnes Buzyn took his place as the Paris mayoral candidate of the LREM.
With reporting by AP, AFP, and dpa


rferl--2020-02-18--Ukraine, Russia-Backed Separatists Trade Accusations Over Latest Deadly Clashes

KYIV -- Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists have exchanged accusations over the latest deadly clashes in the country 's east .
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said one of its soldiers was killed and four were wounded in clashes that occurred early on February 18 near the town of Zolote in the Luhansk region .
The ministry accused the separatists of violating cease-fire agreements by shelling Ukrainian positions on the line of contact .
Meanwhile , the leader of the separatist militia in the Luhansk region , Yakov Osadchy , said four separatist fighters were killed and four were wounded in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forces .
According to Osadchy , the fighting started when a group of Ukrainian soldiers tried to enter separatist-controlled territory but entered a minefield .
The clashes were the latest in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine ’ s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk , generally known as the Donbas , some parts of which have been controlled since April 2014 by the Moscow-backed separatists .
Russia incited a rebellion in the region following Moscow 's illegal annexation of Ukraine ’ s Crimea in March 2014 , but has denied any involvement in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 13,000 people have been killed .
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv reacted to the events , calling on Moscow to fulfill its obligations outlined in earlier peace agreements .
The 2015 Minsk agreement is a peace plan that was brokered by France and Germany in the Belarussian capital and set a series of cease-fires in eastern Ukraine that have generally failed to hold .
Known as the Normandy Format , the latest four-way talks between Ukraine , Russia , France , and Germany were held in Paris in December .
Ukrainian President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an attempt to disrupt the peace process '' and held a session of the Security Council to discuss the new developments .
After the session , Zelenskiy said the `` situation is fully controlled by our army . ''
`` We are sure that this provocation will not change the course which we have been confidently on , getting closer to the end of the war , towards peace , '' Zelenskiy said .
With reporting by UNIAN , RT , and Interfax

KYIV -- Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists have exchanged accusations over the latest deadly clashes in the country's east.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said one of its soldiers was killed and four were wounded in clashes that occurred early on February 18 near the town of Zolote in the Luhansk region.
The ministry accused the separatists of violating cease-fire agreements by shelling Ukrainian positions on the line of contact.
Meanwhile, the leader of the separatist militia in the Luhansk region, Yakov Osadchy, said four separatist fighters were killed and four were wounded in the clashes, for which he accused Ukrainian forces.
According to Osadchy, the fighting started when a group of Ukrainian soldiers tried to enter separatist-controlled territory but entered a minefield.
The clashes were the latest in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, generally known as the Donbas, some parts of which have been controlled since April 2014 by the Moscow-backed separatists.
Russia incited a rebellion in the region following Moscow's illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea in March 2014, but has denied any involvement in the ongoing conflict, in which more than 13,000 people have been killed.
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv reacted to the events, calling on Moscow to fulfill its obligations outlined in earlier peace agreements.
The 2015 Minsk agreement is a peace plan that was brokered by France and Germany in the Belarussian capital and set a series of cease-fires in eastern Ukraine that have generally failed to hold.
Known as the Normandy Format, the latest four-way talks between Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany were held in Paris in December.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the latest clashes "an attempt to disrupt the peace process" and held a session of the Security Council to discuss the new developments.
After the session, Zelenskiy said the "situation is fully controlled by our army."
"We are sure that this provocation will not change the course which we have been confidently on, getting closer to the end of the war, towards peace," Zelenskiy said.
With reporting by UNIAN, RT, and Interfax


rferl--2020-02-19--Tehran Won't Hand Over 'Damaged' Black Box Of Downed Ukrainian Plane, Say Ministers

The black box of a Ukrainian passenger airliner mistakenly shot down over Iran last month is damaged and Iran will not hand it over to another country despite pressure for access , state media quoted top Iranian ministers as saying on February 19 .
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week that he had `` impressed upon '' Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that a complete and independent investigation into the shooting down of the airliner had to be carried out .
Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 was brought down after it took off from Tehran on January @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The 176 victims included 82 Iranian citizens and 63 Canadians , many of them of Iranian origin .
The crash occurred with Iran 's air-defense forces on high alert following an Iranian ballistic-missile attack a few hours earlier against U.S. forces in Iraq .
The strikes came days after Iran 's most prominent military commander , Qasem Soleimani , was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad .
`` We have a right to read the black box ourselves .
We have a right to be present at any examination of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` If we are supposed to give the black box to others for them to read it in our place then this is something we will definitely not do , '' he said .
However , Iran is in discussions with other countries , particularly Ukraine , about the investigation , Zarif said .
Defense Minister Amir Hatami said the flight data recording box had `` sustained noticeable damage and the defense industry has been requested to help in reconstructing ( it ) . ''
`` The reconstruction of the black box is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the reading , '' Hatami said .
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP


rferl--2020-02-19--Ukraine Bans Zelenskiy Film Over Russian Actress's Appearance

Ukraine 's Cinema Agency has banned on a 2012 a comedy film featuring the country 's current president , Volodymyr Zelenskiy , because the film includes a Russian actress blacklisted by Kyiv for making an unauthorized visit to Ukraine 's Russian-occupied region of Crimea .
The Kyiv-based agency says the Russian-Ukrainian film Eight New Dates can not be screened at public theaters in Ukraine due to `` national security concerns '' because it includes the Russian actress Yekaterina Varnava .
Varnava was banned by Ukraine 's Security Service ( SBU ) in 2017 from entering Ukraine for five years after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comedy show in Crimea without permission from Ukrainian authorities to visit the Russian-occupied region .
Crimea was forcibly annexed by Russia through a widely discredited referendum in 2014 just weeks after Russian military forces seized the territory from Ukraine .
Kyiv 's newly announced list of banned films also includes a 2010 U.S. action film called Machete , featuring actor Steven Seagal , and a 2008 French fantasy adventure Les Enfants de Timpelbach that features actor Gerard Depardieu .
Seagal and Depardieu were named on Ukraine 's blacklist after they 'd also visited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Before winning the presidency in an April 2019 landslide election victory , Zelenskiy was a popular comedian known in both Ukraine and Russia .

Ukraine's Cinema Agency has banned a 2012 film featuring the country's current president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, because the film includes a Russian actress blacklisted by Kyiv for making an unauthorized visit to Ukraine's Russian-occupied region of Crimea.
The Kyiv-based agency says the Russian-Ukrainian comedy Eight New Dates cannot be screened at public theaters in Ukraine due to "national security concerns" because it includes the Russian actress Yekaterina Varnava.
Varnava was banned by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) in 2017 from entering Ukraine for five years after she'd taken part in a 2016 comedy show in Crimea without permission from Ukrainian authorities to visit the Russian-occupied region.
Crimea was forcibly annexed by Russia through a widely discredited referendum in 2014 just weeks after Russian military forces seized the territory from Ukraine.
Kyiv's newly announced list of banned films also includes a 2010 U.S. action film called Machete, featuring actor Steven Seagal, and a 2008 French fantasy adventure Les Enfants de Timpelbach that features actor Gerard Depardieu.
Seagal and Depardieu were named to Ukraine's blacklist after they'd also visited Russian-occupied Crimea without permission from Ukrainian authorities.
Before winning the presidency in an April 2019 landslide election victory, Zelenskiy was a popular comedian known in both Ukraine and Russia.


rferl--2020-02-19--Iran Reports First Two Cases Of New Coronavirus

Iranian authorities have confirmed two cases of the new COVID-19 coronavirus , the first in the country , the semiofficial @ @ @ @ @ February 19 .
ISNA quoted an official in the country 's Health Ministry , Kiyanoush @ @ @ @ @ `` some suspected cases of the new coronavirus were found '' over the past two @ @ @ @ @ two confirmed cases were detected in the central province of Qom .
`` Subsequent tests @ @ @ @ @ results of these tests will be released to the public , once they are finalized @ @ @ @ @ `` Medical teams have been deployed in Qom and the suspected persons have been quarantined @ @ @ @ @ safety measures on arrival flights at its airports to control a possible spread of the @ @ @ @ @ emerged in China in December .
Since then , almost 75,000 people have been infected @ @ @ @ @ 2,000 deaths being reported , mostly in China .
Based on reporting by AP and @


rferl--2020-02-19--Uzbekistan Detains 21 Suspected Members Of Banned Islamist Militant Group

TASHKENT -- Uzbekistan 's Interior Ministry says it has detained 21 suspected supporters of a banned Islamist militant group that @ @ @ @ @ .
The ministry said in a February 19 statement that the suspects were `` ideologically @ @ @ @ @ Uzbek man identified as A. Shodibekov .
Their identities were not disclosed .
The statement @ @ @ @ @ financially support and join militants from a group called Katiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad ( Brigade of @ @ @ @ @ War ) .
Uzbekistan banned Katiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad as a terrorist organization in 2016 .
@ @ @ @ @ suspects were detained after police searched their homes and found `` evidence proving '' their @ @ @ @ @ wal-Jihad .
It said the detained suspects are also suspected of taking part in terrorist @ @ @ @ @ the predominantly Muslim former Soviet republic have said that thousands of Uzbek citizens have joined @ @ @ @ @ Syria and Iraq in recent years .

TASHKENT -- Uzbekistan's Interior Ministry says it has detained 21 suspected supporters of a banned Islamist militant group that has been functioning in Syria.
The ministry said in a February 19 statement that the suspects were "ideologically influenced" by a 23-year-old Uzbek man identified as A. Shodibekov. Their identities were not disclosed.
The statement said the suspected planned to financially support and join militants from a group called Katiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (Brigade of the Monotheism and the Holy War).
Uzbekistan banned Katiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad as a terrorist organization in 2016.
The Interior Ministry says the suspects were detained after police searched their homes and found "evidence proving" their links with the Katiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad.
It said the detained suspects are also suspected of taking part in terrorist training exercises.
Authorities in the predominantly Muslim former Soviet republic have said that thousands of Uzbek citizens have joined different Islamist militant groups in Syria and Iraq in recent years.


rferl--2020-02-19--Amid Pressure From Authorities, New Kazakh Opposition Party Cancels Founding Congress

ALMATY , Kazakhstan -- The Democratic Party of Kazakhstan , a newly created opposition party , has cancelled its founding @ @ @ @ @ law enforcement authorities against supporters and activists across the country , a party leader said @ @ @ @ @ told reporters in Almaty on February 19 that , instead of attending the congress , @ @ @ @ @ on February 22 to challenge the pressure imposed on party supporters and to demand democratic @ @ @ @ @ is no way to hold a founding congress for our party when our supporters are @ @ @ @ @ facing oppressive measures by the authorities , '' Mamai said .
Party leaders say supporters @ @ @ @ @ have been stopped from boarding trains to reach Almaty in time to attend the founding @ @ @ @ @ supporters and activists have also been jailed for several days on what they described as @ @ @ @ @ law requires the participation of at least 1,000 people in the founding congress of a @ @ @ @ @ to be officially registered .

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- The Democratic Party of Kazakhstan, a newly created opposition party, has cancelled its founding congress amid pressure imposed by law enforcement authorities against supporters and activists across the country, a party leader said.
Party founder Zhanbolat Mamai told reporters in Almaty on February 19 that, instead of attending the congress, supporters will rally in Almaty on February 22 to challenge the pressure imposed on party supporters and to demand democratic reforms in Kazakhstan
"There is no way to hold a founding congress for our party when our supporters are being detained en masse and facing oppressive measures by the authorities," Mamai said.
Party leaders say supporters and activists across the country have been stopped from boarding trains to reach Almaty in time to attend the founding congress.
They say some supporters and activists have also been jailed for several days on what they described as trumped-up administrative charges.
Kazakh law requires the participation of at least 1,000 people in the founding congress of a political party for the party to be officially registered.